Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Authors Mark Kurlansky and Anna Lappé are two of the country’s most prolific and influential authors writing about feeding a crowded planet with a destabilized climate. Lappé’s work ranges from her Diet For a Hot Planet to work on factory farms and innovation in the food industry. Kurlansky has written best-selling histories of cod and salt and a new one on milk. His upcoming book is the story of salmon. Kurlansky and Lappé will share stories about the love of food, the fascinating people who produce it for us and how climate change is impacting virtually every corner of the global food system.

For fifteen years, California Governors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown charted a steady bi-partisan course as climate leaders. Their combined legacies include reduced carbon emissions, a clean energy economy and forward-thinking electric transportation. During that time, the effects of climate disruption -- rising seas, shrinking aquifers, wildfires and drought - have become increasingly clear. Greg Dalton sits down with three of the leading gubernatorial candidates to ask them how they plan to take on California’s biggest environmental challenge.

What's the future hold for San Francisco? Height and density? How much higher can San Francisco go on landfill and 49 miles surrounded by density? Neighborhoods have become parking lots for local transit and commuter parking. Affordable homes for residents, families and children are hard to find. The San Francisco skyline is filled with new sky high buildings of condos, apartments, renters, businesses and multinational money makers — all large buildings with little space for outdoor recreation, schools and playgrounds. Do two California bills, SB 827 and SB35, interact and preclude public health and environmental protections and limit the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)? Join the conversation and share your views about the present and future of San Francisco. MLF Organizer Name Ann Clark Notes MLF: Environment & Natural Resources

Join Rukmini Callimachi, New York Times journalist, as she recounts her months-long experience as it unfolded in “Caliphate,” her audio series from the producers of “The Daily.” San Francisco-based New York Times cybersecurity correspondent Sheera Frenkel will moderate a discussion with Callimachi and reporter Andy Mills, who joined her on one trip to Iraq, where they were embedded with troops, slept on the roofs of abandoned buildings, and searched for and uncovered invaluable ISIS documents. They will be joined by expert Mohammed M. Hafez, a specialist in Islamist movements and political violence, who chairs the National Security Affairs Department of the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.

Oceans are a sonic symphony. Sound is essential to the survival and prosperity of marine life. But manmade ocean noise is threatening this fragile world. The Emmy Award-winning documentary Sonic Sea is about protecting life in our waters from the destructive effects of oceanic noise pollution and the devastating impact of industrial and military noise on whales and other marine life. Join us for this fascinating journey below the sea and what we need to do to protect our oceans. MLF ORGANIZER NAME Ann Clark NOTES MLF: Environment & Natural Resources

What really happened at the Munich 1972 Olympic Games, in which the assassination of 11 Israeli athletes overshadowed much of the athletic competitions? Learn new facts about the many surprising and tragic events of that summer through a discussion of the remarkable life of Eddie Hart, world record holder in the 100-meter dash, who was favored to win a gold medal at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, but was disqualified when his sprint coach was given the wrong time for a qualifying heat. Ten years of training and sacrifice, gone in a heartbeat. Hart recovered to win a gold medal in the sprint relay. He returned to Munich 42 years later and, through interviews with the people who played a large role in the events of that summer, he now sheds light on the games and their impact worldwide. Hart grew up in Pittsburg, California, before becoming an NCAA and Olympic Trials 100-meter champion while attending the University of California. After graduating from Berkeley, he earned a master’s degree at Cal State Hayward. Then, while teaching and coaching at the collegiate level, Hart created a personal foundation that continues to raise money for charitable causes. Menlo Park native Newhouse served in the Air Force before earning a journalism degree at San Jose State. An award-winning sportswriter and columnist serving mainly at the Oakland Tribune over a half-century career, he also was a radio sports talk show host at KNBR. Disqualified is Newhouse’s 12th book, with two more to be published later this year. MLF ORGANIZER NAME Linda J. Calhoun NOTES MLF: International Relations

Decoupling economic growth from carbon emissions will require new technologies to get the job done. Some of that innovation will come from established corporations, but much of it will come from creative entrepreneurs building new products and fresh ways to power our economy. Some of those inventions are cool. Others have less sex appeal but could put a big dent in carbon emissions that are driving global weirding. Can clean-tech startups get funding in an era of fossil fuel revival? How do US clean-tech startups stack up against new ventures in China and other countries? Is the US losing its edge in innovation? A discussion about clean-tech startups and how they are going to help save the world.

Fed up with our dysfunctional U.S. health-care system, many Californians are calling for a state government-run health plan for all residents. Senate Bill 562, which passed in the state senate last year, puts a single-payer plan on the table. Candidates for governor—as well as clinicians, advocates and voters—are split. Everyone wants access to quality care at lower costs, but is single payer (or “Medicare for all”) the answer? Supporters point out that nearly every other developed country has some form of single payer, and all cover more citizens at lower cost than the U.S. Skeptics say that single payer would be too expensive and disruptive, as several other states have found. Can California afford single-payer health care? Can the state afford not to have it? Dr. Paul Song, co-chair of the group behind SB562, and Micah Weinberg, who heads a think tank focused on economic and policy issues facing the Bay Area, will debate the pros and cons of SB562 specifically and single-payer health care generally.

Machines have forever altered the way we operate and interact in society. The application of these precise tools have allowed us to innovate and mass produce throughout history, from the Industrial Revolution to the age of the internet. British journalist and celebrated author of Krakatoa and The Professor and the Madman Simon Winchester visits the Club to talk about these landmark inventions—and the minds behind them. In his newest book, The Perfectionists, Winchester argues that precision is the component most crucial to the advancement of history. Join us as Winchester journeys through time and introduces the minds and methods that have changed the modern world. NOTES Co-hosted by The Mechanics’ Institute

For as long as the young state of Israel has existed, it has played a prominent role in the Middle East and as a strong ally of the United States. However, Israel's internal conflicts seem to largely define the modern dialogue of the state. Ehud Barak, 10th prime minister of Israel and the most decorated soldier in the nation’s history, discusses this conflict and more in his new book, My Country, My Life: Fighting for Israel, Searching for Peace. Barak travels back through the history of the state and his experience within it, providing an inside look at the work that has been done and the urgency with which more work must follow. Join us for an important discussion with Prime Minister Ehud Barak about his remarkable life as commander of Israel's elite special forces, army chief of staff, and ultimately, prime minister. He’ll also discuss the future of Israel and why he believes a two-state solution is vital to the nation’s continuing success. NOTES This is a Good Lit event, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation