Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Don’t miss this rare chance—right here in the Bay Area—to hear directly from Ukrainian heroes at the forefront of rebuilding their nation while under attack. Go beyond the headlines to truly understand how life in Ukraine changed after the brutal and unrelenting Russian invasion that began almost two years ago. Discover how the whole-of-nation response has unfolded: driving back Russian forces whi...

American institutions of higher education have long been the targets of critical books from the right, arguing they have betrayed their fundamental educational role. Now from the left comes a book that takes the author's own institution, the University of California, Berkeley, to task for what he says is its culpability in some of the cruelest chapters of U.S. history. UC Berkeley, popularly known...

While the United States officially denounces prejudice based on race and gender, it has fostered the growth of another form of prejudice: class and income discrimination. Through state-sponsored government policies, millions of working-class Americans have opportunities blocked by exclusionary "snob zoning," making housing unaffordable, frustrating the goals of the Civil Rights Movement, and locki...

We often talk about a “just transition” from dirty to clean energy as if the term means the same thing to everyone. Indigenous people have seen their resources extracted and exploited to further the wealth of others for centuries. Now renewable energy is looking to expand to Indigenous land. How can renewable energy help Tribes leapfrog the twentieth century technologies that put them at the end o...

On November 8, 1623, just seven years after Shakespeare’s death, his plays were collected and published in what is now known as The First Folio. It is surmised that half his plays might have been lost if the First Folio had not been created when it was, and Humanities West is celebrating not losing that much literary gold with a 400th anniversary program on Shakespeare’s cultural contributions. Ro...

It's the beginning of the season of caucuses and primaries, as we get ready to pick our next president. And that's just one of the many things we'll be tracking all year, starting with this kickoff program. As usual with Week to Week, our panelists will discuss the latest political developments in an informed, civil (and fun) manner. And come early before the program for our social hour for some w...

The Ku Klux Klan rose from the ashes of the Civil War. At its peak in the early 1870s, the Klan had tens of thousands of members, many of them landowners, lawmen, doctors, journalists, and churchmen, as well as future governors and congressmen. The Klan’s mission was to obliterate the democratic power of newly emancipated Black Americans and their white allies, often by the most horrific means ima...

Drawing on her personal journey from economic hardships to financial prosperity, Arlan Hamilton shares her conviction that wealth is not just about affluence, but more important, it's about options. The freedom to chase dreams, take bold leaps, and transform one's life trajectory. Arlan Hamilton has defied the odds, garnering respect and recognition for her entrepreneurial spirit and financial acu...

What we wear defines us in so many ways. But in recent decades we’ve moved away from long-lasting, quality pieces in favor of disposable fast fashion, with major consequences for our climate and environment. From mechanized farming and pesticides to grow fiber crops, to energy for manufacturing and transportation, fossil fuels are embedded in the clothing industry at every step of the process. Com...

In the famous photograph taken of the balcony of Memphis's Lorraine Motel just moments after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., one man is kneeling down beside King, trying to staunch the blood from his fatal head wound with a borrowed towel. That man, Marrell McCollough, was a representative of the Invaders, an activist group that was in talks with King in the days leading up to the mur...

Distinguished political analyst John Judis returns to The Commonwealth Club to share his wake-up call for Democrats, who he feels have lost sight of their core principles, endangering their own political future. For decades, American politics has been plagued by a breakdown between the Democratic and Republican parties, in which victory has inevitably led to defeat and vice versa. Judis says both...

In this presentation, Dr. Bredesen will provide you steps and tools to minimize and prevent Alzheimer's in your own environment.  Did you know that more women get Alzheimer's than breast cancer? Do you know the steps to take to protect yourself and your loved ones? Did you know 65% of adults with Alzheimer's are women and 60% of caregivers are women?   Did you know15+% of women in the US will get...

The climate crisis can feel distant — like it’s someone else’s problem — until your town is flooded, your home is damaged by storms, or you're struggling to pay electricity bills as the summers get hotter. Figuring out the specifics of how a region is vulnerable to climate impacts can be the difference between adaptation or disaster, especially for communities that don’t have a lot of climate or e...

​ Join host Michelle Meow as our panel discusses the contributions women and non-binary filmmakers have made in film, talking with Liz Sargent, Julia Gouw, and Michelle Sugihara of CAPE (the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment). See more  Michelle Meow Show programs at The Commonwealth Club of California. This program is generously supported by Nielsen, Alaska Airlines, Julia S. Gouw and...

From the climate movement’s earliest days, young people have been at the forefront of activism. But the first major international climate conferences took place 30 years ago. The first cohort of youth activists are now adults, some with children of their own. The emotional cost of seeing so little payoff for years spent fighting can be agonizing at any age, but perhaps more so for young people who...

Seattle-based conservative radio host and commentator Jason Rantz is a rising star on the right, making frequent appearances on Fox News and "The Ben Shapiro Show." Join us in-person for his first appearance at The Commonwealth Club, where he'll discuss his claims that left-wing policies and "woke" Democrats are ruining America's biggest cities and threatening to spread that ruin to the rest of th...

Fox News Channel Chief Political Correspondent Bret Baier returns for a Club program exploring the critical role George Washington played in securing the future of the United States. Baier, author of the new biography To Rescue the Constitution: George Washington and the Fragile American Experiment, focuses on Washington's return from retirement to lead the Constitutional Convention and establish...

Just Completed: Global Threat Assessment — U.S. Strategic Posture Commissioners’ Report In October, the U.S. Congressional Strategic Posture Commission released its final report, “America’s Strategic Posture.” The bipartisan group of 12 former officials, appointed by Congress, assessed the international threats facing the United States, reviewing U.S. defense strategy and force structure, includin...

In the wake of Fox News' historic $787 million legal settlement with Dominion, investigative journalist Brian Stelter takes a look at how the conservative channel handles truth and misinformation—and its influence on elections. Stelter, bestselling author of Hoax, an inside look at Fox News, promises an even more revealing take on the channel and how it does business. From panic among its anchors...

Can you imagine if everything you needed in your everyday life was just a walk or bike ride away? That’s the goal of the 15-minute city, a new name for an old idea. Reducing the need for cars cuts emissions and gets autos off of the roads, which is a boon for safety, air quality and the climate. But, as is often the case, good ideas become a lot more difficult when you have to implement them in re...

When historian and California state librarian Kevin Starr passed away in 2017, he left behind a legacy of historiography and storytelling that was unrivaled, including his mammoth California Dream series. Former Governor Jerry Brown said that Starr "chronicled the history of California as no one else. He captured the spirit of our state and brought to life the characters and personalities that mad...

This is a special episode of On shifting Ground is made available from the Club's newly merged sister organization, World Affairs of Northern California. We're thrilled to now offer thousands of podcast episodes on important current events, critical global issues and the inside scoop from thought-leaders located around the world on our three podcast channels. Each of our media departments also dis...

If you have trouble sleeping, you’re not alone: 50–70 million people in the United States struggle with ongoing sleep disorders. What many of us don’t realize is that poor sleep can impact your health in many ways. Insomnia is defined as a lack of sleep and includes common symptoms like trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up frequently. Multiple factors can cause insomnia, yet many p...

Join Rob Mintz, chief curator at the Asian Art Museum, and Laura Allen, the museum's Senior Curator of Japanese Art for an engaging conversation about Murakami's blockbuster exhibition Unfamiliar People: The Swelling of Monsterized Human Ego. The show, four years in the making, takes anime and manga to new heights. This is Takashi Murakami's first solo exhibition in San Francisco. The exhibit is n...

Conceived in the Gilded Age, the Ferry Building opened in 1898 as San Francisco’s portal to the world―the terminus of the transcontinental railway and a showcase of civic ambition. In silent films and World’s Fair postcards, nothing said “San Francisco” more than its soaring clocktower. But as architectural critic John King reminds us, the rise of the automobile and double-deck freeways severed th...