Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

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

From post-Watergate reforms, to the fall of the Soviet Union, the impeachment of Bill Clinton, 9/11 and the Iraq War, the Great Recession, the two Trump impeachment trials, and the January 6 insurrection, Senator Patrick Leahy has been at the heart of the discussion of the country's politics and direction for nearly half a century. In his memoir, The Road Taken, Senator Leahy gives a first-hand reflection of the historic events during his tenure.Senator Leahy is the longest-serving U.S. senator and was first elected in 1974. He has held numerous committee appointments, including some of the most powerful in the Senate, including chair of Appropriations and a member of the Judiciary and Rules Committees. In the second Trump impeachment, Leahy became the first U.S. senator to preside over an impeachment trial.Leahy gives the full narrative of his historic political career—from meeting Presidents Obama and Biden while they were still freshman legislators, to leading the way on Supreme Court nominations, to his cameos in five Batman movies. He also reflects on his time in Vermont and his passion for photographyPlease join us for an intimate discussion with one of the country's most tenured lawmakers.NOTESThis program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation.SPEAKERSSenator Patrick Leahy(D-VT), President Pro Tempore, U.S. Senate; Author, The Road Taken: A Memoir; Twitter @SenatorLeahyIn Conversation with Melissa CaenPolitical Analyst; AttorneyIn 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

In August, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law. The IRA allocates around $370 billion over ten years to invest in renewable energy, make EVs more affordable, address climate inequities, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help mitigate the climate crisis. But like any law, the way the money is doled out matters, and the law’s implementation will ultimately determine its success. Some of the IRA money moves through state governments, including some that are outright hostile to the law. Consumers will have access to a suite of rebates and credits designed to electrify their lives, if they can get the necessary support to take advantage of them. How can government agencies, companies, investors and individuals take the law from words on a page to real functioning programs? Guests: Carla Frisch, Principal Deputy Director, Office of Policy for the U.S. Department of Energy Ryan Panchadsaram, Advisor to the Chairman at Kleiner Perkins Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean, Berkeley LawDan Bowerson, Senior Director, Energy & Environment, Alliance for Automotive Innovation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fake news? Alternative facts? Overly hyped "breakthroughs"? Irreproducible scientific research results? Preprints? Gaslighting the medical literature? What to do?Finding and trusting the best published primary medical literature is the answer. Our speakers for the 12th Annual Lundberg Institute Lecture at The Commonwealth Club, JAMA Editor in Chief Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo and BMJ Editor in Chief Kamran Abbasi, are among the premier guardians of that literature. Hear their advice, and then ask them your own questions about whom and what to trust—especially now when deciding which medical information is trustworthy has become so crucial and so confusing.MLF ORGANIZERGeorge HammondSPEAKERSKamran AbbasiM.D., Editor in Chief, BMJ (the British Medical Journal); Honorary Visiting Professor, Department of Primary Care and Public Health, Imperial College, London; Fellow, Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and Royal College of Physicians of LondonKirsten Bibbins-DomingoM.D., Editor in Chief, JAMA (the Journal of the American Medical Association); the Lee Goldman, M.D., Endowed Professor of Medicine, and Chair, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, UCSF School of MedicineGeorge LundbergM.D., Editor in Chief, Cancer Commons; Editor at Large, Medscape; Executive Adviser, Cureus; Clinical Professor of Pathology, Northwestern University; President and Chair, The Lundberg InstituteGeorge HammondAuthor, Conversations With Socrates—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 12th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author of That Is Not Your Mind: Zen Reflections on the Surangama Sutra, Robert Rosenbaum explores that question by taking forum participants on a magical journey through the Surangama Sutra based in a context of Zen practice.Like the arts world, Surangama sutra is a springboard for exploring sensory experiences—sight, sound ,taste, smell, touch and the Buddhist “sixth sense” of mind or cognition. Rosenbaum presents witty, authentic and refreshing contemporary insights from neuroscience and psychology and anecdotes from his decades of teaching experience. Among arts-related insights shared is an appreciation for “musics of the mind" to intersect with ancient/perennial Buddhist wisdom and everyday human yearning.MLF ORGANIZERAnne W. SmithSPEAKERSRobert RosenbaumPh.D., American Zen Teacher; Author, That Is Not Your MindAnne W. SmithPh.D., Co-Chair, Arts Member-led Forum, The Commonwealth Club of California—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 8th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices