Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

The comedy news quiz “Wait Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me!” is the most popular show on public radio. But it wasn’t always that way. The program didn’t take off until Doug Berman (who also produced the NPR hit “Car Talk”) took a chance on a playwright named Peter Sagal to serve as host. Ever since, the show has drawn enthusiastic audiences both on radio and in person, at its Chicago home and on the road...

Have you been curious about Club trips and want to know more? Join us for a presentation and discussion with past travelers and staff about the unique opportunities for learning, dialogue, friendship and adventure on our trips. What is different about Club trips, and what does it mean to travel with a group of Club members? We’ll answer these and other frequently asked questions. Learn more about...

Discover the lives and legacies of Italy's Renaissance women as well as those of several unheralded Italian women who inspired Botticelli, Raphael and Michelangelo and some of the greatest art of all time. Carla Gambescia will revitalize your amore with Italy and its remarkable art treasures and cultural gifts. Learn about Artemisia Gentileschi and Isabella d’Este, whose lives and accomplishments...

Our distinguished panel will discuss the United Religions Initiative (URI), which was begun by Bishop William Swing in 1993 after he was invited by the United Nations (UN) to hold a large interfaith service to mark the UN’s 50th anniversary. The URI envisions a world at peace sustained by a global grassroots interfaith network (known as cooperation circles) that cultivates peace and justice by eng...

Charles Schwab is one of the world’s most influential financial executives, with, as of 2019, nearly $3.6 trillion worth of assets managed by the eponymous Charles Schwab and Co. He founded the brokerage firm in 1971 with a $100,000 loan and has since grown it into a financial service juggernaut. Schwab’s memoir, Invested: Changing Forever the Way Americans Invest, lays out his passion to change t...

The rise of social media has led to an increased appetite for new and more intimate ways of storytelling. The New York Times' column “Modern Love" has documented this movement, publishing over 700 personal narratives over the past 15 years about relationships of all kinds. As editor of the column, Daniel Jones reads over 100 submissions a day that range from euphoric exclamations of love to harrow...

The food you eat and the choices you make impact your health and, according to the science of epigenetics, becomes interwoven with the genes you pass on to your children. Thanks to the discovery of epigenetics, we now know that the experiences of your ancestors are at work to influence your health and well-being. Everything from chronic diseases and trauma to how you age and sleep is determined by...

James Poniewozik joined The New York Times in 2015 after spending 16 years as a Time magazine columnist and television and media critic. At The Times, he has written about television as a reflection of changing culture and politics. In his new book, Poniewozik says that television has not only entertained us, but, with the election of Donald Trump, it has conquered America. Poniewozik argues that...

As events, social media and media coverage bring the world closer together, professionals at all career levels (public sector, nonprofit and for-profit) are interested in international career opportunities to make the world a better place. Come to this event to learn more. MLF ORGANIZER NAME Ian McCuaig NOTES MLF: International Relations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoic...

Michelle Malkin is a nationally recognized syndicated columnist who made her name through sharp humor to become an unapologetic conservative voice in America’s political discourse. A popular Fox News Channel contributor, Malkin has more than 2 million Twitter followers. Adding to her collection of four no. 1 best sellers, Malkin’s new book, Open Borders, Inc., is her exposé about what happens at A...

Join us for a conversation with a leading trans artistic couple—Shawna Virago and Sean Dorsey—about their lives as transgender activists and successful performing artists. Shawna Virago is a singer and songwriter who is known for her striking lyric-based songs. She was one of the country's first openly transgender women to perform and tour nationally. She is also the artistic director of the San F...

From Carrie Bradshaw’s newspaper dress to her iconic Manolo Blahniks, the popular Instagram sensation Every Outfit on Sex and the City’s mission is to document every single pump, dress and accessory that became a quintessential part of the hit TV show. The account is a not-so-ironic take on the series, as it blends equal parts adoration and nostalgia for the 90s classic while offering up a hilario...

Now available on Netflix, Nancy Schwartzman’s new film, Roll Red Roll, goes behind the headlines to look at the aftermath of the assault of a teenage girl by members of the beloved high school football team in a small Ohio town. It is a searing look at the deep-rooted "boys will be boys" culture of so much high school sexual assault in America. Join us for a discussion with Schwartzman about her f...

The American political discourse is constantly calibrating its interpretation of what it means to be American. Coming from an undocumented family herself, writer Aarti Shahani has spent her life navigating the shifting tides of anti-immigrant sentiment in the United States. Her book Here We Are: American Dreams, American Nightmares documents Shahani and her father’s disparate versions of the immig...

Witches in various guises have been with us for centuries, and they are notorious shape-shifters. In both spiritual culture and pop culture, they've changed from diabolical villains to empowered heroines as women and femmes have sought more autonomy in their own lives. In celebration of her spellbinding book Waking the Witch: Reflections on Women, Magic, and Power, Pam Grossman will delve into why...

Prescription drug costs keep escalating with no cap in sight. Is it the drug companies that are marking up the prices, or is something else driving these high costs? The increase has been astronomical and affects patients’ ability to pay for drugs and take them as prescribed. This creates a dangerous situation for the patient. Come learn about pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), an industry secret t...

Author, editor-in-chief of Heated, and former New York Times columnist Mark Bittman talks about what it means for food to be “good,” how to know it’s good, buy it and cook it. He guides us to think deeply about the food system and how it can be improved. Bittman is celebrating the 20th anniversary of his generation-defining cookbook How to Cook Everything, the definitive guide to simple home cooki...

Gaspar de Portolá’s discovery of San Francisco Bay on November 4, 1769, was Spain’s most significant discovery in North America during the 18th century. It prompted a new strategy on how it would use its mission system to colonize Alta California. The historical ramifications of these plans have had an impact down to the present day. For the native people, who had successfully managed the Californ...

Monday Night Philosophy remembers the complexities of Columbus Day by investigating the various cultures of the Bay Area's indigenous peoples. Richard Schwartz has searched for, found and recorded hundreds of Native American sites in the Bay Area. The difficult and complex interactions among the different indigenous cultures living in the Bay Area multiplied dramatically with the arrival of the Sp...

In Proof!, Amir Alexander argues that Euclidean geometry has been uniquely responsible for how modern societies are structured. Geometry has shaped how our cities are built and has even been used as a rationale to explain political structures, because the proofs in Euclid’s Elements are not just true but are provable by reason alone. Alexander tracks the rediscovery of Euclidean geometry in 15th c...

In this Ninth Annual Lundberg Institute Lecture, Kenneth Kizer will provide an overview of the state of health care quality in the United States after taking a historical look at improvement strategies over the past 4,000 years. He will especially focus on the forces and strategies driving health care quality improvement in the past 20 years following several landmark events in the late 1990s. Des...

Is it possible to venture beyond our everyday lives and experience heightened states of awareness? Deepak Chopra, a world-renowned advocate for alternative medicine and personal transformation, answers yes. Chopra believes that higher consciousness is available here and now. In his new book, Metahuman: Unleashing Your Infinite Potential, Chopra explains his secrets to moving beyond our physical li...

The jury is out on whether our legal system is equipped to deal with climate change. While some parts of the country are inundated by floods, others are resisting the growth of oil and gas infrastructure — and both are running into the law. Do youth have a constitutional right to a clean environment? At what point should disaster preparedness become disaster law? Does water have legal rights? A di...

There are more women earning college degrees and participating in the workforce than ever before. Even still, women spend far more time on unpaid labor than men. Eve Rodsky, author of the new book Fair Play: A Game-Changing Solution for When You Have Too Much to Do (and More Life to Live), seeks to address this universal imbalance. Rodsky began her journey to address this inequality after reaching...

How do we cope with the inevitability of death? How can we make better decisions for ourselves and our families? B.J. Miller and Shoshana Berger offer step-by-step instructions on managing the end of life, including how to navigate a complex system of hidden costs and intense emotions without shame and guilt often associated with this period of life. Miller is an assistant clinical professor of me...