Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Climate + Justice: Young Activists Speak Out Dec 02, 2021

Show notes

As the devastating effects of climate change take hold around the world, young people are demanding action from global leaders and, increasingly, taking action themselves. Ask a teenager or young adult which issues they think are most pressing in the world today, and climate will often top the list.

One of the goals of our Creating Citizens initiative is to provide a forum for youth to meet and learn from peers and civic leaders about the complex and often controversial issues that are important to them. So it is with special pride that we present a panel of young climate activists discussing their own work and the power of youth to address the climate crisis and issues of racial and social injustice around the world.

SPEAKERS

Samir Chowdhury

Founder and Executive Director, Youth Climate Action Team, Inc.

Vanessa Nakate

Author, A Bigger Picture: My Fight to Bring a New African Voice to the Climate Crisis

Zaria Romero

Climate Generation Delegate, COP26; Junior, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Darren Zook

Professor, Global Studies and Political Science, University of California, Berkeley

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on December 1st, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

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Linda Greenhouse: The Supreme Court at the Brink Dec 02, 2021

Show notes

Over the past four years, the United States Supreme Court has seen drastic changes to its members, from the death of Ruth Bader Ginsberg to the appointment of Amy Coney Barrett. At the end of the 2019–20 term, followers of the Supreme Court noted that a new "center" of the court was holding under the leadership of Chief Justice John Roberts. By the end of the 2020–21 term, much about the nation's highest court had changed, reflecting a conservative supermajority enabled by jurors nominated by President Donald Trump. Many observers of the court expect these shifts to continue and deepen, making this past year a critical pivot point in the history of the Supreme Court, and American politics as a whole.

In her new book, Linda Greenhouse, a Pulitizer Prize winner and one of the best-known chroniclers of the Supreme Court of her generation, explores the end of the 2020–21 term for the court, the changes that have occurred in the past year, and what the future holds for the court in these increasingly partisan times. Greenhouse covers everything from the death of Justice Ginsburg to the rise of Justice Comey Barrett, from the pandemic to the disputed 2020 election, putting the happenings around the Supreme Court at the center of the country's partisan political disputes.

Please join us for an important conversation on the U.S. Supreme Court and its increasing role in American society with a writer who knows the court and its politics as well as anyone in America.

SPEAKERS

Linda Greenhouse

Contributing Op-Ed Writer, The New York Times; Clinical Lecturer in Law, Senior Research Scholar in Law, Yale Law School; Author, Justice on the Brink

In Conversation with Lara Bazelon

Professor of Law and Director of Criminal Juvenile Justice and Racial Justice Clinical Programs, University of San Francisco

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on November 30th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

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Jonathan Karl with Martha Raddatz: The Final Act of the Trump Show Nov 30, 2021

Show notes

Veteran journalist Jonathan Karl has known and covered Donald J. Trump longer than any other White House reporter. And during that time, he has been praised, taunted and branded an enemy of the people by President Trump himself.

So possibly nobody is in a better position to tell the story of the shocking final chapter of the Trump show than Karl. In his new book Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show, Karl takes us behind the scenes of some of the darkest days in American history and shares what happened during the final weeks of the Trump presidency, the aftermath that followed, and what it means for the future of the Republican Party.

SPEAKERS

Jonathan Karl

Chief White House Correspondent and Chief Washington Correspondent, ABC News; Author, Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show; Twitter @jonkarl

In Conversation with Martha Raddatz

ABC News Chief Global Affairs Correspondent and Co-Anchor of “This Week with George Stephanopoulos”; Twitter @MarthaRaddatz

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on November 17th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

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CLIMATE ONE: REWIND Finding the Heart to Talk About Climate Nov 26, 2021

Show notes

Ever have a difficult conversation about climate? Pretty much everyone has. Knowing all the facts and figures only goes so far when talking to someone who just doesn’t agree. So how do we break through the barriers? Scientists trained to present information in a one-way lecture format face a particular challenge: they first need to unlearn old habits.

“Everybody's trying to figure out ‘how do we move past this idea that just arming people with facts will lead to a better world,’ right, because we’ve just seen that that’s absolutely not true,” says Faith Kearns, author of Getting to the Heart of Science Communication.

Kearns argues that we all need to move from an “information deficit” model of communication – where it’s assumed that the audience simply needs more information – to a relational model, where the science communicator does as much listening as talking in order to first find empathy and common ground.

Guests:

Faith Kearns, author, Getting to the Heart of Science Communication

Katerina Gonzales, doctoral research fellow, Stanford University

Support our work: climateone.org/donate

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Michael Eric Dyson: Entertaining Race Nov 23, 2021

Show notes

For more than 30 years, Michael Eric Dyson has played a prominent role in the nation as a public intellectual, university professor, cultural critic, social activist and ordained Baptist minister. He has presented a rich and resourceful set of ideas about American history and culture. Now, for the first time, he brings together the various components of his multihued identity and eclectic pursuits.

Entertaining Race: Performing Blackness in America dives into how Black people were forced to entertain white people in slavery, have been forced to entertain the idea of race from the start, and must find entertaining ways to make race an object of national conversation.

Most of this work will be new to readers, a fresh light for many of his long-time fans, and an inspiring introduction for newcomers. Join us as Michael Eric Dyson takes us through his new work, and offers insight into the role of African American culture in American culture.

SPEAKERS

Michael Eric Dyson

Distinguished University Professor of African American & Diaspora Studies, College of Arts & Science, and of Ethics & Society, Divinity School, and NEH Centennial Chair at Vanderbilt University; Author, Entertaining Race: Performing Blackness in America

In Conversation with Lauren Sanders

Journalist

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on November 16th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

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QTAPIs: The Personal and the Political Nov 23, 2021

Show notes

Welcome to Hearts and Minds—A QTAPI Community Conversation Series, Session Three: FTAPIs—The Personal and the Political.

Join us for an intergenerational panel discussion of QTAPI (queer and trans Asian Pacific Islander) people discussing and sharing stories of their personal involvement in politics and community organizing.

The Asian and the Pacific Islander communities are not monoliths unto themselves, so no program can possibly speak to the breadth of diversity and uniqueness in those communities. But we will explore certain moments in the panelists' own personal histories and lived experiences as they reflect on questions such as: What got them involved in API and/or LGBTQ issues? Was there a specific moment that moved you to become involved? Who were your mentors? How has your involvement changed from when you started? What is the most rewarding aspect of this work? And more.

SPEAKERS

James Coleman

Member, South San Francisco City Council

Valli Kalei Kanuha

Ph.D., Teaching Professor and Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, University of Washington

Sammie Ablaza Wills

Community Organizer; Outgoing Executive Director, APIENC

Willy Wilkinson

M.P.H., Writer; Public Health Consultant; Cultural Competency Trainer; Author, Born on the Edge of Race and Gender: A Voice for Cultural Competency

Michelle Meow

Producer and Host, "The Michelle Meow Show" on KBCW/KPIX TV and Podcast; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors; Twitter @msmichellemeow—Host

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San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly: Monetary Policy in Uncertain Times Nov 23, 2021

Show notes

Mary C. Daly is the president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. She returns to The Commonwealth Club for a much-anticipated discussion on how to approach monetary policy amidst the uncertainty of an economy still struggling to overcome the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since taking office in October 2018, Dr. Daly has committed to making the San Francisco Fed a more community-engaged bank that is transparent and responsive to the people it serves. She works to connect economic principles to real-world concerns and concentrates on monetary policy, labor economics, and increasing diversity within the economics field. Dr. Daly began her career with the San Francisco Fed in 1996 as an economist specializing in labor market dynamics and economic inequality. She went on to become the bank’s executive vice president and director of research. She currently serves on advisory boards for the Center for First-generation Student Success and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. She has also served on the advisory boards of the Congressional Budget Office, the Social Security Administration, the Office of Rehabilitation Research and Training, the Institute of Medicine, and the Library of Congress.

Dr. Daly earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, a master’s degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a Ph.D. from Syracuse University. She also completed a National Institute of Aging post-doctoral fellowship at Northwestern University. A native of Ballwin, Missouri, Dr. Daly now lives in Oakland, California, with her wife Shelly.

SPEAKERS

Mary C. Daly

President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

Lenny Mendonca

Former Chief Economic and Business Advisor, Director of the Office of Business and Economic Development, State of California; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors

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Maryles Casto: My Journey from the Clouds to Silicon Valley CEO Nov 22, 2021

Show notes

In her new book, A Hole in the Clouds, Maryles Casto shares how, as part of the dramatic economic growth of Silicon Valley, she built her travel business from a $1,500 startup to a $200 million company, serving the needs of the tech industry. She describes how advice from key industry pioneers—such as Intel’s Andy Grove and Robert Noyce and V.C.s William Bowes and Irwin Federman—contributed to her perspective on business, and offers invaluable lessons on her strategies that helped the business to thrive despite being in an industry threatened by extinction. She describes how her business success then led her to champion community and cultural organizations.

When Maryles Casto left her family’s sugar plantation in the Philippines in 1959 and moved to the United States as a new bride, she brought with her a love for travel and the stellar customer-service experience she’d gained as a flight attendant for Philippine Airlines. She never imagined she’d be building a business from scratch in an unfamiliar country. But when her husband went back to school, she needed to find a job. She founded Casto Travel soon after, a company she ran for more than four decades.

Join us as Maryles Casto discusses the true story of how she transformed her life from unemployed flight attendant into the CEO of one of the most successful travel companies in the country, and of the many interesting characters she has met along the way!

NOTES

This program is part of The Commonwealth Club's Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation.

SPEAKERS

Maryles Casto

Chairman and CEO, MVC Solutions; Author, A Hole in the Clouds: From Flight Attendant to Silicon Valley CEO

In Conversation with Dr. Gloria Duffy

President and CEO, The Commonwealth Club of California

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on November 15th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

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CLIMATE ONE: Taking Stock of COP26 Nov 19, 2021

Show notes

In 2015, delegates from 196 nations entered into the legally binding treaty on climate change known as the Paris Agreement, which set a goal of limiting global warming to “well below 2 and preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels.” Yet in August of this year, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a new assessment report that starkly illustrated the world’s collective failure to meet that target. Delegates from across the globe have just met in Glasgow for the international climate summit known as COP26, with the hope of strengthening commitments to keep emissions targets at that 1.5 degree level.

After two weeks of negotiations, presentations and protests in Glasgow, COP26 is a wrap. This week we discuss what was achieved - and what wasn’t - at the summit.

For transcripts and other information, visit: https://www.climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts

Guests:

Vanessa Nakate, Ugandan climate activist

Jiang Lin, Adjunct Professor, University of California Berkeley

Albert Cheung, Head of Global Analysis, Bloomberg New Energy Finance

Support our work: climateone.org/donate

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The Sharaka Project and the Abraham Accords Nov 18, 2021

Show notes

Our distinguished, diverse panel will discuss the Abraham Accords, which began a new era of cooperation between the broader Middle East region and Israel, and inspired the development of entities such as the Sharaka Project. (Sharaka means "partnership" in Arabic.).

The project was founded by young leaders in order to turn the vision of people-to-people peace into a reality and encourage citizen diplomacy. Sharaka is currently located in Bahrain, Israel, The UAE, the United States and soon will open in Morocco. The panelists will also share their personal stories and cultures that inspire them.

MLF ORGANIZER

Celia Menczel

NOTES

MLF: Middle East

SPEAKERS

Omar Al Busaidi

CEO, Sharaka USA, Fulbright Scholar

Hayvi Bouzo

Journalist; Washington, D.C., Bureau chief, The Orient News

Dan Feferman

Director of Communications and Global Affairs, Sharaka; Fellow, The Jewish People Policy Institute

Chama Mechtaly

Artist; Founder and CEO, Moors and Saints

Banafsheh Keynoush

Ph.D., Vice-Chair, Commonwealth Club Middle East Member-Led Forum—Moderator

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on November 10th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California.

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