Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Remember Mandy Len Catron’s viral New York Times Modern Love column: “To Fall in Love with Anyone, Do This”? In the column, she and an acquaintance followed a less than scientific version of a psychology study comprised of answering 36 increasingly personal questions. The experiment ended with the two staring silently into each other’s eyes for four minutes. Mandy and her partner went on to actually fall in love. After reading her column, millions of people became invested in the future of her relationship. Now, in her new book, How to Fall in Love with Anyone, Catron explores the romantic myths we create and talks frankly about how they limit our ability to achieve and sustain intimacy. Whether you’re dating and dubious about love or deep in a relationship, Catron’s mix of history, science, theory and personal experience will make you question the unwritten scripts we follow in love and relationships. Catron will be in conversation with Moira Weigel, author of Labor of Love: The Invention of Dating, a fellow academic and writer entranced by the complexity of love. Originally from Appalachian Virginia, Catron is a writer living and working in Vancouver, British Columbia. She writes about love at The Love Story Project. She also teaches English and creative writing at the University of British Columbia.

Richard Schwartz captures the life of M.B. Curtis, an incredibly influential immigrant actor of the late 19th century. It is a story of immigration, assimilation, the theater and the invisible wings of comedy. It is about how one play became the way a nation examined its feelings and attitudes towards immigrants and gave audiences a chance to walk in shoes they would never have worn. Curtis was the Jewish Jackie Robinson of the stage—the first Jewish male actor who was allowed to portray a Jewish male on stage in America. His talent, creativity, fame, suffering, perseverance, dreaming and overnight rise to stardom linked him intimately with the Statue of Liberty, Mark Twain, New York, San Francisco, murder and the greatest African-American entertainment troupe of its time.

How did an award-winning comedian defy the odds and get elected to public office? Hear more about Senator Al Franken’s journey as he shares behind-the-scenes moments of his foray into politics and working in Washington, D.C. Senator Franken has represented the state of Minnesota since 2009. He serves on several committees, including the Judiciary; Energy and Natural Resources; Indian Affairs; and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Before entering the political scene, Senator Franken was a popular “Saturday Night Live” writer and featured player, comedian, and radio talk show host

Local, state, and national politics is in the news like never before. 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!

Monday Night Philosophy goes beyond ping-pong diplomacy and delves deep into the foreign policy role baseball played in US–Japan relations before and after World War II. Dennis Snelling reviews the roles played by Horace Wilson, Mike Fisher and Lefty O'Doul in making baseball popular in Japan. Horace Wilson, a Civil War veteran who had settled in San Francisco, taught English (and baseball) in Japan in the 1870s. Mike Fisher, a San Francisco entrepreneur, organized the first tour of Japan by professional ballplayers in 1908. Lefty O'Doul, a San Francisco native, played in Japan in 1931 and then brought Babe Ruth and others with him in 1934, where he helped found the Tokyo Giants. After the war, General MacArthur arranged for O'Doul to bring a baseball team over to help repair relations, which he successfully did in many ways on and off the field.

Are genetically modified food advocates the new "flat-earthers"? Are their opponents the new climate deniers? As with many issues these days, the two sides are working from different sets of facts. Monsanto, the agrochemical company, and other supporters of foods that include genetically modified organisms (GMOs) say using GMOs can promote more nutritious crops, improve farmer livelihood, foster drought tolerance and flood resilience, reduce chemical pesticide use, and end hunger. Food advocates say those claims are false. They note that GMO foods promote industrial monoculture, concentrate corporate power in a few hands and drive the use of glyphosate, which has been labeled a carcinogen by the World Health Organization’s cancer agency and is now the subject of a class action lawsuit in California. Both critics and supporters were displeased by a law passed last year requiring the future labeling of GMO foods.

Join us for a conversation about facts, science and the truth about eating and labeling GMO foods.

The charity connects teens to the resources they need, showcasing local bands in a way that helps teens learn about depression and its risk factors.

Learn about this unique Bay Area opera company.

President Trump’s bold dismissal of climate change as a legitimate concern is energizing a new generation of teenage activists. Some are marching in the streets. Others are taking the federal and state governments to court, attempting to apply an ancient legal doctrine to the climate fight. It’s a longshot move that has been inching its way through U.S. courts for years and is now moving forward in Oregon.

Digital natives are known for short attention spans and thinking that being a “clicktivist” qualifies as civic engagement. Do teenagers have a chance to be heard and make an impact on an issue so complex and massive as the world’s energy system? How are young advocates using social media to advance their cause? Join us for a conversation about kids confronting powerful institutions and finding their own power and voices.

High school students who attend this event are eligible to apply for Climate One’s $12,000 Students on Ice scholarship. Greg Dalton created Climate One after traveling to the Arctic, and to pay it forward we now send a Bay Area high school student to the Arctic every year. The winning student joins 40 other youths on an ocean voyage from Canada to Greenland, where they learn about science and indigenous cultures. More information about this amazing journey will be given at the event, which students must attend in order to apply. Here’s a video of last year’s Climate One Arctic scholars.

Where is health care in the U.S. headed under the Trump administration? What do recent changes mean, and how will they affect consumers? Where should we be heading and why? Now that the American Health Care Act (AHCA) has passed in the House, health care reform remains a hotter topic than ever. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) has proposed turning Medicare into a voucher program and funding Medicaid through block grants to states. Congress continues to discuss eliminating the individual mandate and providing more flexibility in terms of which benefits insurers must offer. Conservatives claim these changes would provide greater choice to consumers and more value to the federal budget, while progressives argue that these changes would reduce access to care and worsen health outcomes. We’ll hear from two former senior officials on the ongoing efforts to repeal or repair the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Andy Slavitt recently stepped down as acting administrator for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services under President Barack Obama. Gail Wilensky held the same post under President George H.W. Bush. Both experts continue to speak out from differing perspectives on Medicare and Medicaid as well as broader reform issues. Join us for a spirited discussion on the problems and prospects of U.S. health care.