Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Latest Episodes:

CLIMATE ONE: Scientists Who Won’t Be Silenced Sep 26, 2025

Show notes

Within the federal government, science — especially climate science — has taken a beating. The Trump administration has moved from climate denial to climate erasure, firing thousands of career scientists across departments, rolling back established landmark protections, and undermining its own authority to regulate pollutants like carbon emissions. Even at the UN General Assembly, Trump referred to green energy as a “scam” and said climate science came from “stupid people.”

But climate scientists aren’t all taking it lying down. From former EPA researchers to independent academics, many are heroically maintaining open-access databases and continuing fundamental research like the National Climate Assessment without the administration’s blessing.

Guests:

Brandon Jones, President, American Geophysical Union

Wes Ingwersen, Lead, Cornerstone Sustainability Data Initiative

Rachel Cleetus, Senior Policy Director, Climate and Energy, Union of Concerned Scientists

For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org.

Episode Highlights:

00:00 - Introduction

3:23 - Brandon Jones on how the Trump administration has treated science

6:35 - Brandon Jones on what’s next for scientists who were laid off

10:58 - Brandon Jones on continuing to collect climate data

13:18 - Wes Ingwersen on the creation of USEEIO

22:24 - Wes Ingwersen on how EPA changed when Lee Zeldin took over

31:24 - Wes Ingwersen on when EPA employees decided to speak out

37:31 - Wes Ingwersen on taking his work to Stanford

42:28 - Rachel Cleetus on DOE climate report

51:27 - Rachel Cleetus on agency staff cuts

60:40 - Rachel Cleetus on how the scientific community is responding

***

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Jill Lepore: A History of the U.S. Constitution Sep 26, 2025

Show notes

Two hundred fifty years after the nation’s founding, Harvard professor of history and law Jill Lepore comes to Commonwealth Club World Affairs to delve into the foundational document of the country, the Constitution. It’s one of the oldest constitutions in the world, but it has also been criticized for being one of the hardest to change.

Lepore explores the history of the Constitution and its pertinence to our current troubled era in her new book We the People. She notes that nearly 12,000 amendments were introduced in Congress since 1789, but only 27 have been ratified. “One of the Constitution’s founding purposes was to prevent change,” she says. “Another was to allow for change without violence.”

The last time the U.S. Constitution was amended was in 1971, despite continuing attempts to do so from left and right. Lepore says that without the flexibility to amend the Constitution, there is a higher risk of political violence and of presidential or judicial fiat. She argues that the framers of the Constitution never intended for it to be perfectly preserved under glass like a butterfly collection; instead, they knew that future generations would change it through an orderly, democratic, and deliberative process.

How has the Constitution performed in carrying out those tasks? Join us for a discussion with Jill Lepore about how change can make the Constitution and our country stronger.

Audio excerpt from We the People: A History of the Constitution by Jill Lepore, narrated by the author, is provided courtesy of Recorded Books, copyright 2025. The full recording is available wherever audiobooks are sold.

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Savor San Francisco: Chefs, Stories, and Bites Sep 25, 2025

Show notes

Recognized as one of the nation’s top food destinations, San Francisco’s culinary scene thrives on fresh, local ingredients, diverse cultural influences, and a constant drive to innovate. Chefs here are known for pushing boundaries, blending tradition with creativity to deliver unforgettable dining experiences.

Tonight’s program showcases acclaimed chefs from some of the city’s most beloved restaurants. They’ll share their journeys—how they became chefs and restaurateurs, the challenges they’ve faced, and memorable moments from their kitchens.

Each chef will also treat us to small bites, making this an evening that’s both inspiring and delicious.

A Nutrition, Food & Wellness Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums.

Organizer: Patty James

This program contains EXPLICIT language.

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Women Empowering Women: The Art of Transformation Sep 24, 2025

Show notes

Join us for the second event in the Women Empowering Women series: The Art of Transformation, an evening focused on navigating career shifts, balancing work and family, battling imposter syndrome, and taking bold steps toward meaningful change.
You’ll hear from a dynamic panel of women leaders—Debbie Chinn, Vera Maslova, Debra Reabock, and Sawyer Rose—each of whom has forged a unique path through personal and professional transformation. The conversation will be moderated by Dr. Anne W. Smith, Member-Led Forums chair at Commonwealth Club World Affairs. Following the panel, each speaker will host a roundtable discussion, giving you the chance to dive deeper into the topics that matter most to you.

Topics include:

Building networks that open doors
Navigating work and family at every stage
Overcoming imposter syndrome
Designing your next chapter

A light reception will follow the discussions.

An Arts Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums.

In Partnership with Northern California Women’s Caucus for Art (NCWCA).

OrganizerAnne W. Smith & Robert Melton

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Politics in September: Week to Week Political Roundtable Sep 22, 2025

Show notes

Is RFK Jr. in trouble? What will be the lasting impact of the murder of Charlie Kirk? What is the fate of California’s redistricting referendum?

It's time for an early autumn discussion of politics and politicians.

Join us for the Week to Week political roundtable. Learn more about the people, trends and topics driving the political news of the day.

Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California is a nonprofit public forum; we welcome donations made during registration to support the production of our online programming.

See other upcoming Week to Week political roundtables, as well as audio and video of past Week to Week programs.

Commonwealth Club World Affairs is a public forum. Any views expressed in our programs are those of the speakers and not of Commonwealth Club World Affairs.

This program contains EXPLICIT language.

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CLIMATE ONE: Policy Whiplash: Checking In With Labor Unions Sep 19, 2025

Show notes

The past few years have seen a seismic shift in energy and industrial policy in the United States. Under Biden, laws like the Inflation Reduction Act led to money pouring into clean energy manufacturing and deployment. The Trump administration has reversed course, cutting off incentives in instituting massive tariffs.

As a result, entire clean energy projects have been put on hold or even canceled. Workers who were counting on those projects now face an uncertain future. This situation forces tough questions for unions: Where do they go from here?

Guests:

Roxanne Brown, Vice President at Large, United Steelworkers

Lee Anderson, Director of Governmental Affairs, Utility Workers Union of America

Lara Skinner, Executive Director, Climate Jobs Institute, Cornell University

Episode Highlights:

00:00 Intro

3:46 Roxanne Brown on the origins of USW’s environmental advocacy

5:50 Roxanne Brown on the effects of climate workers are feeling today

14:25 Roxanne Brown on how energy policy has affected USW members

18:45 Roxanne Brown on climate messaging within USW

24:16 Lee Anderson on the jobs of utility workers

25:41 Lee Anderson on how climate has affected the safety of workers

30:54 Lee Anderson on UWUA’s input on current federal policy

40:15 Lara Skinner on what sparked a worker centered agenda on climate policy

42:36 Lara Skinner on the ups and downs of Climate Jobs New York’s work

48:57 Lara Skinner on creating state based coalitions

For show notes and related links, visit ⁠ClimateOne.org⁠.

***

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The Role of the Military in Domestic Law Enforcement—Would They Fire on Civilian Demonstrators if so Ordered? Sep 16, 2025

Show notes

Would our troops be used to quell demonstrations in the United States with force? Seeing crowds in Washington, D.C., during the George Floyd riots in 2020, Trump is reported to have asked "Can't we just shoot them?" How do we answer the question as to whether the current administration will have U.S. troops fire on the crowds?

We will look at the Constitution, especially the 10th Amendment, the Insurrection Act of 1807, and the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878. We will review some history where the military has been used domestically to safeguard civil rights marchers, intervene when requested by governors during violent riots, to stop the Bonus March on Washington in 1932, and to imprison Japanese civilians during World War II.

We will also define who is in today's military, where do they come from, how do they line up politically—and would they follow an illegal order and fire on unarmed civilian demonstrators or support a government coup? This is concerning, says Dr. Michael Baker, given the militarization of ICE agents and the deployment of National Guard troops and the Marines to Los Angeles for specious reasons.

About the Speaker

Dr. Michael Baker recently retired from a 40-year career in general, vascular and trauma surgery. He also served 30 years in the uniform of his country and retired with the rank of Rear Admiral and has numerous kudos, including 3 Legion of Merit Awards, the Combat Action Ribbon, and River and Coastal Patrol Officer-in-Charge warfare pin. He has experience in strategic planning, wargaming, combat casualty care, triage, operational medicine, and response to complex disasters and humanitarian emergencies. He currently teaches history, political science, and military affairs for the Osher LifeLong Learning (OLLI) Programs at UC Berkeley, Dominican University, Cal State University East Bay and Cal State Channel Islands; and he is on the Board of Governors of the newly combined Commonwealth Club World Affairs. He teaches Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) to physicians in the United States, at military bases around the world, and most recently returned from his 5th tour in Ukraine teaching ATLS to physicians in that war-torn nation. He has published more than 100 articles in peer reviewed journals.

A Humanities Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums.

In association with the East Bay Chapter.

Organizer: Michael Baker

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Fall Literary Salon: Maxine Hong Kingston, Aimee Liu, Lily Hoang and Pete Hsu Sep 15, 2025

Show notes

Join the incomparable Maxine Hong Kingston, alongside bestselling and award-winning authors Aimee Liu and Pete Hsu, in a riveting conversation moderated by Lily Hoang at Commonwealth Club World Affairs in San Francisco on Thursday, September 11, 2025.

It'll be a beautiful evening of literary readings and discussion about the impact of America’s current politics on marginalized writers, readers, and independent presses. Without NEA and NIH funding, what is the fate of literary diversity in America? What can publishers do to prevent erasure of BIPOC perspectives? What can artists do to defend their legacy and protect the future for imagination, creativity, and radical inclusivity? And what rich reserves of literary history can we all draw upon to embolden the voices of resistance in our modern reckoning? We invite you to participate in an urgent exploration of the good, the bad, and the courageous in publishing today.

This program was rescheduled from July 21, 2025.

Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California is a nonprofit public forum; we welcome donations made during registration to support the production of our programming.

See more Michelle Meow Show programs at Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California.

Commonwealth Club World Affairs is a public forum. Any views expressed in our programs are those of the speakers and not of Commonwealth Club World Affairs.

This program contains EXPLICIT language.

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The 15th Annual Lundberg Institute Lecture: Cancer Commons Sep 13, 2025

Show notes

The Lundberg Institute marks the 15th anniversary of the California nonprofit Cancer Commons by dedicating its 15th annual lecture at Commonwealth Club World Affairs to a discussion of the unique approach Cancer Commons takes to helping cancer patients.

Since its founding, Cancer Commons has delivered personalized, evidence-based guidance at no charge to more than 10,000 patients and caregivers, supported entirely by philanthropy. They provide patients and their care teams with the actionable information and data needed to make informed decisions, and help identify and access an individualized regimen of therapies that specifically target the molecular drivers of their disease. Cancer Commons also refers patients to a myriad of precision oncology services to help them navigate the cancer maze and minimize trial and error.

As Cancer Commons helps patients in this way—identifying and accessing novel tests, treatments, and trials—we learn continuously from each patient's experience.

And then share that knowledge with the world.

OrganizerGeorge Hammond

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CLIMATE ONE: Gloria Walton and Wawa Gatheru Believe in Grassroots Change, Not Just Charity Sep 12, 2025

Show notes

Those standing up to climate and environmental injustice face challenges they weren’t seeing a year ago. But Gloria Walton, head of The Solutions Project, sees a bigger picture:

"The reality is that the same systems that created the climate crisis, whether that's colonialism, white supremacy, racism, and the patriarchy, those are the same ones that have harmed communities of color for generations,” she says. Her organization has channeled tens of millions of philanthropic dollars to grassroots efforts that build community resilience.

Black Girl Environmentalist founder Wawa Gatheru is helping more Black girls, women, and gender-expansive people enter and lead in the climate space. She says the climate fight has shifted from education to action, with over 70% of Americans now understanding that climate change is real. So what should this 'action phase' look like?

Guests:

Gloria Walton, President & CEO, The Solutions Project

Wawa Gatheru, Founder & Executive Director, Black Girl Environmentalist

Highlights:

00:00 – Intro

05:30 – Gloria Walton on the impact of the Altadena wildfires

10:30 – Walton’s work as an organizer in South Central LA

13:00 – Living with idea of abundance

19:00 – Finding and keeping your individual power within our democracy

21:00 – Work of West Street Recovery Project in Houston

22:30 – Developing local resilience hubs

24:00 – Reframing frontline communities as victors, not victims