Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

President Donald Trump is giving plum jobs to Republicans who deny or downplay the risks of climate disruption. That's a big shift from the time of President George W. Bush, when U.S. Senators John McCain and Lindsay Graham pursued climate-fixing legislation. Bob Inglis, a former Republican representative and executive director of RepublicEn, says Republicans should not doubt or deny the science. Rather, they should defend it because their party has the best solutions, ones based on markets and not mandates. He will be joined by John Hofmeister, former president of Shell Oil Company, and Jeremy Carl, a research fellow from the Hoover Institute at Stanford for a vibrant discussion about the tensions and challenges between climate science, America's energy needs and the Republican party in the coming years.

Climate change has an immediate, disproportionate effect on our youth, present and future generations. As with the civil rights movement, young people are turning to courts and regulatory bodies to require governments to implement plans to phase out pollution in line with science. The question is this: Do present and future generations have a constitutional right to be protected from invasive and destructive environmental harm, danger and damage?

Explore the social advantages of diversity. Crossing the Thinnest Line argues passionately and persuasively for the possibility, power, purpose and payoff of embracing difference. Already 89 percent of the world’s educated population is either female or minority. In less than a generation, the United States will become minority majority. The world economy is global and interconnected, and Leader-Chivee says that embracing diversity has never been more imperative. With compelling data and powerful, personal stories, Leader-Chivee looks at challenges and solutions to immigration, education, business, media and politics and inspires Americans to rise to the challenge.

Are you ready to take charge of your career and financial destiny? Let Sallie Krawcheck show you how to harness your potential and fearlessly go after your goals. Sallie Krawcheck has been called the most powerful woman on Wall Street, and she’s opening up her years of experience to create a playbook for women’s professional success in Own It: The Power of Women at Work—one that incorporates women’s strengths, allows for non-traditional career paths, and shapes women’s power to advance themselves creatively and courageously. Sallie once held senior positions at Smith Barney, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management and Citigroup. Now, she runs Ellevest, a digital platform focused on redefining investment tools, resources and strategies for women. "[Ellevest] isn’t ‘for women,’ ‘pink it and shrink it,’ ‘make it smaller,'” Sallie shared in a recent interview, reminding us that women often have different salary arcs, live longer on average, and often make decisions such as taking a few years off from career to raise children—all key components in investment strategies. Sallie’s wide range of experiences—from reaching the top rung in the “boys’ club” of Wall Street to launching Ellevest—mean there are myriad stories, skills, and sage pieces of advice, and we can’t wait to hear from her. Spend an evening walking in Sallie’s high-powered heels with INFORUM, and get inspired to own your future.

Campbell presents an eye-opening look at the latest research on how our feelings do not come from what has happened to us, or past events in our lives, or the relationships we have. They come from our beliefs about what has happened to us, and the beliefs about those events, and our beliefs about those relationships. When you change those beliefs, your feelings follow. When this was posited back in 1962 in one of the first books on cognitive psychology, A Guide to Rational Living, it changed psychology forever. It argued that we can affect how we feel about ourselves, and about our lives and loved ones by changing our beliefs. Campbell shows how.

Black Lives Matter. Immigrant rights. Climate justice. Are demands for change leading to lasting change? Are we rewriting the rules, or just arguing about them? How do movements—their leaders and their members — successfully build power and spur lasting change? What can we learn from leaders of recent efforts and from history? At a time of great disruption, join us as we continue The San Francisco Foundation’s series People, Place and Power with a discussion with Movement Leaders on Building Power and Voice.

Whether you’re a millionaire-in-the-making or just trying to check off your to-do list every single day, you’re always on the hunt for how to do your best, but where do you even start? Enter Tim Ferris of Four-Hour Work Week, and his latest book Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers. Just for you, Tim picked the brains of 200+ of the most creative, successful leaders from around the world to help you do better every day, including Brene Brown, Malcolm Gladwell, Jamie Foxx, Reid Hoffman, and dozens of others. He asked them actionable questions (What does the first hour of their day look like? What do their workout routines look like and why? What are the biggest time wastes they avoid?) so that you can apply their philosophies to your own life. To quote Tim, who tried many of these tactics himself, “The lessons have made me millions of dollars and saved me years of wasted effort and frustration.” Come hear from Tim at INFORUM, and who knows—maybe you’ll end up featured in his next book!

In 2006, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger launched California's attack on climate change by signing a pioneering law to reduce carbon pollution across the state’s economy. That law, known as AB 32, has put California at the forefront of the global move to protect the climate that supports our economy and lifestyles. More recently, California’s energy utility announced plans to close the state's last remaining nuclear power plant. But will such a move reduce or increase carbon pollution? On today’s program we explore the future of oil and nuclear power through the lens of California’s fight against climate disruption.

SC Moatti, in conversation with Geoff Moore, will address leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators about mobile technology and what it means for human nature and what we value as people. She makes the case for an all-encompassing formula that allows businesses to develop simple strategies to create successful mobile products. SC will discuss her three mobile rules about body, mind and spirit to showcase what mobile excellence looks like. Moatti has served as an executive at mobile pioneers such as Facebook, Trulia and Nokia. She launched and monetized mobile products that are now used by billions of people and have received prestigious awards, including an Emmy nomination. Moatti is highly regarded in the tech industry, and has been called “a genius at making mobile products people love” by Andrew Chen, a top executive at Uber. Geoffrey Moore is a best-selling author, speaker, and advisor who splits his consulting time between start-up companies in the Mohr Davidow Ventures portfolio and established high-tech enterprises, most recently including Salesforce, Microsoft, Intel, Box, Aruba, Cognizant, and Rackspace.

We've got a new administration in the White House, a new Congress in the Capitol, and new down-ballot officeholders across the country, not to mention the impact of a raft of state and local propositions here in California. So join us for our political roundtable as we explore 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, and audience discussion of the week’s events.