Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Decades of cuts to local government amidst rising concentrations of poverty have wreaked havoc on communities left behind by the modern economy. Some of these discarded places are rural. Others are big cities, small cities, or historic suburbs. Some vote blue, others red. Mostly, their governments are just broke. Stanford Law School Professor Michelle Wilde Anderson says that 40 years after the anti-tax revolution began protecting wealthy taxpayers and their cities, high-poverty cities and counties have run out of services to cut, properties to sell, bills to defer, and risky loans to take.In The Fight to Save the Town, Anderson traveled to four blue-collar communities that are poor, broke, and progressing—Stockton, California; Josephine County, Oregon; Lawrence, Massachusetts; and Detroit, Michigan. She shares how networks of local leaders and residents are coming together to face this crisis head on and working toward innovative solutions to deal with pressing issues, including gun violence, housing and unemployment.Hear more about the fight to save our communities at the local level and create wealth equity for all.SPEAKERSMichelle Wilde AndersonProfessor of Property, Local Government, and Environment Justice, Stanford Law School; Author, The Fight to Save the Town: Reimagining Discarded AmericaIn Conversation with Pamela KarlanKenneth and Harle Montgomery Professor of Public Interest Law and a Founder and Co-director of the Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, Stanford Law School.In 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 September 19th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From its chaotic beginning to the violent finale, the Trump presidency was filled with moments ranging from the unthinkable to the deadly serious. That has continued until these past several weeks, and the man at the center of all of this could announce he is running for president again. That makes understanding his presidency even more important today.Veteran journalists Peter Baker and Susan Glasser chart the ambitious and lasting history of the Trump presidency, drawing on unprecedented access to key players from President Trump himself to cabinet officers, military generals, and more. Based on these exclusive interviews, Baker and Glasser reveal moments both tense and comical, from how close the United States got to nuclear war with North Korea to whether Trump asked Japan’s prime minister to nominate him for a Nobel Prize. They also explore the moral choices confronting those around Trump—how they justified working for him and where they drew their lines.Join us as Peter Baker and Susan Glasser return to the Club to discuss Donald Trump's presidency and what a second term could mean for the country.SPEAKERSPeter BakerChief White House Correspondent, The New York Times; Co-author, The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021; Twitter @peterbakernytSusan GlasserStaff Writer, The New Yorker; Co-author, The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021; Twitter @sbg1In Conversation with Adam Lashinsky Journalist; Author; Twitter @adamlashinskyIn response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded Live on September 20th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From 41BC to September 2022, the persona of Cleopatra has been modeled as an archetype of female power and beauty. Yet—as with most tellings of history—her story has been mostly written by men who never knew her.Providing another context, in concurrence with John Adams’ Antony and Cleopatra premiere, San Francisco Opera’s Diversity, Equity and Community department presents a panel of women arts leaders to ask and answer: In the struggle for equal rights, who is Cleopatra? [mis]judged, [mis]treated and [mis]portrayed? Join us as our Women in Arts panel forcefully addresses these questions. Moderated by singer and stage director Erin Neff, the panel includes Antony and Cleopatra’s Director Elkhanah Pulitzer, and African-American Shakespeare Company Founder and Executive Director Sherri Young, along with other noted Bay Area female art makers and historians.MLF ORGANIZERAnne W. SmithSPEAKERSRita LucarelliAssociate Professor of Egyptology, University of California, BerkeleyElkhanah PulitzerDirector, Antony and Cleopatra 2022, San Francisco OperaSherri YoungFounder and Executive Director, African-American Shakespeare CompanyErin NeffSpeaker; Singer; Stage Director; Voice Instructor—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 September 20th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In recent years, hundreds of thousands of people in high-risk disaster areas across the US have been dropped from their insurance policies, leaving them both physically and financially vulnerable. At the same time, premiums have sky-rocketed, making insuring homes and businesses out of reach for many. And federal insurance and relief programs have come under scrutiny for payouts that contribute to inequality.  The insurance industry wasn’t set up to account for climate change, which is increasing the frequency, scale and severity of disaster claims. From flooding in Appalachia to fires in the Pacific Northwest to hurricanes wreaking havoc from Puerto Rico to Nova Scotia, we’ve seen frequent and fierce weather take lives and devastate communities. As more people and property face loss due to extreme weather events, who will pay to protect and rebuild communities? And what policies are being constructed to help the insurance industry stay afloat? Guests:Junia Howell, Urban Sociologist, University of Illinois ChicagoSimon Young, Senior Director, Climate and Resilience Hub, Willis Towers WatsonCarolyn Kousky, Associate Vice President for Economics and Policy, Environmental Defense Fund; author of Understanding Disaster Insurance: New Tools for a More Resilient FutureUmair Irfan, Climate and Covid Reporter, VOXEric Letvin, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Mitigation, FEMA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Physics offers deep insights into the workings of the universe that many find mysterious, complex and confusing.Theoretical physicist and "Mindscape" podcast host Sean Carroll breaks down some of the most mind-boggling concepts in his newest book The Biggest Ideas in the Universe: Space, Time, and Motion.Join us for an online discussion to learn more about the wonders of modern physics and the multidimensional landscape it covers—from black holes to quantum mechanics and more.NOTESIn association with Wonderfest.SPEAKERSSean CarrollHomewood Professor of Natural Philosophy, John Hopkins University; Fractal Faculty and External Professor, Santa Fe Institute; Host, "Mindscape" Podcast; Author, The Biggest Ideas in the Universe: Space, Time, and Motion; Twitter @seanmcarrollIn 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 September 20th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What’s the last video you watched on YouTube? Across the world, people view more than a billion hours of video on YouTube every day. This digital platform created the attention economy that forever changed how we consume information and entertainment.Everyone knows YouTube. And yet virtually no one knows how it really works.Mark Bergen’s Like, Comment, Subscribe reveals the inside story of YouTube’s revolutionary technology and business model. Bergen offers a deep account of how the company upended media, culture, industry and democracy and unleashed an addiction machine that forever changed the world.SPEAKERSMark BergenTechnology Journalist; Author, Like, Comment, Subscribe: Inside YouTube's Chaotic Rise to World Domination; Twitter @mhbergenEmily ChangHost, Bloomberg Technology and Studio 1.0; Twitter @emilychangtvShishir MehrotraCo-founder and CEO, CodaIn 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 September 19th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Iuliia Mendel got the call telling her she had been hired to work for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, she had no idea what was to come.Mendel had a front row seat to many of the key events and meetings between President Zelenskyy, Vladimir Putin, and other European leaders preceding the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. She saw firsthand President Zelenskyy’s efforts to transform Ukraine into a vibrant and prosperous European democracy.As the war in Ukraine continues, Mendel shares what’s at stake not only for her homeland but the rest of the world.NOTESThis is an online-only program; pre-register to receive a link to the live-stream event.Copies of The Fight of Our Lives are available for purchase at checkout (U.S. domestic shipping only).This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation.SPEAKERSIuliia MendelFormer Press Secretary and Spokesperson for Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (2019-2021); Author, The Fight of Our Lives: My Time with Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s Battle for Democracy, and What It Means for the World; Twitter @IuliiaMendelIn Conversation with Steven PiferFormer U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine; Fellow, Center for International Security and Cooperation, 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 September 17th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In May 2022, an outbreak of monkeypox, a viral disease, was confirmed. It quickly spread from the United Kingdom to many countries around the world. Everyone is able to contract monkeypox, but its most rapid spread so far has been through men who have sex with men with new or multiple partners.How has the LGBTQ community responded? What is the current state of the disease's spread? What treatments are available? What medical or behavioral measures can be taken for prevention of infection? What might happen next—and what's being done to prepare for it? Join us for an important discussion with experts to break down the truth about the community response to monkeypox, as well as preparation for the future.SPEAKERSDr. Erica PanM.D., M.P.H., F.A.A.P., California State Epidemiologist, Deputy Director, Center for Infectious Diseases; Clinical Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, University of California, San FranciscoDr. David RodriguezM.D., Professor of Emergency Medicine and Associate Chair of Research, Department of Emergency Medicine, UCSF School of MedicineCraig RouskeyMSc., Co-founder and CEO, Renegade.bioTyler TerMeerCEO, San Francisco AIDS FoundationMichelle MeowProducer and Host, "The Michelle Meow Show," KBCW TV and Podcast; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors—Co-hostJohn ZippererProducer and Host, Week to Week Political Roundtable; Vice President of Media & Editorial, The Commonwealth Club of California—Co-hostIn 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 September 14th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An alarming new reality is emerging in China, where a new kind of political control is being waged through the optimization of technology. Journalists Josh Chin and Liza Lin describe the journey through the new world China is building within its borders, and beyond. They reveal a future that is already underway―a new society engineered around the power of data and digital surveillance.Hear more about what could be at stake for the rest of the world.SPEAKERSJosh ChinDeputy Bureau Chief in China, The Wall Street Journal; Co-Author, Surveillance State: Inside China's Quest to Launch a New Era of Social Control; Twitter @joshchinLiza LinChina Correspondent, The Wall Street Journal; Co-Author, Surveillance State: Inside China's Quest to Launch a New Era of Social Control; Twitter @lizalinwsjIn Conversation with Jiayang FanStaff Writer, The New Yorker; Author, Motherland (forthcoming); Twitter @JiayangFanIn 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 September 14th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author Katherine Blunt provides what is being called a "revelatory, urgent narrative with national implications," exploring the decline of California’s largest utility company that led to countless wildfires—including the one that destroyed the town of Paradise—and the human cost of infrastructure failurePacific Gas and Electric was a legacy company built by innovators and visionaries, establishing California as a desirable home and economic powerhouse. In California Burning, Wall Street Journal reporter and Pulitzer finalist Katherine Blunt examines how that legacy fell apart—unraveling a long history of deadly failures in which PG&E endangered millions of Northern Californians, through criminal neglect of its infrastructure. She says that as PG&E prioritized profits and politics, power lines went unchecked—until a rusted hook purchased for 56 cents in 1921 split in two, sparking the deadliest wildfire in California history.Beginning with PG&E’s public reckoning after the Paradise fire, Blunt chronicles the evolution of PG&E’s shareholder base, from innovators who built some of California's first long-distance power lines to aggressive investors keen on reaping dividends. Following key players through pivotal decisions and legal battles, California Burning reveals the forces Blunt says shaped the plight of PG&E: deregulation and market-gaming led by Enron Corp., an unyielding push for renewable energy, and a swift increase in wildfire risk throughout the West, while regulators and lawmakers pushed their own agendas.MLF ORGANIZERAndrew DudleyNOTESSPEAKERSKatherine BluntReporter, The Wall Street Journal; Finalist, 2020 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting; Recipient, Gerald Loeb AwardAndrew DudleyCo-Host and Producer, Earth Live; Chair, People & Nature Member-Led Forum, The Commonwealth Club of California—ModeratorWe are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded live on September 12th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices