Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Most Americans support climate action, but you wouldn’t know it from Congress or the courts – or from most of the media. People on both the left and the right experience the same devastating floods, the same life-threatening heatwaves and the same catastrophic wildfires. Yet individuals tend to socialize within insulated political tribes, operate in completely different information bubbles and see the problems and solutions through different lenses. How can we learn to bridge ideological divides, develop trust, and find the common ground needed to rebuild respectful civil discourse?Guests:Chloe Maxmin, Maine State SenatorJoan Blades, Co-founder, LivingRoomConversations.orgJohn Gables, Co-founder, AllSides.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us online for a discussion and reading of Gods of Want: Stories, with author K-Ming Chang. Chang's new book features fictional short stories of a Taiwanese American family exploring displacement, queerness and more.Chang is a Kundiman fellow, a Lambda Literary Award finalist, and a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree. She is also the author of the novel Bestiary, which was longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, the PEN/Faulker Award, and the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award. Chang has taught classes for Kundiman, Catapult, Lambda Literary Writers’ Retreat, Miami Book Fair, Pacific Northwest College of the Arts’ Low-Residency MFA Program, Kweli International Literary Festival, Literary Arts at Featherstone, Sevilla Writers House, Flash Fiction Festival (Literary Cleveland), Ellipses Writing, Vassar College Critical Ethnic Studies Conference, Youth Empowerment Program at MinKwon, and elsewhere.NOTESThis program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation.SPEAKERSK-Ming ChangAuthor, Gods of Want: Stories and BestiaryMichelle 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 August 25th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With less than three months before the November election (and even less time before people start mailing in their ballots), come out to the Club for a lively political discussion of the big issues and key races in the fall contest for Congress.Will Republicans capture both houses of Congress? Or will Democrats hold onto the Senate? What are the issues that will drive people to the polls, the candidates in key races, and the voter trends that will determine the outcome?Find out with lively and informed commentary from our panelists. We'll also take a look at significant races in California and the Bay Area.SPEAKERSMark Z. BarabakPolitical Columnist, Los Angeles Times; Twitter @markzbarabakDr. Larry GerstonPolitical Science Professor Emeritus, San Jose State University; NBC Bay Area Political Analyst; Author, California's Recall Election of Gavin Newsom: COVID-19 and the Test of Leadership; Twitter @lgerstonCarla MarinucciPolitical Journalist; Twitter @cmarinucciJohn ZippererProducer and Host, Week to Week Political Roundtable; Vice President of Media & Editorial, The Commonwealth Club of California—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 August 24th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused horrific damage and casualties, in spite of Ukraine’s remarkable efforts to defend itself. The conflict has disrupted energy markets, grain shipments and is still destabilizing the global economy. All of this has shoved climate further down the list of international priorities, as has happened so many times before. Yet within conflict zones, many brave individuals and organizations work every day to stave off the even greater threat of climate catastrophe. We talk with climate activists in Ukraine and the Middle East about the realities of operating environmental organizations in conflict zones, and how to balance immediate needs with working toward a better future.Guests:Roman Zinchenko, Co-Founder, GreencubatorNada Majdalani, Palestine Director, EcoPeace Middle East Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the early 1970s, a 20-year-old Korean immigrant named Chol Soo Lee was convicted of a Chinatown gang murder. Sentenced to life, he spent years fighting to survive, until investigative journalist K.W. Lee took a special interest in his case, igniting an unprecedented social justice movement that would unite Asian Americans and inspire a new generation of activists.Nearly five decades later, the new documentary Free Chol Soo Lee examines this largely unknown yet important history, presenting an intimate portrait of the complex man at its center and serving as an urgent reminder of his legacy.Join us for a free online conversation with Julie Ha and Eugene Yi, the co-directors of Free Chol Soo Lee.SPEAKERSJulie HaCo-director, Free Chol Soo LeeEugene YiCo-director, Free Chol Soo LeeMichelle 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 August 18th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Milky Way—its hundred billion stars, supermassive black holes and countless unsolved mysteries—is as intriguing as it is colossal. And for astrophysicist Dr. Moiya McTier, merely studying it is not enough, as she combines myth and science into a whimsical, fanciful and fascinating “autobiography” of our home galaxy.Dr. McTier holds a Ph.D. in astronomy from Columbia University and studies astrophysics as well as folklore and mythology at Harvard University. In her latest book, The Milky Way, McTier takes on the role of the titular galaxy and delivers a “juicy tell all” of its formation, growth, history and relationship with its surrounding galaxies. Sharing fascinating tales ranging from out intergalactic rivals to the time the Milky Way was once in love, McTier breaks down advanced astronomy into playful, simple and easily understood chunks.Join us, as Dr. Moiya McTier shares the never-before-told personal story of the colossal place we call home, and helps us understand better the universe around us.MLF ORGANIZERGerald HarrisSPEAKERSDr. Moiya McTierPh.D., Astrophysicist; Folklorist; Author, The Milky Way: An Autobiography of Our Galaxy; Twitter @GoAstroMoGerald HarrisPresident, Quantum Planning Group; Chair, Technology & Society 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 August 17th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More than one in four adults in the United States has a disability. And yet: Do you know how to be a true ally to someone, maybe yourself, with a disability? Have you felt awkward around people with a disability and not known what to say and do? Have you wanted to tell your friend how you understand yourself as a disabled person, but not known how to tell your story?Fret not! Here comes Nina G., the stuttering standup comic to lighten up a heavy subject! Nina stutters and has learning disabilities. She also has a doctorate in psychology and is the author of multiple books on stand-up comedy as well as disability, invisible or not. Through humor and comedy, she will show us what it means to "laugh at disability" from an insider perspective. (When is it OK to laugh at people with disabilities? When they are holding a microphone and telling jokes!)We'll practice our new skills, have a laugh-filled evening, and hopefully return home a little lighter, and a lot more enlightened. We'll deepen our understanding of what disability means, how to be an ally, and how to self-advocate. And maybe we can get her to tell us some stories about stand-up history.About the SpeakerNina G., the "stuttering standup comic," is the author of Stutterer Interrupted: The Comedian Who Almost Didn’t Happen, Bay Area Stand-Up Comedy: A Humorous History, and Once Upon an Accommodation: A Book About Learning Disabilities. She has been featured on NPR, BBC, and Psychology Today, and has consulted for the Fortune 500 and many universities. She has also performed with Dave Chappelle and Mort Sahl.MLF ORGANIZEREric SiegelSPEAKERSNina G."Stuttering Standup Comic"; Author, Stutterer Interrupted: The Comedian Who Almost Didn’t Happen, Bay Area Stand-Up Comedy: A Humorous History, and Once Upon an Accommodation: A Book About Learning Disabilities.Eric SiegelChair, Personal Growth 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 live on August 16th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For those of us who love to travel, climate guilt weighs heavily. Civil aviation accounts for about 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and that number is going up. But while electrifying cars and trucks is already well underway, flying planes on anything other than liquid fuels remains devilishly difficult. Despite that difficulty, there are options. Sustainable aviation fuels, or SAFs, hold the most promise, as they can theoretically drop right into existing engines and infrastructure. Beyond that, a number of startups are tinkering with electric battery-powered aircraft, as well as hydrogen-powered electric planes. But how sustainable are these options, and are they really ready for prime time? Guests:Fred Ghatala, Director of Carbon & Sustainability, Advanced Biofuels Canada Stephanie Searle, Fuels Program Director, ICCTScott Cary, Project Manager, NREL Christina Beckman, Co-creator, Tomorrow’s Air; Vice President, Adventure Travel Trade Association Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Before Jason Kander served as the Missouri secretary of state, he served as an Army intelligence officer who spent time stationed in Afghanistan. Later in 2017, President Obama, in his final Oval Office interview, was asked who gave him hope for the future of the country, and Jason Kander was the first name he mentioned. Suddenly, Kander was a national figure. As observers assumed he was preparing a run for the presidency, Kander announced a bid for mayor of Kansas City instead and was headed for a landslide victory. But after 11 years of battling PTSD from his service in Afghanistan, Jason was seized by depression and suicidal thoughts. He dropped out of the mayor’s race and out of public life. And finally, he sought help.Before Jason Kander served as the Missouri secretary of state, he served as an Army intelligence officer who spent time stationed in Afghanistan. Later in 2017, President Obama, in his final Oval Office interview, was asked who gave him hope for the future of the country, and Jason Kander was the first name he mentioned. Suddenly, Kander was a national figure. As observers assumed he was preparing a run for the presidency, Kander announced a bid for mayor of Kansas City instead and was headed for a landslide victory. But after 11 years of battling PTSD from his service in Afghanistan, Jason was seized by depression and suicidal thoughts. He dropped out of the mayor’s race and out of public life. And finally, he sought help.In his brutally honest second memoir, following his New York Times best-selling debut Outside the Wire, Kander shares his most painful moments with PTSD. In Invisible Storm: A Soldier’s Memoir of Politics and PTSD, readers follow Kander through his struggles with undiagnosed illness during a presidential bid, his challenging treatment and ultimately his process of healing. The story gives hope to so many of people and teaches them how sometimes walking away from the chance of a lifetime can be the greatest decision of all. Kander will be joined by U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff for a powerful and candid conversation about his battle with PTSD, and the courage to take it on. In Invisible Storm: A Soldier’s Memoir of Politics and PTSD, readers follow Kander through his struggles with undiagnosed illness during a presidential bid, his challenging treatment and ultimately his process of healing. The story gives hope to so many of people and teaches them how sometimes walking away from the chance of a lifetime can be the greatest decision of all. Kander will be joined by U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff for a powerful and candid conversation about his battle with PTSD, and the courage to take it on.SPEAKERSJason KanderPresident, Veterans Community Project; Host, "Majority 54" Podcast;; Author, Invisible Storm: A Soldier's Memoir of Politics and PTSD; Twitter @jasonkanderIn Conversation with Adam SchiffU.S. Representative (D-CA)This program contains EXPLICIT language Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For nearly six decades, the US government passed no comprehensive climate legislation. Now that’s changed. The Inflation Reduction Act contains approximately $370 billion of investments in clean energy and climate solutions. But not everyone is happy. To get through the Senate, the bill offered carrots to entrenched fossil fuel interests, along with investments in renewable power. Many in disadvantaged communities, who so often bear the brunt of climate-induced disasters, feel they’ve been left out yet again.Guests: Chelsea Henderson, Director of Editorial Content, RepublicEnSam Ricketts, Co-Founder, Evergreen Action Ozawa Bineshi Albert, Co-Executive Director, Climate Justice AllianceSomini Sengupta, International Climate Reporter & Anchor, Climate Forward Newsletter, New York Times Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices