The Commons

TALK OF THE CLUB

Find Truth and Set It Loose in the World

President Joe Biden got to the heart of the matter when he said, in his inaugural address, that there is a difference between truth and lies. Lies, he said, told “for power and for profit.”

The “deep state,” the “election steal,” and the QAnon conspiracy are all lies. We have seen, in the terrible attack at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, how lies can be used to manipulate our citizens and to strike at the very foundation of our democracy.

When he wrote in 1903 that the Club would “propose to find the truth and set it loose in the world,” the Commonwealth Club’s founder Edward F. Adams set out the Club’s nonpartisan mission to present information and perspectives that would help citizens cooperate for the common good, despite inevitable differences over strategy and political affiliation.

Those words ring so true today, and the Club recommits itself to our purpose of educating, informing and stimulating dialogue, in the common interest. We are honored to answer President Biden’s call to “end this uncivil war,” including through the Club’s K–12 civics education project, which mentors a new generation of Americans to participate positively in civil society.

We are proud to be a progressive organization. Progressivism is the idea that the human condition can be improved by human effort and public policy, based on facts, data, analysis and dialogue. It is a nonpartisan approach, originating in a movement originally led by Republicans like Theodore Roosevelt. To conflate progressivism with socialism or as somehow contrary to liberty and private enterprise is another lie. Today, as never before, the Club seeks to present the truth, from a broad range of political and social perspectives. We will not be a platform for lies, even under the banner of free speech. Too much harm has been done by those who have manipulated lies. The Commonwealth Club is a big tent, with room for many views. But we are a platform for free speech, not hate speech, and that is reflected in our choice of the people and issues we cover.

We look forward to an era now, as when the Club was founded 118 years ago, when Republicans and Democrats and those across a range of viewpoints will collaborate for the common good, and we commit to being an active part of the healing and progress our nation needs.

Gloria Duffy President and CEO The Commonwealth Club

LEADERSHIP OF THE COMMONWEALTH CLUB

CLUB OFFICERS

Board Chair Evelyn Dilsaver Vice Chair Martha Ryan Secretary Dr. Jaleh Daie Treasurer John R. Farmer President & CEO Dr. Gloria C. Duffy

BOARD OF GOVERNORS

Robert E. Adams Willie Adams John F. Allen Scott Anderson Dan Ashley Dr. Mary G. F.

Bitterman Harry E. Blount John L. Boland Charles M. Collins Dennis Collins Kevin Collins Mary B. Cranston LaDoris Cordell Susie Cranston Dr. Kerry P. Curtis Dorian Daley James Driscoll Joseph I. Epstein Jeffrey A. Farber Dr. Carol A. Fleming Leslie Saul Garvin Paul M. Ginsburg Hon. James C. Hormel Mary Huss Lata Krishnan John Leckrone Dr. Mary Marcy Lenny Mendonca Michelle Meow Anna W.M. Mok DJ Patil Donald J. Pierce Bruce Raabe Skip Rhodes Kausik Rajgopal Bill Ring Richard A. Rubin George M. Scalise Charlotte Mailliard

Shultz Todd Silvia George D. Smith Jr. David Spencer James Strother Hon. Tad Taube Marcel TenBerge Charles Travers Kimberly Twombly-Wu Don Wen Dr. Colleen B. Wilcox Brenda Wright Mark Zitter

PAST BOARD CHAIRS AND PRESIDENTS

* Past Chair ** Past President Dr. Mary G. F.

Bitterman* J. Dennis Bonney** Maryles Casto* Hon. Ming Chin** Mary B. Cranston* Joseph I. Epstein** John Farmer* Dr. Joseph R. Fink** Rose Guilbault* Claude B.

Hutchison Jr.** Anna W.M. Mok* Richard Otter** Joseph Perrelli** Toni Rembe** Victor J. Revenko** Skip Rhodes** Renée Rubin** Richard Rubin* Connie Shapiro** Nelson Weller** Judith Wilbur** Dennis Wu**

ADVISORY BOARD

Karin Helene Bauer Hon. William Bradley Dennise M. Carter 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

Upcoming Program Highlights

New programs are added to The Commonwealth Club of California’s schedule every day. For the full list, event details, and to buy tickets, visit: commonwealthclub.org/events

MON, FEB 8 / 6:00 PM PST EVENING FROM THE ARCHIVES: BLACK HISTORY MONTH SPECIAL WITH STACEY ABRAMS

TUE, FEB 9 / 10:00 AM PST AMERICA AND IRAN

TUE, FEB 9 / 12:00 PM PST STANFORD’S LARRY DIAMOND: NECESSARY ELECTORAL REFORMS TO KEEP OUR DEMOCRACY

TUE, FEB 9 / 3:00 PM PST HIS VERY BEST: JIMMY CARTER, A LIFE

TUE, FEB 9 / 5:00 PM PST READING CALIFORNIA BOOK DISCUSSION: THE HEARTBEAT OF WOUNDED KNEE

TUE, FEB 9 / 6:00 PM PST WALTER MOSLEY: BLOOD GROVE WED, FEB 10 / 10:00 AM PST STEVE KETTMANN, ANTHONY SCARAMUCCI, CYNTHIA TUCKER: LIFE AFTER TRUMP

WED, FEB 10 / 5:00 PM PST HEALTHY SOCIETY SERIES: COVID-19 VACCINES—WHAT WE KNOW AND WHAT WE DON’T KNOW

THU, FEB 11 / 12:00 PM PST AMELIA PANG: MADE IN CHINA

THU, FEB 11 / 3:00 PM PST ETHAN ZUCKERMAN WITH KARA SWISHER: THE AMERICAN TRUST CRISIS

THU, FEB 11 / 6:00 PM PST AYAAN HIRSI ALI WITH BARI WEISS: ISLAM, IMMIGRATION AND WOMEN’S RIGHTS

TUE, FEB 16 / 10:00 AM PST DAN MORAIN: KAMALA’S WAY TUE, FEB 16 / 6:00 PM PST WANT ME, WITH TRACY CLARK-FLORY AND PEGGY ORENSTEIN

WED, FEB 17 / 12:00 PM PST A CONVERSATION WITH CONDOLEEZZA RICE

THU, FEB 18 / 12:00 PM PST THE MAN WHO ATE TOO MUCH: THE LIFE OF JAMES BEARD

THU, FEB 18 / 6:00 PM PST VIBRATE HIGHER WITH TALIB KWELI AND BOOTS RILEY

FRI, FEB 19 / 3:00 PM PST PRESIDENT BIDEN’S FIRST 30 DAYS: A WEEK TO WEEK SPECIAL

TUE, FEB 23 / 10:00 AM PST DAUGHTERS OF KOBANI: KURDISH WOMEN WARRIORS AGAINST ISLAMIC STATE

TUE, FEB 23 / 5:30 PM PST AGEMARCH/AGEMAGNIFICENT: EVERYONE AT EVERY AGE IS AGE MAGNIFICENT

THU, FEB 25 / 10:00 AM PST TICKING CLOCK: BEHIND THE SCENES AT ‘60 MINUTES’

THU, FEB 25 / 12:00 PM PST FNNCH AND THE HONEY BEARS: STREET ART FOR ALL

TUE, MAR 2 / 12:00 PM PST MICHAEL J. FOX: AN OPTIMIST CONSIDERS MORTALITY

TUE, MAR 2 / 3:00 PM PST THE CASE FOR KETO

WED, MAR 3 / 3:00 PM PST FEARS OF A SETTING SUN: THE DISILLUSIONMENT OF AMERICA’S FOUNDERS

THU, MAR 4 / 12:00 PM PST THE OTHER AMERICAN DREAM: HOW A GAY IMMIGRANT FOUGHT TO LIVE HIS TRUTH AND FOUND SUCCESS THU, MAR 4 / 3:00 PM PST JONATHAN COHN: THE BATTLE FOR OBAMACARE AND UNIVERSAL COVERAGE

TUE, MAR 9 / 3:00 PM PST INTELLIGENT DESIRING

THU, MAR 11 / 10:00 AM PST 19TH CENTURY NEW ORLEANS’ FREE BLACK BROTHERHOOD

THU, MAR 11 / 3:00 PM PST LIFTOFF: INSIDE THE HISTORIC FLIGHTS THAT LAUNCHED ELON MUSK’S SPACEX

THU, MAR 11 / 6:00 PM PST SILICON VALLEY READS: ALWAYS HOME WITH FANNY SINGER AND ALICE WATERS

TUE, MAR 16 / 3:00 PM PDT MINE!—HOW THE HIDDEN RULES OF OWNERSHIP CONTROL OUR LIVES

WED, MAR 17 / 6:00 PM PDT HELP FROM ABROAD: CHINA-BASED DONORS AND INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS HELP U.S. HOSPITALS FIGHT COVID-19 THU, MAR 18 / 3:00 PM PDT SILICON VALLEY READS: CONNECTING WITH NATURE IN A PANDEMIC

WED, MAR 24 / 10:00 AM PDT MARK BITTMAN: ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, JUNK

THU, APR 1 / 3:00 PM PDT SHANKAR VEDANTAM: USEFUL DELUSIONS

THU, MAY 6 / 3:00 PM PDT COLLATERAL DAMAGE: CONNECTING THE DEATHS OF MARILYN MONROE, JFK AND DOROTHY KILGALLEN

TUE, MAY 11 / 10:00 AM PDT METABOLICAL: THE LURE AND THE LIES OF PROCESSED FOOD, NUTRITION AND MODERN MEDICINE