The City Club of Cleveland Podcast

It was in 1903 when Cleveland\'s first urban plans called for access to the Lake Erie shoreline. Then in 1946, the city released its first comprehensive lakefront plan. And in 2004, the Waterfront District plan was the first to recommend a pedestrian connection. Several studies have been completed over the decades, and while some aspects of these plans have been implemented, access from Downtown Cleveland to its lakefront remains constrained.\r\n\r\nRecently, Cleveland\'s North Coast, the City, and its partners announced a draft of Cleveland's North Coast Master Plan. It aims to end what seems like an elusive solution to lakefront development--creating a blueprint for a vibrant and equitable recreational hub for all to enjoy, connecting people with nature, and the city to its waterfront. But what makes this one different from all the rest?

Public speaking and the spoken word are one of humankind\'s earliest forms of art. It thrived before written languages, and remains rooted in the oral traditions of many cultures today. Speeches often define moments in history--George Washington\'s farewell address, Martin Luther King\'s speech to the March on Washington, for instance. In 1968, Robert F. Kennedy spoke at the City Club of the "mindless menace of violence" the day after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated--a speech that still resonates today. Even in an era of emoji, texting, and AI, the art and exercise of the spoken word remains critical. It is the speech, the word verbalized that provokes thought, sparks debate, and wins arguments.\r\n\r\nIn early 2023, Craig Hassall became President and CEO of Playhouse Square. Prior to coming to Cleveland, Hassal was a mainstay in the international theater community, with decades of experience operating and curating major venues in Europe and Australia, including Opera Australia, the English National Ballet, and most recently serving as CEO of London\'s Royal Albert Music Hall.

Since November 2022, when Chat GPT opened the floodgates of public use of AI (Artificial Intelligence), there has been a rapid and profound transformation taking place in the field of education. This technological revolution has ignited numerous discussions about its potential impact on the way students learn. The integration of AI into schools has become a topic of immense interest, mirroring the transformative shifts that the pandemic brought to the education system. As we venture into the realms of AI; educators, parents, and students are actively exploring how this innovative technology can reshape learning methods while also recognizing and addressing potential challenges and implications.\r\n\r\nMuch like how colleges and universities adjusted their admissions processes during the pandemic, AI\'s integration is also altering the traditional landscape of standardized testing. In some educational institutions, standardized tests like the SAT and ACT are becoming optional, or are being phased out altogether. Schools are considering new ways to assess student performance by tapping into the potential of AI for personalized assessments and feedback.\r\n\r\nWhile AI offers exciting possibilities for transforming education, its implementation requires careful examination of the potential advantages and shortcomings. Critics argue that standardized testing, like AI algorithms, can exacerbate educational disparities and socioeconomic disadvantages. The rise of AI-driven assessments sparks concerns about fairness, equity, and privacy.\r\n\r\nJoin us at the City Club as the Youth Forum Council welcomes John Panza, Associate English Professor at Tri-C and Rennie Greenfield, Librarian/Instruction Technologist at Hawken School to discuss the impact that AI is having on education.

At its core, the German Marshall Fund strives to champion democratic values and the transatlantic alliance by strengthening civil society, forging bold and innovative policy ideas, and developing a new generation of leaders to tackle global challenges. In fact, many of its alumni reside right here in Northeast Ohio and they continue to drive innovative solutions to the challenges our communities face.\r\n\r\nAs the organization's sixth president, Heather Conley is leading the German Marshall Fund forward during these times of international unrest and upheaval. Alliances and strategic relations around the world are being redefined by the Russian war against Ukraine and growing US-China competition and tension. It begs us to reconsider US and European engagement in global swing states, new patterns of international cooperation, and what type of leadership is required of all of us at this moment.\r\n\r\nConley has spent her career working in international relations and governmental affairs. Before coming to the German Marshall Fund, she spent 12 years at the Center for Strategic and International Studies as the senior vice president for Europe, Eurasia, and the Arctic. Before that, she was the executive director of the Office of the Chairman of the Board at the American National Red Cross and the deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs.

When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, it sent the issue of legalizing abortion back to the states. After the court's decision, Ohio enacted a near-total ban on abortion--which remained legal for a little over two months until a Hamilton County judge placed the law on hold due to a lawsuit from the ACLU and Planned Parenthood. Currently, abortion is legal in Ohio before 22 weeks of pregnancy. With Issue 1, abortion proponents hope to enshrine the right to abortion in the state's constitution.\r\n\r\nIf passed, Issue 1 would allow a patient to "make and carry out one's own reproductive decisions, including decisions about abortion, contraception, fertility treatment, miscarriage care, and continuing pregnancy." It would still allow the state to restrict abortion after fetal viability, except when "necessary to protect the pregnant patient's life or health. Opponents to Issue 1 argue the amendment would increase access to abortions, remove parental rights, allow gender affirming care for minors.

The phrases \"woke\" and \"anti-woke\" have entered the general lexicon in recent years, providing combative fodder to both sides of the debate, and fueling division in American discourse. But what are the origins and consequences of so-called "wokeness?\"\r\n\r\nIn Yascha Mounk\'s previous visit to the City Club, he discussed shifts in the global thoughts about democracy, how we got here, and how it can be saved. Mounk has built his acclaimed scholarly career on being one of the first to warn of the risks right-wing populists pose to American democracy. Now, Mounk joins us once again to discuss his latest book that tackles the appeal and limitations of identity-based politics--which has rapidly transformed America and college campuses across the country. He calls it the \"identity trap,\" and argues those on the left and center who are stuck in the identity trap will ultimately make it harder to achieve progress toward genuine equality.\r\n\r\nYascha Mounk, Ph.D. is a political scientist known for his work on the rise of populism and the crisis of liberal democracy. He is a professor of the practice of international affairs at Johns Hopkins University, the founder of the digital magazine Persuasion, a contributing editor at The Atlantic, and a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. The Identity Trap is his fifth book.

Black philanthropy is ever present, vibrant, and is deeper than just charitable acts of kindness or dollars. In 2019, The Soul of Philanthropy Cleveland (TSOPCLE) vividly displayed the power of African American philanthropy, and centered Cleveland's Black community in a national conversation on humanity, giving back, and transformational change. Ever since, Cleveland has been Celebrating Those Who Give Black and challenging the narrative of Black Cleveland as beneficiaries of philanthropy versus benefactors.\r\n\r\nThe movement catalyzed by TSOPCLE, inspired the establishment of the Cleveland Black Equity and Humanity Fund to support and facilitate investment in causes and issues that promote and support Black-led social and economic change throughout northeast Ohio. How can the intersection of humanity, equity, and giving black help further bolster equitable outcomes and opportunities for Cleveland's Black community?\r\n\r\nJoin us for a conversation with Cleveland\'s Mayor Justin Bibb and Connie Hill-Johnson, Board Chairperson of The Cleveland Foundation. This forum is presented by the Cleveland Black Equity and Humanity Fund powered by The Soul of Philanthropy Cleveland.

The war in Ukraine is the kind of crisis that clarifies the importance of things that might otherwise be taken for granted: The ability of a sovereign nation to determine its own future, or that a rules-based international order is something that benefits all nations. The war has also made exceptionally clear the interdependence of economies and societies around the world. While Ukrainians suffered missile strikes and indiscriminate attacks, within days of the onset of Russian aggression, nations reliant on Ukrainian food production felt those supply chains contract. Similarly, nations reliant on Russian oil began to question the viability and wisdom of those trade relationships.\r\n\r\nThroughout this last year, the United States Department of State has been the Biden administration\'s primary resource to lead Western democracies in providing military and humanitarian support to the people of Ukraine. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman has been key to those efforts, meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier this month in Kyiv.\r\n\r\nAs we approach one year since the beginning of Russia\'s war on Ukraine, we invite you to join us for a conversation with Deputy Secretary Wendy Sherman about the work of the State Department and the stakes for the American people and for the project of democracy.

Going into the 2022 season of Cleveland Baseball, you could say things felt different. League-wide, the pandemic was still weighing on the MLB, and a lockout delayed the start of the season. Things looked different, too. Here in Cleveland, the team took the field for the first time with fresh gear and a new name as the Cleveland Guardians. And with an average age of about 26 years old, the Guardians were the youngest team in both the Major Leagues and AAA.\r\n\r\nIn the beginning, many sports analysts wrote the Guardians off. It was to be another rebuilding year, they said. But in the end, the Guards would finish with a 92-win season, a division title, barely knocked out of the playoffs by the Yankees. Sports Illustrated credited the team with creating a new brand of baseball, and Terry Francona would take home his third MLB Manager of the Year Award.\r\n\r\nAnd Clevelanders happily took all of this in to the tune of the Spongebob Squarepants theme song.\r\n\r\nWhile this unforgettable 2022 season has ended, what is next in this era of the Guardians? And what does it mean for the City of Cleveland? Join the City Club as we hear straight from team leadership Paul Dolan, Chris Antonetti, and Terry Francona in a conversation led by Andre Knott with Bally Sports and Fox 8 News.

When she appeared at The Texas Tribune Festival in late September, Liz Cheney was unequivocal: "I certainly will do whatever it takes to make sure Donald Trump isn\'t anywhere close to the Oval Office," she told the closing night audience. If the 45th President is nominated by the GOP, she\'ll leave the party, the lifelong Republican added.\r\n\r\nThough a handful of other Republican congressional representatives, including Ohio\'s Anthony Gonzalez, have stood apart from party leaders and GOP orthodoxy in opposing Donald Trump and the lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him, none has been more recognizable for doing so and more vocal Congresswoman Liz Cheney. A vice chair of the House January 6 Committee, and one of just two Republicans serving there, Cheney lost the recent primary in Wyoming to a Trump-endorsed attorney who has embraced election falsehoods.\r\n\r\nAs Cheney prepares for life after Congress, she will join the City Club in conversation with Judy Woodruff, Anchor at PBS NewsHour, to offer her thoughts on the state of the nation and the future of the republic.