Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

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Discovering Precision Health: Predict, Prevent, and Cure Sep 02, 2020

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Today we are on the brink of a much-needed transformative moment for health care. The U.S. health care system is designed to be reactive instead of preventive. The result can be diagnoses that are too late and outcomes that are far worse than our level of spending should deliver. In recent years, U.S. life expectancy has been declining. Fundamental to realizing better health, and a more effective health-care system, is advancing the disruptive thinking that has spawned innovation in Silicon Valley and throughout the world. That's exactly what Stanford Medicine has done by proposing a new vision for health and health care. In Discovering Precision Health, Lloyd Minor and Matthew Rees describe a holistic approach designed to set health care on the right track: keep people healthy by preventing disease before it starts and personalize the treatment of individuals precisely, based on their specific profile. MLF ORGANIZER Patty James NOTES MLF: Health & Medicine

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On the Road to Freedom: Through the Eyes of Young Leaders Sep 02, 2020

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Join artist and journalist Dana King as she interviews two scholars who traveled on the Club’s trip, “On the Road to Freedom: Understanding the Civil Rights Movement” in March of 2020. The group spent time in Jackson, Little Rock, Memphis, Birmingham, Selma and Montgomery. Hear about key events and people involved in the movement, and what it means for these young women in terms of what is happening today and their vision for the future. NOTES In partnership with Cinnamongirl Inc.

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CLIMATE ONE: Billion Dollar Burger Sep 01, 2020

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Long before the coronavirus began disrupting America’s trillion-dollar meat industry, lab-grown proteins were upending the way we consume chicken, pork and beef. With an environmental footprint far smaller than traditional animal agriculture, are cell-cultured and plant-based meat products—now on the menus of major chains like Burger King—still the future of food? Will food science and tech help us make better-informed decisions for our bodies and the planet, or do we need to get back to basics? Join us for a conversation on the future of food with Sophie Egan, author of How to Be a Conscious Eater: Making Food Choices That Are Good for You, Others, and the Planet, and Chase Purdy, author of Billion Dollar Burger: Inside Big Tech’s Race for the Future of Food.

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Engaging in Democracy at Boys State Aug 31, 2020

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Join us to learn about individuality, finding your voice amidst a sea of homogeneity, and the triumph of intellect over the ideologue. Local filmmakers Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine explore these themes in their new film Boys State, airing on Apple TV+ beginning August 14. Boys State is a political coming-of-age story, examining the health of American democracy through an unusual experiment: a thousand 17-year-old boys from across Texas gather to build a representative government from the ground up. High-minded ideals collide with low-down dirty tricks as four boys of diverse backgrounds and political views navigate the challenges of organizing political parties, shaping consensus, and campaigning for the highest office at Texas Boys State—governor. In a primarily conservative setting, part of what makes the two prominent progressive participants—Steven and René—so extraordinary is their ability to self-advocate, their perseverance and their drive. The Boys State program epitomizes the real-world experience of many Americans and is how many of our leaders first engaged in the world of politics. Alumni of Boys State, such as Senator Cory Booker, President Bill Clinton, Senator Lamar Alexander and Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, fall on both sides of the aisle.

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BlueSky: Building a Healthier California Through Youth Resilience in a COVID-19 World Aug 31, 2020

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BlueSky initiative supports mental health for middle- and high school students in California by providing additional mental health clinicians in schools, training teachers on the signs of mental health issues, and empowering students with in-person and online mental health support resources. With schools now shuttered and distance learning part of the norm because of COVID-19, educators, mental health specialists ,and others are pivoting to address the need virtually. Join us for a special program to learn more about this important initiative.

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A Conversation with Dr. Anthony Fauci Aug 31, 2020

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Join us for a rare visit with one of America's most trusted medical figures and leading experts on infectious disease, and take advantage of this unique opportunity to ask your questions directly. Dr. Fauci was appointed director of NIAID in 1984. He oversees an extensive portfolio of basic and applied research to prevent, diagnose, and treat established infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS, respiratory infections, tuberculosis and malaria as well as emerging diseases such as Ebola and Zika....and of course, COVID 19. He has advised six presidents on domestic and global health issues. He was one of the principal architects of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a program that has saved millions of lives throughout the developing world. Dr. Fauci is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the highest honor given to a civilian by the president of the United States) and the National Medal of Science.

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CLIMATE ONE: Climate Change Through the Artist’s Eyes with Alonzo King Aug 28, 2020

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Images of dancers or sculptures don’t leap to mind with the mention of climate change. But artists are increasingly using the carbon conundrum as a creative lens, using their mediums to design cultural moments that bring people together. Storytellers and artists are reaching people on a deeper and more emotional level than the cerebral facts and charts often used to shape the climate narrative. Can art reach and activate people on climate in new and compelling ways? How can art convey the joy of nature and the grief of how humans are destroying it? Join us for a conversation about art, beauty and humanity in the age of climate disruption with celebrated choreographer Alonzo King, whose new dance is inspired by the beauty and tragedy unfolding in the Arctic. The world premier will be held in San Francisco later this year. Also joining is senior curator Nora Lawrence, whose 2018 exhibition at New York's Storm King Art Center, Indicators: Artists on Climate Change, was one of the first major museum exhibitions to address climate change.

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CLIMATE ONE: The Future Earth: Eric Holthaus and Katharine Wilkinson Aug 28, 2020

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Science has given us a realistic picture of what Earth will look like with uninhibited levels of climate change: increased extreme weather events, crippled economies and a world where those with the least are the hardest hit. What would a radically re-envisioned future look like? What solutions do we need to replace tomorrow’s doom-and-gloom projections with thriving cities, renewed political consciousness, equitable societies and carbon-free economies? Join us with climate journalist and The Future Earth author Eric Holthaus and Project Drawdown Vice President Katharine Wikinson for a conversation on reimagining our role in creating climate solutions.

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Sophy Roberts: The Lost Pianos of Siberia Aug 27, 2020

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Haven't had the opportunity for adventurous travel recently? Then join us for a virtual conversation with remote travel writer Sophy Roberts, direct from London, about her first book: The Lost Pianos of Siberia. Although Siberia’s story is usually one of exile, penal colonies and unmarked graves, there is another tale to tell about one of our planet's harshest landscapes. Dotted throughout this remote land are many pianos―grand instruments created during the boom years of the 19th century, as well as humble, Soviet-made uprights. These pianos bear witness to the enthusiasm with which Russians have taken to piano music ever since Catherine the Great's westernizing influences introduced it to Russian culture. Follow Roberts as she tracks pianos and their histories through a desolate land inhabited by wild tigers and deeply shaped by its dark history—from the piano that Maria Volkonsky, wife of an exiled Decembrist revolutionary, used to spread music east of the Urals, to those that brought reprieve to the Soviet gulag. That these pianos still exist in such a hostile landscape is remarkable. That they are still capable of making music in far-flung villages is nothing less than miraculous. MLF ORGANIZER George Hammond NOTES MLF: Humanities

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Former Congresswoman Katie Hill Aug 27, 2020

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Few people can reflect as deeply on the politics of political life like Katie Hill, a former U.S. representative for California’s 25th congressional district. She ran for Congress before turning 30 and won her seat in November 2018 as a Democrat, beating a 26-year Republican incumbent. Her win, along with many others that year, was part of a larger turning of the tides in American politics — one centered around young women who were determined to lead change. Then, a mere 11 months later, Hill experienced a major sex scandal that ultimately resulted in her untimely resignation. In her new book, She Will Rise: Becoming a Warrior in the Battle for True Equality, Hill recounts the complicated details of her story and the extreme sexism and abuse she faced at the hands of the highly invasive media. Join her at INFORUM, where she will share her experience with the longstanding double standard of sex and gender in politics, and how we can all play a part in dismantling these systems.

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