Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Join us for a discussion of business, investment, technology and turnaround in Africa with Jake Bright, co-author of The Next Africa: An Emerging Continent Becomes a Global Powerhouse. The book won an Axiom Best Business Book award and was recently featured at TEDx. Bright, who also contributes on Africa for TechCrunch, will focus in particular on Sub-Saharan Africa’s emerging technology sector and its growing ties to Silicon Valley. Joining Bright for discussion and Q&A will be MallforAfrica.com CEO Chris Folayan, Uber's Global Lead for International Relations Matt Devlin, and Toro Orero, managing partner for DraperDarkFlow, a Silicon Valley-based Africa focused venture capital firm.

San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer has stated that hiring Bruce Bochy was "probably the best move [Giants management] ever made.” Here’s a chance to get Bruce Bochy’s take on the Giants 2016 season and on his personal side as well. As a Major League manager, Bochy has one of the more stressful jobs imaginable. What does he do to relax? He goes for long walks as a way to clear his head, calm his soul and give his body a workout, all of which is the subject of his new book, A Book of Walks.

The California Book Awards is sponsored by Bank of the West. Join us for one of the Golden State’s premier literary events—the California Book Awards ceremony. The 2016 Book Awards ceremony recognizes the best published writing in California in 2015. This year, the 85th round of the awards, will feature Viet Thanh Nguyen, gold medal winner for fiction for the acclaimed novel The Sympathizer. Two months ago, Nguyen also became the first Vietnamese writer to win the Pulitizer Prize. The Club will also award a gold medal for non-fiction to Los Angeles Times reporter Jill Leovy, author of Ghettoside, a moving study of the high homicide rate among young African-American men. Other medals will be presented for poetry, juvenile literature, Californiana, contributions to publishing and in other fields. Come celebrate the state's best writers—hear from them, meet them, and learn more about their work. And visit with your fellow admirers of fine writing. At the ceremony, a special announcement will also be made about the endowment of the future Book Awards prizes. Enjoy food, wine and a chance to win a complete set of this year's award-winning books in the Book Awards Raffle. See you at the ceremony!

Monday Night Philosophy investigates a revolutionary reconsideration of power. It is taken for granted that power corrupts. This is reinforced culturally by everything from Machiavelli to contemporary politics. But enduring power only comes from empathy and giving, because power is given to us by other people. This is the crux of the power paradox: by fundamentally misunderstanding the behaviors that helped us to gain power in the first place, we set ourselves up to fall from power. We can't retain it because we've never understood it correctly. Dr. Keltner lays out exactly—in 20 original "Power Principles"—how to retain power, why power can be a demonstrably good thing, and the terrible consequences of letting those around us languish in powerlessness.

Jordan, a strong American ally, is one of the most historically and strategically important countries in the Middle East. It is also one of the most welcoming. However, tourists to Jordan were markedly fewer this March when Menczel toured Jordanian archeological sites, including Petra, one of the seven new wonders of the world. She will show images and discuss her enlightening and wonderful experience with Professor Kalaji, who was born and raised in Jordan.

Carbon pollution has recently dropped despite continued growth of the global economy. Supporters of clean energy cheered that news, and say it demonstrates that combatting climate change can be accomplished without massive economic pain. Was the decoupling of economic growth and carbon pollution just because of China’s slowing economy and temporary dip in coal use? What areas of the clean economy are most promising for investors and job-seekers? Nicholas Stern, Chair, Center for Climate Change Economics and Policy, London School of Economics Steve Westly, Founder and Managing Partner, The Westly Group

In the next decade and a half, China and India will become two of the world’s indispensable powers—whether they rise peacefully or not. During that time, Asia will surpass the combined strength of North America and Europe in economic might, population size, and military spending. India and China will have vetoes over many international decisions, from climate change to global trade, human rights, and business standards. From her front row view of this colossal shift, first at the State Department and now as an advisor to American business leaders, Anja Manuel will take us on an intimate tour of the corridors of power in Delhi and Beijing. We wring our hands about China, Manuel writes, while we underestimate India, which will be the most important country outside the West to shape China’s rise. Manuel shows us that a different path is possible: We can bring China and India along as partners rather than alienating one or both, and thus extend our own leadership in the world.

Work-life balance is a constant struggle for parents, but how does it change when you are the president of the United States? Of the 43 men who have served as U.S. president, 38 have biological children and 5 have adopted children. Kendall offers a fascinating look at these First Dads and what their individual parenting style reveals about their personal beliefs and leadership qualities.

About five years after “real” electric vehicles became widely available, about 22 models are on the market and 400,000 cars with plugs cruising American roads. EVs are fast, fun and clean. Some run on electricity only, others run on electricity and then switch to gasoline when the batteries run out. Prices are coming down, driving range is expanding and the prospect of $35,000 pure-electric cars from Chevrolet and Tesla could bring EVs within reach of average families. In addition to being clean and fun, EVs are more suitable for AD (autonomous driving) vehicles than those with combustible engines. Therefore, the rise of EV technology furthers AD technology, and vice versa. It is the making of a very exciting time for innovation and disruption in the car industry.

Oil companies have long used a page from tobacco companies playbook by vigorously denying evidence that using their product as directed causes societal harm. Now the tobacco and oil narratives are getting closer following news stories that ExxonMobil executives for decades suppressed internal reports about the negative impacts of burning fossil fuels. A former U.S. Department of Justice lawyer who won a huge racketeering case against tobacco companies says the federal government should investigate whether oil companies colluded to bury evidence of human-caused climate disruption. It’s easy to blame energy suppliers and that may be the right thing to do. But don’t individuals also share responsibility for driving and flying around knowing that we are emitting climate-killing gases? Aren’t we also culpable? A conversation on how oil might be the new tobacco. Lowell Bergman, Investigative Journalist Stanton Glantz, Director, Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, UCSF Kenneth Kimmell, President, Union of Concerned Scientists William K. Reilly, Senior Advisor, TPG