Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

On July 14, 2021, lesbian feminist Sally Miller Gearhart passed away at the age of 90. In 1973, she had become the first out lesbian to obtain a tenure-track faculty position when she was hired by San Francisco State University, where she helped establish one of the country's first women and gender study programs. In her long life, she was a teacher, feminist, science fiction writer and political activist.Join us for a special program in tribute to her; we will also reveal exclusive clips from a documentary now in production on Sally Gearhart's life. A complimentary lunch will be provided for in-person attendees.Note: This program contains EXPLICIT languageSPEAKERSDeborah CraigDocumentary Director and Producer, including "A Great Ride" and SallyJörg FockeleFilmmaker, Executive Producer and Television Director/Producer, including "Queer Eye," SallyMelanie NathanExecutive Director, African Human Rights CoalitionOndine RareyFilmmaker; Writer and Editor, including A Portrait of Female Desperation and SallyMichelle MeowProducer and Host, "The Michelle Meow Show" on KBCW and Podcast; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors—HostIn response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on September 30th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Please join us for a lively and intimate discussion on the Judy Chicago: Retrospective exhibit, which is currently showing at San Francisco’s de Young Museum. The discussion is presented by the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco Docent Victoria Kirby. Adding to the conversation will be Debra Reabock, a Bay Area visual artist and photo philanthropist.Judy Chicago is a trailblazer and leader of the feminist art moment. Kirby's talk will explore Chicago’s full body of works, from her early forays into minimalism to her current work that addresses mortality and environmental issues.Judy Chicago: A Retrospective is organized on the heels of the 40th anniversary of the first showing of The Dinner Party in San Francisco and in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the women’s right to vote in the United States. How fitting a tribute to an artist who has spent a lifetime fighting for social justice and female expression. The discussion will be followed by Q&A. Have your questions ready.NOTESMLF: ArtsMLF ORGANIZER Robert MeltonSPEAKERSVictoria KirbyDocent, Fine Arts Museum of San FranciscoDebra ReabockVisual Artists; Photo PhilanthropistRobert MeltonCo-chair, Arts Member-Led Forum; Curator, Farmer Gallery—ModeratorIn response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on September 28th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Within the next two decades, Kai-Fu Lee says, artificial intelligence will become the defining development of the 21st century, making aspects of daily human life today virtually unrecognizable. AI will revolutionize medicine and education through human-machine symbioses. It will challenge the social and economic order by creating brand-new forms of communication and generating unprecedented wealth. AI is at its tipping point, and if our society doesn’t prepare for both the exciting and possibly perilous pathways ahead, we will lose the ability to control our collective future.In their new book AI 2041, Kai-Fu Lee, bestselling author and former president of Google China, teams up with Chen Qiufan to create an image of what a world with artificial intelligence will look like in 20 years. In 10 gripping short stories, the authors introduce readers to an array of eye-opening concepts, such as the rogue scientist in Munich who uses AI technologies in a revenge plot that endangers the world. Or the teenage girl in Mumbai who rebels when AI’s crunching of big data gets in the way of romance. Through these stories, Lee and Qiufan draw on the ominous possibilities of autonomous weapons and human bias in smart technology as well as the incredible liberating power of artificial intelligence and its unprecedented ability to strengthen societal connections.Kai-Fu Lee is the CEO of Beijing-based Sinovation Ventures and the co-chair of the Artificial Intelligence Council at the World Economic Forum. Formerly the president of Google China, Lee was also a senior executive at Microsoft, SGI and Apple.Join us as Kai-Fu Lee delves into the intriguing future of artificial intelligence.SPEAKERSKai-Fu LeePh.D., CEO, Sinovation Ventures; Co-author, AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our FutureIn Conversation with Rumman ChowdhuryPh.D., CEO and Founder, Parity AIn response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on September 28th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the era of big tech, groundbreaking technological innovation has given rise to an increasingly efficient and methodical society. But these advances are not without consequence, as unbounded technological growth demands control over how we work, think, consume and communicate. Our panelists say too many have accepted biased algorithms, job-displacing robots, and surveillance-based capitalism as an inexorable cost of innovation, giving a powerful few the reins over our evolving society. Technologists, the venture capitalists who fund them, and the politicians who allow for this unregulated growth have stepped into the seat of power, often prioritizing technological optimization and efficiency over fundamental human values.System Error, authored by three Stanford professors, offers an alternative to this dystopian vision of a world controlled by big tech. Armed with the combined knowledge of philosopher Rob Reich, a leading thinker at the intersection of technology and ethics, political scientist and former Obama staffer Jeremy Weinstein, as well as the director of Stanford’s undergraduate computer science program Mehran Sahami, System Error reveals how big tech can be held to account for the power it wields over our society.Join us as professors Reich, Weinstein and Sahami uncover the gripping reality of big tech and explain how we can chart a new path forward to control technology before it controls us.About the SpeakersRob Reich is the director of Stanford University’s Center for Ethics in Society; co-director of the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, and associate director of its new Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence; and co-author of System Error:Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can Reboot.Mehran Sahami is a professor of computer science at Stanford University; former senior research scientist at Google; and co-author of System Error:Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can Reboot.Jeremy M. Weinstein is a professor of political science at Stanford University; former deputy to the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and former director for development and democracy on the White House National Security Council staff during the Obama Administration; and co-author of System Error: Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can Reboot.SPEAKERSRob ReichDirector, Stanford University’s Center for Ethics in Society; Co-author, System Error:Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can RebootMehran SahamiProfessor of Computer Science, Stanford University; Co-author, System Error: Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can RebootJeremy M. WeinsteinProfessor of Political Science, Stanford University; Co-author, System Error: Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can RebootLevi SumagaysayTech Reporter, MarketWatch—ModeratorIn response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on September 27th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The transition from President Donald J. Trump to President Joseph R. Biden Jr. is one of the most tumultuous periods in recent American history. Robert Costa and his co-author Bob Woodward have taken on the task of documenting the transition in a never-before-seen way in their new book, Peril.With material ranging from secret orders to transcripts of phone conversations from the Trump and Biden White House, the 2020 campaign, and more, Peril is the story about changes, a first inside look into Biden’s presidency, and the unique challenges that face the new administration.Join Costa he as analyzes this intense period in history as well as the overall landscape of American politics in 2021.SPEAKERSRobert CostaNational Political Reporter, The Washington Post; Co-Author, PerilIn Conversation with Scott ShaferSenior Editor, KQED’s Politics and Government Desk; Twitter @scottshaferIn response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on October 7th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve experienced yet another summer of record wildfires in the western U.S., endangering lives, displacing communities, and sending unhealthy smoke across the nation. The science is clear: human-caused climate change is making lands more conducive to burning, and we are increasingly living in flammable landscapes. Forest experts say there are tools to help reduce the risk of catastrophic fires, keep forests alive as valuable carbon sinks and make communities more resilient to megafires. But we may also have to become accustomed to more fire – and smoke – in our lives. How can we better live with fire, including using it as a tool, rather than always fighting it?For transcripts and other information, visit: https://www.climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts Guests:Stephen Pyne, author, The Pyrocene: How We Created an Age of Fire, and What Happens Next Susan Husari, member of the California Board of Forestry and Fire ProtectionChad T. Hanson, author, Smokescreen: Debunking Wildfire Myths to Save Our Forests and Our ClimateJaime Lowe, author, Breathing Fire: Female Inmate Firefighters on the Front Lines of California’s Wildfires Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The best venture capitalists look around corners, and at Top Tech Trends, some of the best VCs will share what they see.The event will be highlighted by a lively panel discussion with investors from Bessemer, Greylock, HSBC Ventures and Mayfield offering their top picks for below-the-radar trends. We'll also hear from one of the most provocative tech investors in the business: Cathie Wood of Ark Invest, with her 1 million Twitter followers and bullish views on the future of technology.NOTESIn partnership with the Silicon Valley Leadership Group Foundation's California Center for Innovation.SPEAKERSOre AdeyemiManaging Director and Global Head, HSBC InvestNavin ChaddhaManaging Director, MayfieldByron DeeterPartner, Bessemer Venture PartnersSarah GuoGeneral Partner, GreylockCathie WoodCEO/Chief Investment Officer, ARK InvestCandy ChengSenior Correspondent, Insider—ModeratorIn response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on September 29th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What has caused the recent international resurgence of xenophobia? Looking for clues, psychiatrist and historian George Makari started out in search of the idea’s origins. He discovered that while the fear and hatred of strangers may be ancient, the notion of a dangerous bias called "xenophobia" arose not that long ago.Coined by late-nineteenth-century doctors and political commentators, and popularized by an eccentric stenographer, xenophobia emerged as a popular cultural concept alongside Western nationalism, colonialism, mass migration, and genocide. Makari chronicles the concept’s rise, from its popularization and perverse misuse to its spread as an ethical principle in the wake of the Holocaust, and then on to its sudden reappearance in the twenty-first century. He investigates xenophobia’s evolution through writers like Joseph Conrad, Albert Camus and Richard Wright, and innovators like Walter Lippmann, Sigmund Freud, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and Frantz Fanon. Weaving together history, philosophy and psychology, Makari also offers insights into related ideas such as the conditioned response, the stereotype, projection, the authoritarian personality, the other, and institutional bias.Makari offers a unifying paradigm for comprehending more clearly how xenophobia, other irrational anxieties and contests over identity sweep through cultures and lead to the dangerous divisions so prevalent today.MLF ORGANIZERGeorge HammondNOTESMLF: HumanitiesSPEAKERSGeorge MakariDirector, DeWitt Wallace Institute; Professor of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medical College; Author, Of Fear and Strangers: A History of XenophobiaIn Conversation with George HammondAuthor, Conversations With SocratesIn response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on September 29th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Black Lives Matter and Stop AAPI Hate movements, among others, have brought international attention to widespread social injustices that have been ignored by society for far too long. As a result, many individuals have been inspired to make positive changes toward a safer and more inclusive world. But pursuing equity and justice can be a complex and confusing undertaking. Good intentions do not necessarily lead to good outcomes. Inspiration can easily be derailed by feelings of confusion, the trap of performative allyship, and misguided attempts to take action. When it comes to helping instead of harming, the hardest part can often be figuring out where to begin.Michelle MiJung Kim will unpack hot button issues—cancel culture, inclusive language, representation, and more—in a way that is accessible to people regardless of their current understanding of inclusive practices.Join us for an in-depth conversation Michelle MiJung Kim, followed by a book signing for her new tome, The Wake Up: Closing the Gap Between Good Intentions and Real Change.SPEAKERSMichelle Mijung KimAuthor, The Wake Up; Co-founder and CEO, AwakenMichelle MeowProducer and Host, "The Michelle Meow Show," KBCW and Podcast; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors; Twitter @msmichellemeow—Co-HostJohn ZippererProducer and Host, Week to Week Political Roundtable; Vice President of Media & Editorial, The Commonwealth Club—Co-HostIn response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on September 28th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is the secret sauce behind The Commonwealth Club’s 500-plus annual programs? George Dobbins has led the Club’s programming effort for more than 22 years, responsible for the production of more than 9,000 forums. Sadly for the Club, he will retire on September 30, 2021.Dobbins has seen all the trends in public issues and public debate over the past two decades. He has dealt with myriad politicians, kings, princes, scientists and celebrities, recently ranging from Dr. Anthony Fauci to Rep. Liz Cheney. He has handled it all with diplomacy, tact and inspired leadership. Please join us on September 28 at 12:30 p.m., in-person at the Club or online, as Club CEO Gloria Duffy debriefs George Dobbins on his role of the past 22 years, and he tells a few behind-the-scenes stories that will both keep us laughing and underline the wisdom and care with which he has handled his important position.SPEAKERSGeorge DobbinsVice President of Programs, The Commonwealth Club of CaliforniaIn Conversation with Dr. Gloria DuffyPresident and CEO, The Commonwealth Club of CaliforniaIn response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on September 28th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices