Third party candidate, Robert Kennedy, Jr., played an out-sized role in the 2024 presidential election. Trump said Kennedy would have “a big role in health care” if he were re-elected. And on November 14th, Trump announced RFK, Jr. would be nominated to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

More than 75 Nobel laureates have urged the US Senate to deny Kennedy, because they feel he would “put the public’s health in jeopardy.” If confirmed, how could Kennedy disrupt policy at HHS?  

This week, Ray speaks with Stanford’s Keith Humphreys about what RFK’s nomination means. 

Guest:

Keith Humphreys, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University

Host:  

Ray Suarez



If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to Commonwealth Club World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

One issue where President-elect Trump hammered home the differences between his plans and those of Kamala Harris was immigration. For a decade, the public has been increasingly worried about the number of people turning up at the southern border, the number of people seeking asylum in the US, and perhaps more quietly, about the changing face of America.

Ray Suarez spoke with Ted Hesson, immigration reporter for Reuters, about how the Trump administration will handle immigration differently than Joe Biden. Then, he shares what he learned while reporting and writing We Are Home: Becoming American in the 21st Century, with veteran journalist Shereen Marisol Meraji.

Guests: 

Ted Hesson, immigration reporter for Reuters

Shereen Marisol Meraji, assistant professor at UC Berkeley’s School of Journalism

Host:  

Ray Suarez, host, On Shifting Ground

If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to Commonwealth Club World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Donald Trump has successfully defied the political odds for almost a decade – largely because of his unpredictability on the campaign trail. But when it comes to his foreign policy, Trump is anything but unpredictable. If we take him at his word, some analysts believe Trump will inflame economic tensions with China, pull the US out of NATO, and hand Ukraine over to Vladimir Putin.

Ian Bremmer on what to expect from Trump 2.0. Then, Ray Suarez sits down with Luxembourg Peace Prize laureates, Ali Abu Awwad, founding leader of the Taghyeer (Change) Palestinian National Nonviolence movement, and Dr. Gershon Baskin, the Middle East director of the International Communities Organization, to learn why they maintain hope for a peaceful, two-state solution.

Guests:  

Ian Bremmer, president and founder of the Eurasia Group

Ali Abu Awwad, Palestinian peace activist and founder of the Taghyeer (Change) Palestinian National Nonviolence Movement

Gershon Baskin, Israeli peace activist and the Middle East Director of the International Communities Organisation

Host:  

Ray Suarez

If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to Commonwealth Club World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Diversity has often been seen as the United States’ defining strength – but today, some Americans see it as a threat. And this isn’t new. Throughout history, differences of religion, ethnicity, and origin have driven states around the world to war, violence, and extreme division. However, German-American political scientist Yascha Mounk says this isn’t the only path. 

On this week’s episode, we revisit our 2022 conversation with Mounk about his book, “The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart And How They Can Endure."

Two years after our original recording, we wonder whether it's still possible for diverse diverse democracies to succeed in an increasingly polarized political landscape.

Guest:

Yascha Mounk, associate professor at Johns Hopkins University, contributing editor at The Atlantic and author of The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure

Host:

Ray Suarez

If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to Commonwealth Club World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

In 2020, Latinos became the second largest ethnic voting group in the United States, and the fastest-growing segment of the swing states in the 2024 Presidential Election.

The results of Election Day are clear: Donald Trump gained with working class Americans, and particularly Latino men, delivering him a decisive victory.

Ray Suarez speaks with Mike Madrid, author of The Latino Century: How America’s Largest Minority Is Transforming Democracy, on why Democrats have been failing to connect with Latino voters for over a decade. Then, a post-election analysis from Commonwealth Club World Affairs’ “Week to Week” political roundtable.

Guests:  

Mike Madrid, Co-Founder, The Lincoln Project; Author, The Latino Century: How America’s Largest Minority Is Transforming Democracy

Tim Anaya, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Pacific Research Institute

Melissa Caen, Attorney; Political Journalist; Host, "Get Out the Bet"

Joe Garofoli, Senior Political Writer, San Francisco Chronicle; Host, "It's All Political on Fifth and Mission"

Hosts:  

Ray Suarez

John Zipperer, Producer and Host, “Week to Week” Political Roundtable

If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to Commonwealth Club World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

According to Steve Schmidt, if you want to understand how the Democrats failed against Donald Trump in 2024, then you have to go back to Joe Biden not stepping aside earlier.

In a candid, raw conversation, Ray Suarez speaks with Steve Schmidt, co-founder of the Lincoln Project, and host of The Warning, about how Donald Trump built a new multicultural, working class coalition, and why identity politics and big egos cost the Democrats.

Guest:

Steve Schmidt, co-founder of the Lincoln Project, and host of The Warning 

Host:  

Ray Suarez

If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to Commonwealth Club World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Election Day is over, and the results are clear: former president Donald Trump resoundingly defeated vice president Kamala Harris. We don’t have all the data, but a majority of US counties swung towards the Republicans.

How did Trump gain new working class voters? And where does the Democratic Party go from here?

Dante Chinni, director of MSU J-School’s American Communities Project, Rahul Bali, politics reporter at WABE, and Katie Meyer, government editor and reporter at Spotlight PA, breakdown the results.

Guests:

Dante Chinni, data and political journalist and director of the MSU J-School’s American Communities Project

Rahul Bali, politics reporter at WABE

Katie Meyer, government editor and reporter at Spotlight PA

Host:  

Ray Suarez

If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to Commonwealth Club World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

We’ve finally reached November 5th, Election Day in the US, and a majority of Americans remain deeply pessimistic about the state of the nation. Throughout the year, we’ve talked to voters about the issues they care about in 2024, and we share their stories in this election special.

We’ll revisit our conversations with Iowa voter Phil Hemingway, Latorya Beasley, therapist and in vitro fertilization (IVF) patient in Alabama, and Samaya Garza, J.D. Candidate at University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.

Then, Ray Suarez speaks with Justin Grimmer, political science professor and senior fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution, to break down whether we can trust the polls in the final days of the race.

Guests:  

Dante Chinni, data and political journalist and director of the MSU J-School’s American Communities Project

Phil Hemingway, owner, manager and automotive technician at Phil’s Repair, LLC

Latorya Beasley, therapist and in vitro fertilization (IVF) patient in Alabama

Samaya Garza, J.D. Candidate at University of Detroit Mercy School of Law

Justin Grimmer, political science professor and senior fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution

Hosts: 

Ray Suarez

Mateo Schimpf

Elize Manoukian, producer

If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to Commonwealth Club World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

Donald Trump’s anti-establishment message has galvanized tech leaders across the US, including in former Democratic Party stronghold, Silicon Valley. This American Life’s Zoe Chace speaks with our producer, Mateo Schimpf, about what happened when Michigan Republicans took his advice and actually tried to buck the system.

And tech billionaires have had their fingerprints all over the 2024 Presidential Election, but can we trust them? Journalist Kara Swisher joins Ray Suarez to discuss her newest book, “Burn Book,” and the psyche of Silicon Valley’s biggest players.

Guests:  

Zoe Chace, Producer, This American Life

Kara Swisher, author of “Burn Book,” and host of the podcast “On with Kara Swisher”

Hosts:  

Mateo Schimpf



Ray Suarez

If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to Commonwealth Club World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

During the 2024 presidential race, Donald Trump's campaign has been fueled by some surprising supporters… leaders in big tech. According to recent reporting from The New York Times, tech billionaires like Elon Musk have built a “shadow campaign” to put Trump back in office.

WIRED’s Steven Levy joins Ray Suarez to talk about why big dollar donations are causing a big divide in the once deeply blue Silicon Valley.

Guest:

Steven Levy, Journalist and Editor, WIRED

Host:  

Ray Suarez

If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to Commonwealth Club World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.