Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Commonwealth Club of California
  • 4.6 (82)
  • 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. 4d ago

    Andrew Weissmann: Liars Kingdom

    “The 2020 election was a total FRAUD!”  “I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally.”  “There is NO WAY Biden got 80,000,000 votes!!!”  These and other statements by Donald Trump sparked a historic insurrection that attempted to topple our democracy and undermined the public’s faith in elections. MS NOW legal analyst and veteran federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann says they are part of the scourge of political lies in America, and in his new book Liar’s Kingdom, he issues a call to prevent a figure like Donald Trump from ever rising again. He says that the Trump administration’s deceit has enabled the use of law enforcement and the military against the people, the unlawful deportation of immigrants, and the disregard of international rules meant to promote a civilized and peaceful world. Other politicians, inspired by the success of the political lie, have flooded the public square with falsehoods of their own. Weissmann says our vulnerability to politicians’ lies stems from a flaw in America’s legal system—one that can be fixed. But it will take courage, creativity, and a willingness to look beyond our borders to other countries that have already confronted this crisis. Can American politics come clean? Get your ticket and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 1m
  2. Medium Rare: What’s Next For Meat?

    5d ago

    Medium Rare: What’s Next For Meat?

    Industrial agriculture accounts for a significant share of global emissions, but meat alternatives face real hurdles in becoming a mainstay of consumer diets. The hype around plant-based meat has cooled: hurt by price gaps, ultra-processed rhetoric, and culture-war politics around masculinity and food identity. Yet feeding a growing planet will require eating less beef, wasting less food, and producing more food with less land. Cultivated meat – made from animal cells and grown in a lab –  could offer a different path forward, especially in hybrid form combining plant and cultivated proteins. What might the future of meat look like?  Guests:  Robbie Lockie, CEO, Founder, foodfacts.org Michael Grunwald, Journalist and author, “We Are Eating the Earth” Claire Bomkamp, Senior Lead Scientist, Cultivated Meat & Seafood, Good Food Institute Highlights: 00:00 Introduction 4:30 Robbie Lockie on changing his diet 11:54 Robbie Lockie on who is choosing plant based meat 17:55 Robbie Lockie on how plant based meat competes on taste 20:40 Robbie Lockie on the future of plant based meat 26:54 Michael Grunwald making more food with less land 30:16 Michael Grunwald on the efficiency of industrial agriculture 33:30 Michael Grunwald on rotational grazing 38:00 Ariana Brocious’ cultivated salmon tasting 45:05 Claire Bomkamp on the state of cultivated meat 47:16 Claire Bomkamp on energy use of cultivated meat 52:23 Claire Bomkamp on what cuts cultivated meat can create 56:22 Claire Bomkamp on the price of cultivated meat For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org. Join us for our induction cooking demonstration night on July 21, at 6 p.m. at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. Come enjoy delicious food and wine, and learn about why cooking with magnets beats cooking with gas. Tickets available at climateone.org/events Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 5m

  3. Jun 9

    Unfrozen: The Fight for the Future of the Arctic

    Nowhere is the dual threat of climate change and geopolitical competition felt more strongly than in the Arctic. Sea ice is declining rapidly, wildfires are burning, and permafrost is thawing. At the same time, global interest is growing rapidly as the region transforms from being a frozen desert into an international waterway. Mia Bennett, a geography professor at the University of Washington and the co-author, with Klaus Dodds, of the new book Unfrozen: The Fight for the Future of the Arctic, will join us to examine the state of the Arctic today. She’ll explore how the region is becoming a space of experimentation for everything from Indigenous governance to subsea technologies. Growing geopolitical competition is accompanying environmental disruption. Countries—including Russia, China, and the United States—are investing in the Arctic and consolidating their interests in strategic access, resource exploitation, and alliance-building.  The consequences of this emerging “Arctic Anthropocene” are truly global—from rising sea levels due to melting glaciers to tensions between great powers determined to protect their territories and resources, and the well-being of Indigenous peoples who have fought for centuries for rights and recognition. In association with Wonderfest. A People & Nature 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: Andrew Dudley  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 6m

  4. Jun 8

    Young King: The Making of Martin Luther King Jr.

    We know who Martin Luther King, Jr. became, but who was he at the beginning of his life? How did his youth inform his outlook and his approach to activism and service? Before Martin Luther King, Jr. was a civil rights leader, the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, and a global hero, he was an emotional boy, and an average high school student devoted to fashion, dancing, and dating. On his way to college, he took a summer job that left the Jim Crow South behind and tested his oratory skills—preaching in the tobacco fields of Connecticut, which ultimately gave him a sense of hope for a life of racial peace and harmony. Stanford University’s Lerone Martin traces the youthful roots of this legendary American to reveal the makings of a mighty force. Filled with revelations and written with compassion, Martin offers a new understanding of the influential preacher and activist’s emotional life, his youthful confusion about his future and career direction, his inspiration to fight for justice, his teenage missteps, and his first revelations of courage. As America undergoes another era of turmoil and change, this powerful biography offers encouragement for readers at a similar moment of life and provides an understanding of how greatness comes to light. To that end, Martin illuminates both King’s weaknesses and the social failures that shaped him, including the brutal racism he endured growing up. Join us to hear, from a preeminent King scholar, the origin story of the man, the minister, and the civil rights hero who inspired our nation to change itself—and the world. 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 7m
  5. Cities Leading the Way

    Jun 5

    Cities Leading the Way

    While the federal government has all but abandoned trying to address the climate crisis, cities around the world are stepping up. C40 is an international network of 97 cities representing 920 million people and 23% of the world’s economy. Seventy-three percent of these cities have already peaked their emissions. Here in the US, Climate Mayors is a bipartisan network of nearly 350 U.S. mayors, representing 48 states and over 70 million Americans. How are cities innovating on reducing emissions, adapting to increasing climate risks, and — perhaps most importantly — sharing their knowledge? Guests:  Eric Garcetti, C40 Ambassador for Global Climate Diplomacy; Former Mayor, Los Angeles  Kate Gallego, Mayor of Phoenix; Former Chair, Climate Mayors  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 4m

  6. Jun 3

    Outdoors Writer Tom Stienstra Shares His Tales of Survival … and Top Adventure Spots

    For more than 40 years, outdoor enthusiasts have turned to Tom Stienstra for guidance on the best waterfalls, unforgettable campsites, and hidden wild places. A longtime outdoors writer and editor for the San Francisco Chronicle and KCBS-FM, Stienstra is also the bestselling author of essential guidebooks like Moon’s California Camping and 52 Weekend Adventures in Northern California. His adventures have taken him deep into the wilderness—hiking, camping, boating, canoeing, kayaking, flying, trekking, hunting, and exploring some of the most remote corners of the West. As longtime Sunset magazine travel editor Peter Fish put it, “Tom Stienstra is the Yoda of the outdoors. He literally has been everywhere and knows everything.” In his new book Heaven Delayed: One Man’s Survival of 16 Near-Death Encounters, Stienstra reflects on a lifetime of close calls: surviving a hatchet attack to the back of his head, being charged by a wild cow, and multiple near-drownings—including one rescue by his brother in an icy lake and another by his best friend in a flooding river. Then came cancer and six brain surgeries. All are brought to life in his new book, one compact volume of heartfelt writing from a man who has lived enough adventure for several lifetimes. Come hear Stienstra discuss his new memoir, his extraordinary life outdoors, and his tips for summer adventures in the Bay Area and beyond. Stienstra photo courtesy the speaker; the image on the book cover was created by artist John Blanchard of the San Francisco Chronicle—it shows the author in two phases, before and after treatment for cancer. Notes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 2m

  7. May 31

    The Fight Against AI-Powered Surveillance with EFF's Cindy Cohn and Adam Savage

    When the Pentagon formally designated Anthropic a “supply chain risk” this March, the dispute put a spotlight on civil liberties concerns in the AI-era. Anthropic had reportedly hit an impasse with the Trump administration over the company’s push for guardrails banning the use of its Claude model to conduct mass surveillance. Anthropic’s CEO had called such surveillance a “red line” it would not cross. But where exactly should those lines be drawn, and who should draw them? Few people have spent more time thinking about those issues than Cindy Cohn, executive director of the San Francisco-based civil liberties group Electronic Frontier Foundation. Throughout her career, EFF’s executive director has been driven by a fundamental question: Can we still have private conversations if we live our lives online? Her new book, Privacy’s Defender: My Thirty-Year Fight Against Digital Surveillance, chronicles her battles to protect our right to digital privacy. Cohn weaves her own personal story with the history of the Crypto Wars, FBI gag orders, and the post-9/11 surveillance state. She describes how she became a seasoned leader in the early digital rights movement, as well as how this work serendipitously helped her discover her birth parents and find her life partner. Along the way, she also details the development of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which she grew from a ragtag group of lawyers and hackers into “one of the most powerful digital rights organizations in the world.” Cohn will be joined by Adam Savage, former co-host of the Discovery Channel show “Mythbusters,” to talk about the issues raised in her book, EFF’s work, and the emerging battle over AI surveillance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 8m

  8. May 30

    Safe Play: Creating Inclusion in Sport

    Pride House SF and Commonwealth Club World Affairs are proud to assemble three hour-long events designed to showcase the importance of celebrating self and sport. Using the backdrop of this summer’s global soccer event—and the significance of Bay Area representation on the world stage—each program will feature local experts convening around a designated theme. In our first program, meet leaders on and off the field who are changing sports and acceptance. Christina Jefferson is the first-ever senior director for inclusion & culture at the San Francisco 49ers. Jefferson leads inclusion and diversity efforts across the organization and created the team's internship program. She is also responsible for managing the team's recruitment and hiring activities and its internship and fellowship programs. Jefferson earned her B.S. from the University of Southern Indiana and her Master's in human resource management from Golden Gate University. Christina has been a coach for Resetting the Table since 2021, and is a member of several boards, including the chair of the Jews of Color Initiative, Repair the World, and Resetting the Table. She is also a 2025 Sports Business Journal Woman of Influence. Roscoe Mapps III is a strategist and social impact leader working at the intersection of sports, culture and systems change. As chief diversity officer for the San Francisco Giants in his eleventh season, he oversees diversity, equity and inclusion efforts across workforce, culture, business practices and community impact—focused on turning aspiration into execution and building systems where belonging is experienced, not just stated. Across a 25-year career spanning corporate talent, global advocacy, and civic leadership, he has consistently advanced equity through coalition-building, narrative change, and large-scale initiatives, including the Mission Rock development, which secured historic voter approval while embedding housing, workforce and economic inclusion commitments. Meghan O’Leary is the founding owner of LOVB San Francisco and Olympic rower. Meghan O’Leary is a two-time Olympian, founder, investor, and sports media professional with more than 20 years of experience helping leaders and teams perform under pressure, navigate transition and lead with purpose. A seven-year member of the United States Rowing National Team, she represented Team USA at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, earning multiple World Championship and World Cup medals. A longtime advocate for athlete empowerment and gender equity, O'Leary served eight years on the US Rowing Board of Directors, helping shape the organization’s commercial strategy, governance and commitment to advancing equity and the growth of the sport. As an angel investor and startup advisor, she partners with early-stage founders and funds shaping the future of sports, media, healthtech and wellness. This program is made possible by the support of Pride House SF, San Francisco LGBT Center, Spikes and San Francisco 49ers.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 8m
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4.6
out of 5
82 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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