Commonwealth Club of California Podcast
The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's largest public affairs forum. This nonpartisan, nonprofit organization produces programs featuring diverse viewpoints from thought leaders on important topics. Its weekly radio broadcast, the oldest in the U.S. since 1924, is carried on hundreds of stations. The podcast feed is updated multiple times each week with audio and video of their programs.
Episodes
CLIMATE ONE ENCORE - Dead Heat: The Danger Of Home Power Shutoffs
Summer is here, temperatures are rising — and so are electric bills. That also means many people are facing a severely overlooked issue: power shutoffs. According to a report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in 2024 utility companies disconnected U.S. households from electricity more than 13.4 million times due to a customer’s inability to pay. When that happens, people can’t turn on
CLIMATE ONE: When Your New Neighbor Is… a Data Center
Across the country, developers are racing to build huge new buildings to house computers to fuel the AI boom, creating an explosive demand for new energy. While some hyperscalers seek renewable energy, others are turning to fossil fuels. But concerns around high electric bills, air and noise pollution and water depletion have generated widespread community pushback against these giant facilities,
Theo Baker: Uncovering Power and Money at Stanford University
While just a freshman reporter at The Stanford Daily, Theo Baker reported on accusations about Stanford’s president that culminated in his resignation. For his investigative reporting, he became the youngest ever recipient of the prestigious George Polk Award.
Now, Baker comes to Commonwealth Club World Affairs to tell a story of money and power and excess for teenagers at Stanford—slush funds, s
Unapologetic Deliciousness: Separating Nutrition Science from Nutrition Noise
With so many conflicting and contradictory nutrition claims dominating headlines and social media, deciding what to eat has become unnecessarily complicated. Stanford nutrition scientist Christopher Gardner, Ph.D., has spent more than three decades conducting evidence-based research to bring clarity to the conversation.
In this program, Gardner shares what decades of human nutrition trials reveal
Contested Continent: The Struggle for North America, c. 1000–1680
North America was forged from the experiences of millions of Indigenous women and men as well as Europeans and Africans. Contested Continent, the first volume of the Oxford History of the United States series, is a far-ranging history of North America concentrating on the period from c. A.D. 1000 to 1680—from the arrival of Norse explorers to an explosion of revolts that underlined the stubborn st
CLIMATE ONE: Making Solar Great Again
More and more, conservative voices are making the case that the U.S. can’t achieve energy dominance without solar power. Even the leading industry trade group is changing its strategy.
Earlier this year, Politico reported that the American Clean Power Association launched the “American Energy First” campaign to engage Kellyanne Conway and conservative influencers like Katie Miller “to amplify t
Andrew Weissmann: Liars Kingdom
“The 2020 election was a total FRAUD!”
“I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally.”
“There is NO WAY Biden got 80,000,000 votes!!!”
These and other statements by Donald Trump sparked a historic insurrection that attempted to topple our democracy and undermined the public’s faith in elections. MS NOW legal analyst and veteran federal prosecutor Andrew W
CLIMATE ONE: Medium Rare: What’s Next For Meat?
Industrial agriculture accounts for a significant share of global emissions, but meat alternatives face real hurdles in becoming a mainstay of consumer diets. The hype around plant-based meat has cooled: hurt by price gaps, ultra-processed rhetoric, and culture-war politics around masculinity and food identity. Yet feeding a growing planet will require eating less beef, wasting less food, and prod
Unfrozen: The Fight for the Future of the Arctic
Nowhere is the dual threat of climate change and geopolitical competition felt more strongly than in the Arctic. Sea ice is declining rapidly, wildfires are burning, and permafrost is thawing. At the same time, global interest is growing rapidly as the region transforms from being a frozen desert into an international waterway.
Mia Bennett, a geography professor at the University of Washington an
Young King: The Making of Martin Luther King Jr.
We know who Martin Luther King, Jr. became, but who was he at the beginning of his life? How did his youth inform his outlook and his approach to activism and service?
Before Martin Luther King, Jr. was a civil rights leader, the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, and a global hero, he was an emotional boy, and an average high school student devoted to fashion, dancing, and dating. On his way to
CLIMATE ONE: ENCORE: Cities Leading the Way
While the federal government has all but abandoned trying to address the climate crisis, cities around the world are stepping up. C40 is an international network of 97 cities representing 920 million people and 23% of the world’s economy. Seventy-three percent of these cities have already peaked their emissions. Here in the US, Climate Mayors is a bipartisan network of nearly 350 U.S. mayors, repr
Outdoors Writer Tom Stienstra Shares His Tales of Survival … and Top Adventure Spots
For more than 40 years, outdoor enthusiasts have turned to Tom Stienstra for guidance on the best waterfalls, unforgettable campsites, and hidden wild places. A longtime outdoors writer and editor for the San Francisco Chronicle and KCBS-FM, Stienstra is also the bestselling author of essential guidebooks like Moon’s California Camping and 52 Weekend Adventures in Northern California.
His adventu
The Fight Against AI-Powered Surveillance with EFF's Cindy Cohn and Adam Savage
When the Pentagon formally designated Anthropic a “supply chain risk” this March, the dispute put a spotlight on civil liberties concerns in the AI-era. Anthropic had reportedly hit an impasse with the Trump administration over the company’s push for guardrails banning the use of its Claude model to conduct mass surveillance. Anthropic’s CEO had called such surveillance a “red line” it would not c
Safe Play: Creating Inclusion in Sport
Pride House SF and Commonwealth Club World Affairs are proud to assemble three hour-long events designed to showcase the importance of celebrating self and sport. Using the backdrop of this summer’s global soccer event—and the significance of Bay Area representation on the world stage—each program will feature local experts convening around a designated theme.
In our first program, meet leaders o
Fake News for Good? Reporting from the Future to Save Democracy Today
When the news moves faster than we can process it, how do we grasp what any of it actually means for our lives? And what happens when that overwhelming feeling isn’t accidental, but rather a deliberate political strategy (“flooding the zone”) designed to ensure that no issue of consequence can get the sustained attention it deserves?
Strategic futurist Jason Tester has pioneered an answer—“specul
CLIMATE ONE: Healing Ourselves and the Planet with Katharine Wilkinson and Uncle Pappy
When real and internal maps come up short, and the path ahead is uncertain, how do we find our way? In her new book “Climate Wayfinding,” Dr. Katharine Wilkinson (co-founder of the All We Can Save Project) offers a compassionate and empowering guide for navigating through ache to action, doubt to possibility. Whether we’re steeped in climate or newly curious, we can look inward with care, outwar
Dion Lim: My Fight for Asian America
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
ABC News' Martha Raddatz: The Hero Next Door, Stories of Patriotism and Purpose
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 Nex
Why We Run: A Special AAPI Month Program
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?
A
CLIMATE ONE: Fighting Fire with Fiery Passion: 2026 Goldman Prize Winners
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 conservationi
Otto Scharmer: Presencing, 7 Practices for Transforming Self, Society, and Business
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 Kat
PBS News Host William Brangham on the State of the News Media in a Time of Change
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 me
Axis of Instability: The U.S., Israel, Iran and the Gulf
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
How to Increase Your Luck, with Stanford’s Tina Seelig
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 othe
Benoit Denizet-Lewis: The Promise and Price of Self-Transformation
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-
CLIMATE ONE: Protest and Beyond: Annie Leonard On What You Can Do
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: R
A World on Fire- the perspective from China
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 invol
In Conversation with Dariush Mozaffarian, M.D.
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
Doris Kearns Goodwin: An Unfinished Love Story
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.
Former US Diplomat Robert Malley on Why the Israeli Palestinian Peace Process Failed, and What's Next for Gaza
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 Hu
Italianity Program and Wine Tasting
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 Maste
Steven Soderbergh’s ‘The Christophers’: Film Screening Plus Discussion on Art Forgery
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
Cleo Wade: In a World of Sunrises
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
CLIMATE ONE: Mother is Mothering
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
One Size Doesn’t Fit All: A PrEP Conversation
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 opt
Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on the Iran War
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
Steve Phillips: Are White Men Smarter Than Everybody Else?
Steve Phillips, bestselling author of Brown Is the New White, returns to Commonwealth Club World Affairs to present his provocative new argument for “draining the swamp of white male privilege.”
He comes here at a time when equal rights are under intense attack on many fronts. Phillips, host of the “Democracy in Color with Steve Phillips” podcast, is on a mission to exhort people to go on the of
Eyck Freymann: Defending Taiwan
The first place many people looked following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was Taiwan, long in the sights of the communist government of mainland China, which has vowed to absorb the island nation. If bigger countries were once again subsuming smaller neighbors, what could keep an ever-stronger China from going to war with Taiwan? And will it be the tripwire to sparking a third world war, this time
Dr. Larry Gerston: Overcoming Trumpism and Saving American Democracy
What is Trumpism and how long will it last? A new book by political scientist and author Dr. Larry N. Gerston defines Trumpism as an ideology that preceded Trump’s election and will outlast his political career. He says we need to explore solutions to problems that have long plagued contemporary American democracy.
Gerston says deep-rooted pain points in U.S. governance gave rise to and were exa
CLIMATE ONE: John Doerr and Ryan Panchadsaram: Speed & Scale’s Reality Check
In 2021, legendary investor John Doerr outlined his plan to solve climate change in his bestseller “Speed & Scale.” The plan outlines 10 objectives, each with their own set of key results, to cut emissions to net zero. And in true John Doerr style, the results are to be measurable and trackable.
Now, five years later, Doerr and co-author Ryan Panchadsaram unveil their 2026 update, revealing w
Bay Area Holocaust Survivor Shares Her Family’s Dramatic Story in ‘A Time to Hide’
When Grete and Julius fled Nazi Germany, they never imagined they’d be forced into hiding in a Dutch attic. While in hiding, their daughter Marion was born—a moment of light amid the darkest of times. Years later, Marion Seidemann Fredman shares her family’s courageous story of love, loss, and resilience in this visually rich, nonfiction picture book.
A Time to Hide is suitable for readers as you
The Race for Governor 2026: Matt Mahan
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan has a lot in common with his Democratic opponents in the race for California governor. Like them, he is making affordability and cutting red tape centerpieces of his campaign. But he has been more outspoken in his criticism of Governor Gavin Newsom, and he’s often described as the moderate Democrat in the race. Still, Mahan has pushed back on the moderate label. “I think
The Invisible Water: How Culture Shapes Mental Illness and Healing
“I don’t know who discovered water, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a fish.”
Like a fish in water, we rarely notice the cultural forces that surround us every day—especially when it comes to our mental health. Join UCSF psychiatrist Dr. Descartes Li as he dives into the invisible cultural currents that shape the human mind. From the American emphasis on “talking it out” and finding your “true self
CLIMATE ONE: Nancy Pelosi’s Seat is Open. Meet Two Candidates Vying to Succeed Her.
This year, one of the most powerful politicians in the country decided not to seek re-election. For nearly 38 years, Nancy Pelosi has represented the people of San Francisco in the US House of Representatives. As one of the most powerful House Speakers in U.S. history, Pelosi played a central role in advancing landmark environmental and climate laws, and bringing energy and climate policy to the f
From American Dream to Uncertainty: The Refugee Experience and Who Defines Who Is American
Join us for a special Songkran program celebrating the Southeast Asian New Year. We’ll bring together Lao American community members who will offer perspectives on the human consequences of the current U.S. immigration policy.
Raised in the United States, many Lao American refugees are vulnerable to current immigration policy changes, with some facing deportation back to a country unfamiliar to
Jennifer Doleac: The Science of Second Chances in Criminal Justice
Jennifer Doleac studies the economics of crime and discrimination. And when she considers criminal justice reform, she’s not only hopeful but actually optimistic that things can improve for the entire system as a whole. In her new book The Science of Second Chances, Doleac lays out her view of how to reduce both crime and incarceration. She draws on cutting-edge economic research and experiments t
Jim Collins: What to Make of a Life
It is a question just about everyone confronts in their life, and it centers on how we find our way in the world. How do we deal with challenges that can radically change a life? And what comes next?
Author Jim Collins returns to Commonwealth Club World Affairs to share his lessons on constructing—and reconstructing—a life through those “cliff moment” challenges and transitions that come up repea
Maya Shankar: The Other Side of Change
Change can come from out of nowhere. A relationship ends, a doctor gives an unwelcome diagnosis, a business closes, a loved one passes away. At times like those, it can feel as if we’re in free-fall into the unknown.
Maya Shankar, a cognitive scientist, has spent decades studying the human mind. When she experienced an unwanted change in her own life that left her reeling, she sought out people
CLIMATE ONE: ENCORE: Taylor Brorby and Suzie Hicks Tell The Stories We Don’t Always Hear
Finding one's voice in climate action can come in many forms. Author and activist Taylor Brorby grew up in Center, North Dakota as a fourth-generation member of a fossil-fuel family. He struggled to find his place as a young gay kid who loved art, music, nature and poetry. Over time, he turned that tension into writing that challenges the fossil fuel industry, makes space for others stuck in a bro
Jessica Riskin: The Power of Life
Rarely does a historian of science have the opportunity, in the midst of changing trends in a science, to point backwards in time and explain how dismissive reactions to the ideas of a scientific pioneer might have harmed the accuracy of that science for centuries. Jessica Riskin has seized such an opportunity in her new book about the French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744–1829), who propo
Dr. Maya Kornberg: Stuck—How Money, Media, and Violence Prevent Change in Congress
Congress has long been a punching bag for American dissatisfaction with their government or with the direction of the country. But its unpopularity keeps plumbing new depths, even as the major party polarization has strengthened. In short, Congress—the central democratic institution in the country—is hanging on by a thread. But its biggest liability might be its inability to reform itself.
Maya
The Political Giant Who Led the Fight to End Colonial Rule in Africa
Acclaimed historian Howard W. French’s new book, The Second Emancipation, recasts the liberation of 20th century Africa through the lens of revolutionary leader Kwame Nkrumah. The first prime minister of Ghana, Nkrumah “was in his day as important as Nelson Mandela of South Africa and Mohandas Gandhi of India,” according to The Wall Street Journal. In fact, French writes, African opinion polls oft
Private Tour of the Liberty Ship SS Jeremiah O’Brien
Join us at the North End of Pier 35 for a private tour of the SS Jeremiah O’Brien. See what Rosie the Riveter and Wendy the Welder helped create, and hear about the ship’s fascinating history and the details of keeping a war machine’s supply chains open and effective. Experience the ship as she was in 1943, tour her historic decks, and explore her engine room (powered by a functioning triple-expan
Nancy Pelosi Reflects on 40 Years on Congress
When House of Representatives Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi announced her retirement last year, USA Today called her “the most powerful woman in the history of the United States.” The first woman to become speaker and one of the most consequential legislators of her era, Pelosi has represented San Francisco for nearly four decades.
First elected to Congress in 1987, Pelosi has described her journ
Mix, Mingle & Be Moved: An Evening with San Francisco Poet Laureate Genny Lim, Musicians Chris Trinidad and Pianist Unpil Baek
The star of the evening is Genny Lim, San Francisco’s current poet laureate—an acclaimed poet, playwright and performer whose work reflects the rhythms, struggles and resilience of the city we call home. Appointed poet laureate in 2024 by London Breed, Lim is the city’s first Chinese American poet laureate. Drawing inspiration from her upbringing in Chinatown and North Beach, her poetry invites us
CLIMATE ONE: Two Stories That Prove Change Is Possible
We are living through a time where big positive change seems unachievable, but there are two instances from the recent past that prove change is possible. For over a century, Indigenous people along the Klamath River fought to protect their way of life, and the salmon they depend on. Their persistence helped remove four dams and restore hundreds of miles of river. In Los Angeles, decades of scienc
CLIMATE ONE: Press Start: Video Games and the Climate Crisis
About half the global population spends some amount of their leisure time playing games, whether it’s a board game after dinner with friends or online role-playing experience through an alternate world. While many video and board games have long incorporated elements we can imagine in a climate-altered future — such as resource scarcity, conflict, and survival — some in the industry are working to
Dr. Ibram X Kendi: The Origins of Our Authoritarian Age
What is “great replacement theory” and how did it come to be a powerful fuel for right-wing nationalist groups in the United States and around the world?
When white marchers in Charlottesville, Virginia, chanted “You will not replace us,” it was probably the first time most Americans had heard the phrase. But a string of mass shooters around the world—in Oslo and Christchurch, Buffalo, El Paso,
Gov. Josh Shapiro: Where We Keep the Light
Join us in-person or online to hear a grounded and intimate portrait of life by Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.
His new book, Where We Keep the Light, is the story of public service and personal faith. From an early age, Josh Shapiro learned and practiced the power of showing up, listening and executing, to make people’s lives a little better. Shapiro relates powerful stories about his famil
Taeku Lee: The Billionaire Backlash
How can corporate scandals—from Enron to the Facebook privacy controversy—change the way the world works for the better?Political scientists Pepper Culpepper and Taeku Lee have drawn on a decade of research on policymaking and public opinion to show how scandals can ignite a public with few political outlets for their discontent. Scandals don’t simply dominate news cycles: they can provoke us to d
When Justice Isn’t Enough, With D.A. Brooke Jenkins and Dion Lim
Join Emmy Award–winning journalist Dion Lim and San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins for a timely conversation on justice, accountability and community impact.
They will examine two tragic cases—Grandma Yik Oi Huang and Grandpa Vicha, elderly members of the Asian American community who were fatally attacked. While the legal outcomes differed, both cases deeply affected the community.
CLIMATE ONE: Benji Backer: Nature is Nonpartisan
In a moment when nearly everything feels polarized, Benji Backer is trying to carve out a different path, one where caring about the natural world isn’t a partisan issue. As the founder of Nature Is Nonpartisan, he’s bringing together voices from across the political spectrum who might disagree on climate policy, but still share a desire to preserve public lands, wildlife, and the outdoors.
Can
Women Leading Change: Power, Policy & Purpose
Change does not begin with institutions. It begins with people.
In honor of Women’s History Month, Commonwealth Club World Affairs convenes an extraordinary panel of women whose leadership has shaped San Francisco’s civic, community and policy landscape.
Connie Chan, supervisor for District 1 and candidate for California’s 11th congressional district, has served at every level of local governmen
The Science of ‘Project Hail Mary’
Most every page of Andy Weir’s latest sci-fi novel, Project Hail Mary, glows with the promise of science and technology. In Weir’s first novel, 2011’s The Martian, the protagonist endures interplanetary travel, and struggles to survive on a harsh new world. However, in Project Hail Mary, the hero faces a far greater challenge: interstellar travel to collaborate with an E.T. in hope of saving an im
The Race for Governor 2026: Tom Steyer
Billionaire investor and climate activist Tom Steyer says he’s running for governor “to make California affordable again.” And that, he says, requires someone willing to take on big corporations and other powerful interests. Steyer made his name founding the San Francisco hedge fund Farallon Capital, which currently manages more than $40 billion in assets. After stepping away from finance in 2012,
What's Next for the US-Israel War with Iran
On Feb. 28, the United States and Israel launched coordinated attacks on Iran, killing the country’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. Iran responded with an extensive missile and drone campaign targeting Israel, U.S. bases, and multiple Gulf states. President Donald Trump said the attacks would give Iranians a chance to “take back” their country and has predicted a quick ending to the war, calling it
CLIMATE ONE: What the Rise of the Electrostate Means for Petrostates… And Everyone Else
For decades we’ve seen nations exercise geopolitical dominance tied to their production and control of fossil fuels – especially oil. But that leverage may be changing. Last year, China installed nearly twenty times the amount of wind and solar as the United States.
In this essay in The National Interest, the authors lay out a global political and economic realignment already underway. Petrosta
Humanities West Presents Emma of Normandy
In October of 1066 William of Normandy defeated King Harold II of England on a battlefield near Hastings, and the effects of that Norman Conquest would reshape England’s culture, politics, language and religion for more than 1,000 years. But the seeds of that event were sown more than 60 years earlier, when the teenage daughter of a Norman duke arrived on England’s shores to marry its king. Her na
Why Clothes Matter: Identity, Resistance and Belonging in Times of Crisis
At its most functional level, clothing serves as essential physical protection from the environment, soft armor and tangible comfort. Visually, clothing is one of the most immediate ways to assert individual identity, signaling values and collective belonging to others at first sight. But, when public discourse is polarized and words feel inadequate, clothing becomes a powerful nonverbal language—
Peaches Christ: Eat the Rich
The phrase “eat the rich”—attributed to Jean-Jacques Rousseau during the French Revolution—has exploded across Gen Z and Millennial consciousness through films such as Parasite, The Menu, and Glass Onion; the resurgence of democratic socialism; and viral moments like Amazon union leader Christian Smalls wearing the slogan to the White House. Motörhead’s anthem of the same name—which Peaches Christ
Women’s History Month: California's Women Elected Leaders
March is Women’s History Month, and we’re marking it by featuring the voices of women shaping California at every level of leadership.
This program brings together three trailblazing statewide elected officials—Eleni Kounalakis, Fiona Ma, and Malia Cohen—for a timely conversation about California’s past, present, and future through a woman’s perspective. Moderated by Nancy Tung, chair of the San
The Diversity Principle: The Story of a Transformative Idea
As the war on diversity upends government, corporate and education policies, the history of the idea of diversity has never been more important. David Oppenheimer, a diversity skeptic turned diversity admirer, chronicles how diversity became a foundational value of higher education over the last 200 years, how it evolved as it was adopted by commerce and science, and what the implications are of t
CLIMATE ONE: Hawaii Gov. Josh Green Says Aloha to Decarbonization
More than perhaps any other state, Hawaii has major incentives to decarbonize. Imported oil accounts for about 90% of Hawaii's total energy consumption, and electricity prices are more than three times the national average. So it may not be surprising that Hawaii was the first state in the nation to set a 100% renewable energy goal by 2045. But that’s a hard goal to achieve, especially given the r
Sisters Are Doing it For Themselves: Young Women's Freedom Center at 32
In 1993, the San Francisco organization that would become the Young Women’s Freedom Center made history by becoming one of the first nonprofits in the country run and led entirely by young women. Its mission was to create a support system and community to assist women and girls who had been living on the street and had experienced incarceration, foster care, poverty and trauma.
In the decades sin
Jonathan Turley: Rage and the Republic
Jonathan Turley writes, “From redcoats to robots, our challenges have changed. Yet, we have remained. Our greatest danger is not forgetting the history detailed in this book, but forgetting who we were in that history.”
On the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, law professor, legal analyst, and bestselling author Jonathan Turley shares his exploration of how the unique origins
Carly Schwartz: I’ll Try Anything Twice—Misadventures of a Self-Medicated Life
Join Carly Schwartz, former San Francisco Examiner editor in chief and founding editor of HuffPost’s San Francisco bureau, for the launch of her debut memoir, I’ll Try Anything Twice: Misadventures of a Self-Medicated Life.
In conversation with KQED’s Sydney Johnson, Schwartz will discuss how her quest to escape from depression and addiction led her on a dizzying international journey through mul
Claude Steele on the Tension That Divides Us … and How to Overcome It
A pioneer of social psychology, Stanford scholar Claude M. Steele is renowned for Whistling Vivaldi, a runaway bestseller that analyzed societal stereotypes—from beliefs about racial and gender test score gaps to the athletic prowess of Black men—and how to mitigate these “stereotype threats.”
In his new book Churn, Steele captures the most commonplace tensions of life in a multifaceted democrac
What Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Mean for the Health Sciences, and Why Big Data Needs Them All
Sometimes, because of the current political pushback, one can get the false impression that the academic attention that has recently been paid to increasing a university’s diversity, equity and inclusion profile is a new phenomenon—one that developed after the civil rights gains of minorities and women in the 1950s-70s. But the idea that people with different backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoin
David Pogue “Apple: The First 50 Years”
Today, as it nears its 50th anniversary, Apple is a global behemoth, one of the most valuable companies on the planet. But it’s been a rough and wild ride from scrappy startup to market leader. On April Fool’s Day in 1976, two twentysomethings named Steve founded a little company with the intention of spreading the computer revolution to everyone. Over the next five decades, Apple reshaped the tec
Judith Enck: The Problem with Plastic
Once a marvel of modern science, plastic has become so inextricably woven into our lives that imagining a world without it seems impossible. Over the last 75 years, says author and environmentalist Judith Enck, plastic has cradled our planet in a synthetic embrace.
In her new book The Problem With Plastic, Enck critically examines the paradox of this material, first celebrated for its innovation
