Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Have you been curious about Club trips and want to know more? Join us for a presentation and discussion with past travelers and staff about the unique opportunities for learning, dialogue, friendship and adventure on our trips. What is different about Club trips, and what does it mean to travel with a group of Club members? We’ll answer these and other frequently asked questions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Discover the lives and legacies of Italy's Renaissance women as well as those of several unheralded Italian women who inspired Botticelli, Raphael and Michelangelo and some of the greatest art of all time. Carla Gambescia will revitalize your amore with Italy and its remarkable art treasures and cultural gifts. Learn about Artemisia Gentileschi and Isabella d’Este, whose lives and accomplishments can still inspire us today, and gain new perspectives on some of the Renaissance’s most beloved paintings. MLF Organizer: George Hammond MLF: Humanities Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our distinguished panel will discuss the United Religions Initiative (URI), which was begun by Bishop William Swing in 1993 after he was invited by the United Nations (UN) to hold a large interfaith service to mark the UN’s 50th anniversary. The URI envisions a world at peace sustained by a global grassroots interfaith network (known as cooperation circles) that cultivates peace and justice by engaging people to bridge religious and cultural differences. MLF Organizer: Celia Menczel MLF: Middle East In association with the San Francisco Interfaith Council Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Charles Schwab is one of the world’s most influential financial executives, with, as of 2019, nearly $3.6 trillion worth of assets managed by the eponymous Charles Schwab and Co. He founded the brokerage firm in 1971 with a $100,000 loan and has since grown it into a financial service juggernaut. Schwab’s memoir, Invested: Changing Forever the Way Americans Invest, lays out his passion to change the way we invest and the hard work, ingenuity and entrepreneurship that propelled his vision into one of the leading financial service firms in the world. From studying economics at Stanford University to guiding his company through decades of economic transformations and fluctuations, Schwab recounts the defining moments of his life while providing unique insight into the evolutionary dynamics of entrepreneurial companies. Join us for an insightful conversation with Charles Schwab as he discusses the how-tos of finance management and imparts advice on obtaining a fulfilling career and life. This program is part of our Ethics and Accountability series, underwritten by the Travers Family Foundation, with additional support from the Bernard Osher Foundation for our Good Lit programs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The rise of social media has led to an increased appetite for new and more intimate ways of storytelling. The New York Times' column “Modern Love" has documented this movement, publishing over 700 personal narratives over the past 15 years about relationships of all kinds. As editor of the column, Daniel Jones reads over 100 submissions a day that range from euphoric exclamations of love to harrowing experiences of loss. Jones has overseen the broad success of “Modern Love,” which first grew into a popular podcast and is now reaching new heights as an upcoming series on Amazon Prime Video. “Modern Love” moves beyond the stereotypical boy meets girl tropes of the romance genre and looks toward complicating the way we think of love today. The series will bring eight of the most compelling essays to life, one story per episode, with a stellar cast that includes stars Anne Hathaway, Dev Patel and Tina Fey. Join us at INFORUM for an exciting screening of the first episode of the new “Modern Love” series followed by a discussion about the ways in which modern love can keep us together—and drive us apart. In collaboration with The New York Times Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The food you eat and the choices you make impact your health and, according to the science of epigenetics, becomes interwoven with the genes you pass on to your children. Thanks to the discovery of epigenetics, we now know that the experiences of your ancestors are at work to influence your health and well-being. Everything from chronic diseases and trauma to how you age and sleep is determined by the epigenetics that turn on and off your DNA sequences. In You Are What Your Grandparents Ate: What You Need to Know About Nutrition, Experience, Epigenetics, and the Origins of Chronic Disease, best-selling author Judith Finlayson charts the steps you can take to making healthy dietary choices that have shown to spark epigenetic adjustments leading to better health, not only for yourself, but for your offspring and their children in the generations to come. Finlayson has dedicated her career to sharing her wide-ranging passions—from women’s history to the joys of cooking—through her best-selling books. Her penchant for cooking translates to her successful cookbooks which have sold over a million copies worldwide. Join us for an exciting conversation about the intergenerational impact of nutrition on long-term health with cooking expert Judith Finlayson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James Poniewozik joined The New York Times in 2015 after spending 16 years as a Time magazine columnist and television and media critic. At The Times, he has written about television as a reflection of changing culture and politics. In his new book, Poniewozik says that television has not only entertained us, but, with the election of Donald Trump, it has conquered America. Poniewozik argues that television has morphed from the three-network era of the 20th century, which joined millions of Americans in a shared monoculture, into today’s zillion-channel, Internet-atomized universe, which has sliced and diced us into fractious, alienated subcultures. Against that background, he offers a portrait of Donald Trump as the chameleonic celebrity who courted fame, achieved a mind meld with the media beast, and rode it to ultimate power. Come hear Poniewozik discuss his view that the age of Trump is a 24-hour TV production and that we live in an era where politics has become pop culture and vice versa. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As events, social media and media coverage bring the world closer together, professionals at all career levels (public sector, nonprofit and for-profit) are interested in international career opportunities to make the world a better place. Come to this event to learn more. MLF ORGANIZER NAME Ian McCuaig NOTES MLF: International Relations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michelle Malkin is a nationally recognized syndicated columnist who made her name through sharp humor to become an unapologetic conservative voice in America’s political discourse. A popular Fox News Channel contributor, Malkin has more than 2 million Twitter followers. Adding to her collection of four no. 1 best sellers, Malkin’s new book, Open Borders, Inc., is her exposé about what happens at America’s borders. Beginning with a thorough reexamination of the southern border’s history of immigration to its current state of crisis, Malkin argues that powerful special interest groups are working behind the scenes to keep America’s borders open for an influx of cheap labor in order to enrich the nation’s elite and create new generations of Democratic voters. Unafraid to challenge the status quo, Malkin offers her insight and confrontational approach on a variety of issues, from identity politics to social matters. Join us for an engaging conversation with one of the most outspoken voices of the American Right, and be sure to bring your questions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for a conversation with a leading trans artistic couple—Shawna Virago and Sean Dorsey—about their lives as transgender activists and successful performing artists. Shawna Virago is a singer and songwriter who is known for her striking lyric-based songs. She was one of the country's first openly transgender women to perform and tour nationally. She is also the artistic director of the San Francisco Transgender Film Festival, which will take place November 7–10 at San Francisco's Roxie Theater. Sean Dorsey founded and leads the Sean Dorsey Dance troupe, which is celebrating its 15th year. He is known as the nation's first critically acclaimed transgender choreographer in modern dance; he has toured 30 cities domestically and abroad. He has been awarded four Isadora Duncan Dance Awards and the Goldie Award for Performance. Come for a free midday program, as Michelle Meow brings her long-running radio show to The Commonwealth Club one day each week. Meet fascinating—and often controversial—people discussing important issues of interest to the LGBTQ community, and have your questions ready. See more upcoming Michelle Meow Shows at The Commonwealth Club here. Note: This program contains EXPLICIT language Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices