Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Over the course of its 150-year history, California has successfully protected its scenic wilderness areas, restricted coastal oil drilling, regulated automobile emissions, preserved coastal access and improved energy efficiency. Back in 1963 when the Clean Air Act was written, legislators acknowledged that California was ahead of the curve and wrote a waiver into the law allowing the Golden State to set its own stricter standards. In 2018, that exception is being used in fighting—and so far winning—the loosening of national CAFE standards. Join us for a conversation about the past, present and future of California’s leadership in environmental policy. We will look at the lessons—as laid out by David Vogel—offered by California to the nation and the world. What has worked and where has the state fallen short?

Join us for a conversation about how employers should respond to sexual harassment complaints, how the #MeToo movement has impacted this and how it could change employer practices. The panelists will discuss what the future may hold for the workplace in terms of the prevention and response to harassment. MLF ORGANIZER NAME Cathy Curtis NOTES MLF: Business & Leadership

Has size and scale become a liability in business? Venture capitalist Hemant Taneja believes it has. He will describe how the unscaled economy is reshaping and creating a new world of opportunities for entrepreneurs and companies. The unscaled phenomenon has allowed new companies such as Warby Parker, Airbnb and Stripe to become global competitors among established businesses. Taneja explains why embracing the unscaled mindset is the new business model for the future. NOTES In association with Idea to IPO

This event is the latest in our member-led forums’ Crisis in Our Country summer series. North Korea has become arguably the most urgent national security issue facing the United States today, in part due to decades of inadequate expertise, attention and action by the United States. This reflects a larger set of problems of America’s inability to engage seriously with Asia, the fastest-growing economic region in the world and the center of potential political and security conflicts in the future. You are invited to hear these issues analyzed and explained by Glen S. Fukushima, who has spent his entire career dealing with U.S.-Asia relations in the context of academia, journalism, law, business and the nonprofit sector. MLF ORGANIZER NAME George Hammond NOTES MLF: Humanities

This program is part of our Food Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. Communities such as San Francisco’s Mission District often center on food—it’s part of the fabric of the neighborhood and the economy. But what has happened to food culture and business as the neighborhood and the city at large grows and shifts? Join Gayle Pirie and John Clark, the chefs and co-owners of long-time beloved Mission District restaurant Foreign Cinema; Caleb Zigas, executive director of La Cocina; and William Ortiz-Cartagena, commissioner of the San Francisco Office of Small Business, for a conversation with moderator Julian Mark of Mission Local about the past, present and future of the vibrant neighborhood and city they work, cook and eat in every day. Come early for light bites from Foreign Cinema and La Cocina! NOTE: This program contains explicit language

This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. Phoebe Apperson Hearst was one of the Gilded Age’s most prominent and powerful women in the Bay Area. She was a financial manager, businesswoman, reformer and philanthropist. She was born into a middle-class, rural Missouri family in 1842, and she died a powerful member of society’s urban elite in 1919. Most people know her as the mother of William Randolph Hearst, the newspaper mogul, and as the wife of George Hearst, the mining tycoon and U.S. senator. But from age 48 until her own death, Phoebe Apperson Hearst shepherded the family fortune, demonstrating intelligence and skill as a financial manager. She supported significant campaigns for children, health reform, women’s rights, higher education, municipal policy formation, progressive voluntary associations, and urban architecture and design. She contributed ideas and funds to the burgeoning Progressive movement, and she was the first female regent of the University of California. Alexandra Nickliss renders a penetrating portrait of this powerful and often contradictory woman, examining the opportunities and challenges she faced as she navigated local, national and international corridors of influence. MLF ORGANIZER NAME George Hammond NOTES MLF: Humanities

Andy Weir was unexpectedly thrust into the world of science fiction stardom when his debut novel, The Martian, became a best-selling book turned Oscar-nominated blockbuster movie starring Matt Damon. With that success, Weir has been living out his dream of writing full time and releasing his second novel, Artemis. Don't miss an out-of-this-world program as Weir discusses how he combines his lifelong love of space, science and humor—along with a healthy dose of research—to create compelling stories for the science and science fiction fans among us. NOTES In association with Wonderfest Note: This program contains explicit language.

Our country is deeply divided. As we face crucial issues with the potential to impact millions of lives, we cannot afford increasing alienation. Sharon Strand Ellison will show us how making simple changes in voice tone, body language, phrasing and intention can defuse defensiveness, often instantly, even in high-conflict situations. The skills participants learn can be used immediately, exponentially enhancing our conflict resolution and creative problem-solving abilities, at home and in community, as well as transforming antiquated methods of political debate on a national and global scale. MLF ORGANIZER NAME Eric Siegel

Our in-studio guest this week: Evan Low Evan Low was elected to the California State Assembly in November 2014 to represent District 28. At the age of 31, Assemblymember Low became the youngest Asian American legislator elected to the Assembly in state history. Low chairs the Business and Professions Committee as well as the California Legislative LGBT Caucus. In 2015, together with Assemblymember Ian Calderon (D-Whittier), he launched the first-in-the-state California Legislative Technology & Innovation Caucus. In 2010, Low also made history by becoming the youngest openly LGBT mayor in the country at the age of 26. While serving on Campbell's City Council, he helped balance the city budget without eliminating vital services and increase government transparency by streaming city council meetings online. Join us as Michelle Meow brings her long-running daily radio show to The Commonwealth Club one day each week. Meet fascinating—and often controversial—people discussing important issues of interest to the LGBTQ community, and have your questions ready.

Production of animal protein is producing vast amounts of climate-eating gases. But a new generation of companies are creating innovative food products that mimic meat and have much smaller environmental impacts. Some of this mock meat is derived from plants with ingredients designed to replicate the taste and pleasure of chomping into a beef hamburger. Others are growing meat cells that come from a laboratory and not a cow. Will those options wean enough people from burgers and chicken wings to go mainstream?

Before he made his mark as one of the most recognized staffers in the Trump administration, former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer built a decades-long career in Republican politics. Spicer witnessed and shaped the inner workings of Washington, D.C., from every vantage point—as a House of Representatives communicator, assistant at the Office of the United States Trade Representative, Republican National Committee chief strategist, top advisor to presidential campaigns, and, of course, as White House spokesperson for President Donald Trump. Few in Washington are as well equipped as Spicer to pull back the curtain and dissect what’s really happening in the nation’s capital. Join Spicer for a rare conversation as he takes us behind the scenes of his turbulent tenure as President Trump's press secretary, shedding new light on the headline-grabbing controversies of the Trump administration's first year.

Transgender rights are increasingly under threat. The president began his administration by rescinding new federal protections for transgender students in public schools, followed by a ban on transgender individuals from serving "in any capacity" in the U.S. armed forces via twitter. A new HHS Conscience and Religious Freedom Division is expected to offer greater protections for health care workers who do not wish to treat transgender patients. How do these assaults on transgender civil rights affect the mental health and well-being of trans individuals? Find out how Tri-City Health Center, a community clinic on the front lines of transgender care in the age of Trump, addresses these and other issues in Alameda County. Tiffany Woods is a program manager for Transgender Services at a FQHC clinic in Fremont, where she ensures the trans community has access to affirming, responsive health care, including HIV prevention/care. Her program, TransVision, is a nationally and internationally recognized primary health and HIV program for transgender/gender non-conforming people at Tri-City Health Center serving Alameda County. TransVision is the first comprehensive health and social services program for transgender/gender non-conforming people in Alameda County. In 2014, she was selected to the Trans 100 List—an annual list of 100 Transgender Individuals Making a Difference in the USA. MLF ORGANIZER NAME Patrick O'Reilly NOTES MLF: Psychology

This event is the latest in our member-led forums’ Crisis in Our Country summer series. Theatre Bay Area aims to unite, strengthen, promote and advance the theater community in the San Francisco Bay Area with the premise that the performing arts are an essential public good. This panel of leaders discuss why and how arts makers are critical to a healthy and truly democratic society—providing clarity and hope about public issues in today's anxious, shifting global environments. American Conservatory Theatre is internationally recognized for its groundbreaking productions of classical works and bold explorations of contemporary playwriting. Marin Theatre Company creates groundbreaking, nationally recognized, socially relevant plays with a focus on new works for the American stage. CalShakes redefines classical theater to engage with our contemporary moment so we might learn about ourselves and each other in the fullness of our world. Golden Thread Productions is the first American theater company devoted to the Middle East, celebrating the multiplicity of its perspectives and identities. MLF ORGANIZER NAME Anne W. Smith NOTES MLF: Arts

It's time for a free-for-members summertime Week to Week political roundtable and social hour! We will discuss 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. Our panelists will provide informative and engaging commentary on political and other major news, and we'll have audience discussion of the week’s events and our live news quiz! And come early before the program to meet other smart and engaged individuals and discuss the news over snacks and wine at our members social (open to all attendees). 2 FREE DRINK TICKETS:Each Week to Week attendee will get 2 free drink tickets for a glass of wine or a soft drink during our member social.

It's a special Wednesday edition of The Michelle Meow Show at the Commonwealth Club. Our in-studio guest this week: Kimberly Reed Kimberly Reed’s work has been featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show, CNN, NPR, The Moth, and in Details magazine. One of Filmmaker magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film,” she directed/produced Prodigal Sons, a “whiplash doc that heralds an exciting talent” (SF Weekly). Prodigal Sons (First Run Features, Sundance Channel) premiered at Telluride, landed on many Best of the Year lists, screened at more than 100 film festivals, and garnered 14 Audience and Jury awards, including the Fipresci Prize. Ms. Reed was recognized as one of Out magazine’s “Out 100,” and as Towleroad’s “Best LGBT Character of the Film Year.” She also produced/edited/wrote Paul Goodman Changed My Life (Zeitgeist Films) and produced The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson (Netflix). With a background in journalism, her work in broader artistic fields has also been acclaimed. She was published in the New York Times bestselling The Moth—50 True Stories, and has co-authored three operas, including As One, the most frequently produced American opera in decades. Join us as Michelle Meow brings her long-running daily radio show to The Commonwealth Club one day each week. Meet fascinating—and often controversial—people discussing important issues of interest to the LGBTQ community, and have your questions ready.