Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Music and social movements have historically gone hand in hand. Folk music played a unifying role for the labor movements in the United States. Music was central to the protests against the Vietnam War and in favor of Civil Rights. As more people become aware of the climate crisis, music is starting to reflect that. But there is still no one song or artist inspiring climate action the way music catalyzed other movements. Why aren’t more musical artists raising the alarm over the growing climate catastrophe? And for the artists who are, how do they express the anxiety and grief that they and their listeners are experiencing? Guests:Tamara Lindeman, Musician, The Weather StationJayson Greene, Contributing Editor, Pitchfork Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Following Japanʻs attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the United States removed 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry from their homes on the West Coast and incarcerated them in remote camps. In Hawai`i, fewer than 2,000 people among the 160,000 were incarcerated. The question is, why not en masse? If people of Japanese ancestry were actually a security threat, as alleged, their large and concentrated numbers and proximity to strategic installations were a reason for removal from Hawai`i. Thus far, historians have only generalized that they made up over one-third of the population and were vital to the economy.In his new book, Inclusion, How Hawai’i Protected Japanese Americans from Mass Internment, Transformed Itself, and Changed America, author Tom Coffman has written a meticulously researched history of the remarkable individuals from across ethnic groups and civilian, police, FBI and military institutions who came together to spare Hawai`iʻs Japanese community from mass removal and enable their sons to serve America heroically in World War II, inspired by American ideals of democracy and equality. The community, working from the ground up, won the battle for “inclusion” against the exclusionary policies of President Franklin Roosevelt, the U.S. Navy, various generals and the anti-Japanese elements of the press. With a post-war epilogue, it provides a window into the inclusive, multi-ethnic culture of todayʻs Hawai`i.SPEAKERSTom CoffmanAuthor, InclusionIn conversation with Robert HandaReporter, NBC Bay Area NewsWelcome by Dr. Mary G.F. BittermanPresident, The Bernard Osher Foundation; Member of the Board of Governors, Commonwealth Club of CaliforniaIn response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on May 11th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, great attention has been focused on a part of the world at the nexus of national and ethnic concern. On April 3, Rabbi Daniel Stein and Margalit Ir visited Krakow, Poland, to help Ukrainian refugees. In this special Commonwealth Club program, they will discuss their experience.Ir, who is the child of Holocaust survivors, emigrated from Israel, which like many other countries has welcomed Ukrainian refugees. Celia Menczel, who sits on the elected council of the Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County, will talk about her family and about Vladimir Putin's autobiography First Person: An Astonishingly Frank Self-Portrait by Russia's President, which was recently mentioned in The Economist.MLF ORGANIZERCelia MenczelSPEAKERSMargalit IrChair, Repair the World Committee, Congregation B'nai ShalomCelia MenczelChair, Middle East Member-led Forum, The Commonwealth Club of CaliforniaRabbi Daniel SteinRabbi, Congregation B'nai Shalom—ModeratorIn response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on May 10th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tech gadgets surround us each day, and to entrepreneur and innovator Tony Fadell, each of them has a fascinating story, full of determination and ingenuity, of how they came to be. Having led the teams that developed the iPod, iPhone and Nest Learning Thermostat and drawing from 30 years of experience in the field, Fadell believes that anyone can learn how to be a better business leader by examining the hidden stories behind the devices that make up our lives.Tony Fadell is an engineer, inventor and author who was responsible for co-designing three of Time magazine’s “50 most influential gadgets of all time.” Having decades of experience at Silicon Valley giants such as Apple and Google, Fadell has authored more than 300 patents and invested in or advised at several hundred start-up companies.In his latest book, Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making, Fadell retells chapters of his journey from a designer to an executive, using them as case studies to illustrate effective leadership and problem solving in a competitive environment. Fadell provides a captivating, fast-paced encyclopedia of business strategy.Join us live as Fadell retells the surprising stories behind many of our most familiar products, and the wisdom they have to share.SPEAKERSTony FadellCo-inventor, the iPod and iPhone; Founder of Nest Labs; Principal at Future Shape LLC; Author, Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Work; Twitter @tfadellIn Conversation with John MarkoffFormer Technology Reporter, The New York Times, Writer-in-Residence, Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence; Author, Whole Earth: The Many Lives of Stewart Brand; Twitter @markoffNote: This program contains some EXPLICIT languageIn response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on May 11th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The loss of a loved one can be overwhelming. Grief can impact us tremendously, both mentally and physically. How do we endure grief? Can we simply forget, or "get over it?"In her new book, Marin County clinical psychologist Dr. Mary Lamia explains the science behind bereavement, from emotion to the persistence of memory, and shows people how to understand and adapt to death as a part of life. The book aims to expand our understanding of bereavement, placing it in alignment with how emotions work. Using numerous case examples and personal vignettes, Dr. Lamia's latest work helps people recognize the ways in which emotions are connected to memories and influence our experiences of loss. Dr. Lamia demonstrates how negative emotional responses experienced in grief often follow experiences with positive emotional memories.Please join us for a powerful conversation on understanding and overcoming grief.MLF ORGANIZERPatrick O'ReillySPEAKERSDr. Mary LamiaClinical Psychologist; Professor, Wright Institute; Author, Grief Isn't Something to Get Over: Finding a Home for Memories and Emotions After Losing a Loved OneMichael KrasnyFormer Host, "Forum," KQEDIn response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on May 101th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us at The Commonwealth Club for a conversation with CNN's John Avlon about Abraham Lincoln’s plan to secure a just and lasting peace after the Civil War. The implementation of Lincoln's vision was cut short by his assassin, but Lincoln's hopes still inspired future American presidents—and Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr. General Lucius Clay, the architect of the post-WWII German occupation, explained that his decisions were guided by thinking what “kind of occupation would the South have had if Abraham Lincoln had lived.”As the tide of the Civil War finally turned in the spring of 1865, Abraham Lincoln visited the troops on the front lines, seeing combat up close, meeting liberated slaves, and comforting wounded soldiers, both Union and Confederate. The power of Lincoln’s personal example was enhanced by his use of humor, logic and scripture to depolarize bitter debates. Balancing moral courage with moderation, Lincoln believed that decency could be the most practical form of politics, but he also understood that people are more inclined to listen to reason when it is presented from a position of strength. Ulysses S. Grant’s famously generous terms of surrender to General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox that April were a direct expression of Lincoln's belief that a soft peace should follow a hard war.Avlon shows how Lincoln’s character informed his commitment to unconditional surrender followed by a magnanimous peace. Even during the Civil War, when he was surrounded by reactionaries and radicals, Lincoln refused to back down from his belief that there is more that unites us than divides us. But he also understood that peace needs to be waged with as much intensity as war—an understanding that Avlon says remains relevant today, for both our domestic and our foreign policies.MLF ORGANIZERGeorge HammondSPEAKERSJohn AvlonSenior Political Analyst and Anchor, CNN; Author, Lincoln and the Fight for PeaceIn Conversation with John BolandPresident Emeritus, KQED; Vice Chair, Commonwealth Club Board of GovernorsIn response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on May 5th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As COVID-19 spread around the world, so did government censorship. The Infodemic lays bare not just the use of old-fashioned censorship, but also how “censorship through noise” enhances the traditional means of state control (such as jailing critics and restricting the flow of information) by using a flood of misinformation to overwhelm the public with lies and half-truths.Joel Simon and Robert Mahoney, who have been defending press freedom and journalists’ rights worldwide for many years as the directors of the Committee to Protect Journalists, chart the onslaught of COVID censorship—beginning in China, but spreading through Iran, Russia, India, Egypt, Brazil, and even the White House. Increased surveillance in the name of public health, the collapse of public trust in institutions, and the demise of local news reporting all contributed to make it easier for governments to hijack the flow of information. Using vivid characters and behind-the-scenes accounts, Simon and Mahoney show how, under the cover of a global pandemic, governments have undermined freedom and taken ever more authoritarian control—a new political order that may be one of the legacies of this disease.MLF ORGANIZERGeorge HammondSPEAKERSRobert MahoneyDeputy Executive Director, the Committee to Protect Journalists; Co-Author, The Infodemic: How Censorship and Lies Made the World Sicker and Less FreeJoel SimonFellow, the Tow Center for Digital Journalism, Columbia Journalism School; Co-Author, The Infodemic: How Censorship and Lies Made the World Sicker and Less FreeIn Conversation with George HammondAuthor, Conversations With SocratesIn response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on May 5th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Paul Holes takes us through his memories of a storied career as a cold case investigator and provides an insider account of some of the most notorious cases in contemporary American history, including the hunt for the Golden State Killer, Laci Peterson’s murder, and Jaycee Dugard’s kidnapping. This is also a revelatory profile of a complex man and what makes him tick: the drive to find closure for victims and their loved ones, the inability to walk away from a challenge—even at the expense of his own happiness.Holes opens up the most intimate scenes of his life: his moments of self-doubt and the impact that detective work has had on his marriage. This is a story about the gritty truth of crime-solving when there are no flashbulbs and “case closed” headlines. It is the story of a man and his commitment to cases and people who might otherwise have been forgotten.Come meet Paul Holes and go behind the scenes of an expert cold case investigator.NOTESThis program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation.SPEAKERSPaul HolesRetired Cold Case Investigator; Author, Unmasked: My Life Solving America’s Cold Cases; Twitter @PaulHolesIn Conversation with George HammondAuthor, Conversations With SocratesIn response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on May 5th, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Russ Feingold became a household name co-authoring the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, more commonly known as McCain-Feingold. It’s the only major piece of campaign finance reform legislation passed into law in decades. Today he is using his experience navigating the levers of power to tackle alarming biodiversity loss and the worsening climate crisis. Feingold believes, “The threats posed to people from the destruction of nature are just as serious as those posed by climate change.” Guests: Russ Feingold, President of the American Constitution Society, former Senator from WisconsinJean Su, Energy Justice Director and Senior Attorney, Center for Biological DiversityDan Farber, Professor of Law, Faculty Director, Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment, University of California, Berkeley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the attack on Ukraine well underway, political thinker Yascha Mounk recently admitted in The Atlantic that, “We stand at the beginning of a new era of naked power politics.” The Russian invasion is not simply an assault on a neighboring country motivated by strained ethnic relations or security concerns, but it is an assault on the democratic values and political system espoused by Ukraine. It is the latest setback in a “democratic recession” now entering its 16th consecutive year, according to Freedom House. “In 2021, the number of countries moving away from democracy once again exceeded the number of countries moving toward it by a big margin.” Why is this happening and what can be done to reverse this global trend?Yascha Mounk argues that democracy has long struggled to embody both equality and diversity, and despite the challenges past and present facing democratic institutions, he believes that with ambition and vision, there is still reason to be hopeful.Yascha Mounk is a German-American political scientist, author, and associate professor of practice at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies. His works have appeared in The New York Times, Politico and the Journal of Democracy. His works have included assessments of American democracy, the dangers of nationalism and ethnic relations in democratic settings.In The Great Experiment, Mounk argues that the struggle of free countries to be both diverse and equal in their political systems is the greatest experiment of our time and essential to the continuation of democracy. While this feat is unprecedented, he contends, understanding the past and underlying conditions that have led to division and social injustices is critical to avoiding them in the future, and he writes that we should have genuine hope in humanity’s ability to accomplish it.Join us as Mounk explores the long and complicated history between democracy, equality and diversity, and explains that with a bold vision as our guiding light, we can harmoniously celebrate our differences without letting them divide us.SPEAKERSYascha MounkFounder, Persuasion; Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, Johns Hopkins University; Contributing Editor, The Atlantic; Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations; Author, The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure; Twitter @Yascha_MounkIn Conversation with Steven SaumEditor, WorldView MagazineIn response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on May 3rd, 2022 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices