Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Come join WE SF and Commonwealth Club World Affairs for a one-of-a-kind, high-energy town hall presentation plus discussion, the likes of which San Francisco hasn’t recently seen!​Not only will we present a nonpartisan multimedia breakdown of each of the ballot measures and candidates on the March 2024 election ballot, but we will have many of the city’s top elected officials, leaders, and key stakeholders on both sides of the aisle on hand to present the “pros” and “cons” of each issue. The event schedule is as follows:.​The event combines WE San Francisco’s unique ability to inspire civic engagement and explain complex issues, with the “big ideas” thought leadership of Commonwealth Club World Affairs, the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum whose mission is to bring people together to connect, learn and act on issues that impact our community.Presenters include: Matt Dorsey, member, San Francisco Board of Supervisors (District 6) Joel Engardio, member, San Francisco Board of Supervisors (District 4) Ahsha Safai, member, San Francisco Board of Supervisors (District 11) And many more!. ​The result is a celebration of San Francisco’s future, but one that is grounded in the realities of the present and what we can individually and collectively do to enable a better tomorrow.Co-hosted with WE SF. This program is part of the Guggenhime Speakers Series, sponsored by the The Stanley S. Langendorf Foundation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Abortion and adoption are twinned in the minds of many Americans who have endured the never-ending heated debates over abortion. Now, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, sociologist Dr. Gretchen Sisson releases the results of her decade-long study of adoption, revealing what she says is the grief of American mothers for whom the choice to parent was never real.Adoption has long been viewed as a beloved institution for building families, as well as mutually agreed common ground in the abortion debate. But little attention has been paid to the lives of mothers who relinquish infants for private adoption. For her book Relinquished, Sisson draws upon hundreds of interviews with mothers who placed their children for domestic adoption. She finds their voices to be powerful and heartrending, deserving to be heard.Join us for a timely and provocative look at the flip side of the fight over abortion, adoption, rights and the American family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When most people hear the phrase renewable energy, they imagine fields full of solar panels or giant spinning wind turbines. But another source may be heating up: geothermal. Twenty years ago it was thought that geothermal could provide at most 10% of any given area’s electricity, and only in very limited regions. There were also environmental concerns about depleting groundwater. But new technological advances may have unlocked the potential for scalable geothermal energy just about anywhere. And in a bit of irony, those technological advances came from the oil and gas industry. Guests: Amanda Kolker, Laboratory Program Manager for Geoscience and Geothermal Technologies, NRELJamie Beard, founder of Project InnerSpaceLauren McLean, Mayor of BoiseContributing Producer: David CondosFor show notes and related links, visit our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Robert Lustig and Dr. Nicole Avena will have a conversation about sugar, based on many years of scientific and clinical experience.They will begin with a brief history of the evolution of sugar in our food environment and move on to where we are today regarding types of sugar and sweeteners, as well as the pervasiveness of these in our food supply. Questions explored will include: How do various types of sugar and sweeteners affect your brain and body systems? Is moderation possible when evidence suggests sugar may be "addictive"? What are the options if you want something sweet? You will have an opportunity to ask questions and will gain valuable insights to help you understand sugar and reduce your intake if need be.Dr. Nicole Avena is an associate professor of neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City and a visiting professor of health psychology at Princeton University. She is a research neuroscientist and expert in the fields of nutrition, diet and addiction, with a special focus on nutrition during early life and pregnancy, and women’s health. She has done groundbreaking work developing models to characterize food addiction and the dangers of excess sugar intake.Robert H. Lustig, M.D., M.S.L. is emeritus professor of pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology, and member of the Institute for Health Policy Studies, at UCSF. Dr. Lustig is a neuroendocrinologist, with expertise in metabolism, obesity, and nutrition. He is one of the leaders of the current “anti-sugar” movement that is changing the food industry. He has dedicated his retirement from clinical medicine to helping fix the food supply any way he can, to reduce human suffering and to salvage the environment.MLF ORGANIZER: Patty JamesA Nutrition, Food & Wellness 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Russia’s future lies outside of Russia.That’s the verdict offered by Paul Starobin, a veteran analyst of Russia. Since Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, some 1 million Russians have fled the country and gone into exile. Motivated by opposition to the war, by guilt for their country’s deeds, by personal hatred for the czar-like Putin, and by a vision of a better Russia shorn of autocracy, the exiles have mounted an organized resistance to Putin’s rule.Starobin says that the resistance includes followers of the imprisoned Putin opponent Alexi Navalny, dissident Russian Orthodox priests, and journalists feeding Russians back home the kind of coverage that is censored by Kremlin-controlled media. Most aggressively, some exiles are actively aiding the Ukrainian fight against Russia’s armed forces in hopes of hastening Russia’s defeat and Putin’s demise.Starobin traveled to places like Armenia and Georgia to meet with exiles and had conversations with prominent figures throughout Europe and America, as he took measure of this rebellion—and its potential to fix a nation plagued by revanchist imperial dreams.He reported his findings in his new book Putin’s Exiles, and he’ll tell you what he found and what might be coming next for Russia. Join us for a special online-only program that goes beyond pro-Putin propaganda and the tightly controlled narrative inside the country, and looks outside its borders to the diaspora of Russian exiles, who are imagining and fighting for the future of their country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for a special discussion with filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov.20 Days in Mariupol, nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film, presents a visceral, first-person view of the early days of Russia’s invasion of the city of Mariupol, Ukraine. An Associated Press team of Ukrainian journalists is trapped in the besieged city, where they struggle to continue their work documenting atrocities of the Russian invasion. As the only international reporters who remain in the city, they capture what later become defining images of the war: dying children, mass graves, the bombing of a maternity hospital, and more.This is the first feature film from Chernov, who spent nearly a decade covering international conflicts, including the Russia-Ukraine war, for The Associated Press. The film draws on Chernov’s daily news dispatches and personal footage of his own country at war. It offers a vivid, harrowing account of civilians caught in the siege, as well as a window into what it’s like to report from a conflict zone, and the impact of such journalism around the globe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As fossil fuels are phased out, shuttered coal plants, contaminated landfills, and abandoned mine lands across the U.S. are finding new life as renewable energy projects. More than 23 states have 100% clean energy goals, and in order to reach those goals, some states are starting to convert what was once considered “dirty” into “clean” energy generation. But what happens to the infrastructure, workers, and community after a coal plant shuts down? And as billions are dispersed through policies like the Inflation Reduction Act, what is being done to ensure that the same communities who have been historically left behind are included in the energy transition?Guests: Mary Anne Hitt, Senior Director, Climate ImperativeThomas Ramey, Commercial Home Evaluator, Solar HollerNick Mullins,  Energy Systems Technology Instructor, Tri-County Technical Center and Former Coal MinerDelmar Gillus, COO, ElevateThis episode also features a reported piece by Jordan Gass-Pooré.Support Climate One by going ad-free! By joining 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 even periodic engagements with Climate One staff. Join today for just $5/month.For show notes and related links, visit our website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let’s face it: Recent years have been tough on optimists. Hopes that the Internet might bring people together have been crushed by the ills of social media. Is there a way back?Bestselling author, media pioneer and TED curator Chris Anderson returns to Commonwealth Club World Affairs to explore one of humankind’s defining but overlooked impulses, and how we can super-charge its potential to build a hopeful future. Anderson believes it’s within our grasp to turn outrage back into optimism. He says it all comes down to reimagining one of the most fundamental human virtues: generosity. What if generosity could become infectious generosity?Consider how a London barber began offering haircuts to people experiencing homelessness—and catalyzed a movement; how two anonymous donors gave $10,000 each to two hundred strangers and discovered that most recipients wanted to “pay it forward” with their own generous acts; and how TED itself transformed from a niche annual summit into a global source of ideas by giving away talks online.In telling these inspiring stories, Anderson offers a playbook for how to embark on our own generous acts—whether gifts of money, time, talent, connection, or kindness—and to prime them, thanks to the Internet, to have self-replicating, even world-changing, impact. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

from 2024 Economic Forecast: Inflation, Election Bonanza, and the Global Economy held on February 8, 2024The Walter E. Hoadley Annual Economic Forecast, presented by Bank of America.The United States heads into 2024 with an economy that is strong but is widely believed to be underperforming. With inflation tamped down to normal rates, unemployment at record lows, and continued strong job growth and corporate profits, why aren’t American consumers and business leaders more bullish about the state of the economy?Join us for the economic talk of the year: our annual economic forecast. Our expert panel—including Lanhee Chen of the Hoover Institution, Mauro F. Guillén of the Wharton School, Nancy Wallace of Berkeley Haas, Jared Woodard of Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research, and The Washington Post's Adam Lashinsky—will give you the insight you need to better understand the trends, policies, dangers and opportunities that lie ahead for your business and your wallet in 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At 10 a.m. on January 25, 2024, a statue was unveiled at San Jose Mineta International Airport honoring Norm Mineta. Speakers at the event extolled Mineta's leadership and legacy; his pathbreaking role as the first Asian American mayor of a large U.S. city, influential member of Congress, first Asian American presidential cabinet member, and so much more.You can learn more about Mineta, his life and his accomplishments, in this article from NPR. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices