Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

With contrasting backgrounds of peace and war, Peace Corps Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet and Ambassador Karl Eikenberry will engage the audience in a dynamic, informational conversation on the power of relationships in international development. Hessler-Radelet has served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Samoa, executive director to the Special Olympics in The Gambia, and HIV/AIDS advisor in Indonesia, prior to her employment as vice president and director of the Washington, D.C., office for John Snow, Inc. Ambassador Eikenberry is a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general who had commanded and held staff positions in airborne, ranger and mechanized infantry units in the United States, Korea and Europe, before serving two tours of duty in Afghanistan, and his appointment as U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan. Learn from these two leaders how to make swords into plowshares.

“All I know is what’s on the Internet” —Donald Trump to “Meet the Press” as justification for his invalid claim that a protester at a recent Trump campaign event was associated with ISIS From 24-hour news coverage of the 2016 election to Facebook and Twitter newsfeeds, we’re all on information overload. Distortions, errors, lies, misinformation—how do we decide what to believe and act on? Award-winning neuroscientist and New York Times bestselling author Dr. Daniel J. Levitin offers strategies and tools to decipher the flood of (mis)information in his newest book A Field Guide to Lies: Critical Thinking in the Information Age. Join INFORUM to learn how to navigate the web of lies, determine just how valid your politically vocal friends are on Facebook, and find out if the creators of all those pretty pie charts and graphs are “lying weasels,” in the words of Dr. Levitin—just for starters. INFORUM is pleased to partner with Minerva Schools, a new undergraduate institution where Dr. Levitin is currently the dean of social sciences. Students from Minerva will be leading interactive components during and after the talk, so come prepared to get involved!

Nightengale will share insights from his beautifully written book Granada: A Pomegranate in the Hand of God, which describes his family's adventurous, rewarding move to an ancient neighborhood in Granada with its charming lifestyle, beautiful gardens and fascinating history so greatly influenced by Muslim and Jewish immigrants. He will also trace Granada's remarkable past when Christians, Muslims and Jews lived together, in relative harmony during a truly impressive time of important scientific, artistic, poetic and mathematical achievements, until religious fundamentalism and power hunger ended that marvelous period.

With a turbulent presidential election and Brexit on the horizon, a leading conservative voice offers his thoughts on the political and economic climate in the United States and the world. Steve Forbes is chairman of Forbes Media, which publishes Forbes magazine, with a circulation of nearly 1 million readers domestically and 5 million worldwide. In both 1996 and 2000, Mr. Forbes campaigned vigorously for the Republican nomination for the presidency. Key to his platform were a flat tax, medical savings accounts, a new Social Security system for working Americans, parental choice of schools for their children, term limits and a strong national defense. Forbes continues to energetically promote this agenda. Here’s a chance to hear his views on how to make the country stronger and Americans more prosperous.

As the economy has improved across the Bay Area, not everyone has benefitted equally from economic gains and job growth. In fact, many haven’t benefitted at all. While there is seemingly no shortage of high-paying jobs for workers with advanced degrees and a surplus of low wage jobs with little hope for advancement, there simply are not enough jobs that pay a wage that provides safety, security and hope for a better future. In this session, we will bring together leaders from the advocacy community and the business world to talk about what it will take to create good jobs that allow people to make a meaningful contribution to their community and the local economy, and to build a better life for their kids.

The United States is in the midst of a crisis in health care. With the many advances in biomedical technology and pharmacology, fueled by research in academia and industry, we have never been better cared-for and are enjoying longer productive lives. But the growing cost of delivering that care, especially for an aging population, has us in the middle of a battle between the health-care delivery system and third-party payers, including Medicare. Premiums have soared, and coverage has waned to keep the insurers in the black, but Medicare has been badly underfunded for decades. Can physicians and hospitals strike a balance between high-quality care and cost that will ease the strain on our wallets yet still keep us healthy and active? This has been the focus in the joint-replacement realm at Washington Hospital in Fremont for nearly 20 years, and the results have been astounding.

Campbell presents an eye-opening look at the latest research on how our brains conform to the messages we give it: When we optimize those messages, our brains will literally rewire themselves again to create new, positive self-images of who we want to be. This is formally called “neuroplasticity.” Understanding this could open doors to creating more success in our health, personal relationships and in our businesses. It's not magic...it's science! The speaker will share practical knowledge of cutting-edge brain research on creating success, better health, loving relationships and overcoming your fears as well as an understanding of the surprising power of thinking differently when you mess up.

It's a special edition of our political roundtable. We'll gather local experts for commentary on the candidates, referenda and issues of concern to the South Bay, and we'll take a look at statewide and national campaigns. We'll 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, audience discussion of the week’s events, and our live news quiz!

Monday Night Philosophy considers the social ramifications of a democratic society allowing internal spying. In 1967, Ramparts magazine exposed a CIA secret: a decades-old project to enroll American students in the crusade against communism by suborning the National Student Association. Patriotic Betrayal tells a story filled with self-serving rationalizations, layers of duplicity, and bureaucratic double-talk. Author Karen Paget, herself a former member of the NSA, mined hundreds of archival sources and declassified documents, and interviewed more than 150 people, to uncover precisely how the CIA turned the NSA into an intelligence asset during the Cold War. Her answer throws a sharp light on the persistent argument about whether America’s national security interests can be secured by skullduggery and deception.

A decade and a half after the United States and NATO allies invaded Afghanistan and U.S. President George W. Bush declared a "War on Terror," the future of Afghanistan is still being written. Attal, a Fulbright scholar and a bright young activist-educator, will discuss the turbulent situation in Afghanistan, lessons from the War on Terror, and his hopes for the future. After receiving his Masters at San Francisco’s Golden Gate University, Attal returned to Afghanistan committed to helping his struggling homeland achieve labor reform, more gender equality and evasive stability. He is a recipient of the United Nations Youth Courage Award.