Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Ambassador of Cuba, Lianys Torres Rivera, on Embargo and Engagement Mar 26, 2024

Show notes

Fraught relations between neighbors are not unique. But with the stakes elevated on the international stage, and separated by just 90 miles, the United States and Cuba showcase one of the most strained and enduring neighborhood disputes. In the region where the Cold War almost turned nuclear-hot, is there any way to contend with a complicated history and still make nice?

Join Commonwealth Club World Affairs for an unprecedented evening as we welcome the Cuban ambassador to the United States on her first visit to the West Coast. In our exclusive public program, Ambassador Lianys Torres Rivera, will shed light on one of our closest yet most controversial and closed-off neighbors: the Republic of Cuba.

Ambassador Lianys Torres Rivera will share a perspective from Havana: What is the story behind record-breaking recent Cuban migration to the United States? Is there any hope for moving beyond the U.S. embargo of Cuba—now in its seventh decade and controversially expanded in the 1990s to sanction worldwide companies trading with the island? More than 30 years on since the fall of the Soviet Union—but in an era of rising geopolitical tensions—what can a relationship between the leader of the free world and our closest Communist neighbor look like?

As ambassador to the United States, and a key negotiator in the bilateral discussions on bolstering U.S. engagement with Cuba during the Obama administration, Ambassador Torres Rivera will share insight into the process of renewing relations, the backsliding that followed and where we stand now. Hear how the U.S.-Cuba relationship could evolve as we look ahead to this pivotal election year in the United States and explore if California-Cuba collaborations could ignite. Come prepared with your questions for this very rare opportunity to speak directly with Cuba’s highest official in the United States.

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Byron Tau: The U.S. Surveillance State's Hidden Alliance of Tech and Government Mar 25, 2024

Show notes

“That evening, I was given a glimpse inside a hidden world. . . . An entirely new kind of surveillance program—one designed to track everyone.”

Hear a tale of strange bedfellows—the U.S. government, data brokers, tech companies and advertisers—involved in shaping the surveillance state and privacy.

For the past five years—ever since a chance encounter at a dinner party—journalist Byron Tau has been piecing together a secret story: how the whole of the internet and every digital device in the world became a mechanism of intelligence, surveillance, and monitoring.

Most people are somewhat aware that our modern world is awash in surveillance. But Tau says the true potential of our phones, computers, homes, credit cards, and even the tires underneath our cars to reveal our habits and behavior would astonish most citizens. All of this surveillance has produced an extraordinary amount of valuable data about every one of us. That data is for sale—and the biggest customer is the U.S. government.

In the years after 9/11, the U.S. government, working with scores of anonymous companies, many scattered across bland Northern Virginia suburbs, built a foreign and domestic surveillance apparatus of breathtaking scope—one that can peer into the lives of nearly everyone on the planet. This cottage industry of data brokers and government bureaucrats has one directive—“get everything you can”—and the result is a world in which defense contractors have marketing subsidiaries and marketing companies have defense contractor subsidiaries. And the public knows virtually nothing about it.

Reporter Byron Tau joins us for a special online-only talk to tell you—and probably the government—what he has learned.

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Tali Sharot and Cass Sunstein: The Power of Noticing What Was Already There Mar 24, 2024

Show notes

Neuroscience professor Tali Sharot and Harvard law professor (and presidential advisor) Cass R. Sunstein have investigated why people stop noticing both the great and not-so-great things around them and how to “dishabituate” at the office, in the bedroom, at the store, on social media, and in the voting booth.

Have you ever noticed that what is thrilling on Monday tends to become boring on Friday? Even exciting relationships, stimulating jobs, and breathtaking works of art can lose their sparkle after a while. Sharot and Sunstein say that many people stop noticing what is most wonderful in their own lives. They also stop noticing what is terrible. They get used to dirty air. They stay in abusive relationships. People grow to accept authoritarianism and take foolish risks. They become unconcerned by their own misconduct, blind to inequality, and are more liable to believe misinformation than ever before.

But what if we could find a way to see everything anew? What if you could regain sensitivity, not only to the great things in your life, but also to the terrible things you stopped noticing and so don’t try to change?

For fans of Thinking Fast and Slow and The Power of Habit, Sharot and Sunstein offer a new study of how disrupting our well-worn routines, both good and bad, can rejuvenate our days and reset our brains to allow us to live happier and more fulfilling lives. Join us for a talk with Sharot and Sunstein about their work, based on decades of research in the psychological and biological sciences, and how they say it illuminates how people can reignite the sparks of joy, innovate, and recognize where improvements urgently need to be made.

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CNN's Jim Sciutto: Russia, China, and the Next World War Mar 23, 2024

Show notes

A new global competition is taking place, and CNN Chief National Security Correspondent Jim Sciutto draws on his reporting from the front lines of political hotspots and warzones across the globe to explain history unfolding in front of us.

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 was the beginning of the beginning. Three decades later, Jim Sciutto said on CNN’s air as the Ukraine war began, that we are living in a “1939 moment.” The global order as we have long known it is now gone. Great powers are reinvigorated and determined to assert dominance on the world stage. As it escalates, this new order will affect everyone across the globe. Peace has been shattered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but in reality, this affects every corner of our world—from Helsinki to Beijing, from Australia to the North Pole. This is a battle with many fronts: on the Arctic floor, in the oceans and across the skies, and in cyberspace.

Sciutto argues that we are witnessing the return of great power conflict, “a definitive break between the post–Cold War era and an entirely new and uncertain one.” The world order that marked the last 30 years is shifting, and Sciutto will explain the realities of this new post–post–Cold War era, the increasingly aligned Russian and Chinese governments, and the flashpoint of a new, global nuclear arms race. He poses a question: that as we consider uncertain outcomes, we ask whether the West and Russia and China can prevent a new world war.

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CLIMATE ONE: Climate Migration: Should I Stay or Should I Go? Mar 22, 2024

Show notes

The places that most people call home are coming under increasing threat from climate change. From rising seas and more frequent floods to stronger hurricanes and cyclones, to more devastating droughts and wildfires, the most habitable parts of our world are becoming far less so. Over time, our cities will be forced to transform — and hundreds of millions will have to move.

People who have the means are already starting to relocate to places that market themselves as climate-proof. But not everyone will be able to leave. And many won’t want to. How do we handle the next great waves of migration?

Guests:

Abrahm Lustgarten, author, “On the Move: The Overheating Earth and the Uprooting of America”

Sonia Shah, author, “The Next Great Migration: The Beauty and Terror of Life on the Move

This episode also features reported pieces by MPR reporter Dan Kraker on “Climate Proof Duluth” and KUOW Public Radio in Seattle reporter John Ryan on “How a Northwest tribe is escaping a rising ocean.”

Support Climate One by going ad-free! By joining 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 even periodic engagements with Climate One staff. Join today for just $5/month.

For show notes and related links, visit our website.

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Seeing It All: Changing the World One Photo at a Time Mar 22, 2024

Show notes

Neuroscientist, writer and stage director Indre Viskontas will be joined by world-renowned photographer Jo-Anne McArthur and co-founder of the BigPicture photography competition and exhibit curator Rhonda Rubinstein for a conversation about the power of images to change how we see the world, raise awareness about the most urgent environmental issues, and spark action. This event will also feature the work of McArthur and other photographers in Seeing It All: Women Photographers Expose Our Planet, the latest publication from BigPicture and the California Academy of Sciences.

Written by Rubinstein, Seeing It All features more than 125 photos by female BigPicture award recipients and jurors, whose incredible images illustrate the extraordinary complexity of the natural world and expose how we—humans, animals, nature—are living together now. Featuring a foreword by renowned oceanographer Sylvia Earle and essays by Indre Viskontas and Rebecca Solnit, this important book presents new perspectives of rarely seen animals, places, and conservation around the world.

MLF ORGANIZER: Anne W. Smith

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Rick Hasen: A Real Right to Vote Mar 21, 2024

Show notes

Throughout history, many Americans have been disenfranchised or faced needless barriers to voting. Part of the blame falls on the Constitution, which does not contain an affirmative right to vote. The U.S. Supreme Court failed to protect voting rights and limited Congress’s ability to do so. That’s why some are saying that the time has come for voters to take action and push for an amendment to the Constitution that would guarantee this right for all.

Drawing on troubling stories of state attempts to disenfranchise military voters, women, African Americans, students, former felons, Native Americans, and others, UCLA law professor Richard Hasen argues that American democracy can and should do better in assuring that all eligible voters can cast a meaningful vote that will be fairly counted. He says a constitutional right to vote can deescalate voting wars between political parties that lead to endless rounds of litigation and undermine voter confidence in elections, and can safeguard democracy against dangerous attempts at election subversion like the one we witnessed in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.

The path to a constitutional amendment is undoubtedly hard, especially in these polarized times. Join us as Hasen explains what’s in it for conservatives who have resisted voting reform and reveals how the pursuit of an amendment can yield tangible dividends for democracy long before ratification.

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Jerry Kaplan: What You Need to Know About Generative AI Mar 16, 2024

Show notes

Have we finally discovered the holy grail of artificial intelligence (AI)—machines that match or exceed human intelligence?

Advances in generative AI (GAI) have created a new class of computer systems that exhibit astonishing proficiency on a wide variety of tasks with superhuman performance, producing novel text, images, music, and software by analyzing enormous collections of digitized information. Soon, these systems will provide expert medical care; offer legal advice; draft documents; write computer programs; tutor our children; and generate music and art. These advances will accelerate progress in science, art, and human knowledge, but they will also bring new dangers.

Which industries and professions will thrive—and which will wither? What risks and dangers will it pose? How can we ensure that these systems respect our ethical principles? Will the benefits be broadly distributed or accrue to a lucky few? How will GAI alter our political systems and international conflicts? And are we merely a stepping stone to a new form of nonbiological life, or are we just getting better at building useful gadgets?

Join us for a provocative talk by Jerry Kaplan, author of Generative Artificial Intelligence: What Everyone Needs to Know, as he addresses these pressing questions.

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CLIMATE ONE: Talk Isn’t Cheap: The Power of Conversation Mar 15, 2024

Show notes

As heat waves, storms, droughts and wildfires continue to worsen, talking can seem like a seriously insufficient climate solution. It’s fair to ask: Are we just engaged in blah, blah, blah?

Too often, talking is one sided – more of a lecture aimed at conveying information or solely stating one's own point of view. And yet, when done right, real conversations and true listening can help us find common ground, which can then lead to collective action and change. So how do we make those conversations really count? In this week’s episode, we delve into some of our most insightful interviews, looking for the answer.

Guests:

Katharine Hayhoe, Chief Scientist, The Nature Conservancy

Meera Subramanian, Journalist

Faith Kearns, Scientist, California Institute for Water Resources; Author, “Getting to the Heart of Science Communications”

Anand Giridharadas, Author, “The Persuaders”

Chloe Maxmin, Co-Executive Director, Dirt Road Organizing

John Cook, Senior Research Fellow, Melbourne Centre for Behaviour Change

For show notes and related links, visit our website.

📞 Have you moved within the United States for climate-related reasons? Tell us about it!

For the chance to have your climate migration story shared on Climate One, give us a call at 650 382-3869. Please keep your voicemail under two minutes and include your name and contact information so we know how to reach you if we decide to feature your story.

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The Risk It Takes to Bloom: A Discussion with Author Raquel Willis and Bia Vieira Mar 14, 2024

Show notes

In the wake of the release of author and activist Raquel Willis's debut memoir, The Risk it Takes to Bloom: On Life and Liberation, join us for a live discussion of what collective liberation means with Bia Vieira, CEO of the Women's Foundation California.

About the Speakers

Raquel Willis is an award-winning author, activist, and media strategist dedicated to Black transgender liberation. She has held groundbreaking posts, including director of communications for Ms. Foundation for Women, executive editor of Out Magazine, and national organizer for the Transgender Law Center. She co-founded Transgender Week of Visibility and Action and currently serves as an executive producer for iHeartMedia's "Outspoken," president of the Solutions Not Punishments Collaborative’s executive board, and a WNBA Social Justice Council member. Her debut memoir, The Risk It Takes to Bloom: On Life and Liberation, was released in late 2023 by St.Martin’s Press.

Bia Vieira is CEO of Women’s Foundation California, where she leads the foundation’s work to advance gender, racial and economic justice. She has served the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors for more than 20 years, including senior-level positions at the Philadelphia Community Foundation and Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees. Originally from Brazil, she is a longtime activist in women’s, LGBTQI, Latine, immigrant, and arts and culture issues. Fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese, Bia holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish and anthropology and a Master’s Degree in literature and linguistics, both from Temple University. She is a recognized expert on culture change and gender, racial, and economic justice issues and is a frequent commentator on the power of women’s philanthropy. Bia resides with her partner in Oakland, CA.

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

Presented by The Michelle Meow Show and Inforum at Commonwealth Club World Affairs.

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