Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Neda Toloui-Semnani is the daughter of Iranian revolutionaries, activists, immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers. Her parents left the United States in 1979 to join the revolution in Iran—a decision that changed the course of Neda’s life. She experienced profound personal loss due to her parents’ choices and conflict over whether these decisions that impacted her life were worthy costs of the re...

Women have been sold a mistruth—roll up your sleeves, smash the glass ceiling, and you too can have it all. Critics say the unspoken realities in this agreement are that many women must also do the majority of household work, childcare, and bear the burden of keeping this endless task list running in their minds. However, the inequity in unpaid work isn’t news to anyone. It is well-rooted and wide...

When the Hart-Celler Act passed in 1965, opening up U.S. immigration to non-Europeans, it ushered in a whole new era. But even to the first generation of Asian Americans born in the United States after that milestone, it would have been impossible to imagine that sushi and boba would one day be beloved by millions, that a Korean boy band named BTS would be the biggest musical act in the world, tha...

Our privacy was not first invaded by J. Edgar Hoover. They’ve been listening in for far longer than that. Wiretapping is nearly as old as electronic communications. Telegraph operators intercepted enemy messages during the Civil War. Law enforcement agencies were listening to private telephone calls as early as 1895. Communications firms have assisted government eavesdropping programs since the ea...

The IPCC released its latest report the same day as the U.S. Supreme Court heard the most environmentally significant case in a decade, all while Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has rattled global energy markets. It’s a lot to take in all at once.  Will the disruption of methane gas supplies to Europe give it the extra push it needs to decarbonize, or will some countries always be beholden to untrust...

The distinguished panel of expert participants represent many of the different facets of the chocolate industry. They will discuss where the industry is today and how it can move into the future as a more ecological, labor friendly, and equitable industry. NOTES MLF: International Relations SPEAKERS Bill Guyton Founder and CEO, World Cocoa Foundation; Senior Advisor, Fine Chocolate Industry Associ...

The January 6 attack on Congress as it met to certify Joe Biden's presidential victory is a day that will live on in infamy, yet for Maryland congressman Jamie Raskin, this was just the next in a sequence of tragic events that changed his life forever. Having lost his son to suicide only days before, and days later leading the ensuing impeachment effort against Trump, Rep. Raskin’s 45-day journey...

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, one truth continues to be proven time and time again: the vaccine is saving lives, and to Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla, it was the product of one of the most incredible private sector achievements in history. Mobilizing the corporation amid some of the most strenuous conditions experienced in modern times, he had a front row seat to see the years-long process of...

How much do we know about the apps that we use daily? In the case of PayPal, relatively few know the early story of the now-behemoth. Its precarious origins—coming about in the limitless, tumultuous late 1990s and early 2000s meant it was far from a shoo-in. It faced staunch competition, never-before-seen levels of internet fraud, and internal friction that could’ve ruined its path to success. Now...

It has been 3 million years since there’s been this much CO2 in the atmosphere. Even if we stop all burning of fossil fuels today, humans have already emitted enough CO2 that we’ll continue experiencing extreme weather events for years to come. Not only do we need to stop emitting greenhouse gasses, but according to the IPCC, we also need to accelerate the removal of CO2. With forests burning fast...

Today, most people are familiar with the fascinating world of cryptocurrency, though some of us are more familiar than others. Many people only hear about it in the news and across social media platforms, while some individuals stake their livelihoods on investments in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. According to crypto journalist Laura Shin, the total value of crypto assets today is just shy...

Join us in-person and online for a thought-provoking program with author and activist David Crane, as he walks through the surprising statistics and lesser-known history behind California’s state government and how the public can help to elevate the quality of that government.  California’s state government spends more than $300 billion of state and federal funds every year on public education, he...

For Matthew Shilvock, general director of San Francisco Opera, being a part of last year's reemergence of the Opera onstage at the War Memorial Building, was to "experience the world in hyperreality" and reclaim the magic of nightly "emotional synergy with 3,000 strangers." He will present the newly announced centennial roster; 2022 is "a celebratory season full of bold possibility, of new product...

Today’s economy is painted by headlines as hectic, turbulent and uncertain—reports of massive debt, fluctuating interest rates, and widespread money printing abound. Yet to legendary investor and acclaimed financial innovator Ray Dalio, this is all part of a pattern—one that has been occurring repeatedly throughout the past 500 years of global economic history. Ray Dalio is the founder, co-chief i...

As Russian forces advance into Ukraine from the north, south and east and lay siege to Kyiv and other major cities, join The Commonwealth Club for an in-depth briefing on the current situation and what may happen in the coming days or weeks. What led Russian President Putin to resort to a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and will the Ukrainians be able to hold back the forces arrayed against them?...

Humans must dramatically rein in greenhouse gas emissions in order to slow the planetary warming caused by centuries of fossil fuel combustion. But even if we accomplish that through major reforms to our power supply, food systems, industrial industries and more, we still need to remove huge amounts of carbon already in the atmosphere to stave off the worst impacts of climate disruption. This is n...

Elie Mystal is no stranger to telling people the truth and how it is. As a commentator and lawyer, Mystal is familiar with law and the power that comes with knowing how to use your words in a powerful way. In his first book, Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy’s Guide to the Constitution, he does just that. He offers an easily digestible argument primer, offered so that progressives like him can tell...

Women’s History Month at The Commonwealth Club kicks off early, with an exciting and multifaceted event What is the state of sports in terms of equity and diversity? What are the most relevant accomplishments, challenges and urgent matters to tackle to make sports equal and accessible? Host and LGBTQ leader Michelle Meow will lead a special discussion featuring prominent local sports leaders. Co-p...

Wajahat Ali is an acclaimed journalist and lawyer whose writings cover the intersection of social justice, politics and race. His first book, Go Back to Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American, details his Bay Area upbringing, his early career as a lawyer, and how he become one of the foremost and funniest public intellectuals in America as a middle-aged da...

In January, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Beyer announced his retirement from the high court. This set the stage for the fulfillment of a historic promise President Biden made on the 2020 campaign trail to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court. Please join us for a candid conversation between Black women political and justice leaders as we deep-dive into what led us to this moment, how this...

For years, abortion advocates have raised alarm bells on the risk of abortion rights being taken away. Today, that possibility has arrived. A tidal wave of anti-abortion bills have been introduced in state legislatures across the country and the fate of Roe v. Wade will be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court mid-year. At this pivotal moment, the leaders from Planned Parenthood and NARAL will speak a...

Are we alone? Avi Loeb, Harvard’s top astronomer, doesn’t seem to think so. He believes that our solar system was recently visited by advanced alien technology from a distant star. In 2017, scientists in Hawaii observed an object soaring through the sky, moving too fast along a strange orbit for Loeb to conclude that it was a regular asteroid. Instead, he suggested the object could be a piece of a...

What does racism cost us? Tying together economics and deeply personal stories from across the United States that convey the cost of a broken system, political strategist Heather McGhee roots out the racist policies and politics that she says plague the finances and lives of Americans. In her debut book The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together, she makes her case:...

Fatherhood is far from a one-dimensional experience—often, aspects of our identity such as race and other influential circumstances have influenced how we end up having and raising our children. Shaka Senghor, the New York Times bestselling author of Writing My Wrongs, can attest strongly to this fact: While Senghor's first son was raised during his time in prison, his second was born following hi...

In a 20-year time frame, methane is 80 times more damaging to the climate than carbon dioxide. Nationally, 37% of methane emissions come from cows. 17% of all US methane emissions come from food waste rotting in landfills. More than 100 countries, including the US, signed The Global Methane Pledge, promising to reduce methane emissions by 30% by 2030.  In California, a new law went into effect dir...