Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

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In this whirlwind 2024 political election year, public affairs issues include gender considerations, reproductive rights and governing boundaries. The central concept of "The Handmaid's Tale" opera is based on Margaret Atwood's dystopian-themed 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale—that women are subordinate to men, must take on domestic and subservient roles including ritualized rape. Female worth is tied to becoming mothers. No reading, No owning property, No Careers Allowed. The theocratic extremist government is anti dissidents, academics, and "gender traitors." Discussion about Handmaid's Tale themes—this projected fictional situation of the United States in a "not too distant future year"—is amazingly relevant in consideration of the hot button issues of American public affairs during fall 2024. General Director Matthew Shilvock writes: “San Francisco Opera continues its second century with a season that demonstrates the potential of opera to connect to the most fundamental aspects of our humanity . . . through works of searing contemporary resonance like The Handmaid’s Tale." Organizer: Anne W. Smith An Arts 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 San Francisco Opera. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Before Justin J. Pearson became a national voice for common sense gun regulation, he was a strong advocate for climate and environmental justice, having worked to defeat a multi-billion-dollar crude oil pipeline that could have poisoned Memphis’s drinking water and taken land from South Memphis residents. Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb is working to make climate a top priority in his traditionally fossil fuel-friendly city. From his first press conference where he discussed making Cleveland a “15-minute city,” to his current push to electrify municipal fleets and decarbonize the city “block by block,” Bibb is leading his city to advance climate solutions and close the racial wealth gap. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What’s the “pride paradox”? For all the efforts to understand the state of American politics and the blue/red divide, people have often ignored what economic and cultural loss can do to pride. Arlie Russell Hochschild argues that Donald Trump has turned lost pride into stolen pride and shame into blame, and that the result of his rhetorical alchemy has been to weaponize that shame and introduce a potent blend of anger and often violent rhetoric—undermining democracy and highlighting revenge. Hochschild’s research for her book Stolen Pride drew her to Pikeville, Kentucky, in the heart of Appalachia, within the whitest and second-poorest congressional district in the nation, where its residents faced the perfect storm. The city was reeling: coal jobs had left, crushing poverty arrived, and a deadly drug crisis struck the region more powerfully than anywhere else in the nation. Although Pikeville had been in the political center 30 years ago, by 2016, 80 percent of the district’s population voted for Donald Trump. Hochschild focuses on a group at the center of the shifting political landscape: blue-collar men. She had long conversations over six years with mayors and felons, clerks and shopkeepers, road workers and teachers, ex-coal miners, and recovering addicts. In some of the voices she listens to, Hochschild hears an alternative to the inchoate anger, as she and her subjects imagine a way we might build bridges and move forward. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us to hear Talmage Boston’s explanations of how the leadership traits of America’s eight greatest presidents could (or at least should) be implemented by our current political leaders. Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Reagan are Boston’s choices for his reflections on successful political leadership, generating unusual insights due to his merger of history with leadership lessons for our time. 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. This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sergeant Nyaradzo Auxilia Hoto grew up in Huyo village, in Nyamakate, located in Zimbabwe’s mighty Zambezi Valley. From an early age, she dreamed of having a positive impact on her region and its wildlife. Previously she served as a commander of the all-women anti-poaching Akashinga Rangers that operates under Akashinga—an innovative nature conservation organization based in Africa that delivers resilient nature conservation programs of global significance through community-driven partnerships. Today Nyaradzo (a graduate from Chinhoyi University of Technology with a Bachelor of Science degree in wildlife, ecology and conservation) sits as a biodiversity supervisor focused on research and data analysis collected by Akashinga Rangers, who are executing everyday patrols, to evaluate and maintain wildlife and vegetation. Her interests are centered on wildlife conservation, ecology and sustainability, protecting her region’s natural heritage for her young daughters and for generations to come. Join us as Sergeant Nyaradzo shares her experience with Akashinga, her goals for her own conservation and climate action, and her passion for advancing women leaders in conservation. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The use of art gained momentum during the 20th century with major movements such as the City Beautiful movement and the New Deal, which sought to beautify and revitalize urban areas through public art installations and other creative initiatives. Today, art continues to play a critical role, especially with its potential to engage and inspire residents, attract tourists, and boost economic growth. How can the arts with all its potentials revitalize our San Francisco? Panelists will discuss the ways in which the arts can revive the city and serve as a model for other cities to follow. Organizer: Robert Melton An Arts 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. This program contains EXPLICIT language. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Environmental icon Jane Goodall is celebrating 90 years of life, and she’s not backing off of her passionate commitment to nature. The indefatigable Goodall is now focused on three intertwined crises: biodiversity loss, climate change, and environmental inequity. She has one important message for her audiences around the world: vote like your children’s lives depend on it — because they do. Jane Goodall is joined by Rhett Butler, founder of Mongabay, a nonprofit media organization that delivers news and inspiration from nature's frontline via a network of more than 900 journalists in about 80 countries. Guests: Jane Goodall, Ethologist, conservationist Rhett Butler, Founder, Mongabay For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

About a month and a half before Election Day, and even less time than that before the first votes begin to be cast, join us live for a roundup of the latest political news on the local, state and national levels. Join us for our latest election season 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the world’s leading economists joins us to offer a compelling new vision of personal and economic freedom. Many Americans believe this nation was born from the conviction that people must be free. But since the middle of the last century, that idea has been co-opted. Forces on the political right have justified exploitation by cloaking it in the rhetoric of freedom, leading to pharmaceutical companies freely overcharging for medication, a Big Tech free from oversight, politicians free to incite rebellion, corporations free to pollute, and more. How did we get here? Whose freedom are we―and should we―be thinking about? In his new book The Road to Freedom, Nobel Prize winner Joseph E. Stiglitz dissects America’s current economic system and the political ideology that created it, laying bare what he identifies as their twinned failure. He says that “free” and unfettered markets have only succeeded in delivering a series of crises: the financial crisis, the opioid crisis, and the crisis of inequality. While a small portion of the population has amassed considerable wealth, wages for most people have stagnated. Free and unfettered markets have exploited consumers, workers, and the environment alike. Such failures have fed populist movements that believe being free means abandoning any obligations citizens have to one another. As they grow in strength, Stiglitz warns that these movements now pose a real threat to true economic and political freedom. As an economic advisor to presidents and as chief economist at the World Bank, Stiglitz has witnessed these profound changes firsthand. He argues the failures follow from the elites’ unshakeable dedication to “the neoliberal experiment.” Explicitly taking on giants such as Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman, Stiglitz says accepted ideas about our political and economic life are really just twisted visions that tear at the social fabric while they enrich the very few. Stiglitz posits what he says is a deeper, more humane way to assess freedoms―one that considers with care what to do when one person’s freedom conflicts with another’s. He says we must reimagine our existing economic and legal systems and embrace forms of collective action, including regulation and investment, if we are to create an innovative society in which everyone can flourish. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What we wear defines us in so many ways. But in recent decades we’ve moved away from long-lasting, quality pieces in favor of disposable fast fashion, with major consequences for our climate and environment. From mechanized farming and pesticides to grow fiber crops, to energy for manufacturing and transportation, fossil fuels are embedded in the clothing industry at every step of the process. Companies large and small are working against this trend, with some setting lofty goals for reducing carbon emissions and water use. But achieving those goals is hard. So what are the solutions? Buy less? Design new fibers and materials? Thrifting and repurposing existing clothing? New business models? How can we make low-impact clothing? Guests: Aja Barber, Author, “Consumed: The Need for Collective Change: Colonialism, Climate Change and Consumerism” Jason Kibbey, Former CEO, Sustainable Apparel Coalition; Former President, Worldly Molly Morse, CEO, Mango Materials Jonathan Chapman, Professor, Carnegie Mellon University School of Design For show notes and related links, visit our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journalist Don Lemon says he always had a complicated relationship with God. He cherished the Southern Black church he was raised in, but struggled with the fundamentalist rejection of his right to exist as a gay man—one who wanted to marry his longtime love in a church wedding with all the traditional trimmings. In his work as a reporter, moreover, he saw his fellow Americans losing faith in a higher power, in institutions, and in each other. Setting out to understand the place that religion has in our lives today, Lemon turned a journalistic eye on ancient stories and found connections that sparked memories, conversations, and chance encounters. Then, suddenly, his world unraveled: In a blaze of inglorious headlines, Don was ousted from his high-profile network news job and tasked with redefining his role in the shifting media landscape. But through a year of personal changes and professional whiplash, he kept his “eyes on the prize” and ultimately found what he was seeking: grace, within himself and in this nation we call home. Rich with humor and Louisiana realness, his new book I Once Was Lost is a prayer for a country that reflects the multifaceted image of God and a clarion call to those who believe in our common humanity enough to fight for it. Join us for an online-only talk with Don Lemon about faith and how tribulations can make us stronger, as individuals and as a nation. This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. This program contains EXPLICIT language. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Free speech is indispensable on college campuses: allowing varied views and frank exchanges of opinion is a core component of the educational enterprise and the pursuit of truth. But, says renowned legal scholar Cass R. Sunstein, free speech does not mean a free-for-all. The First Amendment prohibits “abridging the freedom of speech,” yet laws against perjury or bribery, for example, are still constitutional. In the same way, valuing freedom of speech does not stop a university from regulating speech when doing so is necessary for its educational mission. So where is the dividing line? How can we distinguish reasonable restrictions from impermissible infringement? Join us for a special online-only program in which Sunstein will provide a pragmatic, no-nonsense explainer, taking us through a wide range of scenarios involving students, professors and administrators. He says it’s consistent with the First Amendment to punish students who shout down a speaker, but not those who chant offensive slogans; why a professor cannot be fired for writing a politically charged op-ed, yet a university might legitimately consider an applicant’s political views when deciding whether to hire her. He explains why private universities are not legally bound by the First Amendment yet should, in most cases, look to follow it. And he addresses the thorny question of whether a university should officially take sides on public issues or deliberately keep the institution outside the fray. He'll draw on the work he put into his new book Campus Free Speech: A Pocket Guide and will provide a concise guide to resolving free-speech dilemmas at colleges and universities.  This program is part of The Commonwealth Club’s Future of Democracy Series, supported by Betsy and Roy Eisenhardt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for a fireside chat with Darrel Hackett, BMO Bank’s president and CEO. In 2023, BMO completed the $16 billion acquisition of San Francisco-based Bank of the West, doubling its U.S. footprint. Under Hackett's leadership, BMO is now a top 10 U.S. bank with significant growth ambitions. In contrast to recent high-profile corporate departures from the Bay Area, BMO has boldly entered the market with this major acquisition and a $16 billion commitment for community giving and lending in California. BMO is driven by a single purpose—to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life—and is committed to making progress for a thriving economy, sustainable future, and inclusive society. In conversation with ABC 7 Anchor Dan Ashley, Hackett will share more about BMO’s headline-making growth and purpose-driven corporate leadership, as well as the bank’s future in the Bay Area and beyond. This program is generously supported by BMO. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Approximately one in three Americans has autoimmunity, according to our speaker, Dr. Sara Szal Gottfried, M.D. Conventional medicine falls short when it comes to both diagnosing and treating autoimmune conditions. In The Autoimmune Cure, by Dr. Gottfried, there is hope for the tens of millions of people who suffer from autoimmune disease. Dr. Gottfried explains the connection between trauma and autoimmunity, and has created a powerful program designed to break the vicious cycle of autoimmune disease, reset your immune system, and restore your health. About the Speakers Dr. Sara Szal Gottfried, M.D., is a physician, researcher, author, and educator. She graduated from Harvard Medical School and MIT, and completed residency at UCSF, but is more likely to prescribe a continuous glucose monitor and personalized nutrition plan than the latest pharmaceutical. Dr. Gottfried is an international keynote speaker and the author of four New York Times bestselling books about hormones, nutrition and health. She is clinical assistant professor in the Department of Integrative Medicine and Nutritional Sciences at Thomas Jefferson University, and director of precision medicine at the Marcus Institute of Integrative Health. Her focus is at the interface of mental and physical health, N-of-1 trial design, personalized molecular profiling, use of wearables, and how to leverage these tools to improve health outcomes. Dr. Brad Jacobs, M.D., M.P.H., A.B.O.I.M., is a recognized leader in conscious leadership, personal transformation and precision medicine. He is a Stanford-trained physician board-certified in internal medicine and integrative medicine and was the endowed professor and founding medical director of the University of California at San Francisco Osher Center for Integrative Medicine. Organizer: Patty James A Nutrition, Food & Wellness 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What are the deep connections between music and healing? Music is one of humanity’s oldest medicines. From the Far East to the Ottoman Empire, Europe to Africa and the pre-colonial Americas, many cultures have developed their own rich traditions for using sound and rhythm to ease suffering, promote healing, and calm the mind. Join us as neuroscientist and New York Times best-selling author Daniel J. Levitin shares some of the findings he put in his latest book, I Heard There Was a Secret Chord, in which he explores the curative powers of music, showing us how and why it is one of the most potent therapies today. He examines the results of numerous studies on music and the brain, demonstrating how music can contribute to the treatment of a host of ailments, from neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, to cognitive injury, depression and pain. Levitin is not your typical scientist—he is also an award-winning musician and composer, and through lively interviews with some of today’s most celebrated musicians, from Sting to Kent Nagano and Mari Kodama, he shares their observations as to why music might be an effective therapy, in addition to plumbing scientific case studies, music theory, and music history. Come learn about the critical role music has played in human biology. This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S. is gearing up for a presidential election between a climate advocate and a climate denier. Scientists have given humanity a deadline to drastically reduce the use of fossil fuels if we want a habitable Earth. While there has been some progress, it’s not anywhere nearly enough, and the consequences of our failure to address our fossil fuel addiction is becoming more and more obvious. All of which generates lots of anxiety about the election’s outcome. So what are some ways we can address that anxiety? Can that worry be put to good use? Guests: Lise Van Susteren, General and forensic psychiatrist; Author Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr., President & CEO, Hip Hop Caucus David Hogg, Gun control activist; Cofounder, March for Our Lives, Leaders We Deserve 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. 🎟️ Climate One has three incredible live shows on the horizon! Join us for conversations featuring Jane Goodall, Justin J. Pearson, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Bill McKibben, and Abigail Dillen. Tickets are on sale now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kamala Harris is going toe-to-toe with Donald Trump in a high-stakes race for the presidency. Though she has served as vice president for four years, many Americans don’t know a lot about her. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, we know her from her days as San Francisco district attorney and then California attorney general and senator. But perhaps no observer knows her as well as journalist Dan Morain, whose biography of Harris—Kamala’s Way—gives insight into her history in the Bay Area. And Morain returns to Commonwealth Club World Affairs to talk about Harris on the cusp of making history on the national stage. There’s very little that’s conventional about Kamala Harris, and yet her personal story also represents many Americans. She grew up the eldest daughter of a single mother, a no-nonsense cancer researcher who emigrated from India at the age of 19 in search of a better education. She and her husband, an accomplished economist from Jamaica, split up when Kamala was only five. The Kamala Harris the public knows today is tough, smart, quick-witted, and demanding. She’s a prosecutor—her one-liners are legendary—but she’s more reticent when it comes to sharing much about herself, even in her memoirs. Fortunately, former Los Angeles Times reporter Dan Morain has been there from the start. Join us in-person in San Francisco or online to learn more about the person who might well be America’s first female president, its first southeast Asian president, and its second Black president. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for our second installment of a new series of lively discussion on the future of San Francisco. Featuring leaders in community, service and volunteerism. "People Power & Service" will explore the opportunities for the people of San Francisco to play an active role in the next chapter of our city and the impact that neighbors leading local change can have. Hear strategy and on-the-ground learnings from Josh Fryday, California’s chief service officer, Jess Blackshaw, founder of the Bay Area’s innovative Y Core young professional service program, and Dean Fealk, author and researcher on changemakers and service. By harnessing the collective energy and dedication of community members, we can breathe new life into urban spaces, foster stronger connections, and address critical social needs. Learn how grassroots efforts are leading sustainable change, driving economic growth, social cohesion, and a renewed sense of pride in San Francisco. Join us in imagining the role of volunteerism in building the vibrant and resilient city of the future. UP NEXT. . . Part 3, coming soon: "A Thriving, Natural City," how should we shape a sustainable San Francisco future? See Part 1: "The Future of Downtown" "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. This program is generously supported Levi Strauss & Co. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everyone knows her name. Mary Trump grew up in a family divided by its patriarch’s relentless drive for money and power. The daughter of Freddy Trump—the highly accomplished, dashing eldest son of wealthy real estate developer Fred Trump—and Linda Clapp—a flight attendant from a working-class family—Mary lived in the shadow of Freddy’s humiliation at the hands of his father. Fred Trump embodied the ethos of the zero-sum game and among his five children: there could only be one winner. That was supposed to be Freddy, his namesake, but Fred found him wanting―too sensitive, too kind, too interested in pursuits beyond the realm of the real estate empire he was meant to inherit. In Donald, Fred found a kindred spirit, a “killer,” who would stop at nothing to get his own way. Even after Freddy’s short-lived career as a professional pilot for TWA came to an end, he never stopped trying to gain his father’s approval. Finally, at the age of 42, he succumbed to Fred’s lethal contempt and died alone in an emergency room, with no family by his side. Mary Trump returns to the Club for a special online-only talk about the issues raised in her new memoir Who Could Ever Love You, in which she pulls back the curtains on what she calls the twisted family whose patriarch ignored, froze out, and eventually destroyed his own. Freddy Trump’s decline into alcoholism and illness, along with Linda’s suffering after their divorce, left Mary dangerously vulnerable as a very young girl. Inadequately and only conditionally loved, there were no adults in her life except for the father she loved but lost before she could know him; and a mother abandoned by her ex-husband’s rich and powerful family who demanded her loyalty but left her with nothing. She says that cold, selfish cruelty has come to define the Trump family thanks in large part to her uncle, whose ambition has divided the nation and much of the world. This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices