Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Silicon Valley Reads 2026: Bridges to Belonging Jan 29, 2026

Show notes

At a time when some may feel divisiveness and isolation is pervasive, this year’s Silicon Valley Reads theme explores the concept of belonging in unique ways.

Join us for a thought-provoking conversation with featured authors Keeonna Harris (Mainline Mama: A Memoir), Annie Harnett (Unlikely Animals: A Novel), and John Powell (The Power of Bridging: How to Build a World Where We All Belong).

Hear more about how people find and build community in different ways.

In-person attendees are encouraged to visit the Euphrat Museum of Art to enjoy the show A Sense of Belonging.

Hosted with Santa Clara County Library District, Santa Clara County Office of Education, San José Public Library, and DeAnza College

This program contains EXPLICIT language.

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Iran in Crisis: What’s Behind the Protests, and Will the U.S. Attack? Jan 28, 2026

Show notes

Iran’s authoritarian government has faced widespread protests in recent weeks, marking the most extensive unrest the country has seen in decades. The demonstrations, which began at the end of 2025, were triggered by an economic crisis and plummeting currency values. Tehran has responded with a violent crackdown leading to thousands of deaths. President Donald Trump initially responded by threatening military action. Will he follow through?

Join us for a conversation between Iran expert Banafsheh Keynoush and UCLA professor and fellow Iran scholar Dalia Dassa Kaye about the latest developments in the crisis, possible U.S. responses, and what it all means for the region.

They’ll also discuss Dassa Kaye’s new book Enduring Hostility, which explores how America's Iran policy is made, the people who make it, and the underlying ideas and perceptions that inform it. The book looks back at U.S. policy toward Iran over the past four decades to help us look ahead, offering wider lessons for understanding American foreign policymaking and providing critical insights at a pivotal time of heightened military tensions in and around the Middle East.

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

A Middle East 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.

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.

Organizer: Banafsheh Keynoush

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The Opinionated University: Academic Freedom, Diversity, and the Myth of Neutrality in American Higher Education Jan 27, 2026

Show notes

Can a university ever truly be neutral in today’s social and political climate? Pushing against the tide of universities increasingly pledging to stay neutral about contentious issues, law professor Brian Soucek argues that their promises are doomed to fail—universities can’t help being opinionated.

Soucek says that neutrality is a myth, and he takes a deep dive into several prominent campus controversies of the day, including diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts and restrictions on campus speech and protest. Each issue requires universities to choose a side in what they do, if not also in what they say. In everything from curricular and admissions decisions to their response to outside rankings and their evaluation of faculty, universities express the values at the heart of their mission. Soucek argues that those pushing for neutrality are only preventing universities from standing up for their values, whether in today’s current moment of crisis or in periods of political calm.

Join us to discuss Soucek’s timely and deeply engaging call for universities to dispense with neutrality as a governing principle and to focus instead on what their mission should be, and who should determine it.

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 American Constitution Society.

OrganizerGeorge Hammond

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Immigration & the Future of the United States Jan 27, 2026

Show notes

Join us on January 21, 2026, in San Francisco for a fact-based exploration of immigration and the future of the United States. Moderated by the Population Reference Bureau's Jennifer Sciubba, this conversation will cut through opinion and politics to reveal the real data shaping America’s demographics, economy, and competitiveness. Hear from leading experts Dr. Giovanni Peri, Daniel Costa, and Dr. Russell Hancock on what’s working—and what needs fixing—in U.S. immigration policy. Gain clear insights into how these forces will shape our businesses and communities for years to come.

This core learning event offers an intentionally apolitical and fact-based perspective on a politically, emotionally and culturally charged topic. Credible, fact-based information on immigration can be hard to discern from opinion and rhetoric. Amplifying the stakes for the United States, at a time of intense rivalry for leadership of large global industries of the future, the full scope and impact of federal policy actions is unknowable. Some are immediate, obvious and reported in mass media. Others will take years to be known, understood and reported. All businesses, communities and individuals will be affected.

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

Program support provided by YPO Gold NorCal.

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USAID and the Rule of Law: A Personal Retrospective by Mary Noel Pepys Jan 26, 2026

Show notes

Many of us did not know about USAID (U.S. Agency for International Development) until it came under scrutiny by the White House's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in its recent cost-cutting efforts. USAID is—or was—the principal U.S. agency to extend assistance to countries recovering from disaster, trying to escape poverty, and engaging in democratic reforms.

While the constitutionality of DOGE's actions effectively curtailing USAID’s efforts work their way through the courts, we invite you to hear a personal perspective from someone whose work was primarily funded by USAID and who experienced first-hand the impact of USAID’s rule of law programs around the world during the past 30 years.

Mary Noel Pepys will provide an overview of her pro bono work in former communist countries, where she served as the rule of law liaison for the American Bar Association’s Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative. She will discuss the challenges of assisting nations in their transition from communism to democracy, including efforts to strengthen the rule of law and promote judicial independence.

Mary Noel Pepys is a senior attorney specializing in the rule of law, specifically international legal and judicial reform. Since 1993 she has helped emerging democracies develop justice systems that ensure the protection of citizens’ human rights, equal treatment of all individuals before the law, and a predictable legal structure with fair, transparent and effective government institutions. You can learn more about Pepys's international work at pepysinternational.com, which will serve as a backdrop of her presentation.

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How Human Innovation Can Spark a "Century of Plenty" Jan 25, 2026

Show notes

Nearly every headline seems to warn of new crises, deepening divides or threats to the planet. Yet a very different story emerges when you widen the lens.
A new book, A Century of Plenty, takes a longer, historical and more hopeful view. Over the past 100 years, humans have made unprecedented progress, from longer lifespans to dramatically reduced poverty: “On average, people now live 40 years longer than they did. From Lagos to London, economic growth has hauled billions of people out of poverty and empowered them to lead rewarding lives.”
The forthcoming book, by researchers at the McKinsey Global Institute, examines what powered the “progress machine” of the last century, while acknowledging that the gains were inconsistent and not shared equally. What would it take for all countries in the world to achieve the standard of living of, say, Switzerland by 2100? For one thing, the global economy would have to grow to eight times the size it is today. Is this realistic? Will the world have enough energy, food, metals and minerals? Can we keep innovating quickly enough? Can we deliver prosperity while protecting our planet?
“This future is, in fact, possible and perhaps likely, even if progress is always fraught with challenge and humanity lives on the edge,” the book concludes. We’ll talk with co-author Chris Bradley, economist Noah Smith, and other experts about the lessons from the past 100 years, and how they can be applied to ensure even greater future prosperity.

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The Changing Diplomatic Relationships Within Europe and With the United States Jan 24, 2026

Show notes

We have entered the second quarter of this century, and the general public’s concern in regard to past, present and future relationships and alliances looms large on the horizon.
Established practices, agreements, and alliances seem to be under review. Are the accepted patterns of diplomatic, political and economic institutions wobbling and leaving the future uncertain?
Our panel will have an open conversation among the consuls general of the United Kingdom and Ireland; the deputy consul general of Italy; and the honorary consul general of the Czech Republic about what we can expect. Will the established relationships of the past 25 years among the European nations and the United States dramatically change?
The new year is a great time to review what we have all experienced and thought, with an eye on the present and the future. This should be a frank and open conversation.

An International Relations 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.

OrganizerFrank Price and Norma Walden

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The Race for Governor 2026: Steve Hilton Jan 23, 2026

Show notes

Author, entrepreneur, and Fox News contributor Steve Hilton says he’s running for California governor to address the housing crisis, high taxes and the “staggering incompetence of Democrat one-party rule." He’s not embracing the Republican label, instead calling his campaign nonpartisan.

Born in the United Kingdom to Hungarian parents who fled communism, Hilton worked in politics, advertising, and business before becoming head of strategy for former British Prime Minister David Cameron. But he’s probably best known in the United States for hosting the Fox News Channel show “The Next Revolution.” His books include Good Business: Your World Needs You and More Human: Designing a World Where People Come First.

Hilton joins Commonwealth Club World Affairs as part of our “Race for Governor 2026” series of candidate forums. Come meet the candidate, hear his vision for California, and ask your questions before you cast your vote for California’s next governor.

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CLIMATE ONE: Beyond the Obvious: What We’re Watching in 2026 Jan 23, 2026

Show notes

We’re only about a month into 2026, and already so much has happened — from the Trump administration’s forcible removal of Venezuela’s president to the US pulling out of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change… It’s easy to get caught up in the headlines of the moment and lose sight of the big picture.

But important developments are happening in sectors like agriculture and renewable technology that don’t break through the noise to the extent they deserve. So, what should we be watching in 2026?

Guests:

Justine Johnson, Chief Mobility Officer, Michigan

Michael Grunwald, Journalist, Author, We Are Eating The Earth

Jessie Bluedorn, Founder & Executive Director, The Carmack Collective

For show notes, transcript, and related links, visit ⁠ClimateOne.org/podcasts⁠

Highlights:

00:00 Intro

05:33 Justine Johnson on the importance of mobility

08:48 Justine Johnson on the future of EV charging

11:20 Justine Johnson on the practicality of new EV charging technology

19:05 Justine Johnson on innovation in financing

22:52 Michael Grunwald on making more food with less land

30:17 Michael Grunwald on the new tech used to constipate beetles to death

37:24 Michael Grunwald on what to watch in politics

43:00 Jessie Bluedorn on the fossil fuel industry’s control over cultural narratives

47:57 Jessie Bluedorn on the comedy in the climate crisis

56:36 Jessie Bluedorn on other areas to keep an eye on in the culture

*****

Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on ⁠Patreon⁠, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today at ⁠patreon.com/ClimateOne⁠.

Ad sales by ⁠Multitude⁠. Contact them for ad inquiries at ⁠multitude.productions/ads

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Nell Bernstein and Chesa Boudin on the Fight to Close Youth Prisons Jan 22, 2026

Show notes

Over the past 20 years, one state after another has shuttered its youth prisons and stopped trying kids as adults, slashing the number of incarcerated children by a stunning 75 percent. How did this change come about? In the sequel to her 2014 award-winning book Burning Down the House, journalist Nell Bernstein dissects the forces that converged to move us from what she calls a moral panic about “juvenile superpredators” to a time in which the youth prison is rapidly fading from view.

In Our Future We Are Free begins and ends with the imprisoned youth who took a leading role in their own liberation. Through vivid profiles, Bernstein chronicles the tireless work of mothers, activists, litigators, researchers, and journalists to expose and challenge the “racist brutality of youth prisons”—as well as the surprising story of prison officials who worked from the inside to close their institutions for good. The descriptions of how communities are pursuing safety, rehabilitation, and accountability outside of locked institutions offers a model for how we might overcome our addiction to incarceration writ large.

Join Nell Bernstein and Chesa Boudin to learn how a coalition of parents, activists, and prison officials reformed what she calls a “racist and destructive institution,” and what other social movements can learn from that struggle.

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