Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

It's never a dull moment in politics these days, and we'll 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!

Voting in America has never been easy, and Jason Kander has made it his personal and political mission to change that. Recently, Kander launched Let America Vote, a political organization dedicated to leading the fight for voting rights. Specifically, Let America Vote focuses on combating state and national laws that it believes are intended to disproportionately disenfranchise people based on their race, ethnicity, gender, age or income. The organization ensures that there are political consequences for elected officials who defend prohibitive voting laws. Kander was elected Missouri secretary of state in 2012 at the age of 31, making him the first millennial in the nation to be elected to statewide office. He became interested in public service after he returned from a tour of duty as an Army intelligence officer in Afghanistan and recognized the need for more resources for America’s veterans and their families. After serving in the Missouri House and narrowly losing his 2016 bid for U.S. Senate in Missouri in the state’s most expensive Senate race in history, he gained traction on the national political stage as a promising up-and-comer for the Democratic Party. Kander will be in conversation with California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, a rising star in California’s political scene, who previously served in the California State Senate and who was the youngest person and the first Latino elected president of Los Angeles City Council. During his tenure as secretary of state, Padilla has expanded access to voter registration for California’s 16-, 17-year-olds and is currently working to improve California’s voter tools and technology. Join INFORUM, Kander and Secretary Padilla for a conversation about the vital role of civic engagement in our democracy and the need to ensure that all eligible citizens are able to exercise their constitutional right to cast their ballot.

All health-care systems must strike a delicate balance between cost, quality and access. Though Obamacare focused largely on increasing access to coverage and spreading the cost of illness across the entire population, Trumpcare tips the balance largely in favor of reducing federal spending, at the risk of destabilizing insurance markets and increasing costs for older and sicker individuals. What would it take to create a health-care system that would provide future generations with accessible, affordable care? Can this be done while also covering the sick and the underserved? Join the conversation with a panel of government, policy and legal experts.

A decade after AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH brought climate change into the heart of popular culture, comes the riveting and rousing follow-up that shows just how close we are to a real energy revolution. Former Vice President Al Gore continues his tireless fight traveling around the world training an army of climate champions and influencing international climate policy. Cameras follow him behind the scenes – in moments both private and public, funny and poignant – as he pursues the inspirational idea that while the stakes have never been higher, the perils of climate change can be overcome with human ingenuity and passion. Join us for a rare conversation with Vice President Al Gore and the directors, Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk, about the path forward and their new film AN INCONVENIENT SEQUEL: TRUTH TO POWER. #BeInconvenient Twitter: @AITruthFilm Facebook: @AnInconvenientTruth Instagram: @AnInconvenientTruth

Contemporary democratic politics faces exorbitant stakes on a broad range of issues: from existential threats such as global climate change, pandemic disease and growing dangers to human health from toxic pollutants; through major social issues like the erosion of wages and standards of living, increasing inequality and stalled social mobility, a scarcity of jobs that deliver security and dignity, and the ever-more frayed social safety-net; to on-going security and humanitarian challenges (North Korea, South Sudan, Russia, Syria, refugee crises, cyber-crime and cyber–warfare, etc.). Yet in a season of toxic elections, democratic politics seems no match for these stakes and instead have grown increasingly fractious and dysfunctional. In these circumstances, many people argue that it is imperative that we redouble our efforts to determine why American democracy has become so deeply disfigured. In this lecture, we will consider two central themes: the concomitant rise in inequality in American society and a decline of responsiveness in American national government to all but the most affluent; and the threat posed by an increasingly fractured and toxic informational ecosystem to the very idea of public opinion. Focusing on these twin threats to democratic accountability and self-rule allows us to situate current events in a deeper analytic perspective informed by recent work in economics, sociology, media studies and political philosophy.

On Monday, August 21, 2017, an eclipse of the sun will be visible throughout the U.S. and all of North America. People in a narrow path from Oregon to South Carolina will see a spectacular total eclipse, the first in the continental U.S. in 38 years. The moon will briefly cover the sun completely, and day will turn into night. Everyone else (an estimated 500 million people, including those in the Bay Area) will see a partial eclipse, where the moon covers a good portion of the sun. Special glasses or viewing techniques are needed to look at the sun safely during a partial eclipse. (Sunglasses are not enough.) Astronomer Andrew Fraknoi will describe how eclipses work, why they are one of nature’s most spectacular sights, exactly when and where the eclipse of 2017 will be visible, and how to observe the eclipse of the sun safely. He’ll also cover historic discoveries made during eclipses, citizen science projects planned for the 2017 eclipse, and concerns about gridlock and lack of public services in the eclipse’s path. Fraknoi is co-leader of a project that will distribute 2 million eclipse glasses (and eclipse information) through public libraries in the U.S. Fraknoi serves on the 2017 Eclipse Task Force of the American Astronomical Society and has been training teachers and librarians to act as guides for the public as the August eclipse approaches. The International Astronomical Union has named Asteroid 4859 after Fraknoi in honor of his contributions to the public understanding of science. Following his retirement from Foothill College this summer, he will teach noncredit courses for adults at San Francisco State and the University of San Francisco. He is also the co-author of a new children’s book about eclipses, When the Sun Goes Dark.

Subhi Nahas, founder and board chair of Spectra Project and a Syrian refugee who gained asylum in the U.S. in 2015, will describe his experiences as a refugee as well as his efforts to help others and advocate for minorities of different sexual orientations and genders in the Middle East and North Africa. While many organizations assist refugees worldwide, only one organization supports the extremely vulnerable group of refugees from the Middle East and North Africa regions who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender and who remain in countries of transit, unsure of when and if they will be resettled. Nahas has been recognized by the California State Assembly, testified at the first United Nations assembly on LGBTQ rights and has received numerous prestigious awards.

The majority of Americans agree climate disruption is a major concern. The Paris Climate Agreement has been ratified by 61 countries and counting, which so far represents 47.81 percent of the world’s emissions. So we all agree, climate change is the biggest problem humankind has ever faced? Not so fast. Here in the United States, denial and confusion about the science is rampant, and we may be the only developed nation where it is written into a major political party’s platform. Climate scientist Michael Mann and Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Tom Toles take a satirical look at how this lack of consensus came to be. Cristine Russell is a veteran science journalist with deep knowledge about conveying complex scientific issues to a broad public. How deep does climate doubt run, and how can communication help us move on to solutions? Join us for a fun and informative look at manufactured doubt and genuine skepticism.

With single-payer health care being debated in Sacramento while the repeal of the Affordable Care Act winds its way through Congress, California is setting itself apart from the rest on the nation. What will this new California model look like, and how will it lift up the underserved populations who need the most care? Is a single-payer system viable for the Golden State? Join us for a discussion on an important and timely issue that affects everyone in all corners of California

Santa Clara will soon become the first U.S. county to have each of its 15 cities designated “age friendly” by the World Health Organization (WHO). But what does that mean? You're invited to meet Dr. James Goodwin, a global leader in aging. He will be in the Bay Area from the United Kingdom, attending the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG) Summit. Goodwin will describe the age-friendly global movement, the new thinking about aging and health, and why the age-friendly concept is an indispensable part of that picture. Goodwin will also reveal how Santa Clara County became one of the nation’s leaders in the age-friendly movement. Together with Alex Kalache of the WHO and Margaret Gillis of the Public Health Agency of Canada, Goodwin was at the forefront in establishing the age-friendly movement. He also knows John Beard, current age-friendly leader and the director of the aging and life course department at the WHO. Goodwin will tell the rarely heard story of how and why the age-friendly movement was created.