Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Everyday choices – like deciding which shirt to buy or on which platform to binge-watch shows on – may impact the planet more than you think. Tatiana's Schlossberg's new book Inconspicuous Consumption: The Environmental Impact You Don’t Know You Have, looks at how seemingly small choices can have a big impact on the climate. We sit down with experts in the fashion and energy sectors, two industries with a big carbon footprint, to see how far individual actions can take us – and when it's up to companies and producers to take the lead.

How does one react, watching our current political crisis form fissures in our underlying culture, which, according to poet Peter Dale Scott, is undermining even our most valuable cultural strengths? These strengths include living with diversity, tolerating and listening to other viewpoints, and reaching a shared consensus. Unfortunately, at the same time, these cultural strengths are ebbing; righteousness on all sides combined with contempt for others are increasingly destructive forces. This is happening at an inopportune time. Climate change and potentially unsustainable migrations will likely require radical political changes, which are certain to be unpopular yet may only be achievable by restoring our traditional culture of consensus-building. Scott has spent a lifetime commenting on the Vietnam War, JFK's assassination and the deep state. If it is too much to ask us to love our enemies, he wonders whether it is possible to listen to them. Without this civilizing skill, American culture will not be strengthened by this political crisis, as it has by past crises, but wounded by it instead. MLF Organizer: George Hammond

The Cook Islands is a 15-island nation in the South Pacific, with political links to New Zealand. The islands were first settled around A.D. 1000 by Polynesian people who are thought to have migrated from Tahiti. Prime Minister Henry Puna assumed office in 2010 and previously served as secretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Transport. Prime Minister Puna has led the establishment of the world's largest multipurpose marine reserve, Marae Moana, hailed as a major step forward for marine conservation. Additionally, on January 1, the Cook Islands will become the first South Pacific island nation to officially achieve developed nation status. It was under Prime Minister Puna's premiership that the Cook Islands became, in November 2011, a founding member of the Polynesian Leaders Group, a regional grouping intended to cooperate on a variety of issues, including culture and language, education, responses to climate change, and trade and investment. Come for a rare behind-the-scenes look at this island nation. * In association with World Affairs

Do you ever sense that authentic connections have gone missing in your life? Do you feel sometimes as though your unique identity has been swept away by the tides of work and family? Do you hear the call to effect positive change in the world but can’t find a place to start? You are not alone. Just shy of her 50th birthday, former advertising agency CEO Anne Devereux-Mills lost her health to cancer, her last child to college and her job to the recession. Stripped of everything that had comprised her self worth, she set out on a path to rediscover her identity and recreate her life. Realizing that she was missing relationships that were based on what she cared about as a person rather than what she did for a living, Devereux-Mills started a series of salons in 2012 that would gather together diverse groups of women based on topics they all cared about. She called the series Parlay House, and as the gatherings grew and expanded in cities across the world, she saw that they triggered a series of micro-actions among the participants. The result was a cascading wave of connection, support and strength that flowed out from the gatherings and into the wider world. She dubbed that cascade “the Parlay effect.” In her forthcoming book, The Parlay Effect: How Female Connection Can Change the World, Devereux-Mills tells the story of Parlay House and uses her insights as its founder to show how small actions can result in a meaningful boost in self-awareness, confidence and vision. Woven through the book are the findings of research that Devereux-Mills conducted in collaboration with Dr. Serena Chen, a tenured professor of social psychology at UC Berkeley who investigated the social science behind the Parlay effect. The result is a book that offers a vision and a method for anyone who is going through a life transition and who wants to find and create communities that have positive and multiplying effects. Please join Anne Devereux-Mills and The Commonwealth Club at the start of a new year to learn about and experience the Parlay effect for yourself. Devereux-Mills will be joined in conversation by comedian and storyteller Dhaya Lakshminarayanan. ** This Podcast Contains Explicit Language **

Whether we are actively working toward change or we just want to chat with our family and friends, we all need tools to stay centered and calm during these stressful times. How can we be effective, compassionate changemakers—and even find joy and meaning—as we deal with our stress and the negativity in our environment? Our speaker, James Baraz, is a co-founder of Spirit Rock Meditation Center, has taught Bill Gates, and was himself taught by Joseph Goldstein and Ram Dass. For decades, he's been showing people how to lead change through the "joyful responsibility" of commitment, love and effective action. He is coming to the Club to teach us how to reawaken our joy and avoid becoming overwhelmed and rendered ineffective by outrage, anxiety or despair. "Action absorbs anxiety," so come to the Club to learn how to lead change effectively, from the heart. MLF Organizer: Shiva Berman MLF: Personal Growth

Often described as the father of environmental justice, Dr. Robert Bullard has written several seminal books on the subject and is known for his work highlighting pollution on minority communities and speaking up against environmental racism in the 1970-1980s. Climate One is pleased to honor Robert Bullard with the ninth annual Stephen H. Schneider Award for Outstanding Climate Science Communication.

The renewing energy of art helps to manage the stress of negative events. There is overwhelming research that contemplation, observing and taking in beauty stimulate the brain and create a sense of well-being. In these turbulent times, art can be a vehicle not only for fulfillment but to encourage and expand consciousness through conversation and connection. The panel participants represent a spectrum of viewpoints of nonprofit, artistic and psychotherapeutic perspectives. Each of the panel members will share unique views during the discussion of artistic creativity and consciousness. MLF Organizer: Robert Melton MLF: Arts

From the Trump Administration’s rollback of the country’s strongest environmental regulations, California’s frenzied response to wildfires and subsequent blackouts, and the emergence of climate as a top-tier presidential campaign issue, climate broke headlines in new ways in 2019. Vox energy writer David Roberts and New York Times climate reporter Coral Davenport take us through the biggest climate news stories of 2019.

The 2018 Camp Fire was one of the most destructive in California’s history, resulting in over eighty deaths and destroying the town of Paradise. Dry weather and hot winds fanned the flames - but the spark that started it came from a faulty transmission line. That and other wildfires have been found to be the result of negligence on the part of California’s biggest utility, PG&E. Their solution? Pulling the plug on millions of customers. But who pays the bill? And with PG&E facing bankruptcy, how will California power its future?

It's our second annual year-end program and party, celebrating the completion of another year of Michelle Meow and LGBTQ programming at the Club. We'll have food and drink, a short program, and lots of good cheer. Joining us as our special guest is Robyn Crawford. In her New York Times bestselling book, A Song for You, Crawford opens up for the first time about her close friendship with superstar Whitney Houston. Whitney Houston was a super-big superstar since she burst on the music scene in the mid-1980s. For two decades she topped the charts and drew millions of fans, and one person was there by her side through it all—her best friend, assistant, and confidante, Robyn Crawford. Join us for an in-depth discussion about that friendship, an exploration of Robyn's own life and family, and the legacy of Whitney Houston. ** This Podcast Contains Explicit Language **

Harvard Law professor Lawrence Lessig is a celebrated academic and activist for constitutional theory and reform. A longtime advocate for campaign finance reform, Lessig founded political funding tracker MapLight, Creative Commons and the anti-corruption nonprofit Rootstrikers. With partisan gridlock in Congress, the Supreme Court has emerged in recent times as a new power center in Washington, D.C. But what are the consequences of this change? In his newest book, Fidelity & Constraint: How the Supreme Court Has Read the American Constitution, Lessig explains how our understanding of the U.S. Constitution has changed with each era of judicial interpretation. Lessig argues that with each era of Constitutional translation, the role of our judges has evolved. Join us for an enlightening conversation with Lessig as he teaches us about an often missed but critically important issue.

It is often said that "reentry begins on the first day of incarceration," but how can we ensure that people leave prison prepared to succeed in the free world? This conversation between Marc Morjé Howard and Stephanie McGencey will highlight recommendations from the Reentry Ready Project, which focuses on the tremendous benefits of education and positive programming for incarcerated people so that they can develop self-worth and critical reasoning skills; the program also focuses on making carceral facilities safer for both residents and staff. Howard will share examples from the innovative and groundbreaking Georgetown programs in Washington, D.C. McGencey will describe efforts planned to improve reentry outcomes nationwide. MLF Organizer: George Hammond MLF: Humanities

Our distinguished panelists will discuss Afghanistan and the longest war in U.S. history. They will present their personal views about prewar Afghanistan, the present tragedy and what policies and reforms might be pursued to find peace and prevent further tragedy. Sandra Miller Ross traveled to Afghanistan in 1970 and will show stunning images of that visit. Atta Arghandiwal is a humanitarian and cultural adviser who was born in Afghanistan to a military family. Lt. Col. Anthony Alfidi of the U.S. Reserve has served throughout the Middle East and Afghanistan. MLF ORGANIZER Celia Menczel NOTES MLF: Middle East

More than seven decades after the founding of Israel, the momentum to establish a Jewish state has led to remarkable achievements: stable structures in government, the military and the economy. At the same time, as the country faces a range of issues in how it deals with coexistence, it also faces significant challenges to its democratic processes. Particularly, Israel lacks a constitution to bind its democracy and a bill of rights to safeguard the freedoms of its citizens. No one knows these issues better than Arye Carmon, the founder of the Israel Democracy Institute. In his new book, Building Democracy on Sand: Israel without a Constitution, Carmon diagnoses the critical vulnerabilities at the heart of Israeli democracy and the obstacles to forming a sustainable national consciousness. In the book, the author merges touching narratives about his own life in Israel with insightful ruminations on the Jewish diaspora and the arc of Israel’s history, illuminating the conflicts between Jewish identities, democratic values and the collective body of Jewish religious laws. This struggle between a secular and a religious Jewish identity is especially critical now amid voices promoting ethnocentric nationalism, threatening to sever the ties that strengthen the country's democracy. Carmon’s book and his important views on the state of the country's democracy come at a critical time as Israel emerges from its second national election within a year and the two major parties negotiate how to govern the country.

Michael Eric Dyson is known for his many talents. He is an outspoken academic and sociologist, social critic, best-selling author, a popular figure in political news media, an ordained Baptist minister and, in his own words, one of the country’s leading “hip-hop intellectuals.” Often in Dyson’s work, these concepts all intersect to reflect a well-rounded picture of black life in America. Now Dyson has set his analytical sights on someone who, he argues, is one of the greatest American poets of all time: Jay-Z. Join INFORUM and Dyson for an evening of all things Hova—from Jay-Z’s humble beginnings as a hustler in 1980s New York City to his meteoric rise to fame and his eventual recognition as one of the greatest rappers of all time. Dyson will explore how Jay-Z’s 30-year career has changed not just hip-hop but also the music industry, business, politics and social justice. Join us for an exploration of the life of a great literary figure and learn how he provided the blueprint. This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation ** This Podcast Contains Explicit Language **