Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Latest Episodes:

AI, Art and New Technology: Threat or Opportunity Dec 05, 2024

Show notes

Explore the intersection of art, artificial intelligence, and new technology. Through the diverse perspectives of three incredible artists, we will delve into unique opportunities that new technology presents for creative expression, activism, and the artists' evolving role in the 21st century.

This event will offer exciting opportunities to interact with the artists and a realistic portrait-drawing robot built on 60,000 lines of code. Together, we will gain insight into the future of art and AI by fostering a deeper understanding of how technology is reshaping the art world, culture, and humanity's creative landscape.

Learn more: Read this New York Times article "Visions of A.I. Art From OpenAI's First Artist in Residence," including comments from speaker Hugh Leeman.

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Jonathan Alter: Trump on Trial Dec 03, 2024

Show notes

Regardless of who won the presidential election on November 5, one thing remains on the calendar: Former President Donald Trump heads back to court on November 26 for sentencing.

Bestselling author and presidential historian Jonathan Alter had a front-row seat to Trump’s felony trial, one of just a handful of journalists allowed in the courtroom. For 23 days, he sat just feet away from Trump, watching the spectacle of the century. In his new book American Reckoning, Alter shares everything he witnessed—from eviscerating takes on the colorful characters to the chilling legal ups and downs—to offer a barbed account of the trial and its aftermath, including fresh reporting about the historic events of the summer of 2024.

While experiencing a crisis of faith in the good sense of the American people, Alter chronicles the shaping of his political consciousness and his bracing, unpredictable relationships with Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John McCain, and Joe Biden, whose decision to stand down in favor of former prosecutor Kamala Harris put the criminal trial front and center as Americans render their own verdict at the polls.

Join us for a special online-only program as we hear from someone with a front-row seat to history.

This program contains EXPLICIT language.

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Humanities West Presents Classical Music in the 21st Century Dec 01, 2024

Show notes

Each generation of classical music lovers may wonder if their generation will be the last to truly enjoy the fusion of beautiful sound and emotional depth expressed by the master composers and performers of this centuries-old artistic tradition. Changing economic and social pressures in the early 21st century dented the interest in classical music in the West, a trend exacerbated by the COVID pandemic. But other forces of change are also at work, including a rapidly increasing interest in Asia following upon the worldwide success, among other performers, of Lang Lang and Yuja Wang (both of whom were discovered and whose early careers were managed for several years by Earl Blackburn).

Blackburn will explore what it means to make a career work in today’s classical music industry and will discuss the principles that help thousands of great artists continue to grow both artistically and commercially. Decades ago careers in classical music necessitated getting a powerful agent. Now the tables have flipped somewhat. The creation of classical music has become much more of a collaboration among artist, agent, concert presenter and the audiences who enjoy this art form. Everyone involved is given a chance to test what it means to exercise their imaginations, creating beauty out of sound.

Blackburn will be joined in this discussion by one of his artists, the prize-winning violinist Nancy Zhou, who will also perform.

Organizer: George Hammond

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.

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Genevieve Guenther: The Language of Climate Politics Nov 30, 2024

Show notes

It is possible that the only news we hear about more than politics is the climate crisis, and sometimes it is politics about the climate crisis? But what are we hearing and saying about climate change, and is it what we think we’re hearing and saying?

Genevieve Guenther, founder of the nonprofit organization End Climate Silence, has engaged journalists in efforts to improve coverage of environmental crises in their reporting. Publishers Weekly called her new book, The Language of Climate Politics: Fossil Fuel Propaganda and How to Fight It, a “revelatory study.” In it, she puts forth powerful new ways to talk about the climate crisis that she says will help create transformative change.

Guenther argues that the climate debate is not neatly polarized, with Republicans obstructing climate action and Democrats advancing climate solutions. Partisans on the right and the left often repeat the same fossil-fuel talking points, and she says this repetition produces a consensus upholding the status quo, even as global heating accelerates.

Guenther says big energy interests weaponize the discourses of science, economics, and activism, co-opting and twisting climate language to help “greenwash” their plans for ongoing extraction. But all too often climate scientists, economists, and even advocates will unwittingly echo the assumptions of their supposed political opponents. This apparent agreement between foes, filtered through the news media, not only influences views about the climate crisis but also enables powerful decision makers to justify the policy actions that threaten us all. Guenther says she knows how to transform it and equip people with powerful new terms that will enable them to fight more effectively for a livable future.

Organizer: Andrew Dudley

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

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CLIMATE ONE REWND: You Gonna Finish That? Saving Good Food from Going Bad Nov 29, 2024

Show notes

Globally, one-third of food produced every year is wasted. That’s enough to feed about 2 billion people — twice the number of people who are undernourished. The global food system also accounts for a whopping one-third of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. These two problems — waste and emissions — are intricately linked: Climate disruption exacerbates food insecurity. And industrial food production contributes to the climate crisis. When food is wasted, it’s also a waste of land, water and energy.

In this episode, we talk with experts about how to fix the broken system and hear from some of the people on the ground recovering food before it goes to waste. How can we address both climate and food insecurity at the same time?

This episode also features a news story produced by Harvest Public Media contributor Peter Medlin, a reporter with WNIJ Northern Public Radio.

Guests:

Dawn King, Senior Lecturer, Brown University

Lisa Moon, CEO, The Global Food Banking Network

Norma Alonso, ABACO, Cooperation Manager

James Leyson, Managing Director for Global Impact and Operations, Scholars of Sustenance

🎟️ Join Climate One live in San Francisco on December 9 for our celebration of 2024 Schneider Award Winner Leah Stokes! Tickets are on sale now.

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 for just $5/month.

For show notes and related links, visit our website.

🦃 Happy Thanksgiving!

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From Silence to Solutions: Changing the Conversation about Domestic Violence Nov 29, 2024

Show notes

Journalism can be a powerful force for change, especially in helping people understand the complex causes and impacts of domestic violence. Reporting that includes the diverse experiences of survivors can help shine a light on solutions.

This Domestic Violence Awareness Month, join us for a special event, "From Silence to Solutions: Changing the Conversation about Domestic Violence." Come together with a community of journalists, survivors, and advocates who want to change the conversation about domestic violence so that we can end it. The program will feature an interactive discussion with survivors and journalists, introduce a Journalists’ Playbook on covering domestic violence, and be followed by a networking reception.

For more info about the toolkit for journalists, by journalists and survivors of domestic violence: https://journalists.letsenddv.org/

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Community Town Hall: Preparing for 2025 Nov 28, 2024

Show notes

The national results of the recent general election caused a wave of shock through many progressive organizations in the country and here in the Bay Area.

Join us for a live town hall with speakers from leading LGBTQ organizations, including SF AIDS Foundation, LYRIC, NCLR, SF Pride, El/La Para Translatina, SF HRC, EQCA, SF Office Transgender Initiative and more to come. They'll discuss the election results, its impact on various LGBTQ communities, and plans to respond.

Fireside Chats:

Immigration

Nicole Santamaria, executive director, El/La Para Translatina—Moderator

Jennicet Gutierrez, co-founder and co-executive director, Familia TQLM

Okan Sengun, co-founder, Center for Immigrant Protection

Yuan Wang, executive director, Lavender Phoenix

State of LGBTQIA+

Honey Mahogany–Moderator

Imani Rupert-Gordon, NCLR

Tyler TerMeer, SF AIDS Foundation

Suzanne Ford, SF Pride

Lance Toma, executive director, San Francisco Community Health Center

TGNC Youth, Families, and Gender Affirming Care

Gael Lala-Chavez, executive director, LYRIC—Moderator

Dr. Alexis Petra, founder, Transclinique

Lizette Trujillo, proud mother to a transgender son, volunteer for the Southern Arizona Gender Alliance/Fluxx

Shay Franco-Clausen, political director EQCA

Indigo Jensen, youth speaker, advocate

Special Guests:

Dr. Marcy Adelman

Roma Guy

Ani Rivera, commissioner, San Francisco Department on the Status of Women

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

Thanks to our sponsors:

SF Pride

Alaska Airlines

SF Human Rights Commission

Robert Holgate

Partners:

NCLR

SF AIDS Foundation

LYRIC

SF Community Health Center

El/La Para Translatina

CIP- Center for Immigration Protection

LGBT Asylum

Office of Transgender Initiatives

Parivar Bay Area

Lavender Phoenix

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Kate Conger and Ryan Mac: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitte Nov 27, 2024

Show notes

Rising star New York Times technology reporters, Kate Conger and Ryan Mac, tell for the first time what they say is the full and shocking inside story of Elon Musk’s unprecedented takeover of Twitter and the $44 billion deal’s seismic political, social and financial fallout

The billionaire entrepreneur and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has become inextricable from X. the social media platform that until 2023 was known as Twitter. Started in the mid-2000s as a playful microblogging platform, Twitter quickly became a popular nexus of global politics, culture and media—where the retweet button could instantly catapult any idea to hundreds of millions of screens around the world, unleashing raw collective emotion like nothing else before. While its founder had idealistically dreamed of building a "digital town square," he detested Wall Street and never focused on building a profitable business.

Musk joined the platform in 2010 and, by 2022, had become one of the site’s most influential users, attracting more than 80 million followers with a mix of provocations, promotion of his companies, and attacks on his enemies. To Musk, Twitter—once known for its almost absolute commitment to free speech—had badly lost its way. He blamed it for the proliferation of what he called the “woke mind virus” and claimed that the survival of democracy and the human race itself depended on the future of the site. By April 2022, he was its largest shareholder, and soon made an unsolicited offer to purchase the company for the unimaginable sum of $44 billion dollars. Backed into a corner, Twitter’s board accepted his offer—but Musk quickly changed his mind, forcing Twitter to sue him to close the deal in October.

The richest man on earth controlled one of the most powerful media platforms in the world—but at what price? Before long Twitter would be gone for good, replaced by something radically different, as Musk remade the company in his own image from the ground up.

Join us in-person or online as Conger and Mac follow the inner workings of the company as Musk lays siege to it, first from the outside as one of its most vocal users, and then finally from within as a contentious and mercurial leader. Musk has shared some of his version of events, but Conger and Mac have uncovered the full story through exclusive interviews, unreported documents, and internal recordings at Twitter following the billionaire’s takeover.

This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation.

This program contains explicit language.

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The Future of Downtown, What's Good SF! Summer Series Nov 26, 2024

Show notes

Join us for a lively discussion on the future of San Francisco's downtown. Featuring leaders in the post-pandemic San Francisco revival story, our program will explore the challenges and opportunities facing downtown San Francisco, the progress that has been made and what is around the corner that could turbocharge or derail the next chapter of our city.

Discover the city’s post-pandemic hidden triumphs and where we should be looking for approaches and policies to shape a more resilient and vibrant urban core. We’ll be talking: entertainment zones and pop-ups, new jobs and revamping spaces. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from key voices driving the transformation of San Francisco's heart, and join the conversation on how we can collectively reimagine our city's downtown for a brighter future.

UP NEXT. . .

Save the date: August 29, 5:30 p.m.: "California Volunteers," the role of community and service in San Francisco's revival.

Coming soon: "A Thriving, Natural City," how should we shape a sustainable San Francisco future?

"What's Good, SF!” is a compelling series delving into the post-pandemic revitalization of San Francisco. Through three insightful programs, the series navigates the city's landscape of opportunity and challenge. Join us as we uncover the stories of resilience, adaptation and transformation that define San Francisco's journey toward a new, vibrant and sustainable future.

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Election 2024: The Voters Have Spoken—A Week to Week Special Nov 23, 2024

Show notes

The 2024 fall general election has just ended. Who won? Who lost? Why did anyone win or lose? Which party controls Congress, the White House, most state houses? And what happens next? Will there be a peaceful transition of power?

Join us for the post-election special edition of our Week to Week political roundtable. Enjoy and learn as our panel of political experts explains what happened and what to expect, and answers your questions.

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

This program contains EXPLICIT language,

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