Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Commonwealth Club of California
  • 4.6 (80)
  • POLITICS
  • UPDATED DAILY

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. 2H AGO

    What Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Mean for the Health Sciences, and Why Big Data Needs Them All

    Sometimes, because of the current political pushback, one can get the false impression that the academic attention that has recently been paid to increasing a university’s diversity, equity and inclusion profile is a new phenomenon—one that developed after the civil rights gains of minorities and women in the 1950s-70s. But the idea that people with different backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints would produce better work by engaging with each other was a core principle of the first modern research university—which was founded in Germany in 1810. The health sciences are especially dependent on accurate data, and imaginative but reasoned analysis of that data, and both the accuracy of the data and the usefulness of its analysis are put at risk by pretending that diversity, equity and inclusion are harming universities, including medical research universities, rather than helping them. The known inaccuracies caused by a historical research emphasis on male health, and inappropriate applications of those conclusions to female health due to the lack of research data on women, are examples of the risks involved. Join us to hear Dr. Robert Hiatt, whose central focus at UCSF has been on building a strong transdisciplinary research and training program in epidemiology, make the case for how scientifically harmful deemphasizing diversity could be, and how the emergence of Big Data will be derailed quickly if the data that it uses has been corrupted by political whims distorting its scientific objectivity.  In association with The Lundberg Institute and the Philip R Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). A Humanities Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums. Organizer: George Hammond  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 8m

  2. 1D AGO

    David Pogue “Apple: The First 50 Years”

    Today, as it nears its 50th anniversary, Apple is a global behemoth, one of the most valuable companies on the planet. But it’s been a rough and wild ride from scrappy startup to market leader. On April Fool’s Day in 1976, two twentysomethings named Steve founded a little company with the intention of spreading the computer revolution to everyone. Over the next five decades, Apple reshaped the technology and cultural landscapes, introducing the public to breakthroughs like the mouse, laser printing, CD-ROM, WiFi, digital video, home networking, touchscreen phones, and tablets. Steve Jobs’s obsessive eye for detail set the stage for products—Mac, iMac, iPod, iTunes, iPhone, iPad, AirPods, Apple Watch—that married advanced technology with beauty, simplicity, and fine design.“CBS Sunday Morning” correspondent David Pogue comes to Commonwealth Club World Affairs to give the life story of Apple: how it was born, nearly died, was reborn under Steve Jobs, and became, under CEO Tim Cook, the giant it is today. He tells this story in his new book Apple: The First 50 Years, for which he conducted new interviews with 150 key people involved in the company’s growth, including Steve Wozniak, John Sculley, Jony Ive, and many current designers, engineers and executives. Come hear Pogue’s take of the little company that did. Pogue busts some long-held myths, goes backstage for big successes and big failures (remember Lisa?), and looks at what can challenge Apple in its second half century. Note: This podcast contains Explicit Language. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 16m

  3. 2D AGO

    Judith Enck: The Problem with Plastic

    Once a marvel of modern science, plastic has become so inextricably woven into our lives that imagining a world without it seems impossible. Over the last 75 years, says author and environmentalist Judith Enck, plastic has cradled our planet in a synthetic embrace.  In her new book The Problem With Plastic, Enck critically examines the paradox of this material, first celebrated for its innovations and now recognized for its devastating environmental and public health impacts. A former regional administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Enck reveals how plastic pollution contributes to poisoned oceans, polluted air, and overwhelming waste, particularly affecting marginalized communities. Enck highlights the pervasive presence of microplastics in the environment and the human body, and she challenges the belief that recycling can solve the crisis.  Enck emphasizes the urgent need for action against what she calls plastic’s toxic legacy. Join us to hear her practical, actionable solutions, including a “household waste audit,” which people can use to track and reduce their own plastic consumption.  Judith Enck is the founder and president of Beyond Plastics and a professor at Bennington College. She is a former regional administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and deputy secretary for the environment in the New York Governor’s Office. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    53 min

  4. 2D AGO

    Kanwal Rekhi: Entrepreneurship, the American Dream, and the Rise of Modern India

    Called the “Godfather of the Silicon Valley’s Indian Mafia” by Fortune magazine, Kanwal Rekhi’s successful journey through the top ranks of the tech world in many ways mirrors the rise of modern India. Now Rekhi comes to Commonwealth Club World Affairs to share his personal account of business leadership and of U.S.-India relations.In his rapid rise through the tech industry, Rekhi rubbed shoulders with luminaries such as Gates, Jobs and Ellison, and he would go on to advise presidents and prime ministers on culture-shifting policies. He is perhaps best know for his work inspiring and launching the careers of thousands of aspiring entrepreneurs, many of whom have become millionaires and even billionaires. He shares stories of his life, career, and outlook in his new book The Groundbreaker, reflecting on what it meant to be an American at the dawn of the digital age, what it means to be an American now amid massive change and uncertainty, and why he believes democracy is crucial to the role that entrepreneurs play in building a better tomorrow. Drawing on his roles as an advisory board member at Stanford’s Institute of Economic Policy Research and Rand Corporation’s Center for Asian Pacific Policy, Rekhi explores the precarious but interdependent relationships between the United States, India, China and Russia; and how competition and alliances might evolve in the future, especially between America and India; and why the cooperation of the world’s oldest democracy and the world’s largest democracy is crucial to the continued balance of global power. Join us to hear Rekhi’s call to action—for dreamers, doers, and those brave enough to bet on themselves.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 3m

  5. 3D AGO

    Enlightened Bottom Line: The Intersection of Spirituality, Business and Investing, "Enlightened Bottom Line: The Intersection of Spirituality, Business and Investing, with Jenna Nicholas

    In The Enlightened Bottom Line, author Jenna Nicholas explores how businesses can align purpose and profit to create lasting social impact. Drawing on stories from investors, entrepreneurs, and wisdom traditions, the conversation will examine how leaders can integrate spirituality, purpose, ethics, and economic performance to shape a more just and regenerative future. She says participants will come away with an expanded sense of possibility for the intersection of purpose and profit and how each of us can lead from a place of meaning, wholeness and interconnection. Jenna Nicholas is an investor, entrepreneur, advisor, coach, speaker and author of Enlightened Bottom Line: Exploring the Intersection of Spirituality, Business, and Investing. She is president of LightPost Capital, an investment and acquisition firm, and CEO of Impact Experience. An active angel investor, she has backed multiple unicorns. A Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneur, Echoing Green, Stanford Social Innovation, and PD Soros Fellow, she holds a BA and MBA from Stanford University. Her work has been profiled in major media, and she speaks globally on regenerative economics and purpose-driven leadership. She is an active member of the Baha’i Faith. Joining us remotely for part of our program will be Wayne Silby, a pioneering social investor and entrepreneur, best known as co-founder and founding chair of Calvert Investments, one of the earliest and largest socially responsible investment firms in the United States, currently $45 billion in assets under management. He also helped launch Calvert Impact Capital, ImpactAssets, Calvert Social Venture Partners, and Social Venture Network, giving money and markets a conscience worldwide. Silby later co-founded SynTao and ZenFlo in China, advancing sustainable finance and mindfulness, and serves on several global boards. He holds degrees from Wharton and Georgetown Law. A Business & Leadership Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums. OrganizerElizabeth Carney  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 9m

  6. 3D AGO

    Michael Lynton and Joshua Steiner: From Mistakes to Meaning (EXPLICIT)

    We all make mistakes. What if we could learn more about what drives the mistakes and how they shape our lives? Come hear from two people who made live-defining mistakes as they share a profound—and entertaining—exploration of mistakes and the transformative power of confronting them.Michael Lynton and Joshua L. Steiner made mistakes that shaped their careers and lives, but it wasn’t until the pandemic-era isolation until these two longtime friends began to open up to each other about them. When Lynton was the CEO of Sony Entertainment, he greenlit a film that led to an infamous North Korean hack; meanwhile, a diary Steiner had kept as chief of staff at the Treasury Department became a focal point in the Clinton Whitewater scandal.Through a revealing examination of their own stories as well as candid interviews with influential figures such as Karol Mason, Joanna Coles, and Malcolm Gladwell and people from all walks of life, Lynton and Steiner discovered the hidden dimensions of mistakes and the universal struggle to move beyond them. Working with Alison Papadakis, director of clinical psychological studies at Johns Hopkins, they drew on relevant research and unpacked the difference between failures and mistakes, the different stages of mistakes, and how it’s possible to break the patterns that lead to misunderstandings and shame. They write about their discoveries in From Mistakes to Meaning: Owning Your Past So It Doesn’t Own You. This program contains EXPLICIT language. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 9m
  7. Trash Talk: Fresh Takes on Food Waste

    4D AGO

    Trash Talk: Fresh Takes on Food Waste

    Food loss and waste account for up to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions and cost $1 trillion annually, according to the⁠ United Nations⁠. About a third of all food grown on the planet gets wasted, rather than eaten. In developing countries, waste usually occurs between the field and the store, due to poor infrastructure, lack of refrigeration, and broken supply chains. In rich countries, most waste happens after food reaches the store, where consumers don’t buy imperfect food – or buy too much and toss what they don’t get around to consuming. How much pollution, deforestation and starvation could be reduced if we got this problem under control? And how can new tech, including AI, be brought to bear on the problem? Guests: Matt Rogers, Co-Founder and CEO, Mill Industries; Co-Founder, Nest Page Schult, CEO, Topanga  Kayla Abe, Co-Owner, Shuggie’s David Murphy, Co-Owner and Chef, Shuggie’s For show notes, related links, and episode transcript, visit climateone.org/podcasts. Highlights: 00:00 – Intro 04:30 – Matt Rogers on surviving Hurricane Andrews and his climate journey 06:30 – On the climate impact of HVAC and the creation of Nest thermostat 08:30 – On creating Mill food recycler and addressing food waste 13:45 – Partnership with Whole Food to recycle food waste and feed it back to chickens 17:00 – On AI as a tool for climate solutions 19:30 – Clean tech in Silicon Valley  23:00 – Matt Rogers shares his views on advocacy, philanthropy and impact investing 30:00 – Shuggie’s restaurant sources ingredients that would otherwise be wasted 37:00 – David Murphy makes the case for sustainable food and upcycled ingredients 40:00 – Page Schult on global impact of food waste 44:00 – Topanga’s work providing reusable food containers for college campuses 52:30 – Thinking about it circularity as systems change 54:00 – Role of AI in reducing food waste in commercial kitchens 58:00 – Climate One More Thing ********** Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on ⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today at ⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/ClimateOne⁠⁠⁠.  Ad sales by ⁠⁠⁠Multitude⁠⁠⁠. Contact them for ad inquiries at ⁠⁠⁠multitude.productions/ads⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 3m

  8. 4D AGO

    Rebecca Hinds: Your Best Meeting Ever

    Who gets excited about going to an office meeting? Who dreads them? Rebecca Hinds, Ph.D., is an organization expert who has helped Fortune 500 companies fix their fractured collaboration efforts, and she says that meetings are broken. They are relics from a bygone era of top-down hierarchies and factory-like procedures—designed to issue orders, flaunt power, and keep the hierarchy intact. In today’s digital, collaborate-or-bust era, this model isn’t just inefficient, she says it actively harms employees and organizations.  She drew on decades of research and stories from leading companies like Google, Salesforce, Pixar, YouTube, and Dropbox for her new book Your Best Meeting Ever. She provides a blueprint to transform meetings from monotonous, soul-crushing time sinks into powerful tools for collaboration. Her secret? Treat them like products. Using seven product design principles, she says you’ll turn your meetings into well-designed products that actually drive work forward and serve your most important users—the people in your organization. She explains: Why every organization needs a “Meeting Doomsday” to reset collaboration, and how to strategically orchestrate one at your company. How to fix your communication system so meetings are a last resort, not a knee-jerk default. Which meeting metrics matter—and which do more harm than good. How to inject moments of delight into your meetings so people genuinely want to show up. When to integrate technology into your meetings so you enhance collaboration, rather than detract from it. Whether you’re a leader or an individual contributor, join us to meet Rebecca Hinds and learn her ideas for challenging the existing norms and embracing new paradigms—so you’ll never dread another meeting again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 6m
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4.6
out of 5
80 Ratings

About

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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