Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Over the past couple of decades, corporations have increased their control of nearly aspect of American life. Big technology platform monopolists like Facebook and Google, and life science companies like Bayer have a greater concentration of wealth and power than we've seen in the United States since the Gilded Age. Critics say that massive, multinational companies are evolving into political entities that often have more influence than actual governments, bending state and federal legislatures to their wills and even creating courts that circumvent the U.S. justice system. The big question for many, of course, is: How can we recover our freedom from these giant companies? Anti-corruption scholar and activist Zephyr Teachout has one answer: Break up the monopolies that are increasingly in control of American democratic institutions and public life. In her new book, Break 'Em Up: Recovering Our Freedom from Big Ag, Big Tech, and Big Money, Teachout argues that monopolies are the root cause of many of the issues (economic inequality, the environment, partisanship) that today's progressives care most about, and that anti-trust efforts are critical tools to protecting society. In order to build a better future, Teachout believes we must organize and eliminate monopolies from the private sector and create new safeguards that prevent new ones from seizing power. The moderator for this program, noted Columbia Law School professor Tim Wu, discussed some of these issues in a program at The Commonwealth Club last year. Please join us for an important discussion of the dangers of consolidated private power and how we can develop a new path forward for our country . . . before it is too late. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The active presence of federal troops in Portland, Oregon sparked an increase in violence and protests just as the mayor said things had been calming down. Now President Donald Trump is promising to send troops to other large cities, ostensibly to put down the violence but critics say it is an election ploy designed to trigger reaction from protestors and increase support from the president's base. Join us for a conversation with journalist Robert Evans for an on-the-scene report from Portland on the ongoing confrontations in that city—and their implications nationwide. Robert Evans has worked as a conflict journalist in Iraq and Ukraine and reported extensively on far-right extremist groups in the United States. He's particularly interested in the ways terrorist groups recruit, radicalize and communicate through the Internet. This program contains some Explicit language. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“You’re fired!” was Donald Trump’s iconic catch phrase for years as a reality TV personality. Now, President Trump’s poor approval ratings have led to a 4-year conversation on how to defeat him in November. In his new book You’re Fired, popular political strategist Paul Begala has a reply to this pressing issue for Democrats. Begala picks apart Trump’s politics and outlines how liberals and progressives can unseat the president come November. Begala argues that distraction is President Trump’s superpower. For Democrats to win, Begala says they must make their case to America that President Trump has failed them while also implementing a strong strategy of progressive politics and party unity. Tune in for our conversation with Paul Begala that is sure to be filled with wit and political wisdom. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The New York Times bestseller Maybe You Should Talk to Someone takes readers into both Lori Gottlieb’s therapy office where she sees patients and her own therapist's office, where she lands after a crisis. But really the book is about the universal human condition. Gottlieb writes about topics that make people think differently about themselves and the world around them: love and loss, meaning and mortality, gender and culture, parents and children, female appearance, regret and redemption, hope and change. In any given year, 30 million Americans sit on a therapist's couch, but there's still stigma around mental health struggles. Gottlieb will talk about this cultural moment in mental health, which factors are contributing to the anxiety/depression/loneliness, what really goes on in a modern-day therapy room (from both sides—as patient and therapist), and what we can do in our daily lives to take control and feel better. MLF ORGANIZER Patty James NOTES This program contains some explicit language MLF: Health & Medicine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With a pandemic raging, an economy in trouble, racial justice galvanizing protestors nationwide, it's not a bad time to have a political roundtable, right? We'll discuss the latest political news with civility and good humor, and we invite you to be a part of this virtual experience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In May 1969, Freeman was an anti-war pacifist working in Chicago as a draft counselor for a Quaker social action committee. She and a group of fellow activists broke into a Southside Chicago draft board, dragged 40,000 draft records out into the parking lot, and set them ablaze. Her federal trial began in May 1970, only a few days after four Kent State protestors had been killed by the National Guard. During her trial, the jury was not permitted to hear any testimony about the defendants’ ideals or motivation and it became clear that the judge was seeking unprecedentedly long sentences. So a few days before the trial ended she fled with her friend and co-defendant, a radical Catholic priest. In Failure to Appear, Freeman recounts her precarious life as a fugitive for almost two decades, her struggle to find her true identity amid the lies she told about herself, the pain and confusion of being "hidden in a closet within a closet," and how she finally found a way back out of both closets with her values intact. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If Republican Sunny Panyanouvong-Rubeck wins her election to be a judge in the North Carolina 26th Judicial District, she would become the first Lao-American judge in U.S. history. Join us for a conversation about politics, identifying with the GOP, and the issues that are impacting immigrants and communities of people of color. In 1981, her family was sponsored by a Baptist church when they arrived as refugees to the United States. Panyanouvong-Rubeck says she dreamed of a judicial system that treated everybody with fairness and equality. She credits her ability to seek election to a judgeship to America’s heartfelt welcoming attitude and its commitment to the inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our distinguished panel will discuss the ties between Israel, India and Berkeley, demonstrated in the Berkeley-based Magnes Collection of jewish Art and Life's beautiful collection of Indian Jewish artifacts. Deputy Consul General Zamir, who was previously stationed in Mumbai, will talk about his experiences there. The little known facts that Jews have lived in India for thousands of years and that presently about 80,000 Indian Jews live in Israel, will also be discussed. MLF ORGANIZER Celia Menczel NOTES MLF: Middle East Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Robert Chesnut , in his book Intentional Integrity, offers a 6-step process for leaders to foster and manage a culture of integrity at work. He explains the rationale and legal context for ethics and practices, and he presents scenarios to illuminate the nuances of thinking deeply and objectively about workplace culture. His experience is based on his broad experience at Airbnb, EBay and other tech environments. MLF ORGANIZER Elizabeth Carney Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us to take on the responsibility to document, communicate and preserve our lives and our times for those who’ll live in tomorrow’s world. Using a legacy letter format, we’ll address our experience, learning and love in this pivotal moment in history. This program is designed for beginning as well as practiced writers. MLF ORGANIZER Denise Michaud NOTES: MLF: Grownups Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices