Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

By Commonwealth Club of California

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What's Commonwealth Club of California Podcast about?

The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Please click the link below and visit our website to learn more about The Commonwealth Club and don't forget to become a member!

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Queer Eye's Tan France

06.19.2019

This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. As fashion designer, Tan France said, “Yes, I know I’m gayer; yes, I know I’ve got a different skin color. Yes, I know I’m a ...

Commonwealth Club of California Podcast episodes:

06.19.2019 Queer Eye's Tan France This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. As fashion designer, Tan France said, “Yes, I know I’m gayer; yes, I know I’ve got a different skin color. Yes, I know I’m a ...
06.17.2019 Ash Carter, Former U.S. Secretary of Defense The Department of Defense is the single largest institution in America, managing the most complex information network, carrying out more research and development than Google, Apple and Microsoft combined, owning and operating more real estate and spending more money than ...
06.17.2019 Jay Inslee: The Climate Candidate Presidential hopeful Jay Inslee is the only candidate who has made stopping climate change his top priority. The Washington state Governor is a notable departure from other Democratic candidates who regularly mention, but rarely prioritize the issue. Yet in a ...
06.16.2019 Jay Inslee: The Climate Candidate Presidential hopeful Jay Inslee is the only candidate who has made stopping climate change his top priority. The Washington state Governor is a notable departure from other Democratic candidates who regularly mention, but rarely prioritize the issue. Yet in a ...
06.14.2019 Epigenetics and the Story of Exosomes: The Information Highway Bridging Mind and Body For over a century, conventional science has attributed illness and disease to mechanistic failures of the body’s systems. Rather than “victims” of dysfunctional cells and genes, the new fields of epigenetics and quantum biophysics reveal that your mind expresses creative ...
06.14.2019 SF Pride Lifetime Achievement Honoree: Donna Personna Meet a pathbreaker and a powerful persona. Donna Personna is an artist and activist for transgender rights who got her start with the Cockettes. She has served on the boards of Trans March and Transgender Day of Remembrance, and on ...
06.14.2019 Sportswriter Rick Reilly: How Golf Explains President Trump For decades, a range of authors have tried to explain who Donald Trump is, what makes him tick, and, since he has become president, what drives his political decision-making. Legendary sportswriter Rick Reilly thinks one of the best ways to ...
06.14.2019 Larry Diamond: Saving American Democracy In 1974, nearly three quarters of all governments were dictatorships; today, more than half are democracies. Yet, by most measures, there are now 25 fewer democracies than there were at the turn of the millennium. Is democracy in decline? And ...
06.14.2019 The Snow Clown: Cartwheels on Borders from Alaska to Nebraska The Bay Area's Jeff Raz presents an entertaining, inside view of his life on the road and at home as a clown, actor, teacher and playwright. Raz explores both ridiculous and profound revelations in his second book about a decades-long ...
06.13.2019 Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Driving Change in Food and Agriculture We face some unprecedented challenges today related to how we grow, produce, distribute and consume food. Changing climatic conditions, population growth and decades of unsustainable growing practices are leading to growing consumer demand for higher quality provenance and production practices ...
06.12.2019 Eve Ensler: Transforming Abuse with Apology This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. How do you come to terms with the need for an apology that will never come? How can the trauma of a childhood in an ...
06.12.2019 Scott Kupor: Secrets of Sand Hill Road As a managing partner at Andreessen Horowitz, Scott Kupor has seen it all. He offers firsthand experiences and insider advice for every entrepreneur trying to secure venture capital funding. Kupor has been with Andreessen Horowitz since its inception in 2009 ...
06.12.2019 88th Annual California Book Awards Since 1931, the California Book Awards have honored the exceptional literary merit of California writers and publishers. Each year a select jury considers hundreds of books from around the state in search of the very best in literary achievement. The ...
06.12.2019 Daphne Muse: Documenting Black History Daphne Muse is a Bay Area writer, social commentator and cultural broker. Her collection of more than 3,700 handwritten and typed letters dating back to 1958 reflects the voices of activists, writers, artists, actors, world leaders and media innovators who ...
06.12.2019 The San Francisco Civic Center Monday Night Philosophy looks into the local history of how the Civic Center was created. San Francisco is known for its iconic man-made structures such as the Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars and the Transamerica Pyramid. Its Civic Center is ...
06.07.2019 Still We Rise: A Conversation with Young Leaders This event is the latest in the San Francisco Foundation’s series on People, Place and Power. Being a teenager is difficult in the best of times, but the universal work of figuring out your identity, your passions, and your path ...
06.07.2019 H.E. Mamuka Bakhtadze, Prime Minister of Georgia Located in the geopolitically important Caucasus region of Eastern Europe, Georgia serves as a vital U.S. ally and a gateway for American companies to access Eurasian markets. Georgia, the birthplace of wine, is bordered to the west by the Black ...
06.06.2019 A Vision for Europe, with James K. Galbraith In late May, millions of Europeans will head to the voting booth for elections that will determine the future of the European Union (EU). As the Brexit controversy deepens and a violent populism rises in several European countries, this year's ...
06.05.2019 Secretary George Shultz: Thinking About the Future In a rich and varied career that has included roles as U.S. secretary of state, secretary of the treasury and secretary of labor, George P. Shultz has aided presidents, confronted national and international crises, and argued passionately that the United ...
06.05.2019 Vignettes & Postcards from Paris Join us for this voyage spécial to Paris, with three travel writers who share their love of all things Parisian. They will talk about their own adventures and also read excerpts from a new edition of Vignettes & Postcards from ...
06.05.2019 Secret San Francisco Have you ever taken an underground sewer tour in San Francisco? Or wandered through a labyrinth where the land meets the sea? Secret San Francisco unlocks these secrets and other little-known stories about our city’s most enduring icons. You’ll find ...
06.02.2019 If You Won’t, We Will: Youth Action on Climate Four years ago, 21 student plaintiffs sued the U.S. government for violating their constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property by failing to act on climate change. On the other side of the world, 15-year-old Greta Thunberg initiated a global ...
06.02.2019 Peter Shinkle: Discovering Ike's Gay Mystery Man In 1953, Robert Cutler—the first person appointed to be national security advisor to the president, and one of the closest aides to new President Dwight Eisenhower—helped put into effect an executive order that destroyed the lives of thousands of federal ...
06.02.2019 Scott Pelley: 60 Minutes and the Search for Meaning What does it mean to be a journalist in 2019? Scott Pelley, a longtime CBS anchor and "60 Minutes" correspondent, knows better than most. In his new book, Truth Worth Telling: A Reporter’s Search for Meaning in the Stories of ...
06.01.2019 Rep. Adam Schiff, Chair of the House Intelligence Committee After eight years of Republican control, the blue wave of 2018 put Democrats back in charge of the U.S. House and made Representative Adam Schiff chair of the House Intelligence Committee. With broad power and jurisdiction, Schiff’s committee oversees the ...
05.31.2019 Working in a Nonprofit: Managing Work, Life and Balance This week, our in-studio guests will be Brett Andrews of the Positive Resource Center and Sherilyn Adams of Larkin Street Youth. They will discuss the challenges and rewards of working in the nonprofit sector. Join us as Michelle Meow brings ...
05.31.2019 Adam Savage: My Life as a Maker This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. Adam Savage is a maker. From his elaborate Comic-Con costumes to a 1,000-shot Nerf gun, he has built thousands of projects as a special effects ...
05.29.2019 Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi When Nancy Pelosi first ran for political office at the age of 47, she wasn’t new to politics. From the time she spent helping her father while he served as the mayor of Baltimore, working for Jerry Brown’s presidential campaign ...
05.29.2019 Immigrant Day of Visibility Join us for an evening to recognize community leaders advocating for immigrant rights. Immigration has become the central social issue of our time. A rise in anti-immigrant policies and rhetoric are creating instability for immigrants, including many here legally. Advocates ...
05.29.2019 A Guide to Retirement Living Alternatives The speakers will survey the retirement living options available in the Bay Area, from living at home to choosing a communal living option. Learn the key decision points in comparing rental, equity-based options, entry fee communities and assisted living. A ...
05.28.2019 David Gergen on Climate Politics and Public Opinion What does a former advisor to Richard Nixon think about the climate crisis? “This is turning out exactly the way scientists predicted, with one exception: it’s happening faster than they thought,” says David Gergen, who served in four presidential administrations. ...
05.24.2019 Week to Week Political Roundtable 5/23/19 Join us as we discuss the biggest, most controversial and sometimes the surprising political issues with expert commentary by panelists who are smart, are civil and have a good sense of humor. Our panelists will provide informative and engaging commentary ...
05.23.2019 Alexa Von Tobel: Financially Forward Technology has transformed the often-confusing personal finance landscape. From Bitcoin to mobile pay, digitization has fundamentally changed the rules of spending, saving and investing, and financial guru Alexa von Tobel views these changes as incredible opportunities. Von Tobel’s confusion surrounding ...
05.23.2019 The Girl Who Said No: A Search in Sicily Franca Viola made #MeToo history in 1966. When she was 18, she refused to go along with a centuries-old forcible marriage custom in Sicily. Having endured kidnap and rape, she publicly defied the expectation that she would marry the rapist ...
05.23.2019 Susan Hockfield: The Next Technology Revolution Whether it was the invention of the radio at the beginning of the 20th century or the advent of smartphones in the mid-to-late 2000s, technological revolutions have fundamentally shaped the era with which they are associated. Yet, according to Susan ...
05.23.2019 NRDC and India's Clean Energy Future For a decade, Natural Resources Defense Council’s (NRDC) India program has advanced clean energy and public health solutions while fighting climate change. As India, the world's largest democracy, prepares to vote in its general election, the country’s clean energy future ...
05.21.2019 Republicans and a Democrat on Climate The Green New Deal is shaking up climate politics in Washington. The resolution’s ambitious clean energy goals are championed by several leading Democrats — but are criticized by Republicans for being costly and unrealistic. With an increasing number of Green ...
05.20.2019 Donaldina Cameron and the Occidental Mission Home Julia Flynn Siler’s new book, The White Devil’s Daughters: The Fight Against Slavery in San Francisco’s Chinatown, is a revelatory history of the trafficking of young Asian girls—a practice that flourished in San Francisco during the first century of Chinese ...
05.16.2019 Data for Social Good: Crisis Text Line CEO Nancy Lublin Suicide and mental health are hard subjects—so Crisis Text Line leveraged the power of the data it collects to help their counselors determine the best way to talk about the topics with those in need. The nonprofit, founded in 2013 ...
05.16.2019 Annie Jacobsen: Inside the CIA's Secret History Annie Jacobsen is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and investigative journalist whose work revolves around government secrets. She has published books on a range of topics, including what really goes on inside Area 51; Operation Paperclip, which brought Nazi scientists to ...
05.16.2019 What Is Real? The Unfinished Quest for the Meaning of Quantum Physics Monday Night Philosophy and almost all physicists agree that quantum mechanics is among humanity's finest scientific achievements. But ask what it means, and the result will be a not-so-scientific brawl. For a century, most physicists have followed Niels Bohr's Copenhagen ...
05.15.2019 Data for Social Good: Crisis Text Line CEO Nancy Lublin Suicide and mental health are hard subjects—so Crisis Text Line leveraged the power of the data it collects to help their counselors determine the best way to talk about the topics with those in need. The nonprofit, founded in 2013 ...
05.15.2019 Sandro Galea: Reframing the Health Care Conversation “It’s the social divides that cause health divides.” Sandro Galea, dean of the Boston University School of Public Health, comes to this conclusion in his new book, Well: What We Need to Talk About When We Talk About Health. Americans ...
05.15.2019 Renovating Democracy with Nicolas Berggruen, Reid Hoffman and Nathan Gardels Across the globe, democratic governance is under assault. The rise of populism in the West, and the rise of China in the East, have stirred a rethinking of how democratic systems work—and how they failed their citizens by not addressing ...
05.15.2019 The Israeli Elections Ravit Baer and Alon Sachar will discuss the recent, complex Israeli election and how the results could affect the region, the peace process, Israel and her allies, including the United States. Baer is the deputy consul general and heads the ...
05.15.2019 The Italian Table: Creating Festive Meals for Family and Friends Americans have a love affair with Italy and Italian food and few more so than our speaker, Elizabeth Minchilli, who has written eight books on the joys of Italian life. Her latest book, The Italian Table, delivers both parts of ...
05.15.2019 Do No Harm: Civic Leadership and the Role of Health Care Can we design a health-care system that serves all? Rupa Marya thinks we can. Through hard lessons learned, Marya joins Donna LaSala, Presidio Graduate School professor, to discuss aspects of the U.S. health-care system that are aligned with social justice ...
05.15.2019 Alpha Girls: Women Upstarts in Silicon Valley In her new book, Alpha Girls, award-winning journalist Julian Guthrie tells the unforgettable story of four different women who, through grit and ingenuity, became stars in the cutthroat, high-stakes, male-dominated world of venture capital in Silicon Valley, and helped build ...
05.14.2019 Emily Bazelon: Criminal Injustice in America There are 2.2 million people in American prisons and jails—a 500 percent increase over the last 40 years. We have heard about the role of government policies and law enforcement practices that factor into the creation of this statistic, but ...
05.10.2019 Sea Changes: Why Oceans Play a Bigger Role in Climate Than You Think Global temperatures would be soaring even higher were it not for a powerful heat-trapping ally: oceans. From regulating the temperature of the planet to generating half of the oxygen we breathe, oceans are a vital part of sustaining life on ...

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