Listen to Commonwealth Club of California online

Barbara Ehrenreich: Against Positive Thinking

Wed, Nov 18 Listen

Barbara Ehrenreich Author, Nickel & Dimed and Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America Alyssa Byrkit, VP of Advancement, American Leadership Forum, Silicon Valley - Moderator We’ve been told that optimism is the key to success and prosperity, but is that really the truth? Ehrenreich embarks on a myth-busting exposure of America’s history of forced positive thinking and its downside. This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the...

Tim Brown: Change By Design

Mon, Nov 16 Listen

Tim Brown CEO, IDEO; Author, Change By Design One myth of innovation is that brilliant solutions leap fully formed from the minds of geniuses. In reality, we don’t simply realize solutions; we design them. Design thinking is now being applied to address a wide range of concerns, from delivering clean drinking water to improving airport security and microfinancing. This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on November 9, 2009

Sally Pipes: Dispelling Health-Care Myths

Mon, Nov 16 Listen

Dispelling Health-Care Myths with Sally Pipes Sally Pipes, President and CEO, Pacific Research Institute; Author, The Top Ten Myths of American Health Care: A Citizen’s Guide Inundated with medical terminology and ill equipped to navigate the options available, most people probably could use a little health-care-system guidance. In this program, Sally Pipes offers her extensive experience in the field and an at-times controversial outlook. This program was recorded in front of a live audence...

Frank Luntz: What Americans Really Want… Really

Thu, Nov 12 Listen

What Americans Really Want… Really Frank Luntz, Pollster; Political Consultant; Communications Expert; Author, What Americans Really Want…Really Joseph Tuman, Professor of Political and Legal Communications, San Francisco State University; Political Analyst, CBS5 News and KCBS Radio - Moderator Whether it’s health care, religion and the Bill of Rights, or the size of your retirement nest egg, Luntz answers the question of “what Americans really want.” This program was recorded in front of a...

Listen Up, Mr. President; Helen Thomas on White House journalism

Fri, Nov 6 Listen

Helen Thomas-Journalist; Author, Listen Up, Mr. President In conversation with Phil Bronstein, Executive VP, San Francisco Chronicle Learn the recipe for a successful presidency from a legendary journalist who has covered 10 administrations during her 60-year career. Thomas draws on more than 200 years of presidential history and her own experiences in the front row at White House press conferences in a discussion of what personal characteristics and choices contribute to memorable and...

Redefining Growth: Build It Green

Fri, Nov 6 Listen

Redefining Growth: Build It Green Ed Mazria, Founder, Architecture 2030 Peter Calthorpe, Principal, Calthorpe Associates David Assmann, Deputy Director, San Francisco Department of the Environment Leslie Gueverra, Associate Editor, Greener World Media - Moderator When it comes to pollution, it's easy to blame cars, but our buildings alone are responsible for nearly half of our nation's greenhouse gas emissions. That's why many people believe that successfully combating global climate change...

Kenneth Cook: The “Inconvenient Truth” for Environmental Health

Tue, Nov 3 Listen

Ten Americans: The “Inconvenient Truth” for Environmental Health Kenneth Cook, President and Founder, Environmental Working Group We know there are harmful substances in everything from the food we eat to the air we breathe, but do we know how many industrial chemicals and carcinogens have already invaded our bodies? The Environmental Working Group will reveal the updated results of its body-burden study, which finds 287 toxins linked to cancer and other serious health problems in the blood...

Panel: San Francisco's Street Food Movement

Tue, Nov 3 Listen

The Street Food Movement: SF Hearts the Cart Anthony Myint, Mission Street Food Brian Kimball, Magic Curry Kart Steven Gdula, Gobba Gobba Hey Charles Phan, Executive Chef, Slanted Door Tamara Palmer, Contributor, Pavement Cuisine, SF Weekly – Moderator These days you can barely walk down some streets without bumping into a taco truck, a sausage stand or the tamale lady. San Francisco just held its first-ever Street Food Festival, and the local Creme Brulee Man was recently written up in The...

The Jungle Effect-Daphne Miller, M.D., Associate Professor, UCSF

Mon, Nov 2 Listen

The Jungle Effect Daphne Miller, M.D., Associate Professor, UCSF Food is a powerful medicine, and what you eat and how can tell a lot more about your health than the supplements you take. Over the span of three years and tens of thousands of miles, Miller traveled to five locations where common diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and depression were rare. While visiting Mexico, Crete, Iceland, Cameroon and Okinawa, Miller collected recipes and learned of indigenous foods that prevent...

Leon Panetta, Director, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

Fri, Oct 30 Listen

The CIA: Preparing for Tomorrow's Challenges Leon Panetta, Director, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Dr. Gloria Duffy, President and CEO , The Commonwealth Club - Moderator Hear about challenges facing national security from the man at the helm of the nation’s largest intelligence agency. California native and longtime congressman Panetta has spent his life devoted to public service. He was chief of staff under President Clinton, a director of the U.S. Office for Civil Rights and a Budget...

Watching Out for Your Financial Future:How to make Americans more financial

Fri, Oct 30 Listen

Watching Out for Your Financial Future: How to make Americans more financially literate and fiscally safe Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, President, Charles Schwab Foundation Pam Erwin, Senior Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility Group, Wells Fargo Michelle Greene, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Education, U.S. Department of the Treasury Jos Cisneros, Treasurer, City and County of San Francisco Susan Keating, President and CEO, National Foundation for Credit Counseling -...

Taylor Branch: The Clinton Tapes, Wrestling History with the President

Wed, Oct 21 Listen

Taylor Branch Historian; Author, The Clinton Tapes: Wrestling History with the President Joseph Fink, President, Dominican University of California; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors - Moderator Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Branch will share the confidential interviews he conducted with President Bill Clinton throughout his two terms in the White House. Clinton completed nearly 80 candid and informal sessions with Branch, most of which were held at night to minimize awareness...

Arnold Schwarzenegger: California - Carbon = A Cleaner World?

Tue, Oct 20 Listen

Arnold Schwarzenegger: California - Carbon = A Cleaner World? Governor of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will soon convene a global summit of governors from developing countries to advance the transition to a clean-energy economy. Before that happens, he visited Climate One for a discussion of California's role managing greenhouse gases, promoting green jobs and developing clean technology. Join us at the intersection of policy, politics and carbon for a conversation with the...

The FBI’s Fight Against Cyber Crime, Espionage and Terrorism. Robert Muelle

Fri, Oct 16 Listen

ROBERT MUELLER, Director, FBI The FBI’s Fight Against Cyber Crime, Espionage and Terrorism The FBI’s top man tackles the Internet age. The web has changed the way we learn, work and communicate. But with that convenience we have compromised our security, and widespread use has also left us vulnerable to attack from hostile foreign powers, hackers, spies – and even terrorists. There are many adversaries who seek our protected information, and countless criminals use the web to harm consumers,...

Noam Chomsky: Philosophies of Language and Politics

Mon, Oct 12 Listen

Noam Chomsky: Philosophies of Language and Politics Noam Chomsky, Professor, Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, MIT Larry Bensky, Former National Affairs Correspondent, Pacifica Radio; Host, "Sunday Salon" KPFA; Professor at Stanford, California State University East Bay and Berkeley City College - Moderator World-renowned intellectual Chomsky has been pushing change in language, politics and culture for decades. This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the...

EPA + You = A Greener Future. Lisa Jackson, Administrator, U.S. Environment

Fri, Oct 9 Listen

EPA + You = A Greener Future Lisa Jackson, Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency After winning higher auto fuel economy earlier this year, what are the EPA’s next big priorities? In her first visit to California as the country’s chief environmental regulator, Jackson will lay out her vision for cleaning up America’s air, water and land. What are her plans on toxics, mining and other hot-button issues? And with climate legislation winding through Congress, what is her view on a...

Panel China at the Crossroads

Fri, Oct 9 Listen

China at the Crossroads: Energy, Environment, Economy Barbara Finamore, Director, Natural Resources Defense Council China Program, Beijing Gao Jie, Staff Attorney, Natural Resources Defense Council China Program, Beijing Felicia Marcus, Western Director, Natural Resources Defense Council Peter Liu, Founder and Vice Chairman, New Resource Bank Twenty-first-century China is central to the resolution of the global economic downturn, environmental pollution and climate change. In 1996,...

Chris Anderson: Free-Conomics

Wed, Oct 7 Listen

Free-Conomics Chris Anderson, Editor-In-Chief, Wired Magazine; Author, Free: The Future of a Radical Price Apparently there is such a thing as a free lunch. Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails capitalized on offering their music for free, Google lets us search, e-mail and use all kinds of free applications, and AT&T will give you a cell phone gratis, if you just buy their monthly plan. These are only a fraction of the businesses that have helped to establish a full-fledged economy based on the...

Panel: The Secret Lives of Parents Revealed

Mon, Oct 5 Listen

The Secret Lives of Parents Revealed: Bad Mommy Redefined Ayelet Waldman, Author, Bad Mother Po Bronson, Author, Nurture Shock In conversation with Regan McMahon, Deputy Book Editor, San Francisco Chronicle; Author, Revolution in the Bleachers: How Parents Can Take Back Family Life in a World Gone Crazy Over Youth Sports Though your kids may make you want to rip out your hair and scream bloody murder, must parents remain calm, forgiving and extremely patient? Not anymore, according to these...

David Wessel: Ben Bernanke vs. the Great Panic

Fri, Oct 2 Listen

David Wessel: Ben Bernanke vs. the Great Panic David Wessel, Economics Editor, The Wall Street Journal; Author, In Fed We Trust: Ben Bernanke's War on the Great Panic How did we find ourselves confronting the worst threat to the U.S. economy since the Great Depression? Wessel will explain what the Federal Reserve did right and did wrong, where the economy stands now and where it is headed. This program was recorded in front of a live audience in San Francisco at The Commonwealth Club of...

Steve Hildebrand: Doing the Impossible

Wed, Sep 30 Listen

Doing the Impossible Steve Hildebrand, Deputy National Campaign Manager, 2008 Obama Presidential Campaign Sandip Roy, Host, "New America Now," KALW; Commentator, "Morning Edition," NPR - Moderator Considered one of the premier political strategists in the nation, Hildebrand served as Barack Obama’s deputy national campaign manager during the historic 2008 campaign. When a rift appeared between the LGBT community and Obama last spring, Hildebrand mediated, explaining the position of many in...

Panel: What Is "the Economy" for Anyway?

Mon, Sep 28 Listen

What Is "the Economy" for Anyway? Annie Leonard, Documentarian, The Story of Stuff Colin Beavan, Author, No Impact Man David Batker, Executive Director, Earth Economics Chip Giller, Founder and President, Grist - Moderator While the economy hums away in an uncertain environment, some people question the basic purpose of the capitalist market: to provide iPhones to the masses, or to provide food to the needy? What is the role of the government as trust in the free market falters? This program...

Admiral Dennis Blair, Director of National Intelligence. An Inside Look int

Fri, Sep 25 Listen

An Inside Look into America's Intelligence Apparatus Admiral Dennis Blair, Director of National Intelligence Each day, thousands of men and women in America's 16 different intelligence organizations go to work behind the scenes. Blair delivers an inside look at some of the unsung successes that rarely make it to the public eye and to discuss his key priorities and challenges. This program was recorded in front of a live audience in San Francisco at The Commonwealth Club of Califoria

Haynes Johnson and Dan Balz: How the 2008 Election Changed Politics Forever

Tue, Sep 22 Listen

How the 2008 Election Changed Politics Forever Haynes Johnson, Pulitzer Prize-winning Journalist; Co-author, The Battle For America 2008 Dan Balz, Lead Political Reporter, The Washington Post; Co-author, The Battle For America 2008 Go behind the scenes of the 2008 election with Balz and Johnson. This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California on September 17, 2009.

An Evening with Michael Moore and His Latest Film, Capitalism: A Love Story

Mon, Sep 21 Listen

An Evening with Michael Moore and His Latest Film, Capitalism: A Love Story Who are we and why do we behave the way that we do? Writer, director and producer Moore has been trying to answer that question his entire filmmaking career. His latest film, Capitalism: A Love Story, investigates the powerful forces behind the calamitous predicament in which countless Americans are finding themselves: losing their homes, jobs and savings to foot the bill for past spending. What is the price that...

T.R. Reid: Can We Really Fix U.S. Health Care?

Fri, Sep 18 Listen

T.R. Reid: Can We Really Fix U.S. Health Care? T.R. Reid, Correspondent, The Washington Post; Commentator, National Public Radio; Author, The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care For 100 years, U.S. presidents have unsuccessfully strived to provide universal health coverage. When LBJ created Medicare in 1965, he thought the program would gradually be extended – to people over 60, then 55, then 45, etc., so that everybody would have government health...

Frederick Hertz: Making It Legal

Thu, Sep 17 Listen

Making It Legal with Frederick Hertz Frederick Hertz, Attorney; Author Fighting for the right to marry or register as domestic partners may be easy for many gays and lesbians to embrace, but deciding whether to legally partner your beloved raises far more personal questions. This program was recorded in front of a live audience at the Commonwealth Club of California, on September 2, 2009.

China: Great Power Interrupted

Thu, Sep 10 Listen

China: Great Power Interrupted Robert Horrocks, Ph.D., Chief Investment Officer, Matthews International Capital Management, LLC Uldis Kruze, Associate Professor and Chair, History Department, USF As we mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square incident, China seems stronger than ever. But the recent economic downturn may threaten the ability of China’s leaders to trade economic prosperity for political...

How to Smell a Rat: The Five Signs of Financial Fraud. Ken Fisher

Fri, Sep 4 Listen

How to Smell a Rat: The Five Signs of Financial Fraud Ken Fisher, CEO and Chief Investment Officer, Fisher Investments; Columnist, Forbes; Author, How to Smell a Rat: The Five Signs of Financial Fraud In recent years, the public has been shell-shocked by some of the biggest financial frauds and scams in history. Fisher believes that nearly every investment scam ever perpetrated was actually easily detectable and avoidable. Hear his examples and timely advice on what investors need to look...

Ramit Sethi: Bulletproof Personal Finance

Wed, Sep 2 Listen

The Psychology of Building a Bulletproof Personal Finance System Ramit Sethi, Author, I Will Teach You to Be Rich Cathy Curtis, CFP, Curtis Financial Planning Personal finance has traditionally been about “no”: No, you can’t buy that latte. No, forget those jeans. In conversation with Curtis, best-selling author Sethi shows how you can say yes – yes, you can spend on the things you love, if you cut costs mercilessly on the things you don’t. This program was recorded in front of a live...

Commonwealth Club of California (Politics)