Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Where is America headed? Veteran political analyst David Gergen offers his insights to the polarized state of politics and what we can expect as we head into our next presidential election. Gergen has the unique perspective of serving as a White House adviser to four U.S. presidents from both parties: Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. Join us for an engaging conversation on the future of America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do we go about feeding a planet that’s hotter, drier, and more crowded than ever? From a remote-controlled organic farm in Shanghai to famine-stricken parts of Ethiopia, innovators are seeking to reinvent the global food system to be more productive and nutritious. Does this mean the end of animal meat? Can a clean, climate-resilient food system be built to distribute calories in a way that is efficient and equitable? Join us for a conversation on how innovation and agriculture, technology, and traditional knowledge are coming together to sustain a planet of eight billion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Jason Flatt, assistant professor at the UCSF School of Nursing's Institute for Health & Aging, will discuss some of the new research findings he presented at the July 2019 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Los Angeles. Past research has shown an increased likelihood of preclinical Alzheimer’s disease for individuals with self-reported memory problems, including up to three times greater risk for future cognitive decline. Dr. Flatt will highlight his recent research on Alzheimer’s risk in the LGBTQ community and touch on the needs for education of health-care professionals and LGBTQ seniors as well as ensuring cognitive and health screenings for LGBTQ community members at risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Join us as Michelle Meow brings her long-running daily 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What Do We Know About the Moon? July 20, 2019 is the 50th anniversary of humanity’s first steps on the surface of the moon. In that time, the Apollo missions, a fleet of robotic probes and observations from Earth have taught us a lot about Earth’s surprising satellite. In this nontechnical talk, Andrew Fraknoi, who is sometimes called the Bay Area’s public astronomer, will look at the past, present and future of the moon, including its violent origins, the mystery of the frozen water we have found at its poles and its long-term future as it moves farther and farther away from us. Illustrated with beautiful images taken from orbit and on the surface, his talk will make the moon come alive as an eerie world next door, as a changing object in our skies, and as a possible future destination for humanity and its ambitions. Come find out how the achievements of the Apollo program fit into the bigger picture of our involvement with our only natural satellite. Fraknoi recently retired as the chair of the astronomy department at Foothill College and now teaches noncredit astronomy courses for seniors at the Fromm Institute at the University of San Francisco and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at San Francisco State. He also served as the executive director of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific for 14 years and was named the California professor of the year in 2007. Fraknoi appears regularly on local and national radio, explaining astronomical developments in everyday language. The International Astronomical Union has named Asteroid 4859 after Fraknoi in honor of his contributions to the public understanding of science. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From millennial "womxn's" happiness to midlife career empowerment, ambitious working women climb succeed professionally not only by mastering their careers but also by simultaneously outsmarting gender bias, ageism and societal expectations that hold us back on the job and in life. Bring your lunch (if you like) and listen to experts discuss the surprising research and insights on how age and generation impact women. Come ready to engage in an intimate, very intergenerational discussion on how we—as ambitious "womxn"—can best build meaningful lives and satisfying careers from our 20s through our 80s and beyond. MLF ORGANIZER NAME Emily Howe NOTES Your Bosslady Forum: The Executive Womxn forum is a discussion series of millennial and Gen X ladybosses, coming together with senior and retired Bay Area businesswomen, to expand our minds, outsmart all workplace "isms," rise together and really (really!) thrive in work and life. MLF: Executive Womxn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Big data, artificial intelligence, cloud computing and the internet of things: we have all heard of these innovations individually and their potential impacts. But Tom Siebel is working on how these technologies can work in conjunction with each other to have an even greater impact. In his new book, Digital Transformation: Survive and Thrive in an Era of Mass Extinction, Siebel explains how the power of these innovations can be harnessed to radically change and improve our world on a massive scale. He looks at how large enterprises such as Royal Dutch Shell, Enel, 3M, and even the U.S. Department of Defense are leveraging these technologies to predict functionality problems, decrease fuel usage and find vulnerabilities in these systems. How accurately can these systems predict electrical grid failings? What is the most efficient way to minimize fuel usage? How susceptible are these systems to cyberattacks, and how can we improve their security? What is the role of private enterprise as well as government in these pressing issues? Join us for a conversation with the leader of this field to find the answer to these, and many more, important questions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cities around the world are bracing for a growth spurt. With over half of the global population living in urban centers, and another 2.5 billion expected to join them by 2050, it’s time to rethink the traditional car-centric cityscape. How do we redesign our cities to withstand the challenges of cars, climate change and rapid population growth? A conversation with three leaders in urban planning and design on building sustainable cities that make public life healthier, more inclusive and more dynamic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This event is the latest in our member-led forums’ Art and Science of Well-Being series. Cosmological Koans invites you to take an intellectual journey through more than 50 koans: pleasingly paradoxical vignettes following the ancient Zen tradition. Anthony Aguirre traverses the world from West to East, and through ideas spanning the age, breadth and depth of the universe. Using beguiling koans and a flair for explaining complex science, Aguirre covers cosmic questions that thinkers from Aristotle to Galileo to Heisenberg have grappled with. A playful and enlightening book, Cosmological Koans explores the strange hinterland between the deep structure of the physical world and our personal experience of it. MLF Organizer: George Hammond MLF: Humanities Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sammie is a queer, non-binary Pilipinx person with a vivid love for their chosen family, social justice, and grassroots organizing. Currently director of APIENC, a trans and queer Asian and Pacific Islander grassroots organization in the SF Bay Area, Sammie's politics have grown from years of witnessing xenophobia, fighting budget cuts in public schools and learning about trans Pilipinos fighting colonization. It’s from these knowledges that Sammie has worked to train hundreds of young, trans, queer, Asian people to lead from values of abundance and interdependence. Sammie believes that anything can be turned into a chant and brought onto the streets (literally and emotionally). Join us as Michelle Meow brings her long-running daily 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Come in out of the fog and let us clear up things for you, at least as far as politics is concerned. Join us as we discuss the biggest, most controversial and sometimes the surprising political issues with expert commentary by panelists who are smart, are civil and have a good sense of humor. Our panelists will provide informative and engaging commentary on political and other major news, and we'll have audience discussion of the week’s events and our live news quiz! And come early before the program to meet other smart and engaged individuals and discuss the news over snacks and wine at our members social (open to all attendees). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices