Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Rising electricity rates across the country are adding pressure to families and businesses already dealing with inflation in other aspects of their lives. Most Americans get their power from a utility that needs to turn a profit for its investors. And people are fed up with the status quo. “Across the country, the utilities have just gotten greedy and are asking for more than they need,” says Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes.  Some communities are considering cutting out the profit motive for utilities, taking on the complicated and expensive prospect of moving to public power. But switching from an investor-owned utility to public power is an uphill battle. What are other strategies for reining in corporate greed and making electricity more affordable? Episode Guests: Kris Mayes, Arizona Attorney General Naveena Sadasivam, Investigative Reporter and Editor, Grist Carroll Fife, Councilmember, District 3, Oakland, California Jackson Kaspari, Director of Member Services, Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire For show notes, transcript, and related links, visit ⁠https://www.climateone.org/podcasts⁠ Skill Up for Earth: ⁠⁠https://skillup.earth⁠⁠ Highlights: 00:00 – Intro 04:00 – Naveena Sadasivam breaks down electric bill drivers by region 14:00 – High bills affected outcome of Georgia Public Utility Commission 17:00 – Tucson town hall held by AZ AG Kris Mayes to discuss power bill 19:00 – Mayes explains why she’s intervening in rate cases 27:00 – Imbalance of power between utility companies and PUCs and consumer advocates 33:00 – Would Arizona legislators consider allowing community choice aggregation 36:00 – Carroll Fife on why she supported a state bill to explore other options to power suppliers 43:40 – Jackson Kaspari explains how community choice aggregation works in New Hampshire 48:00 – Utility pushback 54:00 – Kaspari explains how much work it took to set up CCA in New Hampshire 56:30 – Climate One More Thing ********** Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on ⁠Patreon⁠, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today at ⁠patreon.com/ClimateOne⁠.  Ad sales by ⁠Multitude⁠. Contact them for ad inquiries at ⁠multitude.productions/ads⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This fireside chat will feature the various major Democratic candidates running to be California’s next governor in conversation with Nancy Tung, who is currently serving as the chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party, about the biggest issues facing the state of California.  This conversation is taking place as delegates from throughout California arrive in San Francisco for the Democratic Party Convention weekend. Delegates will be evaluating the candidates and casting their votes on whom to endorse for governor as part of our special CADEM coverage of the state convention.  Gubernatorial candidates will each have a 15-minute period to share their vision for the future of the Golden State one-on-one with Chair Nancy Tung. See more  Michelle Meow Show programs at Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are we in an AI-driven financial bubble? New York Times financial journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin, author of a new book on the 1929 stock market crash, thinks so. "I just can’t tell you when, and I can’t tell you how deep," he has said. "But I can assure you, unfortunately, I wish I wasn't saying this, we will have a crash.” But other experts, notably Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, doesn’t think the AI boom is another dot-com bubble. “These companies … actually have business models and profits... So it’s really a different thing,” Powell said in October. So what’s the average consumer and investor to do? In Commonwealth Club World Affairs’ annual economic forecast, our experts will go beyond the hype and doomsaying to break down what it all means for your bottom line. Will the stock market continue to rally, or will there be a correction? How will tariff chaos and the immigration crackdown impact the economy? What can we expect with future interest rate cuts, and with President Trump’s efforts to influence the Fed? We’ll take up those questions and much more with our expert panel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Andrew Jarecki, documentary filmmaker known for investigative true‑crime films, discusses his six‑year probe into Alabama’s prison system. He recounts gaining inside access, the role of contraband phones, risks of retaliation, inmate organizing and strikes, and the film’s potential to spur reform. The conversation also touches on nationwide secrecy, racial exploitation, and protecting incarcerated whistleblowers.

Paul Greenwood, a retired San Diego deputy district attorney who led elder abuse prosecutions for 22 years and now trains law enforcement and AARP, walks through rising threats to older adults. He spotlights financial grooming, crypto and romance scams, AI deepfakes, transnational boiler rooms, APS resource gaps, bank responsibilities, and coordinated task force responses.

Join us at Commonwealth Club World Affairs on February 13 to prepare scientifically for Valentine’s Day. Paul Eastwick has taken a groundbreaking look at the science of attraction and compatibility, challenging our most fundamental assumptions about how human mating has evolved. Eastwick takes exception to evolutionary psychology’s claim, cloaked in incontrovertible Darwinian terms, that our minds have been shaped by primal drives that pit the genders against each other—from the myth that men are wired to be promiscuous to the notion that wealth, status and beauty are the ultimate aphrodisiacs.   Drawing on pathbreaking research—including original experiments from his own UC Davis lab—Eastwick reveals that these stories bear little resemblance to how pair-bonding really works. While beauty and charisma factor into first impressions, their influence fades fast. Lasting attraction is built through gradual, often mundane moments that forge strong attachment bonds. Eastwick’s liberating new paradigm for finding meaningful, exciting relationships includes: that personality, lifestyle, values and humor are poor predictors of compatibility; that a person’s tendency to “date around” has little bearing on their long-term relationship potential; and that the most secure relationships offer a “safe haven” and “secure base” for each partner. By excavating the hidden history of human mating, Eastwick paints a radical new picture of the roots of enduring chemistry. Distilling evolutionary biology, anthropology and psychology into accessible insights, Eastwick explains a more evolved approach to dating which makes it far more effective. Eastwick will be in conversation with Kathryn Paige Harden, who directs the Developmental Behavior Genetics Lab at the University of Texas at Austin, where she is a professor of psychology. Harden has published two books and more than 150 scientific papers on the nature and nurture of human behavior. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In honor of Black History Month, Commonwealth Club World Affairs invites you to a special evening celebrating Black excellence, civic leadership, and the innovations shaping stronger, more liberated communities. Moderator Chantel Walker, managing director of the Black Funders Network and vice mayor of San Anselmo, whose work bridges civic leadership with philanthropic systems change, will lead an engaging conversation on contemporary Black leadership across public service, philanthropy, youth empowerment, and community power-building. Guest speaker Solano County Supervisor Cassandra James will share insights from her perspective as a public leader working at the intersection of governance, equity and community investment. Dr. Brandon Nicholson has a track record of growing a local nonprofit in Oakland to seven cities nationally, securing and managing a $15 million annual budget, by leveraging public grants, individual donations, and private sector partnerships, as well as having a global presence in the UK and Africa. As CEO of The Hidden Genius Project, he and his team of innovators, operations, training, and curriculum experts have spearheaded initiatives that have positively impacted thousands of youth of color, particularly young Black males in enhancing college graduation rates and opening doors to rewarding career pathways.  Together, Supervisor James and Dr. Nicholson will explore what excellence in leadership looks like today, the role of innovation in expanding collective opportunity, and how communities are building power and possibility for future generations. Key themes include: Black leadership and public service in the Bay Area and beyond Investing in youth, creativity and innovation as engines of change Philanthropy and community-centered systems transformation Honoring history through action, vision and liberation Join us for an inspiring Black History Month conversation and a call toward a future grounded in equity, dignity and community strength. A Social Impact Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums. OrganizerIan McCuaig & Virginia Cheung  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress approved billions for federal grants and programs through the EPA during the Biden administration. Those dollars were meant to help disadvantaged communities and fund community resilience projects, public health programs, and initiatives to reduce energy insecurity on tribal lands. But just as these projects were getting underway, the Trump administration froze many of the grants, put others under indefinite review, or canceled them outright.  Now, some of the groups that were awarded federal funds have banded together and are suing the federal government for the money they’re owed. Others are seeking alternative funding streams. In this episode, we speak with people whose projects are on hold, but who continue to serve their communities.   Episode Guests:  Ben Grillot, Senior Attorney, Southern Environmental Law Center Wahleah Johns, Former Director, U.S. DOE Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs Ilyssa Manspeizer, CEO, Landforce Bryan Cordell, Executive Director, Sustainability Institute For show notes, related links, and episode transcript, visit ⁠climateone.org/podcasts.⁠ Skill Up for Earth: https://skillup.earth Highlights: 00:00 Intro 03:01 Ilyssa Manspeizer on what her organization, Landforce 06:29 Ilyssa Manspeizer on the impact of federal grant funds 08:58 Ilyssa Manspeizer on losing the grant funding 11:38 Ilyssa Manspeizer on Landforce joining the lawsuit against the EPA 14:08 Ben Grillot on the original EPA grantees 19:08 Ben Grillot on the politicization of the grants 24:54 Ben Grillot on the loss of trust with the federal government 26:42 Bryan Cordell on the work of the Sustainability Institute 30:38 Bryan Cordell on the status of their work after federal grants were pulled 33:51 Wahleah Johns on growing up on a Navajo reservation 45:59 Wahleah Johns on the community response to IRA rollbacks 48:20 Wahleah Johns on working toward the future ********** Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on ⁠Patreon⁠, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today at ⁠patreon.com/ClimateOne⁠.  Ad sales by ⁠Multitude⁠. Contact them for ad inquiries at ⁠multitude.productions/ads Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The California Department of Insurance regulates the insurance industry, with consumer protection as its core tenet. The insurance commissioner heads the Department of Insurance, managing more than 1,400 employees and overseeing 1,600 insurance companies. Ricardo Lara, the current commissioner, has faced increasingly challenging circumstances. Devastating wildfires in 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2025 have burned tens of thousands of homes; 7 of California’s 12 top insurers have pulled back from the California market since Lara took office in 2019. Meanwhile, the California FAIR Plan—the state-run public home insurance program designed to be the “insurer of last resort”—has more than doubled its policyholders between 2019 and 2023, due to the difficulty faced by homeowners of finding suitable coverage on the private market. As a result of the dramatic increase in policyholders, the FAIR Plan faced financial insolvency in 2023 and 2025, resulting in a $1 billion bailout from private insurers to cover claims. Additionally, critics say major insurance companies have continuously underestimated the payouts for homeowners in the case of total loss. In recent years, most people who have experienced a major fire have found out that their insurance will not pay them enough to rebuild. For consumers, these growing problems mean higher premiums where coverage is available, fewer insurer choices, stricter underwriting standards, and, in some cases, an inability to obtain comprehensive coverage at all. Homeowners in high-risk areas are increasingly pushed into bare-bones policies or layered coverage solutions. In March 2025, for the first time in California history, the California insurance commissioner approved emergency, interim rate hikes designed to stabilize State Farm after immense financial strain from the LA wildfires. These hikes averaged 17 percent for homeowners, 15 percent for renters/condos, and up to 38 percent for rental dwellings. Experts say that the next insurance commissioner will inherit a growing crisis in which nearly all the proposed solutions are likely to cost consumers. This public forum will provide voters with an opportunity to hear directly from candidates for insurance commissioner on key issues affecting Californians, including consumer protection, climate risk, insurance affordability, and regulatory oversight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former Los Angeles Mayor and California Assembly speaker Antonio Villaraigosa says he’s running for California governor because the state needs an experienced “problem-solver” who can work across the aisle. Born and raised in L.A., Villaraigosa was expelled from one high school and dropped out of another before getting back on track with the help of an English teacher, eventually graduating from UCLA. A longtime union organizer, he also served as president of the Southern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.Villaraigosa, who previously ran for governor in 2018, says he would focus on public safety, housing and homelessness, and affordability if elected. He points to accomplishments such as a decrease in violent crime and increase in graduation rates during his tenure as Los Angeles mayor. In Sacramento, he says, he “worked with both parties to balance the state budget, with record investments in education and public safety, while holding the line on taxes.” Villaraigosa joins Commonwealth Club World Affairs as part of our “Race for Governor 2026” series of candidate forums. Hear his vision for California, and ask your questions before you cast your vote for California’s next governor. Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California is a nonprofit public forum; we welcome donations made during registration to support the production of our programming. Commonwealth Club World Affairs is a public forum. Any views expressed in our programs are those of the speakers and not of Commonwealth Club World Affairs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices