Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

One Paycheck Away: Addressing Homelessness in the Bay Area

This event is the latest in the San Francisco Foundation’s series on People, Place and Power. Every night, more than 130,000 people go to sleep homeless in California. An estimated 25,000 of them are in the San Francisco Bay Area: sleeping on couches, in cars or sometimes in tents on the sidewalk. At this point, people from coast to coast know that the Bay Area is in the midst of a housing crisis. But what is the city doing to address the affordable housing and homelessness crisis? Come hear from some of the Bay Area’s leading experts on issues surrounding homelessness. From working on the service and legal sides to fighting for policy changes to having experienced homelessness themselves, our speakers will discuss the state of the crisis, how we got here and where we’re headed next. This program is generously supported by the San Francisco Foundation's Bay Area Leads Fund.

The Exit Interview: Jane Kim on The Michelle Meow Show

Join us as Michelle Meow brings her long-running daily radio show to The Commonwealth Club one day each week. Meet fascinating—and often controversial—people discussing important issues of interest to the LGBTQ community, and have your questions ready. Our in-studio guest this week: Jane Kim Jane Kim was a former supervisor for San Francisco's District 6, representing South of Market, Mission Bay, the Tenderloin, Civic Center, Treasure Island and Yerba Buena Island. She is the first Korean-American elected official in San Francisco and the first Asian-American candidate to win a non-historically Asian district in the city. See more upcoming Michelle Meow Shows at The Commonwealth Club here.

Roger McNamee: Inside the Facebook Catastrophe

If you had told Bay Area technology investor Roger McNamee even three years ago that he would soon be devoting himself to stopping Facebook from destroying our democracy, he would have howled with laughter. He had mentored many tech leaders in his illustrious career, but few things had made him prouder, or had been better for his own bottom line, than helping Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of the world's largest social network. Still a large shareholder in Zuckerberg's creation, McNamee had every good reason to stay on the sidelines as the dark side of Facebook came to light. But he couldn't stay quiet. McNamee's new book, Zucked, is about the outspoken investor's efforts to come to terms with the serious damage Facebook was doing to our society. McNamee set out to try to change the massive social network and other tech companies that use design tools to addict and manipulate its users. With the election of Donald Trump, and the emergence of one horrific piece of news after another about the malign ends to which the Facebook platform has been put, McNamee has dedicated his energies to have people understand the threat of Facebook and other social networks. He will discuss what we can do to hold the companies responsible and to protect our public health and political order. Please join us for this important and timely discussion with one of Silicon Valley's most important and outspoken leaders.

Doha Experiment: Arab Kingdom, Catholic College, Jewish Teacher

Gary Wasserman, who has had a distinguished career as an educator, writer and media consultant, was a professor for eight years in Doha, Qatar, where he taught American and international politics courses at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. He wrote that the title of his book, The Doha Experiment: Arab Kingdom, Catholic College, Jewish Teacher, sounds like a politically incorrect joke but that his experiences gave him a unique perspective on the Middle East. He learned especially about the future of liberal education, Muslim youth and the process of educating Arab women. His book illustrates why Americans need to understand the clash of civilizations. MLF ORGANIZER NAME Celia Menczel NOTES MLF: Middle East

The Eighth Annual Stephen H. Schneider Award for Outstanding Climate Science Communication

Many of us find it daunting to talk with our neighbors, colleagues and family members about climate change. But climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe says that having those difficult conversations is the first step towards solving the problem. Hayhoe is known as a “rock star” in the climate world for her ability to talk to just about anyone about global warming. She is joined by Stanford atmospheric scientist Noah Diffenbaugh for a conversation about communicating climate change in transparent, engaging, and accessible ways.

Tina D’Elia on The Michelle Meow Show

Join us as Michelle Meow brings her long-running daily radio show to The Commonwealth Club one day each week. Meet fascinating—and often controversial—people discussing important issues of interest to the LGBTQ community, and have your questions ready. This week's in-studio guest: Tina D'Elia Tina D’Elia is a Bay Area award-winning solo performer, SAG-AFTRA actor, casting director, performance coach, co-screenwriter and consultant. Tina’s West Coast premiere of her solo show Overlooked Latinas (premiering in February 2019) has had previews at The Marsh SF, Solo Sunday’s (Stage Werx), and Best of LezWrites (2016, 2018). Tina received the Diversity Casting Award and Best Actress Award from the Equality International Film Festival in 2017. In 2015, Tina’s popular solo show directed by Mary Guzman, The Rita Hayworth of This Generation, won Best of Fringe and won Best of Sold Out Shows at the San Francisco Fringe Festival. Tina is honored to be part of CURVE Magazine’s CURVE Power list of 2017. She is the recipient of the Executive Producer Award and the Trail Blazer Award for diverse casting and her diverse creative solo performance work with the Equality International Film Festival. Tina’s acting credits include The Pursuit of Happyness, Knife Fight, Guitar Man, Miles to Go, Trauma(NBC), Rellik (Pilot), Sense8 (Netflix), Possession (World Equality Television), and Dyke Central(Amazon). Tina and director Maria Breaux won the Audience Award for co-writing the short film Lucha in 2009.

Gov. Chris Christie: President Trump and Power Politics

As President Trump enters his third year in office, former New Jersey governor Chris Christie remains one of his closest political allies. The first major elected official to endorse then-candidate Trump, Christie had a ringside seat throughout the hectic 2016 campaign. Christie was even close to becoming Trump’s running mate. Days after Trump’s surprise victory, Trump fired Christie as head of his transition team. Recently, Christie almost became Trump’s White House chief of staff but pulled out, saying now is not the right time for him to join the White House. Now Christie is out to set the record straight about his career and his relationship with the president. In his new book, Let Me Finish, the brash former Republican prosecutor discusses running a Democratic state, his 15-year relationship with Trump, what he saw during the 2016 campaign and how his removal from the transition all but guaranteed chaos at the beginning of the Trump presidency. Christie’s book takes readers into conflicts with Steve Bannon, Kellyanne Conway, Jeff Sessions, Paul Manafort and other critical Trump insiders. Christie also addresses hot-button issues from his own years in power in New Jersey, including what really went down during Bridgegate. And, for the first time, Christie tells the full story of his own Kushner saga: how, as a federal prosecutor, he put Jared Kushner's powerful father behind bars for tax evasion, witness tampering and illegal campaign contributions. Join us for this important conversation with one of the president’s closest allies.

Restoring Climate Health Through Innovative Solutions

Peter Fiekowsky founded Healthy Climate Alliance with the intention of restoring the climate to its preindustrial climate health. He hopes to accelerate an emerging array of innovations to reduce the level of carbon in the atmosphere and to preserve and rebuild Arctic ice. While reducing emissions is important, he promotes climate restoration as both possible and essential—a strategic business strategy. The Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur and physicist runs the Healthy Climate Alliance along with his daughter Erica Dodds, executive director. They will point to profit-making enterprises that are sequestering carbon into building materials and pragmatic other land- and ocean-based technologies for restoring our climate. They will highlight and share with the audience an understanding of how companies and individuals can take strides to implement change for a healthier climate, their mission to restore the climate by reducing atmospheric CO2 levels to 300 parts per million and, thus, “giving our children a healthy climate like our grandparents had.” MLF ORGANIZER NAME Elizabeth Carney NOTES MLF: Business & Leadership In partnership with Presidio Graduate School

How Some Countries Are Solving Climate Change

When it comes to cutting emissions, there are many paths to success. Sweden, France, South Korea and Ontario have all taken steps to replace fossil fuels with nuclear, hydro and renewable energy. Norway has ambitions to swap its dependence on oil for clean energy in relatively short order. China is expanding electric car and battery production in an effort to stake out leadership in 21st century industries. But the absence of U.S. climate leadership is causing heads of state to ease off their goals. In France, violent protests against higher diesel taxes are casting a shadow over efforts to raise the price of fossil fuels to combat climate change. Join us for a discussion about who’s moving ahead and who’s moving backward in the transition to a clean energy economy.

Marc Freedman on How to Live Forever

In How to Live Forever, Encore.org founder and CEO Marc Freedman tells the story of his thirty-year quest to answer some of contemporary life's most urgent questions: With so many living so much longer, what is the meaning of the increasing years beyond 50? How can a society with more older people than younger ones thrive? How do we find happiness when we know life is long and time is short? In his new book, Freedman finds insights by exploring purpose and generativity, digging into the drive for longevity and the perils of age segregation, and talking to social innovators across the globe bringing the generations together for mutual benefit. He finds wisdom in stories from young and old, featuring ordinary people and icons such as jazz great Clark Terry and basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. But the answers also come from stories of Freedman's own mentors—a sawmill worker turned surrogate grandparent, a university administrator who served as Einstein's driver, a cabinet secretary who won the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the gym teacher who was Freedman's father. You can read more about Freedman views on the power of intergenerational relationships here. How to Live Forever is a deeply personal call to find fulfillment and happiness in our longer lives by connecting with the next generation and forging a legacy of love that lives beyond us. Freedman will discuss his new book at the beautiful Buck Institute, an organization dedicated to helping people live better longer. It is a special event you won't want to miss. In association with the Buck Institute.

Jason Rezaian: Imprisoned in Iran

This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. Only a few years ago, Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian spent 544 days in an Iranian prison. Rezaian experienced interrogations, trials and the complexity of international negotiations. He was even used as a bargaining chip in the Iran nuclear deal negotiations. In his book Prisoner, Rezaian delves into his dramatic and suspenseful story as an American prisoner of Iran. He describes how friends and family in the United States worked tirelessly to advocate for his release, lobbying John Kerry and President Obama to seek his freedom. Join us for this fascinating story from Rezaian, a Bay Area native, about hope, international justice, U.S.–Iran relations and the man caught in the middle.

Stanford B-School's Tools to Cut Stress, Boost Soft Skills and Productivity

Stressed at work but can't find time to de-stress and meditate? Need to be creative but running into mind blocks? Sidetracked by trivia instead of getting work done? Stanford's Leah Weiss, author of How We Work: Live Your Purpose, Reclaim Your Sanity, and Embrace the Daily Grind, will show us how to sidetrack anxiety and enter a creative state even if we're not feeling like it. She will provide other practical examples as well. During this interactive session, we will learn how to integrate useful tools derived from mindfulness into our actual workdays. Come learn what Stanford's Graduate School of Business is teaching about how to incorporate evidence-based meditation and mindfulness practices directly into the workday, reaping the benefits of improved productivity, creativity and happiness without having to set aside a special time or place. Weiss' class at Stanford usually has a long waitlist, so sign up for this session before it sells out! MLF Organizer Name: Eric Siegel Notes: MLF, Personal Growth

Josephine Zhao on The Michelle Meow Show: A Conversation for Compassion, Understanding and Growth

Join us for a special edition of The Michelle Meow Show at The Commonwealth Club. This week's special guest: Former San Francisco School Board candidate Josephine Zhao. Zhao's candidacy for the school board stirred up a great deal of controversy in the LGBTQ community due to comments she had made in interviews and text messages that criticized transgender people. She says she has changed and has apologized for her comments; her critics don't believer her. We invited her to discuss what happened, what her beliefs are today, and what she does next. Josephine Zhao is a public school mother and advocate for public education. A single mother of two girls in city public schools, she has been a leader in the PTA.

For the Bay’s Future: New Solutions to the Housing Crisis

There’s no doubt about it: The San Francisco Bay Area is in the midst of a housing crisis. But while people may disagree about the root causes, the costs or the most promising legislation, there’s one thing everyone agrees on: The only hope of solving it is through monumental multi-sector collaboration. Join the San Francisco Foundation, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Ford Foundation, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, corporate leaders and housing advocates for a conversation about bold solutions, hosted at The Commonwealth Club. This event will also celebrate the launch of an exciting new effort to build a more livable, inclusive and vibrant Bay Area. Come learn how a diverse array of partners will protect up to 175,000 households and preserve and produce more than 8,000 homes over the next 5–10 years. The time for incremental change is over.

Michael Nguyen on The Michelle Meow Show

Join us as Michelle Meow brings her long-running daily radio show to The Commonwealth Club one day each week. Meet fascinating—and often controversial—people discussing important issues of interest to the LGBTQ community, and have your questions ready. Our in-studio guest this week: Michael T. Nguyen, board chair of GAPA Michael Nguyen is the chair of GAPA (Gay Asian Pacific Alliance), an all-volunteer, grassroots organization that, for more than 30 years, has provided safe spaces "that celebrate our families and has inspired our community to become advocates in civil society." GAPA continues to build on its legacy of social, cultural and political advocacy and community building by furthering the interests of the LGBTQ+ API community in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. Nguyen also recently joined the board of Livable City, a nonprofit dedicated to improving transportation, land use, open space, and environmental policies to make San Francisco a safer, healthier and more accessible city. As a patent lawyer, Michael helps tech companies, large and small, protect their computer and software-based inventions. Michael’s drag persona, Juicy Liu, Miss GAPA 2016, currently hosts #JuicyThots, a Queers of Color showcase on the 4th Thursdays of every month at the Lookout in the Castro. Michael has personally raised more than $55,000 for various nonprofit and charitable organizations, including the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA), GAPA, GAPA Foundation, Livable City, San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation

Heart of the Matter: What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully

Death is not waiting for us at the end of a long road. Death is always with us, in the marrow of every passing moment. She is the secret teacher hiding in plain sight. She helps us to discover what matters most. The good news is we don’t have to wait until the end of our lives to realize the wisdom that death has to teach us. You are invited to an evening of inspiring conversation about our most taboo subject, the inevitable and intimate experience of dying. In both our professional and personal lives, a mindful and wise relationship with death can be a valuable companion on the road to living well, setting priorities, meeting crisis and forging a meaningful life, free of regret. MLF Organizer Name Elizabeth Carney Notes MLF: Business & Leadership

Globalization and It's Cultural Disconnects

Based on his recently released, expanded edition of the award-winning Perception and Deception: A Mind-Opening Journey Across Cultures, Joe Lurie will present a spirited and insightful exploration of cross-cultural miscommunications in an increasingly globalized, polarizing world. With YouTube, tweets, refugees and fake news rapidly crossing cultures without context, Lurie shares a timely, intriguing and sometimes tragic array of intercultural encounters gone wrong because of cultural misperceptions across the globe, in the worlds of migration, diplomacy, commerce and technology. David Lennon, former managing editor of the Financial Times, called Lurie's book “brilliant!” According to Lennon, the book offers: “Terrific and timely insights and tools for understanding culture clashes in a hyper-connecting world.” MLF Organizer Name: Norma Walden Notes: MLF: International Relations In association with the Fromm Institute, UC Berkeley's International House, Northern California Peace Corps Association and the Osher Institute at San Francisco State University

Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky: Recognizing the Power of We the People

Our Republic’s founding document starts with: “We the People." However, the Constitution’s promise of liberty and justice for all is being fought in our nation’s courthouses, by unelected judges with lifetime appointments. With Congress in a gridlock, both liberals and conservatives are realizing the opportunity that the judicial branch provides in settling some of the nation’s most contentious issues, from gun control to reproductive health. UC Berkeley dean and respected legal scholar Erwin Chemerinsky explains how both parties are using the power of the Supreme Court to shape policies for decades to come.

Why Has Nationalism Come Roaring Back?

Monday Night Philosophy investigates why the world is grappling with a fierce resurgence of “us versus them” nationalism. Veteran political reporter and author John Judis analyzes the underlying causes of the nationalist revolt and its global impact, arguing that nationalism is an inescapable aspect of politics that the Left has ceded to the Right. The result: the rise of leaders such as Donald Trump in the United States and Viktor Orbán in Hungary. Judis looks to the future and urges leaders to identify and reclaim what is valid in nationalism while recognizing that it is in a country’s national interest to work together with strong international institutions. MLF Organizer Name George Hammond Notes MLF: Humanities

Marc Freedman: How to Live Forever

What could we achieve if our old and young generations unite together in their pursuit of social good? Author Marc Freedman delves into this intriguing issue, highlighting the untapped opportunity to harness the experience of our older generations. While American youth seemingly enjoy defying their parents, Freedman offers a profound contrasting perspective, emphasizing the power of cooperation and connection. As CEO of Encore.org, Freedman is dedicated to developing social work opportunities for those over 50. Freedman emphasizes mentorship and purpose, with the goal of creating a better world for future generations. People of all ages should listen to what Freedman has to say. Notes In association with the Grownups Member-Led Forum Freedman will also be speaking in Marin on 1/30/19

The Paris Agreement at Three

In its infancy, the Paris Agreement carried the promise of a truly global climate solution. Supporters still say the Agreement is the first step in setting the global economy toward a sustainable future, but U.N. reports now say current commitments are only a fraction as strong as they need to be, and critics say it's dangerously delusional to think the pact is ambitious enough to avoid catastrophic climate change. Katharine Mach, Senior Research Scientist at Stanford University, and Trevor Houser, Partner at the Rhodium Group, join host Greg Dalton for a Paris checkup, three years on.

The Big Climate Stories of 2018

We’re making a list (and checking it twice) of 2018’s biggest climate stories, with the help of Vox reporter David Roberts. Roberts notes that while President Trump’s continued rollbacks of environmental protections made the news, the Green New Deal and ongoing decline in costs of clean energy technologies are the year’s big stories. For other parts of the country, wildfires and other extreme weather events made the biggest headlines. Greg Dalton talks to some of California’s leading wildfire experts about how to adapt to the “new abnormal” of more intense and more frequent wildfires.

The Rise of STDs in San Francisco and the LGBTQ Youth Community

Join us for an in-depth program as part of our Michelle Meow Show series at The Commonwealth Club, in which we explore topics and speakers of interest to the LGBTQ community. This week, we speak with some experts dealing with the increase in sexually transmitted diseases and how to help the LGBTQ youth population. Dr. Derek Blechinger is a physician at Kaiser Permanente San Francisco who specializes in HIV and LGBT primary care. He completed residency in San Francisco in internal medicine and preventive medicine, during which he began his career in PrEP research and is now on the clinical faculty for the Bay Area, North and Central Coast AIDS Education Training Center (AETC) conducting "PrEP Bootcamps" throughout the greater Bay Area as well as a recent tour through states in the South. He completed a master's in public health and epidemiology from UC Berkeley, and went to medical school in Seattle at University of Washington. Before medical school, Dr. Blechinger worked in public health, where for many years he conducted outreach testing and counseling for LGBT adults and youth in Minnesota's largest HIV and STD clinic. In his spare time he sings in the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus and stays active in his community. Sherilyn Adams is the executive director of Larkin Street Youth Services. For more than 30 years, Sherilyn Adams has dedicated her career to the nonprofit sector, focusing on issues of child abuse and neglect, family violence, mental health, substance abuse, and homelessness. The first member of her family to attend college, Sherilyn’s early life was touched by many of these issues. This personal history is part of what drives her to be a catalyst for change in the lives of at-risk populations. Serving as Larkin Street Youth Services' executive director since 2003, Sherilyn has led the agency through tremendous growth, nearly tripling the number of housing beds, and putting Larkin Street at the vanguard of the field for its innovative multi-service model to resolve youth homelessness. Prior to joining Larkin Street, she worked with a variety of nonprofits, including child sexual abuse treatment, domestic violence shelters, adolescent outpatient programs and residential treatment for adults. In 2012, the White House honored her as a “Champion for Change in the Fight Against Youth Homelessness,” and in 2015, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee honored Sherilyn as one of the courageous leaders changing the lives of San Franciscans.

Mind Over Chatter: Exploring Climate Psychology

We all know about the environmental and physical effects of climate change. But what about its impact on our mental health? Therapists report that their patients are exhibiting symptoms of what they call “climate anxiety” – loss of sleep, changes in appetite, feelings of grief, anger and hopelessness. How do we maintain our optimism in the face of a global existential crisis? And how do we talk with others about our fears without turning them off – or freaking them out? Three climate psychologists discuss how to cope with mounting anxiety brought on by climate change.

For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Politics

Donna Brazile, Yolanda Caraway, Leah Daughtry and Minyon Moore have worked behind the scenes of some of the country’s most influential and historic presidential campaigns in history, all four beginning their careers with the Rev. Jesse Jackson and eventually working with the likes of Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Barack Obama and, most recently, Hillary Rodham Clinton. Together they form a political supergroup they like to call “The Colored Girls,” and, like many other women of color in politics, they are unsung heroes of public service who have dedicated their lives to demanding diversity in American politics. Brazile, Caraway, Daughtry and Moore paved the way for many women and people of color currently in the political arena, and they will visit The Commonwealth Club on the heels of an exciting midterm election where the topic of diversity was at the forefront. Join us as the four women discuss For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Politics, their new book, which chronicles their incredible stories, sheds light on their successes and offers insight on the many hurdles they faced in getting there.