Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Join us to discover how astronomer Vera Rubin's persistence, after her work was initially dismissed, finally convinced the scientific community that dark matter might exist. It is now taken for granted that the universe is mostly dark, made up of particles that are undetectable even by our most powerful telescopes. This discovery of the possible existence of dark matter signaled a Copernican-like revolution in astronomy: not only are we no longer the center of the universe, but even the stuff we’re made of appears to be insignificant. By showing that some astronomical objects seem to exaggerate gravity’s grip, Rubin played a pivotal role in this discovery.Yeager tells the story of Rubin’s childhood fascination with stars, and her scientific education at Vassar and Cornell. She became a rarity, a woman in science, and her findings were equally incredible to her colleagues. Since some observatories still restricted women from using their large telescopes, Rubin was unable to collect her own data until a decade after she had earned her Ph.D. But in 1993 she received the National Medal of Science for her groundbreaking work. She’s also been memorialized with a ridge on Mars, an asteroid, a galaxy, and most recently the Vera C. Rubin Observatory—the first national observatory named after a woman.MLF ORGANIZERGeorge HammondNOTESMLF: HumanitiesAshley Jean YeagerAssociate News Editor, Science News; Author, Bright Galaxies, Dark Matter, and Beyond: The Life of Astronomer Vera RubinIn 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 August 26th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Paralyzed by indecision? Sukhinder Singh Cassidy’s debut book Choose Possibility: Take Risks and Thrive (Even When You Fail) is a new view on risk, proposing that we take rather than avoid risk and enjoy the opportunities that come along with it. In it, the Silicon Valley mogul makes easy math of the choices that we make each day that can put us on the path to success. She argues that it is not one big decision that cements our future, but the million small ones that open up doors, enabling us to see success through. With not one but three successful companies under her belt, Cassidy maintains that she is no stranger to mistakes. But in the face of pitfalls and misfires, what has set her apart and launched her success is her ability to adapt, overcome and grow from such setbacks.At INFORUM Sukhinder Singh Cassidy will crunch the numbers of risk, reveal the “seven myths of success”, all while guiding us on how to take the first step and all the ones that follow—making risk synonymous with opportunity rather than fear.SPEAKERSSukhinder Singh CassidyFounder & Chairman, theBoardlist; Board Member, Upstart; Author, Choose Possibility: How to Master Risk and ThriveSuzanne St. John-CraneCEO, American Leadership Forum Silicon Valley—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 25th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In November 2018, Paradise, California suffered through the nation's deadliest wildfire in a century. The Camp Fire leveled the mountain town, killing 85 people and destroying more than 18,000 structures. At the time, reporter Lizzie Johnson was a staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Her definitive firsthand accounts of the fire and its wreckage helped tell the vivid story of this massive disaster.Three years later, Johnson's new book, Paradise: One Town's Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire, provides a detailed overview of the fire that destroyed Paradise, examines what went wrong and suggests ways to avert future tragedies as the climate crisis unfolds and California's drought worsens. Drawing on years of on-the-ground reporting and reams of public records, including 911 calls and testimony from a grand jury investigation, Johnson provides a minute-by-minute account of the Camp Fire, following residents and first responders as they fight to save themselves and their town.As California enters what is usually the toughest part of its fire season during a historically dry year, please join us in a timely look back at the tragedy of Paradise, California, what is being done to bring that city back, and what we all need to be aware of regarding the increasing dangers from wildfires in our "new normal."SPEAKERSLizzie JohnsonStaff Writer, The Washington Post; Author, Paradise: One Town's Struggle to Survive An American WildfireIn Conversation with Elizabeth WeilReporter, ProPublicaIn 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 24th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This special family event will feature a multigenerational panel of adult civic leaders and educators talking together with their children about practices and opportunities for engaging young people in civic life. Increasingly, youth have been speaking up about the importance of having parents and teachers who model civic engagement and encourage them to get involved in their communities. But how can we get our kids involved in ways that are both meaningful and rewarding? How can families engage in civic work together? What can kids do on their own, and how do they want adults to support them?A lifetime of civic engagement begins in youth. We encourage you to watch this special program with your family.This program is presented by Creating Citizens, an education initiative of The Commonwealth Club.About the SpeakersAmber Coleman-Mortley’s passion is focused on elevating diverse voices and perspectives in the civic education space, working with students, educators and parent communities for more equitable outcomes. She holds a B.A. in African American Studies from Oberlin College and an M.A. from American University in Media Entrepreneurship. Coleman-Mortley is a former decorated college athlete, former educator and athletic coach. She covers civics, K–12 education and family life at MomOfAllCapes and on her podcast with her daughters, "Lets K12 Better." She has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Smithsonian magazine, and a variety of other broadcast, podcast and online media outlets.Suzanne Ford is a fierce activist working toward equal rights for the trans community. She is employed as a regional sales manager at Revere Packaging, being named by Plastics News as one of the Women Breaking the Mold in the Packaging Industry in 2017. Ford serves as president of the Spahr Center in Marin County and as a board member and vice president of SF Pride. She also works on the board at Trans Heartline. Ford lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her wife Beverly and son Daniel. She is available to speak to groups or employers about trans issues and her experience facing the world as a trans woman.Lateefah Simon is a nationally recognized advocate for civil rights and racial justice in Oakland and the Bay Area. She has been the president of Akonadi Foundation since 2016. That same year—driven by Oscar Grant's death—she was elected to the Bay Area Rapid Transit Board of Directors and served as its president. Since 2015, Simon also has served as a member of the Board of Trustees for the California State University, the nation's largest public university system, and state officials often turn to her for strategic advice on policy matters related to racial justice. Simon spearheaded San Francisco's first reentry anti-recidivism youth services division under then-District Attorney Kamala Harris' leadership. Simon received the MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Award in 2003, making her the youngest woman to receive the award —in recognition of her work as executive director of the Young Women's Freedom Center.SPEAKERSAmber Coleman-MortleyHost, "Let's K12 Better" PodcastSuzanne FordActivist; President, Spahr CenterLateefah SimonPresident, Akonadi FoundationKimberly EllisDirector, San Francisco Department on the Status of Women—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 24th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listener Advisory: This episode contains some content related to a suicide. If you or someone you love is thinking about suicide, the National 24-hour Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255.This summer, the climate crisis seems to be unfolding faster than ever before — with catastrophic floods, huge wildfires, and killer heat. It’s becoming increasingly hard to mentally set climate aside as a future problem — it is here, real in our present moment. How do we grapple with the weight of these changes, and process our fear for what is coming for us, and for the next generation? And how do those emotions affect our decisions about whether or not to have children, who in many ways represent an embodied version of our hope for the future?Guests:Daniel Sherrell, Author, Warmth, Coming of Age at the End of Our WorldSeb Gould, physics teacherIrène Mathieu, pediatrician and poetVirginie Le Masson, co-director of the Centre for Gender and Disaster at University College London Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since the 2008 publication of the global bestseller Nudge, co-authored by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, the word “nudge” has entered the vocabulary of many businesspeople, policymakers, engaged citizens and consumers everywhere. It has taught us how to use thoughtful “choice architecture”—a concept the authors invented—to help us make better decisions for ourselves, our families and our society."Nudging" is a simple change that alters people’s behavior in a predictable way without forbidding any options or significantly changing their economic incentives. It’s the option to opt out of your company’s 401k retirement program as opposed to opting in, or the placement of fruits and vegetables at eye level in grocery stores to encourage healthier eating.In 2021, the authors have rewritten the book from cover to cover, building Nudge: The Final Edition out of the last dozen years’ worth of new research, insight, and experience. The book touches on a wide variety of issues we face in our daily lives—COVID-19, personal finance, home mortgages, climate change and more.Co-author and economist Richard Thaler is the professor of Behavioral Science and Economics at the University of Chicago and, in 2017, won the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions to the field of behavioral economics. Join us as Thaler reveals the power of understanding decision-making in modern society, existing in the gap between economics and psychology.SPEAKERSRichard ThalerCharles R. Walgreen Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics University of Chicago Booth School of Business; Co-Author, Nudge: The Final Edition; Twitter @R_ThalerIn Conversation with Kirk HansonSenior Fellow and Former Executive Director, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, Santa Clara University; Twitter @kirkohansonIn 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 18th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, discrimination, verbal assaults, and physical violence against members of the AAPI community have skyrocketed, disproportionately harming vulnerable members of the community, including women, youth and elders. This racism takes its toll. Please join us to learn what you can do to help combat anti-Asian racism in everyday living and support the AAPI community.Topics will include: understanding the problem of racism; practical, actionable steps to disrupt racism and overcome unconscious biases; and ways to create a safe space to speak up against racism.NOTESMLF: PsychologySPEAKERSDr. Tam NguyenPh.D., Clinical Psychologist; Director of Ambulatory and Addiction Care, Sutter HealthDr. Sarah NguyenM.D., Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles; Associate Director, Integrative Psychiatry ClinicDr. Jennifer TranD.O., Family Medicine Doctor, Palo Alto Medical FoundationDr. Uyen-Khanh Quang-DangM.D., Geriatric Psychiatrist, Palo Alto Medical Foundation; Member, APA Foundation Board of DirectorsDr. Patrick O'ReillyPh.D., Clinical Psychologist; Chair, Psychology 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 5th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Historian and journalist Kai Bird's new book, The Outlier, is being acclaimed as a definitive account of President Jimmy Carter's presidency, including how President Carter’s often-controversial policies and initiatives appear in historical perspective. Carter assisted Bird in his research, giving him exclusive access to the private papers of Charles Kirbo, Carter’s longtime personal lawyer and political adviser, as well as to the unpublished diaries of Carter White House aides Langdon Butler, Tim Kraft and Jerome Doolittle. Bird points out that as president, Jimmy Carter was not merely an outsider: he was an outlier. He was the only president in a century to grow up in the heart of the Deep South, and his born-again Christianity made him the most openly religious president in memory. Bird says this outlier brought to the White House a rare mix of humility, candor and unnerving self-confidence that neither Washington nor America was ready to embrace.Bird traces the arc of Carter’s administration, from his aggressive domestic agenda to his controversial foreign policy record, taking readers inside the Oval Office and through Carter’s battles with both a political establishment and a Washington press corps that proved as adversarial as any foreign power. Mr. Bird shows how issues still hotly debated today—from national health care to growing inequality and racism to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—burned at the heart of Carter’s America, and consumed a president who found a moral duty in solving them.Bird won the Pulitzer Prize for biography for American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer. His work includes critical writings on the Vietnam War, Hiroshima, nuclear weapons, the Cold War, the Arab-Israeli conflict and the CIA.Now, join a fascinating conversation with Kai Bird about this highly regarded American leader whose presidential legacy Mr. Bird says has been deeply misunderstood.SPEAKERSKai BirdExecutive Director and Distinguished Lecturer, City University of New York Leon Levy Center for Biography; Pulitzer Prize Winning Historian and Journalist; Author, The Outlier: The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy CarterIn Conversation with Dr. Gloria DuffyPresident and CEO, The Commonwealth Club of California; Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense under President ClintonProgram Chair: Dr. Mary BittermanPresident, Bernard Osher Foundation; 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 August 18th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

9/11 transformed American political and cultural life. Post-9/11 Americans were hyper-concerned with national security, public safety and the War on Terror. Now, looking back at the years of contention between the United States and terrorist organizations, journalists like Spencer Ackerman believe the military campaign set the stage for authoritarianism to rise in the United States. As a national security editor for The Guardian, Ackerman was part of the team that won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for public service journalism for their reporting on Edward Snowden's surveillance revelations. Now, he’s looking to understand the endless conflict known as the War on Terror in his new book, Reign of Terror.After 9/11, policies threatening the safety of Muslims and immigrants turned the War on Terror into a cultural and tribal struggle. It bolstered nativism and inspired bipartisanship. It paved the way for authoritarian leaders to rise to power and exploit sectors of political strength. By analyzing the decisions of Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, Ackerman sets an argument for how the war became a broader and bitter culture struggle allowing demagogues to emerge.Join us as Spencer Ackerman couples together journalism and history to transform how Americans understand national security policies and their detrimental impact on political life.SPEAKERSSpencer AckermanContributing Editor, The Daily Beast; Author, Reign of Terror: How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced TrumpIn Conversation with Melissa CaenAttorney; Author; Political AnalystIn 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 17th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic and amid a widespread shutdown of economic and social life, a little-watched effort to recall California Governor Gavin Newsom suddenly got traction, easily gaining the number of signatures needed to trigger a special election that could remove him from office.Join us for a special edition of the Club's Week to Week Political Roundtable, as we focus on the high-stakes gubernatorial recall election. How did it come to this? Who is behind the recall? Who is running to replace Newsom? How has Newsom responded? Just how does a recall election happen? We'll dig into all of that and more with our panelists who are experts in state politics.SPEAKERSCarla MarinucciSenior Writer, Politico California Playbook; Twitter @cmarinucciScott ShaferSenior Editor, KQED's Politics and Government Desk; Twitter @scottshaferDan SchnurProfessor, University of Southern California's Annenberg School of Communications; Professor, University of California Berkeley's Institute of Governmental Studies; Host, "Politics in the Time of Coronavirus" Webinar; Twitter @danschnurJohn ZippererProducer and Host, Week to Week Political Roundtable; Vice President of Media & Editorial, The Commonwealth Club—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 August 23rd 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices