Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

"My husband, John McCain, never viewed himself as larger than life—but he was. He had more tenacity and resolve than anybody I ever met. Being with him didn’t hold me back—it gave me flight, a courage I never would have felt on my own." —Cindy McCainJohn McCain was a respected six-term senator from Arizona, Navy hero, and dedicated family man. No one knew him better than his wife of 38 years, Cindy McCain.She said, “My husband John lived by a code: country first. We are Republicans, yes, but Americans foremost. . . ." Last year she made the bold decision to cross party lines and endorse Joe Biden for president. In her new book Stronger, she reveals her own successes and challenges and how Sen. McCain inspired her to fight for family, honor and country.Join an inspirational conversation with Cindy McCain about her life and her husband's lasting legacy.NOTESThis program is part of The Commonwealth Club’s Series on Ethics and Accountability, generously underwritten by The Travers Family Foundation.Thanks to the support of the Bernard Osher Foundation, this program is also part of our Good Lit seriesSPEAKERSCindy McCainAuthor, Stronger: Courage, Hope, and Humor in My Life with John McCain; Twitter @cindymccainIn Conversation with Dan AshleyAnchor, ABC7 KGO-TV and Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors; Twitter: @DanAshleyABC7In 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 May 5th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is your Commonwealth Club week in review. Hear what you missed this week, and what we’ve got lined up for you next week.We’re always adding new programs - check out commonwealthclub.org/online for all of our upcoming events.If you haven’t already - please consider becoming a member of the Club. Enjoy exclusive discounts and access to special programs all while knowing your contributions directly support our many public programs and civic initiatives.Visit commonwealthclub.org/special, for special rates on memberships.Thanks for your support and as always - thanks for listening! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Financial interests distort the truths of evidence-based medicine, says Dr. Leemon B. McHenry. By revealing previously confidential documents released in litigation, Dr. McHenry exposes the role that pharmaceutical marketing has in the construction of medical literature, conference presentations and continuing medical education. The marketing spin is designed to be indistinguishable from the genuine science, he says, thus seriously misleading our medical professionals and the public.Leemon B. McHenry, Ph.D. specializes in medical ethics and philosophy of science. He is a legal research consultant, and is a professor emeritus at California State University in Northridge. He is the co-author of The Illusion of Evidence-Based Medicine: Exposing the Crisis of Credibility in Clinical Research.MLF ORGANIZERAdrea BrierNOTESMLF: Health & MedicineSPEAKERSLeemon B. McHenryPh.D., Professor Emeritus, California State University, Northridge; Co-Author, The Illusion of Evidence-Based Medicine: Exposing the Crisis of Credibility in Clinical ResearchAdrea BrierCHNP, CLC, Vice Chair, Health and Medicine Member-Led Forum; International Integrative Epigenetic Cancer Consultant; Life Coach—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 May 4th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do our identities and values shape the way we listen to others’ climate experience? Author Nathaniel Rich and journalist Meera Subramanian cover the hopes, fears, and middle-of-the-night concerns affecting the people living closest to climate change. In Georgia, farmers were convinced that climate is a political issue — until too-warm winters began upending the Peach State’s prized crop. In a wealthy Los Angeles suburb, an invisible methane gas leak caused outrage and hysteria for local residents concerned about personal health and property values — but not the climate.“I think we've all gotten really used to telling our stories, putting them out there in the world, and it sometimes feels like maybe not so many people are actually listening to them,” Subramanian says. “And so I think sometimes showing up as a journalist and just being all ears can feel kind of profound.”Guests:Nathaniel Rich, Author, Losing Earth; Second NatureMeera Subramanian, Environmental JournalistHave you ever had a difficult conversation about climate? A disagreement, perhaps, or coming to terms with a new reality? We’d like to hear your stories. Please call (650) 382-3869 and leave us a voicemail about your toughest climate conversation. Or drop us a line at climateone@gmail.com. We may use your story in an upcoming episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Climate change threatens the very existence of many small island nations. Sea-level rise, weather extremes and coral reef destruction caused by warming waters have driven untold destruction and outmigration, with some communities fleeing—literally—to higher ground.Fighting for their collective survival, three small Pacific Island nations and two U.S. territories spanning over 2 million square miles of ocean launched the Micronesia Challenge in the mid-2000s to protect critical land and marine ecosystems by 2020—reducing human impact that imperils reefs, coastlines and mountains. A strategic partner since the Challenge’s founding, The Nature Conservancy is working across Micronesia as this initiative launches bold new 2030 targets for people and nature.SPEAKERSKate BrownExecutive Director, Global Island PartnershipWilly KostkaExecutive Director, Micronesia Conservation TrustTrina LebererDirector, Pacific Regional Partnerships, The Nature ConservancyBen DohertyPacific EditorThe Guardian—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 April 29th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amid nationwide reckoning with racial justice and calls to reimagine policing in America's cities, Oakland has moved ahead with plans to change its public safety funding and performance.The Defund OPD campaign was launched by the Anti Policy Terror Project five years ago. Join us for a discussion with two leaders in the effort to change the criminal justice system.About the SpeakersCat Brooks is an activist, performer, politician and speaker or who has served as the communications director for Coaching Corps, as executive director of Youth Together and executive director of the National Lawyers Guild. Brooks is the co-founder of the Anti Police-Terror Project (APTP) whose mission is to rapidly respond to and ultimately eradicate what it calls state violence in communities of color. With APTP, she shepherded the development of a “first responders” process, which provides resources and training for a rapid community-based response to police violence. She also helped negotiate the passage of AB392, AB 931 and SB 1421 and has organized with local housing advocates to bring Proposition 10 (Repeal Costa Hawkins) to the ballot in November. n late 2018, Cat was the runner up in the Oakland mayoral race. Brooks currently serves as the executive director of the Justice Teams Network, a network of grassroots activists providing rapid response and healing justice in response to all forms of state violence across California. In addition, she is touring her one-woman show, Tasha, about the in-custody murder of Natasha McKenna in the Fairfax County Jail. She lives in West Oakland with her daughter.Born and raised in Natick, MA, James Burch grew up with the direct impacts of a punitive carceral system within his immediate family; all three of his siblings have been entangled in the criminal justice system for their entire lives. To address this, James became a lawyer after attending Yale University and Georgetown Law School. Upon moving to the Bay Area, James became an active member of the Anti Police-Terror Project, eventually becoming the director of policy and a member of the Black Leadership Team. Burch now works as the policy director for the Justice Teams Network (JTN), a statewide coalition working to end state violence in California. James is also the current president of the National Lawyers Guild of the Bay Area.SPEAKERSCat BrooksActivist; Politician; PerformerJames BurchLawyer; ActivistMichelle MeowProducer and Host, "The Michelle Meow Show" on KBCW/KPIX TV and Podcast; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors; Twitter @msmichellemeow—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 April 29th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elsalameen, a prominent activist, social media analyst, political commentator and public speaker will discuss Arab-Israeli progress toward Middle East peace with Jonathan Curiel, journalist and author. As a known critic of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and of Hamas, Elsalameen will also discuss how President Abbas's "reign has been marred by corruption," etc. (Elsalameen recently accused Fatah’s military wing of sending him death threats for his pro-democracy and anti-corruption work.)Born in Hebron, Elsalameen is an adjunct senior fellow at the American Security Project, which was created to develop an American national security vision and strategy for the 21st century. He is also a successful businessman with working experience in the United States, the Middle East, and Africa, a graduate of Seeds of Peace and of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) program.MLF ORGANIZERCelia MenczelNOTESMLF: Middle EastSPEAKERSFadi ElsalameenMS, International Relations and Economics, John Hopkins University (SAIS)Jonathan CurielJournalist; Author—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 April 29th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is your Commonwealth Club week in review. Hear what you missed this week, and what we’ve got lined up for you next week.We’re always adding new programs - check out commonwealthclub.org/online for all of our upcoming events.If you haven’t already - please consider becoming a member of the Club. Enjoy exclusive discounts and access to special programs all while knowing your contributions directly support our many public programs and civic initiatives.Visit commonwealthclub.org/special, for special rates on memberships.Thanks for your support and as always - thanks for listening! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"I love, love, love this book! The true story of a true heroine for our times—bold, brash and entirely honest about the downs and ups of making dreams come true."—Angela Duckworth, New York Times bestselling author of GritHave you ever had a glimmer of an idea for a new company, project or product but were convinced you didn’t have the tools to get started? Ellen Marie Bennett, CEO of Hedley & Bennett, may have a concise but powerful piece of advice for you: “You got this! Dream first, details later.”At 24, Bennett was a line cook at Providence, a two Michelin-starred Los Angeles restaurant. As she explored the culinary world and sharpened her skills, she also noticed the poorly designed aprons and shirts kitchen staff were required to wear. She decided to use her experience as a chef (in other words, not as a manufacturer but as a person who actually wore these uniforms) and leveraged this into a multi-million dollar apparel company. Her premium chef aprons and kitchen gear are worn by several of the best chefs and home cooks around the world.Join Bennett at INFORUM and in conversation with author and Character Lab CEO Angela Duckworth, to learn how “fake it ‘till you make it” is actually a practical and effective business strategy, and how making your dreams a reality is as simple as just going for it. Note: This program contains EXPLICIT languageSPEAKERSEllen BennettFounder and CEO, Hedley & Bennett; Author, Dream First, Details Later: How to Quit Overthinking and Make It Happen!Angela DuckworthFounder and CEO, Character LabIn 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 April 28th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The United States is the world’s leader in incarceration. “Tough on crime” attitudes in the 1980s have shaped the policies that criminalize more people in the United States now than ever before. With this carceral approach, the United States must deal with consequences such as overcrowding, prison violence and unnecessary fiscal burdens. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner has spent 30 years learning about America’s carceral system as a civil rights and criminal defense lawyer, and his goal is to transform the system from the inside out.When he first launched his campaign for district attorney of Philadelphia, progressive Krasner seemed unlikely to win the seat so long-held by “tough on crime” attorneys who helped turn Philly into a city with one of the highest rates of incarceration in the country. But with perseverance to create a radical reform plan, Krasner won the DA election by a margin of nearly 50 percent. In his new book For the People, Krasner takes readers on his lifelong journey through election precincts and courtrooms all the way up to his swearing-in ceremony to see how what he calls our system of injustice was built and how we might dismantle it. ​​​​​​Join us as Larry Krasner asks us to confront the ills of the criminal justice system and pioneers one of the most important civil rights movements of our time.SPEAKERSLarry KrasnerDistrict Attorney, Philadelphia; Author, For the People: A Story of Justice and PowerIn Conversation with Lateefah SimonPresident, Akonadi Foundation; Member, BART Board of DirectorsIn 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 April 28th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices