Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

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Diversity 2.0: A Modern Guide to Intersectionality and Allyship at Work Nov 21, 2019

Show notes

To promote women in the workplace, we need to understand how to advance and support working women of all kinds: women of all races; women with disabilities; immigrant women; women of various religions; women of all ages and generations; working moms, queer/trans women; and women who are first, only or different in any way. You are invited to join a vibrant panel discussion featuring experts and intersectional feminists from various angles of the diversity and inclusion world. There will be plenty of time for audience questions. You should attend if you want to get a sense of the first critical things about being a supporter to several key areas of diversity so you can be a better ally to groups that you're not in and so that you can strengthen your feminism and your women/workplace efforts with an understanding of all women. MLF Organizer: Emily Meghan Morrow Howe MLF: Executive Womxn

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Transgender Day of Remembrance: Addressing Violence Against Black Transgender Women Nov 21, 2019

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Join us for a memorable program exploring the struggles of African-American transgender women, who are the most frequent victims of anti-trans violence. Toni Newman is the executive director of St. James Infirmary in San Francisco. St. James is a peer-based occupational health and safety clinic, offering free, compassionate and nonjudgmental health care and social services for former and current sex industry workers. With the many challenges facing the aforementioned—including but not limited to political climate, homelessness, violence and the overwhelming intricacies of the legal, public and social systems—St. James Infirmary offers an independent alternative, providing individuals with culturally competent and nonjudgmental services. Monica Roberts is the founding editor of the award-winning TransGriot blog and is an award-winning human rights advocate. She is a sought-after collegiate and conference speaker who has been advocating for the human rights of transgender people for more than 20 years, with a focus on the issues affecting black trans people. Her writing has appeared at Ebony.com, The Advocate, Black Girl Dangerous and OutSmart magazine. Roberts has also received the 2018 GLAAD Media Award, the Robert Coles “Call of Service” award from Harvard University's Phillips Brooks House Association, the Virginia Prince Transgender Pioneer Award and the Barbara Jordan breaking barriers award from the Harris County Democratic Party.

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The Hidden Causes of America’s Broken Education System and How We Can Fix It Nov 20, 2019

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In her new book, The Knowledge Gap, education journalist Natalie Wexler chronicles what she calls America’s broken education system. She cites the devastating impact, especially on underserved children, of an elementary education where she says comprehension is mistakenly seen as a matter of building generic skills, overlooking the essential need to build actual knowledge. Wexler says not only is school boring as a result, but scores on measures of reading comprehension remain stagnant. Beyond diagnosing the problem, Wexler showcases innovative educators who she says are bringing real learning into the classroom. Wexler challenges all of us to think beyond the typical excuses for failing schools and consider the need for a knowledge-rich curriculum that exposes children to vocabulary and stories that build upon each other. A senior contributor to Forbes.com, Wexler’s writing has also appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic and The Washington Post, and she is the co-author with Judith C. Hochman of The Writing Revolution: A Guide to Advancing Thinking Through Writing in All Subjects and Grades. Kati Haycock is the founder and former CEO of Education Trust, an organization dedicated to high achievement for all students, particularly those of color or living in poverty. Kate Walsh has led the National Council on Teacher Quality for over 15 years, championing greater transparency and higher standards for all institutions that impact teacher effectiveness. Wexler will speak about her findings and then join a conversation with education advocates Kati Haycock and Kate Walsh, moderated by KIPP teacher Josh Martinez. Come for a vital discussion aimed at solving America’s education woes.

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CLIMATE ONE: John Browne: Engineering the Future Nov 16, 2019

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Can oil companies reinvent themselves as clean energy providers? John Browne attempted it over more than a decade as CEO of British Petroleum, where he led the company's “Beyond Petroleum” rebranding campaign. In his new book, Make, Think, Imagine: Engineering the Future of Civilization, Browne argues that the solution to reducing emissions and addressing climate change is a mass deployment of engineered technology — and that the tools we need to get there already exist. Join us for a conversation on the potential of energy incumbents to become innovators.

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Rich Lowry: The Case for Nationalism Nov 15, 2019

Show notes

Rich Lowry, editor of National Review and author of The Case for Nationalism: How It Made Us Powerful, United, and Free, is a leading innovator in national conservative thought circles. A respected conservative commentator, Lowry joined National Review in 1992 and was hand selected by William F. Buckley Jr. to lead the magazine in 1998. He’s been a frequent guest on Fox News and is the best-selling author of Legacy: Paying the Price for the Clinton Years and Lincoln Unbound. Lowry has taken his extensive experience and conservative ideology to his new book, The Case for Nationalism: How It Made Us Powerful, United, and Free. In this book, Lowry argues that nationalism is not a dirty word, refuting criticism from the Left and the Right that nationalism means fascism, militancy and racism. Instead, Lowry shows us that nationalism means self-realization and identity, chronicling the history of America and how nationalism was integral to its success. Through The Case for Nationalism, Lowry argues that now, more than ever, is the time to rekindle a healthy sense of American nationalism in our civic life. Join us as we welcome Rich Lowry for a discussion on nationalism and why it matters.

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America's Journey from Slavery to Segregation Nov 14, 2019

Show notes

Steve Luxenberg presents the myth-shattering story of how our nation embraced separation and the devastating consequences of that decision. Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court case synonymous with "separate but equal," created remarkably little stir when the justices announced their nearly unanimous decision on May 18, 1896. Yet it is at the center of one of the most dramatic stories of the 19th century, and its cultural reverberations are still felt today. Wending his way through a half century of American history, Luxenberg begins at the dawn of the railroad age in the North, home to the nation’s first separate railroad car, and then moves through the Civil War and Reconstruction to its aftermath: separation taking root in nearly every aspect of American life. Luxenberg draws from letters, diaries and archival collections to tell the story of Plessy v. Ferguson through the eyes of the people caught up in the case: resisters from the mixed-race community of French New Orleans, led by Louis Martinet, a lawyer and crusading newspaper editor; Homer Plessy’s lawyer, Albion Tourgée, a best-selling author and the country’s best-known white advocate for civil rights; Justice Henry Billings Brown, from antislavery New England, whose majority ruling endorsed separation; and Justice John Harlan, the southerner from a slaveholding family whose singular dissent cemented his reputation as a steadfast voice for justice. Luxenberg's new book, Separate: The Story of Plessy v. Ferguson, and America's Journey from Slavery to Segregation, has been long listed for the 2019 Cundill History Prize, an international award recognizing the best history writing in English. MLF ORGANIZER NAME George Hammond

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Jerry Rice: America's Game—The NFL at 100 Nov 14, 2019

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Football legend Jerry Rice is regarded as one of the best wide receivers ever to play in the NFL. He is a three-time Super Bowl champion and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame. Rice celebrates some of the most memorable moments in NFL history and reflects on his own love of the game. He offers a comprehensive look at the players and coaches that helped define and transform football to the cultural phenomenon it is today.

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CLIMATE ONE: California’s Story: How Did It Get Here? Nov 13, 2019

Show notes

California has long led the country in environmental action. It established strong automobile emission standards; it preserved fragile lands from development; it set energy efficiency standards for buildings and appliances. But as climate change fuels megafires across the state and the state’s largest electric utility shuts off power to more than a million residents, can the state’s legacy of environmental leadership save it from climate disaster? In a state already accustomed to swinging wildly between drought and flood, what will become of the California dream?

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Are You Stoic or Epicurean? Ancient Wisdom for Today's World Nov 08, 2019

Show notes

Freedom. Ambition. Diet. Frustration. Exercise. Anxiety. Grief. These are concerns we recognize as central to the shape and scope of contemporary American life, especially life in the Bay Area. At times they seem so overwhelming as to be unique to our present moment—but they are not. In fact, much of ancient philosophy was committed to addressing and alleviating them. Ancient Athens and imperial Rome were in many ways quite similar to 21st century America. Antiquity was a world that included slaves and immigrants, plutocrats and exiles, political strife and crushing poverty. Beginning in the 4th century B.C., philosophers began to develop teachings and schools that addressed the freedom life promised and the constraints under which it unfolded. The names of two of these schools—the Stoics and the Epicureans—have so endured as to have entered the common lexicon. Along the way, however, they have lost much of their original force: We now tend to equate Stoicism with a kind of John Wayne-inflected, flat-bellied machismo. Epicureanism has become synonymous with an unbridled appetite for food, wine and “the good life.” This is a mistake. There is much we could learn and from which we could benefit by a renewed consideration of ancient thought. Please join us as we host Tony Long and Jim Porter, two of the world’s leading authorities on classical thought, in a conversation that will make relevant to our own time the teachings of ancient philosophy. Their conversation, which will touch on everything from climate crises to religion to gratitude and human dignity, will be moderated by Amanda Goldstein. Do you consider yourself a Stoic or an Epicurean? Or perhaps a Cynic, a skeptic or a Pythagorean? Join us, and experience the strength and relevance of ancient thought.

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The Expat Experience Nov 07, 2019

Show notes

What happens when you go abroad to live and work in another culture, surrounded by the strange sounds of a different language, different food, music and customs? What does it take to achieve a successful expatriate experience? Come and learn about the diverse experiences of 14 Americans who worked and lived in various countries—from England to Vietnam, Belarus to India. Learn about their challenges and how they finally adjusted and thrived in their foreign environments. Schickel presents the results of her recent qualitative research, conducted years after she herself experienced the expat life during her two years in the U.S. Peace Corps in Morocco, which inspired her continuing interest in these issues and led to her recently successfully defended dissertation. MLF ORGANIZER NAME George Hammond NOTES MLF: Humanities

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