Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Latest Episodes:

CLIMATE ONE: Big Ideas with Dan Esty and Andy Karsner Mar 06, 2020

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Does solving climate change mean re-thinking old top-down approaches and embracing big change at high speed? A half-century after the first Earth Day, some environmental advocates argue it’s time to challenge some of our basic assumptions about climate action. In the new book A Better Planet: 40 Big Ideas for a Sustainable Future, editor and Yale law professor Dan Esty showcases innovative ideas designed to push the boundaries of possible climate solutions from leaders in industry, government, business, and land management.

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Rahm Emanuel: How Mayors Run the World Mar 06, 2020

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At a time of anxiety about the effectiveness of our national government, Rahm Emanuel believes local government offers a clear vision, for both progressives and centrists, of how to get things done in America today. In his new book, The Nation City, Emanuel, the former two-term mayor of Chicago and President Obama’s first White House chief of staff, offers a firsthand account of how cities, rather than the federal government, stand at the center of innovation and effective governance. Drawing on his own experiences in Chicago, and on his relationships with other mayors around America, Emanuel shows how cities are improving education, infrastructure, job conditions and environmental policy at a local level. Emanuel argues that cities are the most ancient political institutions, dating back thousands of years, and have reemerged as the nation-states of our time. Emanuel argues that mayors are accountable to their voters to a greater degree than any other elected officials and that progressives and centrists alike can best accomplish their goals by focusing their energies on local politics. Join us as Rahm Emanuel maps out a new, energizing and hopeful way forward. ** This Podcast Contains Explicit Language **

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Designing Your Work Life Mar 06, 2020

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We spend one third of our lives at work, whether it’s at a job we love or one we can’t wait to leave. As the job market shifts with the increase of automation and artificial intelligence, a flexible mindset is more important than ever. Stanford professor Bill Burnett (co-author of the No. 1 New York Times best seller Designing Your Life) believes we can transform our work experience by building and utilizing a designer mindset. He argues that much of our unhappiness and difficulty is caused by “dysfunctional beliefs” that limit our potential. In the forthcoming Designing Your Work Life, Burnett offer strategies on everything work related—from how to quit to how to get the job we want—and everything in between. Join INFORUM as Bill Burnett teaches us how design thinking can transform our experience of work and our outlook on life, without necessarily changing the job we have. NOTES Burnett photo by Michael Lionstar Note: This program contains explicit language

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Conor Dougherty: Inside America's Housing Crisis Mar 06, 2020

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Spacious and affordable homes used to be the hallmark of American prosperity. Today, however, punishing rents and the increasingly prohibitive cost of ownership have turned housing into the foremost symbol of inequality and an economy gone wrong. In the San Francisco Bay Area, fleets of private buses ferry software engineers past the tarp-and-plywood shanties where the homeless make their homes; according to New York Times journalist Conor Dougherty, this is ground zero for this crisis. The adage that California is a glimpse of the nation's future has become a cautionary tale. With propulsive storytelling and ground-level reporting, Dougherty chronicles America's housing crisis from its West Coast epicenter, peeling back the decades of history and economic forces that brought us here and taking readers inside the activist uprisings that have risen in tandem with housing costs.

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Discover, Recover, Uncover: Women’s New Roles in the Workplace Mar 05, 2020

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Recent feminist movements such as #MeToo and #TimesUp have called out sexism. They have empowered women to become more aware and also raise more questions: How do we find common ground in the new world we are building? How do we keep the momentum going with individual power, structural power and the power of movements? How do we handle a real situation at work, which could affect our livelihoods? Join psychotherapist and professor Joanne Bagshaw, author of The Feminist Handbook, and Professor Kellie McElhaney, founder and executive director of the Center for Equity, Gender and Leadership, in a lively, engaging dialogue meant to educate, prompt inner reflection and inspire. Walk away with a plan to help change society for yourself, your community and future generations. MLF Organizer: Elizabeth Carney MLF: Business & Leadership

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Steven Levy: Inside Facebook Mar 05, 2020

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In his sophomore year of college, Mark Zuckerberg created a simple website to serve as a campus social network. The site caught on like wildfire, and soon students nationwide were on it. Today, the social network that Zuckerberg created in 2004 has grown far beyond its original iteration, larger and more powerful than anyone could have imagined. Facebook has grown into a tech giant, the largest social media platform and one of the most gargantuan companies in the world, with a valuation of more than $576 billion and almost 3 billion users across the globe. There is no denying the power and omnipresence of Facebook in American daily life. And in light of recent controversies surrounding election-influencing "fake news" accounts, the handling of its users' personal data and growing discontent with the actions of its founder and CEO, never has the company been more central to the national conversation regarding the direction of the county's politics, economy and how individuals communicate with each other. There is no one better to describe how Facebook has evolved and where it might be headed than renowned tech writer Steven Levy. In his new book, Facebook: The Inside Story, Levy provides the definitive history of one of America's most powerful and controversial companies. Based on years of exclusive reporting and interviews with Facebook's key executives and employees, including Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg, Levy's sweeping narrative, already named as one of the most anticipated books of the year, digs deep into the whole story of the company that has changed the world and reaped the consequences. With the company in the news daily and just days before Californians get an early opportunity to have their say in the 2020 election, an election in which Facebook undoubtedly will play a critical role, Levy's appearance is not be missed.

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Do Morals Matter? Presidents and Foreign Policy from FDR to Trump Mar 04, 2020

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Joseph S. Nye Jr. provides a concise, penetrating analysis of the role of ethics in U.S. foreign policy after World War II. Nye works through each presidency from FDR to Trump and scores their foreign policy on three ethical dimensions: their intentions, the means they used and the consequences of their decisions. He also evaluates their leadership qualities, elaborating on which approaches worked and which did not. Nye shows that each president was not fully constrained by the structure of the system and actually had choices. He further notes the important ethical consequences of nonactions, such as Truman's willingness to accept stalemate in Korea rather than use nuclear weapons. Most importantly, he points out that presidents need to factor in both the political context and the availability of resources when deciding how to implement an ethical policy and will need to do so even more in a future international system that presents not only great power competition from China and Russia but a host of transnational threats: the illegal drug trade, infectious diseases, terrorism, cybercrime and climate change. MLF Organizer: George Hammond MLF: Humanities

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Harvard’s Rosabeth Moss Kanter: How to Be More Innovative and Change the World Mar 04, 2020

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Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter is renowned for strategy, innovation and leadership for change. Her insights guide leaders worldwide through teaching, writing and direct consultation to major corporations, governments and startup ventures. She is either the author or co-author of 20 books. Her breakthrough work with hundreds of successful professionals and executives, as well as aspiring young entrepreneurs, identifies the leadership paradigm of the future: the ability to “think outside the building” to overcome establishment paralysis and produce significant innovation for a better world. Kanter is convinced that positive change is possible, and she’ll discuss how that philosophy can have real impact on some of today’s biggest problems—from climate change to gun safety to inequality to racial issues. Come hear Kanter's advice on finding an innovative approach to improving both your life and the world.

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Jerry Mitchell: Reopening Murder Cases of the Civil Rights Era Mar 04, 2020

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On June 21, 1964, more than 20 Klansmen murdered three civil rights workers. The killings, in what would become known as the Mississippi Burning case, were among the most brazen acts of violence during the civil rights movement. And even though the killers’ identities, including the sheriff’s deputy, were an open secret, no one was charged with murder in the months and years that followed. It took 41 years before the mastermind was brought to trial and finally convicted for the three innocent lives he took. If there is one man who helped pave the way for justice, it is investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell. In his new book, Race Against Time, Mitchell takes readers on the twisting, pulse-racing road that led to the reopening of four of the most infamous killings from the days of the civil rights movement, decades after the fact. His work played a central role in bringing killers to justice for the assassination of Medgar Evers, the firebombing of Vernon Dahmer, the 16th Street Church bombing in Birmingham and the Mississippi Burning case (the murders of Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and Michael Schwerner). Mitchell reveals how he unearthed secret documents, found long-lost suspects and witnesses, building up evidence strong enough to take on the Klan. Mitchell's new book is important reading for all Americans who seek to right the wrongs of the past. Please join us for this important event. This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation.

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Breaking Hate: A Former Extremist's Journey Mar 03, 2020

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Is there an answer to the widespread—and increasingly public—rise of racial extremism? Come learn about the white nationalist movement from someone who was a leader in it until he renounced racism and devoted his life to helping others leave it behind. Christian Picciolini went from leading neo-Nazi bands with names such as Final Solution and White American Youth to running a record store that only sold "white power" music. But he left that and led organizations to counter extremism domestically and abroad, and has become an award-winning television producer, speaker, author and peace advocate. Come learn the truth about "white power" movements and the inspiring story about how to leave them behind.

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