Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Was 2019 the last great year for the world economy? For generations, everything has been getting faster, better and cheaper. Complex, innovative industries were created to satisfy consumers, but are we at the brink of not being able to sustain ongoing demand?Geopolitical strategist Peter Zeihan asserts it is only a matter of time before major changes will start to unfold that will affect how we manufacture goods, grow food and produce energy. Additionally, the list of countries able to sustain this model is much smaller than you might think.Zeihan issues an urgent call to avoid what he sees as a catastrophic ending and maps out what the “next” world will look like.NOTESThis program is supported by the Ken & Jaclyn Broad Family Fund. This program contains EXPLICIT language.SPEAKERSPeter ZeihanAuthor, The End of the World Is Just the Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization; Twitter @PeterZeihanQuentin HardyHead of Editorial, Google CloudIn 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 December 2nd, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Five centuries after his death, Leonardo Da Vinci is attracting more attention for his art, his science and his mechanical inventiveness than ever. Humanities West celebrates his continuing cultural contributions with an encore presentation of "Leonardo’s Legacy," our February 2019 program, again featuring Martin Kemp, a world-renowned Leonardo scholar, who will treat us this time to his latest research on Leonardo’s study of the science of optics and how that study influenced his artistic creations. And Deborah Loft will reprise her popular lecture, "Leonardo's Artistic Legacy: Homage and Irony," which looks at the visual elements that make his work distinctive, and follows his significance through time to our contemporary culture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the last two decades, a fringe plan to call a convention under the Constitution's amendment mechanism—the nation's first ever—has inched through statehouses. Delegates, like those in Philadelphia two centuries ago, would exercise nearly unlimited authority to draft changes to our fundamental law, potentially altering anything from voting and free speech to regulatory and foreign policy powers. Such a watershed moment would present great danger, and for some, great power.Russ Feingold and Peter Prindiville examine the nature of such constitutional changes in modern life and ask the urgent question about what American democracy is—and should be.SPEAKERSRuss FeingoldFormer U.S. Senator (D-Wisconsin); President, American Constitution Society; Co-author, The Constitution in Jeopardy: An Unprecedented Effort to Rewrite Our Fundamental Law and What We Can Do About It; Twitter @russfeindgoldPeter PrindivilleNon-resident Fellow, Stanford Constitutional Law Center; Co-Author, The Constitution in Jeopardy: An Unprecedented Effort to Rewrite Our Fundamental Law and What We Can Do About It; Twitter @prindivilleanMelissa CaenAttorney; Political Analyst—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 November 30th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Best-selling author Mark Shaw, who has become a magnet for crowdsourced information about Marilyn Monroe, JFK and prominent journalist Dorothy Kilgallen ever since his lectures went viral on YouTube, returns to The Commonwealth Club to share new research about the cover-ups that followed those three celebrities’ deaths. Revealed for the first time in his latest book, Fighting for Justice, is evidence from a still-living legislative aide to a Warren Commission member never identified before that the inner workings of the commission involved “internal corruption,” and that commission members felt pressure from President Johnson, Chief Justice Earl Warren, and J. Edgar Hoover to support the “Oswald Alone” theory. Shaw also argues that that commission member was likely the one who surreptitiously passed Jack Ruby’s testimony to journalist Dorothy Kilgallen prior to its release date—triggering an FBI inquiry.Join us to hear Shaw describe what a “rat’s nest” Marilyn fell into when she fell in love with Frank Sinatra, and to hear how important the almost unknown 18-month investigation into JFK’s assassination by Kilgallen would have been had all her research papers not disappeared when she mysteriously died. Continuing his quest for the truth about the deaths of Dorothy and Marilyn, Shaw adds new evidence to the pile, using first-hand accounts that he says make it clearer than ever that the official explanations for those deaths are not credible.MLF ORGANIZER Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2015, Misty Copeland made history and changed the dance world forever when she became the first African-American female principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre. But as she will tell you, achievements like this never happen in a void. Behind her and supporting her rise was her mentor, Raven Wilkinson.A trailblazer in the world of ballet, Wilkinson fought to be taken seriously as a Black ballerina in the 1950s and '60s. During this time Wilkinson faced overt and casual racism, hostile crowds, and death threats for having the audacity to dance ballet.Copeland honors the unheralded contributions made by women like Wilkinson who helped pave the way so she could pursue her dream career.She will also share more about her own journey, struggles with racism and exclusion, and intergenerational friendship and mentorship with Wilkinson.NOTESThis program is generously supported by the Applied Materials Foundation.  SPEAKERSMisty CopelandPrincipal Dancer, American Ballet Theatre; Author, The Wind at My Back: Resilience, Grace, and Other Gifts from My Mentor, Raven Wilkinson; Twitter @mistyonpointeIn conversation with Mina KimHost, “Forum” on KQED; Twitter @mkimreporterIn 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 November 16th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2012, Regina Martínez, a prominent journalist reporting on political corruption and abuse in Mexico, was found brutally murdered in her bathroom. This tragic act of violence sent a clear message: No journalist in Mexico was safe. Troubled by this news, Katherine Corcoran, then leading the Associated Press coverage of Mexico, traveled to Veracruz to uncover the truth about Martínez’s death.Now Corcoran reveals what she learned during her investigation and recounts her own experiences battling cover-ups, narco-officials, red tape and even threats.Hear more about this harrowing story as well as the ongoing dangers that journalists encounter everyday around the world.NOTESThis program is part of The Commonwealth Club's Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation.SPEAKERSKatherine CorcoranFormer Associated Press Bureau Chief for Mexico and Central America; Author, In the Mouth of the Wolf: A Murder, a Cover-Up, and the True Cost of Silencing the Press Janine ZachariaCarlos Kelly McClatchy Lecturer, Department of Communication, Stanford UniversityIn 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 November 14th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over a 20-year period, methane is 80 times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Yet those responsible for releasing methane into the atmosphere often don’t even know how much they themselves are emitting. And methane is only one of many harmful air pollutants that result from our dependence on burning fossil fuels. Now, research coalitions, citizen scientists and activists are using a slate of new tools to detect and report emissions. They’re also using many of the same tools to shine a light on exactly how and where other deadly fossil fuel pollutants, like nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter, are affecting community health. Such data could become a critical tool for regulation, leading to greater emissions reductions.  Guests:Davida Herzl, Co-founder and CEO, AclimaKendra Pinto, Four Corners Indigenous Community Field Advocate, Earthworks Gavin McCormick, Co-founder, Climate TRACEFor show notes and related links, visit https://www.climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sara Holtz, a former Fortune 500 vice president, is the author of Advice to My Younger Me: Career Lessons from 100 Successful Women and the host of the highly rated podcast "Advice to My Younger Me." She has interviewed hundreds of successful women about what they wish they had known earlier in their careers, has coached thousands, and has received the American Bar Association’s prestigious Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award in recognition of the impact that her work has had on helping women succeed.We'll start the program with an overview of the main lessons Holtz has learned from her interviews about the critical steps to career success. Too many women (and men) expect that all they need to do is work hard on assigned tasks and they will be rewarded for their good work with raises and promotions. But that's a bit unrealistic; Holtz says that succeeding at your career requires taking responsibility for how it unfolds, understanding the unwritten rules in your workplace, nurturing and leveraging your career relationships, and taking smart risks.After a brief presentation by Holtz, the in-person participants will break into small groups to discuss some common career challenges before regrouping for further discussion. There will also be a post-event reception with wine and cheese for more discussion and networking, along with a book signing.Although this program will be available on live stream, come to the Club for the full experience that includes small groups, meet Sara and your peers, and maybe even have dinner afterward at a nearby restaurant! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Does mass incarceration make our communities safer? How can we better protect victim rights? What happens inside of prisons? Those are important questions that Lenore Anderson and Bill Keller address in their new books In Their Names and What's Prison For?Anderson argues that the powerful myth that mass incarceration benefits victims obscures recognition of what most victims actually need to address their trauma. Based on her national reform advocacy work and time as the former chief of policy at the San Francisco District Attorney’s office and former director of public safety for the Oakland mayor, she offers her solutions on how we can close the gap between our public safety systems and crime survivors.Keller looks at our broken criminal justice system and shares what happens inside prisons and jails, where nearly 2 million Americans are held. He takes us inside to meet men and woman who are making efforts to return back to society and talks about his own experience helping educate inmates at Sing Sing as well as other programs around the country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the beginning of the nation to today, Black women have transformed their pain into progress and have been at the frontlines of many of the nation’s political, social and economic struggles.In her new book Black Women Will Save the World, April Ryan celebrates the tenacity, power and impact that Black women have had across America. She highlights trailblazing “sheroes” ranging from political leaders like Vice President Kamala Harris and Rep. Maxine Waters, activists like Brittany Packnett Cunningham, and artists like Regina King who fight for fairness and justice.Ryan also chronicles her own journey from working-class Baltimore to the elite echelons of journalism and speaks candidly about the hurdles she faced in becoming one of the most well-connected members of the Washington press corps.Ryan notes we are at a moment unlike any other in our nation’s history where we need to acknowledge the presence and unrivaled contributions of Black women. Hear more about how they continue to lead and drive change in our country.NOTESThis program is part of The Commonwealth Club's Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation.SPEAKERSApril RyanWhite House Correspondent, The Grio; Political Analyst, CNN; Author, Black Women Will Save the World: An Anthem; Twitter @AprilDRyanIn Conversation with Sheryl DavisExecutive Director, San Francisco Human Rights CommissionIn 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 November 14th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices