Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Why does an invisible, life-threatening virus prompt a nationwide emergency, but invisible, life-threatening gases don’t? Experts have been emphasizing the dangers of unchecked climate change for years, underscoring the need for rapid, bold action early-on to avoid the worst impacts. Now health experts are pushing the same level of global mobilization to quell the spread of the novel coronavirus. Why are humans wired to respond to some fears and emergencies more than others? Can the reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic teach us anything about how humans respond to other invisible, global threats?

In 2005, Andy Warner went to Beirut, Lebanon, for a semester studying literature. Just 21 years old and having recently broken up with his girlfriend, Warner immersed himself in the vibrant and diverse city, quickly befriending a group of LGBT students. Amid their friendships, studying and partying, they also witnessed political assassinations and bombings once again erupting in Beirut. As the city descended into violence, Warner felt his grasp on reality slowly beginning to slip as he dealt with past traumas and anxiety over his future. He recounts his experiences in the new graphic memoir Spring Rain, his third book. He is also author of the New York Times best seller Brief Histories of Everyday Objects and is co-creator of This Land Is My Land. His comics have been published by Slate, Fusion, American Public Media, KQED, UNICEF, the Center for Constitutional Rights, Buzzfeed and other media outlets. He was the recipient of the 2018 Berkeley Civic Arts Grant and the 2019 Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park artist in residency. He lives in Berkeley, California, with his wife and two children. Join us for a conversation with Warner about his experiences in Beirut and his creative life since.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) presents a discussion on the most pressing challenges to humanitarian assistance in the 21st century. Globally, 70.8 million people are considered forcibly displaced by armed conflict, and over 160 million people need emergency humanitarian assistance. Conflict has replaced natural disasters as the driver of humanitarian need—aid organizations are faced with navigating complicated security and political environments while meeting growing demand on the ground. In addition, new actors and increasingly urbanized conflict have strained the global acceptance and adherence to international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions. The Humanitarian Agenda is an initiative that leverages the expertise of CSIS programs to explore complex humanitarian challenges. Jacob Kurtzer’s primary focus is the Task Force on Humanitarian Access, which will look at challenges in access to aid in complex man-made emergencies. Prior to joining CSIS, Kurtzer spent seven years with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), most recently as head of communications for the ICRC Delegation in Israel and the occupied territories. Previously, he served as head of public and congressional affairs for the Washington delegation of the ICRC, representing the ICRC to a broad spectrum of audiences in the United States and Canada. In addition, he has conducted field missions in South Sudan and Rakhine State, Myanmar and spent nearly three years as a consultant with the ICRC delegation in Pretoria, South Africa. From 2007–2009, he served as the congressional advocate at Refugees International (RI), a humanitarian advocacy organization based in Washington D.C. Kurtzer began his career as a legislative assistant to Representative Robert Wexler (D–FL), covering domestic and foreign policy issues, including managing the Congressional Indonesia Caucus. Kurtzer earned a master’s in peace and conflict studies from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, where he studied as a Rotary Foundation World Peace Fellow. He also holds a bachelor’s in philosophy from the University of Maryland, College Park, with a citation in religious studies, and is an alumnus of the College Park Scholars Public Leadership program. MLF Organizer: Linda J. Calhoun MLF: International Relations

Monday Night Philosophy understands that we have explained life to ourselves in ways that have scared us silly for so long that it has become an engrained habit. Ironically, it's a habit we rather enjoy because fear often keeps us more alert than we'd otherwise be. But there are other ways to remain intellectually alert to the nuances of life that are not so debilitating. So tonight, join us via live stream, and we'll sort through those fears with the goal of understanding how unlikely it is that these fears are justified, eliminating those that are highly irrational and minimizing those that are merely ridiculous. MLF Organizer: George Hammond MLF: Humanities

Join us virtually for a conversation about the pervasive impact Enlightenment ideas had on early American culture and how that changed the ways Americans pursued happiness in their New World. Caroline Winterer specializes in early American reactions to scientific ideas and Enlightenment attitudes, which raised new questions about plants, animals and rocks but also about politics and religion. It is hard to overestimate the influence of Americans' newly conceived relationship between the present and the past as it spurred far-flung conversations about a better future for all of humanity. MLF Organizer: George Hammond MLF: Humanities

American health care has seen dramatic changes over the past decade. Obamacare reduced the number of uninsured citizens, but rising prices and deductibles have made care unaffordable for many. Medicaid has become the nation’s largest payer and now pays for half of all long-term care. Now the coronavirus pandemic is challenging the health care system in unprecedented ways. All this is happening within the context of a presidential election within a highly polarized country. How will the health care system—and American voters—respond? Kaiser Family Foundation Senior Vice President Dr. Jennifer Kates will be joined by Dr. Josh Michaud, KFF’s associate director of global health policy. A former infectious disease epidemiologist with both the U.S. Department of Defense and the Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Michaud is an expert on the types of models being used to forecast the arc of COVID-19 cases.They will discuss the current and probable future states of the pandemic and the responses by the government, health-care system and public. Note: Kaiser Family Foundation CEO Drew Altman is unable to participate in this evening’s session due to health reasons (which, fortunately, are unrelated to the coronavirus; he has temporarily lost his voice). We’ll have Drew Altman back on Monday, May 4, at noon, by which time the pandemic may have crested. We’ll discuss how the health-care system has fared, how the public has responded, and what the impact on the 2020 election is likely to be. This program is generously supported by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and a collaborative of local funders and donors. We are grateful for their support and hope others will follow their example to support the Club during these uncertain times.

Join us for a special edition of our Week to Week political roundtable as we talk with Debra J. Saunders, the White House correspondent for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and a syndicated columnist. For the past several years, Saunders has been reporting from the center of the political world, covering some of the biggest news stories and controversies in politics. Before that, of course, she was a long-time conservative columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle—and one of the first panelists to appear on the Week to Week political roundtable. Don't miss this in-depth talk with Saunders about her career, the current political scene and being a White House correspondent who comes down with symptoms of coronavirus. Because this is a virtual program, we won't have our usual member social hour beforehand, so feel free to pour yourself a glass of wine, put your feet up and enjoy watching the program—unless you're at the office, in which case that might be frowned upon.

Addressing the climate challenge requires incremental and transformational change on both personal and systemic levels. That means altering our personal habits as citizens, consumers, employees and parents. At the same time, society needs to fundamentally modernize the food, transportation, building and energy systems. That mind-blowing amount of change is so daunting, it’s no wonder people want to skip away into the happy land of denial. How should we think about change — and how do our words shape our behavior? Where does change really begin?

Join us for a special online Week to Week political roundtable, in which we'll discuss the political impact of the coronavirus on local, state, and national communities. We'll also tackle other big political news of the moment, including the latest in the heated presidential primaries. How will it work? This program is presented via a video livestream. You will be able to submit questions for our panelists and watch the entire program, all from the comfort of your home or office. Before the program, we will email you a link to the program online. The program will begin at 6:30 p.m. Week to Week is now in its ninth year, and we're continuing our mission of discussing 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. Notes Because this is a virtual program, we won't have our usual member social hour beforehand, so feel free to pour yourself a glass of wine, put your feet up, and enjoy watching the program—unless you're at the office, in which case that might be frowned upon. In response to the Coronavirus Covid-19 outbreak, this program was recorded in an empty auditorium, for an online audience only, broadcasted from The Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco on March 19th, 2020.

Steve Disselhorst's life has been consumed with the quest to create a family. As a Catholic boy raised in the Midwest, he grew up thinking he was straight and would marry a woman and have children. When he was confronted with his attraction to men and the eventual realization that he was gay, he gave up that dream of having a family. But the dream wouldn't die. Eventually he resumed his quest for a family and started the arduous journey toward partenthood. Steve Disselhorst is an expert in personal and professional leadership development and consulting for diversity, equity and inclusion. Come hear his story about his determination to become a father.

Combatting the coronavirus pandemic has quickly become a global health priority. Communities across the United States, including here in the Bay Area, are using a range of strategies to mitigate the spread of coronavirus. In its first program on the coronavirus crisis, The Commonwealth Club will feature two experts who will discuss why significant community interventions are so important and what must be done now. The program will feature the lead author of the well-publicized Journal of the American Medical Association article on how Taiwan has been so effective at reducing the spread of the coronavirus, and what communities in the United States can learn from this experience. This was a free program. Please consider supporting the Club during these uncertain times by making a donation on the Club website.

Join us for a virtual conversation with Adam Hochschild, the award-winning author who has spent his literary life delving into the details of crises inflicted on ourselves by man's inhumanity to man, and our rising above such crises through passionate involvement to bring better ideas to bear upon our culture. We will discuss Hochschild's research into colonialism in the Belgian Congo, the unfounded hopes that World War I would end all wars, the painful outcome of the Spanish Civil War, the horrors of Stalin's follies, the unlikely triumph over legalized slavery, and another triumph over apartheid, plus the unlikely story of Rose Pastor Stokes, a Rebel Cinderella devoted to social justice. MLF Organizer: George Hammond MLF: Humanities

Director Abby Ginzberg is a Bay Area original; her films highlight struggles of race and social justice. Her new film Waging Change is having its San Francisco premiere at the Castro Theatre on March 22. It features Saru Jayaraman (Chronicle Visionary of the Year), Lily Tomlin, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, and Jane Fonda, who have been working tirelessly for One Fair Wage, a campaign to end the sub-minimum wage for tip workers (which is currently just $2.13 per hour). A Peabody award winner, Ginzberg's recent work includes And Then They Came for Us, about the connection between the incarceration of Japanese Americans during WW II and the current Muslim travel ban; and Agents of Change, which examines the untold story of racial conditions on college campuses that led to a successful struggle for black studies.

For years, scientists and politicians have been saying that the climate battle will be won or lost in the next decade. That narrative was boosted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which contends global emissions must be halved by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050 to avoid climate catastrophe. Politicians moved quickly to incorporate the 2030 deadline into their speeches and advocates started using it in their fundraising pleas. After a tepid global response to a decades-long climate saga, urgent action is imperative—but does a 10-year deadline oversimplify the science and overall situation? What is the best way to communicate climate urgency in a way that mobilizes people at home and in the workplace? Join us for a conversation with Chris Field, faculty director at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, David Fenton, founder of Fenton Communications, and Renee Lertzman, climate engagement strategist and author.

Crises pose a challenge to leaders as no other tests they confront can. Veteran journalist Kenneth Walsh offers a probing look at how presidents from FDR to Trump have dealt with the crises they faced. Delving into both domestic conflicts and international conflagrations, Walsh goes in search of lessons we can learn. His findings focus on the presidential attributes and skills that matter most in trying times. MLF ORGANIZER George Hammond NOTES MLF: Humanities