Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Across the globe, democracies are sliding further and further toward authoritarianism. Public confidence in democratic institutions, such as the judiciary and the press, is eroding. According to experts Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, democracy no longer ends with a bang—in a revolution or military coup—but with a whimper: the slow, steady weakening of critical institutions and long-standing political ideals. This decline of democracy, at home and abroad, is both worrying and preventable. Drawing on decades of research and a wide range of historical examples, from 1930s Europe to contemporary Hungary, Turkey and Venezuela to the American South during Jim Crow, Ziblatt shows how democracies die—and how ours can be saved.

According to conservative journalist Jonah Goldberg, American liberty is under threat like never before. More and more often we are hearing about liberty being on the decline or—even more frightening—that it is dying. As authoritarianism and nationalism are revitalized across the globe, tribalism and identity politics have come to dominate political discourse at home. But why is this happening? And who is at fault for the weakening of Western political values? Goldberg lauds the idea that liberal democratic capitalism has been built into the American constitution, but he argues we are breaking down that radical success on both sides of the aisle. Join a provocative conversation on how we may be killing our own democracy and how a leading conservative voice sees a way out though a return to the ideals that Goldberg explains once built our modern civilization.

Join us for a nonpartisan San Francisco mayoral candidate forum as the city decides who will occupy it's highest office. This event included eight of the leading contenders in the upcoming 2018 Mayoral election. The candidates address a wide range of important policy areas – homelessness, cannabis, traffic, affordable housing, gentrification and more — moderated by Melissa Caen of CBS Bay Area. San Franciscans, participate in your city's future - do you part and register to vote before the May 21, 2018 deadline.

YouSolar has designed a stand-alone solar+battery system that works in areas with unreliable grids or no grid at all. The system is high-power and can replace diesel generators widely used in these situations. The system is plug-and-play and so fast to assemble that it can go from box to power in one hour, making it useful for disaster relief. YouSolar's initial markets are India and Indonesia where a considerable amount of electric power is generated by dirty, noisy and expensive home diesel generators. Join us for a conversation with Leitner on what YouSolar is doing to improve global access to solar and battery power systems. MLF ORGANIZER NAME Ann Clark NOTES MLF: Environment & Natural Resources

As 1909 dawned, the greatest jewels of exploration — set at the world’s frozen extremes — lay unclaimed: the North and South Poles and the “Third Pole” of altitude, located in the Himalaya. Before the calendar turned, three expeditions had faced death, mutiny and the harshest conditions on the planet and had each planted their flags of triumph. America's Robert Peary and Matthew Henson, Britain’s Ernest Shackleton and Australia's Douglas Mawson and Italy’s Duke of the Abruzzi simultaneously raced their expeditions to the top, bottom, and heights of the world. Based on extensive archival and on-the-ground research, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Ed Larson also draws upon his own voyages to the Himalaya, the Arctic and the ice sheets of the Antarctic, where he himself reached the South Pole and lived in Shackleton’s Cape Royds hut. MLF ORGANIZER NAME George Hammond NOTES Part of the Good Lit Series, underwritten by The Bernard Osher Foundation

Last April, our distinguished panel discussed how the Trump presidency might affect the Middle East. Since then, some critics have said that Trump has gutted our diplomatic corps, supported tyrants and is destabilizing the region. Others have said that Trump is more realistic about the region than his predecessors, is defeating ISIS and making America safer. One year later, our panel of Middle East experts will continue the conversation. MLF ORGANIZER NAME Celia Menczel NOTES MLF: Middle East

Climate change isn’t just an environmental problem – it’s also a health hazard. Air pollution and changing weather patterns give rise to heat-related illnesses, asthma and allergic disorders. Disasters like Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Irma leave hospitals scrambling to save patients without power and resources. According to the Centers for Disease Control, insect-borne diseases have tripled in the United States in recent years – and warmer weather is largely to blame.

Every startup, corporation and nonprofit began as an idea. But ideas can’t become a reality without successful execution. According to renowned venture capitalist John Doerr, the success of any organization hinges on understanding and mastering OKRs—Objectives and Key Results. Doerr demonstrates how companies and organizations like Google, Intel and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have achieved success by embracing OKRs, a framework that fosters focus, alignment, transparency and accountability for employees at all levels. Doerr discovered the value of OKRs when he was an engineer at Intel working under Andy Grove. Since then he has helped entrepreneurs and startups become the “next big thing” in mobile and social networks, e-commerce, greentech and education. His investments and ventures have created more than 425,000 jobs worldwide.

The 2017 hurricane season was one of the worst in recent memory and cost the United States $265 billion. To make matters worse, several other disasters, such as monsoon flooding, catastrophic mudslides and earthquakes, occurred at the same time. This put a strain on the capacity of global health care. MedShare CEO Charles Redding will talk about the challenging aspects of multiple disaster logistics. In particular, he will discuss how MedShare has built a global capacity to meet the needs of local communities. According to Redding, MedShare’s connections to health-care systems support this approach around the world. MLF ORGANIZER NAME Bill Grant NOTES MLF: Health & Medicine

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. Join our panelists for informative and engaging commentary on political and other major news, audience discussion of the week’s events, and our live news quiz! And come early before the program to meet other smart and engaged individuals and discuss the news over complimentary snacks and wine at our members social (open to all attendees).