Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Join us for a virtual conversation with Neal Gabler, award-winning author and film critic, to discuss volume one of his new biography of Ted Kennedy—an immersive journey through the life of a complicated man and a sweeping history of the fall of liberalism. Gabler pursues the Ted Kennedy seldom seen beneath the well-known images of the reckless hedonist who rode his father’s fortune and his brothers’ coattails to a Senate seat at the age of 30, and finds a man both racked by and driven by insecurity. Considered by his contemporaries as the least of the Kennedys, his childhood was filled with numerous humiliations, including self-inflicted ones, all the while being pressured to rise to his brothers’ level. Kennedy entered the Senate to low expectations—a show horse, not a workhorse. But he drew upon his “ninth-child’s talent” of deference to and comity with his Senate elders to become an influential legislator. Using his brothers’ moral authority, Kennedy became a moving force during the great “liberal hour” that saw the passage of the anti-poverty program and the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts. Then, after the deaths of John and Robert and the election of Richard Nixon, Kennedy became the leading voice of liberalism, challenging Nixon to keep the American promise to the marginalized, and provoking Nixonian terror of a Kennedy restoration. Gabler also chronicles how the fatal accident on Chappaquiddick Island in 1969 dealt a serious blow not just to Kennedy's political career but to liberalism itself. MLF ORGANIZER George Hammond Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Months and months in a sweet little bubble, with stresses and chaos on the outside, but warmth and safety on the inside . . . doesn't that sound great? But if this idyllic situation isn't yours right now, don't worry! Neuroscience and emotional resilience specialists Dr. Rick Hanson, psychologist and New York Times best-selling author, and Forrest Hanson, host of the "Being Well" podcast, will teach us some techniques to head off the isolation craziness. They've agreed to stay for a longer Q&A than usual, so if your relationship is turning into "for better or for worse, but not for lunch," or even if you're simply finding it difficult to keep your temper or your balance, be sure to join us. Just write your questions on the video's chat box during the talk, and we will forward them to Rick and Forrest anonymously for their answers. Our previous discussions about anxiety and depression used a similar format, and they were extremely successful. There were great questions that received excellent practical answers, so be sure to attend and ask those questions! Remember, thousands of people will download the podcast afterwards; the answer you get may lighten the day for hundreds of subsequent listeners. MLF ORGANIZER Eric Siegel NOTES MLF: Personal Growth Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for this special program in The Commonwealth Club's series recognizing recipients of The Club's 2020 Distinguished Citizens Award. This program honors Rod Diridon, Sr., a staunch transportation and environmental advocate for most of his life. As The San Jose Mercury News observed, "Along the way to having a passenger station named in his honor that has become the catalyst for the next iteration of San Jose’s downtown, he chaired the first campaign in California for a sales tax for transit, helped create the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, and organized the joint powers boards for rail construction projects. He has chaired dozens of charitable nonprofit organizations dealing with issues in transportation, the environment, parks, local history and journalism." From 1993 to 2014, Mr. Diridon served as executive director of the Mineta Transportation Institute, a transportation policy research center created in 1991 by Congress. He is known as the father of modern transit service in Silicon Valley and has chaired more than 100 international, national, state and local programs, most related to transit and the environment. He frequently provides legislative testimony on sustainability. Mr. Diridon was appointed in 2001 and 2005 by Governors Davis and Schwarzenegger, respectively, to the California High Speed Rail Authority Board, of which he is chair emeritus. He’s past chair of the American Public Transportation Association, was elected chair of the U.S. High Speed Rail Association’s Board, and served for 6 years as North American vice chair of the International Transit Association in Brussels. His political career began in 1971 as the youngest person ever elected to the Saratoga City Council. He retired in 1995 because of term limits after completing five terms on and six times chairing both the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and Transit Board. He’s the only person to chair the San Francisco Bay Area's (119 cities, 27 transit agencies, and 9 counties) three regional governments: The Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Air Quality Management District, and the Association of Bay Area Governments. He chaired nine successful rail system development project boards. In 1995 the region’s main train station was renamed the “San Jose Diridon Station” upon his retirement. Mr. Diridon is now focused on combating climate change by convening the Rotary Climate Action Council. Conversing with Mr. Diridon will be Nuria Fernandez, a 35-year veteran of the transportation industry. In addition to her role with the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, she serves as chair of the American Public Transportation Association. Come for a salute to one of the country's most highly regarded transportation leaders and an engaging conversation about the future of transit, especially in a time of pandemics, fires, hurricanes and floods. Bring your questions as well. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us in conversation with Jacob Goldstein, co-host of the NPR show “Planet Money,” as he talks with Molly Wood from “Marketplace Tech” about the irreverent concept of money and its evolution over time. In his new book, Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing, Goldstein illustrates the use of money and how it has been an important factor in society for thousands of years. But what is money? Goldstein asserts that the concept of money only works because we as a globe have all collectively agreed to believe in it. He provides a detailed history of money from the rise of coins in ancient Greece to the emergence of shadow banking in the 21st century. The book follows the stories of the fringe leaders who first saw money as a viable system to exchange goods. The various thinkers presented in the book quickly learned that money is nothing more than a concept, only solidified by the choices we make. He says that these choices we decide on affect who gets more money and who gets less, who gets to take risks when times are good, and who gets screwed when things go bad. Join us to learn the story of the choices that gave us money as we know it today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2020 is a year unlike any other in modern history. Of the many sectors of human life turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic, the American workplace has been particularly affected. The lines between work and home are blurred more than ever before, and the uncertainty many industries face have overwhelmed employees and their plans for the future. What do these shifts in workplace culture mean for women and other underrepresented groups, especially those traditionally affected by wage gaps, stagnant career mobility and discrimination? The sixth annual “Women in the Workplace” report, composed by McKinsey & Co. in partnership with LeanIn.org, explores a completely new corporate environment that women must trek. The data set this year reflects contributions from 317 companies that participated in the study and more than 40,000 people surveyed on their workplace experiences. Join a panel of experts at INFORUM, where they will discuss the unique results of this year’s survey and how corporations can seek solutions for intractable problems like gender bias and the wage gap in the journey to innovate work-from-home culture. Though the pandemic presents new challenges, this conversation will offer a way forward for companies through a time that could fundamentally shift the way we work and live. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In late October, as the long presidential campaign wound down to its denouement, President Donald Trump's daughter Tiffany appeared at a Florida rally to proclaim her father as the most pro-LGBTQ president ever. But instead of helping the president with LGBTQI voters, the event caused many people to reflect on the president's policies that they say have targeted members of the community by removing legal protections. Join us this Thursday at noon, two days after Election Day. Our expert panel will discuss the political situation facing LGBTQI people after one of the most important elections of modern times. What will the president do in the next 4 years? Will the more-conservative U.S. Supreme Court expand religious exemptions at the expense of LGBTQI rights? How did LGBTQI candidates — and LGBTQI-ally candidates — do in this election? What should priorities be in 2021 and beyond? Don't miss this special edition of "The Michelle Meow Show" at The Commonwealth Club. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Michael V. Drake, M.D., was appointed as the 21st president of the University of California this past summer. He oversees UC’s world-renowned system of 10 campuses, five medical centers, three nationally affiliated labs, more than 280,000 students and 230,000 faculty and staff. Dr. Drake previously served as president of The Ohio State University from 2014 through June 2020. Prior to his six years at OSU, he served in several roles at the University of California, including nine years as chancellor of UC Irvine and five years as the systemwide vice president for health affairs. Dr. Drake received his A.B. from Stanford University, his M.D. and residency from UCSF, and his fellowship training in ophthalmology at UCSF and the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. He subsequently spent more than two decades on the faculty of the UCSF School of Medicine, ultimately as the Steven P. Shearing Professor of Ophthalmology. During his years as chancellor at UC Irvine, the campus rose to join the top 10 public universities in U.S. News & World Report’s annual list and was ranked by Times Higher Education as the No. 1 university in the U.S. under 50 years old. During his tenure at the campus, the four-year graduation rate increased by more than 18 percent, while undergraduate enrollment and diversity increased significantly. Dr. Drake is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has received the UCSF School of Medicine’s Clinical Teaching Award and the University of California Presidential Medal in recognition of exemplary service. Join this prominent academic leader the day after the election for a timely discussion of the challenges facing higher education during a global pandemic and societal unrest. NOTES This program is part of The Commonwealth Club's Series on Ethics and Accountability, underwritten by The Travers Family Foundation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 2020 campaign season has finally come to a close. And days after November 3rd has passed, the country is still reeling. About seventy percent of Americans - Democrats, Independents and Republicans - say the election caused a significant amount of anxiety and stress in their lives. That’s up from fifty percent four years ago. How should we process those difficult emotions surrounding the election? Climate psychologist Renée Lertzman recommends practicing self-awareness and self-care. “It’s very important for us each to know what our own thresholds are,” she says. “So knowing when it's time to sort of disengage and to take care of ourselves. To do what we need to do to restore our sense of being grounded, of being connected, of being in balance. So definitely, it’s a balancing act.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s natural to feel protective of our favorite movies—they can inform the way we see the world, introduce us to complex themes, or remind us of a simpler time (like before we knew what racism and sexism were). Writer Lindy West argues, however, that liking a movie doesn’t always mean that it’s actually good. In her new book Shit, Actually: The Definitive, 100% Objective Guide to Modern Cinema, West uses her trademark wit to test the durability of 23 iconic movies and ask herself the important question: “How’d they hold up?” Join West as she returns to INFORUM to discuss the joys and challenges of re-watching your favorite pieces of cinema and to teach us how to be critical of the trash we love. Note: This program contains EXPLICIT language. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SPEAKERS Malhar Shah Attorney, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund; Former Family Law Staff Attorney, National Center for lesbian Rights Janet Sinhbandith Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA); Behavior Specialist, Castro Valley Unified School District; CEO, Positive Support Services, LLC Kristy Woerz Retired Special Education Teacher, Program Specialist, and Trainer to District Staff, Castro Valley Unified School District Michelle Meow Producer and Host, "The Michelle Meow Show," KBCW TV and TuneIn; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors—Co-Host John Zipperer Producer and Host, Week to Week Political Roundtable; Vice President of Media & Editorial, The Commonwealth Club—Co-Host In response to the Coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak, this program took place and was recorded live via video conference, for an online audience only, and was live-streamed by The Commonwealth Club of California from San Francisco on October 29th, 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices