Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

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Ending America's Forever War Jul 02, 2021

Show notes

In light of President Joe Biden's controversial announcement of his intention to end America's "never ending war" on the 20th anniversary of the 9/ll attacks, our distinguished panel will discuss the past, present and possible promise and complications of ending our longest war in a most troubled region.

One of the most concerning results could be ending hard-won women's rights and opportunities. Atta Arghandiwal was an Afghan refugee , a U.S. banker. a consultant in Afghanistan and dedicated to helping refugees there and everywhere. Humaira Ghilzai, a writer, speaker and women’s advocate, co-founded the Afghan Friends Network and instituted the Sister City relationship between Hayward, CA and Ghazni, Afghanistan.

MLF ORGANIZER

Celia Menczel

NOTES

MLF: Middle East

Speakers

Atta Arghandiwal

Humanitarian; Author, The Self-Sufficient Global Citizen

Humaira Ghilzai

Writer; Speaker; Women’s Advocate; Co-Founder, Afghan Friends Network

Banafsheh Keynoush

Ph.D., Vice Chair, Commonwealth Club Middle East Member-Led Forum—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 June 22nd, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

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CLIMATE ONE: Clearing the Air on Carbon Offsets Jul 02, 2021

Show notes

For over two decades, carbon offset programs have promised individuals and businesses that they can reduce their overall carbon footprint by paying someone else to reduce their carbon emissions. Yet many programs have been plagued by scandal – like shady accounting and paying forest owners not to cut down trees they weren’t planning to log anyway.

A new nonprofit called Climate Vault wants to buy emissions permits from regulated markets and lock them away so other polluters can’t buy and use them. Will this finally be an approach that works? Or are all carbon offset programs just smoke and mirrors?

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LGBTQ Youth Mental Health: Resilience and Recovery from a Pandemic Jun 29, 2021

Show notes

Join us for a discussion of LGBTQIA issues and the impacts on the mental health of our youth who navigated their ways through a global pandemic while fighting for civil rights at the same time.

Meet the Speakers

David W. Bond is a licensed clinical social worker and board-certified expert in traumatic stress. He is the director of behavioral health at Blue Shield of California, where he leads initiatives to restore, sustain and enhance the behavioral health and wellbeing of California’s Medi-Cal and Medicare beneficiaries. Before joining Blue Shield, he served as vice president of programs at The Trevor Project, the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for LGBTQ youth. He also previously served as manager of youth development programs at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego. For 12 years, David was a practicing psychotherapist specializing in children and trauma. He has taught and lectured widely on topics of physical and sexual abuse, domestic violence, suicide prevention, clinical and policy considerations for LGBTQ communities, access to care and program evaluation.

T. Drake-Smith, aka YSD, is an artist, activist and actor. By day, she is known as T. Drake-Smith—alias Shorty the Youth Coordinator at the Oakland LGBTQ Center. By night, she’s an entertainer you may have seen on "The Lipstick Series," "Sister Hood fo Hip Hop" on Oxygen and in a KTVU sports commercial. Her latest TV roles are on “13 Reasons Why” & "Lipstick Series." YSD is currently working on music and has been performing professionally since 2010. Young Shorty Doowop's song "Let Em Hate” featuring Slim 400 is currently playing on 106.1 KMEL. She has opened up for Big Freedia, Jadakiss, Young M.A, Dej Loaf, Soulja Boy, Iamsu!, Jennifer Holiday, Jim Jones, Trina, Remy Ma and others, and has performed at San Francisco Pride, Atlanta Pride, in Seattle, Sweetheat Miami, New York, LA and London. Her new album “Night & Day” is available on all digital platforms. You can catch her on the new reality show “Studs of LA” and as a host on Lipstick Television.

Juan Acosta is an award winning LGBTQ+ mental health advocate who serves on national committees, speaks at conferences and festivals, and is a New York Times bestselling author for a book co-authored with Lady Gaga, Channel Kindness. He drafted a historic LGBTQ+ proclamation for his hometown of Woodland, CA. He currently serves as one of the regional managers for the CalHOPE Warm Line. Acosta's awards include the Governor & First Lady Service Award, The Presidential Service Award, the NAMI Rising Star Award, and the Steinberg Institute Mental Health Champion 2021.

SPEAKERS

David W. Bond

Licensed Clinical Social Worker; Board Certified Expert in Traumatic Streass; Director of Behavioral Health, Blue Shield of California

T. Drake-Smith, aka YSD

Artist; Activist; Actor; Youth Coordinator, Oakland LGBTQ Center

Juan Acosta

LGBTQ+ Mental Health Advocate; Co-Author, Channel Kindness

Michelle Meow

Producer and Host, "The Michelle Meow Show" on KBCW/KPIX and Podcast; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors; Twitter @msmichellemeow—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 June 21st, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

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Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue Jun 29, 2021

Show notes

This July 4, the country will be emerging from the pandemic to celebrate the most patriotic of holidays with friends and family. At The Commonwealth Club, just days before the holiday, we'll be re-opening our doors and cracking open our grills in a special event that celebrates an iconic American food: barbecue! We’ll explore this rich and historic food, particularly the essential role that African Americans have played in the development of the cuisine. Audiences can watch either online or join us in-person!

Adrian Miller, author of, Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue, will kick off our event with stories of Black perseverance, culinary innovation, and entrepreneurship in the world of barbecue. His work illustrates that despite cultural marginalization, African Americans have enriched a now-embraced barbecue culture tied strongly to summer holidays and recounts how Black barbecuers, pitmasters and restaurateurs are coming into their own after having helped develop this American cuisine, incorporating techniques first pioneered by Native Americans. Miller is also featured in the new Netflix special "High on the Hog," about African-American food history.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Justin Phillips will interview Miller in the Taube Family Auditorium at our headquarters on the Embarcadero.

SPEAKERS

Adrian Miller

Writer; Certified Barbecue Judge; Attorney; Author, Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue

In Conversation with Justin Phillips

Columnist, San Francisco Chronicle

Welcome by Brenda Wright

Senior Vice President & Director of Community Relations (West Region), Wells Fargo & Co.; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors

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 June 28th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

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The Queer Bible, with Author Jack Guinness Jun 25, 2021

Show notes

Gus Kenworthy writes about Adam Rippon. Graham Norton writes about Armistead Maupin. Tan France does the honors for "Queer Eye," as Mae Martin does for Tim Curry and Elton John does for Divine. Those contributions—and many more—are included in the new book The Queer Bible, an illustrated collection of essays featuring today's queer heroes writing about their queer heroes.

Jack Guinness, who edited and contributed an essay to the book, joins us for a look at the LGBTQ community and the individuals who shaped its history.

SPEAKERS

Jack Guinness

Editor, The Queer Bible; Contributing Editor, British GQ; Twitter @Jackguinness

Michelle Meow

Producer and Host, "The Michelle Meow Show," KBCW/KPIX and Podcast; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors—Host

John Zipperer

Producer and Host, Week to Week Political Roundtable; Vice President of Media & Editorial, The Commonwealth Club—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 February 17th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

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Islamic Activist Daisy Khan with Sara Abbasi: Understanding Modern Muslim Women Jun 25, 2021

Show notes

Daisy Khan has devoted much of her life to fighting Islamophobia, increasing public understanding of Islam and breaking down barriers between Muslims and other faiths. Ms. Khan served for 18 years as executive director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement, where she was hailed as a bridge builder for promoting cultural and religious harmony through intra-faith programs such as Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow and inter-faith arts programs. To combat anti-Muslim bias, she created the "Today, I am a Muslim Too" rally involving 100 interfaith organizations.

She has also worked to modernize the role of women within Islam. Khan founded The Women's Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality (WISE) with the express goal of peace building, gender equality and human dignity. She says that women's leadership is essential to solving societal issues, and that the WISE Shura Council is creating a crucial space for activism that contributes to Muslim women’s struggle for justice. The council issues informed and religiously grounded opinions on controversial issues of particular relevance to Muslim women in their personal, familial and societal lives. By advocating a constructive conception of women’s status, rights and responsibilities, Khan says these opinions function as legitimate alternatives to oppressive religious arguments.

Ms. Khan's awards and honors include: the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award, Edinburgh Peace Award, and the Interfaith Center’s Award for Promoting Peace. She's been listed among Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People and was ranked among the “Top Ten Women Faith leaders” by The Huffington Post. Khan plans to follow her 2018 memoir, Born with Wings, with two forthcoming books: 30 Rights of Muslim Women and WISE UP White Supremacy.

Come for an important conversation with Daisy Khan about Islam and the advancement of Muslim women.

SPEAKERS

Daisy Khan

Founder, Women’s Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality (WISE); Co-Founder & Former Exec. Director, American Society of Muslim Advancement (ASMA) ; Author, Born With Wings

In Conversation with Sara Abbasi

Philanthropist; Provider of Endowment, Sohaib and Sara Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies, Stanford University

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 June 16th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

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CLIMATE ONE: Extreme Heat: The Silent Killer Jun 25, 2021

Show notes

Extreme heat causes more deaths than any other weather-related hazard in the U.S., wreaking quiet havoc on the health and economic well-being of billions of people across the world. But it’s rarely given the same billing or resources as other, more dramatic, natural disasters. Because of racist and discriminatory housing and development practices, extreme heat also disproportionately impacts poorer and minority communities.

Recognizing a growing need for local responses to a global problem, the mayors of Miami-Dade, Athens, Greece and Freetown, Sierra Leone recently announced they are appointing the world’s first Chief Heat Officers. How can we prepare for and address the impacts of extreme heat?

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George Packer: America in Crisis and Renewal Jun 25, 2021

Show notes

The year 2020 brought out the best and the worst of the American people. The year shocked us as we experienced a ruthless pandemic, an inept government response, polarizing protests and an election defaced by conspiracy theories. According to popular American journalist George Packer, these events did not come out of nowhere; they were symptoms of the hazardous conditions directly beneath the surface of the American dream. In his new book Last Best Hope: America in Crisis and Renewal, Packer traces the roots of these issues that he says have drastically changed the normative way of American life.

Packer investigates what he calls the four different Americas citizens live in: a "Free America" that encourages individuality and corporate submission, a "Smart America" that represents the technological and professional elite, a "Real America" that constitutes the white Christian nationalism of the midlands, and a "Just America" that delineates identity groups that suffer from marginalization. Packer believes that none of these Americas are conducive to achieving an ideal nation. With a background in U.S. foreign policy and American history, Packer uses his knowledge to find a common American identity that prioritizes equality for all and national renewal.

Join us as George Packer and moderator Anne-Marie Slaughter envision a better, more equitable American future.

George Packer

Staff Writer, The Atlantic; Author, Last Best Hope: America in Crisis and Renewal

In Conversation with Anne-Marie Slaughter

CEO, New America

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 February 15th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

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Theodore Johnson: Overcoming Racism and Renewing the Promise of America Jun 23, 2021

Show notes

Join us for a virtual discussion with Theodore Johnson, who begins his book When the Stars Begin to Fall by declaring that “Racism is an existential threat to America.” Johnson argues that our society's continuing racism not only contradicts the American Promise enshrined in our Constitution that all men and women are inherently equal, but also continues to corrode our society after a quarter of a millennium. If we cannot overcome it, he says, the United States may continue as a geopolitical powerhouse, but it will fail to make good on the promise that made America unique on Earth, and gave hope to the oppressed throughout the world.

Johnson makes a compelling case for a pathway to the national solidarity necessary to mitigate racism. Weaving memories of his own family’s multi-generational experiences with racism, alongside strands of history, Johnson posits that a blueprint for national solidarity can be found in the exceptional citizenship long practiced in Black America. Understanding that racism is a structural crime of the state, he argues that overcoming it requires us to recognize that a color-conscious society―not a color-blind one―is the true fulfillment of the American Promise. Fueled by his ultimate faith in the American project, grounded in his family’s longstanding optimism and his own military service, he offers an urgent call to undertake the process of overcoming what has long seemed intractable.

SPEAKERS

Theodore Johnson

Sr. Fellow, Brennan Center for Justice; Former Commander, U.S. Navy; White House Fellow, Obama Admin.; Speechwriter, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Author, When the Stars Begin to Fall: Overcoming Racism & Renewing the Promise of America

Sheryl Davis

Executive Director, San Francisco Human Rights Commission—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 June 15th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

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Ben Rhodes: After the Fall Jun 22, 2021

Show notes

After the Cold War, America sought to protect as many democracies as possible and stamp out any threat of authoritarianism around the world. Now, 30 years after the breakup of the Soviet Union, political scientists have observed a global rise in authoritarian governments—even in America itself. After the 2016 election of President Donald Trump, Ben Rhodes, a former White House aide and close confidant to President Barack Obama, sought to discover why nations have been opting for populism and tyranny over democracy.

In his new book After the Fall: Being American in the World We've Made, Rhodes documents his three years of world travel, speaking with politicians, activists, and dissidents confronting the same nationalism that has been tearing America apart. He says the acceptance of unrestricted capitalism after the Cold War, post-9/11 nationalism, mania for technology and media, and modern racism that Americans refuse to confront have all contributed to our nation’s faltering under authoritarian leadership.

With experience managing international conflict, Rhodes is an exemplary scholar in considering the global condition of humanity and how we can once again turn to democracy and equity. Join us for a look at where America has gone wrong and how essential it is to fight for what America is supposed to be.

NOTES

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

SPEAKERS

Ben Rhodes

Former Deputy National Security Advisor to President Obama; Author, After the Fall: Being American in the World We’ve Made; Twitter @brhodes

In Conversation with Jennifer Palmieri

Former White House Communications Director; Co-Host, "The Circus" on Showtime; Author, She Proclaims: Our Declaration of Independent from a Man’s World; Twitter @jmpalmieri

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 June 14th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

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