Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

After World War II, a newly affluent United States searched for its own gourmet culture. In James Beard, whose larger-than-life presence would rule over kitchens and dinner tables for the next 35 years, America found its culinary maestro. How did this secretly queer failed opera singer from the epicurean backwater of Oregon become America’s first food celebrity? John Birdsall tells the tale in his new book The Man Who Ate Too Much: The Life of James Beard, bringing to life a towering figure, a man who still represents the best in eating and yet has never been fully understood—until now.

Join us for an in-depth conversation with Birdsall, who will look beyond the public image of the celebrated cean of American cooking to find a man who battled depression, self-doubt, loneliness, and the complex rules of the closet to become a beloved household name synonymous with fine cooking and the good life. Producing nearly two dozen cookbooks in his lifetime, Beard was staunchly unfussy and proudly anti-elitist, embracing the elegance and pleasures of pure, local food and “humble, everyday cooking that aims for simplicity, honors flavor over dubious thrift, and achieves perfection using fine ingredients.” His influence on American food culture cannot be overstated: he was the definitive source of knowledge and inspiration for American home cooks in the 20th century, and the inspiration for a new generation of restaurant chefs in the 1970s, including Larry Forgione, Jeremiah Tower, and Alice Waters.

Our special guest, John Birdsall, is himself a two-time James Beard Award-winning author, a former food critic and a longtime restaurant cook. He co-authored (with James Syhabout) the cookbook Hawker Fare.

SPEAKERS

John Birdsall

Author, The Man Who Ate Too Much: The Life of James Beard; Former Food Critic; Restaurant Cook; Co-Author, Hawker Fare; Twitter @John_Birdsall

Michelle Meow

Producer and Host, "The Michelle Meow Show" on KBCW/KPIX TV and Podcast; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors; Twitter @msmichellemeow—Co-Host

John Zipperer

Producer and Host, Week to Week Political Roundtable; Vice President of Media & Editorial, The Commonwealth Club—Co-host

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on February 23rd, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

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Join this historic evening! Hollywood’s famed Melissa Rivers will host Barbara Rose Brooker, San Francisco native, author and founder of the first televised, virtual global AgeMarch/AgeMagnificent movement production in history, which will air on March 27, 2021.

Barbara and Melissa, opposite ages, will discuss their feelings about ageism in our anti-age culture. Barbara will talk about why and how in 2010, she founded AgeMarch, and her vision to promote a pro-age culture where people of all ages, race, genders, sexual orientations, will not be defined by age.

The AgeMarch has evolved into a current Hollywood production and a world -wide movement. Barbara will talk about the gift of age at every age, dating, mating, careers, health. All of it.

Melissa Rivers is an award-winning fashion and pop-culture host, a reality-TV star, an actress, and executive producer. She’s the New York Times bestselling author of multiple books, an accomplished speaker and lecturer, and a dedicated and vocal philanthropist and advocate. But Rivers is perhaps best known as a creator of the modern “Red Carpet” event brand through her many interviews and appearances as a co-host on the E! Television and TV Guide networks, including the globally recognized and iconic "Fashion Police."

Barbara Rose Brooker, MA, is a native San Franciscan, columnist, teacher, and author of 12 novels. Her latest novel Love, Sometimes, is being considered for a TV series. She has been on "The Today Show," Andy Cohen, "Inside Edition," "Extra," CBS, KRON TV and ABC. Her latest book Night Songs will be released in 2021. Her podcast The Rant is live on YouTube and global.

Julie Stern is one of the most highly regarded and sought-after television executives in the world. Her extensive roles include executive producer, strategist, executive consultant, chief of staff and network executive. Forbes magazine recently named Stern “A Profile of Leadership, Humanity, Humility and Hard Work.” And, for good reason. Her impressive resume includes serving as senior vice president of production for OWN, Oprah Winfrey Network, as well as vice president of production for Lifetime Entertainment, where she oversaw all unscripted programming, development and finance, which included oversight of the Emmy Award-winning hit series "Project Runway." From respected roles at NBCUniversal, ABC, CBS, FOX and most global network and cable entertainment companies, to most recently Reese Witherspoon’s "Hello Sunshine," Stern continues to bring her passion for creating unique and groundbreaking programming.

MLF ORGANIZER

Denise Michaud

NOTES

MLF: Grownups

SPEAKERS

Melissa Rivers

TV Red Carpet Host; Actor; Author

Barbara Rose Brooker

Columnist; Teacher; Author, Love, Sometimes and Night Songs; Host, "The Rant" Podcast

Julie Stern

Executive Producer, AGEMARCH

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on February 23rd, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

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Research shows that as many as 70 percent of Americans want the government to provide universal health-care coverage, yet the idea of affordable health care continues to be a complex, partisan issue. Accessibility is pertinent. Every American interacts with the health-care system at some point in their lives, and improper access is the difference between life and death.

In their new book Medicare for All: A Citizen's Guide, physicians and health-care reform activists Abdul El-Sayed and Micah Johnson look to go beyond partisan talking points to offer a feasible health-care solution. Health care is quite complex, but they say that the solution is simple: affordable, accessible medicine for all. The authors create a no-nonsense guide to health-care accessibility, prioritizing the health of all Americans in our advanced society.

A citizen’s guide to America’s most debated policy, Medicare for All offers a short, realistic roadmap to creating a health-care system for all. Join us as Abdul El-Sayed and Micah Johnson envision a hopeful and accessible future for all Americans.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on February 22nd, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

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Somali-born Dutch-American politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali has long been an advocate for Islamic reform. As a former Muslim herself, she has publicly denounced forced marriage, honor violence, and female genital mutilation. In her newest book, Prey, Hirsi Ali is asking a new tough question: Is the rise of sexual assault cases in Europe correlated with the mass arrival of immigrants from Muslim-majority countries?

As a refugee herself, Hirsi Ali knows first-hand the struggles of integration and assimilation that are necessary in immigrating to a new nation. Rather than restricting immigration, Hirsi Ali is calling for Europeans to reform their broken system that allows young men to bring sexual violence and marginalization of women from the Muslim world into Europe. This violence isn’t a figment of alt-right propaganda, Hirsi Ali insists, even if neo-Nazis exaggerate it. She says it’s a real problem that Europe—and the world—cannot continue to ignore.

Join us as Ayaan Hirsi Ali and journalist Bari Weiss describe her research in Prey and imagines a new future that protects and advances the rights of women around the world.

SPEAKERS

Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Human Rights Activist; Research Fellow, Hoover Institution; Author, Prey: Immigration, Islam, and the Erosion of Women's Rights

In Conversation with Bari Weiss

Journalist and Former Op-ed Staff Editor, The New York Times

Gloria Duffy

President and CEO, The Commonwealth Club of California—Program Chair

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on February 11th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

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Join us at the end of President Joe Biden's first month in the Oval Office, as we take stock of the early days of the Biden-Harris administration. We'll look at the people, policies, controversies, victories and defeats as Biden moves quickly to enact his agenda for the pandemic, the economy, national security, and racial justice.

Our panelists will also examine the big political news here in California, too, where the state struggles with the coronavirus and the governor faces a renewed recall effort.

SPEAKERS

Bob Butler

Reporter, KCBS Radio; Broadcast Vice President, SAG-AFTRA; Lead, EIJ Student Newsroom 2020

Carla Marinucci

Senior Writer, Politico California Playbook; Twitter @cmarinucci

C.W. Nevius

Columnist, Santa Rose Press Democrat; Author, CW's Newsletter; Former Columnist, San Francisco Chronicle; Twitter @cwnevius

John Zipperer

Producer and Host, Week to Week Political Roundtable; Vice President of Media & Editorial, The Commonwealth Club—Co-host

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on February 19th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

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As a journalist on the “sex beat,” Tracy Clark-Flory is intimate with the complexities of how sex is understood in societal discourse. At once a source of abashment, fascination and liberation, sex culture can send conflicting messages—sex and love are intensely personal topics yet dictated by societal rules, leaving people to struggle to understand their own needs within what they are told is “appropriate.” In her new book Want Me: A Sex Writer’s Journey into the Heart of Desire, Tracy contextualizes her own experiences reporting on sex with personal anecdotes and expert research.

Join Clark-Flory at INFORUM for this special Valentine's Day program to learn more about life as a journalist, the ins and outs of writing about sex and the feminist revisions of society’s expectations for women. This conversation will be moderated by Peggy Orenstein, author of The New York Times bestsellers Girls & Sex, Cinderella Ate My Daughter and Waiting for Daisy, a memoir.

Note: This program contains EXPLICIT language.

SPEAKERS

Tracy Clark-Flory

Senior Staff Writer, Jezebel; Author, Want Me: A Sex Writer's Journey into the Heart of Desire

Peggy Orenstein

Author, Girls & Sex—Moderator

 In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on February 16th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

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In the past decade, narratives of a dystopian climate future have helped connect people with heroes in worlds decimated by climate disruption and industrial expansion. In today’s real-world, scientists are looking to geoengineering and other human innovations to preserve the wellbeing of life on Earth. “What we’re missing is a way to galvanize people to support policies that are actually gonna change,” says Jeff Biggers, founder of The Climate Narrative Project.

So how can climate storytelling help us reckon with our changing environment? Do we need a new climate narrative to help us understand and solve the climate emergency?

Guests:

Jeff Biggers, Founder, The Climate Narrative Project

Elizabeth Kolbert, Staff Writer, The New Yorker

Kim Stanley Robinson, Science Fiction Author

Related Links:

Climate Narrative Project

Resistance: Reclaiming an American Tradition

The Ministry for the Future

Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future

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Join us for a virtual conversation with Dan Morain to discuss his recent biography of our new vice president.

Kamala Harris grew up as the older daughter of her mother, a cancer researcher who had emigrated from India when she was 19, and of her father, an economist from Jamaica, who split up with her mother when Kamala was five. Kamala Harris is known as tough, smart, quick-witted, and demanding. She’s a former prosecutor, after all. But she’s also known as reticent when it comes to sharing much about herself, even in her memoirs. Morain fills in the gaps. He has been covering Harris right from the start of her political career—working for the Alameda County District Attorney’s office, where she handled homicides and child molestation cases. Morain also covers her publicly acknowledged relationship with Assembly Speaker Willie Brown when she was 29, which significantly expanded her political network. Morain will take you through Harris’s years as the San Francisco District Attorney, her early support for Barack Obama, her tenure as California's Attorney General, and her election to the U.S. Senate. Morain also analyzes both her failure as a presidential candidate and her success in campaigning for the vice presidential spot on the Biden ticket.

He paints a vivid picture of her values and priorities, the kind of people she brings into her orbit, the sorts of problems she’s good at solving, and the missteps, risks and bold moves she’s made on her way to the top.

MLF ORGANIZER

George Hammond

NOTES

MLF: Humanities

Part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation.

SPEAKERS

Dan Morain

Former Reporter, The Los Angeles Times; Former Editor, The Sacramento Bee; Author, Kamala's Way: An American Life

In Conversation with Carla Marinucci

Senior Writer, Politico California Playbook

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on February 16th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

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Worldwide, a loss of faith in government institutions has encouraged citizens of democracy to look for pathways outside of politics to make tangible change. This mistrust of “the system” has spread throughout other social organizations as well; press, corporations, digital platforms are questioned for their ability to hold us together. Now, people are searching for productive outlets to have their voice heard and make positive change.

Ethan Zuckerman, founder of the Institute for Digital Public Infrastructure, is offering a solution. In his new book Mistrust, Zuckerman uses research from political scientists, legal theorists, and activists in the streets to understand why many people started to doubt social institutions and the implications it poses for an uncertain future. He analyzes the relationship he says the public should have with existing institutions and the various ways we can reach a collective goal of an advanced democracy.

Join us as Zuckerman encourages citizens of democracy to use this sentiment of disbelief to fuel their participation in civic life and create an equitable society.

SPEAKERS

Ethan Zuckerman

Founder, Institute for Digital Public Infrastructure, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Author, Mistrust: Why Losing Faith in Institutions Provides the Tools to Transform Them

In Conversation with Kara Swisher

Contributing Opinion Writer and Host of "Sway," The New York Times

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on February 11th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

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The COVID-19 pandemic, which began in early 2019, has had significantly negative consequences for individuals, families and communities around the world, with huge economic and political effects. Short-term strategies have involved sheltering in place and social distancing, rigorous and frequent hand washing, and the disciplined use of masks. We now have reached a stage in the pandemic when vaccines are bring rolled out in the United States and globally, initially for “at risk” populations.

There is much confusion arising from conflicting information about the new vaccines. There are questions related to what we know about the vaccines (and how we know it), and what we don’t know (and how and when we will know more). To address these questions, two leading virologists will be in conversation with the chair of the Health and Medicine Forum at The Commonwealth Club of California. Dr. Melanie Ott and Dr. Warner Greene from Gladstone Institutes talk with Dr. Robert Lee Kilpatrick, to help the public understand COVID-19 vaccine options better.

Meet the Speakers

Melanie Ott, M.D., Ph.D., has been the director of the Gladstone Institute of Virology since 2020, and a senior investigator at Gladstone Institutes. She is also a professor of medicine at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, she pivoted the focus of her team to work on SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Ott is a member of the Association of American Physicians, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology. She is also an expert contributor to the COVID Collaborative, a bipartisan group of national experts and institutions that helps shape state and local efforts against the pandemic.

Warner Greene, M.D., Ph.D., is the director of the The Michael Hulton—Gladstone Center for HIV Cure Research, senior investigator, and Nick and Sue Hellmann Distinguished Professor of Translational Medicine at Gladstone Institutes. He is the founding and emeritus director of Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology. Greene is also professor of medicine, microbiology and of immunology at UCSF. He is also a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies and a fellow of the American Academy Arts and Sciences. He also serves as co-director of the UCSF-Gladstone Center for AIDS Research, and he has served as councilor and president of the Association of American Physicians.

Robert Lee Kilpatrick, Ph.D., is the chair of the Health and Medicine Member-Led Forum at The Commonwealth Club of California, general advisor to Berkeley SkyDeck incubator and accelerator, advisor to the Columbia University Master of Science Program in Bioethics, and CEO of Health Innovation for People, Inc. (HIP).

MLF ORGANIZER

Robert Lee Kilpatrick

NOTES

MLF: Health & Medicine

In association with Gladstone Institutes.

SPEAKERS

Warner Greene

M.D., Ph.D., Director, Gladstone Center for HIV Cure Research; Senior Investigator and Nick and Sue Hellmann Distinguished Professor of Translational Medicine at Gladstone Institutes; Professor of Medicine, Microbiology and of Immunology, UCSF

Melanie Ott

M.D., Ph.D., Director, Gladstone Institute of Virology; Senior Investigator, Gladstone Institutes; Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco

Robert Lee Kilpatrick

Ph.D. Chair, Health and Medicine MLF; General Advisor, Berkeley SkyDeck incubator and Accelerator; Advisor, Columbia University Master of Science Program in Bioethics; CEO, Health Innovation for People, Inc. (HIP)

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on February 10th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

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