Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

Blue jeans are globally beloved and quintessentially American. They symbolize everything from the Old West to the hippie counter-culture; everyone from car mechanics to high-fashion models wears jeans. And no name is more associated with blue jeans than Levi Strauss & Co., the creator of this classic American garment. Despite creating an American icon, Levi Strauss is a mystery. Little is known about the man, and the widely circulated "facts" about his life are steeped in mythology. In this first full-length biography, Lynn Downey sets the record straight about this brilliant businessman. Hear how Strauss's life was the classic American success story, filled with lessons about craft and integrity, leadership, and innovation. Dare we say, his story is riveting.

We are pleased to present Technovation, a flagship program of the non-profit Iridescent, the world’s largest global tech entrepreneurship competition for girls. The program offers girls around the world the opportunity to learn the necessary skills to emerge as tech entrepreneurs and leaders. Every year, Technovation challenges 10- to 18-year-old girls to build a business plan and mobile app that will address a community problem. Since 2009, more than 10,000 girls have participated from more than 87 countries. The international reach of the competition has escalated in the last three years. The winner of the 2014 competition was from Moldova, and the 2015 winner was a Nigerian team. Our speaker will give an overview of the competition, its sponsors (Google, Facebook and others), outreach efforts, and partners (such as UN Women, Peace Corps and more).

Monday Night Philosophy finds the fun in Mark Twain's almighty fight for free will. Taking issue with analysts who believe that Mark Twain became a pessimist in old age due to his many personal tragedies, and finding the cracks of freedom in Mark Twain's own deterministic conclusions about the "damned human race" in "What is Man?", George will focus on the consistent, and consistently humorous, though sometimes painful and angry, philosophical fight Mark Twain waged from his youth to his dying breath against the stultifying fears and clearly false ideas about life that keep our otherwise free wills chained to "petrified opinion," preventing us from dreaming "other dreams, and better."

It's an important year for all things political, so join us as we explore 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. Join our panelists for informative and engaging commentary on political and other major news, audience discussion of the week’s events, and our live news quiz!

As President Trump takes office, how should the United States act in the world? Drawing on his latest book, Stephen Kinzer will transport us back to the early 20th century, when the United States first found itself with the chance to dominate faraway lands. That prospect thrilled some Americans. It horrified others. Their debate gripped the nation. The country’s best-known political and intellectual leaders took sides. Theodore Roosevelt, Henry Cabot Lodge, and William Randolph Hearst pushed for imperial expansion; Mark Twain, Booker T. Washington, and Andrew Carnegie preached restraint. Only once before—in the period when the United States was founded—have so many brilliant Americans so eloquently debated a question so fraught with meaning for all humanity. Join Kinzer as he discusses these impassioned arguments and their great relevance to the world of 2017. Stephen Kinzer is an award-winning foreign correspondent who has covered more than 50 countries on five continents. Kinzer spent more than 20 years working for The New York Times, where his foreign postings placed him at the center of historic events and, at times, in the line of fire. While covering world events, he has been shot at, jailed, beaten by police, tear-gassed and bombed from the air.

On International Women's Day, recently retired judges Lillian Sing and Julie Tang will present the history of the "comfort women," a euphemism for the sexual slavery of hundreds of thousands of women and girls (whose death rate during enslavement was 87 percent) by the Japanese imperial government in 13 Asia-Pacific countries from 1931 to 1945. This history will be memorialized in the soon-to-be-installed “Comfort Women” Memorial in San Francisco. Judges Sing and Tang will review the 20th century history of war-time atrocities against women and also touch on current efforts to fight against modern-day sexual slavery.

Join Asia Society, The Asia Foundation, The Commonwealth Club, and the World Affairs Council for a unique dialogue featuring the leaders of four of the Bay Area’s most prestigious public affairs and non-profit organizations, who will look at the presidency of Donald J. Trump and what it will mean for America’s relationship with Asia and the world. Held within the first 100 days of the Trump Administration, the dialogue will examine more closely a persistent divide between California and the Bay Area, and the rest of the country, on the future direction of this nation. The dialogue will examine how the Bay Area and the state more broadly view America’s relationship with Asia, as well as its place in the world on global issues such as trade, security and climate change. What are some of the primary issues of importance to the Bay Area—politically, economically, culturally—as it relates to U.S.-Asia relations and are they similar or different from the rest of the country? Have the state and the region evolved differently from the rest of the country in how they perceive America’s relationship with Asia and the world, and why? Is it demographics, geography?

The formation and growth of black holes, the accelerating expansion of the universe, the echo of the big bang, the discovery of exoplanets, and the possibility of other universes—these are some of the puzzling cosmological topics of the early 21st century. Natarajan is an astrophysicist who literally creates maps of this invisible matter in the universe. She explores these discoveries that have reshaped our understanding of the universe over the past century, and takes us on a tour that will help make sense of our wondrous, mysterious cosmos.

Hewlett Packard has been instrumental in the explosive and world-changing growth in Silicon Valley. Webb McKinney and Philip Meza will share with us their insights on the strategic thinking and leadership that was key to HP's contributions that helped create the technologically innovative world in which we live today. Webb McKinney began his career at HP when David Packard and Bill Hewlett ran the company. McKinney held numerous engineering management and executive positions at HP, running HP's entry into consumer PCs and going on to lead its entire PC business. McKinney later led worldwide sales, marketing and supply chains for all of HP's commercial customers. Before retiring from HP in 2003, McKinney was the executive vice president responsible for HP's integration of Compaq. McKinney is currently a consultant in merger integration and leadership development. Philip E. Meza is a strategy consultant and researcher. Much of his consulting work focuses on technology strategy and business development. His books and numerous case studies are used at business schools and universities around the world. A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Meza is the author of Coming Attractions: Hollywood, High Tech and the Future of Entertainment (2007) and co-author of Strategic Dynamics: Concepts and Cases (2006). Peter Burrows has covered Silicon Valley since the mid-90s. He spent 23 years at Businessweek and Bloomberg News, where he covered companies such as Apple, Cisco and HP. He now freelances for MIT Technology Review and other outlets. His 2002 book, Backfire: Carly Fiorina’s High-Stakes Battle for the Soul of Hewlett-Packard, told the unauthorized story of Carly Fiorina’s tenure at HP and her proxy fight to secure the acquisition of Compaq Computer in 2002. Burrows was one of the reporters HP spied on, leading to the "pretexting" scandal in 2006.

How can investing have more positive impact? Leaders will answer questions such as: Is your college investing its endowment to change the world? How about the recipients of your charitable giving, are their endowments aligned with their mission and making positive impact? How can you invest in your city's schools, hospitals and roads to build a better world? Learn how these leaders of colleges, foundations and investment platforms are enabling your money to improve society, the environment and our everyday lives.

Join us on International Women’s Day for a special conversation with former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and her daughter, Katie Albright, attorney and executive director of the San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center. In the divided America of 2017—with issues of immigration, civil rights, gender equality, the role of government domestically and the place of the U.S. in the world at stake—come hear a wide-ranging dialogue with two prominent Americans on the greatest challenges facing all of us and the possible solutions to these challenges.

During the past 2016 election year, Sarah spent months on a road trip traveling in a pick-up truck and tiny camper to listen to people's concerns and hopes of a better life. In her book, The Revolution Where You Live, she takes you from inner-city neighborhoods in Detroit, Chicago and Ohio to Greensboro, North Carolina's new food co-op; she explores the Appalachian radio network that reaches coal miners, small farmers, poverty, polluted environments and water resources that permeate mountains, hollows and towns. Sarah met with local leaders who are committed to building hometown sustainable economies; encouraging local community diversity collaboration and resisting mining, fracking and environmental degradation. Their local stories offer hope for all of us for a better world for healthy and safe environments, opportunities, jobs and collaboration of diverse communities and people working together. Sarah herself lives on the traditional lands of the Suquamish Tribe, near Seattle.

Dr. Zitter entered the field of critical care medicine to be a hero. She wanted to rescue people from the brink of death like a fireman rescues fire victims—calmly, swiftly and without stopping to ask questions. But one day, as she was aggressively treating a dying patient in the ICU, a nurse challenged her on why she was putting the patient through the pointless ordeal. The remark smarted, and Dr. Zitter began asking herself the same question about many of her patients. She came to realize that while the standard no-holds-barred medical approach achieves some dramatic victories, it often causes more suffering than benefit for patients with life-limiting illness. In this program, Dr. Zitter will describe a new kind of heroism. Her current practice is influenced by the Palliative Care movement, which has the potential to transform medicine in the ICU and beyond. This new model is patient-centered and participatory. Doctors pursue direct and honest communication, however difficult, over false hope and avoidance. And the central actor is no longer a lone warrior-doctor in the trenches of medical warfare, but rather a diverse team of health-care providers acting in partnership with patients and family members.

The story of the American West is deeply rooted in the Colorado River, which delivers fresh water to 30 million people. For years, there has been more Colorado water on paper and in people’s minds than in the river itself. Now climate disruption is making the situation even more troubling. Water levels are so low in Lake Mead that soon they will trigger unprecedented mandatory water cutbacks in Arizona, Nevada and elsewhere. That harsh reality is hard to grok with headlines about the abundance of water in California reservoirs and massive snow levels in the Sierra. How is the Colorado River connected to California’s other water concerns, such as the Delta Tunnels and Salton Sea? Join us for a conversation about protecting the water many in the West take for granted, and restoring one of the country’s great waterways.

Hamilton was a bastard and orphan, raised in the Caribbean and desperate for legitimacy, who became one of the Revolution’s most dashing—and improbable—heroes. Admired by Washington, scorned by Jefferson, Hamilton was the most controversial leader of the new nation. Elizabeth was the wealthy, beautiful, adventurous daughter of the respectable Schuyler clan—and a pioneering advocate for women. Together, the unlikely couple braved the dangers of war, the anguish of infidelity, and the scourge of partisanship that menaced their family and the country itself.