Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Sportswriter Rick Reilly: How Golf Explains President Trump Jun 14, 2019

Show notes

For decades, a range of authors have tried to explain who Donald Trump is, what makes him tick, and, since he has become president, what drives his political decision-making. Legendary sportswriter Rick Reilly thinks one of the best ways to understand who the 45th president of the United States really is as a person is to study how he golfs, a sport Reilly reveres. In his new book, Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump, Reilly takes readers on an on-the-ground and behind-the-scenes look at Trump's ethics deficit on and off the course. Reilly has been with Trump on the fairway, the green and in the weeds and has seen firsthand how the president plays—and it's not pretty. Based on his personal experiences and interviews with dozens of golf pros, amateurs, developers, partners, opponents and even caddies who have firsthand experience with Trump on the course, Reilly takes a deep and often hilarious look at how Trump shamelessly cheats at golf, lies about it, sues over it, bullies with it and profits off of it. Reilly, in conversation with beloved Bay Area sportswriter Joan Ryan, will outline a new and amusing way to think about the current president, his administration and one of the country's most popular sports.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Larry Diamond: Saving American Democracy Jun 14, 2019

Show notes

In 1974, nearly three quarters of all governments were dictatorships; today, more than half are democracies. Yet, by most measures, there are now 25 fewer democracies than there were at the turn of the millennium. Is democracy in decline? And if so, what has contributed to this regression? Larry Diamond, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, founding co-editor of the Journal of Democracy and professor of political science and sociology at Stanford University has dedicated the majority of his life to answering these questions. His newest book, Ill Winds: Saving Democracy from Russian Rage, Chinese Ambition, and American Complacency, takes a strong and somewhat controversial stance: The defense of democracy depends upon U.S. global leadership. However, before it can fulfill this role, American democracy itself needs to be reformed from the inside. In the book, Diamond not only shares his wealth of knowledge about democracies across the globe but also provides concrete and deeply informed measures that can be taken to reduce polarization, reduce the influence of money in politics and make elections fairer, both here in the United States as well as globally. Join us for a conversation with one of the most respected scholars of democracy about its apparent decline, the challenges it faces and how we can best protect it.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Snow Clown: Cartwheels on Borders from Alaska to Nebraska Jun 14, 2019

Show notes

The Bay Area's Jeff Raz presents an entertaining, inside view of his life on the road and at home as a clown, actor, teacher and playwright. Raz explores both ridiculous and profound revelations in his second book about a decades-long clowning career, The Snow Clown: Cartwheels on Borders from Alaska to Nebraska. He notes that as a teacher, a consultant and a medical clown, it takes practice and skill to ask good questions and to be quiet and acknowledge the other person in ways that build rapport. In the following excerpt, Raz has just performed a monologue at the University of Nebraska as his father’s ghost, talking about his suicide. He writes: “The theater is silent. It’s Monday morning … [I’m] determined to let the students talk first. A full minute passes. Another minute. Nebraskans are Olympians when it comes to silence. They win. This is a literature class so I say, ‘Have any of you read …’ A short young woman in a red tracksuit sporting a blond bouffant, interrupts, ‘Did your daddy really kill himself?’” Join us for a discussion on Raz’s life as a performer and the connections he’s made thus far. MLF ORGANIZER NAME Anne W. Smith

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Driving Change in Food and Agriculture Jun 13, 2019

Show notes

We face some unprecedented challenges today related to how we grow, produce, distribute and consume food. Changing climatic conditions, population growth and decades of unsustainable growing practices are leading to growing consumer demand for higher quality provenance and production practices and healthier food options. Entrepreneurs are at the forefront of this movement to design a food system that is focused on the health of people and planet. Join Presidio Graduate School for a conversation led by Renske Lynde, CEO of Food System 6, a Bay Area based non-profit organization that supports mission-driven entrepreneurs who are developing innovative solutions to some of our greatest food system challenges. Renske will be joined in conversation with Jordan Schwartz, co-founder and chief grainmaster of ReGrained; Andrew Falcon, CEO of Full Cycle Bioplastics; and Christine Su, CEO of PastureMap. Together they will discuss the ways in which their innovative solutions are remaking the food system as we know it. Come prepared to be inspired by these entrepreneurs and to learn how you too can become part of the good food revolution. MLF Organizer: Elizabeth Carney MLF: Business & Leadership In partnership with Presidio Graduate School

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eve Ensler: Transforming Abuse with Apology Jun 12, 2019

Show notes

This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. How do you come to terms with the need for an apology that will never come? How can the trauma of a childhood in an abusive household be put into words? And how can recounting the pain of those histories become a process of healing and personal reconciliation? These are the questions that Eve Ensler grapples with in her newest book, The Apology. It is a raw reckoning with a traumatic and unresolved past which has played an important role in Ensler’s artistic and political activist careers, and it shows other survivors of abuse how they may finally envision their own freedom from the past. Ensler’s theatrical career took off when she wrote “The Vagina Monologues,” a work of such originality and power that it ran for over 10 years and has been translated into 140 languages. The performances inspired the creation of V-Day, a global platform to share the stories of survivors and for groups to raise money for the cause through their own yearly performances of “The Vagina Monologues.” Ensler has received numerous awards, including the Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship in playwriting, an Obie and Glamour’s Woman of the Year. Come join us for a discussion with a woman renowned for her artistic work and political impact on a topic for which words do not come easily but need to be heard. Audible Segments from The Apology, performed by Edoardo Ballerini. ** This Program May Contain Explicit Language **

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scott Kupor: Secrets of Sand Hill Road Jun 12, 2019

Show notes

As a managing partner at Andreessen Horowitz, Scott Kupor has seen it all. He offers firsthand experiences and insider advice for every entrepreneur trying to secure venture capital funding. Kupor has been with Andreessen Horowitz since its inception in 2009 and has overseen the firm’s growth from $300 million in assets to over $7 billion. He is the co-founder and co-director of the Stanford Venture Capital Director’s College and was previously the chairman of the board of the National Venture Capital Association.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

88th Annual California Book Awards Jun 12, 2019

Show notes

Since 1931, the California Book Awards have honored the exceptional literary merit of California writers and publishers. Each year a select jury considers hundreds of books from around the state in search of the very best in literary achievement. The California Book Awards have often been on the vanguard, honoring previously unknown authors who go on to garner national acclaim. John Steinbeck received three gold medals—for Tortilla Flat in 1935, In Dubious Battle in 1936 and The Grapes of Wrath in 1939. Recent award winners include Adam Johnson, Jared Diamond, Karen Fowler, Kay Ryan, Bill Vollman, Joyce Maynard, Andrew Sean Greer, Yiyun Li, Adrienne Rich, Chalmers Johnson, Richard Rodriguez, Michael Chabon, Philip Levine, Rebecca Solnit, Galen Rowell, Jonathan Lethem, Peter Orner and Kevin Starr.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Daphne Muse: Documenting Black History Jun 12, 2019

Show notes

Daphne Muse is a Bay Area writer, social commentator and cultural broker. Her collection of more than 3,700 handwritten and typed letters dating back to 1958 reflects the voices of activists, writers, artists, actors, world leaders and media innovators who shaped movements, created new artistic visions and drove the intellectual and cultural discourse for civil rights and human rights for the 20th and the early years of the 21st century. Award-winning authors Gwendolyn Brooks, Toni Morrison and Alice Walker, along with political prisoners, media mogul Oprah Winfrey, 44th President Barack Obama and architect Sir David Adjaye, are among the hundreds with whom she's corresponded. Fifty-two letters from students at the University of Baltimore were recently added to the collection. In an interview with retired Judge LaDoris Cordell, Muse will discuss and read from the letters in her collection, reflecting the voices of key figures in the civil rights, Pan-African, and black power movements. Come for a unique chance to see history through the words of those who lived it.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The San Francisco Civic Center Jun 12, 2019

Show notes

Monday Night Philosophy looks into the local history of how the Civic Center was created. San Francisco is known for its iconic man-made structures such as the Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars and the Transamerica Pyramid. Its Civic Center is yet another of its urban planning marvels. Featuring the grandest collection of monumental municipal buildings in the United States, it was originally planned and designed by John Galen Howard in 1912 and is considered one of the finest achievements of the American reformist City Beautiful Movement. James Haas meticulously unravels the story of why the Civic Center was built, of how it became central to the city's urban planning initiatives in the early 20th century, and of how it held onto its founders’ vision despite heated public debates about its function and achievement. Its history is riddled with controversy as well as inspiring leadership, but the Civic Center remains a stunning manifestation of the confident spirit of San Francisco's dynamism and creativity. MLF Organizer: George Hammond MLF: Humanities

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Still We Rise: A Conversation with Young Leaders Jun 07, 2019

Show notes

This event is the latest in the San Francisco Foundation’s series on People, Place and Power. Being a teenager is difficult in the best of times, but the universal work of figuring out your identity, your passions, and your path and place in the world can be even more daunting for some. Youth of color, immigrants, LGBTQ community members, and those with disabilities or in low-income households are just some of the populations who face unique challenges. Place those against the backdrop of a Bay Area where inequality is rising, long-time residents are being displaced and the tech sector (literally) towers above, and you’ve got a whole generation grappling with unprecedented questions. So how are young people surviving and thriving in a changing region? What happens when their identities are intersectional and don’t fit into a simple narrative? How are they raising awareness on critical issues to change perceptions, influence policy and spur civic engagement—and how can we better listen? Bay Area youth will take the stage to tell us just how they’re addressing questions of representation, activism and equity as they grow up in this beautiful region of contradictions. Join us to hear the next generation speak for themselves. NOTES Presented in association with KQED Program made possible by the foundation’s Bay Area Leads Fund

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected