Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

This July 4, the country will be emerging from the pandemic to celebrate the most patriotic of holidays with friends and family. At The Commonwealth Club, just days before the holiday, we'll be re-opening our doors and cracking open our grills in a special event that celebrates an iconic American food: barbecue! We’ll explore this rich and historic food, particularly the essential role that African Americans have played in the development of the cuisine. Audiences can watch either online or join us in-person!Adrian Miller, author of, Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue, will kick off our event with stories of Black perseverance, culinary innovation, and entrepreneurship in the world of barbecue. His work illustrates that despite cultural marginalization, African Americans have enriched a now-embraced barbecue culture tied strongly to summer holidays and recounts how Black barbecuers, pitmasters and restaurateurs are coming into their own after having helped develop this American cuisine, incorporating techniques first pioneered by Native Americans. Miller is also featured in the new Netflix special "High on the Hog," about African-American food history.San Francisco Chronicle columnist Justin Phillips will interview Miller in the Taube Family Auditorium at our headquarters on the Embarcadero.SPEAKERSAdrian MillerWriter; Certified Barbecue Judge; Attorney; Author, Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of BarbecueIn Conversation with Justin PhillipsColumnist, San Francisco ChronicleWelcome by Brenda WrightSenior Vice President & Director of Community Relations (West Region), Wells Fargo & Co.; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of GovernorsIn 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 June 28th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gus Kenworthy writes about Adam Rippon. Graham Norton writes about Armistead Maupin. Tan France does the honors for "Queer Eye," as Mae Martin does for Tim Curry and Elton John does for Divine. Those contributions—and many more—are included in the new book The Queer Bible, an illustrated collection of essays featuring today's queer heroes writing about their queer heroes.Jack Guinness, who edited and contributed an essay to the book, joins us for a look at the LGBTQ community and the individuals who shaped its history.SPEAKERSJack GuinnessEditor, The Queer Bible; Contributing Editor, British GQ; Twitter @JackguinnessMichelle MeowProducer and Host, "The Michelle Meow Show," KBCW/KPIX and Podcast; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors—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 February 17th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Daisy Khan has devoted much of her life to fighting Islamophobia, increasing public understanding of Islam and breaking down barriers between Muslims and other faiths. Ms. Khan served for 18 years as executive director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement, where she was hailed as a bridge builder for promoting cultural and religious harmony through intra-faith programs such as Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow and inter-faith arts programs. To combat anti-Muslim bias, she created the "Today, I am a Muslim Too" rally involving 100 interfaith organizations.She has also worked to modernize the role of women within Islam. Khan founded The Women's Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality (WISE) with the express goal of peace building, gender equality and human dignity. She says that women's leadership is essential to solving societal issues, and that the WISE Shura Council is creating a crucial space for activism that contributes to Muslim women’s struggle for justice. The council issues informed and religiously grounded opinions on controversial issues of particular relevance to Muslim women in their personal, familial and societal lives. By advocating a constructive conception of women’s status, rights and responsibilities, Khan says these opinions function as legitimate alternatives to oppressive religious arguments.Ms. Khan's awards and honors include: the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award, Edinburgh Peace Award, and the Interfaith Center’s Award for Promoting Peace. She's been listed among Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People and was ranked among the “Top Ten Women Faith leaders” by The Huffington Post. Khan plans to follow her 2018 memoir, Born with Wings, with two forthcoming books: 30 Rights of Muslim Women and WISE UP White Supremacy.Come for an important conversation with Daisy Khan about Islam and the advancement of Muslim women.SPEAKERSDaisy KhanFounder, Women’s Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality (WISE); Co-Founder & Former Exec. Director, American Society of Muslim Advancement (ASMA) ; Author, Born With WingsIn Conversation with Sara AbbasiPhilanthropist; Provider of Endowment, Sohaib and Sara Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies, Stanford UniversityIn 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 June 16th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Extreme heat causes more deaths than any other weather-related hazard in the U.S., wreaking quiet havoc on the health and economic well-being of billions of people across the world. But it’s rarely given the same billing or resources as other, more dramatic, natural disasters. Because of racist and discriminatory housing and development practices, extreme heat also disproportionately impacts poorer and minority communities.Recognizing a growing need for local responses to a global problem, the mayors of Miami-Dade, Athens, Greece and Freetown, Sierra Leone recently announced they are appointing the world’s first Chief Heat Officers. How can we prepare for and address the impacts of extreme heat? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The year 2020 brought out the best and the worst of the American people. The year shocked us as we experienced a ruthless pandemic, an inept government response, polarizing protests and an election defaced by conspiracy theories. According to popular American journalist George Packer, these events did not come out of nowhere; they were symptoms of the hazardous conditions directly beneath the surface of the American dream. In his new book Last Best Hope: America in Crisis and Renewal, Packer traces the roots of these issues that he says have drastically changed the normative way of American life.Packer investigates what he calls the four different Americas citizens live in: a "Free America" that encourages individuality and corporate submission, a "Smart America" that represents the technological and professional elite, a "Real America" that constitutes the white Christian nationalism of the midlands, and a "Just America" that delineates identity groups that suffer from marginalization. Packer believes that none of these Americas are conducive to achieving an ideal nation. With a background in U.S. foreign policy and American history, Packer uses his knowledge to find a common American identity that prioritizes equality for all and national renewal.Join us as George Packer and moderator Anne-Marie Slaughter envision a better, more equitable American future.George PackerStaff Writer, The Atlantic; Author, Last Best Hope: America in Crisis and RenewalIn Conversation with Anne-Marie SlaughterCEO, New AmericaIn 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 February 15th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for a virtual discussion with Theodore Johnson, who begins his book When the Stars Begin to Fall by declaring that “Racism is an existential threat to America.” Johnson argues that our society's continuing racism not only contradicts the American Promise enshrined in our Constitution that all men and women are inherently equal, but also continues to corrode our society after a quarter of a millennium. If we cannot overcome it, he says, the United States may continue as a geopolitical powerhouse, but it will fail to make good on the promise that made America unique on Earth, and gave hope to the oppressed throughout the world.Johnson makes a compelling case for a pathway to the national solidarity necessary to mitigate racism. Weaving memories of his own family’s multi-generational experiences with racism, alongside strands of history, Johnson posits that a blueprint for national solidarity can be found in the exceptional citizenship long practiced in Black America. Understanding that racism is a structural crime of the state, he argues that overcoming it requires us to recognize that a color-conscious society―not a color-blind one―is the true fulfillment of the American Promise. Fueled by his ultimate faith in the American project, grounded in his family’s longstanding optimism and his own military service, he offers an urgent call to undertake the process of overcoming what has long seemed intractable.SPEAKERSTheodore JohnsonSr. Fellow, Brennan Center for Justice; Former Commander, U.S. Navy; White House Fellow, Obama Admin.; Speechwriter, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Author, When the Stars Begin to Fall: Overcoming Racism & Renewing the Promise of AmericaSheryl DavisExecutive Director, San Francisco Human Rights Commission—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 June 15th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After the Cold War, America sought to protect as many democracies as possible and stamp out any threat of authoritarianism around the world. Now, 30 years after the breakup of the Soviet Union, political scientists have observed a global rise in authoritarian governments—even in America itself. After the 2016 election of President Donald Trump, Ben Rhodes, a former White House aide and close confidant to President Barack Obama, sought to discover why nations have been opting for populism and tyranny over democracy.In his new book After the Fall: Being American in the World We've Made, Rhodes documents his three years of world travel, speaking with politicians, activists, and dissidents confronting the same nationalism that has been tearing America apart. He says the acceptance of unrestricted capitalism after the Cold War, post-9/11 nationalism, mania for technology and media, and modern racism that Americans refuse to confront have all contributed to our nation’s faltering under authoritarian leadership.With experience managing international conflict, Rhodes is an exemplary scholar in considering the global condition of humanity and how we can once again turn to democracy and equity. Join us for a look at where America has gone wrong and how essential it is to fight for what America is supposed to be.NOTESThis program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation.SPEAKERSBen RhodesFormer Deputy National Security Advisor to President Obama; Author, After the Fall: Being American in the World We’ve Made; Twitter @brhodesIn Conversation with Jennifer PalmieriFormer White House Communications Director; Co-Host, "The Circus" on Showtime; Author, She Proclaims: Our Declaration of Independent from a Man’s World; Twitter @jmpalmieriIn 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 June 14th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transportation policymakers face two overlapping, once-in-a-generation opportunities: electrifying the nation’s vehicle fleet and re-establishing a stable source of federal and state revenue for transportation.As states and the Biden administration begin a push to rapidly electrify the U.S. fleet for climate reasons, policymakers are under increasing pressure to rethink how states and the federal government fund transportation infrastructure and services. For decades, motor fuel taxes have generated the majority of state and federal funds spent on transportation, even if recently these taxes have been losing their purchasing power. However, a shift to electric vehicles will require a new transportation funding model.The speakers will discuss the challenges and opportunities with such options as mileage fees, carbon taxes, higher vehicle registration fees, or a shift entirely away from user-generated revenue.This program is supported by the Mineta Transportation Institute at San José State University.SPEAKERSSpecial Guest, The Honorable Pete ButtigiegU.S. Secretary of TransportationKaren PhilbrickPh.D., Executive Director, Mineta Transportation Institute—Program EmceeOpening Remarks: U.S. Senator Alex PadillaU.S. Senator (D-CA); Former California Secretary of StateKeynote: Toks OmishakinDirector, California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)Event Moderator: Therese McMillanExecutive Director, Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC)Asha Weinstein Agrawal, Ph.D.Director, MTI National Transportation Finance CenterCarl GuardinoExecutive Vice President, Government Affairs and Policy, Bloom EnergyCarlos Braceras, P.E.Executive Director, Utah Department of TransportationDan Sperling, Ph.D.Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California DavisIn 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 June 11th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dating in the digital age has never been more complicated. Nancy Jo Sales, a New York Times-bestselling author and journalist, found herself at the center of the addictive and corporate world of online dating after she downloaded Tinder. She wasn’t alone; in a 2015 Vanity Fair article, Sales shared stories from millennials who use dating apps on a near-constant basis, transforming physical attraction into a “free-market economy” that facilitates quick and often temporary attachments. She later directed and released the 2018 HBO documentary Swiped: Hooking Up in the Digital Age, a study of how the algorithms of big tech impact govern our dating lives even if companies claim their addictive effects are incidental.In her new book, Nothing Personal: My Secret Life in the Dating App Inferno, Sales critiques the dating app industry for its calculated ability to warp our senses of self. At INFORUM, she will share her personal experiences and broader observations on how we can and should cope with our deepening relationship to the technology that purportedly brings us closer to that special someone.SPEAKERSNancy Jo SalesJournalist, Vanity Fair; Author, Nothing Personal: My Secret Life in the Dating App InfernoMyisha BattleSex and Dating Coach; Founder, Sex for Life, LLCIn 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 June 17th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CNN’s Jake Tapper is one of the most respected people in news today. As CNN’s chief Washington anchor and co-host of “State of the Union,” Tapper has sat down with presidents, covered inaugurations, and continues to interview senators, dignitaries and newsmakers week in and week out.In his new novel The Devil May Dance, Tapper continues the story started in his previous bestseller, The Hellfire Club. Taking us into the world of political stars Charlie and Margaret Marder, Tapper re-creates the world of the 1960s, complete with backroom deals and secret societies. In this new journey, they befriend dazzling celebrities like Frank Sinatra and must learn to deal with sinister forces from Hollywood’s stages and the newly founded Church of Scientology.Jake Tapper has covered historical political events such as the inauguration of President Barack Obama and the death of Osama bin Laden. His work has won him several awards, including an Emmy for Outstanding Live Coverage of a Current News Story and the Edward R. Murrow Award.NOTESThis program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. SPEAKERSJake TapperAnchor and Chief Washington Correspondent, CNN; Author, The Devil May DanceIn Conversation with Clara JefferyEditor in Chief, Mother Jones; Twitter@ClaraJefferyIn 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 June 10th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices