Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Dr. Charles Munger advocates good government, representative politics and a strong, responsible two-party system for California and the nation. Viewed by many as a moderate Republican, Dr. Munger campaigned in 2012 for California's current open "top two" primary and was the co-author of 2010's Proposition 20 to keep elected representatives separate from the process of creating congressional districts. He believes both have worked to encourage true representative government. Dr. Munger served as chairman of the Santa Clara County Republican Party from 2012 to 2015. He holds a Ph.D. in atomic physics from U.C. Berkeley and is one of 8 children of Charles Munger, the vice chairman of financial holding company Berkshire Hathaway. As we head toward the election, come hear his unique thoughts on the power of political reform in an era where gridlock and cynicism abound . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Right now, the Doomsday Clock reads “100 seconds to midnight,” according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists—midnight representing the end of humanity as we know it from two simultaneous existential dangers—nuclear war and climate change. This setting is closer than the world has ever been to doomsday before, even during the height of the Cold War. This unnerving development speaks to the urgent relevance of panelist Lesley Blume's book Fallout and the need to reflect on the 75th anniversary of the Bomb. The Hiroshima A-bomb was the single most destructive event of the 20th century, killing more than 100,000 people and decimating an entire city. Knowing this, Ms. Blume points out that the U.S. government embarked on a secret propaganda campaign to hide the true nature of the damage to Hiroshima and Nagasaki for fear that such blatant violence—mostly perpetrated against civilians—would tarnish our reputation at home and abroad. This cover-up included suppression of the Japanese and Western media, press junkets that downplayed the bombs’ radioactivity and any mention of sinister “Disease X” plaguing blast survivors, and misleading statements aimed at depicting the bomb as a humane and conventional weapon. This conversation comes as the current administration considers resuming nuclear testing and commits to spending trillions to "modernize" nuclear weapons, and as the the dangers of nuclear miscalculation and blunder grow amid tensions with Russia, North Korea, China and Iran. Join Blume and former California Governor Jerry Brown, executive chair of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and a longtime advocate for dialogue around nuclear issues, for an important discussion about the legacy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and prospects for reducing the nuclear threat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Veteran trial lawyer and author James Bostwick will outline his riveting story about a struggling young attorney who decides to take on the most famous lawyer in the country to get justice for a paralyzed youngster. It is a tale of love, friendship, sex and betrayal that also paints an authentic picture of the risks, dilemmas and tactics involved in high stakes litigation. Bostwick will provide interesting insights into this complex and competitive arena. He will also discuss the genesis and inspiration for his novel, as well as the writing process and how to get published—what works and what doesn’t. The story was inspired by a real trial occurring in San Francisco in the mid-'80s. San Franciscans might recognize some well-known legal icons of the era. James Bostwick has been a San Francisco trial lawyer specializing in catastrophic injuries for more than 40 years. He has obtained the largest medical malpractice verdict in U.S. history. Bostwick has long been listed as one of the top 100 trial lawyers in the United States. His first novel, Acts of Omission, was nominated for the 2020 Harper Lee Legal Fiction Award and is under contract to soon be a movie. MLF ORGANIZER Denise Michaud NOTES MLF: Grownups Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ambassador John Bolton’s name is synonymous with foreign policy service at the highest levels of government, having served four different presidents. Most recently, Bolton served as assistant to the president for national security affairs from April 9, 2018, until his resignation on September 10, 2019. He chronicled this experience in the recent best-selling book, The Room Where It Happened. From January 2007 until April 2018, John R. Bolton served as a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. He was appointed as United States permanent representative to the United Nations on August 1, 2005 and served until his resignation in December 2006. Prior to his appointment, Ambassador Bolton served as under secretary of state for arms control and international security from May 2001 to May 2005. Throughout his distinguished career, Ambassador Bolton has been a staunch defender of American interests. While under secretary of state, he repeatedly advocated tough measures against the nuclear weapons programs of both Iran and North Korea, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction worldwide. He led negotiations for America to withdraw from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty so that the Bush Administration could proceed with a national missile-defense program. Ambassador Bolton has spent many years of his career in public service. Previous positions he has held include assistant secretary for international organization affairs at the Department of State, 1989–1993; assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice, 1985–1989; assistant administrator for program and policy coordination at the U.S. Agency for International Development, 1982–1983; and general counsel at the U.S. Agency for International Development, 1981–1982. Ambassador Bolton is the author of The Room Where it Happened, published by Simon & Schuster (June 2020) , Surrender is Not an Option: Defending America at the U.N. and Abroad, published by Simon & Shuster (November 2007), and How Barack Obama Is Endangering Our National Sovereignty, published by Encounter Books (April 2010). Ambassador Bolton graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Yale College in 1970, and received his Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 1974. Please join us for this important conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As America enters the final stretch of the 2020 election, many of the debates and issues that continue to dominate the campaign at the national and local levels stem from a resurgent global right-wing populism that led to the election of Donald Trump in 2016. Four years later, this aggressive form of right-wing populism, infused with xenophobic nationalism, remains a powerful influence in the United States and around the world. Perhaps no one knows these issues better than Lawrence Rosenthal, the founder of the University of California Berkley’s Center for Right-Wing Studies. In his new book Empire of Resentment: Populism’s Toxic Embrace of Nationalism, Rosenthal paints a vivid sociological, political and psychological picture of the transnational quality of this movement, which is now in power in at least a dozen countries. In America and abroad, the current mobilization of right-wing populism has given life to long marginalized threats like white supremacy and anti-immigration fervor. In 2016, renowned UC Berkeley professor Arlie Hochschild was among the first major sociologists to help explain Trump’s election. Her award-winning book, Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right, helped readers understand why so many American voters were attracted to Trump’s populist message and its negative undertones. Please join us for a special conversation between two UC Berkeley stars—Rosenthal and Hochschild—as they discuss the how the transformation of the American far right made the Trump presidency possible—and what it portends for the future just two months out from the 2020 election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The world is projected to generate 90 zettabytes of data this year and the next. That’s more than all the data produced since the arrival of computers, and if we still used DVD’s, we’d need 19 trillion to store it all. Swimming in this massive sea of information, humans are easily overwhelmed; studies suggest we avoid important information because it might make us miserable, while seeking out information of dubious value to make ourselves happy. What information do we need to know? What role should policymakers play in helping us find data that improves our well-being and filter out information—from calorie counts to credit card fees—that wastes our time or even endangers us? Cass Sunstein explains how we can make information work for us. NOTES Co-Hosted with Zócalo Public Square Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Will COVID-19 change our food system for good? Increased coronavirus outbreaks in food markets, food plants and farmworker communities have impacted food access and put a spotlight on food insecurity. Farmers are hurting as supply chains for fresh, perishable foods shrivel. Meanwhile, food banks have seen a surge in demand that has required distribution support from the National Guard. What does COVID-19 mean for agriculture, our food supply systems—and our diets? Join us for a conversation with Lisa Held, senior reporter at Civil Eats, Karen Ross, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, and Helene York, professor at the Food Business School of the Culinary Institute of America, on feeding a nation under quarantine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The cost and health burdens of electricity production have long been higher for low-income communities of color than for wealthy white ones. But when it comes to public engagement and trust, the oil and gas industry is often ahead of its clean energy competitors, presenting a friendly face to the same areas it supplies with jobs, tax dollars, and cheap energy. Is the industry an example of community leadership, manipulative greenwashing—or something in between? How can the renewable industry transform its model into one of diversity, equity and affordable energy for all? Join us for a conversation with Derrick Hollie, president of Reaching America; Jacqueline Patterson, director of the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice program; Ivan Penn, alternative energy reporter with The New York Times; and Vien Truong, director of climate justice for Tom Steyer PAC, on hard truths about the energy industry next door. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join San Francisco Pride and The Commonwealth Club for the latest edition of Lavender Talks, a moderated panel discussion emceed by Michelle Meow (host of "The Michelle Meow Show" and a former president of the SF Pride Board of Directors). In this program, we'll look at racism and discrimination in the Castro, San Francisco's world-famous LGBTQ district. In association with San Francisco Pride Made possible by the generous support of Gilead and Comcast And thanks to San Francisco Pride Legacy Partners: Bud Light Hilton San Francisco Union Square KPIX 5 CBS Bay Area Kaiser Permanente Genentech Gilead GLBT Historical Society KBCW TV Parc 55 San Francisco Smirnoff Recology T–Mobile Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

George Bernard Shaw once said that there is no love more sincere than the love of food. Pipo, the main character in the new children's book Every Night Is Pizza Night, holds the sincerest love of all… for pizza. Pipo is determined to prove that pizza is, in every aspect, the best food out there. However, by cooking and tasting foods with six new friends, Pipo discovers that what makes a food “the best” transcends taste as only one ingredient in the melting pot of tradition, family and friendship. Written by the Food Lab’s J. Kenji López-Alt and illustrated by artist Gianna Ruggerio, the book highlights the importance of gastronomic diversity for children and adults alike. Join them both at INFORUM where they will discuss how, like Pipo, even the pickiest eaters can grow an expansive palette and grow to appreciate the various cuisines around them. This conversation will be moderated by SF Chronicle food critic Soleil Ho. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices