Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Who’s responsible for climate change? Fossil fuel companies would like us to believe it’s all of us as individuals (after all, BP invented the idea of the personal carbon footprint). But many large corporations bear at least as much of the blame. And for a decade or so, there was a push for every company to disclose its own emissions — a kind of corporate carbon footprint — and “sustainability” became the word of the day. But corporate shareholders demand profits, and managers are held accountable if they don’t deliver.Auden Schendler spent over 25 years running sustainability programs at Aspen One, the company that owns one of the highest-end resorts in the world. He argues that those pushing corporate sustainability programs are living a “big green lie.” Can capitalism be cleaned up from the inside? What should corporations and their sustainability managers do instead?Guests:Auden Schendler, Climate activist; Author, “Terrible Beauty: Reckoning with Climate Complicity and Rediscovering Our Soul” Mindy Lubber, CEO, CeresOn March 24, Google’s Chief Sustainability Officer Kate Brandt and Irina Raicu, Director of the Internet Ethics Program at the Markkula Center, will speak with Climate One about the development of sustainably powered artificial intelligence. Tickets are on sale through our website.And on April 22 and 24, Climate One will once again be hosting a series of SF Climate Week events at The Commonwealth Club! Join us for conversations with environmental luminaries such as Margaret Gordon, Jenny Odell, Project Drawdown, Grist, and Abby Reyes. Tickets are on sale now.Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today for just $5/month.For show notes and related links, visit our website.Ad sales by Multitude. Contact them for ad inquiries at multitude.productions/ads Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since 1992, award-winning San Francisco Chronicle reporter Kevin Fagan has been covering homelessness and other major news stories. His coverage has included Willie L. Brown Jr., at 90 still one of the most influential politicians in the state. Both Fagan and Brown have insightful, candid views about homelessness and the personal, state and national resolve that will be required to end it. Now Kevin Fagan has written The Lost and the Found: A True Story of Homelessness, Found Family and Second Chances, that will be published in February by Simon & Schuster. Fagan brings the abstract issue of homelessness to life, with compelling personal portraits of people experiencing it. HIs "straight up, savvy and realistic" book has been praised by reviewers.Throughout Mayor Brown's storied career, and Kevin Fagan's stories about it, homelessness has loomed large, as it has for all of us. In conversation at this event, Fagan and Brown will discuss the book, homelessness, and ways to humanize and mitigate it.About The SpeakersWillie Brown was a two-term mayor of San Francisco, legendary speaker of the California State Assembly and is widely regarded as one of the most influential African-American politicians of the late 20th century. Brown has been at the center of California politics, government and civic life for more than five decades. Kevin Fagan is a longtime, award-winning reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle. He has been nominated several times for the Pulitzer Prize, and won the James Aronson Award for Social Justice in Journalism and the John S. Knight Journalism Fellowship at Stanford University. During his career, he has covered homelessness, the 9/11 terror attacks, serial killers, California’s wildfires, and most recently the Nima Momeni trial.Organizer: Ian McCuaig A Social Impact Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

California has long reigned as the land of plenty, a place where the sun always shines and opportunity always beckons. Even prior to its statehood in 1850, it captured the world’s imagination. We think of bearded prospectors lured by the promise of gold. We imagine its early embrace of immigrant labor during the railroad boom as prologue to its diverse social fabric today. But what lies underneath the myths is far more complicated.Thanks to his extensive research, Michael Hiltzik uncovers the unvarnished truth about the state we think we know well. From the Spanish incursions into what became known as Alta California to the rise of Big Tech, the history of California is one of stark contradictions. In rich, previously overlooked detail, we see its earliest statesmen wreaking havoc among native peoples while racing to draft their own constitution prior to statehood. And gold-hungry settlers venturing into the Sierra foothills only to leave with little, while a handful of their suppliers turn themselves into millionaire railroad magnates.Wars erupted over water as Los Angeles boomed, and early efforts to tame the vast landscape created a haven for fossil fuel extraction and environmental conservation alike. Hollywood politicians stoked fears, contributing to a centuries-long tradition of anti-Asian violence. And, quite remarkably, both legal redlining and free higher education took root at the same time.Hiltzik brings a fresh critical eye to his historical accounts—from the Spanish conquistadors to the Gold Rush to the state’s meteoric rise as a tech powerhouse and bulwark of progressivism—demonstrating why California has left an indelible mark on the United States and the world.Organizer: George Hammond A Humanities Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Jerry Kaplan, an AI expert and Stanford educator, alongside Sanvi Arora, a public policy student at UC Berkeley leading the Youth Power Project. They dive into how AI is reshaping civic engagement and democratic values. Topics include the importance of media literacy to counter misinformation, the role of critical thinking in education, and the need for transparency in institutions. They also discuss innovative AI applications for enhancing civic responsibility and fostering trust in democracy, with an emphasis on preparing informed citizens in a digital age.

In a riveting discussion, Victor Cha, a renowned expert on Korean geopolitics, and Ramon Pacheco Pardo, an international relations professor, delve into Korea's tumultuous political scene. They explore the implications of North Korea’s nuclear tests and the potential for future U.S.-North Korea relations under Trump. The conversation highlights South Korea's cultural renaissance through K-pop and addresses its rapid economic transformation, societal challenges, and the parallels with Ukraine’s recovery efforts, making for a compelling analysis of the intertwined fates of the Koreas.

On January 20, 2025, and within hours of returning to power, the Trump administration issued an executive order that the U.S. government would recognize only two genders, male and female, defined at birth. In contrast, in 2014, the Supreme Court of India ruled that transgender people have the right to self-identify as male, female, or a “third gender.” The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act of 2019 in India allows transgender people to have a self-declared gender identity and receive a certificate of identity. It is currently estimated that there are more than 3 million third-gender people living in India alone. Similar rulings and laws have been passed in neighboring Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan. What are the implications and impacts on the transgender people of the rest of Asia and the United States? At a time when the current U.S. administration has issued an executive order recognizing only two genders, we will discuss this and other issues with Amrita Sarkar, one of the leading transgender activists of India, and Zia Jaffrey, author of The Invisibles: A Tale of Eunuchs of India. Amrita Sarkar is a leading activist who has been working for the transgender community and their wellbeing for more than two decades and has been involved in numerous capacity-building initiatives for the same communities at the national and international level. She is the one of the founding members and the Secretary of IRGT – A Global Network of Trans Women and HIV. She also has made two films on transgender issues. Amrita is a trained counsellor and had completed her post-graduation in social welfare. Zia Jaffrey is the author of The Invisibles: A Tale of the Eunuchs of India (Pantheon/Vintage). She has written cover stories, features, and book reviews for many publications, including Vogue, The Nation, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Elle, where she ran the front of the magazine, wrote literary pieces, and cultivated new voices. Her work has been anthologized in several tomes, most recently, in PEN America’s India at 75, and Toni Morrison: The Last Interview and Other Conversations. She has covered South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings, AIDS, and the Israel/Palestine conflict, and is currently writing a book about Palestinian-Americans.Organizer: Kalidip Choudhury An Asia-Pacific Affairs Member-led Forum program. Forums and chapters at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Energy Transfer Partners, the company behind the Dakota Access Pipeline, is suing Greenpeace for $300 million. The pipeline company accuses Greenpeace of criminal behavior — trespassing, vandalism, and assault of construction workers — and inciting riotous behavior by protesters at Standing Rock in 2016.Greenpeace considers this legal action to be a “SLAPP suit” — a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation — aimed at silencing not just Greenpeace, but civil protests everywhere. The trial is just getting underway in Morton County, North Dakota. In this episode we unpack not just this case, but the broader implications of such suits.Guests: Rolf Skar, National Campaigns Director, GreenpeaceMontgomery Brown, Member, Standing Rock GrassrootsLaura Prather, Chair of First Amendment Practice, Haynes BooneOn March 24, Google’s Chief Sustainability Officer Kate Brandt and Irina Raicu, Director of the Internet Ethics Program at the Markkula Center, will speak with Climate One about the development of sustainably powered artificial intelligence. Tickets are on sale through our website.Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today.For show notes and related links, visit our website.Ad sales by Multitude. Contact them for ad inquiries at multitude.productions/ads Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us in-person for a discussion with performance, as we delve into music and the technology revolution, hearing Black voices on how technology is impacting our music.African Americans have played an outsized and pivotal role in American and global music. At most of the shifts and transitions in music driven by technology and culture, Black Americans have been in the forefront. Join us for a discussion of the past, present and future of the mix of technology and music with a focus on African American innovation. In addition to the panel discussion, we will end with a short suite of performances by the presenters.About the SpeakersAward winning recording artist Nicolas Bearde is a singer-songwriter, actor and educator whose career has spanned more than 35 years. Born and raised in Nashville, TN, the second of 7 children, he has toured the globe with many of today’s jazz legends, such as Bobby McFerrin, Nat Adderley, Jr., Bernard Purdie, Vincent Herring and more. His style is likened to Lou Rawls, Nat King Cole and Bill Withers and he is known for his “velvet voice,” wit and engaging rapport that has drawn audiences into his live performances around the world. As an educator, Nicolas has worked with the California Jazz Conservatory and Jazz Camp West teaching “Vocal Intensive” workshops, skills he honed on the road as a member of Bobby McFerrin’s wildly innovative a cappella ensemble, “Voicestra” for more than 10 years, and was the chair of “popular voice” for the Young Arts Foundation in Miami, Florida for 5 years.Phil Hawkins is a drummer and media producer living in San Francisco. He regularly performs with Ray Obiedo, Pete Escovedo and other local artists. Phil operates a media production business that offers audio recording, mixing, and mastering for videography, photography, and graphic design services. He has taught music production at the college level for more than 20 years.Glen Pearson is both a noted pianist as well as the current head of music studies at the College of Alameda. He began playing piano at age 6 and was playing professionally by age 15. He has appeared on stage, television and on recordings with such notables as Regina Belle, Jimmy Scott, Diane Reeves, Marlena Shaw, Bobby Hutcherson and Nicolas Bearde, and served for 11 years as the musical/band director for the world-renowned Boy’s Choir of Harlem. For the past 5 years he toured with The Count Basie Orchestra, who’s latest record, Basie Swings the Blues, netted “Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album” at the 2024 Grammy Awards.Organizer: Gerald Anthony Harris An Arts Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums.Bearde photo by James Barry Knox Photography; Pearson photo by Timothy Bryan Burgess; additional photos courtesy the speakers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Renowned gerontologist Barbara Waxman, an advocate for longevity and author of The Middlescence Manifesto, joins award-winning broadcaster Michael Krasny for a profound discussion. They challenge the misconceptions of aging, emphasizing the potential for quality of life over mere lifespan. The conversation covers the importance of social connections, holistic healthcare approaches, and lifestyle strategies to enhance well-being. They also explore the changing dynamics of family and the impact of aging on mental health, advocating for a transformative perspective on this demographic shift.

Join us for a new perspective that could rewrite our understanding of where moral judgments come from, and may reveal how we can overcome the feelings of outrage that so often divide us.It’s easy to assume that liberals and conservatives have radically different moral foundations. Kurt Gray, author of Outraged, showcases the latest science to demonstrate that we all have the same moral mind—that everyone’s moral judgments stem from feeling threatened or vulnerable to harm.Although we almost all care about protecting ourselves and the vulnerable, conflict arises when we have different perceptions of harm. We get outraged when we disagree about who the “real” victim is, whether we’re talking about political issues, fights with our in-laws, or arguments on the playground.In laying out a new vision of our moral minds, Gray tackles three common myths that he says prevent people from understanding themselves and those around them. For a long time, it was commonly believed that our ancestors were apex predators. In reality, we were more hunted than hunter. This explains why our minds are hard-wired to perceive threats, and why we’re so preoccupied with danger. Gray also examines new research that finds that our moral judgments are based more on gut feelings of harm than on rational thought. We condemn acts that feel harmful. Finally, Gray refutes the idea that facts are the best way to bridge divides. In moral and political arguments, facts often fail to convince others of our point of view, since our moral judgments are based on our subjective beliefs not on our objective observations. Instead, sharing stories of personal suffering can help to create more common ground.Join us in-person as Gray takes us on an insightful tour of our moral minds, drawing on groundbreaking research and fascinating stories to provide a new explanation for our moral outrage, and unpacking how to best bridge divides. If you want to understand the morals of the “other side,” ask yourself a simple question—what harms do they see?This program is supported by the Civic Health Project.This program contains EXPLICIT language. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices