Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

As any traveler knows, some of the best and most honest conversations take place during car rides. So, when a long-time NPR correspondent wanted to learn more about the real China, he started driving a cab and discovered a country amid seismic political and economic change. China—America's most important competitor—is at a turning point. With economic growth slowing, Chinese people face inequality and uncertainty as their leaders tighten control at home and project power abroad. In his adventurous book The Shanghai Free Taxi, Frank Langfitt provides details about his free taxi service and how he got to know a wide range of colorful, compelling characters representative of the new China. They include folks such as Beer, a slippery salesman who tries to sell Langfitt a used car; Rocky, a farm boy turned Shanghai lawyer; and Chen, who runs an underground Christian church and moves his family to America in search of a better, freer life. Langfitt is currently NPR's London correspondent, covering the UK, Ireland and Europe. He previously spent five years covering China for NPR. In China, he reported on the government's infamous black jails—secret detention centers—as well as his own travails taking China's driver's test, which he failed three times. Before coming to NPR, Langfitt spent five years as a correspondent in Beijing for The Baltimore Sun, covering a swath of Asia, from East Timor to the Khyber Pass. He is a graduate of Princeton and was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard. Come for a fascinating conversation that will help make sense of the world's other superpower at this extraordinary moment in history. In association with the Asia Society of Northern California

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The future for LGBTQ seniors could be quite different from the past. Join us for a discussion about the challenges and new opportunities facing LGBTQ seniors. We'll hear about the latest research into what seniors need to age and thrive at home, even if their health worsens or they experience cognitive changes. Our panelists will also discuss how and why LGBTQ seniors experience health disparities and high levels of isolation, while also under-utilizing existing aging services right here in the Bay Area. ** This Program Contains Explicit Language **

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When President Trump entered office, his administration immediately began rescinding new federal protections for transgender students in public schools. President Trump later announced, via Twitter, a ban on transgender individuals from serving "in any capacity" in the United States Armed Forces. In Trump’s second year, the administration continued to introduce anti-trans policies. They created a new Health and Human Services (HHS) Conscience and Religious Freedom Division, which is expected to offer greater protections for health care workers who do not wish to treat transgender patients. The year ended with a leaked memo, which considered narrowly defining gender as a biological, immutable condition determined by genitalia at birth, the most drastic move yet in a government-wide effort to roll back recognition and protections of transgender people under federal civil rights law. Yet trans Americans and their allies have fought back, defining their resiliency and ability to personally succeed at historic levels. We will highlight and discuss trans policy under the Trump administration. MLF Organizer: Patrick O'Reilly MLF: Psychology

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La Cocina started in San Francisco, one of the nation’s most competitive food industries, as a grassroots organization in the Mission District. It has grown into the best-known kitchen incubator in the United States. La Cocina provides support and resources to help women, people of color and immigrants formalize and expand their food businesses to create a more diverse and equitable food industry. Caleb Zigas, executive director of La Cocina, built the original infrastructure of the incubator program. This program now supports nearly 40 growing businesses and continues to break down barriers and strengthen communities. For the first time, get a glimpse of this life-changing work with We Are La Cocina, a new cookbook that offers over 40 stories of women pursuing economic freedom and includes over 120 of their recipes, bringing a taste of that success into your own home. Join Zigas and La Cocina graduates live at INFORUM as they share inspiring stories featured in the cookbook and reflect on their journeys to entrepreneurial success as they progress toward increasing diversity and equity in the food industry.

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Representative Eric Swalwell, an East Bay Democrat and fixture in Bay Area politics, launched his presidential campaign on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” in April 2019. Swalwell’s long-awaited announcement is another marker of the generational shift emerging in the 2020 election, and he is sure that millennials are ready to take on the country’s toughest issues. Swalwell was first elected to Congress at the age of 31 after winning an upset primary contest against a 40-year Democratic incumbent. Now 38, he is one of the youngest candidates in the presidential race and, if elected, would be the youngest president in American history. He is a vocal advocate for stricter gun policies and student debt reform, two issues that have earned him national recognition. Swalwell joins INFORUM to chronicle his rise in Congress, discuss his highly anticipated campaign and urge Americans to “go big, be bold, and do good.”

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In the context of the catastrophic Syrian refugee crises, Niveen Rizkalla will discuss her work with refugees struggling with PTSD and how secondary traumatization affects aid workers. Rizkalla, a post doctorate fellow at UC Berkeley’s Mack Center for Mental Health and Social Conflict, has an impressive record of scholarship, research and volunteerism. A Palestinian Israeli, she earned her doctorate at the school of social work at Tel Aviv University and has worked professionally and as a volunteer with survivors of trauma, war and sexual violence. In honor of World Refugee Day on June 20, join us for a program that recognizes the plight of refugees and their aid workers. MLF Organizer: Celia Menczel MLF: Middle East

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This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. The United States experiences the highest number of school shootings in the world. Shannon Watts decided to do something about it. In the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Watts, a mother of five and former communications executive, started Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, an organization that advocates for gun regulation reform. Moms Demand Action has grown into one of the largest and most far-reaching organizations in American politics with a grassroots network in all 50 states and millions of supporters. Under Watts’ leadership, Moms Demand Action has enjoyed a 93 percent success rate in beating the NRA in state legislatures. In her forthcoming book, Fight Like a Mother: How a Grassroots Movement Took on the Gun Lobby, Watts recounts how she and other mothers turned their outrage into action to drive progress in gun safety. The book celebrates the unique strength and power of women and highlights the potential for everyone to engage in everyday activism. In addition to her work with Moms Demand Action, Watts is the founder and board chair of Rise to Run, an organization dedicated to mobilizing young progressive women to run for office, and an active board member of Emerge America. Join Watts live at INFORUM as she shares her inspiring journey of how one woman’s cry for change became a driving force in a national demand for action. Notes This program was generously supported by Levi Strauss & Co.

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The Distinguished Citizen Award recognizes those who exemplify the ideals and values that have guided The Commonwealth Club for over a century and whose professional and humanitarian contributions and accomplishments are worthy of admiration. The Gala is the Club's most important annual fundraiser and provides valuable support for the Club's dynamic non-partisan programming. The event cocktail hour and award ceremony will take place in the breathtaking San Francisco Ferry Building nearby. After a quick stroll down the street, the evening will continue with an intimate dinner on each level of The Commonwealth Club’s state-of-the-art new building. Guests on each floor will dine in the company of an honoree and enjoy an engaging civic dialogue featuring the honoree in conversation with a fellow thought-leader. To more easily locate each of the honorees, you may scroll through the audio to these locations; 00.35 Madeleine Albright 21.00 John Hope Bryant 51.10 Suzanne DiBianca 65.33 William and Susan Oberndorf

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This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. As fashion designer, Tan France said, “Yes, I know I’m gayer; yes, I know I’ve got a different skin color. Yes, I know I’m a certain religion. Yes, I know I’m an immigrant. But look at all the similarities we have.” France is more than a star of the hit Netflix reboot, “Queer Eye”—he is an unapologetic representative of his many, often marginalized identities, and he leverages his unique ability to connect with others in spite of their differences. As one of the Fab Five, performing makeovers for a diverse array of people, France has played a vital role in transforming the perception of “Queer Eye” from a niche fashion show into an authentic exploration of identity and difference, and it continues to captivate viewers across the country and around the world. In his new memoir, Naturally Tan, France recounts his experience growing up gay in a traditional South Asian Muslim family in South Yorkshire. Alongside fashion advice and humor, he connects his unusual childhood to his rise to stardom and ability to connect across the divide. Experience the style icon’s charisma and compassion as he reflects on the importance of representation and the power of connection. Notes This program is generously supported by Academy SF !! THIS PROGRAM CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE - MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES !!

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The Department of Defense is the single largest institution in America, managing the most complex information network, carrying out more research and development than Google, Apple and Microsoft combined, owning and operating more real estate and spending more money than any other entity. As such, it has incredible power and immense responsibility. There is no better person to explain the inner workings of such a place than the man who ran it all. In his new book, Inside the Five-Sided Box: Lessons from a Lifetime of Leadership in the Pentagon, former U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter gives us an inside look into all that happens in one of the most secretive and secure locations in the nation—the obstacles it faces and the innovation taking place there. Unlike many of his colleagues in the Department of Defense, Carter was not always a career bureaucrat. His straightforward explanations of American foreign policy, and the ways in which the private sector and public sector can work together towards greater peace and security, reflect a refreshingly moderate perspective in such a highly-politicized era. Join us for a conversation with America’s 25th secretary of defense about what really goes on inside that mysterious five-sided box, and how people are learning to think outside it.

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