Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Commonwealth Club of California
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The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's largest public affairs forum. The nonpartisan and nonprofit Club produces and distributes programs featuring diverse viewpoints from thought leaders on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast — the oldest in the U.S., since 1924 — is carried on hundreds of stations. Our website features audio and video of our programs. This podcast feed is usually updated multiple times each week.

  1. 6h ago

    Bryant Lin: An Exploration of Living When You Are Dying

    Join us as a leading researcher and cancer advocate distills the lessons for living that he’s learned as a doctor and as a patient, after he was diagnosed with his own terminal illness. Over the course of a 20-year career, Dr. Bryant Lin treated many patients with lung cancer. He never smoked and never imagined that he would be diagnosed with the same terrible disease. After cycling through the stages of grief and two rounds of chemo, he realized that his diagnosis presented an opportunity to learn. For the first time, he experienced the cancer diagnosis and the complexities of treatment as a patient, rather than a doctor. Determined to give back and to keep teaching, Dr. Lin created a course at Stanford Medical School called From Diagnosis to Dialog: A Doctor’s Real-Time Battle with Cancer, to share his experience with a terminal illness as both a doctor and a patient. The class was a sensation on campus and soon attracted international attention. Now, Dr. Lin brings us into the classroom to offer us an inspiring exploration of how to live when you are dying. How can we prepare for intimidating medical news and navigate treatment? How can we find hope in the face of terminal diagnosis? It’s a topic he explores in-depth in his new book Sunshine, Dr. Lin offers both philosophical and scientifically grounded insights into how we can make the most out of life even in the most challenging moments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  2. 2d ago

    Dana Bash: The Elections That Changed the World

    Elections matter—sometimes in ways we can’t even anticipate. As we near the end of another heated election season, CNN’s chief political correspondent and bestselling author Dana Bash joins us for a special online-only program looking at the most crucial elections in history, from the upheavals of Ancient Rome to our modern political scene. Elections can have big impacts on economic prosperity, addressing stubborn challenges, and affecting the lives of all citizens. They can also lead to war, deepen divisions, and change values systems.  Bash and David Fisher teamed up to explore this in their new book The Elections that Changed the World, looking at the most consequential elections in global history, beginning at the dawn of civilization up through the present day. Whether you’re curious about whether your vote counts, or you want to learn more about how our current system came to be, don’t miss this program. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  3. 3d ago

    Kevin Roose: Inside the Race to Create an Artificial Superintelligence

    Imagine a 21st century Manhattan Project, tasked with creating artificial general intelligence. That’s what a handful of AI companies have been racing to do over the past decade, seeking to build the most powerful technology in history: artificial general intelligence, or AGI, a computer system capable of outdoing humans at almost anything. Some of them hoped AGI would cure diseases and heal the planet. Others feared it could kill everyone on Earth. They decided to build it anyway. Kevin Roose reveals a behind-the-scenes account of the trillion-dollar sprint to create AGI in his new book The AGI Chronicles. Drawing on more than 150 interviews with insiders at OpenAI, Anthropic and Google DeepMind, as well as unpublished company documents and research memos, Roose reconstructs the most consequential decade in tech history. He takes us inside the rooms where researchers watch large language models learn to talk, reason and code at superhuman speed. He brings us to the White House, where top officials grapple with a technology that is improving too fast to understand, let alone regulate. Roose offers new details on the disagreements that led the founders of Anthropic to defect from OpenAI, and fresh reporting on Sam Altman’s dramatic firing―and equally dramatic reinstatement―as CEO. He gives us the inside story of Google’s frantic attempt to catch up to the AI frontier. And he ushers us into the San Francisco AI scene, where “accelerationists” in hacker houses and “doomers” at AI safety summits battle each other for supremacy. Join us here in San Francisco, the heart of the AI revolution, to hear Kevin Roose reveal the most high-stakes technological quest in human history―an audacious attempt to create a new, alien form of intelligence that could either save humanity or destroy it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  4. 5d ago

    ‘Traces’ Documentary Film Screening and Q&A

    Join us for a special screening of the documentary Traces, featuring Ukrainian women survivors of wartime sexual violence and torture resulting from Russia’s invasion of their country. Traces is a feature documentary film directed by Alisa Kovalenko and Marysia Nikitiuk. It follows Ukrainian women who, after surviving conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) and torture during Russia’s war, refuse to remain silent. At its center is Iryna Dovhan, a former captive turned activist and head of SEMA Ukraine, who documents the testimonies of survivors across de-occupied territories. Through her guidance, the film presents a collective portrait of trauma, resilience and hope, showing how survivors transform pain into power. The film highlights survivors who, through mutual support and collective action, reclaim agency, challenge stigma, and insist on justice. Personal experiences shared by women showcase a broader strategy of war: sexual violence used deliberately as a weapon to intimidate, destabilize, assert control over occupied territories, and ultimately to break Ukrainians as a nation. Both women and men, including Ukrainian POWs, have been targeted by the Russian forces, highlighting the systematic nature of these crimes and their long-lasting impact on individuals and communities. The title captures this multilayered impact—from the visible destruction of lives and communities to the invisible marks left on the human psyche: physical, psychological, and social. More than a record of war crimes, the film is a testament to solidarity and agency—survivors reclaim their voices, challenge stigma, and insist on justice. By bearing witness and refusing to remain silent, these women—guided by Iryna—create a powerful movement that illuminates the stakes of the ongoing war and asserts the vital importance of memory, accountability, and social transformation. Following the screening, stay for a Q&A about the issues raised in the film. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  5. 6d ago

    Balconies, Parking Lots and Solar Film: New Ways to Harness the Sun

    Common climate wisdom used to be that buying solar panels was one of the smartest long-term investments an individual could make – pay once up front for decades of carbon-free electricity. But it turns out layers of red tape make that process slower – and much more expensive – than it needs to be. And with federal rollback of longstanding tax credits and stiff competition from China, the U.S. solar industry is facing new headwinds.  Still, the future could be bright: More states are looking at allowing plug-in or balcony solar. Energy affordability nonprofits like Permit Power are helping state governments reduce red tape and costs for home solar. And solar developers see new potential in the millions of acres of commercial rooftops. Plus, researchers continue to work on new ways to maximize the power a solar cell can produce. This week we take a look at what the next era of solar power might look like. Guests: ⁠Bernadette del Chiaro⁠, Senior Vice President, California, Environmental Working Group ⁠Nick Josefowitz⁠, Chief Executive, Permit Power ⁠Juliane Borchert⁠, Group Leader, Fraunhofer ISE; Early Career Group Leader, University of Freiburg For show notes, transcripts, and related links, visit ⁠our episode page.⁠ Climate One will present the 2026 Stephen H. Schneider Award for Outstanding Climate Science Communication to Daniel Swain, Ph.D., a climate scientist at the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR). Join us for a lecture and celebration of this fantastic climate communicator on Dec. 8, in San Francisco. Tickets are available at⁠ climateone.org/events.⁠ Our 2026 audience survey is open, and we'd like to hear from you. It takes about five minutes and asks how you found us, how you engage with Climate One, and what you'd like more of. The survey closes Nov. 30. Take the survey at⁠ ⁠⁠climateone.org/survey⁠⁠.⁠ Support Climate One by going ad-free! Subscribe to Climate One on Patreon for exclusive access to all future episodes, free of ads. Sign up today. Ad sales by Multitude. Contact them for ad inquiries at multitude.productions/ads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Balconies, Parking Lots and Solar Film: New Ways to Harness the Sun

  6. Nov 2

    Kathi Zellwegger and Mike Chinoy: Saving Lives in North Korea

    North Korea has been practically a pariah nation for decades. The tightly controlled communist dynasty has alternated between hermetic silence and belligerence. But what did one woman learn when she worked on the ground in North Korea, providing humanitarian aide to its people? Find out when Kathi Zellweger and Mike Chinoy join us to talk about her experience as a Swiss aid worker who engaged North Korea over nearly three decades. They’ll share the story of how Zellweger lived out her commitment to the poor and most vulnerable, despite the tensions and threat of conflict always looming over the Korean Peninsula. Zellweger was the first foreigner many North Koreans had ever met or even seen. Playing a central role in the early years of international relief efforts in North Korea was a lonely job, as Kathi addressed the humanitarian needs of a suffering people largely ignored by the world because of their location. She befriended local doctors, nurses and caregivers; negotiated with suspicious government officials; overcame international doubts about the diversion of relief supplies to the military; and, over a period of years, spearheaded an effort that provided food, medicine and development aid. Ultimately, her efforts saved the lives of thousands of people—most of them children. One official in Pyongyang declared to her during a visit in the late 1990s, that, even though she was not a missionary, “Miss Kathi—you are the Mother Teresa of North Korea!” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  7. Nov 1

    Evan Barker: Nothing Left

    Has the Democratic Party lost its soul? Evan Barker says the party she grew up identifying with has been hijacked by out-of-touch activists, coastal elitists, and powerful special interests. She joins us to share her inside story of how she and the Democrats parted ways. Barker had a bright future in Democratic politics. She was a prodigious fundraiser and relentless operator, raising tens of millions of dollars for Democrat candidates. But in August 2024, standing on the floor of the Democratic National Convention, Barker hit her breaking point. In that moment, she says she realized what no one inside the party dared admit: the Democrats had lost their way, and there was no path back. Born into a union family in Kansas City with a rare genetic lung disease, Barker lived and breathed Democrat. The Democratic Party, she believed, was built to help people like her. But as she rose through the ranks, she says she saw a movement obsessed with moral posturing and identity politics rather than with the struggles of ordinary Americans. And when she spoke up, she became a target herself. She tells this story in her new book Nothing Left, in which she reveals a world of donors, strategists, politicians, and activists who run the party. And she tells the story in-person at Commonwealth Club World Affairs.   This program is supported by the Ken & Jaclyn Broad Family Fund and Garry's List. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  8. Oct 30

    Does it Pay To Go Green? Let Us Count The Ways.

    As the cost of living climbs, can clean energy technology help ease the burden? That seems to be the case in West Texas, where revenue from a wind farm is helping fund a rural county’s senior center, Meals on Wheels, and even a Valentine’s Day dance!  But the benefits of clean energy aren’t always spread evenly, largely because of how policies shape incentives and cost distribution. In some cases, utility scale solar lowers electricity prices while rooftop solar can shift costs onto households without it. Meanwhile, new balcony solar panels are helping renters cut their bills, and Every Electric and Con Edison are giving New Yorkers plug-in batteries to keep their AC running even during heat waves. And the fact that these solutions also cut climate pollution? That’s the cherry on top. Guests: ⁠Bekah Stolhandske McNeel⁠, Freelance Journalist  ⁠Christopher Knittel, ⁠Professor of Applied Economics, Sloan School, MIT; Director, MIT Climate Policy Center  ⁠Andrew Wang,⁠ Co-Founder, CEO, Every Electric For show notes, related links, and episode transcript, visit ⁠our episode page here.⁠ 00:03:34 Bekah Stolhandske McNeel describes Ozona 00:05:32 Bekah Stolhandske McNeel on country response to wind project 00:06:54 Bekah Stolhandske McNeel on where wind project proceeds went 00:09:56 Bekah Stolhandske McNeel on the Senior Center Valentine's Day Dance 00:20:29 Christopher Knittel on the “green premium” 00:25:05 Christopher Knittel on rooftop solar and your energy bill 00:28:42 Christopher Knittel on important policy choices 00:33:36 Christopher Knittel on equitable distribution of costs 00:37:18 Andrew Wang on how the power bank program works 00:41:54 Andrew Wang on connecting the power bank program to air conditioning  00:48:50 Andrew Wang on scaling the program On November 5 at 5:30 p.m., join Climate One and the Children & Nature Network for an evening with Richard Louv, author of the internationally bestselling Last Child in the Woods. Tickets are available at climateone.org/events Climate One will present the 2026 Stephen H. Schneider Award for Outstanding Climate Science Communication to Daniel Swain, Ph.D., a climate scientist at the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR). Join us for a lecture and celebration of this fantastic climate communicator on Dec. 8, in San Francisco. Tickets are available at ⁠climateone.org/events.⁠ Support Climate One by going ad-free! Subscribe to Climate One on Patreon for exclusive access to all future episodes, free of ads. Sign up today. Ad sales by Multitude. Contact them for ad inquiries at multitude.productions/ads Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Does it Pay To Go Green? Let Us Count The Ways.
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The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's largest public affairs forum. The nonpartisan and nonprofit Club produces and distributes programs featuring diverse viewpoints from thought leaders on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast — the oldest in the U.S., since 1924 — is carried on hundreds of stations. Our website features audio and video of our programs. This podcast feed is usually updated multiple times each week.

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