Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

"BoJack Horseman" creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg’s trademark is engaging writing that is equal parts dark comedy and gut wrenching tragedy. His work forces you to examine your place in humanity, while reminding you that none of this actually matters. It’s this mix of absurd hilarity and existential dread that makes Bob-Waksberg one of the most celebrated storytellers working today. Join Bob-Waksberg at INFORUM in honor of his new collection of short stories, Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory. You’ll hear a few (possibly strange) tales about love—something he argues is both “the best and worst thing in the universe.” This conversation will be moderated by entertainment writer Ariane Lange.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for a discussion with Rick Welts and Hannah Gordon, two leaders who have made an indelible impact in sports for LGBTQ rights through their courage and resiliency. Ricke Welts became a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018. For the past 8 years, he has been president and chief operating officer of the Golden State Warriors, overseeing all business-related operations for the team, including the new Chase Center and Thrive City in San Francisco. In 2011, he publicly announced that he was gay—in a front-page New York Times story. For his work on diversity and inclusion in sports, he has been honored with the United States Tennis Association 2011 ICON Award, the GLSEN Respect Award, the GLAAD Davison/Valentini Award, the Anti-Defamation League's Torch of Liberty Award, and he was the celebrity grand marshall of the San Francisco Pride parade in 2015. Hannah Gordon is the chief administrative officer and general counsel for the San Francisco 49ers. She oversees legal, public affairs and strategic communications, risk management, community relations, the 49ers Foundation, fan engagement and the 49ers Museum. She is also the secretary of the Bay Area Host Committee and has been involved with events such as Super Bowl 50, WrestleMania 31, Beyoncé's Formation World Tour, the Copa America Centenario and the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship. She is also active on league-wide matters and has served on multiple intra-league working groups. NOTES This program is produced in partnership with AIDS2020 Made possible by the generous support of Gilead and Comcast

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since narrowly losing Georgia’s closest gubernatorial race in more than 50 years, Stacey Abrams has been on a crusade to ensure voting access to everyone in America. A recognized expert on fair voting and civic engagement, Abrams provides a chilling account of how the right to vote and the principle of democracy have been and continue to be under attack. In her new book, Our Time Is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America, Abrams offers her blueprint to end voter suppression, empower citizens and ensure the most popular candidates win. The book also makes a compelling argument for the importance of robust voter protections, an elevation of identity politics, engagement in the census and a return to moral international leadership. Join us for a discussion with one of the Democratic Party’s most popular leaders as she discusses the path ahead and the work she believes needs to be done to ensure a better America for all.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eric Swalwell has served a lengthy political career in the Bay Area, working as the Alameda County deputy district attorney, as a Dublin city council member and currently as the U.S. representative for California’s 15th congressional district. As a congressional freshman, Rep. Swalwell served on several House committees and was able to get more bills passed in the House and signed into law than any other freshman. Throughout his congressional career, he has taken vocal positions in support of gun control reform, increased funds for education and national tax reform. With this impressive background, Rep. Swalwell gives us an insider look at the events following the foreign interference in the 2016 election and the subsequent impeachment process in his new book, Endgame: Inside the Impeachment of Donald J. Trump. He draws from his time on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Judiciary Committee to fill the gaps in the impeachment timeline—from the executive communications with Ukraine to the Senate hearing following the impeachment. Join us at INFORUM to learn more about Eric Swalwell’s work as a U.S. representative and to gain a unique perspective on the role that he has played in the events leading up to the third presidential impeachment to occur in U.S. history. This conversation will be moderated by NBC Bay Area’s Raj Mathai.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s most urgent problems, from food security to global warming, are fundamentally global. They require nothing less than concerted, planet-wide action if we are to secure a long-term future. But humanity’s story has always been on a global scale. In his new book The Ages of Globalization, Jeffrey D. Sachs, renowned economist and expert on sustainable development, turns to world history to shed light on how we can meet the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. Sachs will take us through a series of seven distinct waves of technological and institutional change, from the original settling of the planet by early modern humans to today’s globalization. The dynamics of these past waves offer a fresh perspective on the ongoing processes taking place in our own time. Sachs emphasizes the need for new methods of international governance and cooperation to prevent conflicts and to achieve economic, social and environmental objectives aligned with sustainable development.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Which country has the best health care? The United States spends more than any other nation—an astonishing $4 trillion a year. Yet for all that expense, the United States lags behind other countries. From Taiwan to Switzerland, Dr. Emanuel profiles 11 of the top health-care systems in the world. He showcases how the most inventive health-care providers are tackling global challenges in pursuit of the best health care in the world. Dr. Emanuel is a preeminent doctor and bioethicist. He is the former chief health policy officer to the Obama administration and architect of the Affordable Care Act.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is higher education’s role in a healthy society, and how are we improving it? And what about questions of costs, benefits, access and opportunity? These and related topics will be the focus of this program with three leading educators at UC Berkeley. The wholesale switch to remote learning triggered by the coronavirus is realigning several education fundamentals, paving the way for future higher education disruption. Learn how higher education is challenging convention in the sea-change, and what the implications for society are likely to be. MLF ORGANIZER Robert Lee Kilpatrick NOTES MLF: Health & Medicine

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The importance of workplace mental health in the United States has steadily gained traction in the last few years. And for good reason. Up to 80 percent of Americans will struggle with a mental health issue during their lifetime. The coronavirus pandemic and the protests following the murder of George Floyd have made addressing mental health at work even more imperative. How are leading companies addressing employee mental health? What programs and initiatives did they have in place before these difficult times and how are they adapting them now? What does supporting mental health at work look like in the context of COVID-19, the national conversation about racism, and the shifting between working from home and returning to physical offices? Will this unprecedented year reduce the stigma at work and normalize what it looks like to struggle with mental health? Learn how to support mental health at work right now and be inspired by the personal stories that have shaped some of our panelists. NOTES This program is part of The Commonwealth Club’s Mental Health Series, dedicated in memory of Nancy Friend Pritzker, with support from the John Pritzker Family Fund

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since the end of the Cold War, the global perception of the United States has progressively morphed from dominant international leader to disorganized entity. Robert Gates, defense secretary under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, asserts that this transformation is the result of the failure of political leaders to understand the complexity of American power, its expansiveness, and its limitations. Sec. Gates makes a clear case that the successful exercise of power is not limited to military action, but should encompass other facets, including diplomacy, economics, strategic communications, intelligence, technology, ideology and cyber. It should also require learning—and abiding by—the lessons of the past, and avoiding the misuse of power. Join Sec. Gates and former Secretary of Defense James Mattis as they discuss the future of U.S. national security.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After an illustrious career and with no formal training, Dominique Crenn was awarded three Michelin Stars in 2018 for her successful restaurant Atelier Crenn. She is the first female chef in the United States to receive this honor, and she credits her unconventional life to her success. At only 20 years old, Dominique Crenn left her home in France for the United States with only one goal—to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a chef. She knew that she was too different for the male-dominated culinary scene she left behind, so she set her sights on San Francisco and chose the legendary Jeremiah Tower as her first mentor. She spent the next 30 years not only disrupting food norms, but also vocally challenging sexism, climate change and systemic injustice. Join Crenn at INFORUM, where she will discuss her new and highly anticipated memoir, Rebel Chef: In Search of What Matters, and hear firsthand about her journey in becoming one of the most important chefs of a generation. NOTES This program is part of our Food Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation This program contains EXPLICIT language.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices