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In this whirlwind 2024 political election year, public affairs issues include gender considerations, reproductive rights and governing boundaries. The central concept of "The Handmaid's Tale" opera is based on Margaret Atwood's dystopian-themed 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale—that women are subordinate to men, must take on domestic and subservient roles including ritualized rape. Female worth is tied to becoming mothers. No reading, No owning property, No Careers Allowed. The theocratic...

Before Justin J. Pearson became a national voice for common sense gun regulation, he was a strong advocate for climate and environmental justice, having worked to defeat a multi-billion-dollar crude oil pipeline that could have poisoned Memphis’s drinking water and taken land from South Memphis residents.  Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb is working to make climate a top priority in his traditionally fossil fuel-friendly city. From his first press conference where he discussed making Cleveland a...

What’s the “pride paradox”? For all the efforts to understand the state of American politics and the blue/red divide, people have often ignored what economic and cultural loss can do to pride. Arlie Russell Hochschild argues that Donald Trump has turned lost pride into stolen pride and shame into blame, and that the result of his rhetorical alchemy has been to weaponize that shame and introduce a potent blend of anger and often violent rhetoric—undermining democracy and highlighting...

Join us to hear Talmage Boston’s explanations of how the leadership traits of America’s eight greatest presidents could (or at least should) be implemented by our current political leaders. Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Reagan are Boston’s choices for his reflections on successful political leadership, generating unusual insights due to his merger of history with leadership lessons for our time. Organizer: George Hammond   A Humanities...

Sergeant Nyaradzo Auxilia Hoto grew up in Huyo village, in Nyamakate, located in Zimbabwe’s mighty Zambezi Valley. From an early age, she dreamed of having a positive impact on her region and its wildlife. Previously she served as a commander of the all-women anti-poaching Akashinga Rangers that operates under Akashinga—an innovative nature conservation organization based in Africa that delivers resilient nature conservation programs of global significance through community-driven...

The use of art gained momentum during the 20th century with major movements such as the City Beautiful movement and the New Deal, which sought to beautify and revitalize urban areas through public art installations and other creative initiatives. Today, art continues to play a critical role, especially with its potential to engage and inspire residents, attract tourists, and boost economic growth. How can the arts with all its potentials revitalize our San Francisco?  Panelists will discuss...

Environmental icon Jane Goodall is celebrating 90 years of life, and she’s not backing off of her passionate commitment to nature. The indefatigable Goodall is now focused on three intertwined crises: biodiversity loss, climate change, and environmental inequity. She has one important message for her audiences around the world: vote like your children’s lives depend on it — because they do.  Jane Goodall is joined by Rhett Butler, founder of Mongabay, a nonprofit media organization that...

About a month and a half before Election Day, and even less time than that before the first votes begin to be cast, join us live for a roundup of the latest political news on the local, state and national levels. Join us for our latest election season Week to Week political roundtable. Enjoy and learn as our panel of political experts explains what happened and what to expect, and answers your questions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the world’s leading economists joins us to offer a compelling new vision of personal and economic freedom. Many Americans believe this nation was born from the conviction that people must be free. But since the middle of the last century, that idea has been co-opted. Forces on the political right have justified exploitation by cloaking it in the rhetoric of freedom, leading to pharmaceutical companies freely overcharging for medication, a Big Tech free from oversight, politicians free...

What we wear defines us in so many ways. But in recent decades we’ve moved away from long-lasting, quality pieces in favor of disposable fast fashion, with major consequences for our climate and environment. From mechanized farming and pesticides to grow fiber crops, to energy for manufacturing and transportation, fossil fuels are embedded in the clothing industry at every step of the process. Companies large and small are working against this trend, with some setting lofty goals for reducing...

Journalist Don Lemon says he always had a complicated relationship with God. He cherished the Southern Black church he was raised in, but struggled with the fundamentalist rejection of his right to exist as a gay man—one who wanted to marry his longtime love in a church wedding with all the traditional trimmings. In his work as a reporter, moreover, he saw his fellow Americans losing faith in a higher power, in institutions, and in each other. Setting out to understand the place that...

Journalist Don Lemon says he always had a complicated relationship with God. He cherished the Southern Black church he was raised in, but struggled with the fundamentalist rejection of his right to exist as a gay man—one who wanted to marry his longtime love in a church wedding with all the traditional trimmings. In his work as a reporter, moreover, he saw his fellow Americans losing faith in a higher power, in institutions, and in each other. Setting out to understand the place that...

Free speech is indispensable on college campuses: allowing varied views and frank exchanges of opinion is a core component of the educational enterprise and the pursuit of truth. But, says renowned legal scholar Cass R. Sunstein, free speech does not mean a free-for-all. The First Amendment prohibits “abridging the freedom of speech,” yet laws against perjury or bribery, for example, are still constitutional. In the same way, valuing freedom of speech does not stop a university from...

Join us for a fireside chat with Darrel Hackett, BMO Bank’s president and CEO. In 2023, BMO completed the $16 billion acquisition of San Francisco-based Bank of the West, doubling its U.S. footprint. Under Hackett's leadership, BMO is now a top 10 U.S. bank with significant growth ambitions.  In contrast to recent high-profile corporate departures from the Bay Area, BMO has boldly entered the market with this major acquisition and a $16 billion commitment for community giving and lending...

Approximately one in three Americans has autoimmunity, according to our speaker, Dr. Sara Szal Gottfried, M.D. Conventional medicine falls short when it comes to both diagnosing and treating autoimmune conditions. In The Autoimmune Cure, by Dr. Gottfried, there is hope for the tens of millions of people who suffer from autoimmune disease. Dr. Gottfried explains the connection between trauma and autoimmunity, and has created a powerful program designed to break the vicious cycle of autoimmune...

What are the deep connections between music and healing? Music is one of humanity’s oldest medicines. From the Far East to the Ottoman Empire, Europe to Africa and the pre-colonial Americas, many cultures have developed their own rich traditions for using sound and rhythm to ease suffering, promote healing, and calm the mind. Join us as neuroscientist and New York Times best-selling author Daniel J. Levitin shares some of the findings he put in his latest book, I Heard There Was a Secret...

The U.S. is gearing up for a presidential election between a climate advocate and a climate denier. Scientists have given humanity a deadline to drastically reduce the use of fossil fuels if we want a habitable Earth. While there has been some progress, it’s not anywhere nearly enough, and the consequences of our failure to address our fossil fuel addiction is becoming more and more obvious. All of which generates lots of anxiety about the election’s outcome.  So what are some ways we can...

Kamala Harris is going toe-to-toe with Donald Trump in a high-stakes race for the presidency. Though she has served as vice president for four years, many Americans don’t know a lot about her. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, we know her from her days as San Francisco district attorney and then California attorney general and senator. But perhaps no observer knows her as well as journalist Dan Morain, whose biography of Harris—Kamala’s Way—gives insight into her history in the Bay Area....

Join us for our second installment of a new series of lively discussion on the future of San Francisco. Featuring leaders in community, service and volunteerism. "People Power & Service" will explore the opportunities for the people of San Francisco to play an active role in the next chapter of our city and the impact that neighbors leading local change can have. Hear strategy and on-the-ground learnings from Josh Fryday, California’s chief service officer, Jess Blackshaw, founder of the...

Everyone knows her name. Mary Trump grew up in a family divided by its patriarch’s relentless drive for money and power. The daughter of Freddy Trump—the highly accomplished, dashing eldest son of wealthy real estate developer Fred Trump—and Linda Clapp—a flight attendant from a working-class family—Mary lived in the shadow of Freddy’s humiliation at the hands of his father. Fred Trump embodied the ethos of the zero-sum game and among his five children: there could only be one winner. That...

For 13 turbulent and consequential months, H.R. McMaster served as President Donald Trump’s national security advisor. McMaster entered an administration beset by conflict and the hyper partisanship of American politics. Join us as McMaster shares his stories of helping an unpredictable president drive necessary shifts in U.S. foreign policy at a critical moment in history. He says that while all administrations are subject to backstabbing and infighting, some of Trump’s more unscrupulous...

Tom Steyer rose to public prominence as the billionaire investor and climate organizer who ran for president in the 2020 election on a climate-first platform. While he didn’t secure the Democratic nomination, his dedication to supporting and advancing climate solutions has remained steadfast.  In his new book, “Cheaper, Better, Faster: How We’ll Win the Climate War,” Steyer argues that we are in a defining moment: we face the daunting, existential threat of climate change. And yet, with this...

The U.S. military is one of the world’s largest consumers of fossil fuels. And its carbon pollution is equally huge. At the same time, climate disruption is already amplifying crises and conflicts around the world — making climate change, in the words of one military expert, “a threat multiplier.” The Department of Defense has been making moves to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. The Air Force has recently invested in electric aircraft, and several bases are tapping into geothermal...

Has the U.S. Constitution become a threat to American democracy? Does it need to be dramatically changed or replaced if secession is to be avoided? Join us as Erwin Chemerinsky returns to Commonwealth Club World Affairs to share his deeply troubled thoughts of the Constitution’s inherent flaws. The dean of the UC Berkeley law school came to the sobering conclusion that our nearly 250-year-old founding document is responsible for the crisis now facing American democracy. Chemerinsky points...