Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

As one of the most prominent drag performers today, Alaska is no stranger to fame. But Alaska’s story is more than her success as both a runner-up and winner in two different seasons of "RuPaul’s Drag Race," as well as her high-profile relationship and the equally public breakup that ended it. In her new book—My Name’s Yours, What’s Alaska?—Alaska goes beneath her glamorous surface to reveal a never-before told account of her unique life story. From humble beginnings as a small-town kid studying at theater school to her larger-than-life vibrance as one of drag’s most influential stars, Alaska’s perseverance over her struggles regarding the expression and discovery of her queerness is an inspiring story for the LGBTQIA+ community and beyond.At INFORUM, Alaska will bring the journey detailed in her new visual memoir to life. In doing so, she will provide motivation and representation for those belonging to communities who are too often unheard and underrepresented in the media and in popular culture. Whether you’re a die-hard RuPaul fan or an ally of the LGBTQIA+ community looking to hear more of their important stories, Alaska’s discussion here at INFORUM is sure to leave you with new understandings of what it means to embrace your identity and let it thrive.NOTE: This program contains EXPLICIT language.SPEAKERSAlaskaSeason two winner, "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars"; Author, My Name’s Yours, What’s Alaska?: A MemoirIn Conversation with Honey MahoganyChair, San Francisco Democratic Party; Co-Founder, Compton's Transgender Cultural District; Season Five Contestant, “RuPaul's Drag Race”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 February 13th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

China is rapidly connecting Hong Kong, Macao and nine cities in Guangdong Province into a regional finance, technology, manufacturing and tourism hub of 86 million people. Over the next decade, this Greater Bay Area (GBA) will mature into a global showcase for China’s economic model, “One Country-Two Systems” integration, and Belt and Road development strategy.GBA hopes to partner with comparable regions worldwide, including the San Francisco Bay Area, in areas such as clean energy, health care, mobility and fintech. A new report by the Bay Area Council and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council assesses the commercial opportunities and political obstacles amid U.S.-China tensions. Join the sponsors of the report for a deeper dive into the report's findings.About the SpeakersSean Randolph is senior director of the Bay Area Council Economic Institute, where he served as president & CEO from 1998-2015, and manages its science affiliate the Bay Area Science and Innovation Consortium (BASIC). Randolph previously served as director of international trade for the state of California, and prior to that as international director general of the Pacific Basin Economic Council (PBEC), a 1,000-member Asia-Pacific business organization. His professional career includes extensive experience in the U.S. Government, where he served on congressional staffs, on the White House staff, and in senior positions at the departments of State and Energy. Dr. Randolph holds a JD from the Georgetown University Law Center, a Ph.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (Tufts and Harvard Universities), a B.S.F.S. from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service, and studied at the London School of Economics.Louis Chan is principal economist for the Global Research Team of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. As the head of the Global Research Team, Louis provides leadership and direction for research on market developments in the Americas and Europe. To provide a macro view for SMEs to formulate export strategies, Louis and his team monitor and evaluate the performance, changing trends and competitiveness of Hong Kong’s trading, manufacturing and service sector, at the industry-specific levels. To facilitate SMEs’ sales efforts, they also keep a close eye on the emerging business opportunities, consumption and sourcing trends, as well as regulatory changes in the Americas, Europe and Central Asia.Moderator Scott Rozelle holds the Helen Farnsworth Endowed Professorship at Stanford University and is senior fellow and professor in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. Dr. Rozelle's research focuses on the economics of poverty—with an emphasis on the economics of education and health. Dr. Rozelle is the co-director of the Rural Education Action Project and is an adjunct professor in 8 Chinese universities. In 2008, Dr. Rozelle was awarded the Friendship Award—the highest honor that can be endowed on a foreign citizen—by Premiere Wen Jiabao.MLF ORGANIZERLillian NakagawaNOTESMLF: Asia-Pacific AffairsSPEAKERSLouis ChanPrincipal Economist (Global Research Team), Hong Kong Trade Development CouncilSean RandolphSenior Director, Bay Area Council Economic InstituteScott RozelleHelen Farnsworth Professor, Stanford University, and Senior Fellow and Professor, the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies—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 December 9th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Trump family is one of the most talked about families in the United States. Donald Trump's presidency elevated that and helped put them on an international stage that brought the family to the forefront of the world. Over the last half decade, journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner David Cay Johnston has provided the American people with fascinating insight into the financial world of one of America's most influential families.Johnston talks about the financial life of the Trump Family in his new piece of work, The Big Cheat: How Donald Trump Fleeced America and Enriched Himself and His Family. This new book details the aspects of the Trump family's finances during the four years Donald Trump spent in office, leaving no details out, to give you the complete picture.Join us as David Cay Johnston offers an inside look into the financial world of the Trump family.SPEAKERSDavid Cay JohnstonCo-Founder, DCReport.org; Author, The Big Cheat: How Donald Trump Fleeced America and Enriched Himself and His Family; Twitter @DavidCayJIn Conversation with Mitch JeserichHost, "Letters and Politics," KPFA RadioIn 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 9th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This forum will explain how the assets of seniors and people with disabilities are often drained in order to pay the fees of a variety of attorneys in probate conservatorship proceedings.With vague or nonexistent rules and a lack of accountability, judges are making ad hoc and often arbitrary orders requiring conservatees and proposed conservatees to pay unreasonable or excessive legal fees. Not only are they required to pay the fees of lawyers appointed to represent them, they are forced to pay the fees of lawyers representing other parties in the case: petitioner, temporary conservator, guardian ad litem, objector, public guardian, or permanent conservator.Judges in conservatorship cases are supposed to be conserving the assets of adults who find themselves entangled in these proceedings. Courts know how to conserve assets when they want to or are required to. For example, there are strict procurement rules to follow when courts plan to spend money from the judicial branch budget. Specific guidelines must be followed. Competitive bidding is often required. But the culture of conservation does not exist when judges are spending the money of elderly and often vulnerable adults. The attorneys who are supposed to defend these adults in conservatorship proceedings are often silent when their colleagues in the probate bar are seeking to have the conservatee pay for their fees.The panelists in this forum will explain how they witnessed or experienced this “fee for all” depleting the assets of a conservatee. The moderator will explain how the Funding and Fees Project of Spectrum Institute plans to tackle this problem with a thorough study of what has been happening in local courts throughout the state. The project will issue a report and recommendations on how to tame this asset-eating beast. The forum will encourage viewers to make a donation to Spectrum Institute to help fund the research and report. The report will document how the current “fee for all” is unconstitutional and will propose specific new protections to preserve the assets of conservatees just as judges protect judicial assets and budgets. What’s good for judges should be good for conservatees: real protection and asset preservation. The report will also urge attorneys for conservatees to raise more objections to fees and file appealsMLF ORGANIZERDenise MichaudNOTESMLF: GrownupsSPEAKERSRoz Alexander-KasparikWas only allowed to be conservator for her fiancé David Rector after the court depleted David’s assets with payments of fees to the conservator and attorneySharon HolmesSaw Theresa Jankowski suffer “legalized extortion” when lawyers wanted hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees in exchange for a dismissal of her conservatorship caseDr. Gloria DuffyCEO, The Commonwealth Club of California; published “Courts should not be a vehicle for elder financial abuse” based on experience with her mother’s conservatorshipEvan NelsonAttorney; saw Catherine Dubro’s assets being drained when at one point the five attorneys were being paid from her estate, while Catherine herself had no attorneyDebra BookoutLead attorney of the Guardianship advocacy program, Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada; they do not charge fees to clients and they challenge unreasonable fees from other attorneysThomas F. ColemanLegal Director, Spectrum Institute; leads a team studying the “Fee for All” problem in conservatorships and will write a report with major reform proposals—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 December 8th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Climate change science isn’t taught accurately — or equally — across the country. Investigative reporter Katie Worth dug into textbooks and talked with dozens of children and teachers to find out why. In her book, Miseducation: How Climate is Taught in America, Worth unpacks the influence of the fossil fuel industry, state legislatures and school boards on school curricula in their effort to spread confusion and misinformation about the climate crisis. Some organizations skip the textbook battle entirely and try to reach children directly through assemblies and social media. How do teachers navigate these dynamics in the classroom? How can we ensure our children are learning to be engaged, educated and climate-aware citizens?For transcripts and other information, visit: https://www.climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts Guests:Katie Worth, investigative journalist, author, Miseducation: How Climate is Taught in AmericaLea Dotson, Campaigner, Action for the Climate EmergencyAnn Reid, Executive Director, National Center for Science EducationBen Graves, former science teacher in Delta County, CO Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Clinical trials represent the primary means to test new drugs before they become approved by the FDA for sale and marketing as a standard of care. The purpose of these trials is to test the safety and efficacy of new drugs and their combinations. Clinical trials must be performed with the highest ethical standards and must include geographically, genetically and socio-economically diverse populations. Trials provide completely free care for all participants, ensuring that any patient can participate.However, the vast majority of cutting-edge trials are performed in elite academic tertiary care centers, requiring patients not living in the immediate vicinity to undergo burdensome travel and long stays away from home. The Guardian Research Network was developed to address these issues by bringing novel trials to community health systems where most patients are treated, effectively democratizing clinical trial access. A new digital approach was developed to consenting patients, and collecting and reporting clinical data, and a network was formed using centralized approaches to save time and expense. Real-world data is used to submit comparator control arms to the FDA to support rapid drug approvals.Timothy J. Yeatman, M.D. is an adjunct professor of surgery at the University of Utah, where he has an active National Cancer Institute (NCI)-funded laboratory, and he is a member of the Cell Response and Regulation Program of the Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI). He has spent the past two and a half years directing the development of an integrated cancer program for Intermountain Healthcare and its 24 hospitals, and coordinating collaborations with the University of Utah and HCI. He recently joined Phenome Health as its chief clinical officer in charge of identifying and accruing 1million participants in the Beyond the Human Genome Project (BHG).MLF ORGANIZERRobert Lee KilpatrickNOTESMLF: Health & MedicineSPEAKERSDr. Timothy J. YeatmanM.D., Adjunct Professor of Surgery, University of Utah; Chief Clinical Officer, Phenome Health;Dr. Robert Lee KilpatrickPh.D., Chair, Health & Medicine Member-Led Forum—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 December 7th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us to learn more about America’s modern culinary history told through the lives of seven pathbreaking chefs and food writers.Who’s really behind America’s appetite for foods from around the globe? Award-winning author Mayukh Sen has produced a group biography about seven extraordinary women, all immigrants, who left an indelible mark on the way Americans eat today. His book Taste Makers stretches from World War II to the present, with absorbing and deeply researched portraits of figures including Mexican-born Elena Zelayeta, a blind chef; Marcella Hazan, the deity of Italian cuisine; and Norma Shirley, a champion of Jamaican dishes.Mayukh Sen―a queer, brown child of immigrants―reconstructs the lives of these women in vivid and empathetic detail, daring to ask why some were famous in their own time, but not in ours, and why others shine brightly even today. Weaving together histories of food, immigration and gender, Sen challenges the way people look at what’s on their plate―and the women whose labor, overlooked for so long, makes those meals possible. He'll be joined on our virtual stage by Alicia Kennedy, author of the popular newsletter "From the Desk of Alicia Kennedy" and a forthcoming book on eating ethnically.SPEAKERSReem AssilChef; Owner, Reem’s California and Reem’s California MissionAlicia KennedyWriter; Author, "From the Desk of Alicia Kennedy" Newsletter; Twitter @aliciakennedyMayukh SenAuthor, Taste Makers: Seven Immigrant Women Who Revolutionized Food in America: Twitter @senatormayukhMichelle MeowProducer and Host, "The Michelle Meow Show" on KBCW/KPIX TV and Podcast; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors; Twitter @msmichellemeow—Co-HostJohn ZippererProducer and Host, Week to Week Political Roundtable; Vice President of Media & Editorial, The Commonwealth Club—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 December 2nd, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Take an illuminating literary voyage around the globe, without any Covid restrictions to hamper your travels, using classic and modern works that are in conversation with one another and with the world around them. David Damrosch explores how our idea of the world has been shaped by 80 exceptional books, following an itinerary from London to Venice, Tehran and points beyond, via authors from Woolf and Dante to Nobel Prize–winners Orhan Pamuk, Wole Soyinka, Mo Yan, and Olga Tokarczuk.To chart the expansive landscape of world literature today, Damrosch explores how writers live in two very different worlds: the world of their personal experience and the world of books that have enabled great writers to give shape and meaning to their lives. In his literary cartography, Damrosch includes compelling contemporary works as well as perennial classics, hard-bitten crime fiction as well as haunting works of fantasy, and the formative tales that introduce us as children to the world we’re entering. Taken together, these 80 books offer us fresh perspectives on enduring problems, from the social consequences of epidemics to the rising inequality that Thomas More designed Utopia to combat, as well as the patriarchal structures against which many heroines have to struggle—from the work of Murasaki Shikibu a millennium ago to Margaret Atwood today.NOTESMLF: HumanitiesThis program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation.SPEAKERSDavid DamroschErnest Bernbaum Professor of Comparative Literature, and Chair of Comparative Literature Department, Harvard University; Director, Harvard’s Institute for World Literature; Author, Around the World in 80 BooksGeorge 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 December 2nd, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Peace Corps returned more than 7,000 volunteers to the United States from the countries around the world where they were based.There have been many discussions and conferences advocating for changes in the structure, mission, and goals of the Peace Corps as it celebrates the 60th year since its founding by President John F. Kennedy. The Peace Corps is passionate about working to strengthen the impact of its mission both at home and abroad as well as promoting diversity and inclusion to enhance the relativity and substance of its work.The Peace Corps, a government agency, is headed by Carol Spahn, the acting director. Currently, the mission of the Peace Corps is to promote world peace and friendship through community-based development and cross cultural understanding through three important core goals: building local capacity, sharing America with the world, and bringing the world back home.Glenn Blumhorst is the president of the National Peace Corps Association ,which is a mission-driven social impact non-government organization that encourages and celebrates lifelong commitment to Peace Corps ideals and assists the Peace Corps.Please join us as we discuss what the future of the Peace Corps will look like.SPEAKERSCarol SpahnActing Director, Peace CorpsGlenn BlumhorstPresident, National Peace Corps AssociationFrank PriceVice Chair, Commonwealth Club International Relations Member-Led Forum—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 December 2nd, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad Erickson, departing long-time Theatre Bay Area executive director, introduces top new Bay Area artistic leaders. They will challenge each other and viewers about repertory, risks, delights and post-COVID theatre-making.What's changed in the theatre producing community? What will (re)fill those seats?MLF ORGANIZERAnne W. SmithNOTESMLF: ArtsIn Association with Theatre Bay Area.SPEAKERSSean San JoseArtistic Director, Magic TheatreJohanna PfaelzerArtistic Director, Berkeley Repertory TheaterKhalia DavisArtistic Director, Bay Area Children's TheatreTim BondArtistic Director, TheatreworksBrad EricksonExecutive Director, Theatre Bay AreaIn 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 1st, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices