Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

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Data for Social Good: Crisis Text Line CEO Nancy Lublin May 15, 2019

Show notes

Suicide and mental health are hard subjects—so Crisis Text Line leveraged the power of the data it collects to help their counselors determine the best way to talk about the topics with those in need. The nonprofit, founded in 2013 by CEO Nancy Lublin, has provided a free text-based and human-driven service to support those experiencing mental health stress, gathering data points from more than 75 million text messages sent and maximizing the impact of their information to better train counselors and support their community. Its innovative and data-driven methodology for tackling hard conversations can also be applied to more than the mental health space, including to Lublin’s latest venture: Loris.ai. Lublin’s entire career has focused on initiatives addressing social issues, and she founded Dress for Success and Do Something prior to Crisis Text Line. With her technology lens on big challenges, she continues to iterate on innovative mechanisms and creative solutions to sticky problems. At INFORUM, she’ll be joined in conversation by DJ Patil, head of technology at Devoted Health and former U.S. chief data scientist in the Obama administration, to dig into the power of data to effect change. Come curious! ** This Program Contains Explicit Language **

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Sandro Galea: Reframing the Health Care Conversation May 15, 2019

Show notes

“It’s the social divides that cause health divides.” Sandro Galea, dean of the Boston University School of Public Health, comes to this conclusion in his new book, Well: What We Need to Talk About When We Talk About Health. Americans spend more money on health than people anywhere else in the world, yet they lead shorter, less healthy lives than citizens of other rich countries. Galea's book is a call for a new framing of American health care, in which socioeconomic factors take on a larger role in the conversations about public health. While not obvious at first glance, Galea explains how the American fixation on medicine and symptom-focused health care misses the point—we should be preventing these medical issues in the first place. Join us for a conversation on how socioeconomic factors ultimately decide who gets to be healthy and who does not, and how we can invest in structural changes to build a healthier America for the future.

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Renovating Democracy with Nicolas Berggruen, Reid Hoffman and Nathan Gardels May 15, 2019

Show notes

Across the globe, democratic governance is under assault. The rise of populism in the West, and the rise of China in the East, have stirred a rethinking of how democratic systems work—and how they failed their citizens by not addressing the dislocation of globalization and the rapid disruption of technological change. Yet, despite the increasing attention paid to the impact of globalism and digital capitalism, few concrete solutions that use technology and apply the realities of globalization have been offered to close the stark divide between the haves and the have-nots. Little has been done to repair the damaged social contract in countries around the world. The Berggruen Institute, the innovative California think tank, is answering this challenge with their new book, Renovating Democracy. Berggruen Institute founders Nicolas Berggruen and Nathan Gardels challenge us to conceive of an alternative framework for governance. To truly renovate our global systems, the authors argue for empowering participation without populism by integrating social networks and direct democracy into the system. They outline steps for harnessing globalization through positive nationalism at home while advocating for global cooperation—specifically with a Chinese partnership—to create a viable rules-based world order. In a special Saturday appearance at The Commonwealth Club, just weeks before critical elections in Europe where populists are pushing for more power, Berggruen, Gardels and Berggruen Institute board member Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, will discuss this new approach to governance and why such a forward-looking approach is so critically needed.

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The Israeli Elections May 15, 2019

Show notes

Ravit Baer and Alon Sachar will discuss the recent, complex Israeli election and how the results could affect the region, the peace process, Israel and her allies, including the United States. Baer is the deputy consul general and heads the political and public diplomacy departments at the Israeli Consulate in the Pacific Northwest. She has been a career diplomat since 2004. Sachar has worked to advance Middle East peace under two U.S. administrations and served at the State Department Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs and at the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem. He co-authored A Path to Peace: A Brief History of Israeli Palestinian Negotiations and a Way Forward in the Middle East with former Senator George Mitchell (D–VT). MLF Organizer: Celia Menczel MLF: Middle East

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The Italian Table: Creating Festive Meals for Family and Friends May 15, 2019

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Americans have a love affair with Italy and Italian food and few more so than our speaker, Elizabeth Minchilli, who has written eight books on the joys of Italian life. Her latest book, The Italian Table, delivers both parts of the fantasy and reality of meals as they would be eaten in Italy. Combining menus and recipes with visual experience and inspiration—as well as insight into the traditions of the food and celebrations—it serves as a practical resource that gives home cooks and hosts step-by-step guidance on how to recreate these fabulous meals at their own tables. MLF Organizer: Cathy Curtis MLF: Food Matters

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Do No Harm: Civic Leadership and the Role of Health Care May 15, 2019

Show notes

Can we design a health-care system that serves all? Rupa Marya thinks we can. Through hard lessons learned, Marya joins Donna LaSala, Presidio Graduate School professor, to discuss aspects of the U.S. health-care system that are aligned with social justice and others that create injustice. They will explore workable solutions for diversity and inclusion with a systems-thinking mindset. The conversation will include engaging stories about the past and a hopeful future, including an account of how Marya served the water protectors at Standing Rock, offering medical support during the encampment. She is now helping to build a clinic to decolonize medicine called the Mni Wiconi Health Clinic and Farm. Based on her experience working for the city of Berkeley, Goodwill Industries and other triple bottom line organizations, LaSala will demonstrate how multisector partnerships can merge health care with social justice. Together, they will share what can help when the community provides wide-spread and equitable benefits. MLF Organizer: Elizabeth Carney MLF: Business & Leadership In partnership with Presidio Graduate School

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Alpha Girls: Women Upstarts in Silicon Valley May 15, 2019

Show notes

In her new book, Alpha Girls, award-winning journalist Julian Guthrie tells the unforgettable story of four different women who, through grit and ingenuity, became stars in the cutthroat, high-stakes, male-dominated world of venture capital in Silicon Valley, and helped build some of the foremost companies of our time. Guthrie takes readers behind the closed doors of venture capital, an industry that transforms economies and shapes how we live. Through their experiences juggling work and family, the featured leaders and others continued to shape the tech landscape we know today while overcoming unequal pay, actual punches, betrayals, and the sexist attitudes prevalent in Silicon Valley and in male-dominated industries everywhere. Despite the setbacks, they would rise again to rewrite the rules for an industry they love, paving the way for the next generation of women along the way. Join Guthrie for a powerful live conversation featuring Magdalena Yesil, one of the “alpha girls” in the book, and Meaghan Rose, a rising startup founder. The discussion will be led by Will Hearst of Journal of Alta California. They’ll explore the world of tech, startups, venture capital and work culture—and how it has and hasn’t changed.

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Emily Bazelon: Criminal Injustice in America May 14, 2019

Show notes

There are 2.2 million people in American prisons and jails—a 500 percent increase over the last 40 years. We have heard about the role of government policies and law enforcement practices that factor into the creation of this statistic, but we rarely hear about the individuals who interact most closely with putting these people in jail: prosecutors. Renowned journalist and legal commentator Emily Bazelon investigates the power prosecutors hold in the outcome of a case in her new book, Charged: The New Movement to Transform American Prosecution and End Mass Incarceration. Prosecutors are some of the most powerful actors in the criminal justice system, as they are virtually unchecked in their power to decide what to charge defendants with, how to set bail and determine the plea bargain. Bazelon shows how prosecution in America is at a crossroads and details both the damage that overzealous prosecutors can do as well as the second chances they can extend, if they choose. Join us for a conversation that investigates the unchecked power in the criminal justice system and identifies a possible solution to this mass incarceration crisis.

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CLIMATE ONE: Sea Changes: Why Oceans Play a Bigger Role in Climate Than You Think May 10, 2019

Show notes

Global temperatures would be soaring even higher were it not for a powerful heat-trapping ally: oceans. From regulating the temperature of the planet to generating half of the oxygen we breathe, oceans are a vital part of sustaining life on Earth. Increasing their temperature as little as two degrees, however, has an opposite effect, threatening marine biodiversity and turbocharging dangerous hurricanes and typhoons. But there are bright prospects on the horizon for humans and oceans. Join us for a conversation exploring how oceans play a bigger role in climate than you may think.

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The Tubman Command May 10, 2019

Show notes

The Tubman Command is an impeccably researched historical novel that brings to light the bravery and brilliance of American icon Harriet Tubman. It’s May 1863. Outgeneraled and outgunned, a demoralized Union Army has pulled back with massive losses at the Battle of Chancellorsville. Fort Sumter, hated symbol of the Rebellion, taunts the American Navy with its artillery and underwater mines. In Beaufort, South Carolina, a female spy, code named “Moses,” is hatching a spectacular plan. Hunted by Confederates, revered by slaves, a bounty on her head, Tubman plots an expedition behind enemy lines to liberate hundreds of bondsmen and recruit them as soldiers. Gen. David Hunter places her in charge of a team of black scouts, even though he is skeptical of what one woman can accomplish. The Tubman Command tells the story of Tubman at the height of her powers, when she devises the largest plantation raid of the Civil War. This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. MLF Organizer: George Hammond MLF: Humanities

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