Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Recent Brain Research on the Rejuvenating Power of Sleep May 07, 2022

Show notes

Join us to discuss the most recent brain research confirming the indispensable value of the "downstate" (sleep)—the key to cellular rejuvenation—and how to use the downstate to maximize your physical and mental vitality. Most people are worn down by the daily grind, but the body is designed to alleviate its effects. Brain research continues to accumulate ever more detail about why the downstate is so indispensable to our mental and physical health.

Mednick's Sleep and Cognition Lab studies the role sleep plays in forming our long-term memories, regulating our emotions, keeping our cardiovascular system functioning properly, and helping older adults stay alert and more agile. The downstate is an integral part of all the physiological, cognitive and emotional processes that allow us to stay as strong as possible. So why do we often ignore it during our stressful, nonstop lives, when respecting the downstate would mean a longer, healthier life?

Mednick's answer encompasses all the most up-to-date findings from autonomic, sleep, circadian rhythms, exercise physiology, and nutrition research. She won't tell you to stop working so hard. The sweet smell of ambition in the morning is not the enemy. Rather, she explains how we can handle any reasonable amount of stress as long as we replenish ourselves on a daily basis—and so indefinitely delay burning out.

MLF ORGANIZER

George Hammond

SPEAKERS

Sara Mednick

Professor of Psychology, University of California, Irvine; Director, Sleep and Cognition Lab; Author, The Power of the Downstate: Recharge Your Life Using Your Body's Own Restorative Systems

In Conversation with George Hammond

Author, Conversations With Socrates

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on April 26th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

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Week to Week Political Roundtable: May 2, 2022 May 06, 2022

Show notes

The Week to Week Political Roundtable and Social Hour is 10 years old! Kick off your May with our latest political discussion at the Club.

Come early and enjoy our member social with some wine and light bites, and mingle with other interested and interesting people. Then join us in the auditorium as our panel discusses the latest political news with insight, civility, and a healthy dash of humor. We'll wrap it all up with our Week to Week News Quiz.

SPEAKERS

Marisa Lagos

Correspondent for California Politics and Government, KQED; Twitter @mlagos

C.W. Nevius

Columnist, The Press-Democrat; Author, "A Letter from San Francisco" Newsletter; Twitter @cwnevius

Dan Schnur

Professor, University of California–Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies, Pepperdine University’s Graduate School of Public Policy, and the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Communications; Host, "Politics in the Time of Coronavirus" Webinar; Twitter @danschnur

John Zipperer

Producer and Host, Week to Week Political Roundtable; Vice President of Media & Editorial, The Commonwealth Club of California

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on May 2nd, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

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CLIMATE ONE: Big Money: Investment Managers Driving Corporate Action May 06, 2022

Show notes

More than half of Americans are invested in the stock market, either directly or through their retirement funds, but individual investors rarely think about how their money is actually being put to use. And even if they decide to take a stand and divest from fossil fuels, that may not translate into a single molecule less carbon being released into the atmosphere. On the other hand, large institutional investors - like those that manage individuals’ retirement funds - can wield huge influence over the companies in their portfolios. So how are asset managers accounting for climate risk? And how can they drive corporate leaders to be more accountable for their emissions today, and cut emissions tomorrow?

This episode was supported in part by The ClimateWorks Foundation.

Guests:

Cynthia McHale, Senior Director, Ceres

Dylan Tanner, Executive Director, Influence Map

Shane Khan, Head of Research, JUST Capital

Yasmin Dahya Bilger, Head of ETFs, Engine No. 1

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Chinatown Museum Reopens: Experience New Exhibits in Virtual Reality May 05, 2022

Show notes

The Chinese Historical Society of America collects, preserves and illuminates the history of Chinese in America by serving as a center for research, scholarship and learning to inspire a greater appreciation for, and knowledge of, their collective experience through exhibitions, public programs and any other means for reaching the widest audience.

CHSA promotes the contributions and legacy of the Chinese in America through its exhibitions, publications, and educational and public programs in the museum and learning center. It is housed in the landmark Julia Morgan-designed Chinatown YWCA building at 965 Clay Street in San Francisco.

Since February of last year, CHSA has been led by Justin Charles Hoover, a visionary Chinese American museum professional who is breathing new life into the old museum building—and outside its walls, too.

In this multi-media presentation, Justin Hoover will provide in-person and virtual attendees with a virtual tour of the museum and its traditional exhibits, as well as a virtual tour of its upcoming exhibit, “We Are Bruce Lee,” celebrating the life and many contributions of film legend Bruce Lee. This exciting exhibit will occupy the entire museum space.

Join us and get a taste of what a 21st century museum can look like!

SPEAKERS

Justin Hoover

Executive Director, Chinese Historical Society of America

Betty Yu

Reporter, KPIX—Moderator

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on April 29th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

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Filmmaker Débora Souza Silva: Black Mothers Love and Resist May 04, 2022

Show notes

Débora Souza Silva is a Black Afro-Brazilian journalist and filmmaker. Her work has been featured on PBS, BBC, and elsewhere, and she is the recipient of the Les Payne Founder's Award from the National Association of Black Journalists, the 2021 Creative Capital Award, and a New York Times Institute fellowship. Her work examines systemic racism and inequality.

Don't miss this online discussion of her feature-length film Black Mothers Love and Resist. It examines the Mothers of the Movement, a growing national network of Black mothers whose children have been attacked by police. The film follows two mothers—Angela Williams and Wanda Johnson—and the cycle of courage and care that Black mothers have cultivated to protect themselves and their families.

Also joining us will be Wanda Johnson, a mother, activist and speaker, with a long history of community organizing and speaking to equity. When her son Oscar Grant III was killed by an Oakland BART transit officer on January 1, 2009, she embarked on a journey to turn that pain into purpose. Since then, Wanda has become an amplified voice for mothers and organizers. Wanda is also CEO of the Oscar Grant Foundation and licensed and ordained as a minister.

Note: This program is an interview about the film and its subjects; it is not a film screening.

NOTES

See more Michelle Meow Show programs at The Commonwealth Club of California.

SPEAKERS

Wanda Johnson

CEO, The Oscar Grant Foundation; Activist; Ordained Minister

Débora Souza Silva

Director and Producer, Black Mothers Love and Resist

Michelle Meow

Producer and Host, "The Michelle Meow Show," KBCW TV and Podcast; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors—Co-host

John Zipperer

Producer and Host, Week to Week Political Roundtable; Vice President of Media & Editorial, The Commonwealth Club of California—Co-host

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on April 21st, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

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Star Chef Matt Horn: On West Coast Barbecue and the Future of Hospitality May 03, 2022

Show notes

Chef Matt Horn has quickly become one of the most noted chefs in the Bay Area and, increasingly, the country.

Since opening his namesake restaurant, Horn Barbecue, in West Oakland in late 2020 the California native has been named a Food and Wine Best New Chef in 2021, won a coveted spot in the Michelin food guide, had his unique "California-style" barbeque featured in major newspapers around the country, and currently is a finalist for a James Beard Foundation award for Best New Restaurant in America, one of only two California restaurants to make this coveted cut. On top of that, Horn just opened his second restaurant (a fried chicken restaurant), with much more planned for his growing food empire.

In his new cookbook, Horn Barbecue: Recipes and Techniques from a Master of the Art of BBQ, Matt Horn tells his own inspiring story of how he learned to make BBQ and open a restaurant, and about how his journey echoes and continues the historic lineage of African American barbecue in the United States—an engaging yet often unknown history. His cookbook also has recipes and tips for those who want to try his recipes and classic "low and slow" method at home.

After the talk, guests will enjoy some of Horn's famous BBQ in a fun, post-program reception. Food included in ticket price.

Please join us for a special evening with one of the Bay Area's rising chefs.

Horn will be interviewed by Bay Area food scene veteran, Cecilia Phillips. Phillips has worked under several celebrity chefs and has served as a food tour guide for many years in San Francisco. She began her journalism career as a reporter at KIEM in Eureka, California, and upon relocating to the Bay Area joined KQED as an intern. She then moved into the role of coordinating producer and on-camera reporter for the flagship KQED broadcast show, Check, Please! Bay Area. Within the program, she produces a special series called "Cecilia Tries It," where she scours the Bay Area in search of off-the-beaten-path spots for exciting, culturally diverse culinary experiences that fans can’t miss.

NOTES

This program is part of The Commonwealth Club's Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation.

SPEAKERS

Matt Horn

Founder & CEO, Horn Hospitality Group; Author, Horn Barbecue: Recipes and Techniques from a Master of the Art of BBQ

Cecilia Phillips

Coordinating Producer and On-Camera Reporter, Check, Please! Bay Area—Moderator

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded Live in San Francisco on April 21st, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

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JFK: Incomparable Grace May 02, 2022

Show notes

Nearly 60 years after his death, John F. Kennedy still holds an outsize place in the American imagination. Baby Boomers certainly remember his dazzling presence as president, but his brief time in office was marked by more than just style and elegance. His presidency is a story of a fledgling leader forced to meet severe challenges, and to rise above his early missteps to lead his nation into a new and more hopeful era.

Kennedy entered office inexperienced but alluring, his reputation more given by an enamored public than earned through achievement. Presidential historian Mark Updegrove details the setbacks of JFK’s first months: the botched Bay of Pigs invasion, his disastrous summit with Soviet Premier Khrushchev, and his mismanaged approach to the Civil Rights Movement. But soon the young president proved that behind the glamour was a leader of uncommon fortitude and vision. A humbled Kennedy conceded his mistakes and—important for our times—drew lessons from his failures that he used to right wrongs and move forward, radiating greater possibility as he coolly faced a steady stream of crises before his tragic end.

Join us as Updegrove reexamines the dramatic, consequential White House years of a flawed but gifted leader, whose brief but transformative tenure has too often been obscured by the Camelot myth that engulfed JFK after his assassination.

MLF ORGANIZER

George Hammond

This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation.

SPEAKERS

Mark Updegrove

President and CEO, Lyndon B. Johnson Foundation; Presidential Historian, ABC News; Author, Incomparable Grace: JFK in the Presidency

In Conversation with Dan Ashley

Co Anchor, ABC 7 News; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors; Twitter @DanAshleyABC7

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on April 20th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

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Dr. Louann Brizendine: The Female Brain in Midlife and Beyond May 01, 2022

Show notes

Women widely perceive aging as a change worthy of fear and resistance. But what if approaching the second half of life is actually more of a celebration?

Researcher, clinician and UCSF professor Dr. Louann Brizendine dives deep into the workings of the brain and finds that women can discover their best selves in their later stages of life with the right prescriptive advice. Since she published her studies centered on women’s brain function in 2006, she has received an overwhelming response from the scientific community.

Her latest research contains a profound understanding of the nature of the female brain and unlocks new potential for women to understand and optimize the powerful changes their brain undergoes in midlife.

MLF ORGANIZER

Denise Michaud

SPEAKERS

Dr. Louann Brizendine

M.D., Lynne and Marc Benioff Endowed Chair in Clinical Psychiatry. University of California San Francisco; Founder, Women’s Mood and Hormone Clinic, UCSF; Author, The Upgrade: How the Female Brain Gets Stronger and Better in Midlife

In Conversation with Katie Hafner

Journalist; Host and Co-Executive Producer, "Lost Women of Science" Podcast; Author, The Boys (forthcoming); Twitter@katiehafner

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Benjamin Franklin's Last Bet Apr 30, 2022

Show notes

Benjamin Franklin was not exactly a gambling man. But he wagered 2,000 pounds, at the end of his illustrious life, on the survival of the United States. Franklin's bet was that, if the trustees of his legacy funds lent it out over the next 200 years to Boston and Philadelphia tradesmen to jump-start their careers, the U.S. economy would flourish. Each loan was to be repaid with interest over 10 years, and if all went according to Franklin’s inventive scheme, the accrued final payout in 1991 would prove to be a windfall.

Meyer traces the evolution of these twin funds as they age alongside America itself, bankrolling woodworkers and silversmiths, trade schools and space races. Franklin’s wager on this early version of microfinancing was misused, neglected, and contested—but never wholly extinguished. With charm and inquisitive flair, Meyer shows how Franklin’s stake in the “leather-apron” class remains in play to this day, and offers an inspiring blueprint for prosperity in our modern era of growing wealth disparity and social divisions.

MLF ORGANIZER

George Hammond

SPEAKERS

Michael Meyer

Professor of English, University of Pittsburgh; Author, Benjamin Franklin's Last Bet

In Conversation with George Hammond

Author, Conversations With Socrates

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on April 19th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

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Civil Dialogue in Partisan Times Apr 29, 2022

Show notes

In a day and age where politics can take any form from protesting to posting, it can be hard for students to navigate the many, often divisive political situations they find themselves in. Though politics are certainly an important part of our curriculums, learning how to discuss politics civilly has not been. Now, many organizations are stepping up to fill this gap. In doing so, they are providing students and future generations alike with the tools necessary to navigate a polarized political scene while also paving a path to minimize the partisan division altogether.

This student-led program will empower students to face political conversations head on, with both confidence and courtesy. Coming from diverse perspectives, the speakers will model the very conversations they seek to instigate and will guide students in how to build the bridges we so desperately need.

Program lead Raquel Kunugi is a graduating senior in political science at the University of California Berkeley and an Education intern at The Commonwealth Club. Hailing from a rural, conservative town and a politically purple family, and now attending a famously liberal school, she has experienced the range of political beliefs and has made friends all along the political spectrum. She hopes this program will empower her fellow students to challenge themselves by challenging the growing norm of polarization.

NOTES

Creating Citizens, The Commonwealth Club’s K-12 civics education initiative, is supported by the Koret Foundation.

SPEAKERS

Justine Lee

Executive Director, Living Room Conversations

John Wood, Jr.

National Ambassador, Braver Angels

Alice Siu

Associate Director, Center for Deliberative Democracy, Stanford University—Moderator

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