Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

The climate crisis is a growing driver of human migration, exacerbating the misery of already struggling communities. According to the UN Refugee Agency, climate change typically creates internal displacement within countries before it pushes people across national borders. While much of this displacement is involuntary, many with wealth and foresight are able to move before they personally feel the most devastating effects. How well are governments prepared to handle an influx of people driven from their homes – and support those who are left behind? Guests:Abrahm Lustgarten,  Senior Reporter at ProPublicaColette Pichon Battle, Esq., Co-Executive Director, Taproot Earth Kayly Ober, Senior Advocate and Program Manager, Climate Displacement Program, Refugees International Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From 2000 to 2022, one thing is certain: What it means to be Republican has changed. To former Republican political consultant Tim Miller, the GOP started down a path to disaster in the early 2000s. Lack of strategic decision making within the Republican Party at that time set the stage for Donald Trump to take over the party Miller once loved. He now seeks to answer a simple question: “Why did normal people go along with the worst of Trumpism?”Tim Miller is an author, activist and consultant who has held many positions within Republican campaigns. He has served as co-founder and political director for the advocacy group Republican Voters Against Trump and director of communications for Jed Bush’s 2016 presidential campaign. During his time in the Republican Party, he served in a variety of positions, including co-founder and executive director of the opposition research firm America Rising and “forensic analyst” for Mitt Romney’s failed 2012 presidential campaign.In his new book Why We Did It, Miller cuts through the past two decades of political shifts, compromises and decisions made by the GOP that he says set it on a collision course with Trumpism and led to the events of January 6. Giving an honest look at his own work in the Republican Party, Miller uses raw interviews, forgotten history and personal accounts in a biting, darkly satirical retelling of the transformation of the GOP, leading up to his eventual departure from the party in November 2020.Join us as Miller recounts the roadmap of how we got here, and what the story of one of the greatest party shifts in American history can tell us about the future of the nation.SPEAKERSTim MillerWriter-at-large, The Bulwark; Political Analyst, MSNBC; Host, "Not My Party" on Snapchat; Communications Director, Jeb Bush 2016; Author, Why We Did It: A Travelogue from the Republican Road to Hell; Twitter @timodcIn Conversation with Dan PfeifferCo-host, "Pod Save America"; Author, Battling the Big Lie: How Fox, Facebook, and the MAGA Media Are Destroying America; Twitter @danpfeifferIn response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded on July 11th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a special online program live from Thailand, Matcha Phorn-In will join us for a discussion focused on how vulnerable populations who are "invisible" are impacted by racism, homophobia, transphobia, and gender inequities.Matcha Phorn-In is a lesbian, feminist human rights defender, passionately committed to building peoples' movements to advance human rights and justice. She has 15 years of experiences working to empower youth and people from the most marginalized communities, including LGBTQ, Indigenous, ethnic minorities, young women and girls, the stateless, undocumented refugees, and more. She is the founder and executive director of the Aangsan Anakot Yawachon Development Project. Matcha Phorn-In has also served as president of the board of directors of APWLD (Asia-Pacific Forum on Weomen, Law and Development), a member of the board of directors for Internation Femily Equality Day, and president of the board of directors for ILGA ASIA Foundation.SPEAKERSMatcha Phorn-InExecutive Director, Sangsan Anakot YaowachonMichelle MeowProducer and Host, "The Michelle Meow Show," KBCW TV and Podcast; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors—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 July 7th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re on track for yet another summer of record wildfires in the western U.S., endangering lives, displacing communities, and sending unhealthy smoke across the nation. The science is clear: human-caused climate change is making lands more conducive to burning, and we are increasingly living in flammable landscapes. Forest experts say there are tools to help reduce the risk of catastrophic fires, keep forests alive as valuable carbon sinks and make communities more resilient to megafires. But we may also have to become accustomed to more fire – and smoke – in our lives. How can we better live with fire, including using it as a tool, rather than always fighting it?This week, we also take a deep dive into the recent Supreme Court case West Virginia v. EPA with Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean of Berkeley Law.Guests:Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean, Berkeley Law Stephen Pyne, author, The Pyrocene: How We Created an Age of Fire, and What Happens Next Susan Husari, member of the California Board of Forestry and Fire ProtectionChad T. Hanson, author, Smokescreen: Debunking Wildfire Myths to Save Our Forests and Our ClimateJaime Lowe, author, Breathing Fire: Female Inmate Firefighters on the Front Lines of California’s Wildfires Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for an in-depth discussion focused on the latest Youth Climate Survey by Blue Shield on how climate change is affecting the mental health of our youth community. We'll be talking with David W. Bond, who is the director of behavioral health at Blue Shield of California—Promise Health Plan, where he leads initiatives to restore, sustain and enhance the behavioral health and well being of the state's Medi-Cal and Medicare beneficiaries; Joel Castro, a recent San Diego high school graduate and activist; and Maya Gomez, a Whitney High School incoming senior and a student representative for the Mind Out Loud program.Join us for this timely talk!NOTESThis program is generously supported by Blue Shield of California.SPEAKERSIntroduction by Antoinette MayerSenior Director of Corporate Citizenship, Blue Shield of CaliforniaDavid W. BondDirector of Behavioral Health, Blue Shield of California—Promise Health Plan; Licensed Clinical Social Worker; Board Certified Expert in Traumatic StressJoel CastroIncoming Freshman, University of California, Berkeley; President, Cesar Chavez Service ClubMaya GomezStudent Representative, Mind Out Loud; Incoming Senior, Whitney High SchoolMichelle MeowProducer and Host, "The Michelle Meow Show," KBCW TV and Podcast; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors—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 June 27th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the Andes to the Himalayas, mountains have an extraordinary power to evoke a sense of the sacred. In the overwhelming wonder and awe that these dramatic features of the landscape awaken, people experience something of deeper significance that imbues their lives with meaning and vitality.Drawing on his extensive research and personal experience as a scholar and climber, Edwin Bernbaum takes us on a fascinating journey exploring the role of mountains in the mythologies, religions, history, literature and art of cultures around the world. He delves deeply into the spiritual dimensions of mountaineering and the implications of sacred mountains for environmental and cultural preservation; he also shows how the contemplation of sacred mountains can transform everyday life, even in cities far from the peaks themselves.Join us for an online talk with Edwin Bernbaum.MLF ORGANIZERGeorge HammondSPEAKERSEdwin BernbaumMountaineer; Scholar of Comparative Religion and Mythology; Author, Sacred Mountains of the WorldIn Conversation with George HammondAuthor, Conversations With SocratesIn 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 June 28th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Service is fundamental to who we are as Americans and how we meet our local and national challenges. For nearly 30 years, AmeriCorps has connected people of all ages and backgrounds together to tackle the country's most pressing problems. Today, from fighting the pandemic and responding to disasters, to boosting student success and tackling climate change, national service is seen as a proven solution that can unite Americans in strengthening their communities. AmeriCorps CEO Michael D. Smith knows firsthand how service can transform lives and communities. Born into poverty, Smith was nurtured by a group of mentors and coaches who lifted his sights to what was possible and instilled an insatiable appetite for service and civic engagement. He has dedicated his career to social justice and public service in underserved communities. Nominated by President Biden and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in December 2021, Smith leads AmeriCorps in engaging more than 250,000 Americans in results-driven service at 40,000 locations across the country. On his first trip to the West Coast since taking the agency’s helm, Smith will address this unprecedented moment of need and opportunity and how AmeriCorps works with nonprofit organizations, philanthropy, and the private sector to increase the impact of service and build a more just and equitable future for us all. Please join us for an important and uplifting conversation.SPEAKERSMichael D. SmithCEO, AmeriCorpsJosh Fryday Chief Service Officer, State 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 June 29th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since Darwin, evolutionary biology has been “all about the boys,” with the males of the species being the drivers of change and females simply passively devoted to them, zoologist Lucy Cooke argues. Rather than conforming with this male-dominated view of a male-dominated field, Cooke instead seeks to humorously reinvent the narrative—and show just how fierce, dangerous and hilarious the queens of the animal kingdom can be.Lucy Cooke is a British zoologist and an author, director and television producer. She is a graduate of the University of Oxford, where she was tutored by Richard Dawkins. A trailblazer in the field of evolutionary biology, Cooke’s works have included multiple BBC films and documentaries and has published numerous books on various members of the animal kingdom.In her latest book, Bitch: On the Female of the Species, Cooke gives a new look at the females of the species—from same-sex albatross couples raising chicks, to murderous mother meerkats and the titanic battle of the sexes waged by ducks. In her words, “This isn’t your grandfather’s evolutionary biology,” dispelling myths and showing just how ravishing the kingdom’s queens can be.Join us live in San Francisco as Cooke breaks down the gender stereotypes of zoology, and provides striking accounts that prove females can be just as dynamic as any male.SPEAKERSLucy CookeZoologist; Author, Bitch: On the Female of the Species; Twitter @mslucycookeIn 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 June 21st, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In February 2022, Chantale Wong was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in an overwhelming and bipartisan vote to serve as U.S. director of the Asian Development Bank, making her the first openly lesbian Senate-confirmed ambassador in U.S. history.The Asian Development Bank was founded in the mid-1960s as a financial institution focused on fostering economic growth and cooperation in one of the poorest regions of the world. Based in Manila, The Philippines, ADB commits tens of billions of dollars to projects throughout the region.Join us for an online discussion with Ambassador Wong, who will be joining us from Manila to discuss the role of ADB as well as the impact of U.S. economic policies on gender equity, LGBTQIA rights and the environment.SPEAKERSChantale WongUnited States Director, Asian Development Bank; Twitter @chantalewMichelle 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 June 22nd, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Africa is responsible for only less than 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Yet its people are already suffering some of the world’s most devastating climate impacts. For Wanjira Mathai, Regional Director for Africa and Vice President at the World Resources Institute, and the daughter of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai, this raises a central moral question: When those most affected are those least responsible, how can those most responsible address that injustice?Guest:Wanjira Mathai, Vice President and Regional Director for Africa, World Resources Institute Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices