When individuals want to take action on climate, it’s often in the form of electrifying a home, voting, or maybe even traditional activism. Those are very important, but we often overlook how individual skills and talents can also make a difference. 

This week we’re highlighting creative forms of climate action. Pattie Gonia is a drag queen, environmentalist and advocate for inclusivity and diversity in the outdoors who struts their message through national parks, in Pride events, and through the halls of Congress. Mike Roberts and Will Hammond Jr. wrote a sultry R&B song that will change the way you think about heat pumps… and an equally stimulating song about the power of geothermal energy. Together, they remind us that we don’t always have to take ourselves too seriously in order for our work to be meaningful and have impact.

This episode originally aired on February 7, 2025.

Guests:

Pattie Gonia, Drag queen; Environmentalist

Mike Roberts, Musician; Climate advocate

Will Hammond Jr., Educator; Musician

Pattie Gonia image credits Mitchell Overton and Maxwell Poth.

On July 31, Climate One is hosting Premal Shah and Kinari Webb for a live episode recording! With years of experience navigating the global climate movement, the two are sure to offer unparalleled insights during their conversation with Co-Host Greg Dalton. Tickets for the show, which will be held at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, are available now through our website.

Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today.

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“When I die, how will I be measured?”

For Stanley McChrystal, the answer could be obvious. As a retired four-star general, McChrystal might be measured by his stars (four), commands held, wars fought, or awards and medals received (numerous).

But when McChrystal looked back on his life and his current status, he focused on the importance of character, a topic he explores in his new book aptly titled On Character: Choices that Define a Life. Character is, he says, the key to living with purpose and integrity. He says character isn’t something you are born with, nor do you automatically accrue it through education, position, or experience. Instead, he says it is the result of a succession of choices, sometimes mundane ones, sometimes hugely important ones, that together reveal our capacity for virtue.

At a time when virtue and character are sometimes hard to identify in leaders, come hear McChrystal in his return to Commonwealth Club World Affairs for a rallying cry to become our best selves—as individual people and as Americans.

Note: This Podcast Contains Explicit Language.

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Join us for a conversation with author and new media artist Scott Snibbe. Snibbe will introduce us to the history of his pioneering use of new technology and his exploration of traditional art forms. His artwork has been featured in leading institutions, from MoMA, SFMOMA, and The Whitney Museum of American Art to London’s Institute of Contemporary Art, Tokyo’s Intercommunications Center, and beyond.

Snibbe has collaborated with renowned artists and creators throughout his career, including multiplatinum recording artist Björk on the groundbreaking “app album” Biophilia, filmmaker James Cameron, musician Beck, and composer Philip Glass. He is the author of How to Train A Happy Mind, featuring a forward written by the Dalai Lama.

In his latest work, Snibbe draws from centuries-old Tibetan thangka painting techniques he studied in Nepal, which inspired him to explore the intersections of digital media and ancient craftsmanship. At the confluence of technology, traditional painting, and interactive design, Snibbe creates participatory experiences that push the boundaries of contemporary art and invite audiences to engage with it in new and unexpected ways.

A Technology & Society Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums.

OrganizerGerald Anthony Harris 

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Since she started Moms Demand Action in 2012 following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Shannon Watts has drawn thousands of women from the sidelines and gotten them involved, helping them realize the power they had. Now she brings that approach to helping people more broadly stand up and achieve their potential.

Whether it’s launching your dream business, leaving a bad relationship, or standing up for yourself at the office, Watts has an approach to “identify, light, and feed the fire inside you.” She explores that in her new book Fired Up, and she returns to the Commonwealth Club World Affairs stage to share her inspiration with women everywhere. She says it will not only transform your life, but it can transform the world.

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Matt LaBrot was the Tesla sales manager who got so fed up with how Elon Musk’s public persona affected the brand that he published a website called “Tesla Employees Against Elon.” He was subsequently fired, allegedly for "using company resources to build a website that did not align with the company’s perspective."

For our pod audience, we’re dropping this extended version of Greg Dalton’s conversation with Matt LaBrot. A portion of this interview aired in our episode “Is The EV Transition Stuck in Neutral?” on June 27th.

Guest:

Matthew LaBrot, Former Tesla sales employee

On July 31, Climate One is hosting Premal Shah and Kinari Webb for a live episode recording! With years of experience navigating the global climate movement, the two are sure to offer unparalleled insights during their conversation with Co-Host Greg Dalton. Tickets for the show, which will be held at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, are available now through our website.

Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today.

For show notes and related links, visit our website.

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The prevailing scientific view of the fundamental nature of homosexuality has undergone a significant evolution in the last several decades. Where once the scientific and medical establishment maintained an unqualified belief that homosexuality was a form of psychological deviance, today a solid majority of psychiatrists and psychologists themselves believe that biological factors (genes, brain, prenatal chemistry) also play an important role. 

Dr. Dean Hamer’s research for the first time examined at a molecular level how our sexual identities are rooted in our biology. He has gone on to study the role that biology plays in our faith. In his works and books, Dr. Hamer reveals that inclination toward religious faith is in part due to our genes and may even offer an evolutionary advantage by reducing stress, preventing disease, and extending life. We will discuss these and other works that bring in the role of culture, such as transgender identities in Polynesia.

Dean Hamer is an American geneticist, author, and filmmaker and the among the first scientists to demonstrate a linkage between genes and sexual orientation. He is known for his research on the role of genetics in sexual orientation and for a series of popular books and films that have changed scientific and public understandings of human sexuality and gender. He was the chief of the Gene Structure and Regulation Section at the U.S. National Cancer Institute; upon retirement in 2011 he was designated scientist emeritus. Hamer has won numerous awards, including the Trinity College Thompson History Prize, Maryland Distinguished Young Scientist Award, Ariens Kappers Award for Neurobiology, New York Times book-of-the year author, and an Emmy Award.

An Asia-Pacific Affairs Member-led Forum program. Forums and chapters at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums.

OrganizerKalidip Choudhury 

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In 2024, BloombergNEF predicted electric vehicles would make up nearly half of U.S. new car sales by 2030. Now, they’ve revised their projection down to less than 30%, just one year later. 

In a time when we need to be speeding up the energy transition, EV sales in the U.S. are stagnating. Sales of Teslas, once the king of electric vehicles, are collapsing. What’s behind the slowing demand? And with China’s growing electric car industry growing, how much should we worry? 

Guests:

Camila Domonoske, Correspondent, NPR Business Desk 

Dan Bowerson, Vice President, Energy and Environment Policy, Alliance for Automotive Innovation

Matthew LaBrot, Former Tesla sales employee

Mike Murphy, CEO, EV Politics Project

For show notes and related links, visit our website.

On July 31, Climate One is hosting Premal Shah and Kinari Webb for a live episode recording! With years of experience navigating the global climate movement, the two are sure to offer unparalleled insights during their conversation with Co-Host Greg Dalton. Tickets for the show, which will be held at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, are available now through our website.

Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today.

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Since Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office in late January, he has let loose with a flurry of executive orders, purges of government workers, takeovers of semi-independent organizations, and defunding of numerous organizations and causes. The administration has faced setbacks in courts, with judges challenging and contradicting its actions. But what happens if Trump openly defies a judge? What happens if he ignores a Supreme Court ruling? Join us for a timely conversation on Trump and the judiciary with Jeff Bleich, former U.S. ambassador and advisor to President Barack Obama and a visiting scholar at Stanford, and David Chiu, city attorney of San Francisco.

Bleich argues that Trump could be following the path blazed by autocrats Vladimir Putin and Victor Orban by seeking to strip courts of powers and then purge the judiciary. The result, unprecedented in the United States, would be an executive branch untethered to the rule of law.

For his part, San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu has made headlines for his legal challenges to some of President Trump’s executive orders and other actions. Chiu’s office has been involved with several successful lawsuits against the administration, including cases challenging the firing of tens of thousands of federal workers and cutting of funding for homelessness over DEI issues.

How will judges respond? What can Congress do? What can you do? Find out when Jeff Bleich and David Chiu joins us for a very important program

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Democracy is more than a single moment at the ballot box—it’s a continuous, dynamic process shaped by the collective actions of engaged individuals. "Reclaiming Civic Power" is a program designed to inspire and equip participants with the tools to stay civically active, especially in the critical periods between elections. This program emphasizes that while legislative agendas are one pathway to change, there are numerous other pathways—grassroots organizations, advocacy campaigns, cultural movements, and community-led initiatives—that hold immense power in shaping our political future.

The program will delve into essential questions for anyone seeking to make a difference: What does meaningful engagement look like after an election? How do we continue working toward our goals, even when we disagree with those in power? Through thought-provoking conversations and practical strategies, audience members will gain insight into how young people are driving change through organizing, coalition building, and challenging the status quo.

This is a call to action for individuals of all generations to reclaim their role in shaping democracy. Together, we will uncover strategies for sustaining motivation, reclaiming civic power, and shaping a political landscape that reflects our collective values. No matter your experiences, "Reclaiming Civic Power" will motivate and empower you to stay engaged in shaping a brighter, more inclusive future. We look forward to welcoming community members and students from around the Bay Area to participate in this riveting conversation and to join us for future programs.

This event is part of the Creating Citizens Speaker Series at UC Berkeley, a partnership between Commonwealth Club World Affairs and the Associated Students of the University of California Vote Coalition; it is proudly co-sponsored by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies, Institute of International Studies, and Mario Savio Social Justice Program.

The Creating Citizens Speaker Series gives UC Berkeley students, faculty, and community members opportunities to listen to and ask questions of leading minds in politics, media, and education as they learn how to become better, more involved citizens. We look forward to welcoming community members and students from around the Bay Area to participate in this riveting conversation and to join us for future programs in the series.

This program is part of The Commonwealth Club’s civics education initiative, Creating Citizens.

Produced in partnership with UC Berkeley Mario Savio Social Justice Program, UC Berkeley Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, and UC Berkeley Vote Coalition.

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Summer is here, temperatures are rising — and so are electric bills. That also means many people are facing a severely overlooked issue: power shutoffs. In 2024, over 600,000 households in the United States had their power shut off due to an inability to pay. When that happens, people cannot turn on their lights, keep food refrigerated, or cool down the home. And regulations preventing shutoffs during extreme heat events are woefully inadequate. 

But when utilities help pay the upfront costs of efficiency upgrades, the customers and utilities can both save energy — and money. How do we protect the most vulnerable populations from the dangers of home power shutoffs?

Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today.

For show notes and related links, visit our website.

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