Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

In 2004, a U.S. court found a California resident responsible for the 1980 death squad killing of El Salvador’s Archbishop Óscar Romero, who will soon be made a saint in the Catholic Church. Matt Eisenbrandt, a member of the legal team and author of a recently published book about the Romero case, joins his colleagues to discuss the investigation and trial as well as the historical background that led to the assassination.

Dr. Qayoumi, former member of The Commonwealth Club’s Board of Governors, is presently advisor to President Ghani of Afghanistan on infrastructure, human capital and technology. He will give a brief overview of current conditions in Afghanistan, the plans of the government in achieving self-reliance and promoting democracy and economic development. The discussion will center around the role of Afghanistan in integrating the economies of Central Asia with South Asia while serving as a regional roundabout. The presentation will also focus on current challenges regarding the struggle with ISIS, Al-Qaeda and other regional and global terrorist organizations.

The Trump administration has moved quickly to reverse some of the previous administration’s energy and climate policies. But not all Republicans are on the same page when it comes to climate. Those on the so-called eco-right say action is needed to promote clean energy and prevent climate disruption. On today’s program we hear how Republican renegades find climate solutions in conservative principles, and what we can do when climate denial isn’t just present in the halls of government, but actually controls the levers of power.

Stanford is actively pursuing a wide range of sustainability goals. The university's efforts range from a unique new campus energy system to rethinking dining services. Stanford has an inclusive participatory approach that makes faculty, students and employees all partners in its efforts to create a living laboratory for sustainable solutions.

How will President Trump’s 100-day action plan impact our domestic and foreign affairs, health care, education, environment, immigration, economic and trade policies? Who are the Trump nominees for cabinet positions and how will they impact their respective departments and the country? What role will and should all forms of media play as they cover the new administration? Join The Commonwealth Club and KQED for a series of programs that address the first 100 days of the Trump administration and how this period will shape America over the next four years and beyond.

How can we reduce bias in our legal system? Benforado examines this critical issue from both a legal perspective and from someone who has been incarcerated. Benforado says, “The failure of our legal system has been a defining issue in the U.S. over the last year…. To make progress in our fight against abuse, unequal treatment and wrongful convictions, we must come together as a community to consider the psychological biases that share the behavior of judges, jurors, witnesses, lawyers, police officers—and all of the rest of us.”

In the year 1000 AD, at the annual Althing (national assembly) in Iceland, a decision was made to make Christianity the official religion of the island. The road from paganism to Christianity was not, however, completely smooth, nor did the conversion process happen as abruptly as the political decision implied. A key text describing the declaration at the Althing appears in Njal’s Saga, and it will form the basis for this lecture, along with two medieval Icelandic short stories that illustrate how Christianization began to take shape in the North. The continued presence of the pagan past in modern Scandinavia can be traced in literature, artifacts and enduring cultural practices, indicating that while the Scandinavians eventually embraced Christianity and then secularism, they did not leave their Viking identity behind.

Occurring less than two years after JFK's assassination, the mysterious death of Dorothy Kilgallen, a "What's My Line" media star and investigative reporter, remains an enigma. Despite an apparently staged death scene in her apartment, and friends who suspected she had been murdered, no police investigation followed. Relying on fresh evidence secured through discovery of never-before-seen videotaped interviews and secret government documents, Shaw unfolds a murder mystery featuring Frank Sinatra, J. Edgar Hoover and Mafia don Carlos Marcello, whose motives included being threatened by Kilgallen's 18-month investigation into JFK's death. (For more about the book, see http://www.thereporterwhoknewtoomuch.com.)

In this lecture, Dr. Akil Palanisamy will describe the outlines of a comprehensive roadmap to optimal health, one that combines the most effective aspects of the “paleo” diet (so-called because it seeks to emulate the diet of early humans), cutting-edge nutritional science, and the time-tested philosophy and techniques of ancient Ayurvedic medicine. He will share practical tips on what to eat in order to boost well-being and vitality, and he will have detailed and practical information about implementing these concepts in daily living. Dr. Palanisamy is a Harvard-trained physician who practices integrative medicine, incorporating the best of conventional medicine and alternative therapies. A holistic doctor, he completed his premedical training in biochemistry at Harvard University, received his medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco, and completed his residency in family medicine at Stanford University. He also completed a Fellowship in Integrative Medicine with Dr. Andrew Weil at the University of Arizona, and is certified by the Center for Mind-Body Medicine at Georgetown University. Dr. Akil practices at The Institute for Health and Healing in San Francisco, one of the oldest centers for integrative medicine in the United States.

George Shultz has had a distinguished career in government, academia and the world of business. He is one of two individuals who have held four different federal cabinet posts; he has also taught at three of this country’s great universities. In 1989 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. Come hear Secretary Shultz’s seasoned observations on foreign policy, economics and on what makes great presidential leadership, especially as the Trump Administration's policies begin to take shape.

Caring deeply about our children is part of what makes us human. Yet the thing we call “parenting” is a surprisingly new invention. In the past 30 years, “parenting” has transformed into an obsessive, controlling, goal-oriented effort to create a particular kind of child. But children are designed to be messy and unpredictable, playful and imaginative, and to be very different both from their parents and from each other. Drawing on the study of human evolution and her own cutting-edge research, Gopnik shatters key myths of “good parenting,” and suggests a new approach—where variability and flexibility in childhood lets them innovate, create and survive in an unpredictable world.

With stock market values at near-record highs, again, how is the clean tech sector doing? One index of solar stocks is down 50 percent from a year ago and the industry was stung by the high-profile flame-out of SunEdison. Overall, however, the clean energy industry is growing and creating jobs. One recent report found the number of people who work in renewable energy grew 5 percent to 8 million people worldwide. What technologies are most promising for making money and getting a job? What areas offer the biggest prospect for game-changing breakthroughs? Join a conversation with three battle-hardened experts about what’s real and what’s hype in today’s clean power landscape. Climate One is excited to be working with CleanTech Open for this program, making it the kick-off event for Clean-Tech Week 2016. We will be hosting a post-event reception for extended networking and mingling.

In his new book, Rosenbaum and co-editor Barry Magidin bring together various essayists who examine critical concerns and creative engagment of zen experience with mindfulness practice. The marketplace, mindfulness myths, fantasies and facts, solitude and mindfulness in the arts, feminism and Zen liberation, Western Buddhism—all consider the topic. Rosenbaum introduces the topic with the "Zen in America" question of "Universal Mindfulness—Be careful what you wish for?" Robert Meikyo Rosenbaum is a neuropsychologist and psychotherapist who is a Zen practitioner and senior teacher in the Taoist practice Dayan QiGong.

Patricia Schultz has a dream job: traveling the globe and writing about it. She is the author of the international #1 bestsellers, 1000 Places To See Before You Die (translated into 25 languages) and her new book,1000 Places to See in the United States and Canada Before You Die. With these works, she has reinvented the idea of travel book as both wishlist and practical guide. She was recently chosen by Forbes as one of the 25 most influential women in travel, and was executive producer of the Travel Channel’s TV show based on her first 1000 Places book. Schultz will focus on emerging destinations, featuring four eye-opening trips that have slowly and recently been securing their places in the global limelight: Iran, Myanmar, Cuba and Antarctica (including the Falkland Islands and South Georgia). Listen to her experience and anecdotes and learn why Americans are joining the still limited number of travelers who return with similar tales of an authentic, safe, fascinating and welcoming adventure.

In this era of career uncertainty, low retirement savings and digital disruption, boomers may be feeling discouraged, categorized by ageism, insecure in their own abilities and fearful of the future. Boomer career coach John Tarnoff's new book, Boomer Reinvention: How to Create Your Dream Career Over 50, is actually a love note to this generation, proposing clear and achievable strategies for how boomers can prevail through these troubled times, and steer their own course toward meaningful, purposeful and prosperous careers past traditional retirement. Tarnoff will be in conversation with Marc Freedman, founder and CEO of Encore.org. Freedman’s mission is to celebrate and facilitate the career contributions of aging professionals in these encore careers. Boomers came of age wanting to make a difference in the world. On this Valentine's Day 2017, now more than ever, Tarnoff and Freedman will be here to reaffirm that, yes, boomers can still make that difference.