Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

For nearly nine years, civil war has raged in Syria. The conflict has created millions of refugees and devastated countless towns and cities. For Sama is a new documentary that tells the story of one woman’s journey through love, motherhood, war and survival during five years of the Syrian conflict. Directed by Emmy award-winning filmmaking duo Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts (Escaping ISIS), the...

Join us for a discussion with experts about PrEP and a new tool designed to identify who might be more at risk of HIV infection. Come for a free midday program, as Michelle Meow brings her long-running 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....

Liana Finck’s deeply insightful and delightfully odd work as a cartoonist and illustrator with The New Yorker has earned her a devoted following who look to her columns and cartoons as a refreshing depiction of collective experiences in today’s world. She is also a social media sensation, with almost 300,000 followers on Instagram who visit her page daily for their dose of comedically dark insight...

From the Amazon to the Congo to California, our planet’s forests are being decimated. And along with them, the stability of our climate. Why? Because trees are among our most effective weapons against carbon emissions. The Amazon alone is responsible for removing five percent of the world’s 40 billion tons of CO2 emissions from the air each year. When forests burn, carbon storage is lost -- along...

Susan Rice, President Obama’s former national security adviser and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, is heralded as one of the most influential foreign policy voices of our time. Having dedicated her career to public service, Rice is now a distinguished visiting research fellow at American University, a senior fellow at Harvard University, a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times...

Is clinging to habits and cravings destroying our future? An outspoken critic of factory farming and animal-centric diets, Jonathan Safran Foer writes that stopping climate change begins with a close look at what we eat — and don’t eat — at home for breakfast. At the office, industry leaders like Google are taking steps toward veggie-forward diets by reducing meat, rather than cutting it out entir...

Segment #3 of 3, 3–3:30 p.m.: Next Generation Connections - Working Together Join a discussion on how our shared history and the unique legacy of Fort Ross State Historic Park can be a platform for cooperation and exchange between Russians and Americans, even amid severe challenges in relations between Washington, D.C. and Moscow. The final panel looks towards the future by bringing four young Rus...

Segment #1 of 3, How our shared history and the unique legacy of Fort Ross State Historic Park is a platform for cooperation and exchange between Russians and Americans, even amid severe challenges in relations between Washington, D.C. and Moscow. Panel 1—1–2:15 p.m. Panelists will discuss the current state of U.S.–Russia relations and assess whether and how enhanced communication, better crisis m...

Segment #2 of 3, 2—2:30–3 p.m.: Russian America and the Native California Collection at the Kunstkamera This panel will explore historic ties between Native California Indians and Russia by sharing images from a rare collection of Native California artifacts collected during the Fort Ross era. Ksenia Vozdigan, leading coordinator of exhibition department at the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropolo...

Robert Kaplan has served as the 13th president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas since September 8, 2015. He also represents the 11th Federal Reserve District on the Federal Open Market Committee in the formulation of U.S. monetary policy. Prior to joining Harvard in 2006, Kaplan was vice chairman of the Goldman Sachs Group Inc., with global responsibility for the firm's investment ban...

Award-winning journalist Lauren Duca is an unmistakable voice in the middle of a chaotic post-Trump political arena, famously penning the viral Teen Vogue op-ed “Donald Trump is Gaslighting America” just after Trump's election. Since the piece’s publication, she’s risen as a fresh voice in the millennial consciousness, often unafraid to challenge anyone who crosses her path … or her Twitter feed....

"Lizz Winstead is a sharp-witted truth-teller"—that was Ms. magazine's judgment of political satirist Lizz Winstead. From creating some of the most groundbreaking media to leading a reproductive rights organization, Winstead has succeeded in changing the media landscape, as well as fearlessly tackling serious political issues, including leading an abortion activist organization. Her record of acco...

The National Security Agency (NSA) is both a member of the Defense Department and an Intelligence Community agency. NSA’s expertise is cryptology—making and breaking codes. The agency’s goal is to discover adversaries' secrets, protect U.S. secrets and outmaneuver adversaries in cyberspace, executing this mission while balancing the privacy rights of the American people. Jonathan Darby has been wi...

Salmon is the keystone species of the Northern Rim. Their annual migrations support hundreds of species including bears, eagles and whales as well as dozens of indigenous groups and local fishing based economies that provide one of the last healthy sources of wild protein for humankind. Wild salmon runs are declining on both sides of the Pacific Rim, triggering multibillion dollar restoration effo...

Peter Georgescu arrived in this country as a penniless Romanian refugee and rose to prominence as the CEO of Young & Rubicam. It’s an American dream success story that could not play out in today’s economic environment—one that is plagued with disappearing jobs, flat wages and a shrinking middle class. In his latest book, Capitalists, Arise!, Georgescu argues that the stark reality of our current...

Stephen Kinzer is the author of nine books, including: The True Flag, The Brothers, Overthrow and All the Shah’s Men. He is also an award-winning foreign correspondent and writes a world affairs column for The Boston Globe. His new book tells the astonishing story of the man who oversaw the CIA’s secret medical experiments of the 1950s and ’60s. Drawing on original interviews, survivors’ testimoni...

In a world where creativity is finally being rewarded, award-winning photographer and visionary entrepreneur Chase Jarvis argues that unleashing your creativity is the first step to rediscovering your personal power in life. Known for his collaborations with major brands such as Apple and Nike, Jarvis is the host of “The Chase Jarvis Live Show,” where he interviews the world’s top creative entrepr...

The landscape of sex, love and romance in New York City has undergone dramatic changes in the 20 years since Candace Bushnell published the iconic Sex and the City, which broke down major barriers in cultural representations of single women and reshaped the landscape of pop culture. Now the trailblazing Bushnell is back to ask the vital question: Is there still sex in the city for women 50+? Join...

From the kitchen to the mercado and on the Internet, Bay Area Latinx innovators are leading an inclusive economy with strategies targeting immigrants to increase access to affordable financial services and provide support for immigrant entrepreneurs who in turn strengthen their communities and add jobs. Learn how they developed their award-winning financial inclusion strategies and how they collab...

Welcome to the first Week to Week political roundtable of the Impeachment Era. It’s been far too long since we gathered together for a discussion of the latest political events. We might have been on vacation, but the politicos have not, so we have a lot to discuss. We will discuss the biggest, most controversial and sometimes the surprising political issues with expert commentary by panelists who...

Nearly half of all Americans are dealing with a new mental stressor: climate anxiety. Whether we get it from the news, the trauma of a natural disaster, or fear of a warming planet, it’s undermining our health and well-being, according to the American Psychological Association. So what’s the solution to preventing stress, fear, and helplessness from taking a toll on your well-being? Can we simulta...

Climate change is turning one of Miami’s poorest neighborhoods into some of the most desirable real estate around. But there’s only so much Little Haiti to go around. And as hurricanes pummel the coast and rising seas lap at Florida’s shoreline, Midwestern cities like Detroit look more and more appealing. Is the Motor City ready for a Sunshine State invasion? Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...

If we build homeless housing, won't that just attract more homeless people? I read an article about this cool thing they're doing in Utah; why don't we do that? What about tiny homes? We know the causes of and solutions to homelessness, but public opinion is based on anecdotes and personal observation rather than facts. This talk will look at some of the most common misconceptions and provide a nu...

How biased are you? According to Jennifer Eberhardt, we live in a world where unconscious bias and innate prejudices affect our visual perception, attention, memory and behavior. These stereotypes can dramatically influence and impact our education, employment, housing and our criminal justice system. Eberhardt has worked extensively as a psychologist and consultant with numerous companies and law...

In Crossfire Hurricane: Inside Donald Trump’s War on the FBI, CNN analyst and former FBI agent Josh Campbell takes his readers behind the scenes of the FBI during the historic investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia. Campbell argues that President Trump’s unprecedented attacks on the FBI undermine the democratic integrity of the bureau and the men and women who work to uphold the la...