Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

COVID-19 has disrupted many of our lives, with impacts ranging from job loss to housing changes, physical health issues to mental health challenges. At the same time, drug use has increased since the pandemic first struck and has deeply affected many LGBTQ people. Join us for an important discussion on the impact of drugs and the search for healthy ways of coping with the pandemic and life's other challenges.SPEAKERSKristen MarshallAssociate Director of San Francisco Programs, National Harm Reduction CoalitionWayne RafusManager of Contingency Management, 6th Street Harm Reduction CenterSister RomaMember, Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence; Entertainer; ActivistJuniper YunArtist, Director of Cultural Affairs, The Transgender District in San FranciscoMichelle MeowProducer and Host, "The Michelle Meow Show," KBCW TV and Podcast; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors; Twitter @msmichellemeow—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 9th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Unlike the wars in Vietnam and Iraq, the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan had near-unanimous public support at the time. Their goals were straightforward: defeat Al-Qaeda and prevent a repeat of 9/11. But after the Taliban was ousted from power, U.S. officials lost sight of their original objectives as the military became mired in an unwinnable guerrilla conflict in a country it did not understand.Washington Post reporter Craig Whitlock brings us The Afghanistan Papers, which, similarly to the Pentagon Papers after Vietnam, contains startling revelations from people who played a direct role in the war, certain to change the public’s understanding of the conflict. From leaders in the White House and Pentagon to soldiers and aid workers on the front lines, many are candidly admitting that the U.S. government’s strategies were a mess, that the nation-building project was a colossal failure, and that drugs and corruption gained a stronghold over their allies in the Afghan government. Whitlock’s account is based on interviews with more than 1,000 people who knew that the U.S. government was presenting a distorted, and sometimes entirely fabricated, version of the facts on the ground—all upheld by three presidents unwilling to admit failure.Join us for this timely event with Craig Whitlock as he reveals the alarming truth behind the longest war in American history, forcing us to reckon with what went so horribly wrong in Afghanistan.SPEAKERSCraig WhitlockInvestigative Reporter, The Washington Post; Author The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the WarIn Conversation with Mitch JeserichHost, "Letters and Politics," KPFA RadioIn 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 8th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Americans today face a deeply divided nation beset with political dysfunction. It is here in the United States where identity is questioned, equality is fought for, and history is debated. How can we face the past and simultaneously envision a new future? In her new book Renewal, lawyer and foreign policy analyst Anne-Marie Slaughter encourages self-reflection and growth to change the way individuals and institutions lead and learn.Slaughter’s years of government service, particularly as the former director of policy planning for the U.S. Department of State, has prepared her for understanding how identity and values shape the crisis America now faces. Through personal reflections and insights on the latest research in the social sciences, Slaughter will explain how to understand how our country must accept its past, renew, and face the future. Renewal highlights a story of crisis and change that can help us find renewed honesty and purpose in our personal and political lives.Join us as Anne-Marie Slaughter offers honesty and hope in this essential reading for change makers of tomorrow.SPEAKERSAnne-Marie SlaughterCEO, New America; Author, Renewal: From Crisis to Transformation in Our Lives, Work, and PoliticsIn Conversation with Lenny MendoncaFormer Chief Economic and Business Advisor, State of California; Director Emeritus, McKinsey & CompanyIn 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 8th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the country reflects on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, join us for a special 90-minute conversation focused on the state of homeland security today and looking ahead. Homeland security is a term that has evolved over the past two decades since the deadly terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. At first, it was a subject primarily focused on protecting the country from international terrorism, including Osama Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda, then ISIS, as well as affiliated terrorist organizations. Over the past several years and culminating on January 6 earlier this year, the phrase has also expanded to include domestic extremism and threats from within the United States.A high-level panel featuring former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napoliano, ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero and Hoover Institution Senior Fellow and cybersecurity expert Dr. Amy Zegart will discuss a range of issues related to homeland security, including civil liberties and technology. The program will explore our changing understanding of homeland security, what we have learned about keeping the country safe over the past 20 years, and what the trade-offs have been for the country’s citizens and the country itself.SPEAKERSJanet NapolitanoProfessor of Public Policy, Director of the Center for Security in Politics, and Former President, University of California; U.S Homeland Security Secretary Under President Obama; Former Governor, ArizonaAnthony RomeroExecutive Director, American Civil Liberties UnionAmy ZegartSr. Fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies; Morris Arnold & Nona Jean Cox Sr. Fellow, Hoover Institution; Professor, by courtesy, of Political Science, Stanford University; Author, Spies, Lies, and Algorithms (forthcoming)Dina Temple-RastonSenior Correspondent, The Record by Recorded Future; Former National Security & Investigations Correspondent, National Public Radio—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 10th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Travel and tourism make up one of California’s most important and powerful industries. Every day before the pandemic of 2020, travelers injected hundreds of millions of dollars into communities across the Golden State, infusing hundreds of billions of dollars into the state’s economy. In 2019, this spending generated $12.2 billion in local and state tax revenue and supported 1.2 million jobs for Californians.That all changed when the pandemic spread in March 2020, and the tourism industry largely shut down, hitting cities like San Francisco particularly hard. The industry recovery began to take shape earlier in 2021. However, just as the pandemic was receding and the tourism economy was starting to recover, the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus has again negatively impacted the tourism economy, slowing chances of a full recovery any time soon and raising questions about the future of the industry and, most important, the workers who rely on it for employment. These issues are particularly challenging in the Bay Area, as it is significantly impacted by shifts in tourism to San Francisco.As one of the most challenging periods in the state's tourism history continues, we are pleased to be joined by two of the state's top tourism leaders, as well as tourism workers directly impacted by the changes brought about by the pandemic, to discuss the future of the industry in the fifth-largest economy in the world, The discussion will touch upon why the tourism economy is so important to the California economy, why travel and tourism is so significant to all Californians, and what we all can do to support the industry and its workers during this challenging time.NOTESThis program is funded by a grant from The California Wellness Foundation (Cal Wellness). The foundation’s mission is to improve the health of Californians. Cal Wellness is dedicated to promoting equity through advocacy and access.SPEAKERSCaroline BetetaPresident & CEO, Visit CaliforniaJoe D'AlessandroPresident and CEO, SF TravelDaniela PuccinelliDirector of Event Management, The Westin St. Francis San Francisco on Union SquareSpud HiltonFormer Travel Editor, San Francisco Chronicle; Editor, Where Traveler Magazine, San Francisco Bay Area EditionIn 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 10th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Water is essential for life, and throughout history we have sought to control and make use of it. As Giulio Boccaletti explores in his new book, Water: A Biography, that relationship with water has underpinned human civilization, forming an integral part of society, government and land use systems. But despite its essential nature, access to water has never been equal or entirely fair. Climate disruption will further destabilize the systems we’ve built to control water in our environment – even as it remains a public good without fair and equal public access. What can 10,000 years of history teach us about how we should handle water in our current and future climate?Guests:Giulio Boccaletti, Author, Water: A BiographySara Aminzadeh, Vice President of Partnerships, U.S. Water Alliance Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Extraction: Art on the Edge of the Abyss is a special project of the Codex Foundation. Extraction is a multimedia, multi-venue, cross-border art intervention focused on the suicidal consumption of the planet’s natural resources, which the artists say is the most pressing environmental issue of our time, encompassing all others, including climate change.Extraction is an international "art ruckus" for 2021! Peter Koch's intervention includes a multimedia focus on dual aspects of Northern California and his native state of Montana and the impact of Extraction.The project is culminating in a constellation of nearly 50 overlapping exhibitions, performances, installations, site-specific work, land art, street art, publications, poetry readings and cross-media events throughout 2021 and beyond.NOTESMLF: ArtsSPEAKERSPeter KochPeter Koch PrintersSam PeltsCoordinator, Extraction ProjectDr. Anne W. SmithCo-Chair, Arts Member-Led Forum, The Commonwealth Club of California—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 August 31st, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As with many aspects of American life, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately impacted BIPOC communities. For Black businesses, this meant closing their doors and for Black workers, either being laid off or made to work in unsafe conditions. In a system where Black workers are proportionally overrepresented in low-wage work and sharply underrepresented in executive positions, this negative impact is exacerbated. However discouraging this reality is, it serves as a call to action to close the wide, possibly widening, racial gap.At INFORUM, a panel of experts on the economic state of Black America will provide insight on what a path to equal and just recovery looks like, expanding upon research by McKinsey & Company. Further, juxtaposing the current reality with the prosperity offered by a better future, they will drive home the need to make change, and do so quickly.SPEAKERSShelley Stewart IIIPartner, McKinsey & Company; Co-author, "The economic state of Black America: What is and what could be"Michael ChuiPartner, McKinsey Global Institute; Co-author, "The economic state of Black America: What is and what could be"Dr. Kristen E. BroadyPh.D., Fellow in the Metropolitan Policy Program, The Brookings InstitutionJeffery WallaceCEO and President, LeadersUpJennifer AblanU.S. Assistant Managing Editor, Financial Times—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 August 27th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us as we discover and learn how these four dynamic returned women Peace Corps volunteers crafted their careers to become important leaders. We will also find out what hurdles they had to overcome and how they became influential and creative leaders. Their stories are valuable for all to hear, and we can all learn from their experiences.Lisa Curtis is the founder and CEO of Kuli Kuli, the leading brand pioneering the sustainably sourced superfood moringa. Kuli Kuli works with farmers in the developing world to access the nutritional power and economic opportunities of moringa. Curtis began working on Kuli Kuli while serving in the Peace Corps in Niger and has grown it into a multi-million dollar social enterprise. Previously, Lisa wrote political briefings for President Obama in the White House, served as a United Nations Environment Programme Youth Advisor, and worked at an impact investment firm in India.The moderator for today's program is Frank Price, the vice president of the Northern California Peace Corps Association and Shriver Circle Member of the National Peace Corps Association. Price served in the Peace Corps in Côte d'Ivoire. He is currently president of the Stewardship of the Commons FoundationMLF ORGANIZERFrank PriceNOTESMLF: International RelationsSPEAKERSLisa CurtisFounder & CEO of Kuli Kuli; Served in NigerKaren DeWittJournalist; Digital Newsroom Director, School of Global Journalism and Communication, Morgan State University; Served in EthiopiaNalini ElkinsCEO and Founder of Inside Products, Inc.; Served in TogoRahama WrightFounder and CEO of Shea Yeleen Health and Beauty; Served in GhanaFrank PriceVice President, Northern California Peace Corps Association; Shriver Circle Member, National Peace Corps Association; Served in Côte d'IvoireIn 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 August 26th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

U.C. Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky is one of the country's most respected constitutional scholars. In his new book Presumed Guilty, he says that the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed the perpetuation of racist policing by presuming that suspects, especially people of color, are guilty before being charged.Dean Chemerinsky argues that the fact that police are nine times more likely to kill Black men than other Americans is no accident but rather the result of an elaborate body of doctrines. He says the pro-defendant Warren Court was a only brief historical aberration and that this more liberal era ended with Nixon’s presidency and the ascendance of conservative justices, whose rulings have permitted stops and frisks, limited suits to reform police departments, and even abetted the use of chokeholds.Come hear Dean Chemerinsky's thoughts on necessary steps to create a more robust court system that will enhance civil rights.SPEAKERSErwin ChemerinskyDean, University of California, Berkeley, Law School; Author, Presumed Guilty: How the Supreme Court Empowered the Police and Subverted Civil RightsIn conversation with Brian WattKQED News AnchorIn 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 August 30th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices