Commonwealth Club of California Podcast-logo

Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

KQED

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...

Location:

San Francisco, CA

Networks:

KQED

Description:

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.

Twitter:

@cwclub

Language:

English

Contact:

The Commonwealth Club of California 595 Market Street 2nd Floor San Francisco, CA 94105 415-597-6700


Episodes
Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

Dion Lim: My Fight for Asian America

5/24/2026
February 24, 2020, started out like any other day for journalist and television anchor Dion Lim of San Francisco’s ABC News. Planning her pitches for the morning’s editorial meeting, she checked her Instagram account and saw a message from someone she didn’t recognize. Attached was a horrifying video in which men were beating and yelling racist slurs at an elderly Asian man who had been collecting cans in the Bayview neighborhood of San Francisco. Lim felt compelled to investigate the story, help the man who “looked freakishly like my dad,” and bring the perpetrators to justice. Thus began Lim’s four-years-and-counting quest to bring attention to the appalling rise of anti-Asian hate and violence in America, which she chronicles in her new book. Featuring an emotional foreword by actress and outspoken anti-Asian harassment advocate Olivia Munn, Amplify! My Fight for Asian America (from Third State Books) brings readers on an eye-opening journey alongside Lim, who has unwittingly become a national hero for her relentless fight for Asian American visibility. Through deeply personal anecdotes about her own life as a Chinese American, exclusive interviews with survivors, activists, and historians, and incisive historical context, she provides the very first book to tackle one of the biggest political and social controversies of this century from the perspective of the AAPI community. Come meet Lim and hear her story. See more Michelle Meow Show programs at Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:00:59:43

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

ABC News' Martha Raddatz: The Hero Next Door, Stories of Patriotism and Purpose

5/23/2026
Martha Raddatz has seen the uncommon courage of service members and their families, and she has watched—in war zones and on the home front—as they have faced daunting odds and come out stronger. She asked veterans whose character and actions have impacted her deeply to relive their most challenging moments, so that others will know who they are and what they have done. In her new book The Hero Next Door, Emmy Award–winning ABC News journalist and bestselling author Martha Raddatz shares 10 stories of American warriors and their families, whose superhuman sacrifice and resilience—on and off the battlefield—show that true courage comes in many forms. She introduces readers to an air force rescue parajumper who put his life on the line to save a man whose fate would become entwined with his; a marine ambushed in Helmand whose life-changing injury forced him to take on a different kind of fight; a trailblazing F-18 fighter pilot flying missions over Syria; a combat surgeon who pioneered a new way of saving people with traumatic brain injuries and turned his world upside down to train doctors in Ukraine; an intelligence officer who forged a lifetime friendship with the man who saved him on 9/11; and two mothers whose love and sacrifices embody the ideal of selfless service. Some of these people were inspired to join the military by parents who served, and some left abusive families, determined to do better. Some joined when everyone was against it. They were there because they wanted to be part of something bigger than themselves. Raddatz says the qualities that made them shine on the battlefield gave them the strength to conceive of transformative second acts. The focus, mental resilience, and emotional fortitude kept them going through physical and emotional setbacks. They started companies to fill a need, created nimble nonprofits, and hunted for humor wherever they could find it. Most Americans don’t know these people. Join us as Martha Raddatz changes that. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:01:04:29

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

Why We Run: A Special AAPI Month Program

5/22/2026
Join us for a special AAPI Month program featuring prominent Bay Area Asian American elected officials. We'll hear from BART Board Director Janice Li, San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu, and San Mateo County Democratic Central Committee member Uma Rao Krishnan. What drives them in the ultra-competitive Bay Area political scene? What are their goals, and how do they go about achieving them? About the Speakers Janice Li was first elected to the BART Board of Directors in November 2018 and was re-elected in 2022. Li served as president of the Board in 2023, and as vice president in 2022. Janice was born in Hong Kong and moved to the U.S. at a young age. In 2013, Li moved to San Francisco and began working at the SF Bicycle Coalition. Li currently works at Chinese for Affirmative Action, a San Francisco-based organization that has led Asian American civil rights advocacy for over 50 years. She leads the Coalition for Community Safety and Justice, a local coalition that addresses hate and violence targeting Asian American and Pacific Islander communities through community-based programs. David Chiu is the city attorney of San Francisco, the first Asian American to lead one of the country’s top municipal law offices. Previously, he represented the half million residents of eastern San Francisco as a State Assemblymember for seven years. For six years, Chiu served as president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Before holding elected office, he served as law clerk to Judge James R. Browning of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, a civil rights attorney with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, a criminal prosecutor at the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, Democratic Counsel to the U.S. Senate Constitution Subcommittee, and general counsel to a public affairs technology company. A founding member of API Equality, he also served as president of the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area.Uma Rao Krishnan is a Gen Z activist, organizer, and engineer bridging the worlds of technology and politics. She holds a B.A. in computer science with a minor in public policy from UC Berkeley and is currently pursuing her Master's in data science there, with a focus on the tech-civics intersection. Krishnan is the co-founder and president of the SMC AAPI Alliance, an organization dedicated to empowering San Mateo County's AAPI community in civic engagement and political action, most recently leading Prop 50 mobilization efforts and anti-Trump actions, including No Kings, where she has served as emcee. First elected as an ADEM delegate at just 21 years old and the highest vote-getter in county history, she has since been re-elected twice and also serves as a member of the San Mateo County Democratic Central Committee and board member of the California Democratic AAPI Caucus. See more Michelle Meow Show programs at Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:00:56:46

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

CLIMATE ONE: Fighting Fire with Fiery Passion: 2026 Goldman Prize Winners

5/22/2026
The Goldman Environmental Prize is known as the Nobel for grassroots environmental champions, for good reason. Award-winners are earth defenders, often bucking entrenched systems and powerful interests in order to protect and restore the natural environments we all depend on. This week we feature conversations with two of the 2026 Goldman Prize winners: Iroro Tanshi, a tropical conservationist and bat ecologist who rediscovered a species that hadn't been seen in half a century. When climate-amplified wildfire threatened to destroy her new find, she built a community movement to virtually eliminate the wildfire risk. Sarah Finch, a tireless environmental advocate who spent years in English courts using planning law as a defense against the fossil fuel industry. She won a major UK Supreme Court ruling, a ruling that is already constraining oil, gas, and coal development across the country. What can we learn about passion, persistence, and collaboration from these two advocates? Guests: Iroro Tanshi, Tropical Conservationist Sarah Finch, Environmental Campaigner For show notes, related links, and episode transcript, visit https://climateone.org/podcasts Highlights: 00:00 Intro 03:01 Iroro Tanshi on Warri, Nigeria and the oil industry 05:37 Iroro Tanshi on becoming interested in bats and the forest 09:24 Iroro Tanshi on finding a bat species once thought extinct 14:03 Iroro Tanshi on when a wildfire tore through the research site 19:20 Iroro Tanshi on the wildfire risks of forests in equatorial Africa 20:50 Iroro Tanshi on working with the community to address the wildfires 23:01 Iroro Tanshi how to scale what she’s learned world-wide 24:40 Iroro Tanshi on what bats can teach people about being human 27:17 Sarah Finch on realizing the far reaching implication of her work 30:49 Sarah Finch on why the legal argument finally worked 34:42 Sarah Finch on getting the confidence to go after big oil 44:43 Sarah Finch on how a group of people can make a real difference ********** Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on ⁠Patreon⁠, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today at ⁠patreon.com/ClimateOne⁠. Ad sales by ⁠Multitude⁠. Contact them for ad inquiries at ⁠multitude.productions/ads⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:00:53:47

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

Otto Scharmer: Presencing, 7 Practices for Transforming Self, Society, and Business

5/21/2026
This is a time of change, crisis and breakdown. But Otto Scharmer says that small “islands of coherence” are emerging, localized pockets of pioneering thought leaders taking action to beginning to catalyze what he calls multi-system transformation. He has produced a holistic guide to actions people can take, Presencing: 7 Practices for Transforming Self, Society, and Business, co-authored with Katrin Kaufer.Scharmer and Kaufer outline 7 contributions they say can elevate our civilization: becoming aware, generative listening, dialogue and co-sensing, presenting, ecosystem leadership, co-creating across boundaries, and building unity.Can these practices catalyze multi-system change and planetary healing? Find out for yourself when Otto Scharmer joins us in-person in San Francisco.Bestselling author Scharmer is a senior lecturer at MIT and the founding chair of the Presencing Institute. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:01:10:58

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

PBS News Host William Brangham on the State of the News Media in a Time of Change

5/20/2026
How does the news media navigate an environment of huge changes and challenges? How do news consumers get the news they need to be informed citizens? News organizations—for-profit and nonprofit, large and small, traditional and new media—are facing tremendous changes in business models, in reaching audiences, in political pressure, and in technology.Get an inside look at the mission of the news media when William Brangham joins us at Commonwealth Club World Affairs headquarters. Brangham is an award-winning correspondent for the “PBS News Hour” and also serves as the host of “Horizons” from PBS News. Brangham has also reported extensively on the climate crisis, helping establish the “News Hour” as the clear leader in broadcast news. Brangham has also done considerable reporting on health, health care and pandemics. In addition to playing a central role in the News Hour’s Covid-19 coverage, his multi-part series about the fight against influenza won the 2020 News & Documentary Emmy Award for “Outstanding Science, Medical and Environmental Report.” During his career, Brangham has also worked on video and television projects for The New York Times, ABC News, National Geographic and “Frontline.” Prior to joining the “News Hour,” he was a producer and correspondent for “Need to Know” on PBS, and before that, on “Bill Moyers Journal.” Hear the inside scoop from a veteran journalist on the state of the news media in 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:01:08:43

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

Axis of Instability: The U.S., Israel, Iran and the Gulf

5/19/2026
What is the outcome of the escalating tensions between the United States, Israel, Iran and Gulf Arab nations? Join us for a conversation on this timely topic, focusing on the shifting regional balance of power among key actors, their nuclear capabilities and impact on the future proliferation regime, and the outcome of their military and proxy warfare. Experts will analyze the impacts of joint U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran, the security of critical Gulf shipping lanes, domestic politics, and future scenarios for conflict escalation or stability. A Middle East 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. OrganizerBanafsheh Keynoush Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:01:12:25

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

How to Increase Your Luck, with Stanford’s Tina Seelig

5/17/2026
Much of what we call luck is the result of deliberate actions and consistent efforts. As Stanford Professor Tina Seelig shared in her popular TED Talk, luck is like the wind—constantly blowing, often unpredictable, and always in motion. To catch the winds of luck, she says you need to construct your sail by doing the internal work that sets the stage for success; recruit your crew by bringing others along; and hoist your sail by acting in ways that lead you closer to your goals. With these practical tools in hand, she says the winds of luck carry you toward the future you dream to live. Her new book What I Wish I Knew About Luck is filled with memorable examples, personal anecdotes, and behavioral science research. You will learn: how to stay steady in turbulent waters how to sail past your limits how to see problems as opportunities how to build ladders to larger wins how to clear clutter on your path to success how to turn setbacks into stepping stones how luck is amplified over the course of a lifetime With her expertise on leadership, entrepreneurship and innovation, Dr. Seelig shares her ideas on how to see and seize opportunities, especially those hidden in plain sight. Opportunities are everywhere, waiting to be discovered! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:01:06:58

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

Benoit Denizet-Lewis: The Promise and Price of Self-Transformation

5/16/2026
On social media, in recovery meetings, through name-change petitions, deconversion blogs, and political conversion manifestos, we’ve been surrounded by stories of radical personal change. But what does it really mean to shed an old skin? Whose change narratives do we celebrate—and whose do we suspect are performance, reinvention as strategy, or even grift? Emerson College Professor Benoit Denizet-Lewis’s new book You’ve Changed offers a fresh and clarifying lens on how we arrived at this bewildering cultural moment marked by fractured truths, shifting identities, and a public dizzy in a world that seems to be changing too fast and not nearly enough. Denizet-Lewis introduces us to an unforgettable array of people in flux—including psychedelic reality benders, sexual and gender transitioners, ideological shapeshifters, seemingly reformed murderers—as well as those working to engineer change: psychologists, neuroscientists, name-change specialists, even his own father, a breath and meditation teacher who once wrote a newsletter about “the art and science of transformation.” Intertwined with those portraits of change is Denizet-Lewis’s own reckoning—by turns painful, poignant, and hilarious—with his misfires and epiphanies. He shows us that profound, positive change is possible, but that it is rarely easy, linear or free of consequence. Denizet-Lewis’s message is aimed at anyone who’s ever tried to become someone new, fix what felt broken, drag someone else into changing, or wondered whether real transformation is more than a myth. Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California is a nonprofit public forum; we welcome donations made during registration to support the production of our programming. Commonwealth Club World Affairs is a public forum. Any views expressed in our programs are those of the speakers and not of Commonwealth Club World Affairs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:01:07:54

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

CLIMATE ONE: Protest and Beyond: Annie Leonard On What You Can Do

5/15/2026
Protest is the ultimate in equal-opportunity political action. As Annie Leonard, former executive director of Greenpeace USA says, "Making change is like laying a stone path across the garden. Peaceful protest may be every 4th or 8th or 200th stone; it helps us get where we want to go but also we need a lot of other stones too.” Leonard explores the history of protests in her new book “Protest: Respect It. Defend It. Use It.” And while protest is the loudest and most visible tool, it’s only one of many ways to take action. Through community building, through civic engagement, through elected office, through corporate boardrooms, through churches and nonprofit agencies, there are countless paths to exercising power and promoting positive change. In this episode we hear from three leaders working in three different arenas, all toward the same goal. Guests: Annie Leonard, Environmental Activist, Author of “Protest: Respect It, Defend It, Use It” Danielle Lee, Founder, Climate Action Club James Coleman, City Councilor, South San Francisco For show notes, transcript, and related links, visit ⁠climateone.org/podcasts⁠ Highlights: 00:00 – Intro 04:00 – Annie Leonard shares the story of the Section 504 sit-ins protest in San Francisco 06:30 – Different ways protest can be effective 08:30 – Leonard on why she puts her body on the line (gets arrested) during protests 16:00 – Leonard on the lawsuit Energy Transfer brought against Greenpeace USA over Standing Rock protests 22:00 – Protecting, defending, and using the right to protest 26:00 – Danielle Lee on organizing younger people around climate and environment 30:30 – Systemic versus personal action 37:00 – James Coleman on the decision to run for office as a tool for effective change 41:00 – Impact of local government 46:30 – How change actually happens 50:00 – Climate One More Thing ********** Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on ⁠Patreon⁠, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today at ⁠patreon.com/ClimateOne⁠. Ad sales by ⁠Multitude⁠. Contact them for ad inquiries at ⁠multitude.productions/ads⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:00:56:09

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

A World on Fire- the perspective from China

5/15/2026
There is an ancient saying in China, or perhaps a curse: “May you live in interesting times.” We appear to be living right in the middle of very interesting times. From wars in Eastern Europe, to regime toppling in Latin America to the conflagration in the Middle East, the world appears to be on fire. What does China make of these events? How is it affected, given that some of the actors involved on the other side of this administration’s actions are partners of China? Will these events delay or impede its rise to superpower status? And perhaps the most important question of all, how does it affect its relationship with the United States? Helping us understand the Chinese perspective is noted scholar and commentator on U.S.-China policies Dr. Shao Yuqun. Dr. Shao Yuqun is the director of the Institute for Taiwan, Hong Kong & Macao Studies and senior research fellow of the Center for America Studies. She is frequently called upon to provide the U.S. perspective to a Chinese audience and the Chinese perspective in the United States. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:01:01:50

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

In Conversation with Dariush Mozaffarian, M.D.

5/14/2026
Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian's new book, Food Is Medicine, is an urgent indictment of the food we eat, how it is making us sick, and the choices that led us here, and a call for a revolutionary new food system that can mend our health, economy and planet, from a world-renowned expert in nutrition, medicine and public policy. The food we eat is making us sick, says Dr. Mozaffarian. In the United States and around the world, diet has become the leading cause of illness and premature death, from obesity and diabetes to heart disease and other chronic ailments. Advocates of healthier diets pin the blame on overeating, but the bigger issue is what we under-eat—the dearth of food that nourishes and heals. Harnessing the power of the right foods can do more than prevent illness; it can treat it, extending life while reducing the crippling cost of ill health to our communities and economy. Mozaffarian shows the way, from transforming our own diets to keep us healthy to getting the right foods from our farms, into our stores and onto our plates—all while eating plentifully and pleasurably. A global authority on the front lines of nutrition science, medicine and public policy, Dariush Mozaffarian, M.D., Dr.P.H. draws on cutting-edge research to turn complex science into a clear, actionable program to end the health crisis in our homes and communities. Excavating the decisions that led to a broken food system, plagued by the harms of ultraprocessing and ruinous to the environment, he lays out how the meals we eat are damaging our bodies. He reveals the medicinal, healing power of ideal nutrition and introduces the innovators who are pioneering solutions—at the doctor’s office, in supermarkets, in the halls of Congress, and above all for individuals, to empower them to access the foods they need to live well. Join us as Mozaffarian lays out a vision for a 21st century food system that will restore health, nourishment and equity without sacrificing convenience or choice. In the process, these solutions can revitalize our economy, and even help to heal our planet. About the Speaker Dariush Mozaffarian, M.D., Dr.P.H., is a cardiologist, public health scientist, and director of the Food is Medicine Institute at Tufts University. He has served in numerous advisory roles, including on the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition, and his work has been featured in an array of media outlets. Thomson Reuters named him as one of the World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds. A fourth-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, he lives with his family in Massachusetts. Food Is Medicine is his first book. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:01:08:18

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

Doris Kearns Goodwin: An Unfinished Love Story

5/13/2026
Doris Kearns Goodwin is one of America’s best known and most popular historians, having told the stories of great American leaders such as Abraham Lincoln, Lyndon Johnson, Teddy Roosevelt, FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt, and others. Now, she delves into her own life and the time she spent with her late husband, Richard Goodwin, to draw out fresh perspectives on many of the central figures of the 1960s. The Goodwins were married for 42 years. Richard Goodwin helped design LBJ’s Great Society and was a close advisor to Robert Kennedy. Dorris Kearns was a 23-year-old graduate student when she was selected as a White House Fellow; she would work directly for President Johnson and later assisted on his memoir. The couple saw the momentous policies and movements of the 1960s from the inside, and they debated the achievements and failures of the leaders they served, and discussed just how much progress was made and promises left unfulfilled. Drawing on their lives—not to mention more than 300 boxes of letters, diaries, documents and memorabilia Richard Goodwin had saved for more than five decades—Doris Kearns Goodwin produced her latest book, An Unfinished Love Story. The exploration of those boxes and her shared history with her husband gave them both an opportunity to reassess some of the towering figures of the time: John F. Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Robert Kennedy, Eugene McCarthy and especially LBJ, who greatly impacted both of their lives. Join us as Doris Kearns Goodwin returns to Commonwealth Club World Affairs to share her unexpected discoveries, fresh appraisals, and the hope that the youth of today will carry forward “this unfinished love story with America.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:01:12:49

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

Former US Diplomat Robert Malley on Why the Israeli Palestinian Peace Process Failed, and What's Next for Gaza

5/12/2026
On October 7, 2023, Hamas fighters killed more than 1,100 Israelis and took more than 200 hostages, prompting an Israeli response that has in turn taken tens of thousands of lives and devastated the Gaza Strip. Why did this happen, and can anything be done to grant peace and justice to Israelis and Palestinians alike?In their new book Tomorrow Is Yesterday, veteran negotiators Robert Malley and Hussein Agha offer a personal and bracing perspective on how the hopes of the Oslo Peace Process became the horrors of the present. Drawing on their experience advising U.S. presidents (Clinton, Obama, and Biden) and the Palestinian leadership (Arafat and Abbas), and their participation in secret talks over decades, Malley and Agha offer candid portraits of leading figures and an interpretation of the conflict that exposes the delusions of all sides. They stress that the two-state solution became a global goal only when it was no longer viable; that U.S. officials preferred technical schemes to a frank reckoning with the past; that Hamas’s onslaught and Israel’s war of destruction were not historical exceptions but historical reenactments; and that the gaps separating Israelis and Palestinians have less to do with territorial allocation than with history and emotions.Join Robert Malley to hear about the issues raised in the book and the latest political developments in the region. *NOTE: This podcast contains explicit language. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:01:14:21

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

Italianity Program and Wine Tasting

5/11/2026
Italy’s vineyards stretch from Alpine peaks to volcanic islands, from rolling Tuscan hills to sun-drenched coastlines. Each glass of Italian wine carries not only the flavor of its land but also the imprint of centuries of tradition, community and culture. Join us for an exploration of that flavor and soul. Andrea Lonardi, one of Italy’s most respected winemakers and agronomists, and a rare Master of Wine, teamed up with acclaimed wine journalist Jessica Dupuy to create Italianity, a book that traces the cultural thread that united Italy’s native grapes and the people who cultivate them. From the misty hills of Piedmont and the Alpine slopes of Alto Adige to the volcanic soils of Sicily and the olive groves of Tuscany, Lonardi and Dupuy came face-to-face with the landscapes, families, and traditions that make Italian wine unlike anything else on earth. Join us to hear their tales of unforgettable encounters, cultural reflection, and stories of the Italian wine world, and learn why they say Italian wine is more than a beverage: it is history and heritage, innovation and resilience, the rhythm of the seasons, the joy of the table, and a way of seeing beauty in the everyday Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:01:05:33

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

Steven Soderbergh’s ‘The Christophers’: Film Screening Plus Discussion on Art Forgery

5/9/2026
In Academy Award-winning director Steven Soderbergh’s latest film, The Christophers, the children of a once famous artist hire a forger to complete some unfinished, long ago abandoned canvases so they’ll have an inheritance when he dies. Julian Sklar (Ian McKellen) was once a star of London’s 1960s and ‘70s pop art explosion, but he hasn’t painted in decades and has been broke for years. His two estranged children (James Corden, Jessica Gunning), desperate for an inheritance, hire Lori, an art restorer and former forger (Michaela Coel), to pose as a prospective assistant in order to access eight unfinished canvases Julian has buried deep in storage. Her plan is to complete them, then return them to storage, where they are to be “discovered” upon Julian’s death. Join us for this special screening of Steven Soderbergh’s The Christophers. After the film, a panel of experts will explore the past, present and future of art forgery—as well as the creative process in general. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:00:31:16

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

Cleo Wade: In a World of Sunrises

5/8/2026
Bestselling author Cleo Wade returns to Commonwealth Club World Affairs with a hug of a book—her latest, In a World of Sunrises, a collection of poetry, prose and inspirational quotes providing uplift and comfort for 365 days.Wade’s entries are a reminder that change is always possible, not only within each of us but also in the world around us. Her message is about feeling good, and feeling like wherever you are in your life is okay and wherever you want to go is possible. It’s about smiling through our tears; it’s about miracles and joy. Befriending one another and ourselves, lightening up, and giving ourselves (and everyone else) grace because life rains its challenges on all of us. So put aside the doomscrolling and the vituperation of the mediasphere and come out to see Wade offer her brand of calm and encouragement. Life can be so complicated—inspiration at its best and most helpful feels simple and full of ease. This program contains EXPLICIT langauge. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:01:10:00

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

CLIMATE ONE: Mother is Mothering

5/8/2026
Sometimes mothers are biological; other times, they’re chosen. But often, they're the fiercest people you can have on your side. In this special Mother’s Day episode, we’ll hear stories about the vital role mothers and caregivers play in confronting the climate crisis. From a midwife providing essential healthcare in one of the most climate-stressed regions on the planet to an organizer who leads a network of over a million caregivers demanding cleaner air and a healthier future — these women show what it means to protect people in a changing world. Guests: Dominique Browning, Co-Founder and Director, Moms Clean Air Force Neha Mankani, Founder, Mama Baby Fund; Climate Advisor, International Confederation of Midwives Shohreh Karimipour, Former Regional Water Engineer, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation; Kousha Navidar’s Mom For show notes and related links, visit ⁠ClimateOne.org/podcasts⁠. Highlights: 00:00 Intro 00:25 Shohreh Karimipour on instilling care for the environment 07:49 Dominique Browning on founding Moms Clean Air Force 12:36 Dominique Browning on framing climate around children’s health 15:10 Isla and Levi on what their mom has taught them 18:28 Dominique Browning on leading and dealing with federal rollbacks 23:47 Dominique Browning on how her approach is different 29:44 More mom stories 34:06 Neha Mankani on midwifery as a climate resilience strategy 35:54 Neha Mankani on connecting reproductive care to the climate crisis 38:39 Neha Mankani on the healthcare system in Pakistan 45:30 Neha Mankani on how climate impacts men and women differently 49:15 Neha Mankani on being able to serve in her role ********** Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on ⁠Patreon⁠, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today at ⁠patreon.com/ClimateOne⁠. Ad sales by ⁠Multitude⁠. Contact them for ad inquiries at ⁠multitude.productions/ads⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:00:58:00

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

One Size Doesn’t Fit All: A PrEP Conversation

5/7/2026
Join us at Commonwealth Club World Affairs for an intimate and candid conversation with patients from Osra Medical who are living proof that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to PrEP. Our panelists—currently on Descovy, Apretude and Yeztugo—will pull back the curtain on their personal journeys: the questions they asked, the factors they weighed, and what ultimately led them to choose the option that was right for them. From the first conversation with their provider to navigating day-to-day life on their medication, they’ll share the unfiltered reality of what it looks like to make an empowered prevention decision. Whether you’re newly exploring PrEP, considering switching options, or simply want to hear from people who’ve been in your shoes, this panel is designed to inform, inspire and remind you that your prevention journey is yours to shape. This program is made possible by the support of Osra Medical. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:00:54:36

Ask host to enable sharing for playback control

Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on the Iran War

5/6/2026
Former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta says he was surprised that the Trump administration apparently had no plan to deal with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz before launching strikes on Iran in late February. “I think that basically is a failure of planning for what would be an obvious consequence of a war in the Middle East,” Panetta told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. With hundreds dead, millions more displaced, billions spent, and oil prices surging, many are asking: Was this war avoidable? How might it end? And will America’s traditional allies continue to rebuff President Trump’s calls for help? Panetta, who served as defense secretary and CIA director in the Obama administration, will address those questions—and what it all means for the future of the Middle East and for American politics at home. Join Commonwealth Club World Affairs for an in-depth conversation with one of America’s most seasoned national security voices. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:00:58:25