JOHN DEAN page 8
RALPH NADER page 10
JASON COLLINS page 12
TONY WHEELER page 47
GLORIA DUFFY page 62
Commonwealth The
THE MAGAZINE OF THE COMMONWEALTH CLUB OF CALIFORNIA
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014
Recipe for a Healthy Body... The Big Fat Surprise • GMOs • Botany & Booze
$5.00; free for members | commonwealthclub.org
Insider’s Japan From Tokyo to Kyoto • April 18–30, 2015
Japan is a land of delicate art and bustling commerce, and a country of rich traditions and dizzying modernity.
• Explore Tokyo and visit the Shinto Meiji Shrine and historic
Imperial Palace, and join a discussion with U.S. foreign service staff.
• Experience Mt. Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park and Takayama’s ancient streets and houses.
• Spend the night in Suwa at a ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn. • Discover
the famed Kenrokuen Garden and Kutani Ceramics Museum in culturally rich Kanazawa.
• Attend a traditional Japanese tea ceremony in Kyoto, and embark on a cycling tour through the grounds of the Imperial Palace and the Gion district.
• Optional post-trip extension to Hiroshima available. Space on this exclusive Commonwealth Club tour is limited to just 24 travelers and will fill quickly. Reserve your place on this exciting journey! From $5,686 per person, double occupancy, including air from San Francisco. ($4,995 air & land inclusive plus $691 airline taxes and departure fees)
Commonwealth Club Travel CST: 2096889-40
Detailed brochure available at: commonwealthclub.org/travel Contact: (415) 597-6720 • travel@commonwealthclub.org Photos: provided by MIR Corporation
INSIDE The Commonwealth VO LU M E 108, N O . 06 | O C TO B E R / N OV E M B E R 2014
10 Photo by Russell Edwards
FEATURES 8 JOHN DEAN
THE NIXON DEFENSE
12
The Watergate insider says he warned the president it would get ugly from the start
47 TONY WHEELER
TRAVELING TO THE WORLD’S DARKER COUNTRIES
Tips and ideas
Photo by Ed Ritger
10 RALPH NADER
Looking for issues, such as the minimum wage increase, that unite activists, left and right
55
12 JASON COLLINS
On being “the gay one” in the NBA
Photo by Rikki Ward
DEPARTMENTS 5 EDITOR’S DESK Food politics, and political food
6 THE COMMONS
16 LEONARD SUSSKIND
& ART FRIEDMAN QUANTUM MECHANICS Two experts discuss the mathematical language they use to talk about energy and matter
Finding words and video of Club founder Edward F. Adams, our new neighbors at the Y-M-C-A!
62 INSIGHT Dr. Gloria C. Duffy, President and CEO
ON THE COVER
50 NINA TEICHOLZ
THE BIG FAT SURPRISE
Should we all be eating more fat?
55 GMOS
NECESSARY IN A HOT & CROWDED WORLD? Representatives from Monsanto, organic farmers, food safety activists and a food writer weigh in
58 AMY STEWART
THE DRUNKEN BOTANIST
Tasty modern cocktail ingredients! Photo by Ed Ritger
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EVENTS 23 PROGRAM INFORMATION 24 TWO MONTH CALENDAR 26 PROGRAM LISTINGS Events from October 1 to December 4
41 LANGUAGE CLASSES
About Our Cover: Experts throughout the food industry have been looking in new ways at what kinds of food will make us healthy and happy and at the best way to produce that food going forward. Photo by Alejandro Páez/flickr; design by Tyler Swofford.
“There are endless, endless examples of Nixon having full knowledge of [Watergate]. What I didn’t know [at the time] is how much he did know, and I can tell you today he knew a lot more 2013 THE COMMO N WE AL TH 3 than he was letting on.” JUNE/JULY – John Dean
new & improved! The Commonwealth Club’s new iPhone app Find upcoming programs Buy tickets Listen, download, share podcasts & more! Free in the iTunes store or go to commonwealthclub.org/app2014
Developed by
EDITOR’S DESK
J O H N Z I P PE R E R V P, M E D I A & E D I TO R I A L
Photo by Agricultural Research Service, USDA
Breaking bread helps break the ice “After a good dinner, one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relations.” —Oscar Wilde
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his issue, we are highlighting several recent food-and-drink programs from The Commonwealth Club. We include Amy Stewart’s efforts to improve people’s knowledge about (and tastes for) drinks. Climate One’s Greg Dalton and panelists talk about genetically modified food, and Nina Teicholz says we’ve been misled about the role of sugar, fat and dairy in our diets. Food is the one thing we all encounter every day and cannot do without. We can “do food” differently: eat different types of food; jump aboard various food fads; eat more; eat less; avoid certain foods for allergy or religious reasons; eat better or lesser quality food. But whatever we eat, we all eat. Food has always been associated with this Club. Some of you might even remember when the mainstay of the Club’s activities was the Friday luncheon. We still do luncheons, though less frequently than before, now that the number of programs we hold has multiplied considerably. These days, you can also find occasional breakfasts, our big annual economic forecast luncheon in January, receptions, socials, and more. One of the pleasures of my job here has been partnering with our great Membership & Guest Services department to hold social hours with our Week to Week political FOLLOW US ONLINE
facebook.com/thecommonwealthclub
roundtables. Enjoying food and drink together has always been a great way to get to know people, and it enjoys a proud connection to the political world. Bloomberg recently carried a profile of California Governor Jerry Brown, going in-depth to explain how he has governed so far in his current (third) term in office. One key has been Brown’s persistence in courting legislators of both parties, and one of his favorite ways has been to meet them for dinner, bringing them to his home or joining them for a meal somewhere else. The GMO issue involves the politics of food; Governor Brown shows that food can facilitate politics, too. That reminds me of a frequent Club speaker, political humorist P.J. O’Rourke, who once wrote about his trip to the then-Soviet Union aboard a ship full of Nation magazine tourists (see his book Republican Party Reptile). But while his shipmates filled up on the formal speeches and statistics doled out in the official meetings, O’Rourke would head off the ship and go to some local watering hole, where he would meet with the locals over a glass of whatever they were drinking. There, he would hear what life was really like, and what the people were really like. If any of that whets your appetite, get your tickets now for these fall programs: Jacques Pépin (Oct. 2), the Story of Della Fattoria (Oct. 14), Mario Batali in conversation with Tyler Florence (Nov. 1), and more.
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BUSINESS OFFICES The Commonwealth, 595 Market St., 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105 | feedback@commonwealthclub.org VP, MEDIA & EDITORIAL John Zipperer | DESIGNER Tyler R. Swofford | STAFF EDITORS Amelia Cass, Ellen Cohan INTERNS Zoë Byrne, Catherine Lu, Laura Nguyen, Hillary Straba | PHOTOGRAPHERS Russell Edwards, Ed Ritger, Rikki Ward ADVERTISING INFORMATION: Tara Crain, Development Manager, Corporate and Foundation Partnerships, (415) 869-5919, tcrain@commonwealthclub.org The Commonwealth ISSN 00103349 is published bimonthly (6 times a year) by The Commonwealth Club of California, 595 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-2805. | PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID at San Francisco, CA. Subscription rate $34 per year included in annual membership dues. | POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Commonwealth, The Commonwealth Club of California, 595 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-2805. | Printed on recycled paper using soy-based ink. Copyright © 2014 The Commonwealth Club of California. Tel: (415) 597-6700 Fax: (415) 597-6729 E-mail: feedback@commonwealthclub.org | EDITORIAL TRANSCRIPT POLICY: The Commonwealth magazine covers a range of programs in each issue. Program transcripts and question and answer sessions are routinely condensed due to space limitations. Hear full-length recordings online at commonwealthclub.org/media, podcasts on Apple iTunes, or contact Club offices to buy a compact disc.
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COMMONS THE
Talk of the Club
A Letter from the Past
THE TICKER
Finding Edward F. Adams treasures among the book stacks and online
Updates and check-ins
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Letter photo by Alex Hernandez; video screenshots by The Commonwealth Club
here’s history to be found in books, even if they’re not history tomes. The Club’s facilities team – those fantastically organized folks who set up our meeting rooms, organize receptions and socials, and more – have been working their way through the vast collection of books in our Library. The books cover several walls of the Library at our headquarters in San Francisco. Many of the books are signed copies given to the Club by their authors following the authors’ programs here, others are simply books on topics related to Club programs. In a copy of Karl Irving Faust’s 1899 book Campaigning in the Philippines, we found a handwritten letter pasted into the front of the book. The letter was by Edward F. Adams, The Commonwealth Club’s founder
and an editorial writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. In it, Adams shares his reactions to the book (including that it is “interesting as a sample of an awful literary flop” and “The publishers must have lost a lot of money.” For another surprise view of Adams, take a look at a video our friends at the San Francisco-based Internet Archive have posted. It is a 1928 short film showing Adams in the Club’s office along with the organization’s executive secretary E.A. Walcott, Luncheon Committee chair Alonzo Grimes McFarland, and two committee members. The video is at https://archive.org/details/ csth_000033 and includes Adams playfully starting a meeting with a pounding of our famous gavel. Much the same work continues today at the Club’s offices, though now we’re in color.
Our New Neighbors, Part VIII
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ust a few buildings down the street from The Commonwealth Club’s new building on The Embarcadero is another organization that has been active in San Francisco about as long as we have. Like The Commonwealth Club, the Embarcadero YMCA is a community linchpin, offering services to a broad array of local residents and partnering with businesses and other groups to build a better community. Its programs include after-school programs for students, blood drives, Pilates classes and other health-andwellness events, small group meetings, and more. It’s even the place where you could have joined the Michael Jackson’s Birthday Week Ride on August 25. A recent partnership project with a local business occurred over the summer when the Y teamed up with employees of Mid-Market-based social media company Twitter. Thirty Twitter staffers came to nearby Bessie Carmichael Elementary School, where the YMCA’s Camp program is based. There, the volunteers taught kids how to dance and played games. It is not difficult to find critics complaining that high-tech workers don’t give back to
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Embarcadero YMCA
their communities, but they do and they are building on a legacy learned earlier in life; the YMCA reports that 90 percent of the Twitter volunteers had previous experiences with the YMCA while growing up. Sounds like our new neighbors have made some good friends.
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Photo by John Zipperer
n the news: What was the biggest Commonwealth Club news story of the year? That’s easy; on June 11, Texas Governor Rick Perry was asked during a Club program about a recent Texas GOP vote regarding homosexuality; his response ignited the interest of news media from across the country. A clip of the Club’s video of the exchange even aired on “The Daily Show,”which was great; what wasn’t great is that “Daily Show” parent Viacom then asserted ownership of the Club’s video. Ah, the price of fame! But what other stories have featured the Club this year? Our August program with professional basketball player Jason Collins (see page 12) brought news reports from many spor ts news sites, stretching all the way across the country to Boston. Our September program with Khan Academy’s Sal Khan got attention from even further away – India. And consumer activist and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader’s July program included his comments on the war on drugs, which became one of SFGate’s top trending videos.
Shared Ideas More than Marriage
Photo by Rikki Ward
James C. Hormel, Former U.S. Ambassador, Luxembourg; Author; Philanthropist: “How the LGBTQ Movement Has Evolved in a Lifetime,” August 4, 2014: I want to acknowledge, first of all, where we are today. It’s quite remarkable that we have gotten to this point in my lifetime. But what we do not have yet is protection from job discrimination and housing discrimination. We have it individually in 21 states, but there are 29 states that have yet to act. The federal government has come close a couple of times in the Senate. Believe it or not, in 1996 they were within one vote of passing a bill, but that bill didn’t include [protections for] transgender [people]. Currently there is a bill that is languishing and, I will wager, will languish until at least 2017. The marriage situation is a little different, but many of the states where the marriage ban has been struck down are still subject to appeal. We have work to do there. We have work to do in veterans’ rights; we have work to do in immigration; we have all kinds of areas of our society that need protection. So when we get through all of that – and I would love to see it happen in my lifetime –we will still be confronting the social aspects of acceptance. How long that will take, I don’t know. There’s a message that I have, and it’s a message that I’ve used for 25 years, at least, which is, “Come out.” And by “come out,” I mean every day. You and I, and others who are already out to their friends and families, have the opportunity to come out to strangers, to people we work with, to people we travel with. The more we are known, I think, the more we will be respected and accepted. That’s what I see as the goal. And this goal is really challenging, because as I look at other minorities, it’s still in process.
One tangible example is the Equal Rights Amendment, which was written in 1920 and has yet to be ratified. I’m very optimistic. That may not be realism, but I feel very optimistic. When this process began, states were ratifying bans on marriage equality right and left. Then all of a sudden the process reversed. But the process reversed mainly through the courts. The process is still very much in the courts, but the courts at this point, I think, are deciding unanimously in favor of marriage equality. By the time this gets back to the Supreme Court – which it will, probably in a year or two – those nine justices are going to be looking at appellate judges across the country who have unanimously, at least up until now, supported marriage equality.
Nuclear Lessons
Photo by Ed Ritger
Pe r Pe te r s o n , M e m b e r, B l u e R i b bon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future; Professor of Nuclear Engineering, UC Berkeley: ”Nuclear Power: Meltdown or Revival?” April 3, 2014: The key lessons that we did learn [from Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster] involved what you do to manage beyond [the planned] events, and [the importance of] flexible capabilities to restore basic safety systems if they’ve been damaged by things that [weren’t] anticipated. Also, we know that there were some mistakes that were made in terms of anticipating what could happen. The Japanese should have been knowledgeable about and have taken more action with respect to the potential tsunamis. In the end, you can integrate those lessons into the design of new plants, and probably the most important feature that we’ve introduced into the new U.S. designs is what’s called passive safety. That is, the
ability for the plant to shut down and remove decay heat without needing external sources of electrical power, which was ultimately the primary cause of the damage to the plants at Fukushima. Our current plants don’t have passive safety, and it’s not really practical to back-fit them with those capabilities; but what we’re doing is introducing additional equipment and capabilities so that they can cope with essentially indefinite loss of electrical power supply and still not have fuel damage or release radioactive materials. This is a back-fit to the existing plants. With new plants you have the flexibility to actually make significant additional improvements. That’s one of the things that makes it attractive to try to upgrade our infrastructure. We have a lot of urban infrastructure that’s not as safe as what we could build if we were to make the investments to replace it. The issues that the Japanese are facing right now, I think, are being driven in large part by the complete breakdown in trust and confidence in the regulatory authorities, because currently they have capabilities to clean the water to drinking water standards, and certainly acceptable for release into the ocean, but they have not yet been able to authorize those releases because of the breakdown in the political process. It’s really critical that they do so, because continuing to store these increasing quantities of water deters them from taking other actions that are important to clean up and eventually remove fuel from the damaged reactors. We’ve had 60 years and remarkably [little] innovation in reactor technology. The first water-cooled submarine reactor was launched 60 years ago, and we’re still using water as a coolant for reactors. The new plants being built in South Carolina and in Georgia have some major improvements over previous designs. One of them is the passive safety. The other is the use of modular construction technology; modular construction has the potential to give you much better control over schedule and cost. This said, it’s still a puzzle why the construction prices are as high as they are. Because it takes twice as much steel and concrete to build a coal plant as it does to build a nuclear plant of the same capacity, and yet the nuclear plant costs two to three times more than the coal plant.
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Senator Howard Baker asked, “What did the president know and when did he know it?” According to Dean, a lot from the start. Excerpted from “The Nixon Defense,” August 12, 2014. JOHN DEAN Author, The Nixon Defense: What He Knew and When He Knew It In conversation with
ROY EISENHARDT
Lecturer, UC Berkeley School of Law
ROY EISENHARDT: The first half of the title of the book is interesting – The Nixon Defense. Can you go into some length in defining what that was? JOHN DEAN: The title came from when I immediately realized that Nixon was on the defensive as soon as the arrest [at the Watergate] occurred. He pretended to be very unconcerned about it, but initially when he learned of it, he was down in Florida. The break-in and arrest occurred on June 17, late in the night. There was a report the next morning – it was carried on the wires – that mentioned Cuban Americans from Miami. So the Miami papers covered it. Nixon had been in the Bahamas, visiting a friend, and had come back to his compound in Key Biscayne on Sunday. He walked into the kitchen – really to get a cup of coffee – and saw a Miami paper, and below the fold he found a very small article about this whole thing. It indicated that these Cuban Americans who had been arrested wearing business suits, had surgical gloves on and pockets stuffed with cash. He thought the whole thing was a prank, so he didn’t even read the whole article. Later that day, he went over to his friend, Bebe Rebozo’s, house, which was also part of the compound. Bebe was well aware of people in the Cuban community. He knew several of these key players, if not their names. He knew that the men had been arrested. One, by the name of Barker, was a real estate broker in Miami. One of his key salespeople
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JOHN DEAN
NIXON DEFENSE
THE
was somebody by the name of Eugenio Martinez – also connected with the CIA, so Nixon learns from Bebe. He was over at Bebe’s house for 15 minutes, then turned around and came back to his house to use secure telephones. [He] called [Special Counsel to the President] Charles Colson and wanted to know about it. Colson would later testify about this. Only Chuck Colson could testify in a way where he was testifying about his own testimony and it was hearsay. Let me explain: Colson claimed he couldn’t remember what the president had told him, but one of his staff, whom he had told what the president had told him – [Colson] testified and said that [his testimony]
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was what he was told later that he had said to [a staffer] after he [Colson] had talked to the president – which, of course, made it hearsay. What this aide had [told Colson that] Colson had told him the weekend right after the call was that the president was so angry on learning that [Watergate burglar and ex-CIA agent James] McCord, who was the security chief at the re-election committee, was involved in this, that he threw an ashtray across the room. Colson [had told the aide that Nixon had] seemed very furious in this conversation. Later, Nixon walked out on all that. He wanted to have it as something he was really unconcerned about. But he was obviously very concerned from the outset. So, as I say,
Photo by National Archives and Records Administration/wikicommons
the title comes from [the way] he set up one defense after another defense after another defense, until he got to what I describe in part four as the Nixon defense. At that point, he went public with his defense. [His defenses] were all public, but he went public in a definitive speech on the subject. Then on May 22, he issued a written version, a rather complete written version of his defense, and it proved deadly. That final defense was that he’d known nothing about Watergate until I had told him on March 21, when I told him there was a cancer on the presidency, that there was a cover-up that could be interpreted as something illegal. Well, there are endless, endless examples of Nixon having full knowledge of [the whole thing.]
What I didn’t know when I went in to tell him [about the cover-up] is how much he did know. I can tell you today, he knew a lot more than he was letting on to me, as anyone who reads this narrative will discover. EISENHARDT: There are several questions that ask about the aphorism that has come out of Watergate. That is, “It’s not the crime, it’s the cover-up.” DEAN: Nixon had a very interesting view of what a cover-up was. He constantly warned his staff that we couldn’t cover this up, but what was he talking about? This comes out when you start piecing things together. I don’t do a lot of thinking for the reader; I lay out the facts. But I can tell you some of it will be very conspicuous to you as you read, and I will
correct some misfacts so people don’t get confused. But [Nixon’s] view of what a cover-up was, came from his time in Congress when he was pursuing the Truman administration, and he had evidence [that]people in the Truman administration were both getting kickbacks and not paying taxes on them. They were as guilty as sin as far as he was concerned. Not a single one of them was prosecuted. That, to him, was a cover-up. It was not a cover-up to him if the men who were actually caught red-handed in the Watergate [were charged] along with those who had been the immediate organizers of the break in, [Howard] Hunt and Gordon Liddy. So long as they were being charged, he didn’t see that as a cover-up. Continued on page 18
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The veteran activist sees a growing cross-political movement to change the way this countr y runs. Excerpted from “Ralph Nader,” July 31, 2014. RALPH NADER Political Activist; Author, Unstoppable: The Emerging LeftRight Alliance to Dismantle the Corporate State In conversation with
DEBRA J. SAUNDERS
Columnist, San Francisco Chronicle; “Token Conservative” Blogger, SFGate.com
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Photo by Russell Edwards
e’re dealing with different categories of “left-right” [alliance] stages. You start with public opinion. For example, counter-intuitively, 70 or 80 percent of the American people favor restoration of the minimum wage – at least inflation-adjusted from 1968. It would be $10.90 – it’s stuck at $7.25 federal, and California is going to $9 and maybe higher. You have 30 million workers in this country, out of about 140 million, who are making less today in inflation-adjusted dollars – purchasing power – than workers made in 1968. That holds true for Walmart workers, for example. Under Sam Walton, Walmart workers made, in real money, more than they make today, even though worker productivity has doubled throughout the years. When 70 or 80 percent [of Americans agree] on an issue, you know there are a lot of conservatives and liberals in that category. That [issue] is starting to go operational. It’s operational now in cities like San Jose that have raised the minimum wage. It’s going operational in 21 states that have moved up to $8.50 or $9 an hour. Congress itself is starting to get the message, and it turns out that a few weeks ago, almost in the same week, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum
and Tim Pawlenty, the Republican former governor of Minnesota, came out for the restoration of the minimum wage. [Left-right alliance issues tend to progress through] about four stages. It starts with public opinion. Then it congeals, becomes more visible, whether through left-right petitions or a referendum or marches or rallies. Then the press starts reporting it. Then it reaches the table of some candidates for office – incumbents or challengers – and once it reaches the table, it is discussable. Most of these left-right alliance issues are really off the table of the Republican and Democratic parties. They do not want to discuss it, and once it’s not discussable, obviously it’s going nowhere. What the left-right alliance says is, “No, we’re going to have this discussed in elections and public opinion and debate.” We see, for instance, this tiny budget in the federal realm: the military budget, which is $800 billion. [Laughter.] It’s half of the federal operating budget. There’s no more Soviet Union. China is not going to send missiles, not while we send them our jobs and industry. So why do we have such a large budget? Well, it’s what Eisenhower warned us about: The military-industrial complex is insatiable, and it’s always looking to find an enemy to justify all this armament and all these military contracts. It’s pretty hard trying to make $800 billion worth of fighting some criminal gangs abroad or some exaggerated third-world-country peril. What happens is, you have to cover up, and the way you cover up is you don’t audit the Pentagon budget. The Pentagon budget has not been audited decade after decade. Any businessperson knows that if you don’t audit your business, you’re not going to find out where the money is and where it’s being spent and wasted, never mind prudent business strategy and allocation. The government accounting office, the arm of Congress, reports every year on the different departments and agencies. Every year, it says, “Alas, we don’t have the data that would allow us to audit the Pentagon budget because the Pentagon doesn’t have the data.” So we discover $9 billion disappeared in the first few weeks of the invasion of Iraq, which is a criminal invasion – unconstitutional, based on lies and deceptions, [a fact] now taken for granted except by Dick Cheney. The State Department is not that much better under Hillary Clinton. Six billion
dollars couldn’t be accounted for. So where do you think the left-right [alliance]comes in on auditing the Pentagon budget? Screamingly high: over 90 percent. Ninety percent of the left-right [alliance wants] to break up the big New York banks that are deemed too big to fail – and therefore if they crash again, they crash the economy, and the taxpayers have to bail them out. The idea of initiative, referendum, recall – there are a lot of procedural Democratic reforms on which the left and right are insistently on the same side. Whether they agree or disagree, they want a voice, and if the lawmakers don’t provide a way to reflect that voice, then they want initiative, referendum and recall. The drug wars are now being subjected to a left-right alliance. Grover Norquist and
“It’s the ick factor, like ‘How can we associate with these people?’ Well, you disagree with them on A,B,C,D. So what? That doesn’t mean you don’t work with them on W,X,Y,Z.” Newt Gingrich have started a group called Right On Crime. There are too many people in jail with long sentences for nonviolent offenses, and it’s costing billions of dollars. The right wing doesn’t like that. It’s a waste of money. The left also thinks it’s a waste of money, but they [also] think it’s a terrible way to treat people if you want to avoid recidivism, and if you have any sense of human rights. Sometimes left and right are both on the same side, but for different reasons. We have juvenile justice reform being passed in 15 states now because the left-right legislators have gotten together and shortened some of those outrageous sentences for small possession of marijuana or other street drugs. Try NAFTA and the World Trade Organization: left-right [alliance], now has enough representation in the House of Representatives to stop what’s been called NAFTA on steroids, which is the TransPacific trade agreement. It doesn’t just deal with trade; it deals with subordinating consumer, worker and environmental standards
to the supremacy of commercial trade. [The agreement was] literally decided in secret tribunals, such as the ones in Geneva, Switzerland, quite different from our open courts and our regulatory processes and the legislator processes. Why is the right wing opposed? Because they think it shreds our sovereignty. Why is the left opposed? Because they think it shreds our decision-making, but they also think it unfairly ships millions of jobs and industries to autocratic regimes and fascist communist regimes that know how to keep their workers in their place at 80 cents an hour. In the book I have 25 areas of convergence. As I go around the country, people suggest other areas of convergence; some of them are national, some are local. The liberals have to get over their distaste for even associating with right-wingers. I’ve found that the right-wingers are more interested in this book than the left, and I’m asking myself why. I want to be very concise because in television you have got to give people sound bites. An intelligent reporter asks me, “What’s the problem with liberals not getting together with Grover Norquist and Newt Gingrich? I mean, do you know what these people stand for? How can you stand it?” So I’ve got it down better than a sound bite. It’s called a sound bark. Here’s the problem. It’s the ick factor, like, “How can we associate with these people? How can we deal with them? We disagree with them.” Well, you disagree with them on A, B, C, D. So what? That doesn’t mean you don’t work with them on W, X, Y, Z to lift the taboos and all the repressive forces that keep people from saying what they think and doing what they want and building a better society and having the United States be known as a humanitarian superpower instead of just a military superpower with enough armaments to blow the world up 300 times over and make the rubble bounce – which was one calculation by an industrial engineer. My favorite dollar bill is the $2 bill. I don’t know how many of you have seen the picture on the other side. This is a picture of the people who showed up to sign the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776. OK, they’re white males and they’re upper income, but when they signed that declaration, they knew they were possibly signing a death warrant because they were taking on Continued on page 20
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PRO BASKETBALL’S
JASON COLLINS The first active pro men’s basketball player to come out explains why. Excerpted from Inforum’s “The NBA’s Jason Collins: First Out Athlete in Major American Pro Sports,” August 11, 2014. JOSE ANTONIO VARGAS: What was it like to tell your family members that [you were] going to [come out] on the cover of Sports Illustrated? What was that conversation like? JASON COLLINS: I have a gay uncle –
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JASON COLLINS Professional NBA player In conversation with
JOSE ANTONIO VARGAS
Director, Define American; Producer/Director, Documented
he’s sort of like a mentor to me – and I remember him telling me that as a gay man, he has to come out and he has to keep coming out. It’s not like you rip the Band-Aid off. And you’ll get into certain situations. I wanted to tell my story in a vehicle that
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would put it out there, and then that way, we could talk about it. It’s very rare that I actually have to come out. People just know. I have a lot of humor with it now. I remember stressing about the day I was going to tell my parents, tell my aunt, tell my grandmother. You have to have a thick skin to be a professional athlete. I remember when Derek Jeter got booed at Yankee Stadium because he was in a batting slump. My advice to athletes is, if it can happen to Derek Jeter in Yankee stadium, then it can happen to you. I have been booed by my home crowd and there have been times that I’ve wanted to boo myself because I’ve done a bonehead play out there, but you have to
Photo by Ed Ritger
have thick skin. I also developed a sense of humor. Actually [a funny thing] happened today when I was shopping for some lotion at a department store and the saleswoman said, “Oh, you can buy this for your wife or your girlfriend.” I was like, “You mean my boyfriend.” and she said, “Oh, okay, that too.” VARGAS: So wait, wait, wait; you have a boyfriend? COLLINS: Yes. VARGAS: When I was reading the Sports Illustrated cover, what struck me was the headline, “The Gay Athlete.” COLLINS: Yeah. VARGAS: There’s more to [you] than being gay. But I’m curious, how do you prepare
yourself for that? All of a sudden, you’re going to be the face of this? COLLINS: I approach things as if I’m going to jump off a cliff. I seek out other people who have done that or have done something similar to that to get their advice, their expertise. I was very fortunate that my brother played with a man named John Amaechi, a former NBA basketball player who came out a couple years after he retired. Toward the end of the regular season, when I was with the Washington Wizards, I reached out to John; my brother was able to get John’s phone number. I called him and told him that I was thinking about doing a Sports Illustrated article; “What do you think?” And John was right on board. But
he was the first person to say to me, “Jason, your identity will change.” My reputation before was “the pro’s pro,” a guy who’s just a solid, professional athlete: works hard, dependable, very coachable. But he said, “All that is going to go out the window. It’s not going to change with you because you’ll always be the pro’s pro, but to the outside world and the basketball community, you’re gonna be ‘the gay one.’ Start preparing yourself for that.” It was just great; we had great conversations and I really appreciate him just preparing me for that. Now, I’m not just the gay one; depending on the situation, I’m the tall one, or I’m the black one, and yes, also the gay one.
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I never let other people make labels for me and say, “Okay, I have to stick in that box.” I’ve never been that person that sticks in one particular box. VARGAS: So you talked about what the playbook has been: If you’re in the closet and you wanna come out, you come out after you retire. You don’t do it while you’re actively playing. So when you outed yourself in spring 2013 – President Obama was incredibly supportive of it – you didn’t get signed by the Brooklyn Nets until February 2014. That was a few months of waiting there. COLLINS: More than a few. [Laughter.] VARGAS: What were you thinking during that period? Were you like, “Wait up a second; everybody’s supportive, but why am I not getting signed?” COLLINS: I never put myself in that mind frame. It goes back to preparation, and I guess that’s part of being a pro’s pro; you control what you can control, and [for me] that was how hard I worked, how hard I trained. From the end of that regular season with the Washington Wizards, I knew once the announcement was made, if I got an opportunity, a lot of eyeballs were gonna be on me and I had to be ready. I had to be in shape, so I trained very hard from May, when the announcement came out, until February. I did an event at the White House – the State of the Union – and the day before that, I was in Los Angeles, running five and a half miles and just working my butt off [to be ready] when that opportunity came – and it actually ended up being one opportunity. The Nets were the only team that gave me a basketball tryout. When I got on that court and went through that tryout, they weren’t going to say, “He’s out of shape, he’s lazy.” I went in there in practically the best shape of my life. I was 35 years old. I wish I was 25, because as an athlete there are things that I can’t do anymore. There’s the basketball hoop and then there’s a white box above it; I could easily touch the top of the box at one point of my life, and then slowly, my hand went down. Now, it’s like, “Okay, we can dunk. We can still dunk!” I actually got a dunk with the Nets, and my teammates actually won a bet off of that with [teammate] Joe Johnson. Even though I was training, I was still
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living my life, meeting a lot of great people – ended up meeting my boyfriend – meeting great friends and having a great time; for the first time in my life really having a true social life. I did have one boyfriend before my current boyfriend; you know, even having the [first] experience of having your heart broken because of an ended relationship, something that most people go through in high school, I went through when I was 34 years old. So it’s an accelerated learning curve, and the Stanford student in me is saying, “Okay, we’re gonna master this.”
“E ven
having your hear t
broken because of an ended r e l a t i o n s h i p, s o m e t h i n g most people go through in high school, I went through when I was 34 years old. ” VARGAS: Pace yourself. COLLINS: No. At Stanford, we don’t do that. [Laughter.] VARGAS: I remember reading in an article that in the first month that you were with the Nets, once you were out, you were taunted by some NBA player. I think you called him a knucklehead. COLLINS: Yeah, he’s a knucklehead. We talked about that, actually, with the young guys. This is America; everybody has their own opinions. You hope that some people will keep their opinions to themselves. I’ll never say his name, but to his credit, he didn’t use a curse word and he didn’t use a derogatory name. He just used his words wisely, and it was obviously a negative, but at the same time, you know, “Okay, so what? You’re an opponent, and guess what? On the other end, I’m gonna foul you very hard.” I’m a physical player to start with, so you really don’t want to rattle that cage. VARGAS: This is why I’m very careful about my questions. COLLINS: No, no; off the court I’m great. As a professional athlete, I think the most insulting thing you can call a professional athlete, especially in football, basketball,
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hockey, when it’s really [about] contact, is “soft.” For so long, I had to break that. I always equated getting these ideals of masculinity and all that stuff and just coming to terms with, “Look, I’m one of the most physical basketball players in the league and yes, I’m gay.” So it’s breaking a stereotype here or breaking some people’s misconceptions of what it means to be gay, because we all come in all different shades, all different colors. VARGAS: Especially now, in the age of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, there’s a lot of name calling, a lot of bullying. What advice would you give to young people who are taunted? COLLINS: It starts with that one person that you can talk to. The first person I told was my friend Keith, and then my aunt and then my parents. But you [need] that safe space whether you are talking to kids – maybe it might not be a parent; it might be a friend, or it might be a teacher. That’s why I think organizations like [the straight-gay student group] GLSEN are so important and amazing. It goes back to what my grandmother taught me: There’s always strength in numbers, don’t feel that you have to carry the weight of something by yourself. I would [advise people] to reach out to that one person, and then your community – your support system – will grow from there. [Use that] to try to navigate through whatever turmoil you’re going through. VARGAS: No one was asking you to do this. Do you think prominent public people have a responsibility to come out? COLLINS: That’s a tough one, because I am [very much] for telling people, “You’re an adult, you have your own path in life to live.” I want to tell them that if they do choose to come out, the community is waiting for them, [and] the support will be there for them. Then again, it goes back to not having that stress and really being proud of everything that makes you unique. So when it comes to people who have some prominence in the community, I would love it. Deep down, yes, I would love it if they all came out, because then as a wave we would just change people’s minds and continue that conversation. But you don’t ever want to force people,
because if they’re not ready they can do more harm to not only themselves, but also their communities. You just try to be very supportive and tell them again that there’s nothing more powerful than living your authentic life. Their lives will just be so much better for it. VARGAS: I think people like us owe a great deal of gratitude to people like Harvey Milk [and] to a lot of athletes who never came out. I’m curious what would you say if you could have a conversation with those [people.] COLLINS: Well, I’ve had conversations with Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King – I come from a sports world. I’m a jock, but I did go to Stanford so... [I spoke] with Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King and then other gay athletes, gay male athletes – Dave Kopay, Esera Tuaolo, John Amaechi. Everybody does their part to make it easier and better for the next generation. I think that’s one of the main things that’s really cool about my experiences, just having that realization that my actions will make it easier for someone else to have a better life. That’s important for all of us in this room, to have a positive impact on someone else’s life. You know, we’re all trying to live our journey and clear the road. So I have members of the LGBT community to thank for that and also members from the civil rights era in the 1960s. Being an African American, I just spoke on a panel discussion for CBS, “CBS News: 50 Years Later, Civil Rights.”
I’ve heard of a lot of the stories from my family members. I had a conversation with my aunt and my mom and my grandmother. My grandmother grew up in upstate Louisiana [in] segregation. You know, just hearing those stories about how the country has changed in her lifetime – that’s what I want when I’m her age. I won’t give away how old she is but hopefully I’ll live [to see] what the country will be like when I am her age. I don’t have children yet, but my brother has three children, and what kind of world do I want them to be in? VARGAS: This is a really, really good question from the audience from a guy named Stewart – went to Stanford. Question is: Knowing what you know today, what would you have told your 20-year-old Stanford student self? COLLINS: Wow. You don’t have to live the lie. You’re gonna, for over a decade, have horrible sleep. It will weigh on you. It will weigh on your soul, because you’re fighting yourself, and you don’t have to have that fight. So that’s what I would tell my 20-year-old self. VARGAS: Have you experienced greater expectations and pressures as a gay man who is also African American? COLLINS: I’ve always kind of put high expectations on myself. I went to a very challenging, demanding high school, went to a very challenging, demanding college. When you’re at these institutions, sometimes there are fewer of us minorities in the room; again, it goes back to my family
instilling that pride in me: Just be proud of who you are and always keep your head held high. With regard to extra pressure, extra expectation, I guess I’m used to [the fact that] when I walk into a room, the heads [are] always going to turn because I am a sevenfoot African American. Whether they’re turning because of that or they’re turning because I’m gay, I don’t know. I don’t enter into someone else’s mind. I’m going into legal terminology right now where you can’t enter into someone else’s mind. I’m proud of who I am. Now I’m 35, but it took me a long time to get to that point to truly be proud of everything that makes me who I am, and just go from there. VARGAS: So how did you feel when your jersey sales [got so high], after coming out? COLLINS: Yeah, it was the number-one seller for a while. Thanks [to] everyone here who bought one. More important, I talked about donating proceeds from the jersey sales to the Matthew Shepard Foundation and GLSEN [Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network], two great organizations that do a lot for society, and just making sure that something even better can come of the money coming in. VARGAS: [Another comment from the audience]: You have to go play for the Warriors. COLLINS: They already have one Collins on the team; my brother is an assistant coach on the team, so you can at least cheer for my brother. Photo by Ed Ritger
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QUANTUM MECHANICS
the theoretical minimum with Leonard Susskind and Art Friedman Why is math a language critical to understanding quantum mechanics? Why can’t they just use good ol’ normal math? Excerpted from “Quantum Mechanics: The Theoretical Minimum,” May 22, 2014. LEONARD SUSSKIND Felix Bloch Professor of Theoretical Physics, Stanford University; Co-author, Quantum Mechanics: The Theoretical Minimum
ART FRIEDMAN
Data Engineer; Co-author, Quantum Mechanics: The Theoretical Minimum
ART FRIEDMAN: We try to convey the basic language of quantum mechanics, which is mathematics. If we think about languages, and about learning languages, languages are filled with idioms. They’re some of the things that make languages rich and interesting. Take for example idioms that carry the basic meaning “don’t bother me.” There are different ways to say that in different languages; there are different ways of saying that within the English language itself. Just look at the English example, “get off my case.” Put yourself in the position of a
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person who is not a native English speaker, who is learning English and is trying to make sense out of that utterance, and they’ve never heard it before. They might go use dictionary definitions and simple grammar rules that they’ve been taught. If they do that, they’ll wonder, “Why does this person have a case? What in the world is inside the case? Why is this other person on top of the case? Why does the first person even care that that person is on the case and want them to get off?” In other words, you can go down this rabbit hole of very logical reasoning, reasoning that
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makes sense from your understanding of the way words connect to the world, but that really doesn’t get you anywhere in terms of understanding the meaning of that phrase. You have to connect those words to the world in a different way, and it might be even easier to see that in some other languages that are not so familiar to us. Now, onto the language of physics. I think the process of learning quantum mechanics is tricky in a very similar fashion, because the connection between the math and the physical world is a different sort of Photo by Richard Wheeler/wikicommons
connection. In physics, classical mechanics is your native language. It might surprise you that it’s your native language even if you’ve never studied it. It’s your native language in the sense that the connections between mathematics and physics are very straightforward. [In quantum mechanics] we talk about the things that we talk about in classical mechanics or in any kind of physics: we talk about states and measurements. Those are two concepts that we have. In classical mechanics, there’s barely any difference between them. If you think about the state of a particle, just a little idealized lump of matter – it’s very tiny – you can describe it by giving its position and velocity. Let’s say its position is four and its velocity is five. That represents the state of that particle. That’s what you can know about it. On the other hand, suppose you don’t know what the state of the particle is and you want to find out. How do you find out? You find out by trying to measure the particle, and what do you measure? You measure those same things. You measure the position; you measure the velocity. In classical mechanics, we have this idea that in principle it’s possible to measure something as gently as you like. You can measure it so gently that, for all practical purposes, you’re not disturbing the thing that you’re measuring. So if you measure a position of four and a velocity of five, after the measurement takes place, the system that you’ve measured still has a position of four and a velocity of five. There’s no meaningful distinction, in other words, between the idea of a state and the idea of a measurement. It’s different in this respect in quantum mechanics. What we have to do is separate the concept of a state from the concept of a measurement. In quantum mechanics, they become two very different things. A measurement in quantum mechanics is kind of similar to what a measurement is in classical mechanics. It’s not exactly the same thing, but it has the same feel. If you ask about what a measurement is, you’ll be looking for something like a number: “The particle is in position four.” A state is a mathematical description that encapsulates everything that you can possibly know about that system. Having said that, it’s not the same as a state in classical mechanics. It’s a more abstract mathemati-
cal idea. You don’t find things like positions and velocities in a state description. You’ll find things like abstract state vectors that consist of complex value state vectors. They are more complicated abstract mathematical things that represent a state. And by the way, now that [state and measurements] are separate, they get to have a relationship. They get to be related to each other in some specific way, and that relationship is mediated by another set of mathematical objects that are called linear operators. There’s nothing that mysterious or outlandish about linear operators. They come up all the time in applied physics and mathematics. They were not specially invented for quantum mechanics, I don’t think, but somehow they become this sort of mathematical pipeline that connects the two concepts of a state and a measurement. Now this is something we don’t have in
“Y
ou’re
kind
of
expecting a model that resembles the classical model of physics, but t h a t ’s n o t w h a t w e g e t . ” –Friedman classical mechanics at all. So when you find this pipeline sitting there and these abstract state vectors in the state box, it’s a little surprising and you say to yourself, “Why don’t they behave?” Even if you don’t say this explicitly, you’re kind of expecting a model that resembles the classical model of physics, but that’s not what we get. Now, as far as I can tell, the main obstacle in learning quantum mechanics is to get that idea. There are other things that have to be learned, of course; it’s a wide-ranging subject. But that’s really the main act. Is it really that hard? It’s hard in the sense that breaking your old habits is hard to do. Is it worth the trouble? You have to answer that question for yourself. I obviously think it is. It’s not something that requires genius. It’s something that requires a roadmap of the kind that we’re trying to give you here. Back to the reward: If you do decide to
take this journey, you’ll be able to get some firsthand understanding of what I think is a rather amazing and beautiful body of work. It’s really one of the coolest things the human mind has ever come up with, as far as I can tell. Why wouldn’t you want to know about it? It’s surprising and counterintuitive. It will enable you to understand and think critically about some current discoveries and work that’s being done. It’s also fun. LEONARD SUSSKIND: Art did say it exactly right. And I’m going to say it again in my own way. Why do we need mathematics to understand physics? Why can’t we understand physics just by pictures? Why can’t we understand it in words? Why is there this priesthood of theoretical physicists who speak in a language that nobody else can understand? The reason is, it’s not some willful nastiness; I don’t know what the right word is. FRIEDMAN: Snobbery. SUSSKIND: There’s nothing secretive about it. It is, as Art said, a language, but it is a necessary language. It became especially necessary around the turn of the last century when physics started dealing with phenomena that were extremely remote – extremely remote in the sense that they had to deal with things that were vastly smaller than you can see, vastly lighter than you could weigh, vastly faster than that with which you could possibly keep up. And suddenly you were in a world of experience in which you were never intended to be. When I say you were never intended to be in it, I mean to say that your facilities, your neural architecture – the thing that you were provided with by evolution – was not intended for these extremely remote kinds of phenomena. What were you intended for? You were intended basically for classical mechanics – for how stones move, for how rocks move, for what happens if you fall off a cliff. You have an innate sense. I’m not a neural specialist, so I don’t really know what your neural network is intended for, but I have a feeling that, at least in part, some of us are very innate in the understanding of things like, “You better not fall off a cliff because if you do, you’re going to get crushed.” You have an innate sense of what a force is – a push. All sorts of things are the things that you can see with your eyes. When you think about a wave, you can think about a wave in the sea. It’s easy to see, easy to visualize.
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Photo by Ed Ritger
DEAN continued from page 9 If you stopped it there and didn’t go up to who had approved it, like Jeb Magruder, the deputy director [of the Committee to Re-Elect the President], or John Mitchell, [Nixon’s] former attorney general and director of his campaign, [Nixon] didn’t think that was a cover-up. So you have to put this in perspective, and you will as you see how this unfolds. He was very concerned; if everybody had walked scot-free, that would be a cover-up. Stopping it and not letting it get out of hand, not so much a cover-up. EISENHARDT: Going back to your March 21st conversation: Before that, how actively had you been involved in discussions either with the president or with Ehrlichman or Haldeman and when did you first start to sense that the line was being crossed? DEAN: Good questions. I was asked to meet with Liddy a couple times. First, when I was involved with getting Liddy to become general counsel of the Committee [to Re-Elect the President], I was totally unaware of his past. I had been specifically excluded from the so-called plumbers operation, which did the [Daniel] Ellsberg break-in, because I had gotten wind of another break-in, that’s on tape, in ’71 when the Pentagon Papers leaked. One afternoon in July, a fellow by the name of Jack Caulfield came in my office. Jack was a former New York City detective who had been temporarily assigned to my office as he was on his way to work in the Treasury department; but he had worked for Ehrlichman when he was counsel.
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New York City detectives don’t get rattled by many things; they’ve seen just about everything you can think of, but he was wideeyed and said to me, “John, I just came from Colson’s office and he wants me to firebomb the Brookings Institute,” a think tank in Washington. I said, “What?!” He said, “He wants me to firebomb the Brookings Institute. When the fire department responds, he wants me to send a team in to crack the safe to get a copy of what the president believes is either [some] study or something to do with the Pentagon Papers.” I said, “Jack, do nothing, please. Just don’t do anything.” And I said, “Let me see what I can do.” I jumped on the next flight to San Clemente – because the president and his staff were out there – and went immediately to Ehrlichman to tell him what had happened. The last thing I remember before leaving my office, [is] I had the DC [legal] code there, and I [checked it], rather quickly, and discovered that if anybody died in an arson situation at that time in the District of Columbia, it was a capital crime. So I tell Ehrlichman about this crazy scheme and the [danger of ] somebody out of the White House committing a potential capital offense. He picked up the telephone and called Colson and said, “Chuck, young counsel Dean is out here. Doesn’t think this is such a good idea on the Brookings. Cancel it.” That’s it. He literally turned to me and said, “Anything else, counselor?” But I
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learned a few days later, when [presidential advisor] Bud Krogh returned from Washington, that he was being tasked to set up an investigation unit known as The [White House] plumbers. I didn’t learn about all these activities until after Liddy confessed and after they had the debacle at the DNC. The Brookings Institute break-in was a debacle, too. There was nothing there. They messed up the office and made what could have been direct links back to the White House, [despite] Liddy later promising Krogh and others for whom he had done this that he would never do anything that would link to the White House. He decided at the last minute to provide protection for his Cuban Americans who’d gone into the psychiatrist’s office. They’d broken a window to get in and Liddy was there and said that he was prepared to kill anybody in the Beverly Hills police department who gave them any trouble. I don’t think anybody was thinking in terms of the criminal law when we should’ve been. I had the passing thought that we didn’t know about it. My antennae should’ve been quivering from the outset, but they were not. I was more worried about the politics of it and what this could do, and actually just trying to find out what had happened. It took us a good bit of time to ferret out what all was involved. In fact, there was some real evidence that the CIA actually was involved in this thing. Now, I’m clear that they weren’t at all, other than having worked with the plumbers unit and then [with White House
plumber E. Howard] Hunt and Liddy having used material that they got from the CIA later in their Watergate operation. But Chuck Colson came to me after the election and said, “I just talked to Howard Hunt” – whom he had brought into the White House – and he said, “I’ve got a tape of the conversation with Hunt.” Almost everybody in the White House taped. I didn’t tape, but almost everybody else did. He was very proud of this tape, because he said, “Hunt really exonerates me as to having anything to do with the Watergate break-in.” But [the recorded] conversation wasn’t about the break-in other than Ehrlichman and Colson trying to get this information out of him. It was Hunt trying to get money and making it very clear that this was a quid pro quo. If he wasn’t paid and the rest of them weren’t paid soon, the whole thing was going to fall apart. When I heard that conversation, I first of all took the recording for Haldeman and Ehrlichman to hear. They said, “Take it to Mitchell and see what he says.” I took it to Mitchell and he said, “I’ll take care of it.” It was taken care of. I came back and started looking in the law books. So I started looking around to see what we might be doing. I pieced it together that we were involved in a conspiracy to obstruct justice. I took that to Ehrlichman, and he debated it with me. You’ll find conversations in this book where I start walking around with copies of the statutes in my pocket to try to convince Ehrlichman, principally, any time I can that what we were doing was crazy. Some of this got reported to the president. When Ehrlichman did it, I happened to be there and he was much more inclined to say there might be a problem in front of the president than he was with me. Another thing I took in at one point was a list of all the people I thought might be indicted, both for the break-in and the [related] activities. I noted that it was going to be a conspiracy to obstruct justice, and I cited the sections of the code. Haldeman told the president [about the list], and recited pretty accurately what was in this document [and said], “This shows you how distorted Dean’s thinking has become.” It happened to be highly prescient. Everybody I named on there got indicted for the offenses that I had laid out.
Online Election Commonwealth Club Board of Governors The election of members and officers of The Commonwealth Club Board of Governors for the 2015 term will be conducted online. The ballot will be available on the Club’s website from Monday, November 10, 2014, through Sunday, November 16, 2014, during which time Club members may submit their votes. Following the voting period, the votes will be tabulated, and a meeting of the membership will be held at 11:45 a.m. on Friday, November 21, 2014, preceding the noontime program that day. At that time the election results will be ratified by the members present. Members, please visit commonwealthclub.org/boardvote between November 10 and November 16 to submit your vote for the 2015 term of the Board of Governors.
LEADERSHIP OF THE COMMONWEALTH CLUB CLUB OFFICERS Board Chair Anna W.M. Mok Vice Chair John R. Farmer Secretary Frank Meerkamp Treasurer Lee J. Dutra President & CEO Dr. Gloria C. Duffy BOARD OF GOVERNORS Carlo Almendral Courtland Alves Dan Ashley Massey J. Bambara Dr. Mary G. F. Bitterman** John L. Boland Michael R. Bracco Thomas H. Burkhart Helen A. Burt Maryles Casto** Mary B. Cranston** Susie Cranston Dr. Kerry P. Curtis Dr. Jaleh Daie Alecia DeCoudreaux Dorian Daley Evelyn S. Dilsaver Joseph I. Epstein* Jeffrey A. Farber Carol A. Fleming, Ph.D. Leslie Saul Garvin Dr. Charles Geschke Paul M. Ginsburg Edie G. Heilman Hon. James C. Hormel Mary Huss John Leckrone Dr. Mary Marcy Frank C. Meerkamp Kevin P. O’Brien Rev. Stephen A. Privett, S.J. Dr. Mohammad H. Qayoumi Frederick W. Reid Skip Rhodes* Brian D. Riley Richard A. Rubin George M. Scalise Lata Krishnan Shah Dr. Ruth Shapiro Charlotte Mailliard Shultz George D. Smith, Jr. James Strother Hon. Tad Taube Charles Travers Dr. Colleen B. Wilcox Russell M. Yarrow Jed York * Past President ** Past Chair
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ADVISORY BOARD Karin Helene Bauer Hon. William Bradley Dennise M. Carter Rolando Esteverena Steven Falk Amy Gershoni Jacquelyn Hadley Heather Kitchen Amy McCombs Don J. McGrath Hon. William J. Perry Hon. Barbara Pivnicka Hon. Richard Pivnicka Ray Taliaferro Nancy Thompson PAST BOARD CHAIRS & PRESIDENTS Dr. Mary G. F. Bitterman (Past Chair) Hon. Shirley Temple Black (Past President) deceased (1928-2014) J. Dennis Bonney (Past President) John Busterud (Past President) Maryles Casto (Past Chair) Hon. Ming Chin (Past President) Mary B. Cranston (Past Chair) Joseph I. Epstein (Past President) Dr. Joseph R. Fink (Past President) William German (Past President) Rose Guilbault (Past Chair) Claude B. Hutchison Jr. (Past President) Dr. Julius Krevans (Past President) Richard Otter (Past President) Joseph Perrelli (Past President) Toni Rembe (Past President) Victor J. Revenko (Past President) Skip Rhodes (Past President) Renée Rubin (Past President) Robert Saldich (Past Chair) Connie Shapiro (Past President) Nelson Weller (Past President) Judith Wilbur (Past President) Dennis Wu (Past President)
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NADER continued from page 11 the most powerful military force in the world, the British Empire. So I say to all of us: Half of democracy is showing up. If we’re not going to show up, especially in the left-right alliance, to town meetings, to the precincts to vote, to the courtrooms, to the marches, to the rallies, we won’t get this great democratic experiment maturing as it should in the 21st century. If we don’t do that, given the trends of decay and decline, our descendants are going to curse us for the kind of country we hand forward. All of us have our own occupations, professions and businesses, but we are also all citizens and we have to allot time for that precious and most important responsibility.
Question and Answer Session with Debra J. Saunders, Columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle DEBRA J. SAUNDERS: Who do you think will be the candidates for president in 2016? RALPH NADER: I could be flippant and say it’s not relevant because [all the potential frontrunners] represent the same interests – except for a few categories that are important in the civil liberties area – but on national security and corporate welfare and not doing anything about the tax code and empire and war, it’s so drearily similar [in] both parties. If I had to guess now, and it will be a wrong guess, [I would say,] the dynasty returns: Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton. SAUNDERS: Will Ralph Nader jump into this? NADER: No. But I do want to encourage a billionaire or two to turn it into a three- or four-way race. There should be an enlightened billionaire, especially in this area of the country, who is rather seriously concerned about the state of the country. I’m serious about that. I sent letters to 20 billionaires urging them to [run.] However, it’s a long way to Iowa and the caucuses, so anything could happen. I just wrote a column saying I think Jerry Brown is not going to go to Iowa and New Hampshire, but I think he’s standing for president. I think he’s waiting to see if Hillary falters. He’s ready and he’s done everything to be as invulnerable as possible to political attack. Plus, he’s balanced the budget and he’s run three times so he still has that taste. SAUNDERS: This to me is one of the is-
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sues where the right and the left can quickly agree: Mr. Nader, would you share your opinion of GMO corn and the ethanol fuel mandate? NADER: I don’t know about liberals on this, but I think there are a lot of conservatives and a good slice of liberal people who are discovering that ethanol is a waste of taxpayer dollars; it’s a subsidy. Number two, it does not help the environment the way it was exaggerated on its introduction. Sugarcane ethanol is much more efficient. Number three, it almost costs as much to produce the corn as the BTUs you get out of the corn when it’s burned. Number four, why do you want to burn food in a hungry world? And number five, the studies have shown that you’re likely to marginally in-
“ T here
should be an
enlightened billionaire who is seriously concerned about the state of the country. I sent letters to 20 billionaires urging them to [run for president].” crease supermarket prices because of any shortages that occur. Back when I was campaigning, right from the start, they asked me, “What’s your opinion on ethanol?” And I said, “Out of here!” That made me really popular. [Laughter.] SAUNDERS: And GMO corn? NADER: For any GMO, first of all, it’s Monsanto corporate science. It’s not academic science. Corporate science is secret, proprietary information; it’s not peer-reviewed by other scientists; it’s not open; it has political power, which goes beyond its merits; and it is commercially driven in terms of what you choose to do research on while academic science is open, peer-reviewed. Some scientists may want to support something that doesn’t have to make an immediate profit, but is very good for human beings. I’ve just written a long introduction to a book called The GMO Deception that is full of articles by scientists and investigative reporters saying, “Open it up, folks. This is too secret and too tumultu-
O C TO BER/NO V EMB ER 2014
ous a technology. Changing the nature of nature? Flora, fauna? Corporations owning our genetic sequences in terms of monopoly patents? Let’s have a discussion.” There’s no ethical legal framework. It’s essentially unregulated. And you have farmers who don’t want to grow GMO crops whose crops are being contaminated by the winds wafting from farms that do use GMO crops. So, it is a trap. In other countries it’s worse than that. [GMO technology] allies itself with industrial farming, dispossessing millions of farmers in places like India. SAUNDERS: NASA scientist James Hansen has suggested that eliminating the development of breeder reactors was a big mistake in our quest to reduce CO2 and global warming. What’s your opinion on that? NADER: My opinion is that the best fusion reactor we’ll ever have is the sun: photovoltaics, solar-thermal, wind power. You know, if the sun could ever write a letter to the earth, it’d say, “You stupid people, I gave you vegetation, which congealed and went down, down into the ground and turned into oil, gas and coal. Instead of looking up at me and having more wind power and all the rest that I give you, you’re digging deeper and deeper, and bringing it up, and poisoning your own people, and devastating flora and fauna, and creating soil erosion and toxic dust for workers and pollution. What is going on here?” Here’s what’s going on. The problem with the sun is it’s super abundant; it’s everywhere and if you can get the infrastructure, it’s free. Exxon Mobil doesn’t like that. There is a natural disposition for conglomerations of capital to lock into highly capitalized local sources of energy like coal mines, oil wells, gas lines and nuclear power because then they control it and solar energy is very decentralized. You now have trucks in California installing solar panels all over the state because the price has dropped precipitously in the last three years. That’s why I think solar energy is not irreversible. It’s had some false starts. It started over 2,000 years ago. The ancient Persians and the ancient Greeks used their construction in a way to get the benefits of the sun in the winter and not so much in the summer. East Africa had tunnels where cold wind came in. It’s been around a long time. It’s time to bring the sun back. Forget about all these hazardous, highly complicated,
highly centralized, highly autocratic and highly risky technologies. The sun’s going to be around, we are told, for four billion years, so it allows for long-range planning. SAUNDERS: Who are the best people in government today? Who are the worst? Name names. NADER: You have to take them piece by piece. I think Senator Elizabeth Warren is very good on consumer financial issues, debtor-creditor relations, big banks and bailouts. She really knows her stuff. I don’t think she’s very good on foreign and military policy. I think she follows the Obama line partially because she doesn’t know that much. It’s not her area, but I hold her up to higher levels. Rand Paul – I can’t stand his positions. He’s against Medicare; he’s against health and safety regulation; he doesn’t like mandated environmental standards; I think he’s skeptical on climate change; and he hates taxation. You wonder how all this is going to be funded. But he’s against empire. He’s for open information, and he’s against the bloated military budget. We had an amazing thing happen in 2010. Barney Frank and Ron Paul – [Rand Paul’s] father – got together in a caucus, and they staffed it to take on the bloated military budget – left-right [alliance], right there. I mean, I would vote for 15 percent of the Congress. I’d willingly vote for them. One-five. [But that percentage has] been going down.
SAUNDERS: I know you like Jerry Brown. Who do you like from California? NADER: On domestic issues, George Miller. I like him very much. SAUNDERS: He’s retiring. NADER: Yeah, he’s retiring. I have this rule. I’m for term limits, not six years, but rather 12 years. Why? they ask me. Because after 12 years, most of the members of Congress either wear out or sell out. They wear out literally. They just lose their spark and their initiative. And Henry Waxman has done neither. He’s really the supreme legislator. The greatest legislator, in my 45 or 50 years now in Washington, was Congressman John Moss from Sacramento. Hands down. SAUNDERS: I’m sure you noticed the New York Times editorial that called for the legalization of marijuana, the end of the federal ban. NADER: Huge editorial. There were three of them. SAUNDERS: That’s right. Now do you think that this country will legalize marijuana in the next five years? NADER: Yes. I mean, I do not like drug addiction. I am very strong on this, but I have studied the history of trying to criminalise personal addictions. It’s what the former dean of Harvard Law School once said about other things: There are certain patterns in behavior in human society that are beyond the effective range of legal action. You can’t prosecute them. They’ll proliferate in all kinds of brutal ways. So
surface it, regulate it, tax it and rehabilitate. That’s what’s happening. When I started opposing the tobacco industry in 1964, when the Surgeon General’s report came out, 47 percent of all adults smoked. It’s now 18 percent nationwide, lower in California. That’s a huge consumer movement. Four hundred thousand people a year die from tobaccoinduced diseases. I mean, you want to talk about a terror. But now [that number] is going to decline and non-smokers won’t be able to absorb other people’s smoke. We pushed for non-smoking compartments in railroads, buses and airplanes and then elimination. And 1988 was the last year when you could get on a U.S. airliner and have anyone smoke. I happened to be on a flight from Washington to Buffalo [on the very day before the ban went into effect], and I was the last guy on the plane. There was one seat by the window in the rear and I was going down the aisle with my suitcase, and this guy in the middle looked at me with a gleam. He couldn’t believe it. I sat next to him and he said, “You. It’s you who did this.” All the way to Buffalo, he blew smoke in my face and I was doing the vent, you know, trying to get air. When we landed and it was the last time he could ever smoke, he blew the last smoke in my face. I said, “Are you satisfied?” He said, “Yes. It was worth it.” And I said, “Well, I hope you enjoyed it because you’re never going to do it again.” SAUNDERS: That is called gloating. Photo by Russell Edwards
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Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow. Over the decades, the Club has hosted speakers for such programs as: 1936: “Our State’s Finances,” with Arlin E. Stockburger 1958: “The Role of Women in the Armed Forces,” with Mary Louise Milligan 1961: “Federal Aid to Education,” with Abraham Ribicoff 1977: “What China Policy?” with Shirley Temple Black 1984: “Venture Capital,” with William R. Hambrecht 1993: “Labor Unions at a Crossroads,” with Owen Bieber 2010: “The Ethical Imperative of America’s Involvement on the World Stage,” with James A. Baker III
All of these topics are still being discussed today around the world. Can you think of another organization that has been addressing these important topics for more than all of those years?
The Club continues to have hundreds of programs and speakers each year exploring differing philosophies of government and life, and differing solutions offered by experts. We can do that because of the commitment of our members.
You may know that membership dues and event program fees only cover about 45 percent of the expenses of the Club. In this time of rapid change, your support is more important than ever – your gift will help us to continue to host timely, provocative debates from a variety of viewpoints here in Northern California heard around the world.
To make a contribution, go online to support.commonwealthclub.org/donate. or call 415-597-6714. Every gift, no matter what amount, helps the Club to shine the light on the truth. Thank you for your continuing generosity. We can’t continue without you.
The Commonwealth Club
putting you face-to-face with today’s thought leaders
Programs For up-to-date information on programs, and to subscribe to our weekly newsletter, go to commonwealthclub.org
OVERVIEW
TICKETS
The Commonwealth Club organizes more than 450 events every year – on politics, the arts, media, literature, business and sports. Programs are held throughout the Bay Area.
Prepayment is required. Unless otherwise indicated, all Club programs – including “Members Free” events – require tickets. Programs often sell out, so we strongly encourage you to purchase tickets in advance. Tickets are available at will call. Due to heavy call volume, we urge you to purchase tickets online at commonwealthclub.org; or call (415) 597-6705. Please note: All ticket sales are final. Please arrive at least 10 minutes prior to any program. If a program is sold out and your tickets are not claimed at our box office by the program start time, they will be released to our stand-by list. Select events include premium seating; premium refers to the first several rows of seating.
STANDARD PROGRAMS Typically one hour long, these speeches cover a variety of topics and are followed by a question and answer session. Most evening programs include a networking reception with wine.
PROGRAM SERIES CLIMATE ONE programs are a conversation about America’s energy, economy and environment. To understand any of them, it helps to understand them all. GOOD LIT features both established literary luminaries and upand-coming writers in conversation. Includes Food Lit. INFORUM is for and by people in their 20s to mid-30s, though events are open to people of all ages.
MEMBER–LED FORUMS (MLF) Volunteer-driven programs focus on particular fields. Most evening programs include a wine networking reception. MEMBER-LED FORUMS CHAIR Dr. Carol Fleming carol.fleming@speechtraining.com HEALTH & MEDICINE William B. Grant wbgrant@infionline.net Patty James patty@pattyjames.com HUMANITIES George C. Hammond george@pythpress.com INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Norma Walden norwalden@aol.com LGBT James Westly McGaughey jwes.mcgaughey@me.com MIDDLE EAST Celia Menczel celiamenczel@sbcglobal.net PERSONAL GROWTH: Stephanie Kriebel stephanie@sunspiritwellness.com PSYCHOLOGY Patrick O’Reilly oreillyphd@hotmail.com SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY Chisako Ress chisakoress@gmail.com
Hear Club programs on about 200 public and commercial radio stations throughout the United States. For the latest schedule, visit commonwealthclub.org/broadcast. In the San Francisco Bay Area, tune in to: KQED (88.5 FM) Fridays at 8 p.m. and Saturdays at 2 a.m. KRCB Radio (91.1 FM in Rohnert Park) Thursdays at 7 p.m. KALW (91.7 FM) Inforum programs on select Tuesdays at 7 p.m. KOIT (96.5 FM and 1260 AM) Sundays at 6 a.m. KLIV (1590 AM) Thursdays at 7 p.m. KSAN (107.7 FM) Sundays at 5 a.m. KNBR (680 and 1050 AM) Sundays at 5 a.m. KFOG (104.5 and 97.7 FM) Sundays at 5 a.m.
Watch Club programs on the California Channel Thursdays at 9 p.m. and on KRCB TV 22 on Comcast & DirecTV the last Sunday of each month at 11 a.m. Select Commonwealth Club Silicon Valley programs air on CreaTV in San Jose (Channel 30). View hundreds of streaming videos of Club programs at fora.tv and youtube.com/commonwealthclub
Subscribe to our free podcasting service to automatically download a new program recording to your personal computer each week: commonwealthclub.org/podcast.
HARD OF HEARING? To request an assistive listening device, please e-mail Valerie Castro at vcastro@commonwealthclub.org seven working days before the event. O C TO B ER/N OV EMB ER 2014
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www.commonwealthclub.org/events
FORUM CHAIRS ARTS Anne W. Smith asmith@ggu.edu Lynn Curtis lynnwcurtis@comcast.net ASIA–PACIFIC AFFAIRS Cynthia Miyashita cmiyashita@hotmail.com BAY GOURMET Cathy Curtis ccurtis873@gmail SF BOOK DISCUSSION Barbara Massey b4massey@yahoo.com BUSINESS & LEADERSHIP Kevin O’Malley kevin@techtalkstudio.com ENVIRONMENT & NATURAL RESOURCES Ann Clark cbofcb@sbcglobal.net GROWNUPS John Milford Johnwmilford@gmail.com
RADIO, VIDEO AND PODCASTS
OCTOBER
Two Month Calendar SAT/SUN
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
1
5:30 p.m. Meet the Artist Reception FM
4/5
6 12:00 p.m. The Island of Knowledge FM 5:30 p.m. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn FM 6:00 p.m. The Business Solution to Poverty FM 6:30 p.m. Chef Thomas McNaughton 6:30 p.m. Joshua Wolf Shenk
11/12
13
www.commonwealthclub.org/events
12:00 p.m. Retired U.S. General Wesley Clark FM 6:00 p.m. Emperor Augustus: A Force for Civilization FM 6:30 p.m. Week to Week Political Roundtable FS 6:30 p.m. Water Politics
18/19 Sun 19 3:00 p.m. Mark Bittman: How to Cook Everything Fast
20 12:00 p.m. Matt Bai: When Politics Went Tabloid FM 5:15 p.m. Cult or Benign Cure-All? FM 6:15 p.m. Science & Technology Organizational Meeting FE
25/26
27 5:30 p.m. Middle East Discussion Group FE 6:00 p.m. Changing the Way We Die FM 6:00 p.m. TechWomen: Advancing Women’s Leadership in Africa and the Middle East FM
24
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7 6:30 p.m. An Evening with Nicholas Kristof
8 6:00 p.m. Peace Corps in Ukraine 6:30 p.m. Nick Carr: An Automated World 7:00 p.m. Steven Pinker
14 12:00 p.m. From Hobby to Thriving Business: The Story of Della Fattoria 6:00 p.m. How to Work a Room and Enjoy Networking in Our Digital Age 6:00 p.m. John Lanchester with Michael Lewis
21 12:00 p.m. The War in Syria FM 6:00 p.m. Latino/a Culture, Heritage and Conservation for the Environment 6:00 p.m. Francis Fukuyama 6:30 p.m. Eating for Life 7:00 p.m. Innovating Women
28 6:00 p.m. Chasing Water 6:00 p.m. Madness and Memory
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15 5:15 p.m. Ace the Interview: Critical Skills for Midlife Applicants 6:00 p.m. Socrates Café FM
THURSDAY
2
1:45 p.m. Chinatown Walking Tour 6:00 p.m. An Evening with Jacques Pépin 6:00 p.m. Technological Unemployment: Software Revolution or Job Extinction? 7:00 p.m. How Google Works
9 12:00 p.m. No More Heart Attacks 12:00 p.m. Security in Eastern Europe and Beyond FM 5:30 p.m. Livy’s The Dawn of the Roman Empire, Bks 31-40 FM 6:00 p.m. Kevin Roe
16 1:45 p.m. Waterfront Walk 6:00 p.m. Leon Panetta
FRIDAY
3
12:00 p.m. Oil on Rails FM 7:00 p.m. Cornel West FE
10 12:00 p.m. Tony Serra: The Green, Yellow, and Purple Years in the Life of a Radical Lawyer FM
17 12:00 p.m. Middle East Hotspots: Geopolitics and Stability FM 7:00 p.m. Rita Moreno
6:00 p.m. The Tech Boom: Good or Bad for San Francisco?
22 12:30 p.m. Dr. Atul Gawande 6:00 p.m. Tech meets Neuroscience 6:00 p.m. Common Core Education Summit FM 7:00 p.m. Steven Johnson
29 12:00 p.m. The Business Case For Gender Diversity 6:00 p.m. Eric Metaxas: Do You Believe in Miracles? 6:00 p.m. The World We Create: A Message of Hope for a Planet in Peril FM
23 1:45 p.m. San Francisco Architecture Walking Tour 6:00 p.m. The Return of George Washington 6:30 p.m. Linda Rottenberg in conversation with Reid Hoffman: Think Big
30 5:15 p.m. Cognitive Dimensions of Healthy Lifestyle Habits 6:00 p.m. Keystone and Beyond
7:15 p.m. Marissa Mayer in conversation with Marc Benioff – A Visionary Award Event
24 12:00 p.m. California’s Contributions to Culinary Publishing FM
31 12:00 p.m. French Friday with Dorie Greenspan FM
NOVEMBER
Legend
MONDAY
San Francisco
FM
Free program for members
East Bay/North Bay
FE
Free program for everyone
Silicon Valley
MO
Members–only program
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SAT/SUN
1/2
Sat 01 7:00 p.m. Mario Batali
3 12:00 p.m. Week to Week 5:30 p.m. Book Discussion: Mao II by Don DeLillo FM 6:00 p.m. Dry Farming Wine Grapes in California: Making Great Wine 6:30 p.m. Chef Marcus Samuelsson
10 12:00 p.m. 33 Artists in 3 Acts: Politics, Kinship and Craft FM
4 12:00 p.m. Founders’ Son: A Life of Abraham Lincoln 6:00 p.m. Trouble with Democracy After Communism
11 7:30 p.m. Robert Baer
6:00 p.m. Umpire or Empire? The History and Future of American Leadership FM
6:00 p.m. Up the Ladder: Women Pursuing Careers in Science and Technology FM
24
7
8/9
12:00 p.m. The Crusades of Cesar Chavez FM
6:00 p.m. Zen’s Chinese Heritage
13 6:00 p.m. Leadership: The Power behind the Throne
14
15/16
12:00 p.m. Are Professional Athletes Underpaid?: Money and the Culture of Professional Sports FM
5:15 p.m. The Power of Community - Senior Cohousing
18 6:00 p.m. Progress and Hope: Restoring the Mighty Colorado River and Delta
7:00 p.m. John Cleese: Monty Python Actor and Comedian
5:30 p.m. Middle East Discussion Group FE
12 12:00 p.m. Jamie Metzl: Are China and the U.S. Headed for a Genetic Arms Race?
6 12:00 p.m. James Oseland
25
19 12:00 p.m. Autobiography of Mark Twain 1:45 p.m. Waterfront Walk 6:00 p.m. Socrates Café FM 6:00 p.m. Power to the Patient 6:30 p.m. Andy Cohen
26
20 6:00 p.m. Beans and Brew 6:00 p.m. A Toast to the 2014 Wine Harvest, Sustainable Practices and Pairings in California Wine
21
www.commonwealthclub.org/events www.commonwealthclub.org/events
17
5 1:45 p.m. Waterfront Walk 5:30 p.m. Tacitus’s Germania from the Roman Empire to the Third Reich FE 6:00 p.m. New Food Revolution 6:30 p.m. A History of the World According to Beer
22/23
12:00 p.m. Transforming California’s State Parks: A Blueprint for a Sustainable Future FM
27
28
29/30
6:00 p.m. Mark Schapiro: Carbon Shock – A Tale of Risk and Calculus on the Front Lines of the Disrupted Global Economy
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October 1 – 2
SEP 22- DEC 11
W E D 01 | San Francisco
T H U 02 | San Francisco
Coastal Reflections - An Exhibition of Paintings by Laurie Chase
Meet the Artist Reception for Laurie Chase
Chinatown Walking Tour
www.commonwealthclub.org/events
Laurie Regan Chase paints the coastline communities of her worldwide travels with oil and watercolor. She captures each distinct character in color, light and movement, bringing alive the richness of her journeys. She is an award-winning signature member of the American Society of Marine Artists and has sailed the Mediterranean, Aegean and Black seas, coastal United States, Mexico, South America and the Caribbean, paying special attention to “the peaceful serenity which many coastal and harbor scenes afford.”
You are invited to meet our featured artist, Laurie Regan Chase, whose exhibition, “Coastal Reflections,” is currently on view in the Gold Room. Chase is a contemporary realist and a signature member of the American Society of Marine Artists. Her paintings capture the distinctive countryside and coastal communities of her world travels. She has personally sailed throughout the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, and the coastal regions of the U.S., Mexico and South America. Chase will be available for your questions about her work during this informal gathering.
MLF: THE ARTS Location: SF Club Office Time: Regular Club business hours Cost: FREE
MLF: THE ARTS Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. program Cost: $5 non-members, MEMBERS FREE
Program Organizer: Conchita Applegate
Program Organizer: Lynn Curtis
THU 02 | San Francisco
T H U 0 2 | S i l i co n Va l l e y
T H U 02 | San Francisco
Technological Unemployment: Software Revolution or Job Extinction?
How Google Works
An Evening with Jacques Pépin
Jim Clark, Founder and CEO, World Technology Network and World Technology Awards; Author, Manifesto for a New Civilization Vivek Wadhwa, Research Director, Singularity University; Professor, Stanford; Author, The Immigrant Exodus
Is a looming crisis of technological unemployment the greatest challenge facing humanity? Our newest technologies have the potential to eliminate more jobs than they create. Critics fear that robotics, 3D printing and A.I. may eliminate billions of jobs. What can be done? A guaranteed basic income? New strategies of job creation? MLF: BUSINESS & LEADERSHIP Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, stu. free Program Organizer: Kevin O’Malley
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Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman and Former CEO, Google; Co-Author, How Google Works Jonathan Rosenberg, Google Advisor; Co-Author, How Google Works
Millions of people use Google every day. What started as a research project has grown into a company known for its culture and innovation. From wearable devices to self-driving cars, Google continues to push the boundaries of technological possibility. Schmidt and Rosenberg will reflect on the opportunities and challenges facing the company.
This event is sold out.
Location: Meet at corner of Grant and Bush, in front of Starbucks, near Chinatown Gate Time: 1:45 p.m. check-in, 2–5 p.m. tour Cost: $45 non-members, $35 members Also know: Temple visit requires walking up three flights of stairs. Limited to 12 people. Participants must pre-register. Tour operates rain or shine. Photo by H. Sanchez/Flickr.
Jacques Pépin, Chef; Author, Essential Pépin Emily Luchetti, Chef - Moderator
This event is sold out.
Location: SF Club Office Time: 5 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing
Location: Santa Clara Convention Center The-
Cost: $25 non-members, $15 members, $10 students (with valid ID); Premium (includes VIP reception and seating in first few rows): $45 non-members, $35 members; Dinner Package (includes premium ticket and inti-
atre, 5001 Great America Pkwy., Santa Clara Time: 6:15 p.m. check-in, 7 p.m. program Cost: $30 non-members, $20 members, $10 stu.; Premium (includes priority seating and book) $70 non-members, $60 members Also know: Photo: Weinberg Clark Photography
mate post-program dinner with Chef Pépin at Prospect Restaurant, 300 Spear St., SF): $250 non-members, $200 members Also know: In assn. with KQED. Part of the Food Lit series underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation.
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F R I 0 3 | S i l i co n Va l l e y
M O N 06 | San Francisco
Oil on Rails
Cornel West
John Avalos, Member, Bay Area Air Quality Management District Jess Dervin-Ackerman, Sierra Club San Francisco Bay Chapter
Cornel West, Ph.D., Professor, Union Theological Seminary; Author, Black Prophetic Fire
The Island of Knowledge: The Limits of Science and the Search for Meaning
In the next two years, the number of rail cars carrying oil into the Bay Area is forecast to increase 20-fold. Five refineries in the East Bay process heavy crude oil, and some plan to bring in Canadian tar sands oil. How will more oil transported on railcars impact the Bay Area economy and environment? Is it hypocritical of Bay Area residents to use fossil fuels but not want them transported in their backyards? Can California be a climate leader while getting more involved with tar sands?
“Have we forgotten how beautiful it is to be on fire for justice?” — Cornel West Dr. West – activist, author and philosopher – will discuss his latest work and offer his thoughts on the intersection between leadership, faith and social justice. Location: Mayer Theatre Santa Clara University, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara Time: 7 p.m. program, 8:15 p.m. book signing Cost: FREE (seating is first come, first served) Also know: In association with Santa Clara University’s Bannan Institute. No large bags allowed.
Marcelo Gleiser, Author, The Island of Knowledge; Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College
Theoretical physicist Gleiser has traced the search for answers to questions of human existence and has reached a provocative conclusion: science, our main tool, is fundamentally limited. Our tools of exploration have limited precision, and the nature of physical reality limits us as an intelligent species. These limitations, however, free us to question the nature of the universe.
Location: SF Club Office Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program, 1
MLF: HUMANITIES/SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY Location: SF Club Office Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program, 1 p.m. book signing
p.m. networking reception Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, $7 stu.
Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, $7 stu. Program Organizer: George Hammond
M O N 06 | San Francisco
Book Discussion: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Flour + Water’s Chef Thomas McNaughton in Conversation with Adam Savage
MLF: SF BOOK DISCUSSION Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. program Cost: $5 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, stu. free Program Organizer: Barbara Massey
Thomas McNaughton, Chef and Partner, flour + water, central kitchen and salumeria; Author, flour + water: pasta In conversation with Adam Savage, Host, “Mythbusters”
In 2009, Chef Thomas McNaughton started his San Francisco solo career with only a $500 stove and a fairly traditional concept. Just five short years later, flour + water has a cult-like local following and an award-driven national reputation, and McNaughton is on every short list of rising star chefs to watch. With a passion for artisanship and community agriculture, his handmade pasta dishes and creative regional Italian combinations have blown away diners and critics, inspiring McNaughton to launch other successful eateries such as central kitchen and salumeria. Now his new book, flour + water: pasta, takes you behind the scenes of San Francisco’s hottest Italian restaurant and shows all of you weekend warriors how to make the perfect bowl of pasta. After the interview, 20 lucky guests can join us for an intimate meal with the speakers at flour + water, in its private dining space. Dinner tickets include priority seating tickets to the interview and the pre-program cocktail reception, as well as a deluxe five-course meal with wine pairings and pasta-making demos by the chef after the program. Location: Program: SF Club Office; Dinner: Flour + Water, 2401 Harrison St., SF Time: 5:45 p.m. check-in and cocktail reception, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing, 8:30 p.m. dinner Also know: Part of the Food Lit series. Underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation and by Wells Fargo and Co.
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www.commonwealthclub.org/events
M O N 06 | San Francisco
Thought by many to be the best thriller novel of 2012, this book was wildly successful and considered by culture writer Dave Itzkoff to be the biggest literary phenomenon of 2012, excluding the Fifty Shades of Grey series. A thrilling crime novel, it is also a story of the unknown that goes on behind closed doors. It’s a story filled with intrigue and suspense, painting a portrait of a marriage that delves deep into the true nature of the person on the other side of the bed. An adaptation of the novel by award-winning director David Fincher will soon be released as a major motion picture in October 2014.
October 3 – 6
F R I 03 | San Francisco
October 6 – 8
M O N 06 | San Francisco
M O N 0 6 | S i l i co n Va l l e y
T U E 07 | San Francisco
The Business Solution to Poverty
Joshua Wolf Shenk: The Power of Two
An Evening with Nicholas Kristof
Mal Warwick, Co-author, The Business Solution to Poverty: Designing Products and Services for Three Billion New Customers
Curator, The Moth; Author, Powers of Two: Seeking the Essence of Innovation in Creative Pairs
Nicholas Kristof, Columnist, New York Times; Co-author, A Path Appears; Two-time Pulitzer Prize Winner
Sixty years ago, the world’s rich nations began acting to end poverty. But there are more people living on $2 a day or less today than the total population of the planet in 1950. Warwick argues that only the private sector possesses the resources and the incentives to do the job. Businesses can produce profitable products that will enable customers to lift themselves out of poverty.
What drives creative success? According to Shenk, the magic number is two. Even when alone, we each “collaborate” with our own internal voice. Shenk examines dynamic duos in many fields and unveils the “electrified space” of a partnership. He identifies the core qualities of creativity and reveals six states in which he sees it unfold. Hear more about the genesis of creative innovation and the collaborative process.
MLF: INT. REL./ BUS. & LEAD. Location: SF Club Office
Location: PARC Auditorium, 3333 Coyote Hill Road, Palo Alto
Nick is on tour for his latest book, A Path Appears. Kristof is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The New York Times. His columns unpack hidden and often shocking sides of global issues, from poverty to human trafficking. Nick’s latest book, A Path Appears, champions stories of breakthroughs that took small steps to make large differences. Kristof reminds us that you don’t have to devote your life or give away millions to have a profound impact on the lives of the suffering.
Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, $7 stu. Program Organizer: Karen Keefer
Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing Cost: $20 non-members, $10 members, $7 students (with valid ID)
Location: Castro Theatre, 429 Castro Street, SF Time: 5:45 p.m. check-in and premium reception, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book
Also know: In assn. with NorCal Peace Corps Association. Photo credit: Nancy Jo/Tulip Design
Also know: In association with PARC. Photo credit: Greg Martin
signing
www.commonwealthclub.org/events
W E D 08 | San Francisco
W E D 08 | San Francisco
Peace Corps in Ukraine
Nick Carr: An Automated World
Julia Lee, Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, Ukraine 2011-2013 Jing Li, Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, Ukraine 2010-2012 Kyle Borley, Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, Ukraine 2010-2012 Morgan Roth, Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, Ukraine 2011-2013 Kayla Trunecek, Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, Ukraine 2013-2014
Five recently returned Peace Corps volunteers who served in diverse regions around Ukraine discuss the lives they shared with the people in their communities. In big cities and small towns, east and west, the stories of the daily interactions of these volunteers will put a human face on the people, young and old, living in a country facing an uncertain future. MLF: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program Cost: $20 non-members, $12 members, $7 students (with valid ID) Program Organizer: Will Spargur Also know: In association with NorCal Peace Corps Association. Photo credit: Jing Li.
Author, The Glass Cage: Automation and Us In conversation with Andrew Leonard, Staff Writer, Salon
Technology is increasingly automating our lives, but is it for better or worse? In The Glass Cage, Carr suggests that the transition to a technologically dependent world makes people disengaged and unhappy. Join us and face Carr’s thesis: Silicon Valley’s fascination with wearable technology and augmented reality will only narrow horizons instead of expanding them. Nicholas Carr is the former executive editor of the Harvard Business Review. Location: SF Club Office Time: 6 p.m. check-in and premium reception, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing Also know: Photo credit: Merrick Chase
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O C TO B ER/N O VEMBER 2014
T H U 09 | San Francisco
T H U 09 | San Francisco
Steven Pinker
No More Heart Attacks
Security in Eastern Europe and Beyond
Professor of Psychology, Harvard University; Author, The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century
Steve Blake, ScD, Faculty Nutritional Biochemist, Hawaii Pacific Neuroscience LLC; Author, Vitamins and Minerals Demystified
Vaira Vike-Freiberga, Ph.D., Former President of Latvia; President, Madrid Club
Heart attacks are the number-one killer in the United States, but that doesn’t have to be true. The latest research shows that diet is strongly linked to heart attacks. Blake suggests that plenty of fun, healthy foods can be added to diets to reduce the risk of a heart attack. He’ll also discuss how vitamin D deficiency is linked to heart attacks, how certain oils can reduce risk, and how certain fats can increase risk. Learn how to implement heart-safe lifestyle options.
The current conflict between Russia and Ukraine has called attention to Eastern European security. Vike-Freiberga was the president of the Republic of Latvia from 1999 to 2007. She played an instrumental role for her country in achieving membership in the European Union and NATO. She also raised the world’s recognition of Latvia through her international activities, such as becoming Special Envoy for United Nations reform. Hear Vike-Freiberga as she discusses recent events related to Ukraine, the Baltic States and NATO.
LOL and CU L8R – is technology corrupting the English language? With our daily lives bombarded by texts and tweets, are etiquette, writing and grammar going out of style? Noted linguist and cognitive scientist Pinker will discuss the science of language as well as the challenges of crafting clear, coherent and stylish prose. Location: Schultz Cultural Hall, Oshman Family JCC, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto Time: 6:30 p.m. check-in, 7 p.m. program, 8:15 p.m. book signing
MLF: HEALTH & MEDICINE Location: SF Club Office Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program, 1 p.m. book signing
Location: SF Club Office Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, $7 stu.
Also know: Photo credit: Rebecca Goldstein
Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, $7 stu. Program Organizer: Bill Grant
Also know: In association with The World Affairs Council of Northern California
T H U 09 | San Francisco
T H U 09 | San Francisco
F R I 10 | San Francisco
Humanities West Book Discussion - Livy’s The Dawn of the Roman Empire, Books 31-40
Kevin Roe: The Ultimate Robot Challenge at Fukushima
Tony Serra: The Green, Yellow, and Purple Years in the Life of a Radical Lawyer
The Roman commander T.Q. Flamininus proclaimed the freedom of Greece at the Isthmian games near Corinth in 196 BC. Half a century later, Greece was annexed as a province by the Romans, who burned the ancient city of Corinth to the ground. Join us to discuss Books 31 to 40 of Livy’s history, which chart Rome’s emergence as an imperial nation and the Romans’ tempestuous involvement with Greece, Macedonia and the near East. Lynn Harris will lead the discussion. MLF: HUMANITIES Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. program Cost: $5 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, students free Program Organizer: George Hammond Also know: In assn. with Humanities West
Kevin Roe, Patent Attorney
The triple meltdowns at Fukushima could become the greatest industrial disaster in history. Without repair at the reactors, radionuclide contamination will poison the Pacific Ocean. Formerly an electrical engineer, Kevin has written several patent applications for artificial intelligence in high radiation environments. He explains why neither humans nor conventional robots can repair the reactors, the potential consequences if cleanup fails, and an alternative approach to robot technology. MLF: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, $7 stu. Program Organizers: C. Ress, K. McGourty Also know: Part of the 21st Century Robotics Series
J. Tony Serra, Criminal Defense Attorney; Author, The Green, Yellow, and Purple Years in the Life of a Radical Lawyer
Serra will speak and read from his book The Green, Yellow, and Purple Years in the Life of a Radical Lawyer, a chromatic, metaphoric account of Serra’s defense of groups such as the Black Panthers, Nuestra Familia and the Hells Angels. He wrote it while in federal prison for refusing to pay taxes. MLF: GROWNUPS Location: SF Club Office Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, $7 stu. Program Organizer: John Milford Also know: Part of the Good Lit series underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation
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www.commonwealthclub.org/events
Cost: $20 non-members, $12 members, $7 students (with valid ID); Premium (includes priority seating and copy of book): $45 nonmembers, $45 members
October 8 – 10
W E D 0 8 | S i l i co n Va l l e y
October 13 – 14
M O N 13 | San Francisco
M O N 13 | San Francisco
Emperor Augustus: A Force for Civilization
Retired U.S. General Wesley Clark
Dryden Liddle, Ph.D.
Monday Night Philosophy remembers Emperor Augustus, who died 2,000 years ago on August 19, 14 A.D. This gifted politician seized power ruthlessly and was declared the savior of the Roman Republic even as he was abolishing it. He ruled as an autocrat but maintained the fiction that he was no more than the Republic’s First Citizen. His 40-year reign was Rome’s Golden Age, when a new imperial government inspired art, architecture and literature to flourish, creating a prosperous civilization that lasted for centuries. MLF: HUMANITIES Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program
Wesley Clark, Ret. U.S. Army General; Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander; Author, Don’t Wait for the Next War: A Strategy for American Growth and Global Leadership In conversation with Kori Schake, Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University; Former Distinguished Chair in International Security Studies, The United States Military Academy at West Point
Can the U.S. have a real national strategy and move forward without the focus of war? In the 20th century, the U.S. became the “arsenal of democracy” and emerged from WWII as the greatest power in the world. After losing its adversary, the Soviet Union, critics complained that U.S. leaders failed to replace the Cold War strategic vision with something appropriate for a postwar role. Modern global challenges, immune to military solutions, require intricate interdependence between government and the private sector. Terrorism, cybersecurity, financial system vulnerabilities, accelerating climate change and the rise of China constitute a new class of national security challenges. Clark says that meeting these challenges will require the U.S. to revisit hallowed mythologies and concert domestic and foreign policies in a way that has never before been achieved. Based on his experience at the highest levels in the military, politics and business, Wesley Clark offers a possible path forward. Location: SF Club Office
www.commonwealthclub.org/events
Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, $7 stu. Program Organizer: George Hammond
Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program, 1 p.m. book signing Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, $7 students (with valid ID)
M O N 13 | San Francisco
MON 13 | East Bay
T U E 14 | San Francisco
Week to Week Political Roundtable and Member Social
Water Politics
From Hobby to Thriving Business: The Story of Della Fattoria
Joe Garofoli, Political Reporter, SF Chronicle Additional Panelists TBA
At Week to Week, we explore the biggest, most controversial, and sometimes the oddest political issues with expert commentary by panelists who are smart, are civil, and have a good sense of humor. Join our panelists for informative and engaging commentary on political and other major news, audience discussion of the week’s events and our news quiz! Come early before the program to meet other smart and engaged individuals and discuss the news over snacks and wine at our member social (open to all attendees). Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. wine-and-snacks social, 6:30 p.m. program Cost: $15 non-members, $5 members, students free (with valid ID)
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Fran Pavley, CA State Senator (D-Agoura Hills); Chair, Water Committee (Invited) Anthony Rendon, CA Assemblyman (DLakewood); Chair, State Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee (Invited) Frank Bigelow, CA Assemblyman (RO’Neals); Vice Chair, State Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee (Invited)
Scientists found that decade-long droughts were once typical in California. Is this the beginning of a new, arid normal? State legislature has approved an $8 billion water bond that will appear on ballots in November. Join water legislators for a discussion of the future of water in our parched state. Location: Lafayette Library, 3491 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Lafayette Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing Cost: $22 non-members, $12 members, $7 stu. Also know: Underwritten by the SD Bechtel Jr. Foundation
O C TO B ER/N O VEMBER 2014
Kathleen Weber, Owner, Della Fattoria Bakery; Author, Della Fattoria Bread Tori Ritchie, Cookbook Author; Food Writer; Culinary Teacher
A self-taught home baker, Weber is now proprietor of the muchloved Della Fattoria Bakery. Long cherished for her artisan loaves, Weber shares the secrets to her breads in her first book, Della Fattoria Bread. Join Weber and Ritchie for a conversation about her bakery and baking for top restaurants. MLF: BAY GOURMET Location: SF Club Office Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, $7 stu. Program Organizer: Cathy Curtis Also know: Part of the Food Lit series underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation
T U E 14 | San Francisco
John Lanchester in Conversation with Michael Lewis
How to Work a Room and Enjoy Networking in Our Digital Age
John Lanchester, Author, How to Speak Money: What the Money People Say – And What It Really Means In Conversation with Michael Lewis, Contributing Editor, Vanity Fair; Author, Moneyball, Liar’s Poker and Flash Boys
Join us for a special pairing and a witty, engaging dialogue about the language of money and how the world of finance and economics really works. Lanchester is the author of three novels, including The Debt to Pleasure, Capital and IOU. He is a regular contributor to The New Yorker and The New York Review of Books. He has covered a wide range of money matters, from the terms and conditions of personal checking accounts to the evasions of bankers appearing before Congress. See him in conversation with noted author Lewis, who has covered three decades of endemic global corruption since his debut, Liar’s Poker, which transformed him from a disillusioned bond salesman to the best-selling literary icon he is today. Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing Cost: $20 non-members, $12 members, $7 students (with valid ID); Premium (includes seating in first rows): $35 non-members, $25 members
Susan RoAne, Author, How to Work a Room®: The Ultimate Guide to Making Lasting Connections in Person and Online
October 14 – 15
T U E 14 | San Francisco
How do you introduce yourself to someone? What do you say next? In a world that seems isolated behind emoticons and quick transactions, how can you create and nurture engaged relationships? Join us for a session with best-selling author and speaker Susan RoAne. Discover how easy it is to become comfortable and effective at meeting people and deepening relationships. MLF: PERS. GROWTH/BUS. & LEAD./GROWNUPS Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, $7 students (with valid ID) Program Organizers: Eric Siegel, Kevin O’Malley
W E D 15 | San Francisco
W E D 15 | San Francisco
Ace the Interview: Critical Skills for Midlife Applicants
The Tech Boom: Good or Bad for San Francisco?
Socrates Café
Mary Eileen Williams, M.A., NCCC; Job Search Specialist; Career/Life Transition Counselor; Writer
Panelists TBA John Diaz, Editorial Page Editor, San Francisco Chronicle – Moderator
Too many applicants miss out because they don’t understand how best to prepare. Learn what to expect: the interviewer’s agenda, a typical interview format, critical nonverbal messages you need to send and how to highlight your skills when responding to questions. Williams offers insider tips for acing event-specific questions and for leaving the interview on a high note.
Economic and social disruption is nothing new for San Francisco. From the Gold Rush to the Summer of Love, the city has often been on the front lines of change. The tech boom has brought an unprecedented wave of riches and stresses to the city. We bring together some of the city’s thought leaders for a provocative discussion of how the city must nurture, or possibly temper, this dramatic period of change.
MLF: GROWNUPS Location: SF Club Office Time: 4:45 p.m. check-in, 5:15 p.m. program Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, $7 students (with valid ID) Program Organizer: John Milford
Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program Cost: $20 non-members, $12 members, $7 students (with valid ID) Also know: In association with the San Francisco Chronicle
The Humanities Forum brings Socrates Café to The Commonwealth Club. It will be held every third Wednesday evening for the discussion of philosophical issues. At each monthly meeting the group’s facilitator, Bob Enteen, will invite participants to suggest topics, which are then voted on. The person who proposed the most popular topic will briefly explain why she or he considers the subject interesting and important. An open discussion will follow, ending with a summary. Everyone is welcome to attend. MLF: HUMANITIES Location: SF Club Office Time: 6 p.m. program Cost: $5 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, students free (with valid ID) Program Organizer: George Hammond
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www.commonwealthclub.org/events
W E D 15 | San Francisco
October 16 – 19
T H U 16 | San Francisco
T H U 16 | San Francisco
Leon Panetta
Waterfront Walk
Leon Panetta, Former Director, CIA; Former U.S. Secretary of Defense; Author, Worthy Fights: A Memoir of Leadership in War and Peace Dr. Gloria C. Duffy, President & CEO of The Commonwealth Club – Moderator
Join Rick Evans for his new walking tour exploring the historic sites of the waterfront neighborhood that surrounds the location of the future Commonwealth Club headquarters. Hear the dynamic stories of the entrepreneurs, controversial artists and labor organizers who created this recently revitalized neighborhood. This two-hour tour will give you a lively overview of the historic significance of this neighborhood and a close look at the ongoing development.
Leon Panetta has had two distinct and consequential careers as an American public servant. His first lasted 35 years and culminated in his role as President Clinton’s budget director and White House chief of staff. He stepped back from his public life to establish the Panetta Institute with his wife, Sylvia. In 2009 he stepped into the role of CIA director, eventually leading the campaign to kill Osama Bin Laden. Following that victory, Panetta became the U.S. secretary of defense, inheriting two troubled wars in a time of austerity and painful choices. In his new book, Worthy Fights, Panetta is frank about the current state of affairs. Suffused with its author’s stubborn common sense, the book is an epic American success story, a great political memoir and a revelatory view onto many of the great figures and events of our time. Location: Cyril Magnin Ballroom, Parc 55 Hotel, 55 Cyril Magnin Street, San Francisco
Location: Meet in front of Boulevard Restaurant, 1 Mission (corner of Mission at Steuart St.) Time: 1:45 p.m. check-in, 2–4:30 p.m. tour Cost: $45 non-members, $35 members
www.commonwealthclub.org/events
Time: 5:45 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing Cost: $30 non-members, $15 members, $10 students (with valid ID); Premium (includes priority seating and a copy of book): $75 non-members, $65 members Also know: Part of the Good Lit series underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation
Also know: Limited to 20. Must pre-register. Tour operates rain or shine.
F R I 17 | San Francisco
F R I 1 7 | S i l i co n Va l l e y
S U N 1 9 | S i l i co n Va l l e y
Middle East Hotspots: Geopolitics and Stability
Rita Moreno
Mark Bittman: How to Cook Everything Fast
Banafsheh Keynoush, Ph.D.; Middle East Scholar; Lecturer; Media Consultant Jonathan Curiel, Journalist – Moderator
Noted Middle East scholar, media analyst and translator for four Iranian presidents including Hassan Rouhani, Banafsheh Keynoush will present an overview of the troubled Middle East. She will focus on the role of specific states, such as Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran, against the background of overarching U.S. interests in the region. MLF: MIDDLE EAST Location: SF Club Office Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, students free (with valid ID) Program Organizer: Celia Menczel
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Rita Moreno, Actress; Singer; Author, Rita Moreno: A Memoir In conversation with Jan Yanehiro, Director, School of Multimedia Communications, Academy of Art University
Moreno is one of the few artists to win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. Learn about her rise to award-winning star, the ups and downs of her relationships and finally finding peace with her choices and her life.
Mark Bittman, Author, How to Cook Everything Fast In conversation with Naomi Starkman , Founder and Editor in Chief, Civil Eats
For Bittman, the secret to cooking fast is cooking smart. He offers tips for quick homemade meals. His newest collection of dishes incorporates clever and unorthodox techniques, and his commonsense advice provides cooks with plenty of variation.Bittman is passionate about food.
Location: Mayer Theatre, Santa Clara University, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara Time: 6:30 p.m. check-in, 7 p.m. program,
Location: Cubberley Theatre, 4000 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto
8 p.m. book signing Cost: $30 non-members, $20 members, $10 stu. Premium (includes priority seating and copy of book): $65 non-members, $55 members Also know: Co-presented with: VIVAFEST! Part of the Good Lit series underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation.
Time: 2:30 p.m. check-in, 3 p.m. program, 4 p.m. book signing Cost: $20 non-members, $15 members, $8 stu.; Premium: $50 everyone Also know: Part of the Food Lit series underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. Photo: Fred Conrad.
O C TO B ER/N O VEMBER 2014
M O N 20 | San Francisco
M O N 20 | San Francisco
Matt Bai: When Politics Went Tabloid
Cult or Benign Cure-All? Life in Transcendental Meditation’s Hidden Society
Science & Technology Organizational Meeting
National Political Columnist, Yahoo News; Author, All the Truth Is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid
Gina Catena, MS, CNM, NP; Contributor and Speaker, the International Cultic Studies Association
The Club’s Science & Technology Member-Led Forum has an opening for the new chair to lead our Forum in 2015 and beyond. Both long-time and new Club members are welcome! If you are interested in being considered, please bring your resume and a one-page essay on why you would like to serve as the chair of the Science & Technology Member-Led Forum. Also, please attend as many Member-Led Forum events as possible prior to attending this organizational meeting.
At a certain point in this country’s media history, the 24-hour news cycle was born; Bai asserts that it was with the Gary Hart scandal in 1987. As a presidential hopeful, Hart was caught in compromising photographs with a young model. The end of his presidential aspirations was the beginning of the tabloidization of news, says Bai. He’ll discuss the media’s current fixation on politicians’ personal characters over public legislation, with a key focus on Hart’s true political legacy, rather than the salacious fall from grace for which he’s remembered.
Catena describes her life in the secret society that hides behind Transcendental Meditation. Drawing from three generations of family influenced by TM’s founder, Catena says that TM’s well-funded marketing programs hide an underbelly with mystical teachings, advanced celibate programs, golden-crowned Rajas and legal controversies. The meditation program now makes inroads into public schools and the Veterans Administration. Listeners can draw their own conclusions.
Location: SF Club Office Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program, 1 p.m. book signing
MLF: PSYCHOLOGY Location: SF Club Office Time: 4:45 p.m. check-in, 5:15 p.m. program
Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, $7 stu. Also know: Photo credit: Robyn Twomey
Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, $7 stu. Program Organizer: Patrick O’Reilly
T U E 21 | San Francisco
T U E 21 | San Francisco
The War in Syria
Francis Fukuyama: Political Order and Decay
Avi Melamed, Israeli Middle East Strategic Intelligence Analyst Robert Rosenthal, Executive Director, Center for Investigative Reporting - Moderator
Francis Fukuyama, Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow, Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies; Author, Political Order and Political Decay: From the Industrial Revolution to the Globalization of Democracy
MLF: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY Location: SF Club Office Time: 6:15 p.m. meeting Cost: FREE Program Organizer: Chisako Ress
Fukuyama discusses the essential question of how societies develop strong, impersonal and accountable political institutions. Fukuyama follows the story from the French Revolution to the so-called Arab Spring and the deep dysfunctions of contemporary American politics. He examines the effects of corruption on governance, and why some societies have been successful at rooting it out. He also explores the different legacies of colonialism in Latin America, Africa and Asia, and offers a clear-eyed account of why some regions have thrived and developed more quickly than others. He boldly reckons with the future of democracy in the face of a rising global middle class and entrenched political paralysis in the West. Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing Cost: $20 non-members, $12 members, $7 students (with valid ID)
MLF: MIDDLE EAST Location: SF Club Office Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program Cost: $5 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, students free (with valid ID) Program organizer: Celia Menczel
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www.commonwealthclub.org/events
As the death toll tops 190,000, over three million refugees have fled from Syria into neighboring countries. Avi Melamed, a former Israeli official for Arab affairs, will discuss the history of the war in Syria, offering his thoughts on why the conflict is considered one of the most dramatic events in the history of the Middle East. He will also discuss the possible global ramifications of this war and how its outcome will shape the region for decades to come.
October 20 – 21
M O N 20 | San Francisco
October 21 – 22
T U E 21 | San Francisco
TUE 21 | East Bay
T U E 2 1 | S i l i co n Va l l e y
Latino/a Culture, Heritage and Conservation for the Environment
Eating for Life: The Longevity Kitchen
Innovating Women: The Changing Face of Technology
Rebecca Katz, Chef; Educator; Author, The Longevity Kitchen and The CancerFighting Kitchen
Vivek Wadhwa, Fellow, The Arthur & Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance, Stanford University; CoAuthor, Innovating Women Alison van Diggelen, Host of “Fresh Dialogues”; Contributor, BBC – moderator Additional panelists TBA
Adrianna Quintero, Director, Latino Outreach, Natural Resources Defense Council Gary Segura, Chair of Chicano/a Studies, Stanford University Anita Martinez, Environmentalist; Community Health and Safety Activist
A deeper look at Latino/a family, home and community values reveals a longstanding generational commitment to conservation and the wise use of everyday resources in daily life. California’s changing demographics all point to a potential for political environmental progress as we learn about the conservation practices of Latino/a families and communities.
Nationally recognized nutrition expert Rebecca Katz has compiled over 100 recipes highlighting the top superfoods proven to fight chronic conditions. Katz is founder and director of the Healing Kitchens Institute at Commonweal, which educates people on the healing power of the kitchen and the importance of healthy connections with food. Join Katz for a discussion on how to increase longevity through tasty recipes. Location: Lafayette Library, 3491 Mt. Diablo
MLF: BUS. & LEAD./ENV. & NAT. RES./INTL REL. Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program
Blvd., Lafayette Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing Cost: $22 non-members, $12 members, $7 stu.
Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, $7 stu. Prog. Organizers: A.Clark, K.O’Malley, N.Walden
Also know: Part of the Food Lit series underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation
How have some women found success in the tech industry? Women are continuing to close the gender gap in the workplace, yet only 14 percent are engineers in the U.S. and even fewer serve at the executive level. Join our panel of executives and entrepreneurs as they share their experiences, strategies and insights to support women in the tech industry. Location: Microsoft, 1065 La Avenida Street, Mountain View Time: 6:30 p.m. check-in, 7 p.m. program Price: $20 non-members, $12 members, $7 stu.
www.commonwealthclub.org/events
W E D 22 | San Francisco
W E D 22 | San Francisco
Dr. Atul Gawande
Common Core Education Summit: The Crux of the New K-12 Standards
Author, The Checklist Manifesto and Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End; Staff Writer, The New Yorker; Professor, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Alice Huan-mei Chen, M.D., M.P.H.; Chief Integration Officer, Director, Center for Innovation in Access and Quality; Director, eReferral Program, San Francisco General Hospital; Associate Professor of Medicine, UCSF – Moderator
Gawande tackles the question of how medicine can not only improve life but also the process of its ending. Modern medicine, dedicated to prolonging life, inevitably runs counter to the natural condition of aging and death. Nursing homes, hospitals and doctors, in the process of providing the aging and dying with the best care, continue to pin patients to railed beds and carry out devastating procedures that ultimately extend suffering. A practicing surgeon and MacArthur fellow, Gawande addresses his profession’s ultimate limitation, arguing that quality of life is the desired goal for patients and families. Gawande offers examples of more socially fulfilling models for assisting the infirm and dependent elderly, and he explores the varieties of hospice care to demonstrate that a person’s last weeks or months may be rich and dignified. Gawande asserts that medicine can comfort and enhance our experience even to the end, providing not only a good life but also a good end. Location: SF Club Office Time: noon check-in, 12:30 p.m. program, 1:30 p.m. book signing Price: $20 non-members, $12 members, $7 students (with valid ID) Also know: In association with the Lundberg Institute
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Susan H. Fuhrman, Ph.D., Pres., Teachers College, Columbia; Founding Dir. and Chair, Management Comm., Consortium for Policy Research in Edu.; Pres., NAEd Michael Kirst, President, CA State Board of Education; Prof. Emer., Education and Business Administration, Stanford Louis Freedberg, Executive Director, EdSource – Moderator
As the Common Core State Standards are rolled out this school year across the nation, American education stands at a crossroads. Will the Common Core serve as a catalyst for better teaching and deeper learning? What challenges have been faced in implementing the Common Core, and what will it take to ensure success? Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, stu. free
W E D 2 2 | S i l i co n Va l l e y
T H U 23 | San Francisco
Tech Meets Neuroscience: A Vision of the Future of Medicine and Education
Steven Johnson
San Francisco Architecture Walking Tour
Adam Gazzaley, M.D.; Ph.D; Founding Director, Neuroscience Imaging Center, Associate Professor in Neurology, Physiology and Psychiatry, UCSF
A fundamental challenge of modern society is developing ways to enhance brain function. Gazzaley will share his vision of a future in which video games are used as an engine to harness brain plasticity and enhance cognitive abilities, reducing our reliance on non-specific drugs and allowing us to better target and personalize educational efforts. MLF: HEALTH & MEDICINE Location: SF Club Office Time: 6 p.m. program
Steven Johnson, Author, Where Good Ideas Come From and How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World
From the printing press to Wi-Fi, popular science writer Steven Johnson explores the history of innovation and examines where these ideas came from and how they moved from idea to existence. From a simple concept, bizarre coincidence or surprising accident, hear more about some of the most brilliant inventions that have revolutionized the world we live in. Location: TBA Time: 6:30 p.m. check-in, 7 p.m. program, 8 p.m. book signing Cost: $20 non-members, $12 members, $7 students (with valid ID)
Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, $7 stu. Program Organizer: Patty James
T H U 23 | San Francisco
Explore San Francisco’s Financial District with historian Rick Evans and learn the history and stories behind some of our city’s remarkable structures, streets, and public squares. Hear about the famous architects that influenced the building of San Francisco after the 1906 Earthquake. Discover hard-to-find rooftop gardens, Art Deco lobbies, unique open spaces, and historic landmarks. This is a tour for locals, with hidden gems you can only find on foot! Location: Lobby of Galleria Park Hotel, 191 Sutter Street, San Francisco Time: 1:45 p.m. check-in, 2–4:30 p.m. tour Cost: $45 non-members, $35 members Also know: Tour operates rain or shine. Limited to 20 people. Participants must preregister. The tour covers less than one mile of walking in the Financial District. Note: This tour involves walking up and down stairs.
T H U 23 | San Francisco
Linda Rottenberg in Conversation with Reid Hoffman: Think Big
Edward Larson, Author, The Return of George Washington; Prof. of History, Pepperdine University
Linda Rottenberg, CEO and Cofounder, Endeavor; Author, Crazy Is a Compliment In conversation with Reid Hoffman, Co-Founder & Executive Chairman, LinkedIn
Did George Washington retire to Mount Vernon after winning the Revolutionary War? Did he stay out of politics until he was drafted to become the first president? Edward Larson argues that, during his so-called “lost period,” George Washington remained indispensable behind the movement toward a stronger union based on a constitution. Come hear how this founding father quietly worked behind the scenes to lay a secure foundation for our long-lived democracy.
“If people aren’t calling you crazy, you aren’t thinking big enough.” – Linda Rottenberg Linda Rottenberg has spent her career helping innovators think big. Nowadays, no matter the industry, the startup mindset is king: take risks, adapt, do it quickly. Having cofounded the leading organization devoted to mentoring fast-growing businesses, Endeavor, Rottenberg has seen this movement take shape and is chronicling the steps to success in her latest book, Crazy Is a Compliment. Endeavor entrepreneurs generated $6 billion in revenue and provided 225,000 jobs in a single year. Join us for a blend of inspiring stories and practical tools for getting started and doing it big. Rottenberg will be joined in conversation by Reid Hoffman, founder of LinkedIn. Join us to learn how to “derisk” your risk. Location: SF Club Office Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing and reception Also know: Photo credit: Tim Francis
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www.commonwealthclub.org/events
The Return of George Washington
MLF: HUMANITIES Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, $7 stu. Program Organizer: George Hammond
October 22 – 23
W E D 22 | San Francisco
October 24 – 28
F R I 24 | San Francisco
M O N 27 | San Francisco
California’s Contributions to Culinary Publishing
Middle East Discussion Group
Bill LeBlond, Former Editorial Director, Food and Wine, Chronicle Books Michael Carabetta, Creative Director, Chronicle Books Margo True, Food Editor, Sunset Magazine Jenny Wapner, Senior Cookbook Editor, Ten Speed Press Joyce Goldstein, Author, California Food Revolution – Moderator
Make your voice heard in an enriching, provocative and fun discussion with fellow Club members as you weigh in on events shaping the face of the Middle East. Each month, the Middle East Member-Led Forum hosts an informal roundtable discussion on a topic frequently suggested by recent headlines. After a brief introduction, the floor will be open for discussion. All interested members are encouraged to attend.
Our expert panel discusses California’s contributions to culinary publishing and distinct impact on cookbook writing and design in the U.S. Early in the 20th century, Sunset Magazine began publishing articles focusing on ingredients and local flavors of the West. In the 1970s, Ten Speed Press published The Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen, introducing meatless eating to generations of Americans. Major developments in cookbook design were also pioneered at Chronicle Books, where food editor LeBlond began working with cookbook author James McNair. They launched a series of cookbooks that would become known for photography across multiple subjects, offering a feast for the eyes as well as the table. The panel will review factors influencing an explosion of culinary publishing, evolving cookbook design, and speculation about cookbook publishing’s future.
MLF: MIDDLE EAST Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. program Cost: FREE Program Organizer: Celia Menczel
MLF: THE ARTS/BAY GOURMET Location: SF Club Office Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, $7 students (with valid ID) Program Organizer: Anne W. Smith Also know: Part of the Food Lit series underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. In association with The Book Club of California’s Feast for the Eyes Symposium.
www.commonwealthclub.org/events
M O N 27 | San Francisco
MON 27 | San Francisco
T U E 28 | San Francisco
TechWomen: Advancing Women’s Leadership in Africa and the Middle East
Changing the Way We Die
Chasing Water
Join us for a panel discussion with four emerging women leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) from Africa and the Middle East who are participants of TechWomen. TechWomen is an initiative that supports the next generation of women leaders in STEM from Africa and the Middle East. This panel will share their experiences on the program and their goals for their returns to their home countries. MLF: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, $7 stu. Program Organizers: L. Calhoun, E. Brewer Also know: In association with The Institute of International Education. TechWomen is an initiative of the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
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Fran Smith, Author, Changing the Way We Die; Blogger, Psychology Today Sheila Himmel, Author, Changing the Way We Die; Blogger, Psychology Today
Is there really such a thing as a good death? How can people facing death live fully in the time they have left? More than 1.5 million Americans a year die in hospice care – 44 percent of all deaths – yet most patients come in too late to get the full benefits. Smith and Himmel examine the shifting attitudes and practices around death, through the stories of patients, families, doctors and the corporate giants that increasingly own this “market.” MLF: GROWNUPS Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, $7 stu. Program Organizer: John Milford
O C TO B ER/N O VEMBER 2014
Brian Richter, Chief Water Scientist, The Nature Conservancy; Author, Chasing Water Peter Gleick, President, Co-Founder, The Pacific Institute; Author, Bottled and Sold
Call it water whiplash. Climate change has contributed to droughts in Iraq and Syria, while at the same time caused flooding in countries like England, India and Australia. In the U.S., carbon pollution has amplified flooding in the Midwest and Atlantic coast, and exacerbated the drought here. What can be done to preserve water security for those who have it and provide it for those who don’t? Join us for a conversation. Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 check-in, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. networking reception Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, $7 stu. Also know: Will be videotaped for broadcast on KRCB TV 22 on Comcast and DirecTV
WED 29 | San Francisco
W E D 29 | San Francisco
Madness and Memory
The Business Case For Gender Diversity
The World We Create: A Message of Hope for a Planet in Peril
Stanley B. Prusiner, M.D.; Director, Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases; Prof., Dept. of Neurology, UCSF; Winner, Nobel Prize for Medicine
Prusiner tells the story of his discovery of prions – infectious proteins that replicate and cause disease but contain no genetic material. Prusiner’s hypothesis, once considered heresy, now stands as the basis for developing diagnoses. He closes with a meditation on the legacy of his discovery: What will it take to cure Alzheimer’s, Lou Gehrig’s and other brain diseases? MLF: SCI. AND TECH. / HEALTH & MEDICINE Location: SF Club Office
Joe Keefe, CEO, Pax World Funds, Pax Ellevate Management, LLC
Research suggests that when women are at the table or in leadership positions, companies perform better. When gender diversity reaches a critical mass of three or more women on a board, governance improves and so does financial performance. Yet, despite the powerful business case for women, gender inequality stubbornly persists. Joe Keefe will be discussing the business-side of gender diversity in the workplace. Keefe has written and spoken widely on the subject of women’s empowerment.
Frances Beinecke, President, NRDC; Author, The World We Create Bob Deans, Director of Editorial Content, NRDC; Former President, White House Correspondents’ Association
Please join us for a tour d’horizon of the emerging solutions to environmental challenges of our time. Beinecke, one of the preeminent environmental leaders of her generation, delivers her message in a spirit of progress and change. Beinecke will also introduce her new book, The World We Create. MLF: BUS. & LEAD./ENV. & NATL. RESOURCES
MLF: BUSINESS & LEADERSHIP Location: SF Club Office Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, $7
Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, $7 stu. Program Organizers: A. Clark, K. O’Malley
Also know: In assn. with Bay Area Science Festival
students (with valid ID) Program Organizer: Cathy Curtis
Also know: In assn. with the SF office of NRDC and Bay Area friends and associates
W E D 29 | San Francisco
T H U 30 | San Francisco
T H U 30 | San Francisco
Eric Metaxas: Do You Believe in Miracles?
Cognitive Dimensions of Healthy Lifestyle Habits
Keystone and Beyond
What are miracles, and why do we believe in them? Is it for comfort, to explain the inexplicable, or do we long for a connection with something larger than ourselves? Metaxas asserts that there’s something real to be reckoned with. He provides a range of stories of the miraculous, engaging the reader in a serious discussion of this fascinating subject. Metaxas’s Miracles is an exploration and an exhortation to view miracles as not only possible but as more widespread than most have ever imagined. Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing Cost: $20 non-members, $12 members, $7 stu.
Richard T. Houston, Ed.D.; Founder, People Assets, Health Alliance Partners
Learn how many cardiovascular diseases and Alzheimer’s disease may be delayed or avoided completely by pursuing active lifestyle habits throughout the adult years. Survey responses from Bay Area residents reveal important differences between the cognitive experience of fitness buffs and those who are rarely active. Psychological research provides insights into methodologies that create opportunities for shaping active lifestyle behaviors and improving physical and behavioral health outcomes. MLF: GROWNUPS Location: SF Club Office Time: 4:45 p.m. check-in, 5:15 p.m. program Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, $7 stu. Program Organizer: John Milford
David Baker, Energy Reporter, SF Chronicle John Cushman, Author, Keystone & Beyond; Former Reporter, The New York Times Additional panelist TBA
With American oil production increasing and domestic demand declining, does it make sense to build the Keystone XL pipeline? The Keystone battle is among the biggest political fights over energy in decades. Cushman will be joined for a discussion on powering this country’s future. Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. networking reception and book signing Cost: $20 non-members, $12 members, $7 stu. Also know: The speakers and audience will be videotaped for future broadcast on the Climate One TV show on KRCB TV 22 on Comcast and DirecTV.
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www.commonwealthclub.org/events
Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, $7 stu. Program Organizer: Chisako Ress
Eric Metaxas, Lecturer, King’s College; Author, Bonhoeffer and Miracles: What They Are, Why They Happen, and How They Can Change Your Life
October 28 – 30
T U E 28 | San Francisco
October 30 – November 3
T H U 30 | San Francisco
F R I 31 | San Francisco
Marissa Mayer in Conversation with Marc Benioff A Visionary Award Event
French Friday with Dorie Greenspan
Marissa Mayer, President and CEO, Yahoo In conversation with Marc Benioff, Chairman and CEO, salesforce.com
Dorie Greenspan, Author, Baking Chez Moi: Recipes from My Paris Home to Your Home Anywhere and Around My French Table; James Beard Award Winner In Conversation with Joel Riddell, Executive Producer and Host, “Dining Around,” KKSF Talk 910
Marissa Mayer is the CEO of Yahoo and is one of very few women to have run a Fortune 500 company. In 2013, Mayer earned the number one spot on Fortune Magazine’s 2013 “40 Under 40” list. Fifteen years before she became the tech powerhouse she is today, Mayer was hired as the 20th employee at a small tech company. This company, Google, enjoyed a meteoric rise to prominence under Mayer’s tenure and launched successful and groundbreaking products such as Google Maps, Google News, Gmail and Chrome. In 2012, Mayer claimed a bigger stage with her appointment as CEO of Yahoo. In two years, Mayer has reinvigorated Yahoo’s brand, reimagined all of its core products including Yahoo Mail, Flickr and more, and introduced new mobile products such as Yahoo Weather and Yahoo News Digest which have both won design awards. In addition, Mayer has acquired more than 40 companies, including Tumblr. Her boldness has made her a household name, and we’re pleased to award Marissa Mayer INFORUM’s 21st Century Visionary Award.
With her groundbreaking bestseller Around My French Table, Greenspan changed the way people view French food. Come hear her, in conversation with Riddell, talk about her career in the culinary world and co-authoring cookbooks with Pierre Herme and Julia Child.
www.commonwealthclub.org/events
Join INFORUM at The Castro Theatre, where Mayer will be featured in conversation with Marc Benioff, Chairman and CEO of salesforce.com.
MLF: BAY GOURMET Location: SF Club Office Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program, 1 p.m. book signing
Location: The Castro Theatre, 429 Castro St., San Francisco Time: 6:15 p.m. check-in and premium reception, 7:15 p.m. program
Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, $7 stu. Program Organizer: Bridget Flanagan
S AT 0 1 | S a n F r a n c i s c o
M O N 03 | San Francisco
M O N 03 | San Francisco
Mario Batali in Conversation with Tyler Florence
Week to Week Political Roundtable and Member Social
Book Discussion: Mao II by Don DeLillo
Mario Batali, Chef; Co-Host, “The Chew”; Author, America – Farm to Table: Simple, Delicious Recipes Celebrating Local Farmers In conversation with Tyler Florence, Chef and Owner, Wayfare Tavern, El Paseo; Chef and Host, Food Network
Debra J. Saunders, Columnist, San Francisco Chronicle; “Token Conservative” Blogger, SFGate.com Additional Panelists TBA
Batali is a connoisseur of Italian cuisine who has made an indelible mark on America. As the star, host and resident chef of shows such as “The Chew” and previously “Iron Chef America,” Mario brings celebrities, chefs and food together to explore and delight in life through food. Location: The Nourse Theatre, 275 Hayes St., SF Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 7 p.m. program, 8 p.m. book signing Also Know: Food Lit event underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. Photo: Kally Campbell.
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At Week to Week, we explore the biggest, most controversial, and sometimes oddest, political issues with expert commentary by panelists. Join our panelists for engaging commentary on major news, discussion of the week’s events, and our news quiz! Stay after the program to meet other attendees and discuss the news over snacks and wine at our member social (open to all attendees). Location: SF Club Office Time: noon program; 1 p.m. wine-andsnacks social Cost: $15 non-members, $5 members, stu. free
O C TO B ER/N O VEMBER 2014
Don DeLillo presents a novel about words and images, novelists and terrorists, the arch-individualist and the mass mind. The novel centers on Bill Gray, a famous reclusive writer who abandons the novel he has been writing for many years and enters a world of political violence, Semtex explosives and hostages locked in basement rooms. Mao II is Don DeLillo’s 10th novel. It won the PEN/ Faulkner Award in 1992. MLF: SAN FRANCISCO BOOK DISCUSSION Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. program Cost: $5 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, students free (with valid ID) Program Organizer: Barbara Massey
M O N 03 | San Francisco
T U E 04 | San Francisco
Dry Farming Wine Grapes in California: Making Great Wine
Chef Marcus Samuelsson: Recipes to Cook at Home
Founders’ Son: A Life of Abraham Lincoln
See website for panelists Peter Granoff, Master Sommelier, Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant – Moderator
Chef; Author, Marcus Off Duty: The Recipes I Cook at Home
Richard Brookhiser, Historian
Abraham Lincoln turned to Washington, Paine and Jefferson for guidance and purpose. He brought their vision to bear on the Civil War and the question of slavery. In Founders’ Son, historian Richard Brookhiser presents Lincoln’s life as a struggle to carry on the work of the Founding Fathers. From Lincoln’s humble origins in Kentucky to his assassination in D.C., Brookhiser shows us every side of the man.
MLF: BAY GOURMET Location: 2nd Floor Port Commission Hearing Room, Ferry Building, San Francisco
Come reinvigorate your taste buds as award-winning chef Marcus Samuelsson gives us a glimpse of what home cooking looks like to a top chef. He’s taken to long-form writing to share the secrets of his multicultural dishes, blending the Ethiopian, Swedish, Mexican, Caribbean, Italian, and Southern soul. From dill-spiced salmon to peanut noodles with slaw, his latest book, Marcus Off Duty, walks us through his success and variety in the kitchen.
Time: 6 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. wine tasting Cost: $20 non-members, $20 members Program Organizer: Cathy Curtis Also know: In assoc. w/ the Community Alli-
Location: SF Club Office Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing
Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program, 1 p.m. book signing Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, $7 stu. Program Organizer: George Hammond
ance with Family Farmers & The Ctr. for Urban Education About Sustainable Agriculture
Also Know: Part of the Food Lit series underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. Photo: Paul Brissman
Also know: Part of the Good Lit series underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation
T U E 04 | San Francisco
WED 05 | San Francisco
W E D 05 | San Francisco
The Trouble with Democracy After Communism
Waterfront Walk
Humanities West Book Discussion - A Most Dangerous Book: Tacitus’s Germania from the Roman Empire to the Third Reich
Join us for a panel discussion to learn first-hand from wine growers the history of dry farming to produce quality grapes. Growers agree: dry farming produces quality wine. Learn how this time-tested growing method produces top-quality wines and promotes environmental and water stewardship.
Michnik was a leader of the anti-Communist opposition in Poland in the 1970s and ‘80s. He is the editor-in-chief of Gazeta Wyborcza, a daily newspaper often referred to as “the New York Times of Eastern Europe.” He is among Poland’s most prominent public figures, as a leader in the 1968 student movement in Warsaw and a prominent Solidarity activist in the 1980s. He served as a deputy in Poland’s first non-communist parliament. Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program Cost: $20 non-members, $12 members, $7 stu. Also know: Underwritten by the Koret and Taube Family Foundations
Location: Meet in front of Boulevard Restaurant, 1 Mission (corner of Mission at Steuart St.) Time: 1:45 p.m. check-in, 2–4:30 p.m. tour Cost: $45 non-members, $35 members Also know: Limited to 20. Must pre-register. Tour operates rain or shine.
MLF: HUMANITIES Location: SF Club Office
Join us to discuss Harvard classics professor Christopher Krebs’ account of the abuse of history. Germania, written by the Roman official Tacitus, was lost for centuries. It resurfaced around 1500, launching a myth of ancient Germans as honorable warriors. In fact, Tacitus wrote for a Roman audience with a romantic view of northern barbarians. But German readers ignored and misread passages to confirm their prejudices. Krebs warns against the human yearning to find written proof of one’s ideology. Lynn Harris will lead the discussion. MLF: HUMANITIES Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. program Cost: $5 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, stu. free Program Organizer: George Hammond Also know: In association with Humanities West
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www.commonwealthclub.org/events
Adam Michnik, Polish Activist; Editorin-Chief, Gazeta Wyborcza; Author, The Trouble with History: Morality, Revolution, and Counterrevolution
Join Rick Evans for his new walking tour exploring the historic sites of the waterfront neighborhood that surrounds the location of the future Commonwealth Club headquarters. Hear the dynamic stories of the entrepreneurs, controversial artists and labor organizers who created this recently revitalized neighborhood. This two-hour tour will give you a lively overview of the historic significance of this neighborhood and a close look at the ongoing development.
November 3 – 5
M O N 03 | San Francisco
November 5 – 10
W E D 05 | San Francisco
WED 05 | East Bay
T H U 06 | San Francisco
New Food Revolution
A History of the World According to Beer
How to Be a Top Chef at Home
Karen Ross, CA Secretary of Food and Agriculture; Former Deputy U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Jonathan Foley, Executive Director, California Academy of Sciences Walter Robb, Co-CEO, Whole Foods
Feeding 9 billion people on a hot planet is a daunting challenge. California can play a leading role, but drought is stressing its ability to be the world’s fruit basket and salad bowl. The panel will discuss Foley’s plan for food security.
William Bostwick, Beer Critic; Author, The Brewer’s Tale: A History of the World According to Beer
Ever wonder when the first beer was brewed? Or, better yet, how it tasted? In his latest book, The Brewer’s Tale, home-brewer and beer critic William Bostwick uncovers stories of brewers past, telling a history of the world through the eyes of brewers throughout the centuries. Join Bostwick as he celebrates the beers of ages past and raise a glass to the fermented magic we all know and love.
Betsy Andrews, Acting Editor-in Chief, Saveur Magazine; Author, Saveur: The New Classics Cookbook
Andrews will highlight the world’s best recipes for the modern home kitchen, giving tips and detailing the stories behind the dishes. Her global dishes and from-thesource recipes provide inspiration for any home cook. Location: SF Club Office Time: 11:30 a.m. reception with hors d’oeuvres from The New Classics Cookbook, noon program, 1 p.m. book signing Cost: $25 non-members, $15 members, $10 students (with valid ID)
www.commonwealthclub.org/events
Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program, 7
Location: Lafayette Library, 3491 Mt. Diablo
p.m. networking reception Cost: $20 non-members, $12 members, $7 stu. Also know: The speakers and audience will be videotaped for future broadcast on the Climate One
Boulevard, Lafayette Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing and reception Cost: $25 non-members, $15 members, $10 stu.
TV show on KRCB TV 22 on Comcast and DirecTV.
Also know: Part of the Food Lit series underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation
T H U 06 | San Francisco
F R I 07 | San Francisco
M O N 10 | San Francisco
Zen’s Chinese Heritage
The Crusades of Cesar Chavez
33 Artists in 3 Acts: Politics, Kinship and Craft
Andy Ferguson, Chinese Language and Literature Expert; Author, Zen’s Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings
Miriam Pawel, Author, The Crusades of Cesar Chavez
Sarah Thornton, Author
On November 9, 1984, Cesar Chavez gave a memorable lecture at the Club. To celebrate its 30th anniversary, PulitzerPrize-winning journalist Pawel will describe the details of the complex life of Chavez, one of the great iconic leaders of the 20th century, one of the most celebrated Latinos in U.S. history and one of the most effective labor organizers California has ever seen. Now that Chavez is once again the focus of public attention, a balanced view of his contributions and his difficulties is all the more valuable.
Sarah Thornton is a sociologist of art and a regular contributor to The Economist, whose bestseller Seven Days in the Art World explores the cutthroat yet glamorous cultural phenomenon of the contemporary art market. She will report the stories resulting from worldwide interviews about what an artist is, concerning politics, kinship and craft. Thornton writes that those narratives “demarcate the ideological border that differentiates artists from non-artists, or ‘real artists’ from unimpressive ones.”
MLF: HUMANITIES Location: SF Club Office Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program, 1 p.m. book signing Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, $7 stu. Program Organizer: George Hammond
MLF: THE ARTS Location: SF Club Office Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program, 1 p.m. book signing Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, $7 stu. Program Organizer: Anne W. Smith
Chinese Chan (Zen) Buddhism occupies a unique position in Chinese society. The religion’s history is deeply intertwined with Chinese philosophy and politics. How has this ancient teaching survived China’s explosion of consumerism? Ferguson reveals that the religion’s philosophical origins are as surprising as its history of political influence, an influence with a bizarre relationship with some of the 20th century’s most tragic events. MLF: ASIA PACIFIC AFFAIRS Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, $7 stu. Program Organizer: Kayla Zhao
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Also know: In association with the Bay Gourmet forum. Part of the Food Lit series underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation.
T U E 1 1 | S i l i co n Va l l e y
W E D 12 | San Francisco
Umpire or Empire? The History and Future of American Leadership
Robert Baer
Are China and the U.S. Headed for a Genetic Arms Race?
Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman, Dwight Stanford Professor of American Foreign Relations, San Diego State University; National Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
Monday Night Philosophy dives into the history of U.S. foreign policy. Many historians believe the U.S. is an empire; the past two presidents and most of the public disagree. What does it matter? Hoffman offers a challenging new interpretation of America’s past with important implications for the way forward. MLF: HUMANITIES Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, $7
Former CIA Operative; National Security Affairs Analyst, CNN; Author, See No Evil and The Perfect Kill: 21 Laws for Assassins
For over 20 years, Baer served as a CIA operative in the Middle East and Europe. His life and personal experiences inspired George Clooney’s Oscar-winning performance in the movie Syriana. Baer examines the historical and political context of assassinations and shares his foreign policy and security insights. He also reveals what it was like working as an agent in some of the most dangerous and volatile regions in the world. Location: TBA Time: 7 p.m. check-in, 7:30 p.m. program, 8:30 p.m. book signing Cost: $20 non-members, $12 members, $7 students (with valid ID)
Jamie Metzl, Author, Genesis Code; Former U.S. Security Official
Asia expert Jamie Metzl’s new novel, Genesis Code, tells of a future genetic arms race between China and the United States. It is fiction – for now – but Metzl, who worked in the Clinton National Security Council and State Department, will discuss how the U.S.-China rivalry is heating up worldwide. With the science of human genetic engineering rapidly advancing, today’s science fiction may be tomorrow’s reality, and great power interests might soon dictate the course of human evolution.
November 10 – 13
M O N 10 | San Francisco
Location: SF Club Office Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program, 1 p.m. book signing Cost: $20 non-members, $12 members, $7 stu. Also know: In association with The Asia Society of Northern California
students (with valid ID) Program Organizer: George Hammond
LANGUAGE GROUPS
T H U 13 | San Francisco
The Power of Community Senior Cohousing
language groups
Leadership: The Power behind the Throne
FOREIGN LANGUAGE GROUPS
Charles Durrett, AIA; Architect; Author, The Senior Cohousing Handbook: A Community Approach to Independent Living; Co-author, A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves
Free for members Location: SF Club Office
Today we can text a sibling to find out what they are having for lunch in Paris, but we don’t know the name of our nextdoor neighbor. Learn how seniors are countering the pathologies in our society today, affecting both their personal lives and society positively by planning new cohousing communities. Come learn about this momentous social movement from a prime mover.
FRENCH, Advanced Conversation Tuesdays, noon Gary Lawrence garylawrence508@gmail.com
MLF: GROWNUPS Location: SF Club Office Time: 4:45 p.m. check-in, 5:15 p.m. program Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, $7 stu. Program Organizer: John Milford
SPANISH, Advanced Conversation (fluent only) Fridays, noon Luis Salvago-Toledo, lsalvago@comcast.net
FRENCH, Intermediate Class Thursdays, noon Pierrette Spetz, Graziella Danieli, Beatrice Hallier danieli@sfsu.edu, hallierb@usfca.edu
GERMAN, Int./Adv. Conversation Wednesdays, noon Sara Shahin sarah_biomexx@yahoo.com ITALIAN, Intermediate Class Mondays, noon Daria Siciliano (415) 839-5077
Richard Hytner, Deputy Chairman, Saatchi & Saatchi; Adjunct Associate Professor of Marketing, London Business School; Author, Consiglieri: Leading from the Shadows
The key to success lies in getting to the top, right? Wrong! It’s time to celebrate the second-in-command. These are the VP’s, COOs and First Lieutenants whose influence can determine the fate of countries and companies. Learn how influence and power can be found in much more interesting places than behind the CEO’s desk. MLF: BUSINESS & LEADERSHIP Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing. Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, stu. free Program Organizer: Kevin O’Malley Also know: In association with London School of Business Alumni
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www.commonwealthclub.org/events
W E D 12 | San Francisco
November 14 – 17
Podcast Ad
F R I 14 | San Francisco
Are Professional Athletes Underpaid?: Money and the Culture of Professional Sports
Podcasting Subscribe to our podcasts! Receive a new program recording each week. IT’S FREE! For more information, visit commonwealthclub.org/media
Leland Faust, Founder and Chairman, CSI Capital Management; Member, Sporting News 100 Most Powerful People in Sports Duane Kuiper, Play-by-play Announcer, SF Giants; Former Major League Baseball Player, Cleveland Indians, SF Giants Vida Blue, Former Pitcher, Oakland A’s, SF Giants; Cy Young Award Winner; MVP; sixtime All-Star Kevin O’Malley, President, Tech Talk/Studio – Moderator
Get an inside look at how money shapes the culture of professional sports and influences decisions both on and off the field. Learn from the insiders how the mixture of entertainment and money results in today’s complex professional sports industry and the range of players’ salaries. MLF: BUSINESS & LEADERSHIP Location: SF Club Office Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, stu. free Program Organizer: Kevin O’Malley
www.commonwealthclub.org/events
M O N 17 | San Francisco
M O N 1 7 | S i l i co n Va l l e y
Up the Ladder: Women Pursuing Careers in Science and Technology
John Cleese
Hilary K. Seligman, M.D., MAS; Associate Professor in Residence, Departments of Medicine and of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, UCSF Diane Wara, M.D.; Professor of Pediatrics, UCSF Eva Cole, Student, Holy Names High School, Oakland; Alumna, Girls Who Code Sara Seims, Ph.D.; Senior Fellow, Population and Reproductive Health Program, Packard Foundation – Moderator
How and why do women decide to pursue careers in science and technology? What is the reaction of their family, friends, teachers and others? This panel of three women at different points in their careers will discuss experiences that have supported and challenged their career pursuits. Come learn from their stories and hear ideas about how to attract more women to areas of science where they are still greatly under-represented, such as engineering and mathematics. MLF: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in and networking reception, 6 p.m. program Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, students free (with valid ID) Program Organizer: Dee Seligman
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Actor; Writer; Producer; Author, So, Anyway…
Join Cleese as he takes us on a grand tour of his ascent in the entertainment world, from his humble beginnings in a sleepy English town to the pinnacle of comedy and worldwide success. Cleese’s work with Monty Python’s Flying Circus and Fawlty Towers has become legendary. His hit films Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian and A Fish Called Wanda, and his memorable roles in James Bond and Shrek have put him in a class of his own. From his hilarious tweets and new memoir, hear more from this towering comedic genius Location: CA Theatre, 345 S. First St., San Jose Time: 6:15 p.m. check-in, 7 p.m. program Cost: TBA Also know: Part of the Good Lit series underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation
W E D 19 | San Francisco
W E D 19 | San Francisco
Progress and Hope: Restoring the Mighty Colorado River and Delta
Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 2
Waterfront Walk
James Redford, Chair, Redford Center Board; Producer, Watershed John Shepard, Co-Interim CEO and Senior Advisor, Sonoran Institute Jill Tidman, Executive Director, Redford Center; Producer, Watershed Francesca Vietor, Commissioner, SFPUC; Program Director, SF Foundation
Mark Twain wanted to write a completely candid autobiography, without “shirkings of the truth,” so he decided to speak from the grave 100 years after his death. The Mark Twain Papers Project at UC Berkeley has fulfilled that desire. Smith will discuss Twain’s numerous observations about the difficulty of speaking the truth and the strategies he adopted to remove his inhibitions. Come hear Mark Twain’s “whole, frank mind” highlighted by his characteristic blend of humor and ire.
For over 6 million years, the Colorado River has been the lifeblood of the American West. Today the river runs dry 70 miles before reaching the sea. Learn how Raise the River is marshaling support for the Colorado to return life to the region’s wetlands and marshes. MLFS: BUS. & LEAD./ENV. & NATL RES. Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program
Harriet Elinor Smith, Editor
MLF: HUMANITIES Location: SF Club Office Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program, 1 p.m. book signing Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, $7 stu. Program Organizer: George Hammond
Join Rick Evans for his new walking tour exploring the historic sites of the waterfront neighborhood that surrounds the location of the future Commonwealth Club headquarters. Hear the dynamic stories of the entrepreneurs, controversial artists and labor organizers who created this recently revitalized neighborhood. This two-hour tour will give you a lively overview of the historic significance of this neighborhood and a close look at the ongoing development.
November 18 – 19
T U E 18 | San Francisco
Location: Meet in front of Boulevard Restaurant, 1 Mission (corner of Mission at Steuart Street) Time: 1:45 p.m. check-in, 2–4:30 p.m. tour Cost: $45 non-members, $35 members Also know: Limited to 20. Must pre-register. Tour operates rain or shine.
Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, stu. free Program Organizers: A. Clark, K. O’Malley
W E D 19 | San Francisco
Socrates Café
Andy Cohen: The Star-Studded Life
The Humanities Forum brings Socrates Café to The Commonwealth Club. It will be held every third Wednesday evening for the discussion of philosophical issues. At each monthly meeting the group’s facilitator, Bob Enteen, will invite participants to suggest topics, which are then voted on. The person who proposed the most popular topic will briefly explain why she or he considers the subject interesting and important. An open discussion will follow, ending with a summary. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Andy Cohen, Host, “Watch What Happens: Live”; Author, The Andy Cohen Diaries; Executive Producer, The Real Housewives Franchise
“My new book is my reality show, in print.” – Andy Cohen The man who made a career as a prince of pop-culture strikes again with his new book, The Andy Cohen Diaries: A Deep Look at a Shallow Year, a follow-up to his New York Times best seller. Imagine a day in the life of Andy Cohen. It’s busy. It’s exciting. It’s dramatic. Andy’s new book will chronicle his day-to-day life for a single year, from behind-the-scenes looks at “Watch What Happens: Live” to his favorite day-time hang-out spots to late nights with wild celebrity friends. Cohen will tell all about such celebrities as Lady Gaga and such events as Oscar weekend. Get an inside look at the life of one of the most exciting men in show business when Cohen joins INFORUM to talk book, show and life.
MLF: HUMANITIES Location: SF Club Office Time: 6 p.m. program
Location: The Castro Theatre, 429 Castro Street Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing
Cost: $5 non-members, MEMBERS FREE Program Organizer: George Hammond
Also know: Good Lit event underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation. Photo credit Marcello LaFerla.
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www.commonwealthclub.org/events
W E D 19 | San Francisco
November 19 – 25
W E D 19 | San Francisco
T H U 20 | San Francisco
T H U 20 | San Francisco
Power to the Patient: A Survivor’s Perspective on Health Care
Beans & Brew
A Toast to the 2014 Wine Harvest, Sustainable Practices and Pairings in California Wine
Michael O’Neil, Jr., Founder & CEO, GetWellNetwork
An informed patient is a better patient. As a cancer survivor, Michael O’Neil, Jr. focuses on the importance of engaging, educating and empowering patients in managing their own health. Following his challenging personal experience, O’Neil was motivated to change the patient’s role and introduce a new approach to delivering health care. GetWellNetwork builds technology that connects patients with caregivers, enabling people to take an active role in their health-care journey.
Ken Grossman, Co-Founder and CEO, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Paul Katzeff, Founder and CEO, Thanksgiving Coffee Company
Coffee, beer, wine, chocolate – all popular guilty pleasures. However, a warming world could change the access we have to these delicacies. Leading local crafters and brew masters join us to discuss how they’re adapting their craft to survive in the face of climate change. Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. networking reception Cost: $20 non-members, $12 members, $7 students (with valid ID)
Janet Fletcher, Journalist; Author, Down to Earth – Moderator See website for additional panelists
California vintners and growers have embraced green winegrowing practices to protect and preserve our signature Golden State industry. Join a panel of experts to discuss sustainable wine growing. MLFS: BUS. & LEAD./ENV. & NAT. RES. Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program, 7
MLF: HEALTH & MEDICINE Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program
p.m. wine tasting and book signing Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, $7 stu. Prog. Organizers: A. Clark, K. O’Malley Also know: Part of the Food Lit series under-
Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, $7 stu. Program Organizer: Patty James
written by the Bernard Osher Foundation. Co-sponsored by the Wine Institute.
www.commonwealthclub.org/events
F R I 21 | San Francisco
M O N 24 | San Francisco
T U E 25 | San Francisco
Transforming California’s State Parks: A Blueprint for a Sustainable Future
Middle East Discussion Group
Mark Schapiro: Carbon Shock
Lance Conn, Co-Chair, Parks Forward Commission
California’s magnificent 280-unit park system faces significant challenges. Declining budgets have led to scaled-back services and a long list of maintenance needs, while outdated administrative systems, technology and processes impede park staff’s ability to manage and protect the parks’ natural and cultural resources. Hear about a just-released report by the Parks Forward Commission that recommends sweeping changes to tackle these issues and ensure the sustainability of our state parks for future generations.
Make your voice heard in an enriching, provocative and fun discussion with fellow Club members as you weigh in on events shaping the face of the Middle East. Each month, the Middle East Member-Led Forum hosts an informal roundtable discussion on a topic frequently suggested by recent headlines. After a brief introduction, the floor will be open for discussion. All interested members are encouraged to attend. MLF: MIDDLE EAST Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. program Cost: FREE Program Organizer: Celia Menczel
Location: SF Club Office Time: 11:30 a.m. check in; noon program Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, stu. free
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Mark Schapiro, Author; Fmr. Sr. Correspondent, Ctenter for Investigative Reporting;
Schapiro will take us on a journey to the financial front lines of climate change, where the same chaotic forces reshaping our weather are disrupting our economy. Schapiro tells the story of how profoundly climate change is shifting the economic ground beneath our feet. His tales have a global range to the places where climate change is altering the economic status quo. MLF: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, $7 stu. Program Organizer: Chisako Ress Also know: Photo credit Peter Cunningham
Membership is open to all. Support for The Club’s work is derived principally from membership dues. For more information, visit commonwealthclub.org/join
W E D 0 3 | S i l i co n Va l l e y
Week to Week Political Roundtable and Member Social
Geo for Good
Panelists TBA
Rebecca Moore, Lead, Google Earth Outreach Program & Google Earth Engine
At Week to Week, we explore the biggest, most controversial, and sometimes the oddest political issues with expert commentary by panelists who are smart, are civil, and have a good sense of humor. Join our panelists for informative and engaging commentary on political and other major news, audience discussion of the week’s events, and our news quiz! Come early before the program to meet other smart and engaged individuals and discuss the news over snacks and wine at our member social (open to all attendees).
Moore conceived of, and now leads, the Google Earth Outreach program. The program supports nonprofits, communities and indigenous peoples around the world in applying Google’s mapping tools to the world’s problems such as environmental conservation, human rights and cultural preservation. Moore also initiated the development of Google Earth Engine, a new technology platform that supports global-scale monitoring and protection of the earth’s environment. Moore will discuss the company’s latest projects to help preserve our planet.
Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. wine-and-snacks social, 6:30 p.m. program Cost: $15 non-members, $5 members, stu. free
Location: Schultz Cultural Hall, Oshman Family JCC, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto Time: 6:30 p.m. check-in, 7 p.m. program Cost: $20 non-members, $12 members, $7
November 30 – December 4
Join The Club
M O N 01 | San Francisco
students (with valid ID)
T H U 04 | San Francisco
L AT E B R E A K I N G E V E N T S !
John A. Amster: Patents in the Boardroom – The Truth Behind the Headlines
John Lahr
MON OC TOBER 6
John A. Amster, CEO and Co-founder, RPX Corporation
Patents have been big news in recent years. Large electronics rivals have made headlines by waging high-stakes legal battles over infringement of smartphone patents. Bankrupt companies have auctioned off their patent portfolios for hundreds of millions – or even billions – of dollars. The most significant development affecting patents, however, has been the rise of non-practicing entities (NPEs), also known as “patent trolls.” NPEs acquire patents and litigate them to extract license payments or legal settlements from an allegedly infringing company. Operating companies spent nearly $11 billion dealing with NPE litigation in 2012 alone. RPX CEO and Co-founder Amster will describe how patents have been transformed from legal protection of a novel invention into a major source of operating risk. Today, owners of patents are monetizing their value through costly and inefficient legal processes. The discussion will focus on a different perspective: how patents can and should be transacted using market mechanisms instead, and in the process, save operating companies billions of dollars every year.
Location: American Conservatory Geary Theater, 415 Geary St., San Francisco Time: 7 p.m. program, book signing to follow Cost: free
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San Francisco’s Prop E: Pros and Cons of the Soda Tax See website for panelists Location: SF Club Office Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program Cost: $5 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, students free (with valid ID)
MLF: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, $7 students (with valid ID) Program Organizer: Chisako Ress
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www.commonwealthclub.org/events
Author, Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh; Drama critic, The New Yorker
There’s a revolution occurring in the world of social entrepreneurship. The Real Problem Solvers brings together leading entrepreneurs, funders, investors, thinkers and champions in the field of social entrepreneurship. Contributors include marquee figures such as Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, Ashoka founder Bill Drayton, Acumen Fund founder Jacqueline Novogratz and Skoll Foundation CEO Sally Osberg. The chapters weave together the voices of various contributors in discussions and Q&As. In no other book are so many leaders presented side by side, making this the ideal accessible and personal introduction for students of – and newcomers to – social entrepreneurship.
“In the past 10 years, a rich ecosystem has developed around the idea, energy and success of social entrepreneurs. With years of experience, Ruth Shapiro captures the complexity and complementarity of the men and women whose innovation and drive are changing the way we solve social problems and should be required reading for all.” —Bill Draper, Co-chair, the Draper, Richards, Kaplan Foundation; General Partner, Draper Richards LLC; and author, The Start-up Game
“Ingenuity, initiative and determination are valued traits in any enterprise. Social entrepreneurs apply these talents to solving difficult social problems. This book showcases a number of these commendable people and inspires the reader to think deeply about his or her own contributions to society.” —George P. Shultz, Former U.S. Secretary of State
Order it from Stanford University Press: sup.org/book.cgi?id=20715
TONY WHEELER
traveling to the world’s darker countries
The wide-ranging traveler shares surprises from recent treks and admits there are some places even he won’t go. Excerpted from “Traveling to the World’s Darker Countries” August 18, 2014. TONY WHEELER Co-founder, Lonely Planet; Author, Tony Wheeler’s Dark Lands In conversation with
MARC CASTO
President and COO, Casto Travel
I
say George Bush made me write [my book Dark Lands] because as soon as he said there was an axis of evil, my first thought was, “Well, I want to go there!” I mean, who wouldn’t? In Bad Lands, my earlier book, I included Iran; I went back to Afghanistan. I traveled through Afghanistan back in the 1970s when it was a really wonderful place to go. Now if you go there, you often see these Russian tanks littering the countryside. I went to Cuba, and I’ve been back to Cuba again just in the last few months. I went to Libya at the time Gaddafi was still in power. I came away with the impression that Mr. Gaddafi was really the Michael Jackson of dictators. He had this enthusiasm for dressing up in outfits, whether he was in his Arab sheikh outfit or his general’s outfit
– which seemed to come from the Sergeant Pepper school of military uniforms – or he had his admiral’s outfit – which seemed to come from the “H.M.S. Pinafore” school of admiralty outfits – but he definitely liked dressing up. He had a bit of that pop star [manner] about him. I went to North Korea, quite the strangest country I have ever visited. I’m sure I will never visit anywhere quite as strange. The thing you really have to do in North Korea, if you get an opportunity to go there, is to go to the Mass Games. They have this gigantic stadium, even bigger than the Levi Stadium here in the Bay Area, that seats 100,000. This amazing performance goes on: 10,000 schoolgirls come out and do gymnastics with tennis rackets – this is the Pyongyang Tennis Open – and then they leave the stage
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and tens of thousands of women come on, and in the background flip cards come up. [On the flip cards] you see Pyongyang in winter; it’s a wintery day, and a cold wind supposedly blows across the stadium floor; all the women sway in one direction and sway in the other direction. But, of course, it isn’t quite true because you never see buildings lit up like that in Pyongyang; there isn’t enough electricity. It’s just another element of things being not quite right in North Korea. And then the flip cards flip over again and an army general appears, and then the North Korean Army comes marching out into the floor of the stadium. And what do they do? They dance! [Laughter.] Look, when they decide wars by whose army dances best, my money is on the North Koreans. They just dance better than any army I’ve encountered. Well, at least they did dance better than any army I’d encountered until I started working on the book Dark Lands, the follow-up to Bad Lands. [Then] I went to the border between Pakistan and India. Every night when they close the border, both armies dance off; as the border gates are closed – it takes about half an hour to do this – the two armies dance at each other. We set off on the ancient silk route that goes all the way up to China. The first town of any size we came to had a very nice little Methodist church in it, and I rather liked this Methodist church because Osama Bin Laden could have gone there for his last night on Earth. He could have dropped in to pray for his mortal soul because this place is only a mile or two away from where he was finally tracked down and his life ended. We had actually chosen a rather bad – or “interesting” – time to be there because this was just when a blasphemous American movie came out, and there were riots and protests all over the Islamic world. We stopped at this little teahouse beside the road for tea, which we did quite regularly. Every time we came to a hotel, we’d come in, and everybody in the hotel would be crowding around the television watching the latest riots in various towns around Pakistan. There were people out there with signs. We saw ones saying, “Behead Obama,” and “Death to Foreigners.” And we’d come into the hotel and everybody would look up, and they would see us
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and they’d say, “Oh! Foreigners! Come in! Welcome! Can we make some tea for you?” What went on when you were actually there wasn’t quite what you were seeing on television. We saw hardly any tourists all the way through Pakistan. Lots of beautiful things to see: beautiful mountains, wonderful old fortress hotels, and Karimabad with this fortress overlooking the town. There were two other tourists in town, and there could have been ten thousand. It was just a delightful place. The next day after that, we came to a sign that said, “Sorry for any inconvenience.” There had been a big landslide two years before which hadn’t just blocked the road; it had blocked the whole valley. The river had started backing up behind this landslide, and it had totally submerged three villages. The road couldn’t continue any further. We had to continue by boat. With Chinese travelers, we chartered a boat and we got to the other side of the lake created by this landslide, and we carried on up to the border between Pakistan and China. And then, suddenly, ever ything changed. The Pakistanis had been so friendly and so open and so welcoming, and suddenly we [had moved into] an area of China where the Chinese were not welcoming at all and were very suspicious. But, nevertheless, we carried on up to Tashkurgan, the first town we went to in China, with this beautiful fortress on the hill outside the town. Finally [we traveled] up to Kashgar, which had a Mao statue. The Mao statues all seem to be disappearing around China, but Kashgar, which is a troubled spot in China, did have a Mao statue still. And that was the end of our Pakistan trip for Dark Lands. My favorite Lonely Planet moment came from Zimbabwe. Aidan Hartley, a Reuters journalist, wrote a book about his years as a journalist called The Zanzibar Chest. He was the only journalist with the rebels in Ethiopia when the government of Mengistu [Haile Mariam] was overthrown. They’d captured Russian tanks, and the Russians weren’t supporting the dictatorship anymore. As they closed in on Addis Ababa, when they were only a day or so out of Addis Ababa, the rebel commander came to Aidan Hartley and said, “We’ve got a
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North Korea
China
Palestine
Photo by Mike Connolly/flickr
Photo by Gisling/wikicommons
problem.” He said, “My men grew up before the dictatorship, they left the capital before the dictatorship started, they’ve really never been there, and it’s been many years since I’ve been there. We’re afraid that as we come into the capital with our tanks, we won’t even know the way to the palace.” And Aidan Hartley said, “The only thing I have is my Lonely Planet guide to Africa.” But they photocopied the map. And as the tanks rolled into Addis Ababa, they were following the Lonely Planet map. You know, “Turn left at the cheap hotel, go by the restaurant, the palace is straight ahead.” We’ve always been able to recommend good hotels and restaurants, but occasionally we can [also] overthrow governments. I went to Israel and Palestine. I joined the Palestinians to queue up to go through Israeli security to cross into Israel. It was rather like going through a cattle enclosure before coming to what is basically like airport security. I also did some walking. I walked out in the south on the Israeli National Trail with two Israeli friends. I also walked on the West Bank. I had a guide from one of the Palestinian refugee camps, and he took me walking for a day in Palestine on the West Bank. Israel and Palestine are a mystery: Is it two countries or one country? Or, what is it? I went walking up in the Galilee region on a trail called the Jesus Trail. These three Israelis took me on this walk. We were going through a village that was evacuated in 1948 when the Israelis took over. The villages have never been able to come back. Question and Answer Session with Marc Casto, President and COO, Casto Travel MARC CASTO: So , To n y, yo u’ve lived your life off the beaten path. What is it that keeps drawing you to it? TONY WHEELER: I love all sorts of travel. I’ve been to Rome this year, and Rome, every time I go, is wonderful, and it was wonderful again this year. I do lots of travel to very civilized places, and I enjoy a really nice meal and a good French wine as much as anybody else, but also, I do like these weird places. I admit there’s something about the weird places
Photo by Soman/wikicommons
of the world, where there’s an extra kick to [them.] They do draw me back. I could do Dark Lands 3. There are more dark places that would definitely fit in that. I would have put Syria in this one. I have been to Syria and had wonderful times in Syria, but you know, I do draw the line. I do want to come out alive, and I don’t think you necessarily would from Syria at the moment, sadly. The country which I’ve never been to and really do want to go to is Yemen. I’ve had some interesting incidents. I did get arrested while I was in the [Democratic Republic of ] Congo once for taking photographs. I said, “If you go to the Congo and you don’t get arrested, you haven’t really been to the Congo.” It’s like if you go to Paris and nobody criticizes your bad French, you haven’t been to Paris. If you go to Ireland and you don’t somehow drink far too much Guinness and wake up with a terrible hangover, you really haven’t been to Ireland. And Yemen, it seems to be, if you go to Yemen and don’t get kidnapped, you haven’t really – [Laughter.] I was at a talk once where there were a bunch of us talking about places, and one of our little group was talking about Yemen. Someone in the audience, a woman, said, “I was in Yemen, and I got kidnapped.” And another woman over at the other side said, “So did I!” And both of them ended up being released after a day or so. Then it felt like if you went to Yemen and you didn’t get kidnapped, you’d complain to your travel agent. CASTO: It’s almost as if we detect a sense of travel jealousy... WHEELER: Yeah. Well, I also had stones thrown at me when I was in Palestine. And if you don’t get stoned in Palestine – with the thrown variety – you really haven’t been to Palestine. CASTO: So, with that, the thoughts on Syria. Is Palestine, Gaza more specifically, a place that would be on your list at this point? WHEELER: Well, it kind of was. I didn’t go to Gaza, but I did go to the West Bank, and I traveled around the West Bank quite a lot. I went to all the troubled spots, Hebron and Jericho, wonderful town. But, you know, if there’s a troubled land, Israel/ Palestine is it. We don’t know what it is. Is it the two countries? Is it Israel and Palestine? Is it Israel running Palestine?
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NINA TEICHOLZ
THE Big Fat SURPR 50
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The investigative journalist uses hard science to examine the history of saturated fat’s bad reputation. Excerpted from “The Big Fat Surprise: Are Butter, Meat and Cheese Healthy?” August 7, 2014. NINA TEICHOLZ Author, The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet In conversation with
RONALD M. KRAUSS, M.D.
Senior Scientist and Director, Atherosclerosis Research, Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute; Adjunct Professor, Department of Medicine, UCSF and Department of Nutritional Sciences, UC Berkeley NINA TEICHOLZ: For 50 years, we’ve felt guilty about eating red meat, creamy cheese, butter, whole-fat dairy and fried eggs. We’ve been avoiding these foods because they contain saturated fat, and saturated fats are supposed to be the number one dietary culprit in causing heart disease. These foods are naturally high in fat, and we also believe that fat makes you fat, so we avoid them. My plan tonight, through an analysis of the science and the history, is to try to take some of the guilt out of those guilty pleasures. Where do our ideas about fat come from? It really goes back to the 1950s when the nation was in a panic over the rising tide of heart disease, which had seemingly come out of nowhere in the early 1900s to become the nation’s number one killer. President Eisenhower himself had a heart attack in 1955 and was out of the Oval Office for 10 days. So there was a tremendous sense of urgency about the need to find an explanation for what might be causing heart disease. There were a number of different ideas. Some were that it was excessive stress, vitamin deficiency or automobile exhaust. However, the winning theory was proposed by one scientist, whose name was Ancel Keys, a pathologist at the University of Minnesota. He came up with the idea that it was saturated fats that caused heart disease. They would raise your total cholesterol; therefore, they would clog your arteries and cause a heart attack. This was called the diet-heart hypothesis. The American Heart Association—their advice has long been considered the gold
standard for fighting heart disease—and the nutrition committee had been openly skeptical of Ancel Keys’ ideas. But then, [Keys] managed to get himself appointed to the committee, and, just a year later, he was able to swivel the committee around to follow his own views. In 1961, the American Heart Association issued the country’s very first anti-saturated fat advice to middle-aged men, telling them to cut back on meat, cheese and full-fat dairy as their best strategy to avoid heart disease. But what, at the time, was the evidence that supported this hypothesis? In 1961, it really boiled down to one study that, coincidentally, had been done by Ancel Keys. It really was the Big Bang of all nutrition studies, because it was a time when the whole field was in its infancy and very little science had been done. [Keys] did this heroically pioneering effort called the Seven Countries Study. He studied almost 13,000 men in seven countries, including Europe, the United States and Japan. And he found what he had hoped to find, which was a correlation between low consumption of saturated fat and the risk of having a heart attack. But his study has since been analyzed by a number of critics, and the methodological problems that have been found are really quite significant, calling into question the whole study itself. For one, he deliberately chose countries that he knew would support his hypothesis: he chose countries like Italy and Greece, where he knew that they had a low consumption of saturated fat and low rates of heart disease, while avoiding France,
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Germany, Switzerland, where they ate a lot more saturated fat, but also had low rates of heart disease. Then there’s the problem that he had tremendous problems with his dietary and survey data. He ended up throwing out all of his dietary surveys, ending up with a sample of only 500 men out of nearly 13,000. His star data subjects, who ate only 8 percent of all their calories as saturated fat and had low rates of heart disease, were on the island of Crete. He and his researchers sort of fell in love with the island of Crete, but they only got reliable dietary data from 33 or 44 men there. None of those sample sizes were statistically significant. Even with all of those problems aside, it was what’s called an epidemiological study, which shows association and not causation. That’s a really important theme that runs throughout the history of nutrition science: it’s very hard to [study] nutrition science, especially [to run] the kind of clinical trials that really [provide] the firm, hard evidence that can be used to establish causation. It’s hard to feed people; it’s expensive. It’s hard to get people to change their diets over any period of time. And in the absence of that kind of harder data, it’s this soft epidemiological data, this associational data, that has been made to suffice. That really started with Ancel Keys and his Seven Countries Study. But of course it wasn’t just one man and one study. There are many scientists, and obviously, expert scientists, so how did this idea get propelled along? The short answer is that it really became institutionalized and hardened into dogma before those clinical trials could be conducted, so opinions were formed and the policy was set before the science was actually done. The same group came to control the allocation of research grants, and they’d carry
out the studies that were funded by those grants, and they would review each other’s studies. They sat on the editorial boards of the research journals. Everyone really got on board with this “cholesterol bandwagon,” as it was called by the editors of the Journal of the American Medical Association. They said that an almost embarrassingly high number of researchers boarded the cholesterol bandwagon. It was an overly narrow, fervent embrace of cholesterol to the exclusion of all other biochemical processes that might cause heart disease. That was in 1967. It was the same select group of experts who were influential in the late 1970s in advising the U.S. Senate when they took up the subject. Senator George McGovern led a committee, and the outcome of that committee’s work was the conclusion that a low-fat diet also restricted in meat and dairy products should be recommended, not just for middle-aged men, but for all Americans over the age of two. That led the USDA to issue the very first dietary guidelines in 1980. Dietary guidelines are the basis of the food pyramid that you probably all know. So now you have all the giant wheels of the massive federal government working behind this one hypothesis, that saturated fat and cholesterol cause heart disease. All of the accompanying agencies got in line behind it because that was the wheel of the government. So, in this environment where institutions, research dollars and other investments were all lining up behind one idea, it was very hard to do good science or to be a good scientist. Scientists are trained to try to confront their biases and to constantly question and challenge their beliefs. The great philosopher of science, Karl Popper, described it: “The method of science is the method of bold conjectures and ingenious
and severe attempts to refute them.” But this was an environment where the exact opposite was going on. A bias set in amongst experts: they selected data points in their favor, and they ignored those that were not in their favor. It’s called selection bias, and it is fairly stunning to see this at work over the decades of nutrition science since the 1960s. There are really four major clinical trials that are supposed to be the bedrock proof of the diet-heart hypothesis. [These trials] showed that vegetable oils did successfully lower total cholesterol. In some of the trials there was actually a reduction in cardiac events, but there were significantly higher rates of death from other things, including cancer, and higher rates of gallstones. All of that was so worrying that in the early 1980s, the National Institute of Health had a series of expert panels to try to figure out what that was about, and they couldn’t. Overall mortality in the two groups was the same, so these trials could not demonstrate that you could lengthen your life by cutting back on saturated fats. But at a certain point, there was just no turning back. There were literally billions of dollars in research funds invested in this hypothesis. Careers were founded upon it, institutions depended upon it, and too much institutional energy and research money had already been spent trying to prove this hypothesis. By the mid-1980s, the critics were basically silenced. Through a mixture of politics, bias, personal ambition and bad science, a consensus had been sealed up. What was the role of the food companies? I’m often asked: Where were the meat, egg and dairy producers? Why did they not stop this? Weren’t they so powerful? To which I answer: They were powerful—they Photo by Ellen Cohan
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are powerful—and they did try, but it turns out the big manufacturing companies are more powerful. Companies who, since the 1940s, have known the importance of influencing nutrition science: General Foods, Quaker Oats, National Biscuit Company, Corn Products Refining Company. But I have to say that the mistakes that were made were really primarily ones of science. Scientists are the gatekeepers on expert panels publishing public health advice. And I truly believe that they really believe their recommendations. It’s just that the initial science was weak, and they jumped the gun on it, and the science could never catch up. So what are the unintended consequences? Is there a link between this dietary advice and the load of disease that we’re suffering from today? I think there are basically two unintended consequences. One consequence is that we’ve increased vegetable oils as we’ve been told. Before 1900, the only fats that American housewives cooked with were butter and lard. We ate in 1900 pretty much 0 percent of our calories as vegetable oils. Now we eat 7 or 8 percent of all of our calories as vegetable oils. These oils have brought with them a number of unknown issues. When they’re hardened, through a process called hydrogenation—to make Crisco, which was introduced in 1911, and then margarine, both hugely successful products—one of the byproducts of that is trans fats, the health effects of which we only have really started to understand relatively recently. It’s been known since the 1940s that when these vegetable oils are heated, they produce toxic oxidation products: more than 100 of them have been found in a single piece of chicken fried in vegetable oil alone. And these toxic products appear to produce huge inflammatory effects and possible gastric damage, amongst many other things. Our state of understanding, our reckoning with the science, is pretty much where we were with trans fats back in the 1970s. One of the unsung good qualities of saturated fats is they are solid at room temperature. They’re stable; they do not oxidize when heated. It used to be that McDonald’s fried their French fries in tallow. Now, we have switched over to vegetable oils, about which we know so little. That’s one of the unintended consequences of getting rid of
saturated fats. The other major unintended consequence is the increased amount of carbohydrates that we eat. In retrospect, it seems obvious this would happen: if you take meat, cheese and eggs off the plate, foods that have historically been at the heart of our meals, what fills the empty space? The answer is pasta, grains, potatoes, and these are all very high in carbohydrates. The USDA instructed us to do this: that giant bottom slab of the USDA food pyramid is all grains, bread, pasta. The problem with carbohydrates is that they break down into glucose in the bloodstream. Glucose triggers the release of insulin, and insulin seems to be the king of all hormones for sucking away fat. In fact, experiments on animals show it’s almost
“At a certain point, there was just no turning back. There were literally billions of dollars in research funds invested in this hypothesis. Careers were founded upon it, and institutions depended upon it.” impossible to get fat without insulin, and chronic exposure to insulin seems to be what leads to type 2 diabetes. Again, it’s carbohydrates that are the main cause of insulin release in your bloodstream. It seems like fat does not make you fat. That seems like just a tragic homonym. The fat we eat—we’ve always thought it was the fat we get. Same word, but there does not seem to be a connection. The idea that fat doesn’t make you fat, that overall we shouldn’t be limiting fat, seems to kind of have percolated into the expert community. But there’s still a strong belief that saturated fat, the kind in meat, cheese, butter, dairy, eggs, causes heart disease and is bad for you. Beyond the argument that saturated fat isn’t bad for you, can you make the argument that saturated fat is actually good for you? Should we not just stay away from these foods as a measure of caution, or are
there arguments for eating meat, dairy, butter, eggs, cheese? I think there are. One [argument] is that these foods are extremely nutritionally dense. Certain vitamins such as B6 and B12 are uniquely available in animal foods. Other vitamins, A, D, E and K, can only be absorbed when they’re accompanied by fat. So if you’re drinking skim milk, you’re not fully absorbing these vitamins, and without those vitamins, you’re not absorbing the minerals. Animal foods are really the naturally occurring, perfect package of vitamins and minerals, together with the fat needed to absorb them. Red meat turns out to be far more nutrient-dense than chicken; red meat contains selenium, folate, iron, zinc, which are barely present in chicken. So these animal foods really deliver a powerful dose of healthy nutrition that is not so easily available from plant foods. These foods are almost essential if you want to eat a diet higher in fat. Over the past decade there have been a lot of clinical trials comparing a high-fat, carbohydraterestricted diet to a low-fat diet. The high-fat diet really performs much better in terms of weight loss, diabetes and heart disease markers. How do you get to a high-fat diet? Unless you’re Italian peasants drinking bowlfuls of olive oil, it’s hard, though not impossible, to eat a high-fat diet without eating animal foods. Also, these foods are uniquely satiating, which is to say there’s something about fat and protein we don’t really quite understand but that fills you up. [Scientists] have tried to make prisoners overeat on meat, and they just cannot. The [prisoners in the studies] look at a stack of pork chops and cannot eat any more. Whereas experiments have found, it’s very easy to overeat on carbohydrates – on pasta, popcorn. Those foods are not as naturally satiating. So it could very well be that because we’ve so greatly reduced animal foods over the last 30 years, we’re all walking around in a state of being hungry, trying to fill up on carbs. We do eat more calories now than we did 40 years ago. Why is that? Did we all become gluttonous? Why did our grandparents have an easier time of not being gluttonous? It’s possible that we’re just not eating enough fat and protein, and we’re trying to fill ourselves up on carbohydrates. One other [argument] in favor of saturated fats: Before the epidemics of heart
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Photo by Ellen Cohan
disease, obesity and diabetes, these fats were at the centerpieces of meals for thousands of years. From Athena laying down a fat goat in the chine of a great wild hog rich in lard for Odysseus, to Isaiah prophesizing in the Old Testament that the Lord would make unto all people a feast of fat things, of fat things full of marrow, to Pip’s theft of a pork pie in Great Expectations, it is very hard to find people eating salads in history and in the history of literature. Nutrition science has really ignored this history at our peril. It’s time to welcome these nutritious and delicious foods, guilt-free, back into our lives. RONALD M. KRAUSS: Here’s a question that I think touches on the idea of establishing causality from the kind of evidence that we have in nutrition: Instead of saturated fats, do you believe that processed foods are a leading cause of obesity and heart disease? TEICHOLZ: “Processed foods” is a highly unspecific term. You can process vegetable oil, that’s one thing; you can process flour, that’s another thing; you can process meat, that’s something else. Those all have very different kinds of macronutrient contents, so I think it’s kind of a vague term. KRAUSS: Part of the issue is that there’s specificity at the level of a food that can’t easily be deconstructed from its individual components. Processing is one of those things that carries with it the stigma of losing something that’s natural in the whole food itself. I believe it touches a little bit on the vegan question because such diets can be consumed using whole
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wheat and natural foods that avoid some of the types of processed foods that I think we are concerned with, such as carbohydrates. How do we quell environmentalists and animal rights activists and feed the world’s population on this healthy diet? TEICHOLZ: The environmental, ethical questions around eating animal foods are huge. The scope of my book was: What is
“S aturated fats have been u n f a i rl y co n d e m n e d. Th e evidence seems to have dissolved. Why keep it in jail? Why force it to prove itself to a higher standard than, say, broccoli or kale?” healthy? And that took years and years of research. There’s so much discordance and disagreement about what a healthy diet is. I feel like we need to get to some agreement and understanding of [what is healthy], and then figure out how to make those foods sustainable. How do you raise animal foods sustainably in a way that is ethical and humane? KRAUSS: What is your opinion on the high-fat, low-carb Mediterranean diet? TEICHOLZ: What I suggest in my book is that it might be possible that any higher
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fat diet is healthier than a low-fat diet. The Mediterranean diet does seem to be healthier than a low-fat diet. It’s possible that there are other high-fat diets and other traditions in Sweden, in Holland, in other places where they eat a lot of fat, and people might want to eat their own ancestors’ diet rather than have us all eating a Mediterranean diet. KRAUSS: There is the potential, in the sound bite coverage of this whole topic, to swing from one end of the pendulum to the other. There’s evidence on the other side that would suggest that we should be increasing our intake of saturated fat, which could be done in ways that we don’t yet know the consequences of. TEICHOLZ: You get to the absolute heart of the issue here, which is that saturated fats have been unfairly condemned. The evidence seems to have dissolved. So if you have false evidence against something, let it out of jail, right? Why keep it in jail? Why force it to prove itself to a higher standard than, say, broccoli or kale? Why should it be forced to be the subject of a two-year-long clinical trial high in saturated fat? It’s like keeping somebody in jail and saying, “You need to show good behavior, even though all our evidence against you is gone.” I do not make the argument that people should be going out and eating sticks of butter. There are people making this argument, but I don’t. But I think this is really at the heart of the issue, and it’s again where I draw upon the lessons of history and examples of populations who have been healthy, historically, because I think nutrition science has ignored that historical record.
GMOs Can GMO crops coexist with non-GMO crops? A look at food diversity, seed control and innovation. Excerpted from “GMOs: Necessary in a Hot and Crowded World?” June 11, 2014. ROBERT FRALEY
Chief Technology Officer, Monsanto
ANDREW KIMBRELL
Founder and Executive Director, Center for Food Safety
NATHANAEL JOHNSON
Food Writer, Grist; Author, All Natural: A Skeptic’s Quest to Discover If the Natural Approach to Diet, Childbirth, Healing, and the Environment Really Keeps Us Healthier and Happier
JESSICA LUNDBERG
Seed Nursery Manager, Lundberg Family Farms
GREG DALTON
Director, Climate One – moderator
GREG DALTON: Jessica Lundberg, your family is in food production. How do you think GMO use is different or similar to the kind of stewardship and hybridization that’s been going on in farming and agriculture for a very long time? JESSICA LUNDBERG: We’ve been selecting crops that suit our needs and our diets and our tastes for the last 10,000 years – I think probably more actively in the last 2,000 to 3,000 years. It has gotten more advanced since the 1700s, when we actually started developing breeding techniques, and then we’ve seen quite a change. In the grand scheme, it’s changed very quickly in the last 30 years. [During those] 30 years, we have been modifying these crops in a way that is different from what we’ve ever been able to do before. The Monsanto website [says] we’re modifying plants to the point that they’re exhibiting traits that they wouldn’t be able to exhibit in nature. While that can be awesome from a science and technology perspective of what we can do, I think from a farming and a consumer perspective, that’s not always something that we should be doing. From both a food safety and an environmental impact [perspective], we should be thinking more in terms of the food system and what kind of food system we want to promote. The topic tonight is really, how are we going to feed people, and how are we going to have a healthy food system? In our family, we don’t use GMOs. We don’t support GMOs. In fact, we have been very outspoken as far as the need to label genetically modified organisms because we think that’s something that consumers should be able to choose because it is a new technology. DALTON: Nate Johnson, tell us the story about how you came to write about this— when you found what you found, hyperbole on both sides. NATHANAEL JOHNSON: I came to it starting from the perspective that people aren’t dying from GMOs. [GMOs] have been around long enough. It’s not something that I’m worried about in an acute way. But we’re fiddling with tomatoes or corn in such a way that maybe we’re changing something that we don’t know about that will impact our nutrition years down the road in a way that we don’t understand. So as I have looked into the claims about
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health and about the environment, I have softened, I suppose. I found much less to be worried about in every case. Once you’re not so worried about the health claims, it sort of “domino-effects” other claims as well. DALTON: Andrew Kimbrell, is there scientific evidence about human health from directly eating GMO foods? ANDREW KIMBRELL: That is a difficult question to answer. There is science on both sides, and I think the burden should be on the industry to prove that the food is safe. Let me remind everybody here that everything that Monsanto has put into these novel crops – and that means novel DNA, that means viral DNA, that means bacterial DNA, that means antibiotic markers – all those things are patented as completely novel. They’ve never been in food before. So we can get rid of the beer-and-yeast argument. Our patent offices said they’re completely novel, and Monsanto has accepted those patents. Monsanto hasn’t done the work, and our government hasn’t really done the work to say they are safe. Having said that, that’s exactly the wrong question. The real problem is that 85 percent of all the genetically engineered crops out there that Monsanto sells are genetically engineered with some bacterial DNA that makes them tolerate huge amounts of pesticide [and] herbicide spraying. Last year, Monsanto made $14 billion selling its Roundup and the seeds that can tolerate this huge amount of Roundup. This is about chemical companies selling chemicals. It’s not about feeding the Earth.
In 30 years of research, private and public, we have yet to see a GMO crop that has greater yield, that does anything about malnutrition. There’s not a single commercialized crop that does anything about a better taste, a lower cost. It has really been about a trick that they found in the early 1980s, quite by chance, actually, that allows them to use a heck of a lot more of their chemicals. Those who have fought for years to get the Organic Food Production Act passed and to make sure we have organic standards that have integrity have been able to save 30 to 40 million pounds of pesticide each year that would have been used if not for organic. Here we come with the technology, with whatever they’re greenwashing. They’re selling 140 million more pounds of Roundup – in total, about 115 million more pounds of chemicals each year being used on our crops. That actually dwarfs all that we’ve saved “doing organic.” If you’re wondering why people who fight for organic [practices] are pretty pissed about this, that’s why. DALTON: Jessica Lundberg, let’s get you on the diversity of crops and seeds, and how that is sort of nature’s own way to have food resilience. LUNDBERG: That is one of the big issues that we’re talking about, and with some of the potential in that technology, I think, that has caused the consolidation of some of our seed and genetic resources. One of the issues that we know gets brought up with this is farmers not being able to save their seed because of the patent technology. Also, the development of some of the terminator
technologies forces farmers to not be able to save their seed. But I also see it from the other side, the research side of it, the consolidation of seed and genetic resources. We do need more diversity. We need to have more, not less, tools available, and consolidation means there is less for farmers to choose from. Some of the technology that I think is allowing the genetic modification can have tremendous benefits to our food systems. Genetic-assisted or marker-assisted breeding can actually take a traditional breeding system and provide us with some of the same advancements that are touted by GMOs, in a very short amount of time, and allow us to see that adaptation in crops through traditional breeding methods, and give public institutions the ability to move those out to farmers and to have more diversity. Like you say, it’s going to take more resources, more diversity, more tools for us to be able to be successful as the climate changes, as the type of agricultural areas that we’re producing in changes, and as our water supply [changes]. Those challenges provide different scenarios [in which] we’re having to farm and to feed more people. It’s going to take more, not less, so the consolidation issues and the lack of – or decrease in – genetic resources are disturbing in some of these technological developments. DALTON: Who really benefits from GMOs? Is it farmers? Is it consumers? Is it just fertilizer companies? JOHNSON: There are economists who have done the research on this and who’ve captured the benefits of this new technolPhoto by Rikki Ward
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ogy. The seed industries have gotten the lion’s share of the benefits – the people who made the innovations – and farmers have also gotten a big chunk of the benefits. Consumers have seen a very small decrease in price, but small enough that most of us wouldn’t notice it. DALTON: Let’s talk about labeling. In California and other state capitals, there’ve been ballot initiatives. Rob Fraley, don’t consumers have a right to know what’s in their food, and shouldn’t GMO labeling be a matter of transparency and the consumers’ right to know? ROBERT FRALEY: Yes, I absolutely believe in that. It always surprises a lot of people when they talk about the labeling discussion. As a company, [Monsanto] supports voluntary labeling of these products and believe that that’s really the right way to meet consumer demand and consumer choice, and there are all kinds of voluntary labeling options. The most popular ones [include] the organic standard [seal]. When the organic standard was created over 20 years ago, it contained specifically the exemption of GMOs in organic production. So anything that’s organic or certified as organic is GMO-free. Recently, the GMOfree foods have really taken off, and the last time I looked on the website, I think there were over 20,000 foods that have now been labeled as GMO-free. In fact, I was coming in from our Davis site and we stopped at a Safeway store about halfway through here, and I was checking out – as I always do – what’s on the grocery store shelf and what’s going on. About half of the store was GMO-free and half of the store was conventional, and I think that’s really the way it should work. The beauty of the voluntary labeling and why we support it so much – I really celebrate when Cheerios decides that they want to create a GMOfree brand, or Whole Foods says, “We are going to source ingredients and we’re going to sell a premium product,” that they think consumers will benefit. DALTON: Andrew Kimbrell, is voluntary disclosure enough, or does there need to be mandatory disclosure of GMO labeling? KIMBRELL: There needs to be mandatory disclosure. There are several problems with voluntary. One is, you are telling people that have not changed anything they’ve done, that they have the burden of labeling,
right? I haven’t changed anything I’m doing. You’re saying, “To let the consumer know, you’ve got to put the labeling on.” If I’m putting something new in the market which is genetically engineered, I don’t have to do anything. But you have done the same thing, so it puts the burden on the wrong producer. They often say, “We shouldn’t label because it hasn’t been proven dangerous.” But if you look at all the labels that you see on your food, all the labels that you see on the back of your Cheerios, all of the food dyes, you see “from concentrate” or “not from
“ T he
seed industries
h a v e g o t t e n t h e l i o n ’s share of the benefits, and farmers have gotten a big chunk of the benefits. ” –Nathanael Johnson concentrate.” That’s not there because the FDA thinks it’s dangerous. I actually disagree that you have to allow this [fact], but [GMO proponents] think it’s completely safe. [Food labels often note] just a change in the food, novel material in the food that [regulators] think the consumer has the right to know about because it’s not obvious by looking at the food. So we don’t say you should mandatorily label GMOs because they are dangerous. If they’re dangerous, we shouldn’t label them; we should take them off the market. But they are novel. They’re patented, novel material that consumers have the right to know about. And if it’s not novel, new material, then I hope Monsanto and the other companies will voluntarily rescind all of their patents and say, “They aren’t new.” You can’t have it both ways. AUDIENCE MEMBER: With the monocultures that are being grown and the pesticides in the ground, what is the quality of the soil and with whatever the quality is, is it possible to go back to growing the way we used to, or do we then become totally dependent on GMOs in that area, in that soil? LUNDBERG: Well, I can’t talk to the
quality of the soil but when you say, “Can you go back?” Of course, you can go back. I think if you look at some of the research that’s been done by the Rodale Institute, they provide an excellent example of that There was a family farm [in what] had been a heavily, chemically intensive area in Pennsylvania, and they had a complete change of how they farmed; they actually went organic, went to crop rotation. And they have shown measurable changes in the health of the soil. That’s something that we need to be aware of as farming progresses, is that it has to be a continuous improvement process. We need to be constantly aware of the soil and its health and the effect of growing food on the environment. AUDIENCE MEMBER: You said that if organics are labeled, they’re guaranteed not to have GMOs. FRALEY: That’s the part I started. AUDIENCE MEMBER: Do you seriously believe that? Because we both know that with pollen drift, you guys invade organic farms, sometimes thousands of miles away. In Mexico, a thousand miles away, corn was infected. You can’t control your own product. You can’t guarantee that organic is organic. FRALEY: Yes. I actually had another point of common ground that I wanted to embellish. The organic standard was actually developed to exclude the GMO technology, and it was actually designed 20 years ago so that as long as an organic farmer’s intent was to grow an organic crop, if there was accidental drift from a neighbor’s chemical pesticide or if there was accidental drift from pollen, that did not interfere with the ability to market that crop as organic. Just two years ago, the USDA did a large study to confirm the opportunity for coexistence. For me, one of the real strengths of U.S. agriculture is the ability for all of these practices to coexist. When I grew up on a farm and we were growing field corn – and everybody thinks corn is corn; there’s white corn, there’s yellow corn, there’s field corn, there’s blue corn, there’s high-amylose corn, there’s high-lysine corn, and the pollen is flowing for all of these products in agriculture, but farmers talk. There are databases; there are maps, and I think a real beauty of the U.S. agriculture system is how we can coexist and use multiple practices.
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Amy Stewar t
Drunken the
Goodbye mixes and hello innovation and openness about ingredients in favorite drinks. Excerpted from “An Evening of Botany & Booze with the Drunken Botanist,” June 19, 2014. AMY STEWART Author, The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Create the World’s Great Drinks; Blogger, GardenRant In conversation with
THAD VOGLER
Owner, Bar Agricole and Trou Normand THAD VOGLER: One of the things that struck me about [The Drunken Botanist] was how much it had to do with natural selection and how many stories of death there were, from human beings accidentally dying from eating things, to natural selection in the plant world. It seems like a theme that you noticed. AMY STEWART: As the author of a book on poisonous plants, I was very alarmed at the possibility of any plant that might be mildly toxic being used to make alcohol. My husband actually told me that I had put too many warnings in there about poisonous
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plants, but I thought, “People are going to read this book, and they’re going to run right out and start doing stuff.” Right now, people are making bitters out of everything imaginable. Of course there are a lot of poisonous plants out there, and you soak them in alcohol and alcohol is a solvent – it extracts the active ingredients out of whatever is soaking in it. So I wanted to be very careful about that. There are definitely plants that we’ve used as medicine over time that get turned into a cocktail ingredient after a while. That’s been the journey that some of these plants have taken, and they definitely had some potent qualities. [In regard to] natural selection, it was a real challenge for me writing about grapes. Like, “What do I say that hasn’t already been said about grapes?” There are so many books about wine and brandy already out there. I thought it would be interesting to focus on the North American native grapes, because you notice that we have native grapevines in North America, but nobody makes wine out of them. Why is that? I remember this trip I had taken to Minnesota. I was speaking at a botanical garden at a university, and the whole botany department was going to take me out to dinner. They said, “Oh, at dinner tonight we’re going to eat at this restaurant that does all local food, and you’re going to get to drink some of our local Minnesota wine tonight.” I’m from California, so I’m thinking, “Oh, how nice…OK.” [Laughter.] They were very proud of it. It turns out that they had been
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cross-breeding these hearty frost-tolerant vines – they can get through a winter freeze – with some French varieties and making some beautiful wine out of it. This was a fantastic, delightful wine. I asked the guy who had been working on these grapevines, why it is that North American grapes are so hard to get wine out of. It turns out that in Europe, grapes were selected by people. Thousands and thousands of years of human selection: somebody walks along, they pick a fruit, they eat a fruit, they help move the seeds around just like birds do. Even before we understood what selection was, we were inadvertently doing it as early humans. So the grapes that were growing in Europe were just fantastic because of eons of human selection. But in North America, it was birds that did the selecting, not humans. Our grapes in North America tend to be small, so a bird can get it in its beak, and blue – they can see blue; they like blue. Flavor was much less of a concern. Anyway, that was one little part of the story that I thought I could really talk about that maybe no one else had. VOGLER: One thing that’s cool about France is that they have appellations; specific kinds of spirits are protected, like kinds of wine. In that culture, they insist on seeing booze as agriculture. I was curious, what other cultures in all of your research did you encounter that have similar priorities? STEWART: One thing I really tried to do was to be very global, to not just focus on North America and Europe; in the drinking
Botanist Photos by Scott Feldstein/flickr (left); Aaron May/flickr (right)
world, that’s where all the attention goes, right? But when you look worldwide, you get a very different picture. So, Africa, I thought, was really amazing. You don’t really think about Africa when you think about our drinking traditions, but it turns out that sorghum is a very big grain in Africa. It’s very drought-tolerant, really tough; it’s just a survivor. In times of famine, there’s always some sorghum to eat. They make a homemade beer that’s cloudy, opaque stuff. It’s a little sour. It’s actively fermenting – you can’t bottle it because it would explode. They put them in these cartons, like these sort of milk cartons, and there’s a vent for the CO2 to get out. That’s a great example of this really close connection between what we’re eating and what we’re drinking. Bananas, too. In Uganda, there are these beer bananas. There are bananas that you eat and then there are beer bananas. And the beer bananas are useful to grow, because you can make a homebrew kind of beer and you can sell it on the road next to your farm and add a little value to what you’re doing and get something extra out of it. So it’s always been very closely tied to the farm. VOGLER: Can you remember a cocktail that started the ball rolling? Was there a moment that you fell in love with cocktails? STEWART: I was living in the Bay Area when this sort of modern cocktail movement got started. When people ask me how this got started with cocktails, what I say is [that] there was a group of people in New York who were really interested in history
and pre-Prohibition ingredients that weren’t available anymore. Then, on the West Coast, we became very interested in local, seasonal food, which got into our drinks. Those two things went on a date and their love child was the modern cocktail. Suddenly we’re drinking these drinks that have these really interesting 150 yearold formulas in them, but also have these
“I
was very interested in
maotai. It’s what Nixon drank on his trip to China. The president matched his host drink for drink. Dan Rather said it tasted ‘like liquid razor blades.’ ” really fresh, obscure currants that some farmer in Mendocino is growing. Those things came together to make what we are drinking right now. VOGLER: I have some questions from the audience. What’s the worst drink you’ve ever had? STEWART: All right. So should we exclude just like bad drinks made at chain restaurants that shall not be named? VOGLER: Yeah, I think that’s a good idea. STEWART: Because we could be here all night with that. I’ll tell you what was a re-
ally hard sell for me. I mentioned sorghum earlier, and I’m kind of in love with sorghum. It’s this very unglamorous, unloved grain, and I’m sort of its little champion. It’s like the uncool kid at the grain party, so I love it. So I was very interested in maotai, which they make in China. It’s this kind of white lightning, a sort of white moonshine-like spirit, made out of sorghum. It’s what Nixon drank on his trip to China; [Deputy National Security Advisor] Al Haig had gone out ahead of time to do a little reconnaissance and sent back a telegram saying, “Under no, repeat, no circumstances is the president to drink after any toast.” But the president matched his host drink for drink and drank that stuff. Dan Rather said it tasted like liquid razor blades. But I was interested in it, and I knew that there was a high-end market for it, like scotches. There had been speculation and [the price] had been run up. So I got a bottle that was sort of a mid-priced bottle, and it was rough. It was hard to drink, but I thought, well, I’m drinking the wrong stuff. So then somebody poured me a little of the $400 version. And I’ve got to say, I mean no disrespect to the Chinese, who are very proud of their national spirit, but I got to take the bottle home and I have never offered it to a guest. VOGLER: Can you describe what liquid razor blades taste like? STEWART: The funny thing about this spirit is they tell you to drink it right down; don’t leave it in your mouth. That’s a red flag
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right there. Usually a distiller who is rightfully proud of their product will – if they think you don’t know any better – tell you to sip it. You don’t slam the stuff down; you enjoy it. So I thought, well that’s a little bit of a problem. I mean, it is like a mouthful of gasoline. It’s just all alcohol; it’s pretty high proof, and it has a lot of banana flavors and these odd tropical fruit sort of esters, but not in a good way. VOGLER: Does mass production of spirits and alcoholic beverages risk the [loss of ] variety of flavors and other characteristics of great beverage? STEWART: I think that really depends. It is a good question and I think sometimes with mass production, you can get something sort of generic, dull, not particularly tasty. I’m thinking about tequila, for instance. There’s some mass-produced tequila that’s not particularly delightful. But then again, look at gin. I mean, Beefeater – I think Beefeater is a great gin. There’s always some Beefeater at my house, and it’s a ubiquitous brand. Maker’s Mark is a bourbon that’s everywhere. I’m sure we don’t have to walk two blocks to find a bottle of Maker’s Mark somewhere. It’s a very nice bourbon. So I don’t know that mass-produced has to mean that it’s not very good, but it is true that sometimes it does. Also some liquor producers are going for a different market. Unfortunately with vodka, we’ve seen just horrific-flavored vodkas. I’ve often wanted to do an Instagram account of all the awfulflavored vodkas, like the marshmallowflavored vodkas I see in grocery stores. What a nightmare. VOGLER: I found it was really interesting what you said, “Enough with the idea that older is better.” One thing I find so interesting about spirits is how much they
try to trade on the idea. They always find some aspect of their story that like there’s a building on the property that’s 400 years old and the spirit itself has only been made for 5 years. STEWART: Well, we love a story. In sales especially, it helps to have a good narrative. Why do we like Ben and Jerry’s ice cream? I mean, it’s great ice cream, but you kind of like the idea that these two old hippies in Birkenstocks are making it in Vermont. So you like a story. But it is funny. There is this especially European tradition of having a myth. “Our recipe was given to
“M o dern
craf t distillers
are much less interested in having silly stories about lost princesses in towers, and much more interested in really talking about the ingredients.” the prince by his footman in gratitude because he saved his life, but then he drowned, and after that he got kidnapped, and he was in prison and he met this other guy and he gave the recipe to him.” It’s just so elaborate. I wanted to fact-check some of that stuff, too. There was one that involved Napoleon, and I happen to be very interested in Napoleon. I was really trying to debunk it, but I ran out of time. What I love to see, though, is that here in the United States, and especially on the West Coast, but actually kind of everywhere, the modern craft distillers are much less in-
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terested in having secret recipes and myths and silly little stories about lost princesses in towers, and much more interested in really talking about the ingredients and saying exactly what’s in it. “Our recipe is not a secret. There are these 12 plants, and we really want to talk about these plants because we are excited about them.” I think that’s cool. I interviewed this guy who grows sorghum in Indiana and he makes something kind of like rum from sorghum molasses. You can’t call it rum because it’s not coming from sugar cane. But the guy he gets [the sorghum] from is this Amish farmer, and he gets a letter from the farmer saying, “You can come on Tuesday.” He can’t call him; he just has to show up on Tuesday to get it. And he says, “Everything in this bottle comes from this three-acre plot; I can show it to you on Google Earth.” It’s all about the ingredients. To me, that’s a much better story than some myth. VOGLER: Do you ever drink when you write? STEWART: No! My brain has to be very clear. It was a tough thing with Drunken Botanist, because it’d be two o’clock in the afternoon, and I would have been writing about pastis all morning or something, and I would be like, “You know, I should probably run downstairs.” But being self-employed, you need a rule, so we have a rule: No drinks before six in our house. Sometimes we’re like, “Is it six o’clock yet?” I have to be very well-behaved. Moderation in all things. All this travel and research and stuff – I’m a surprisingly moderate drinker these days after having done all this work on this book. VOGLER: As we’ve discussed, there’s a lot in the book about how spirits give you a sense of place, and how tied to certain locations these spirits are, which makes sense because they’re grown. You’re from Texas, originally. STEWART: I am, yes. VOGLER: I was curious: How do people drink in Texas? STEWART: When I grew up, people drank badly in Texas. Texas has come a long way, of course. A lot of Texas pride goes into some Texas spirits now. So I think things are getting better, and there are even some good Texas wines out there. But, you know, the 1970s and the 1980s just about anywhere were pretty rough drinkingwise. That was sort of a dark era. A lot of premixed stuff. I’m glad that’s over.
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Continuing the Work of Generations medicine, health, science and technology, nutrition, agriculture, urban planning, transportation, constitutional rights, civil rights, animal rights, war and peace, leadership, governance, defense, terrorism, sustainability, entrepreneurship, philanthropy, architecture and design, sports, culture, history, and virtually every field related to human endeavor and the natural world. Policymakers and thought leaders have often chosen the Club he Commonwealth Club, to make important public policy statements, which have then been America’s oldest and largest debated locally and throughout the nation. Teddy Roosevelt coined civic forum, is an institution and defined the term “conservation” at the Club in 1911, Woodrow that is key to the democratic process Wilson took his case for the League of Nations to the American people nationally, regionally in California through the Club in 1919, and FDR made his historic New Deal and the West, and locally in San speech at the Club in 1932. This process continued as Bush adminPhoto courtesy of Gloria Duffy Francisco and the Bay Area. istration officials talked about and debated the war in Iraq with San The Club was founded in San Francisco in 1903, in the aftermath Francisco citizens, U.S. and NATO military leaders have discussed of violent conflict in California over land use between agriculture and the war in Afghanistan, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has the railroads, which raised questions about the capacity of govern- outlined and heard input on plans for federal financial system rement and society to manage such difficult isforms, and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger sues. The Club is a Progressive-era institution announced and discussed his climate change dedicated to citizen self-education and open initiatives at the Club. hrough its convening power discussion of important issues to engage citiClub forums and reports contributed to zens in improving public policy and society. and reputation for neutrality, the reform in California, including establishing The Club’s founders first named it The the initiative process (1911), creating judicial Agora, which in ancient Greece was a central Club has often brought together recall elections (1912), reducing air pollution place in a city for public assembly, arts and from factories (1913), establishing public culture. It was soon renamed The Common- people to work on solutions.” defenders’ offices (1921), creating an explanawealth Club, to indicate its mission as a public tory handbook with pro and con statements service group to serve the common “weal” to accompany election ballots, creating a state (sound, healthy, prosperous state). The Club’s early mottos were water plan (1930s–1960), and many other public policy issues. “Get the Facts” and to “Find Truth and Let It Loose in the World.” In more recent years, the Club’s “Voices of Reform” project from More recently, the Club says that it helps to keep its members and 2003–2006 resulted in the creation of a new organization, California the public “In the Know.” Forward. CAForward is improving state governance in California The Club’s founders were Edward F. Adams, editorial writer for through measures such as creating the California Citizens Redisthe San Francisco Chronicle; John P. Young, managing editor of the tricting Commission and pursuing reform of the budget process. Chronicle; Benjamin Ide Wheeler, president of the University of Eight years ago, the Club created Climate One, a dialogue between California; Frederic Burk, president of San Francisco Normal School scientists, business, governments and other fields on how to address (now San Francisco State University); and William P. Lawlor, Superior the threat of global warming. Court judge and later California Supreme Court justice. Our mission continues to the current day. This August, the Club The Club’s 22,000 members, mostly in the Bay Area, are from hosted a 22-part series, The LGBT Journey, highlighting the social, all walks of life – the professions, teaching, government, business, cultural and political evolution of the gay rights movement. And we students, labor, retirees and technology professionals. What they have are holding a forum this fall on San Francisco’s proposed “soda tax.” in common is a commitment to being informed and contributing to The Club is strictly non-partisan and takes no position on issues. the public good as engaged citizens. But through its convening power and reputation for neutrality, the The Club holds more than 400 public panel discussions, speeches, Club has often brought together stakeholders concerned with an isdebates and town hall meetings each year on all kinds of topics, sue to work on solutions, thus contributing to solving problems and including the economy, foreign policy, the environment, energy, improving the human condition. The Club is making great progress with its project to build a new home on San Francisco’s Embarcadero. This is a good time to explore the history of this organization as we prepare for our new home.
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Sailing the Mediterranean in the Age of Odysseus Istanbul to Athens Aboard Sea Cloud June 27–July 5, 2014
Club Study Leaders
Join Commonwealth Club study leaders Rebecca Newberger
Rebecca Newberger Goldstein received her Ph.D. in philosophy from Princeton University and is currently Visiting Professor of Philosophy at the New College of the Humanities, London, UK. She is the author of ten award-winning books, the latest of which is Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won’t Go Away. Professor Goldstein is the recipient of numerous awards, both for her works of scholarship and her novels, including a MacArthur prize, popularly known as the “genius” award, which she received in 1996.
Goldstein and Steven Pinker, as we experience some of the
Steven Pinker is an experimental psychologist and one of the world’s foremost writers on language, mind, and human nature. Currently Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, he has also taught at Stanford and MIT. He has received seven honorary doctorates, several teaching awards, and numerous prizes for his books. Dr. Pinker often writes for The New York Times, Time, and The New Republic. He has been named in Time magazine’s “The 100 Most Influential People in the World Today.” Also lecturing on board is Joan Aruz, curator in charge of the Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Commonwealth Club Travel CST: 2096889-40
most important sites from antiquity on an enchanting voyage along the coast of Turkey and through the Greek Isles on the Sea Cloud, the legendary four-masted yacht built for Heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post.
• View the exquisite mosaics at Istanbul’s Byzantine Church of the Holy Savior.
• Discover Sardis, capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia. • Sail to Samos, with its celebrated Temple of Hera. • Anchor in the spectacular bay of Santorini; and explore the newly reopened Akrotiri.
• Sail south to Crete and explore the sites of Minoan Knossos and Greek Eleutherna.
• Sail from Istanbul to Athens, in the company of experts
and thought leaders, as we explore the land of Odysseus.
The exclusive group includes no more than 65 guests, and is limited to travelers from The Commonwealth Club, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Carnegie Museums. From $8,995 per person, double occupancy and depending on category
Detailed brochure available at: commonwealthclub.org/travel Contact: (415) 597-6720 • travel@commonwealthclub.org Photos: Stefan h/wikicommons
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PROGRAMS YOU WON’T WANT TO MISS Thursday, October 16
Thursday, October 30
Leon Panetta Former Director, CIA; Former U.S. Secretary of Defense; Author, Worthy Fights: A Memoir of Leadership in War and Peace In 2009 Leon Panetta stepped into the role of CIA director, eventually leading the campaign to kill Osama Bin Laden. Panetta then became the U.S. secretary of defense, inheriting two troubled wars in a time of austerity and painful choices. In his new book, Panetta is frank about the current state of affairs. The book is an epic American success story, a great political memoir, and a revelatory view onto many of the great figures and events of our time. for event details, see page 32
Marissa Mayer & Marc Benioff Marissa Mayer, President and CEO, Yahoo Marc Benioff, Chairman and CEO, salesforce.com Marissa Mayer is the CEO of Yahoo, one of very few women to run a Fortune 500 company, and No. 1 on Fortune Magazine’s “40 Under 40” list. We’re pleased to award Marissa Mayer INFORUM’s 21st Century Visionary Award. Join us at The Castro Theatre, where Mayer will be featured in conversation with Marc Benioff.
for event details, see page 38
Saturday, November 1
Monday, November 17
Mario Batali & Tyler Florence Mario Batali, Chef; Co-Host, “The Chew”; Author, America – Farm to Table: Simple, Delicious Recipes Celebrating Local Farmers Tyler Florence, Chef and Owner, Wayfare Tavern, El Paseo; Chef & Host, Food Network
John Cleese Actor; Writer; Producer; Author, So, Anyway…
INFORUM presents Mario Batali in conversation with Tyler Florence, Bay Area resident, host of numerous Food Network shows, and chef of SF’s own Wayfare Tavern. They’ll discuss Batali’s latest book.
His hit films Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian and A Fish Called Wanda, and his memorable roles in James Bond and Shrek have put him in a class of his own. From his hilarious tweets and new memoir, hear more from this towering comedic genius. Join Cleese as he takes us on a grand tour of his ascent in the entertainment world, from his humble beginnings in a sleepy English town to the pinnacle of comedy and worldwide success.
for event details, see page 38
for event details, see page 42