Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Latest Episodes:

H.P. Mendoza: Going Viral in the Age of the Coronavirus May 07, 2020

Show notes

Filmmaker H.P Mendoza found himself living in Japan when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. He and his partner were given less than a day to uproot themselves and be evacuated to the United States. But Mendoza found himself on "Good Morning America" and on countless social media feeds when a video he made lampooning video conferences went viral. Once he was sheltering-in-place in San Francisco, he made another video, this time a birthday sing-a-long with dozens of his distant sheltering-in-place friends. Join us for this talk with a young filmmaker to learn more about his work, going viral in a good way, and coping with a pandemic.

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The Half of It: Director Alice Wu and Star Leah Lewis May 07, 2020

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Alice Wu's new film The Half of It tells the coming-of-age story of smart but cash-strapped teen Ellie Chu, who agrees to write a love letter for a jock to his crush. Chu doesn't expect to become his friend—or fall for his crush. The film, scheduled for a May 1 release on Netflix, is the second film from writer/producer/director Wu. Join us for a conversation with Alice Wu and the film's star, Leah Lewis.

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The Instagram Story with Bloomberg’s Sarah Frier May 06, 2020

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In a short 10 years, Instagram has grown from a simple idea for sharing photos to an application with over 1 billion monthly users and company growth that has surpassed many other tech giants. At the same time, this exponential success has been accompanied by a dramatic acquisition by Facebook in 2012 and the Instagram co-founders stepping down in 2018. Award-winning technology reporter Sarah Frier helps bring some clarity to the mysteries surrounding the tech giant in her book No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram. The Bloomberg reporter delivers stories taken from the Instagram influencers and celebrities that have helped drive the app to such rapid growth, the employees and executives who have watched from behind the scenes, and the founders of Instagram themselves who give insight into the growth and change of the service. Join INFORUM as Frier draws from her expertise in technology to navigate through this diverse cast of sources to paint a picture of how Instagram evolved to shape the online experience and fundamentally change how we engage with society.

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The Science of Happiness During COVID-19 May 05, 2020

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The COVID-19 pandemic has affected almost every facet of human life. Schools, businesses and entire industries have effectively shut down overnight, citizens have been asked to stay at home and limit social interaction as long as they can, and essential workers are risking their health every day on the frontlines of this global crisis. Negative emotions like fear, stress, anxiety and depression are inevitable and can overwhelm even the most optimistic of people. What can we do to nurture our happiness during these unprecedented times? Dr. Dacher Keltner joins INFORUM to answer that question. Dr. Keltner is the professor behind the popular course "The Science of Happiness" at UC Berkeley and is the founding director of the Greater Good Science Center where he blends scientific research with human empathy to create a healthier society. Kelter will share stories, tips and resources to help listeners cope with issues like talking to your children about COVID-19, finding connection while social distancing, managing financial stress and much more. We will learn not only how to survive during this time of unrest, but how, together, we can thrive in it.

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California Health Care's Response to the Pandemic May 05, 2020

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California was the first state to shelter in place, and the Bay Area began sheltering even earlier. While this appears to have reduced the rate of growth in COVID-19 cases, the nation’s largest state still is severely challenged by the global pandemic. Many hospitals are overcrowded, the numbers of patients in rural areas are increasing, hundreds of Californians have died, and many have lost both their jobs and their health-care coverage. How is the health-care system in the state responding? What are the health and financial implications for individual Californians? Three California health-care leaders whose organizations collectively impact millions of citizens will share what their organizations are doing to tackle the crisis.

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Linda Sarsour and Alicia Garza: We Are Not Here to Be Bystanders May 05, 2020

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One day after the inauguration of President Donald J. Trump, the worldwide Women’s March gathered people from all seven continents to send a bold message that women’s rights are human rights. It was one of the largest single-day protests in U.S. history, advocating for women’s rights, immigration reform, racial equality and more. In her new book, We Are Not Here to Be Bystanders, award-winning activist Linda Sarsour chronicles her intersectional experiences growing up as the daughter of immigrant parents, as a Muslim woman unshaken in her faith in a post 9/11 world, as a co-organizer of the Women’s March, and as a leader in the decades-long fight for justice. Join her, in conversation with internationally recognized organizer Alicia Garza, to learn about the power of mobilization and community when fighting for lasting change.

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Pandemic Health-Care Inequities: How They Put All Americans at Risk May 05, 2020

Show notes

COVID-19 has been a national disaster. The impact has disproportionately affected minority and lower income Americans, who tend to have jobs that can’t be done from home and are less likely to have health-care coverage or access to medical care. That’s true in most crises, but this one is different. Anyone who fails to get tested or treated for COVID-19 risks getting others sick and delays economic recovery for all, regardless of socioeconomic status. How can safety-net hospitals, Medicaid providers, and health plans ensure that all Americans get the tests and health care they need during the pandemic? Will the current sentiment that "We’re all in this together" finally convince the public of the need for universal coverage? CEOs of two safety-net hospitals and the nation’s largest public option health plan will discuss how they’re handling the crisis, what they’re doing to reduce inequities, and the potential impact of the crisis on health care going forward.

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Democracy and COVID-19: What Happens Next? May 03, 2020

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Within weeks, the COVID-19 pandemic has uprooted almost every fabric of American life. Workplaces have moved to remote or closed, cities have shut down, and the country has largely grounded to a halt. In a pivotal election year, more than a dozen states have postponed their primaries, campaigning has moved to the digital world, and individual civil liberties have been curtailed to prevent community spread. What effects will this have on America and the world’s democratic systems? Join our two experts as they break down our changing world. James Fallows has written for The Atlantic for more than 40 years, and his award-winning reporting has taken him through Asia, Europe and across the United States. Kori Schake is the director of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, and her distinguished career in government includes working at the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Department of Defense and the National Security Council at the White House.

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CLIMATE ONE: COVID-19 and Climate: Economic Impacts May 02, 2020

Show notes

The COVID-19 recession is unfolding at historic speed and depth. New jobless claims reached 10 million in just two weeks, a record pace. Wall Street’s fear gauge closed at an all-time high in mid-March. Environmentally, though, the shutdown has come with some temporary benefits—decreased travel, cleaner water and a plunging demand for oil. But crashing the economy isn’t exactly a climate solution. How will the coronavirus recession reshape the economy and prospects for addressing climate in a post-pandemic world? How does this economic crisis compare to others in history? Join us for a conversation with Kathleen Day, finance lecturer at Johns Hopkins University and author of Broken Bargain: Banks, Bailouts, and the Struggle to Tame Wall Street; Amy Jaffe, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations; and Matt Rogers, senior partner at McKinsey & Company.

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A Healthy Society Series: The Whole Story May 02, 2020

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The root of the word health is whole. Two medical professionals with long careers in medicine, health and science will talk about a new system called HealthMedicine, which is integrative, holistic, preventative and person-centered. What would it look like to put care back into health care? Building communities that support healthy living is the goal of these two professionals. This is the first program in a series led by the Health & Medicine Member-led Forum of The Commonwealth Club.

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