Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

What are the implications of a few massive firms controlling global industry? Tim Wu endeavors to answer this question by linking together big business, inequality and political extremism in his latest book, The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age. Wu argues the failure to curb excessive corporate power has led to greater tolerance of inequality and may even engender extreme populism, nationalism and fascism. Wu’s argument concludes that excessive corporate power poses a great threat to the health of American democracy, just as giant trusts did during the Gilded Age. Wu asserts that we must thus learn from the progressive policies of the past to overcome the consequences of extreme inequality today. Join us and learn from Wu as he discusses the problem of modern massive firms and what America can learn from its past. Notes: This program was generously supported by Jackson Square Partners Foundation

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This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. From the start of his career, former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has always been an unconventional businessman. With health insurance and free college tuition for part-time baristas to controversial initiatives about race and refugees, Schultz and his team challenge old notions about the role of business in society. In his new book, From the Ground Up, Schultz tackles some of America’s most important and divisive issues. Schultz introduces a cross-section of Americans transforming common struggles into shared successes. He discusses inspirational stories about lost youth finding first jobs, post-9/11 warriors replacing lost limbs with indomitable spirit, former coal miners and opioid addicts paving fresh paths, entrepreneurs jump-starting dreams, and better angels emerging from all corners of the country. Come hear an inspiring conversation with one of America’s most successful businessmen. Bring your questions. ** This Podcast Contains Explicit Content **

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Featuring the lively art and wit of the ever popular activist Gary Snyder and Peter Goin, this program is a conversation, reading and slideshow. It will be followed by a book signing of Dooby Lane: Also Known as Guru Road, A Testament inscribed in Stone Tablets by DeWayne Williams. This their latest collaboration. MLF ORGANIZER NAME Anne W. Smith NOTES MLF: Arts

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Just ten years ago, an entire state running on 100% renewable electricity seemed fanciful. But this dreamy vision became reality when, with the backing of big utilities, California committed to 100% use of zero-carbon electricity by 2045. A statewide pledge to go carbon-neutral by 2045 raised the stakes even higher. So what will it take for California to achieve such a feat? Will Governor Gavin Newsom embrace climate initiatives started by former Governor Jerry Brown? Join us for a discussion of California’s surprise gambit to take the world’s fifth largest economy to net zero.

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This event is the latest in the San Francisco Foundation’s series on People, Place and Power. Every night, more than 130,000 people go to sleep homeless in California. An estimated 25,000 of them are in the San Francisco Bay Area: sleeping on couches, in cars or sometimes in tents on the sidewalk. At this point, people from coast to coast know that the Bay Area is in the midst of a housing crisis. But what is the city doing to address the affordable housing and homelessness crisis? Come hear from some of the Bay Area’s leading experts on issues surrounding homelessness. From working on the service and legal sides to fighting for policy changes to having experienced homelessness themselves, our speakers will discuss the state of the crisis, how we got here and where we’re headed next. This program is generously supported by the San Francisco Foundation's Bay Area Leads Fund.

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Join INFORUM for our annual Valentine’s Day event and party, with a multifaceted conversation about love. Guests include Daniel Jones, editor of The New York Times’ famous “Modern Love” column; Dr. Jess Carbino, sociologist for Bumble, the dating, friendship and networking app; and Myisha Battle, a certified sex and dating coach and host of the sex-positive podcast "Down for Whatever." Expect a discussion of love, sex, culture, the complex subjects we navigate in relationships and more. Come early and stay afterwards for drinks, snacks, activities and a chance to keep the conversation flowing. Thanks to Fort Point Beer and Rudd Wines for their support. Notes: In collaboration with The New York Times ** This Podcast Contains Explicit Content **

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Join us as Michelle Meow brings her long-running daily radio show to The Commonwealth Club one day each week. Meet fascinating—and often controversial—people discussing important issues of interest to the LGBTQ community, and have your questions ready. Our in-studio guest this week: Jane Kim Jane Kim was a former supervisor for San Francisco's District 6, representing South of Market, Mission Bay, the Tenderloin, Civic Center, Treasure Island and Yerba Buena Island. She is the first Korean-American elected official in San Francisco and the first Asian-American candidate to win a non-historically Asian district in the city. See more upcoming Michelle Meow Shows at The Commonwealth Club here.

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Don't let shyness prevent you from meeting your Valentine! In today's world of apps and texting, the delightful, seductive art of flirtation has been lost—so much the better for those who know its secrets. And who better to teach us than Rich Gosse? Gosse is the chairperson of the world's largest nonprofit singles organization, author of nine books on dating, guest on hundreds of TV shows (including “Oprah,” CNN, and “The Today Show”), and organizer of thousands of singles parties. Gosse will share three techniques for meeting anyone at any time and at any place. Equally important, we'll learn how to feel attractive without resorting to liquid courage, and how to handle rejection without feeling discouraged. There will also be a flirting contest with prizes, where Gosse will crown Mr. and Ms. San Francisco Flirt. Compete for the title or just sit back and enjoy the fun. (The winner of Gosse’s first San Francisco flirting contest so impressed Oprah that she flew Ms. San Francisco Flirt to Chicago to be on her talk show.) So stop hugging the wall, a drink or the person you don't want. Come get advice from Gosse, and become the man or woman everyone wants to meet. MLF ORGANIZER NAME Eric Siegel NOTES MLF: Personal Growth

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If you had told Bay Area technology investor Roger McNamee even three years ago that he would soon be devoting himself to stopping Facebook from destroying our democracy, he would have howled with laughter. He had mentored many tech leaders in his illustrious career, but few things had made him prouder, or had been better for his own bottom line, than helping Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of the world's largest social network. Still a large shareholder in Zuckerberg's creation, McNamee had every good reason to stay on the sidelines as the dark side of Facebook came to light. But he couldn't stay quiet. McNamee's new book, Zucked, is about the outspoken investor's efforts to come to terms with the serious damage Facebook was doing to our society. McNamee set out to try to change the massive social network and other tech companies that use design tools to addict and manipulate its users. With the election of Donald Trump, and the emergence of one horrific piece of news after another about the malign ends to which the Facebook platform has been put, McNamee has dedicated his energies to have people understand the threat of Facebook and other social networks. He will discuss what we can do to hold the companies responsible and to protect our public health and political order. Please join us for this important and timely discussion with one of Silicon Valley's most important and outspoken leaders.

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Michael Suarez is the director of the Rare Book School at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. A renowned historian, author and worldwide leader of rare book scholarship interests, he co-edited The Oxford Companion to the Book. Suarez will provide us with a compelling, richly illustrated description about how a group of printers were instrumental in making the antislavery movement happen in England. Their broadside engraving with an image diagramming human cargo on the Brookes, a slave ship, became a force for political change in the worldwide abolitionist movement. MLF Organizer: Anne W. Smith Notes: MLF: Arts

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