The Commonwealth February/March 2020 by The Commonwealth Club of California

Commonwealth The

THE MAGAZINE OF THE COMMONWEALTH CLUB OF CALIFORNIA

FEBRUARY / MARCH 2020

JERRY RICE A Century of the NFL Scott Adams Alcatraz Occupation at 50

Judith Finlayson Domestic Violence

Malcolm Nance

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UPCOMING PROGRAMS Starting on page 37

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GUEST SPEAKER LUCY COOKE

Lucy Cooke is a National Geographic explorer, award-winning documentary presenter and producer, New York Times best-selling author and TED speaker with a Masters in zoology from New College, Oxford, where she studied evolution and animal behavior under Richard Dawkins. Lucy has produced and presented a number of popular primetime series for National Geographic Wild, Animal Planet, PBS and the BBC. Her latest book, The Truth About Animals, was short-listed for the prestigious Royal Society prize and has been translated into 18 languages.

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INSIDE10 THIS ISSUE 32

Editor’s Desk

Anyone having a birthday?

The Commons News and insights from the Club

On the Scene Holiday highlights at 110 The Embarcadero

Jerry Rice

The San Francisco 49ers legend discusses his career and the NFL’s history

Alcatraz Occupation at 50 Remembering Richard Oakes

First Word with Scott Adams Loserthink

The plot to betray America

Two-Month Calendar

February & March Events

Nearly 90 programs, featuring mayors, artists, pastors, politicos, books, filmmakers and more

Genetic secrets

Judith Finlayson

Last Word with Malcolm Nance

Domestic Violence

Insight into efforts to reduce the violence and help the victims

On the cover: Former 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice Photo by Sarah Gonzalez

Late-Breaking Programs

Insight By Gloria Duffy

On this page: Raj Mathai with Jerry Rice Photo by Sarah Gonzalez

Joe [Montana] told me, ‘Look, you added like five more years onto my career.” Because Joe knew he could drop back three steps, get rid of the ball, and I could go 95 yards or something like that. It was a lot of fun. -JERRY RICE

February/March 2020 - Volume 114, No.1

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

EDITOR’S DESK

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BUSINESS OFFICES

The Commonwealth, 110 The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94105 feedback@commonwealthclub.org

VP, MEDIA & EDITORIAL

John Zipperer

ART DIRECTOR

James Meinerth

DIGITAL ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Megan Turner

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Ed Ritger Sarah Gonzalez James Meinerth Spencer Campbell

ADVERTISING INFORMATION

John Zipperer, Vice President of Media & Editorial, (415) 597-6715 jzipperer@commonwealthclub.org The Commonwealth (ISSN 0010-3349) is published bimonthly (6 times a year) by The Commonwealth Club of California, 110 The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94105. 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, 110 The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94105 Tel: (415) 597-6700 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/watch-listen, podcasts on Google Play and Apple iTunes, or contact Club offices to buy a compact disc. Printed on recycled paper using soy-based ink.

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Photo by Ingaklas

Happy birthday to . . .

t the end of a December program featuring author Robyn Crawford, we surprised her with a birthday cake and the audience serenaded her with a round of “Happy Birthday” to help her mark the occasion. This time of year, we also naturally think about our own birthday—the Club’s 117th anniversary. In February 1903, the Club was created by a small but prominent group of civic-minded individuals who wanted an organization that would address some of the challenges facing society. One of the key guidelines they had was that it be open to anyone, not just regardless of differing opinions but with the desire of having people with differing opinions, as long as they were willing to engage others in a civil manner. We will be celebrating the Club’s birthday on February 18 at a party starting at 5:30 p.m. (See page 42 for details.) That same night, we will highlight the 8th anniversary of our Week to Week political roundtable series. So please join us for a fun night of celebration and conversation—it’s certain to sell out, so get your tickets now. If you have leftover cake and champagne, you might also want to celebrate the birthdays this month of Gertrude Stein (February

3), Rosa Parks (February 4), Ronald Reagan (February 6), Thomas Edison (February 11), Charles Darwin (February 12), Susan B. Anthony (February 15) and George Washington (February 22). monitoring the social media world can be an exhausting task. So many posts on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and elsewhere get hijacked by people spewing venom. I firmly believe these trolls are in the minority, but they cause more civil commenters to stay silent to avoid being in the firing line. So it is a pleasure to see people who use their social media posts to share the love. One that caught my eye on Twitter this past fall was a post by someone going by the handle @TinyToni543, replying to a posting about our program with author and Fox News anchor Bret Baier and his moderator, Brett McGurk: “CC is a San Francisco treasure. Great speakers, authors, and moderators like Brett McGurk! No other city has anything like it. Miss it. Wish I could be back there for this event.” We do, too, TinyToni543. Come back anytime. JOHN Z I P P E R E R VP, ME DIA & ED I T O RI AL

TALK OF THE CLUB Better Catch It

erry Rice is a legendary former wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers, playing an important role in their glory years and in multiple trips to the Super Bowl. He discussed that and more with moderator Raj Mathai during a recent Club program in Silicon Valley (see page 10). At the end of the program, and as if to test his reputation as the greatest wide receiver in NFL history, an audience member surprised Rice by tossing a football to him on the stage (see photos below). Naturally, Rice caught it, then quipped to an applauding audience, “Did you see that? Hey, there was no way I was going to drop this football.”

Imperial Help

Above: Stormtroopers, a Jedi knight and a rebel princess ensured a Marin Conversations program began on time. Below left: Dr. Gloria Duffy shows off her Most Admired CEO award, flanked by husband Rod Diridon, Sr. and her mother, also Gloria Duffy Below right: Attorney and former chair of the Club’s Board of Governors Richard Rubin with Governor Gavin Newsom. Stormtroopers photo by Adam Hirschfelder; Duffy photo by John Zipperer; Newsom photo courtesy Richard Rubin; Rice photos by Spencer Campbell

he Commonwealth Club is a place that often brings together people on opposite sides of issues. In December, we managed to bring together representatives of the evil Galactic Empire and the defenders of the New Republic. That’s a Star Wars reference, in case you avoided all mention of the cultural phenomenon for the past 40 years. Our Marin Conversations program at the Marin Center in San Rafael featured Star Wars experts Chris Taylor and Bryan Young, and attendees were greeted by stormtroopers, Jedi knights, and Princess Leia. The stormtroopers and other characters were courtesy of the Marin Galactic Outpost at the annual Marin County Fair. Luckily, a new star war did not break out between the forces of good and evil.

Most Admired

he Bay Area is home to countless successful and influential leaders in the business and nonprofit worlds.

So it is a high honor to be recognized as the best of the best at the San Francisco Business Times’ annual Most Admired CEOs award ceremony. The honorees at this year’s event, held in November in downtown San Francisco, included The Commonwealth Club’s president and CEO, Dr. Gloria Duffy. She was recognized for her work leading this important civic organization for more than 20 years, with the 2017 completion of the Club’s new headquarters building just one of her many accomplishments. In accepting the award, Dr. Duffy shared the spotlight with Club Board of Governors members and staff. An admirable thing to do.

Legal Eagle

alifornia Governor Gavin Newsom recently appointed attorney Richard Rubin to the California Law Revision Commission. Rubin founded his firm Richard Rubin & Associates in 1984, and he is a columnist for Fox and Hounds and the Marin Independent Journal. But around here, we also know him as the immediate past chair of The Commonwealth Club’s Board of Governors.

Night of Light

oard of Governors Member and philanthropist Ambassador James Hormel was honored by the Episcopal Impact Fund at its 2019 Night of Light gala in early November. Hormel said, “As I learned from [philanthropist] Brooke Astor, ‘If you don’t give from the heart, then you’re going to miss the ecstasy of giving.’” The honor came just weeks before Hormel received a lifetime achievement award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals. FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

LEADERSHIP OF THE COMMONWEALTH CLUB CLUB OFFICERS

Board Chair Evelyn Dilsaver 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 Massey J. Bambara Dr. Mary G. F. Bitterman** Harry E. Blount John L. Boland Charles M. Collins Dennis Collins

Kevin Collins LaDoris Cordell Susie Cranston Dr. Kerry P. Curtis Dorian Daley James Driscoll Lee Dutra Joseph I. Epstein* Jeffrey A. Farber Dr. Carol A. Fleming Leslie Saul Garvin Paul M. Ginsburg Hon. James C. Hormel Mary Huss Julie Kane Lata Krishnan John Leckrone Dr. Mary Marcy Lenny Mendonca Michelle Meow Anna W.M. Mok DJ Patil Mauree Jane Perry

Donald J. Pierce Bruce Raabe Skip Rhodes* Kausik Rajgopal Bill Ring Richard A. Rubin** Martha Ryan George M. Scalise Charlotte Mailliard Shultz George D. Smith Jr. David Spencer Dr. Marc Spencer James Strother Hon. Tad Taube Marcel TenBerge Charles Travers Kimberly Twombly-Wu Don Wen Dr. Colleen B. Wilcox Brenda Wright Jed York Mark Zitter

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

PAST BOARD CHAIRS & PRESIDENTS Dr. Mary G. F. Bitterman** J. Dennis Bonney* John Busterud* Maryles Casto** Hon. Ming Chin*

Mary B. Cranston** Joseph I. Epstein* Dr. Joseph R. Fink* William German* Rose Guilbault** Claude B. Hutchison Jr.* Dr. Julius Krevans* Anna W.M. Mok** Richard Otter* Joseph Perrelli* Toni Rembe* Victor J. Revenko* Skip Rhodes* Renée Rubin* Robert Saldich** Connie Shapiro* Nelson Weller* Judith Wilbur* Dennis Wu*

TALK OF THE CLUB

Totally Wired

Clockwise, left to right: A robot greeted visitors to the Wired event; our Library was completely transformed into a hightech chamber; revelers on our rooftop terrace; and a guest gets directions from a human-sized iPhone.

he futurists at Wired magazine made a return engagement at The Commonwealth Club’s headquarters in November. For the second year in a row, the magazine’s private event took over the entire building, transforming some rooms nearly beyond recognition as they showcased new technologies and cutting-edge ideas and thinkers. Oh, also robots. On this page are some of the scenes from the two-day event.

Feedback

Letter to the editor: First, thank you for what you do. The Commonwealth Club is a key component to an active and aware society; count me as a fan. I’m a local artist and founder of a small art center near Boulder, CO. Our mission is also to engage the community in a positive role, and the [Club] is an inspiring example

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* Past President ** Past Chair † Deceased

Photos by James Meinerth

of how we can all make a difference. [The September 19, 2019] discussion with Condoleezza Rice was exceptional. I don’t always align with Republican ideals and less so of late. Beyond party affiliation, I support smart, principled discussion and policy. I suspect Dr. Rice has other plans for her future, but many of us are so concerned that we are at the edge of democracy and the country as we know it that I respectfully

ask her to consider her role not only preserving it but in saving it. [During the program,] our first secretary of state, Thomas Jefferson, was referenced more the once. I’m not generally an alarmist, but I do feel we are in extraordinary times and it will take extraordinary people to navigate this period, as the first secretary of state recognized and acted on. Giuseppe Palumbo via email Letters to the editor may be edited for length and clarity: feedback@commonwealthclub.org or The Commonwealth magazine, Feedback, 110 The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94105.

ON THE SCENE Week to Week Holiday Party Food and games

A Place for Celebrations Kapow

Best view in the city for fireworks

e admit it: We’re ready for a break after a year of 500 programs, capped with celebrations and followed by a busy January. So this month we are presenting some pretty pictures from two recent celebrations at the Club’s headquarters on the San Francisco waterfront. On this and the following page are images from our annual members holiday party, held in midDecember right before the final Week to Week program of the year. In photos on this page at top center and at below left, members enjoy the food and community; in the middle picture on the following page, we had a visitor from the North Pole. Is he a member? In the other photos on this and the next page, see the revelers who showed up for New Year’s Eve to welcome the change of the year with champagne, fireworks, music, and great food. We hope you had a wonderful holiday season and that your 2020 is off to a great start. We’ll see you at the Club!

Festive Food No fruitcakes were harmed in the making of this feast

Revelry Serving champagne from a hoop

Making Memories Capturing the fireworks

Photo Credits: Commonwealth Club holiday party photos by James Meinerth. New Year’s Eve party photos by JBJ Pictures.

First Word

WITH SCOTT ADAMS Photo by James Meinerth

LOSER THINK Nobody wants to hear, ‘Hey, that’s

loserthink.’ I’m using mockery in its most productive way to mock people into more productive thinking.

oserthink is a word I invented, because I noticed that when I was on Twitter I’d be debating with various trolls and real people too, and every once in a while somebody would make a really good comment and I think, “Well, I don’t quite agree with that, but that’s really well-put.” I’d check on the [commenter’s] profile and it would be lawyer or economist, scientist. And then I’d see a comment that’s just bat-s--t crazy. I look at it and think, “Who sent this?” I’ll click on the profile—it’ll be a poet, musician, journalist. I’m thinking to myself, is that a coincidence or is there something about your experience in different fields that teaches you how to think? I reflected on my own experience. I’ve got a degree in economics and an MBA, and they literally teach you how to think. It’s not so much learning the specifics of economics, but they teach you how to compare things. They teach about sunk costs, they teach you about the time value of money. These are just some of the techniques. But they teach you how to think productively about your world. It’s not just economists. Scientists have their own way of looking at things, [as do] historians and psychologists. For some weird reason I’ve had experience in all of those fields. I’m a trained hypnotist and I worked in corporate America for 16 years and a whole variety of jobs from strategy to marketing to technology. So just by chance I’ve experienced a lot of domains, and you pick up how they think in those domains.

I thought a lot of people just haven’t been exposed to them. . . . One of the things I learned doing the “Dilbert” comic is that mockery is incredibly powerful. Lots of people over the years would write to me and say, “We were going to do this certain policy at work, but we saw a comic of yours mocking it. So we decided not to”—because nobody wants to do the thing that’s already been pre-mocked. [Laughter.] Even [Tesla and SpaceX CEO] Elon Musk, when he was writing a memo to his employees telling them how he wanted them to behave, what the culture should be like, one of his tips was to not do anything policy-wise that would make it into a “Dilbert” comic. Now, the power of that is that he didn’t have to explain what that meant, because everybody who’s familiar with the word “Dilbert” and the comic, . . . it’s like, “Oh, that’s a Dilbert situation there.” So I used that same technique by coming up with the word loserthink that people can use and say, “Hey, this is loserthink.” Now, having a word like loserthink makes it easier to mock people, because nobody wants to hear, “Hey, that’s loserthink.” As I was checking my Twitter feed before I came in here, I saw lots of people who have read the book accusing other people of loserthink. I thought, “It’s already working!” So I’m using mockery in its most productive way to mock people into more productive thinking. —Scott Adams, November 25, 2019 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

JERRY RICE

AMERICA’S

GAME Joe [Montana] was a prankster. But his composure and his energy was so positive. If we had time on the clock, we knew that we could move the ball downfield and win the foodball game. JERRY RICE Retired NFL Wide Receiver; CoAuthor, America’s Game: The NFL at 100 In conversation with

RAJ MATHAI

Anchor, NBC Bay Area

Photos by Sarah Gonzalez

Jerry Rice celebrates some of the mos t memorable moments in NFL—and his— history. From the November 12, 2019, program in Silicon Valley “Jerry Rice: America’s Game—The NFL at 100.” RAJ MATHAI: Let’s get the elephant out of the room. JERRY RICE: Okay. MATHAI: The 49ers dropped nine passes on “Monday Night Football” against the Seahawks. RICE: Yeah, I know. I was watching that. MATHAI: Can you still suit up? RICE: Yeah, I got about 80 catches in me. I can guarantee you guys one thing: no drops. I was really frustrated last night to see so many drops. MATHAI: I’ve asked you this through the years, but now, this has got to be really fun for you, because the Niners are relevant again. Not just in the Bay Area, but across the country, across the world. This is the team a lot of people are talking about. RICE: Well Raj, I said this from day one. I said this team is going to do something special this year. I even told [ESPN broadcaster] Stephen A. Smith, “They’re going to win the Super Bowl.” I just told him that point blank. Yeah, they’re relevant again and there’s an excitement here. I’m just loving it. MATHAI: When you watch a game, are you in your living room, are you in your kitchen? Are you screaming, are you having a mimosa? What are you doing nowadays when you watch a game? RICE: No. I am up running routes. I’m bringing it back, you know, I’m bringing back a lot of memories and all that. But yeah, you know I watched the game. I still support the players and I want them to do well. It’s hard for me, though, because actually guys, I played for over 20 years and I still love the game of football. I would love to get back on that football field again. It was my playground, it was something that I really just love doing. Just entertaining you guys. If you guys walked away from that stadium on [any] given day and you said, “Wow, we just witnessed something that was special,” then I felt like I had done my job. MATHAI: In my career, I’ve known so much about the NFL. I worked for the NFL for five

years. I’m reading [your] book, and there’s so many things that opened my eyes. It was fascinating. I didn’t know the early parts of the NFL, or football, not even [before] the NFL. The late 1800s, it was a college game. It was so violent that in the early 1900s, President Teddy Roosevelt had to step in and say, “We’re banning football unless you shape up here and make this a safer sport.” RICE: Yeah. MATHAI: Those are some fascinating [facts]. It’s amazing research in this book. RICE: [My co-author], Randy Williams, what he did is unbelievable. When you’re writing a book—yeah, there’s going to be some quotes about you and we’re going to have to sit down and talk. But reaching out to people, getting the info and stuff like that—he did a fantastic job just putting all that together. MATHAI: From the book we quote, “Fractured skulls, necks, internal bleeding led to public outcry to outlaw the sport.” This was in the late 1800s and the early 1900s. I’m looking at that, and now in 2019, there is also some of that, in terms of the head injuries and the public outcry. And the NFL is changing the way. Are they changing enough? RICE: Yeah, I think they are. I think players are more protected now than when I played. When I played, you had guys, if the ball was not even coming your way, you were being hit on the backside. It was very physical. You had to fight downfield to make plays, also to make catches. But that was something that I loved doing. Football to me is like a gladiator sport. That’s what it’s all about. When those helmets collided on “Monday Night Football,” that was it. It was time to do battle. Now, it’s a little bit different. They protect the quarterbacks, you can’t deliver a blow upside the head or anything like that. So yeah, I think they’re doing a great job. MATHAI: How much did you learn about the game, writing this book? In terms of [things like] back in the day it was three downs, not four downs. Touchdowns were four points, not six points. There’s a lot of growth here in this league. RICE: Yeah, you know what? But I think I only needed just one down. That was it. That’s all.

This is what Joe [Montana] told me. Joe said, “Look, you added like five more years onto my career.” Because Joe knew he could drop back three steps, get rid of the ball, and I could go 95 yards or something like that. So yeah, it was a lot of fun. MATHAI: You bring up Joe Montana. Around here and around the country, he’s so celebrated. We know he was cool in the huddle, but what’s something that he did in the huddle that still just stands out to you, in terms of leadership? Or just something funny he used to do? RICE: Joe was a prankster. I mean, he would put Tiger Balm in jocks and all that stuff. Think about that sensation on the football field. He was just that type of guy. But his composure and his energy was so positive. If we had time on the clock, we knew that we could move the ball downfield and win the football game. That was just like Super Bowl XXIII, with about three minutes, 10 seconds left in the game, guys. We got the greatest quarterback ever. We just have to execute and move the ball downfield and win that Super Bowl. MATHAI: That was against the Cincinnati Bengals, the second time the Niners played the Bengals. [The first time was in Super Bowl XVI.] You came down, and that was the drive. You marched down the field and won that game. RICE: Yeah, but people don’t realize we played them also during the season. We won

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

right at the end, with a Hail Mary. I remember [coach] Bill Walsh was so excited. He was like a little kid. He was skipping off the field. [Niners owner] Eddie DeBartolo already had [gone] to the locker room, he was ready to chew us out. Eddie was that 12th man, and he could be really mean, guys. I’m serious. MATHAI: That’s a different kind of 12th man. RICE: Yeah. So he had [gone] to the locker room, and I remember Joe threw the ball up. And I went up and attacked the football in mid-air and we won that game in the last seconds. It was just exciting. MATHAI: Your career went on from Joe Montana to Steve Young. You’re dealing with two Hall of Fame quarterbacks here. What was the difference, the demeanor? On the sidelines, in team meetings or in the huddle? RICE: I made both those guys look good. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. MATHAI: I could get Steve on the line right now. RICE: Call him up. But Steve was a lefty; the spin on the ball, it was different. Also, Steve was a running quarterback, so he was hurting my percentages. So I’m like, “Okay Steve, we’ve got to have a talk. I need you to stay in the pocket and just throw the ball downfield. That’s all you have to do.” But you know, eventually he had the

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highest passer rating. He became more of a pocket passer. So he worked on his craft, and I think I scored with Steve like over 80 touchdowns or more. MATHAI: Yeah, you did. RICE: So it was all because of practice, repetition, stuff like that. And that was something that we did after practice, just getting on the same page. It was important, and it was the same chemistry I had with Joe. I could look at Joe, because as a receiver, you’ve got to come to the line of scrimmage, you have to read the defense just like the quarterback. You have to know exactly what’s happening on the football field. I know this man, I know it’s his zone. If you cover me one-on-one—there’s no way you’re going to cover me one-on-one. You’re already defeated. I knew that Joe or Steve was going to deliver the football. MATHAI: So they have to identify you’re one-on-one, and you have to identify it, and then you know where you’re going? RICE: Yeah, yeah, exactly. And if they didn’t throw me the ball, I would give them that look, and they knew they had to give me the football. I’m just joking. I’m just joking, guys. MATHAI: Let’s nerd out a little bit here. What’s your favorite play called? You know, is it X4TI slash? RICE: My favorite play was 24 Razor. Razor,

that means that I’m going to the post. It’s man-to-man; when I run this route, guys, it’s just like doing a dance. I have done this over and over during practice. I know that the defensive back is playing me one on one. I want to get as close as possible to that defensive back before I go to the post. I want to hear his heartbeat. I want to get that close, because I know if I get that close, once I go to the post, he can’t recover. So that was something that we always worked on. MATHAI: And your quarterback can see it. RICE: Yes. He knows. MATHAI: In the book, you write about your routine and how meticulous you were and I know you still— RICE: That uniform had to be perfect. MATHAI: Yeah. RICE: I mean game day, I feel you have to dress a certain way to play well. My shoes had to be brand new shoes. I had to have nice white socks. The pants now, here’s the pants: I might go through like maybe four or five pair of pants. Now, with the trainers, they all knew. But they had bets going on. It’s like I would try on the pants and do all that. Then, the one that I felt comfortable in, I would go with that one. But I just felt you had to look a certain way to play well. MATHAI: And your weight’s not 192 pounds, but 190.

RICE: I wanted to play at 190. If I go to the stadium early and I’m 192, I’m going to jump on the bike or the StairMaster and get down to my weight. My teammates would come to the stadium, they’d look at me like I’m crazy. They’re like, “What is Jerry doing? He’s already sweating.” But it was just something that I needed to do. I never could eat on game day. I could never do that. MATHAI: So say there’s a “Monday Night Football” 6 p.m. kickoff back in the day? RICE: I couldn’t do it. The Super Bowl, I couldn’t do it. Because I wanted to be at my best, I wanted to be hungry. That was important. Everything was important to me. Because well, just say this, it meant something to me every time I stepped on the football field. I never took it for granted or anything like that. I wanted to win. And yeah, it was tough when we lost. MATHAI: So you were doing intermittent fasting before it was such a thing? RICE: Oh yeah. I would go to the stadium and I would just work those extra pounds off to get down to my weight. MATHAI: One of the chapters that stood out to me in the book, is just the race relations and what the NFL has gone through and continues to go through. RICE: Oh yeah.

MATHAI: You came up when there were black quarterbacks intermittently, but really it was, as the book says, “seemingly off limits for decades to have a black quarterback.” And really, Doug Williams became the guy to shatter it in the early 1980s, to win a Super Bowl. RICE: Well yeah, you had black quarterbacks, but they would get converted over to being a receiver or something like that. It’s much better today, but— MATHAI: At that point, if I can jump in here, did that tick you off? Did that upset you, or was that just kind of the way it was? RICE: I think it was just the way it was. I was born in Mississippi. There was a lot of racism in Mississippi. That was something my parents always told me: “Treat people the way you want to be treated.” So I didn’t use that as an excuse. When I stepped on the football field and stuff like that, I was going to bring you my best, and that’s all I could do. Now, if I practice a certain way and I perform a certain way, and if you have something against that, you know, that’s your problem. But I was going to leave everything on the field. So I didn’t use that as an excuse or anything. MATHAI: It’s pretty amazing just to see nowadays, we saw [African-American quarterbacks] on “Monday Night Football,” Russell

Wilson, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson. RICE: Yeah, I wish I was on the field, I would’ve hit him. I would have tackled him. He can’t be just running around the stadium like that. You know? Did you guys see that, towards the end? He’s a good quarterback, though. And I had the opportunity, I was in Arizona, they were getting ready to play the Cardinals. Larry Fitzgerald just surpassed Tony Gonzalez to get into that number-two slot. He’s right behind me, I know exactly where he’s at right now. Believe me. Yeah, I’m looking over my shoulder just a little bit. Russell Wilson and his receivers, they were out warming up and stuff like that. I said, “Hmm, I think I want to catch a ball from Russell Wilson.” I’m in a suit, tennis shoes, and I started running routes. He’s looking at me like, “How can you still do that?” Twenty years, and I’m talking about I’m going full bore. I’m catching the ball and I’m running to the end zone and stuff like that. It was a nice moment, because we got a chance to connect just a little bit. Because I have always wanted to catch a ball from him, and I think he had always wanted to throw me a football. So it was perfect. MATHAI: Just a couple hours ago actually, I saw Colin Kaepernick saying that he will have a workout in a few days, and all NFL

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

teams are invited. Will NFL teams go to watch this workout? RICE: I think it’s in Atlanta, right? MATHAI: It’s in Atlanta. Yeah. RICE: I don’t know. I don’t know. I think Colin Kaepernick had been offered a couple jobs as a backup. But he doesn’t want to be a backup. He did great things here with Jim Harbaugh, but toward the latter part of his career, he started to taper off. So maybe that was what he left, and I think hopefully he can get another opportunity. MATHAI: Let’s talk about the business of the NFL. You are all businessmen and businesswomen that work for the league. In the Bay Area, around the country, we’re talking about relocation of franchises. You were also a very proud member of the Oakland Raiders; you helped lead that team to the Super Bowl. Does it break your heart to see the Raiders leave such a great community? RICE: I hated it. I hated it. You know what it’s going to do to that community. I think Las Vegas offered so much money. But still, it’s like these owners are making so much money, guys. It’s crazy. I mean ticket prices [have] gone up and everything. I just felt really bad for that city. MATHAI: I’m a former Chargers employee, and it rips my heart out to see the Chargers leave San Diego. And in L.A., no one really cares about them. So you’ve lost a whole fan base.

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RICE: There are so many teams in L.A. You know, you’ve got the Lakers, you’ve got the Clippers, you’ve got the Rams, the Chargers, all of that. And it’s just going to be empty over there in Oakland, guys, no football. There’s not going to be a football team over there. MATHAI: How special was Al Davis? Because he brought you over, and that was a monumental decision for Jerry Rice, the 49ers legend. To cross the Bay and go over to Oakland and play for the Raiders. RICE: You know, I never wanted to leave San Francisco. I’m going to be honest with you guys. But I still had football in me, and I still loved it. I decided to go to Oakland. [Oakland coach] Jon Gruden said, “Well, Jerry, do you want to come to Oakland and catch like 80 balls?” Or something like that. I went to Oakland, had a great season and went back to the Pro Bowl that year. We had the opportunity also to go to the Super Bowl. It was just unfortunate that Jon Gruden—Al Davis got rid of him and sent him to Tampa Bay. Jon Gruden knew everything about the Oakland Raiders. MATHAI: We hear about the reports. I was at the game too. Did they know the routes you’re running before you ran it? RICE: Yeah, pretty much. But hey, think about this, guys. We had a game plan [for Super Bowl XXXVII, the Oakland Raiders against Jon Gruden’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers].

We had two of the best running backs. We were going to pound that football. They didn’t have an answer for that running game. But we didn’t know that our starting center [Barret Robbins] would be found in Mexico, in a ditch. MATHAI: On a bender. RICE: Think about this. You wake up the next day, and you’ve got all of this going on. Now, you’ve got the second-string center, [who] didn’t get that many reps during the week. So we had to completely change our game plan. Like I said, Jon Gruden knew everything about Rich Gannon, his tendency. I remember John Lynch, after going back, watching the film—it took me a while to go back and watch that film, guys, because we lost that Super Bowl. I was so accustomed to winning Super Bowls. But I think by losing that Super Bowl, it taught me more than winning, because now you still have to be a professional. You have to deal with family members, you’ve got to still deal with the media and all that. I remember after losing that game, I went back to my room and I sat right on the bed and I cried like a baby. Because I wanted to win a Super Bowl for [Oakland Raiders wide receiver] Tim Brown. Tim and I had such a great relationship. We came up short, but it just taught me that you still have to be a professional, even when you don’t win.

ALCATRAZ

Occupation at 50 KENT BLANSETT

Associate Professor of History and Native American Studies, University of Nebraska at Omaha; Author, A Journey to Freedom: Richard Oakes, Alcatraz, and the Red Power Movement

Program Photos by Spencer Campbell

From the November 21, 2019, Marin Conversations program “Alcatraz Occupation at 50: Richard Oakes and Red Power.”

an Francisco was home to a very vibrant community well before Richard [Oakes] ever got here—a community [that] by 1970 had over 40,000 native people living in San Francisco. In addition to that, people were coming here for the wartime industries. They were coming here before that in the 1920s because of the outing program that the boarding schools had sponsored. Even well before this, this was indigenous land. This is the land of the coastal Ohlone as well as the Miwok peoples. In other words, this was an indigenous city from its inception. It’s important to know that Alcatraz Island in 1963 was abandoned by the federal government. It was left up as surplus property, [and there was an earlier occupation.] This is 1964, in March, and of course this is imbibing a lot of what’s happening in the Northwest with the fish-ins in the same year. They [the occupiers] would use the Fort Laramie treaty of 1868, which was a treaty

in which the federal government had to abandon their forts throughout Lakota Country. In so doing, when they abandoned those forts, they became surplus property, and the Lakota owned that property. What they said is, “We’ve got a treaty that says this is abandoned surplus federal property. We will take over Alcatraz.” The occupation lasted all of about an hour, but there was a key figure. Belva Cottier happened to be the community liaison adviser for the students at San Francisco State and Berkeley, and she began telling [Oakes and fellow students] the story of 1964 and this occupation. The students at both of those campuses were getting together, and on the campus of Berkeley, they were led by LaNada Means, who’s now LaNada War Jack. LaNada and the students at Berkeley began working with the students at San Francisco State and attending these teach-in classes that Jack Forbes was hosting at the Far West Laboratory. They were learning about native liberation tactics, and they were asking questions about: What do we do next? What is our movement? What is indigenous rights, and how do we sponsor such a movement? They got the idea: Why don’t we go back to thinking about Alcatraz again, and why don’t we take over Alcatraz and make that the stand, and Richard would be leading the

cause in this echoing of “let’s take over Alcatraz Island.” The initial occupation would start in November; . . . the students initially wanted it to be in the summer when they’d be out of classes, and, of course, it would be easier. They may not get expelled; their education wouldn’t be put at risk, but something happened. The Indian Center burned in October 1969, and things were heating up. It was now or never, and so November 9 was going to be a key date. They arrived down at Pier 33; they were going to go over to Alcatraz. Richard stands before a group of reporters that are gathered around. He takes out some strips of red cloth; he takes out some beads, and he says, “We’ll buy this island for the same amount of money that was purchased for Manhattan Island about 300 years ago—$24 in glass beads and red cloth.” He begins reading a proclamation for a new organization that the students had chartered and started called Indians of All Tribes. In other words, it was not the American Indian Movement that took over Alcatraz. It was Indians of All Tribes that took over Alcatraz Island. Of course, there was no boat. They kept thinking, “Where’s the boat, man? The reporters are here. We can’t allow this momentum to die.” Pretty soon, they’d find this guy sailing this ship. It was like a Pirates of

Left to right: Rose Aguilar, Kent Blansett, and Jonathan Lucero.

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the Caribbean ship—triple-masted ship. His [the skipper’s] name was Ronald Craig; the ship was called the Monte Cristo. Of course, this guy was in a crush blue powder leisure suit with a frilly cravat—a sword to go with it. He was [into] the whole reenactor thing. He was flying the Canadian flag. The interesting thing was it was a reenacting ship for James Cook, who was a colonizer of the Pacific, and that ship was the [HMS] Endeavor. This guy was like, “That’d be good publicity for the Monte Cristo, but I can’t land you on the island, because I don’t want to get my ship impounded.” So the students were like, “I guess that’s going to be good enough.” They pile up on this Monte Cristo with the guy with the crush blue leisure suit, and they start sailing out to Alcatraz Island, and the press was going nuts. They’re taking photos. He fires off the cannon, and everybody’s like, “Yeah, right on.” You can feel that energy, but it wasn’t going to be enough for Richard. He walks to the front of the boat. He takes the shirt off. He turns back to everyone else. He says, “Come on. Let’s get it on.” He jumps into the frigid waters of the Bay [and] begins swimming 250 yards to the island, and four others follow him into the Bay waters. Where the boat wouldn’t take him—he wasn’t going to allow that to limit him. [He was] going to choose his own destiny. Native peoples, we’re going to choose our own destiny, never to be limited again. It was a huge stand. The crowd went wild. The reporters went wild. It hit the press massively. He got taken off the island rather quickly. And they said, “Let’s go back tonight.” They go back the next night as a scouting mission to be able to figure out: What’s on the island? What could we use? How can we make this a bigger force? Then they get taken off the next day and negotiate not getting arrested. Richard takes it to the next level. He begins speaking, traveling up and down California to different universities, and he even goes all the way to Los Angeles and begins speaking at UCLA, where he meets a young Ed Castillo, who is Cahuilla, and in talking to Ed Castillo, he begins inspiring him, and he begins inspiring a lot of his students at UCLA. He’s like, “Yeah, we’ll come up. We’ll do this. When’s d-day?” [It was] November 20, 1969. They check out a bunch of vans from UCLA, and they [drive] a bunch of students up. Ed still admits he doesn’t know what

happened to those vans. They left them somewhere in San Francisco, and somebody got them. Yeah, they came to that Alcatraz invasion. That invasion was going to be November 20, 1969, and the invasion force was going to meet in Sausalito. Tim Finley, who was a reporter, had friends that operated the No Name Bar. This gets us into the Sausalito Navy, in which friends were called in with three boats, and they [transported] over 89 of the students and/or community members to Alcatraz Island. Our astronauts are landing on the moon; Indians are landing on Alcatraz. What’s bigger news? It was a native invasion of Alcatraz. What does Alcatraz represent? Well, Alcatraz is not an island; it’s an idea. Those were Richard’s words. It was powerful; it was symbolic. It represented a place that didn’t have any employment, didn’t have any running water, didn’t have electricity, didn’t have any jobs, didn’t have any mineral wealth. It was a prison abandoned by the federal government. The federal government had banded us with our treaties, with our rights. In other words, it was a perfect metaphor for teaching the world about indigenous rights, the perfect metaphor for creating change where change needed to happen. Out of this, they then created that proclamation. They begin educating people. Pretty soon, media from Germany, from Japan, from all over the world were flocking to the Bay Area, and more important to Alcatraz Island. Of course, he [Oakes] would be the spokesperson. He would read the proclamation and [list] the demands for the idea that they were going to create a title for Indians of All Tribes to the island. They were going to create a university, an ecological center, a spiritual center and of course an Indian center on Alcatraz Island. Famous actors were coming out to the island to lend their support. Jane Fonda would give money for generators. Where there was no power, they would create power. That’s Red Power. Creedence Clearwater Revival would donate money, and they would buy their own ferry boat; they were highly organized. Of course, they would create their own ferry boat, and they would shuttle people back and forth. One of the things that I began finding in my research that was fascinating is that the idea of coalition politics was a dynamic of the 1960s that’s oftentimes missed by scholars—that there was communication

back and forth between the movements. In other words, what we have here is the Brown Berets, and the Brown Berets would lead a Moratorium March in East L.A. That Moratorium March was against the Vietnam War. I started watching clips of this, of the parade procession in East L.A. in 1970, and you have [a] banner [that says] “Indians of All Tribes,” [so there is] this idea of coalition politics. Then eventually, of course, the Brown Berets would lead a takeover of Catalina Island in 1972, echoing the Alcatraz occupation, finding their indigeneity in these other issues of collaboration. Coalition politics was really strong for the 1960s. They organized supply lines in which they were able to run supplies in despite Coast Guard blockades. They didn’t carry guns to the island. This was a nonviolent movement. They carried their children; they carried their future; they carried their families; they carried their community, and that was what they were showing the world. That’s our strength. That’s our heart, in other words. Annie Oakes [was photographed] walking with [daughter] Yvonne Oakes. Yvonne Oakes was about 13 years of age at the time, and in January of 1970, tragedy would befall the island. She would fall from the third floor of the Ira Hayes building, and she would lose her life on January 5, 1970. Richard was devastated; Annie was devastated. The community came together to try to rally for them, but his heart was broken He began doing native liberation with other organizations throughout Northern California, like the Pit River Nation In March of 1970, Richard Oakes . . . would [lead] a BIA [Bureau of Indian Affairs] takeover in Alameda. It literally happens in a matter of hours, and they agree to leave, but they make a statement with that well before the 1972 BIA takeover—that became Richard’s idea. He would then be recruited up to Seattle, and Seattle had created another organization called United Indians of All Tribes, named after the same organization that inspired Alcatraz. What they were occupying was— the military declared Fort Lawton surplus property. Now they’re taking over a military base. You can imagine the field day the press was having: “Indians invade military fort.” It’s like the perfect John Wayne moment for the press. The thing is, we were successful. After three attempts, they would take Fort LawFEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

ton, and today it’s the Daybreak Star Indian [Cultural] Center in Seattle. In other words, they were meeting with success, and this was creating momentum for the movement. Even after Alcatraz, there would be a hundred occupations across the country—there was an occupation at Wrigley Field and then another one that would happen at Ellis Island. In Northern California, there was Pit River Nation. They held 3.5 million acres of land. Then, of course, the Indian Claims Commission, because they never gave title to this land away; they never signed it away. They offered them 47 cents an acre, which was an insult. They refused to take it, just like the Lakota refused to take any payment for the Black Hills. Multinational corporations like Kimberly-Clark and another one that’s really famous in the news lately, PG&E, had moved onto the land and was taking their resources away from them. So they began organizing occupations. The big thing was, they began occupying PG&E lands, and they wanted to get arrested. When the cops came out and they were noticing everybody was laughing and smiling about getting arrested, they were like, “Why are you laughing?” “You’re charging us with trespass, right?” They’re like, “Yeah.” It’s like, “Okay, good. You do realize in a court of law you’ve got to prove that you have [the] original title to that land, and you don’t.” You know what? They were successful. [The] court sided on behalf of the Pit

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River Nation—that they held the original title, not PG&E, and this would draw the attention also [of ] PG&E corporation. Eventually, Richard would go to San Francisco to serve a citizen’s arrest on the head of PG&E corporation. Later that night, he’d be celebrating at Warren Slaughterhouse Bar, and a guy by the name of Tommy Pritchard would sneak up behind him with a pool cue and beat him almost senseless. He’d be carried home that night; Annie would try to wake him up [in] the morning. He would not wake up. He was unresponsive. They took him to the hospital. He was in a coma, and then they would call in medicine people. The doctors gave him up for dead, essentially. They were like, “Western medicine has met its course. We can’t do anything more for him.” Later, he’d be doctored by Peter Mitten, who’s Cayuga, and Mad Bear Anderson, who’s Tuscarora. Peter Mitten would go into the back room, take out a tincture, begin mixing it up. He put it in Richard Oakes’ I.V., and doctors watched this. Within an hour, he had a red circle on his chest. Another hour, his body went flush red. Another hour later, his eyes popped open. Another hour after that, he was talking, and they’re like, “What’d you give him?” Peter Mitten was like, “I can’t tell you that.” They were like, “Well, why not?” “Well, the moment I tell you is the moment we as indigenous people don’t have access to this treatment anymore.” He was pinpointing something import-

ant—what was happening with the pharmaceutical industry, even at that time, that we were aware of that struggle. Richard Oakes would have to teach himself to walk again. He’d have to teach himself to talk again, and he still continued to organize. Out of this, is a movement that would transform Indian rights forever. In 1970, Richard Nixon would end the policies of termination [a policy of integrating Native Americans into society] and relocation. He would give Taos Blue Lake back to Taos Pueblo, and they would spark a revolution in legislation, in which over 26 pieces of self-determination legislation was passed. I have to remind my students, in 1978 they passed the American Indian Religious Freedom Act. We didn’t have a religious freedom until 1978 in this country. Even then, it was still tested up until 1996. Another 29 cases of Supreme Court decisions, like the Boldt decision [United States v. Washington], eventually would also back indigenous sovereignty and put us back on the page of being government-to-government with the federal government again. In other words, the spark for this, the launch of a global indigenous rights movement, was Alcatraz itself. It was the heartbeat of the indigenous rights movement. This program was held in association with the Sausalito Historical Society at the Outdoor Arts Club in Mill Valley, with support from the Marin Community Foundation and Relevant Wealth Advisors.

Photos by Ed Ritger

Judith Finlayson GENETIC SECRETS In conversation with

JUDITH FINLAYSON

KATIE HAFNER

Author, You Are What Your Grandparents Ate: What You Need to Know About Nutrition, Experience, Epigenetics, and the Origins of Chronic Disease

Author; Journalist; New York Times Contributor

You are not just what you eat—according to new science, you are also what your parents and grandparents ate. From the Oc tober 24, 2019, program in San Francisco, “Judith Finlayson: The Secrets of Genetics.” KATIE HAFNER: Everything from chronic diseases to how you age and sleep is determined by the epigenetics that turn on and off your DNA sequences. We’re going to have an exciting conversation about the intergenerational impact of nutrition on long-term health. You started out as a journalist, interested in cooking. What was your path as a journalist? FINLAYSON: Well, I started out as a journalist with an interest in politics, really. At the time that I began writing, there was a lot of interest in women’s issues. I was fortunate enough to become the women’s issues columnist for [Toronto’s] The Globe and Mail for about eight years. I had . . . a mother who [was] a kind of average cook. I remember as a little kid spending time with her in the kitchen and helping her make things. In those days, women made Christmas cakes every year. So we stir up all the stuff and put it in these tins and then put it down in the basement with a lot of booze over it and it would age and all that. I just remember that as a very fun time, and that’s the only thing that I can really say motivated me or inspired my interest in cooking. HAFNER: You gradually evolved into being more interested in food and medicine. I’d like to segue into this topic, but we need to define some terms. One is epigenetics verses genetics. FINLAYSON: Most people know now about the genome and the fact that you were born with your genome, your 23 pairs of chromosomes, and those are fixed. You get half from your father and half from your mother. The science of epigenetics was evolving throughout the 20th century. And epi I’m told is from the Greek word meaning over, so your epigenome is the genome that functions over and above your solid genes genome. Really, it’s about how your genes live in

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an environment in which they interact with various parts of your DNA and so on. Your epigenome is how your genes are expressed. Nutrition is a big one; it’s one we probably know most about. Stress is huge— that relates to the environment—and we’re now learning toxins really influence how your genes are expressed. If you want to go back to your grandparents and what your grandparents ate—the science has been showing for a number of years that your genes are fixed and they are transmitted via your parents. But what we now know is that certain epigenetic modifications—that is, changes to your gene expression—can also be heritable. Let me just give you a couple of anecdotal examples of this. A Swedish epidemiologist named Lars Bygren decided to look at the little town that he had grown up in, in northern Sweden. That little town was agricultural, and because it was in northern Sweden, some years it had wonderful crops and other years it didn’t. He looked at the cycles of feast and famine. What he found was that in the years that there was a very abundant crop, the boys who over-indulged in food had grandsons who died significantly earlier than the norm.If you looked at the females, the women whose mothers were pregnant in times of famine produced granddaughters who died much earlier than the norm. So why is this happening? We now know that boys’ sperm cells are forming around the time of puberty. This is a very sensitive time in terms of development. So impacts like poor nutrition can leave epigenetic marks on the sperm cells. So two generations later, those grandsons were subject to die earlier. With females, the dynamic is a little bit different in that, if you’ll remember, a female baby is born with all of her eggs. Those eggs are forming while she is in her mother’s womb. If the mother is malnourished while she is pregnant, it affects the quality of those eggs. So two generations along, you are seeing granddaughters who are predisposed to dying much earlier than the norm. HAFNER: A couple of other terms that I want to make sure we all understand: phenotype—because you might use that word. FINLAYSON: A phenotype is your collection of traits and characteristics and new genes and everything that produces you. HAFNER: So it’s what makes you you. FINLAYSON: Yes, exactly.

HAFNER: The protagonist, if there is one in the book, [is] David Barker, the epidemiologist. How did you discover his work? FINLAYSON: David Barker was a British epidemiologist who did something called The Atlas of Mortality, which was published in the ’70s, where he went across Britain and Wales and looked at data—epidemiological evidence on incidence of disease. He was finding that heart disease was very closely linked to the most impoverished areas of the country. At that point, you may recall heart disease was considered to be a disease of affluence. It was linked with eating too much meat. Red meat and fat. That’s when that was starting to come out. In the U.S., it was men who were largely thought to have heart disease, and it was from these affluent diets. [Barker’s findings] went counter to what the conventional medical thinking was. His statistics were showing links between high rates of infant mortality in the groups that he was studying; the same groups had high rates of death from heart disease 70 years later. This led him to suspect that the links of heart disease might lie in something that happened in utero, but he didn’t have any evidence for that. He stumbled on a batch of records called the Hertfordshire Diaries, which were kept by a county in England known as Hertfordshire, that tracked the health of all the babies born in the county from the time they were born until the time they were one-year-old. This data provided him with the basis for what emerged and was published in The Lancet, [the] prestigious medical journal, in 1986, known as the Barker hypothesis. In the Barker hypothesis, he could show links between low birth weight—5.5 pounds and less—and the likelihood of someone developing heart disease 57 years later. It was not accepted at that point, even though it was published. But he went on to discover other databases, most significantly the Dutch data from the Dutch Hunger Winter. The Dutch Hunger Winter was a period in the Second World War when the Germans cut off food supplies to northern Holland. Because the Dutch are very dedicated to keeping good records, they had very detailed records on these women who were pregnant during this period. And that showed similar links between heart disease, but adding on diabetes and obesity. I interviewed Johan Eriksson, the epidemiologist who is Finnish and is in charge of this set of data known as the Helsinki

Birth Cohort. The people who knew David Barker at this point—Johan Eriksson being one of them, Kent Thornburg being another—thought his ideas were interesting, but basically kind of wacky—that there were probably confounding factors that nobody was really looking at. So Johan said he thought he had the data and he would be able to prove that David Barker was wrong. In fact, he reconfirmed David Barker’s study, and he, Barker and a whole crew of other people who are involved in the developmental origins of health have gone on to do hundreds and hundreds of studies. These various birth cohorts and other cohorts [that] are coming into play all confirm the links between what happened in the womb, largely focused on nutrition and malnutrition, largely showing links between low birth weight and the risk for chronic disease later in life. So it’s now around the year 2000. Two major epidemiologists, one from Harvard Medical School and the other being the woman who heads the nurses study, just said, “You know what, he’s right. We were skeptical of all of this, but we can’t deny it any longer.” So he was able to define what was happening statistically, and that is epidemiology. Kind of around the turn of the millennium as well, the science of epigenetics was coming to the fore. Epigenetics began to explain exactly how it was happening—that is through the transmission of biological memories. A very famous study [is] the agouti mouse study. That’s a fascinating study, because it really showed the value of good nutrition and the fact that you can, by providing good nutrition, reverse some of these epigenetic processes. The agouti mice were mice who were bred to be beautiful. They were pet mice, They had a beautiful orange coat. If you look at dog breeding and horse breeding, and all of this, people kind of knew about some of this genetics; they didn’t understand scientifically, but they were doing it in that they were breeding for certain traits. So these mice were bred for this beautiful orange code. But it turned out that in this process, they had turned off one of the genes. That’s what was giving the mice the beautiful orange coat. HAFNER: This agouti gene. FINLAYSON: Yes. And the mice were very sickly. They were dying young or predisposed to having diabetes and a terrible collection of chronic illnesses. By giving these mice a set of nutrients that supported

methylation—methylation is mainly some B vitamins, choline, there may have been one or two other things in there—the researchers were not only able to improve the health of the existing mice, but without further supplementation to improve the health of their immediate offspring, and then the next generation of offspring. So it’s a really profound statement of how well you can do by improving nutrition. HAFNER: I’d like to talk about our grandparents for a minute. Many of us probably have parents or grandparents who came from this period of the Depression-era cooking. Then we lived in the era of frozen dinners, and canned this and that. I had this idea for a time travel like TV series thriller where someone goes back to the ’50s, “Don’t touch that TV dinner!”—changing the course of epigenetics. Wouldn’t that be a great TV series? Well, maybe not. However, it’s kind of too late to change what our grandparents ate. It seems that what you emphasize in the book is what’s happening now in terms of maternal nutrition during pregnancy. FINLAYSON: As you know, we really are facing people using the word epidemic now in terms of North American rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes and heart disease, and those things are all linked. People will tell you what we’re now seeing is the results of three generations of eating diets high in processed foods. HAFNER: Starting back in when exactly? FINLAYSON: Probably the ’50s. When you go to David Barker’s work, what you were seeing was the effect of things like famine, very poor nutrition, not enough food. Nowadays, what we have is something different in the sense that we are seeing the results of what’s described as high-calorie malnutrition. So processed foods have a lot of calories and really very few nutrients. In researching that book, I became much more aware of the negative effects of some of the additives. People are starting to look at that. HAFNER: Like which additives? FINLAYSON: Almost any of them. High-fructose corn syrup is linked

with making you feel more hungry, so you consume more and more calories to feel full. They all feed into this ongoing cycle of more and more calories but fewer and fewer nutrients. So if you look at what effect that’s having on people, it’s undermining pregnancies, because the fetus is not getting enough nutrients from the mother. We know from countries like China and India, where you have generations of poor nutrition, that too has an effect; it has a background effect. The theory is that if the fetus itself doesn’t get enough nutrition from the mother, it will draw the nutritional reserves in the mother’s body. But if the mother doesn’t have enough nutritional reserves to draw on, then that’s an empty well. So we’re just seeing the effects of this. Kent Thornburg, who wrote the foreword to the book, links the crisis in nutrition to the [health] crisis that we’re seeing and [to] climate change. We’ve really got to stop, because it simply isn’t as sustainable. HAFNER: So about maternal nutrition, I’m of the generation where my mother was told by her obstetrician to gain very little weight. She actually one day said, “Yes,” she was so proud of the fact that when she was pregnant with me, she gained seven pounds. I almost said, “Excuse me!” I must have gotten all of the nutrients—that’s what I’ve heard, that the fetus gets the nutrients, first. Is that right? You’re feeding your fetus first. FINLAYSON: Yes. HAFNER: So that seems like it was kind of a wrongheaded approach to pregnancy. Now what is recommend during pregnancy? FINLAYSON: Just eat a very nutritious diet and gain a reasonable amount of weight. I think that depends individually, but the basic

principle is one that I think a local—Michael Pollan lives around here doesn’t he? HAFNER: In Berkeley. FINLAYSON: [The principle is] in his food rules, which is eat food, mostly plants, not too much, and don’t eat anything your grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food. Which gets us into the additives and things that are in processed food. That really sums it up. So a diet of whole foods is high in nutrients, and it’s not only the basic vitamins and minerals, but it’s the phytonutrients; and the phytonutrients have things like the antioxidants, flavonoids, isoflavones. There’s a whole list of stuff. But we’re learning that those play more and more important roles in nutrition. And fiber. Fiber is enormously important. Processed foods are notoriously low in fiber. Kind of where I’m going with this is that a lot of these foods are nutrients [that] support and feed your microbiome. The more we learn about the microbiome, the more we understand how important it is in our health—and that’s mental as well as physical. HAFNER: We’re going to go to a few questions from the audience. I absolutely love this one. “I ate a lot of Twinkies as a kid. Are my grandkids doomed, even though my daughter serves them very little processed food?” FINLAYSON: I don’t know the answer to that, because I don’t know what else you

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ate along with all the Twinkies. Did you eat the Twinkies when you were pregnant? I mean, I think it also depends when you eat the Twinkies. The most profound value effects you’re going to have on your grandchildren is actually while you’re pregnant, because that’s when your daughter’s eggs are forming. HAFNER: We are home to the Twinkie defense [in]San Francisco, so just in defense of Twinkies, they don’t make Twinkies anymore. I don’t mean to go off on a Twinkie tangent. But as I understand it, Twinkies [are no longer being made], but I don’t know—is that because of the nutritional value or they just weren’t selling as well as they used to? Because of people like you? FINLAYSON: Probably. Yeah, I’m probably identifying myself as some kind of wacko but to be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever had a Twinkie in my life. So hard to know how I’ve escaped them. HAFNER: Right. Someone just said, “Who doesn’t love Twinkies?” A slightly more serious note [from the audience about the research] in Sweden. Why did the cycle of feast and famine affect the grandchildren and not the parents—i.e the first generation? FINLAYSON: That I can’t tell you, because I didn’t look deeply into Lars Bygren’s research. I’ve only seen the published studies, but I

would love to talk to him about what he was seeing and why he was looking at that. Because at the time that he was doing that, he was really out there. He and David Barker were kind of starting to look at that stuff early, really early on. They were the pioneers. It may not have shown anything. I don’t know the answer to that question. HAFNER: A two-pronged question here. Are the grandchildren of picky or supertasters doomed? [There are a] couple of components to this. What are your thoughts on NICU [neonatal intensive care unit] babies born and the future hopes for their grandchildren? It’s a fascinating one. And then do vitamin supplements help reverse the effects of what your grandparents ate? So . . . are the grandchildren of picky eaters doomed? FINLAYSON: Well, I think it depends what you’re picking at when you’re eating. If you’re eating nutritious foods, no. I mean, you’re giving high value in terms of the nutrients. I think this line of questioning is kind of off-track, because you’re not doomed. What you are is predisposed to certain conditions. Well, you’re vulnerable to developing chronic illness. That’s a more accurate way of describing it. We do know now from studies that you can reverse the effects of epigenetics, and you can do it really with very

little effort, losing as little as six pounds if you’re overweight, can significantly improve certain pathways. Exercising—they’ve done studies to show that just getting off your butt and improving behavior increases gene expression. They’ve done similar things with certain kinds of diets that improve aspects of gene expression. The thing is that probably one size doesn’t fit all, that different dietary approaches probably work best for different people. So the question is to try to figure out which one really suits you best. HAFNER: This question of the NICU babies is really interesting. FINLAYSON: I think they are more vulnerable, because they’re born at a lower birth weight. A lower birth weight has been linked with an increased risk for chronic disease. But if we know that, we can begin to take steps early on. This is an emerging area of research—nutrigenomics and neutral epigenetics, where we can target specific nutrients to certain aspects of gene expression, but that’s still kind of out there. HAFNER: This is something I know you wanted to talk about, and it handily came in as a question. Please tell us what you’d recommend for [people] who have type 2 diabetes. FINLAYSON: There’s a whole section in

the book on the various dietary approaches to type 2 diabetes. That really is a kind of one-size-doesn’t-fit-all. There’s a lot of discussion within the diabetes community; experts disagree dramatically on this. But I imagine that it’s really a kind of trial and error, or working with someone who really understands some of this, to figure out which dietary approach works best for you. Because some people find the keto [diet] works very well. But those keto diets are certainly—I’ve been told—not good if you’re planning to get pregnant, because you’re not getting a full range of nutrients to support fetal development. So it’s kind of a delicate balance. The Mediterranean diet seems to work variations on that theme; [it] seemed to work best for most people. You can’t go wrong with just good whole foods and a wide variety of nutrients. So, eat the rainbow. HAFNER: Oh, that’s so San Francisco. FINLAYSON: You eat the rainbow to get the wide variety of nutrients. Otherwise, you’re going to concentrate, and maybe miss out on certain things that you really need. HAFNER: Given the multi-generational impact of diet, what is your stance on the amount of information that couples considering adoption should be given about the parents and grandparents of the child?

FINLAYSON: It’s a very interesting question. HAFNER: We specialize in great questions here at The Commonwealth Club. FINLAYSON: It came up in a way with dinner we were having with friends a couple of weeks ago, over someone who had a child with a sperm donor and hadn’t really thought to inquire about the background. You look at a kind of front story. I don’t know, but I’m not sure that even asking, would people know? For certain, with sperm donors, the key question I think would be, What were they doing around the time of puberty? Because that’s when it has the most impact when those sperm cells are forming. So, we have studies with kids who smoked around the time of puberty, and that predispose their progeny to metabolic disorders. With egg donors, my guess is what did your grandmother do? Was she exposed to toxins? So it’s really life experience, nutrition, toxins are the three key things. So were there periods of poor nutrition, particularly sensitive developmental times like egg formation in a female or sperm development in a male. Toxic exposure, trauma, adverse childhood experiences have a big impact on epigenetic processes, because that’s the body adapting to troublesome situations and so the genes are changing.

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE MAKING A

Photos by Sarah Gonzalez

CHANGE

KATIE ALBRIGHT

CEO, Safe & Sound DELIA GINORIO Program Director, San Francisco Sheriff’s Department Survivor Restoration; Leader, Resolve to Stop the Violence Project JULIA WEBER GVRO Implementation Fellow, Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence EMMA MAYERSON Executive Director, Alliance for Girls—Moderator EMMA MAYERSON: How does gun violence, how does child abuse, how do we see what happens after an incident of domestic violence and restorative justice—how does that intersect with this issue of domestic violence? JULIA WEBER: In my work with the Giffords Law Center to prevent gun violence, I’m particularly focused on looking at the connection between firearms violence prevention and intervention and domestic violence. In California, for example, we have some really progressive and thoughtful policies in place at the state level to address firearms violence and domestic violence both in the civil and in the criminal context. Domestic violence, of course, in the court system shows up in both of those settings, and we have some very strong prohibitions, and yet

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Left to right: Delia Ginorio, Katie Albright, Carolyn Wang Kong, Julia Weber, and Emma Mayerson.

From the October 29, 2019, program in San Francisco, “Domestic Violence: A Cross-Sectional Approach to Effecting Change.” Supported by Blue Sheild of California Foundation. we haven’t been as effective at implementing those prohibitions. So part of my work is looking at one of those obstacles to overcoming the challenges to implementation, what do we need to do to do a better job, making sure we separate people who may be dangerous if they have access to firearms in terms of their intimate partners, and their family members, and the community at large. We know that not only do we need to be concerned about family members and firearms, but also the public generally. The majority of mass shootings where four more people have been killed, the perpetrator has also killed an intimate partner. This is something that affects all of us in a variety of ways. DELIA GINORIO: I’ve been with the sheriff’s department for about 24 years now. I’m working with victims of violent crimes and also offenders of violent crimes. Again, it’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and today has been a really interesting day for a lot of us in the domestic violence community. Actually, it’s been a heartbreaking day around restorative justice and domestic violence. Eighteen years ago in the year 2000, my client was killed. It really made a real shift in [my life]. I almost left my career, because it was five years into my career in the sheriff’s

department. This particular person fled to Mexico and was caught about six years later and brought back to San Francisco for trial. I won’t go into all the details, but what’s really [important] for me today is that some of my colleagues that are here went to his parole hearing, and he’s going to be paroled after only doing nine years. What I bring to the work around restorative justice is the understanding that I equally worked in both worlds of supporting victims of domestic violence and other crimes, along with working with violent offenders. My mentor and colleague Sandy Schwartz is here; [she] developed a lot of the programs in the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department. It’s a challenge a lot in the community around domestic violence restorative justice, because [some people believe] that restorative justice means that there shouldn’t be any jail time or prison time, right? The key piece is asking what the survivor wants, because I as a survivor who may have experienced A, B or C may be very different than what you would want. Some of the things may be the same, but ultimately it’s what I want and what I need—my needs [because of ] what happened to me are very different from someone else’s. That’s what drew me to restorative justice, and also understanding as a survivor myself is that the

people who have harmed me, the people who have harmed our clients in the community, also have trauma, and also have been harmed, and need supports and services. We can build a thousand more DV [domestic violence] shelters, but if we also don’t address the people who are doing violence and offer them programs and opportunities to change, the cycle can just continue. When we talk about the cycle of violence, I have seen in the jail system a great-grandfather, grandfather, grandson in this system all at the same time. So really giving people the opportunity to change [is important]. What brings me to this work and passion is that my father and my older sister killed my mom on my seventh birthday. So I come to this work with a lot of passion and understanding the importance of accountability, healing, forgiveness on my own terms, and on each survivor’s own terms. The challenge with restorative justice is making sure that folks understand that it may be for some folks, and it may not be for everybody, and it’s not for us to put it on anyone. It doesn’t mean that, again, prison or jail time isn’t what’s needed, because I work in a program where men are accountable every day for the violence that they do. That’s not going to help their case that they may never contact the victim; but they’re still accountable in making changes on their behavior. The last thing I want to say, and I always say this regardless of how much I truly believe in our programs in the jails particularly are resolved to stop the violence program, and our batterers treatment program—which is Man Alive—that I will still say that no program works. I will never guarantee that

a program works. The reason I say that is because if I say to survivors that just because the person who harmed you, your batterer is in our program, and our program works is a false sense of safety. I definitely talk to other people about it when they make these false guarantees, which is one of the challenges that we’re having today with the recommendation of this person getting out, guaranteeing that he’s going to be an asset to the community. You cannot say that. So ultimately, we can provide tools and information for folks to change their behavior, which we do, but it’s ultimately their choice whether to use that information. We can guarantee we have good information and good programs, but we can’t guarantee that they’re going to work, because it’s up to that individual. KATIE ALBRIGHT: I’m an attorney by trade. My first client was a 26-year old grandmother. You can do the math on that. My second client was a 15-year old girl who had gotten raped by her mother’s boyfriend. I was working in Washington D.C. She was seeking what was called, “the judicial bypass,” which is asking the court if she could get an abortion. What came very clear to me with those two cases was that the court system—and the laws that I had learned so much about and deeply valued, and we’re hearing about it today—can solve some problems, but can’t solve a lot of problems. Really, what we need to do wholistically is think about community approaches. The intersection of those two cases with domestic violence is quite profound. The client that was a 26-year old grandmother was living in a domestic violence situation, and she was do-

ing the best she could to take care of her kids. The mother with the boyfriend who raped the little girl, the 15-year-old, desperately pleaded with her daughter not to tell anyone, because she didn’t have a place to live. Even though that home was one of violence, she needed that home to be her sanctuary. I think that these cases for me—and we see it every day in the work that we do—are really endemic of the complexities of family violence. I am lucky enough to work with Safe & Sound, and several colleagues are here with me. We were formerly the San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center. We have been working in our community for more than 45 years. We provide a vision to the community that we can end child abuse. We’re saying that we can end child abuse in two generations. We do so by providing direct services to families who are coming to us voluntarily, because they want help in their families. We provide education in the community, and we partner deeply with others [so] we together can really think about how to end child abuse. We’re very lucky to be partnering with Bev Upton and others from the Domestic Violence Consortium and others in our community. Sandy Schwartz is a huge hero of mine, and I think others, around how we can as a continuum prevent. We learned that word at the beginning—“prevent” child abuse— because it is the root cause of so many other types of family violence, domestic violence, elder abuse. MAYERSON: I have a lot more questions I would love to ask, but I’ll turn to audience questions. San Francisco Family Court was very biased against women and children.

F E B R UA RY/MA R C H 2020

How do we change Family Court to listen, and if they don’t listen, to give an avenue for women to be heard? Related to this, I actually have a friend who was very mistreated in San Francisco Family Court because she had been a victim of domestic violence. I’m sure you guys hear this often, where the fact that she had been a victim of domestic violence and that was on record was actually used against her in San Francisco Family Court to question her ability to be a parent, and to be able to have her children. I’m sure this is something you guys hear often. When it was my own friend, it was heartbreaking. WEBER: Well, I don’t know if it’s good news or bad news, but San Francisco Family Court isn’t alone, right? It is a significant challenge despite my best efforts and the efforts of many well-intentioned people who have been working on Family Court reform in California and elsewhere for decades. I see Family Court as a place where so many social norms and stereotypes, biases around women really come into play. We need to deal with the issue of the misogyny that contributes to credibility questions.

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People have a very hard time believing the stories that women tell in Family Court for all sorts of reasons. There’s a tendency for people in family law moreso than many other areas of law to rely on their own families as a perspective. One of the very early cases I worked on was a female judge in a case in which grandparents wanted time with the child in the Family Court situation where the mother had been sexually abused by her father, and as a result was protecting her daughter from spending time with her father. The judge said, “I would love it if my dad would be more involved with my kid’s life. So I’m going to give grandpa more access.” As a result of a Supreme Court decision we have a bit of a different legal framework [that]provides greater protection. But . . . it remains permissible, this sense of, “Well, it works for my family.” I’ve seen it in so many situations where perhaps somebody was a victim of violence themselves in their family, and as a result of pushing that away, overcompensates to some extent and tries to ignore violence, and the seriousness of violence in that family. I see people who have very little experience with violence and just can’t believe that this is the reality for people. I’m a strong believer in making sure you have advocates representing women in these situations because of their credibility issue, acknowledging that it’s not just enough to tell your story. I also believe strongly in increased training and education for judges around what’s now being talked about as virtuous listening. ALBRIGHT: Can I jump in on that? Because absolutely, 100 percent, it’s about partnerships with the courts, with education, family violence council. We partner very

closely with the court system to make systemic change. I would say it’s not just about the courts; it’s also about the bar. It’s about our law enforcement, our district attorney, and our public defender. We all have a role to play in changing this. Fundamentally, we as society, we are the jurors. We as society have to think about changing the social norms, because the courts are reflective of our social norms, and we have hyper-masculinity, and hyper-femininity causing these norms to perpetuate and allow violence. San Francisco has the lowest number of children of any major city in our country. We have more dogs in our community than we do children. I think it’s dogs and cats. MAYERSON: Guilty. WEBER: Guilty. ALBRIGHT: So what you end up doing is creating fewer open spaces for families. Creating fewer open spaces for parks. Creating less focus on education. Creating less focus on family, putting more family and family violence into the shadows, into privacy as opposed to bringing it out. So absolutely, we 100 percent agree that this is something [about which] we have an opportunity to Continued on page 31

Chile TOTA L S O L A R E C L I P S E DECEMBER 8-16, 2020

OPTIONAL PATAGONIA EXTENSION

ITINERARY Tuesday, December 8 U.S. / Santiago

Depart on overnight flights to Santiago, Chile, arriving at the beginning of the southern summer.

Wednesday, December 9 Santiago

Arrive at Santiago’s International airport and check in to our centrally located boutique hotel. Rest or explore the pedestrian area during the day and in the late afternoon we will meet for a walking tour of the city to learn more about Santiago and our colorful host country for the week. In the evening, head to the Observatorio Astronomico Andino for a welcome reception at one of the world’s largest private observatories. Cumbres Vitacura (D)

Thursday, December 10 Santiago

Start the day with a morning lecture before heading to the Planetarium. Enjoy a private welcome and orient yourself with the southern sky with a special presentation. Spend the rest of the day exploring the best of Santiago: the pre-Columbian art museum, the bustling city market, and the home of famous Chilean poet and politician, Pablo Neruda. After a discussion with the curator, finish the day with a group dinner featuring traditional Chilean food, music, and exceptional local wines. Cumbres Vitacura (B,L,D)

Friday, December 11 Valparaiso

Take a 90-minute ride to Valparaiso, one of the most colorful and historic port cities on the planet. Wander the narrow streets and ride the funiculars as you explore the unique city, After lunch and meeting with local artists, travel back through the wine region of the Casablanca Valley, Chile’s most important grape-growing region, for a private tour and tasting at one of the finest wineries. Cumbres Vitacura (B,L)

Saturday, December 12 Villarrica

After our morning flight to Temuco, arrive for lunch and a warm welcome at our magnificent eclipse campsite. Enjoy a sunset soak at the nearby Huife Hot Springs followed by a campfire and cookout at our camp under the stars. Explore the southern heavens through a guided talk with an expert astronomer. Lago Villarrica Campsite (B,L,D)

Sunday, December 13 Villarrica

Take a drive through breathtaking surroundings, and witness the stunning panoramic lake views from the summit of Villarrica Volcano. After a picnic lunch, embark on a catamaran to explore one of the stunning lakes that makes this region famous. Upon returning to our campsite, prepare for the total solar eclipse with a series of interactive presentations followed by celestial wonder; tonight, the Geminids meteor shower will be happening in the skies above! Lago Villarrica Campsite (B,L,D)

Monday, December 14 Villarrica

Total eclipse day! Avoid any surrounding traffic and spend the day with eclipse experts, guest speakers, and members of the native communities from around the region. In the late afternoon, behold the mind blowing experience of over two minutes of totality, followed by a delicious Chilean farewell feast and fiesta at the campsite. Lago Villarrica Campsite (B,L,D)

Tuesday, December 15 Villarrica

After breakfast, depart the glorious lake region to catch your flight back to Santiago and connect to your final flights home, arriving in the United States the following day. (B)

OPTIONAL PATAGONIA EXTENSION Tuesday, December 15 Torres del Paine

After breakfast, fly south to Torres del Paine, landing at the “end of the world”. The stunning drive to the luxury resort makes clear why this region is so famous. Upon arrival, enjoy a welcome reception and overview of your home for the next few days, followed by a sunset dinner. Rio Serrano (B,L,D)

Wednesday, December 16 Torres del Paine

After a walk through Magellanic Lenga forest, board an expedition vessel for a three-hour journey through Lago el Toro. In the evening, appreciate a beautiful view of the southern constellations from one of the largest dark sky reserves in the world. Rio Serrano (B,L,D)

Thursday, December 17 Torres del Paine

Experience the iconic Patagonian landscape by hitting the famous Torres del Paine trails (all hiking levels available) and savor a picnic lunch. After a rest, feast upon a farewell dinner featuring a lecture from a local geologist and pisco sours made from 12,000-year old ice! Rio Serrano (B,L,D)

Friday, December 18 Torres del Paine

Today take in the final views of the idyllic Lake Nordenskjold and the Hornes of Paine before catching a flight to Santiago to connect to final flights back home, arriving in the U.S. the following morning.

(B)

*Extension subject to availability

DETAILS

Dates: December 8-16, 2020

GUEST LECTURER

Extension: December 15-19, 2020 Group Size: Minimum 10, maximum 38 guests (not including staff)

COST:

$6,999 per person, double occupancy $1,325 single-room supplement Optional Patagonia Extension: $4,350 per person, double occupancy $849 single-room supplement

INCLUDED:

All activities as specified; Airport transfers on designated group dates and times; Internal flights; Transportation throughout; Accommodations as specified (or similar); Meals (B=breakfast, L=lunch, D=dinner) per itinerary; Bottled water on buses and during tours; Astronomer and other special guest speakers; Local guides; gratuities to local guide, driver, and for included group activities; Predeparture materials; Commonwealth Club representative with 20 travelers. Tour director throughout.

NOT INCLUDED:

International air; Meals not specified as included; Optional outings and gratuities for those outings; Alcoholic beverages beyond welcome and farewell dinners; Travel insurance (recommended, information will be sent upon registration); Items of a purely personal nature.

WHAT TO EXPECT

To enjoy this program, travelers must be in overall good health, able to walk several miles a day (on average), and able to stand for several hours during touring. Participants should be comfortable walking on uneven surfaces such as dirt paths and cobblestone streets, and getting on and off tour buses without assistance. Tents at our eclipse campsite have beds on platforms above ground and their own electricity. There are no sink or bathroom facilities in the individual sleeping tents. Private bathrooms and showers for the campsite are located a short walk from each tent. There will also be common areas for lectures, workshops, games and meals. *Please note that the itinerary is subject to change.

David Baron A journalist, author, and umbraphile, David has spent most of his career in public radio as a science reporter for NPR, WBUR, and PRI’s The World. As an eclipse enthusiast, he has traveled the world to witness seven total solar eclipses, from the Americas to Europe, Asia, and Australia. His popular TED talk about eclipse chasing has been viewed more than 1.9 million times. David’s passion inspired his awardwinning 2017 book, American Eclipse: A Nation’s Epic Race to Catch the Shadow of the Moon and Win the Glory of the World, the true story of a total eclipse that crossed the Wild West in 1878. His first book, The Beast in the Garden: A Modern Parable of Man and Nature, won the Colorado Book Award and was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. David is now writing a history of Mars, a book that will explore how America’s love affair with the Red Planet propelled science fiction and launched the space age.

Phone: (415) 597-6720 Fax: (415) 597-6729

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Mail completed form to: Commonwealth Club Travel, 110 The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94105, or fax to (415) 597-6729. For questions or to reserve by phone call (415) 597-6720.For questions or to reserve by phone call (415) 597-6720. ___ I / We have read the Terms and Conditions for this program and agree to them.

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Terms & Conditions

The Commonwealth Club (CWC) has contracted with Insider Expeditions (IE) to organize this tour. Below is a summary of our terms and conditions. Please review the full terms and conditions on the CWC website. Reservations: A $1,000 per person deposit, along with a completed and signed Reservation Form, will reserve a place for participants on this program. The balance of the trip is due 150 days (5 months) prior to departure. Eligibility: We require membership to the Commonwealth Club to travel with us. People who live outside of the Bay Area may purchase a Worldwide membership. To learn about membership types and to purchase a membership, visit commonwealthclub. org/ membership or call (415) 597-6720. Cancellation and Refund Policy: Notification of cancellation must be received in writing. At the time we receive your written cancellation, the following penalties will apply: $1000 deposit: Non refundable150-90 days prior to departure: 50% of tour price 90 days or less prior to departure: 100% tour price Tour pricing is based on the number of participants. Tour can also be cancelled due to low enrollment. Neither CWC nor IE accepts liability for cancellation penalties related to domestic or international airline tickets purchased in conjunction with the tour. Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance: We strongly recommend the purchase of trip cancellation and baggage

insurance through a company of your choice. Information about travel insurance will be sent to you upon registration.

hazard for him/herself or other participants and accepts the terms and conditions of this contract.

Medical Information: Participation in this program requires that you be in good health and able to walk several miles each day. The “What to Expect” outlines what is required. If you have any concerns see your doctor on the advisability of you joining this program. It is essential that persons with any medical problems and related dietary restrictions make them known to us well before departure.

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Continued from page 26 educate our court system and educate all the officials that engage in the court system. We as an entire society and a community have a real responsibility to change the norms. We have a real opportunity to think about violence in a totally different way. That’s the day that I’m very excited to look for. MAYERSON: Absolutely, Katie. Thank you. GINORIO: I’m known as the question person, so I’ll just put questions out to all of you to really challenge your own thought process, your own beliefs when you see, for instance, a woman on the street that may be prostituting. What’s the first thought? [Is it] the thought that, “What happened to that woman that she’s on that corner?” What trauma, right? What do you see? When you ask yourself, “What are your thoughts about domestic violence or victim blaming,” . . . when we talk about being in Family Court, if you just take a moment and sit in those courtrooms, your heart will break on how the women DV survivors are treated. No difference than when you have a rape survivor. What were you wearing? Why were you there? How many partners have you had in the past? Were you drinking? Why women don’t come forward to get

the support—what are your thoughts about that? So thank you for bringing that up, because this is where it changes. Our voice, our advocacy, but also challenging our own beliefs about who’s incarcerated, why they’re incarcerated, about survivors, about victim blaming. That’s where that change is going to happen. MAYERSON: If there’s one thing you want the audience to take away, one resource, one action that the audience can take to really support this work, what can you give the audience to take away today? GINORIO: Yeah. For me, I know I said a lot, and I know there’s a lot of challenges, but I also want folks to know that although I have had people in my life commit horrific crimes regardless of the information, I also have had some amazing men come out of our programs who were knuckleheads in our groups, who are my coworkers today. Some of them have been my coworkers for 17, 18 years. So both are true. I think what I wanted people to takeaway is that there is hope, and people do change, and it’s not me—it’s not my job to judge who’s going to change or not, it’s just my job to give opportunity to change. ALBRIGHT: I love that. Do write it down so I can get that. I would say that we all really have a role to play in ending violence in our community, ending violence in our homes. I will list a couple, but if you’re in need of help, let me give you our phone support line, and we can connect you with other phone support lines that are specifically focused for domestic violence.

We have our support line that’s called the “talk line.” Our phone number is 415-441KIDS—that’s, 415-441-5437. Again, we’ll refer you out to the appropriate network who can really support you. If you see folks on the streets that are struggling, help them, because we all really have a role to play. If you want to make change, talk to the legislature. Reach out to your elected officials, and think about and partner with them on ways that we can help end family violence. It’s not individualized issues. It’s really a community issue, and there are community solutions. WEBER: I would just add that making connections between all the various types of violence is critically important. So when we’re talking about community violence, when we’re talking about firearms violence, when we’re talking about suicide prevention, we need to be thinking about how all of that fits with intimate partner violence, with family violence. I think we’re taking a harder look at suicide in the context of domestic violence and how often that may be the result of abuse, harassment and threats, and whether or not it’s actually suicide in many instances. I just feel as though the more we can all learn about the different ways that violence is perpetrated in the experience, make those connections, and we can do a better job working on violence prevention and intervention across the board.

F E B R UA RY/MA R C H 2020

L ast Word THE PLOT TO

WITH MALCOLM NANCE Photo by Sarah Gonzalez

BETRAY

AMERICA

onald Trump has been on the Russian radar for a very, very long time. Most people do not realize that. [A group of European journalists] acquired all of the records of Czech intelligence, the subordinate intelligence agency to the KGB, and 10 years of surveillance reports from Czech intelligence when he was married to Ivana Trump. The worst part was when Ivana Trump was in the United States, she would call home to her family. She would communicate in various methods. They monitored all of it, because Donald Trump was not just an American person, [and] she was a rich American. For those of us who were a certain age, we all remember that what is now the Czech Republic was behind the Iron Curtain, and they did not have money. The entire Soviet sphere was poor, because as we all know now, collectivism, communism, just doesn’t work. They monitored that family for 10 years. When Donald Trump came to the Czech Republic, they had spies around him. The senior reporting authority to Czech intelligence was Ivana’s father. At that time, you either reported—or bad things happen to you. So Trump was under surveillance. In 1987 he got the brilliant idea that he wanted to go to the Soviet Union. He had put a full page ad in The New York Times asking George Herbert Walker Bush to be his negotiator for nuclear weapons reduction talks. But to a trained spy—which would not have been Vladimir Putin, but it would have been the

THE COMMO N WE AL TH

entirety of the KGB—they would’ve said, “Wait, wait, wait—this one. This one has an ego. He wants to do something that’s beyond his capacity. . . . How do we work this guy?” He went to the Soviet Union. He was fêted by diplomats, United Nations personnel, the foreign minister of Russia. All of these ego-massaging personalities that were there for him and his money brought him to the Soviet Union, where he wanted to do Trump Tower Moscow. This is 1987. But another thing that people didn’t know was that, due to Czech intelligence intercepts of his phone communications, he had been expressing an interest to run for the presidential platform against George Herbert Walker Bush. So now Russia knew something that 99.999 percent of Americans did not know. They also knew his actual income, because [Ivana] had reported that to her father. This is where foreign intelligence now is building a package about you, and Donald Trump, when he went to the Soviet Union, was hosted by Intourist, which was the Russian tourist agency, which was a directorate of the KGB. Everybody who went there was under KGB control. All the nice tour guides were KGB affiliates. The hotel you stayed in was bugged and monitored. This is the environment Donald Trump [was] in, and it’s not like he doesn’t have a big mouth and didn’t talk while he was in his private room. —Malcolm Nance, November 21, 2019

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 in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Marin County, and the East Bay. Standard programs are typically one hour long and frequently include panel discussions or speeches followed by a question and answer session. Many evening programs include a networking reception with wine. PROGRAM DIVISIONS

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Discussion among climate scientists, policymakers, activists, and citizens about energy, the economy, and the environment.

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Volunteer-driven programs that focus on particular fields. Most evening programs include a wine networking reception.

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RADIO, VIDEO, & PODCASTS Watch Club programs on the California Channel every Saturday at 9 p.m., and on KRCB TV 22 on Comcast. Select Commonwealth Club programs air on Marin TV’s Education Channel (Comcast Channel 30, U-Verse Channel 99) and on CreaTV in San Jose (Channel 30). View hundreds of streaming videos of Club programs at fora.tv and youtube.com/commonwealthclub

Hear Club programs on more than 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.

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KRCB Radio (91.1 FM in Rohnert Park) Thursdays at 7 p.m.

KFOG (104.5 and 97.7 FM) Sundays at 5 a.m.

KALW (91.7 FM) Inforum programs select Tuesdays at 7p.m.

TuneIn.com Fridays at 4 p.m.

KSAN (107.7 FM) Sundays at 5 a.m. Subscribe to our free podcast service on iTunes and Google Play to automatically receive new programs: commonwealthclub.org/podcast-subscribe

TICKETS Prepayment is required. Unless otherwise indicated, all events—including “Members Free” events— require tickets. Programs often sell out, so we strongly encourage you to purchase tickets in advance. 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. Select events include premium seating, which refers to the first several rows of seating. Pricing is subject to change.

HARD OF HEARING? To request an assistive listening device, please e-mail Mark Kirchner seven working days before the event at mkirchner@commonwealthclub.org.

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6 pmp.m. 5:15 Building Blinding the Flash of the Obvious Transcontinental 6:30 p.m. Ben Railroad Franklin Circles FM 6 pm Reading 6:30 p.m. Book California Changemakers: Discussion: Winter Movement Leaders Kept Us Warm on Civil Rights in an Uncivil Time FM 7:45 p.m. The Future of America’s Political

6 pm Franklin and Washington: The Founding Partnership 6:30 pm Big Ideas with Daniel Esty and Andy Karsner

5:15 pm Advancing the Science: The Latest in Alzheimer’s Research 6 pm Seeking Asylum at the Southern Border 6:30 pm Believing Women: Jessica Valenti and Jaclyn Friedman

6 pm The Resisters by Gish Jen 6:30 pm Club Birthday Party and Week to Week Political Roundtable

5 pm Middle East Forum Discussion 6:30 pm Socrates Café 6:30 pm Katy Butler: The Art of Dying Well 6:30 pm What the 2030 Climate Deadline Really Means

6 pm 10 a.m. Renaissance Chinatown Walking Artist Sofonisba Tour 6:30 p.m. Sallie Anguissola Krawcheck: The 7 pm An Evening Power of Women, with Nicholas Kristof WorkSheryl and Wallet and WuDunn 7 p.m. Gopi Kallayil: Brain, Body and Consciousness

6 pm Rethinking Homo Sapiens: The Brain Plasticity Revolution

San Francisco

East/North Bay

2 pm Commonwealth Club Weekly Tour FE 6 pm Nonviolence: The Fierce Urgency of Now 6:30 pm Harvard’s Laura Huang 7:30 pm Daniel J. Levitin: Successful Aging

6 pm How to Be Irresistible in the Dating Game 6:30 pm Zach Norris: Building an Inclusive America

2 pm Club Tour FE 5:15 pm Age is the New Designer Drug 6:30 pm Preventing Gun Violence 6:30 pm Humanities West Book Discussion 7 pm Raphael Liogier: Heart of Maleness

2 pm Commonwealth Club Weekly Tour FE 5:15 pm Brian Greene: Mind, Matter and the Search for Meaning

Silicon Valley

noon The Michelle Meow Show 2 pm North Beach Walking Tour 6 pm Hong Kong on the Brink 6:30 pm Ezra Klein: Why We’re Polarized 6:30 pm Imperfect Circles

noon The Michelle Meow Show 6 pm California and Beyond: Australia, Denmark and Israel 6:30 pm San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin

noon The Michelle Meow Show 6 pm Common Space Forum

10 am Chinatown Walking Tour noon The Michelle Meow Show noon E.J. Dionne Jr. 6 pm George Marshall 6:30 pm Uber Whistleblower Susan Fowler

FM Free for members

noon Age of Coexistence

6:30 pm Breaking Hate: A Former Extremist’s Journey

FE Free for everyone

1 p.m. Rep. Pramila Jayapal: Impeachment, Medicare for All and the Progressive Fight

MO Members-only

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noon Jerry Mitchell

6 pm Minimizing Fear 6:30 pm Week to Week Political Roundtable and Social Hour

noon India, Israel and Berkeley 6 pm Artificial Intelligence and You: The Future of the Mind 6:30 pm Barry Sonnenfeld 6:30 pm Socrates Café

6 pm Between Ezra and Jesus, There Is Daniel 6:30 pm Reducing Nuclear Weapons: Stopping the War that No One Wants

5 pm Middle East Forum Discussion 6 pm Kaiser Family Foundation’s Drew Altman: U.S. Health Care at a Crossroads– Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Going

noon Harvard’s Rosabeth Moss Kanter: How to Be More Innovative and Change the World 6:30 pm Steven Levy

2 pm Nob Hill Walking Tour 5:15 pm Psychiatry and Its Discontents

6 pm Rebel Cinderella 7 pm Dan Pfeiffer

6 pm How Many People Can Earth Support? 6:30 pm Afro-Vegans Bryant Terry and Emory Douglas

6:30 pm A State of Immigrants and the Public Health Threat Created by Federal Politics

commonwealthclub.org/events

2 pm Commonwealth Club Weekly Tour FE 6 pm Discover, Recover, Uncover: Women’s New Roles in the Workplace 6:30 pm Conor Dougherty: Inside America’s Housing Crisis

6 pm Presidential Leadership in Crisis: Franklin Roosevelt to Donald Trump 7 pm The Autonomous Revolution: Reclaiming the Future We’ve Sold to Machines

2 pm Commonwealth Club Weekly Tour FE 6:30 pm David Plouffe: How to Beat Donald Trump

2 pm Commonwealth Club Weekly Tour FE 5:15 pm Transitions and Transformations: The Wonderful Journey of Midlife Women 6:30 pm Mervyn King

noon The Michelle Meow Show 6:30 pm Imperfect Circles 6:30 pm Rahm Emanuel

noon The Michelle Meow Show 5:15 pm Summoning Help: Present and Future 6 pm Congress at War

noon The Michelle Meow Show 6 pm Common Space Forum

noon The Michelle Meow Show 2 pm Russian Hill Walking Tour

noon Third Annual Women’s Luncheon

10:15 a.m. 22nd Annual Travers Conference on Ethics and Accountability in Government

6:30 pm Week to Week Political Roundtable and Social Hour

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

Leave Your Legacy Make a lasting impact through a planned gift. Gifts Through Wills • Charitable Trusts • Gift Annuities • IRA / Retirement Plan Designation

To learn more about how to leave a legacy gift to The Commonwealth Club please contact Kendall Schonenberg at kschonenberg@commonwealthclub.org or (415) 597-6704.

For current prices, call 415.597.6705 or go to commonwealthclub.org

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3 BUILDING THE TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD

Paul Giroux, Dist.M.ASCE; Civil Engineer, Kiewit Corporation (Fort McHenry Tunnel in Baltimore, the Big Dig in Boston and the East Span of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge)

The construction of the 1,776 mile-long Transcontinental Railroad is one of the most impressive civil engineering achievements of the 19th century. Begun in 1863 during the Civil War, its construction required the efforts of thousands of workers who conquered demanding terrain and survived harsh construction and weather conditions. Paul Giroux will shed new light on the civil engineers who designed and constructed that marvel, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the golden spike. On May 10, 1869, it was hammered into place, completing the Transcontinental Railroad, which helped knit together the then-recently restored Union from the Atlantic to the Pacific Coast. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Toni Rembe Rock Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond

READING CALIFORNIA BOOK DISCUSSION: WINTER KEPT US WARM

Anne Raeff, Author, Winter Kept Us Warm

Come hear the 2019 California Book Award silver medalist in the fiction category, Anne Raeff, talk about her book Winter Kept Us Warm. The book takes us from Berlin to New York to Morocco with its beguiling story of a love triangle that starts in World War II. From the Los Angeles Review of Books: “Anne Raeff’s Winter Kept Us Warm derives its name from T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, a portion of which serves as the novel’s epigraph: ‘Winter kept us warm, covering / Earth in forgetful snow, feeding / A little life with dried tubers.’ The

Building the Transcontinental Railroad 2/3

quotation alludes to the fateful postwar winter in which the three characters at the center of the story meet.” That quotation alone should make you eager to join us!

Dunn argue stories like this are representative of everyone from the Dakotas and Oklahoma to New York and Virginia. But along with tragedy, they tell stories of resurgence: recovery SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embar- from opioid addiction, adults devoting their cadero, Max Thelen Boardroom, San Francisco lives to helping teenagers navigate the reality of • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program • poverty and other inspiring journeys. AccordMLF: Reading Californians • Program organizing to Kristof and WuDunn, these accounts er: Kalena Gregory provide a picture of working-class families needlessly but profoundly damaged as a result TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4 of decades of policy mistakes. RENAISSANCE ARTIST SOFONISBA Join us for an uplifting and profoundly inANGUISSOLA spiring conversation with two writers who have Donna DiGiuseppe, Author, Lady in Ermine: devoted their lives to amplifying the voices of The Story of a Woman Who Painted the Re- people who make the world a better place. naissance

If you can’t be in Madrid this month to see the exhibit of Sofonisba Anguissola’s paintings at the Prado, come to The Commonwealth Club instead to hear all about this fascinating female Renaissance artist. Donna DiGiuseppe will describe why she turned Anguissola’s biographical details into a novel, Anguissola’s artistic apprenticeship with Bernardino Campi and the difficult process of cataloguing her work, which wasn’t always signed. But Anguissola’s legacy lives on in Italy, and her direct descendant, Count Ferrante Anguissola D’Altoe, recently wrote that Lady in Ermine captures Anguissola’s 16th century, from lavish court life to its treatment of women. The reader roots for Anguissola to achieve her dream to paint the king and overcome the challenges of being a Renaissance woman painter.

SAN FRANCISCO • Location: Castro Theatre, 429 Castro St., San Francisco • Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 7 p.m. program, 8 p.m. book signing

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5 COMMONWEALTH CLUB WEEKLY TOUR

Join us for a complimentary tour of our beautiful new headquarters on San Francisco’s waterfront. At our state-of-the-art gathering space, which features a rooftop terrace with unobstructed views of the Bay Bridge and San Francisco Bay, you can learn about our storied history and the many amenities of being a Club member. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Osher Lobby, San Francisco • Time: 1:45 p.m. check-in, 2–3 p.m. tour

SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Toni Rembe Rock Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond

NONVIOLENCE: THE FIERCE URGENCY OF NOW

Acclaimed New York Times op-ed columnist Nicholas Kristof and entrepreneur Sheryl WuDunn are the Pulitzer Prize-winning authors behind countless best-selling books. In their newest work, Kristof and WuDunn turn their focus inward to the crisis in working-class America. Kristof, who grew up in rural Oregon, discovered one-quarter of the kids on his school bus growing up died in adulthood from drugs, alcohol, suicide or reckless accidents. While shocking to many, Kristof and Wu-

plored us to fight racism, poverty and militarism with disciplined nonviolence and radical love. “The choice today is no longer between violence and nonviolence,” he said. “It is either nonviolence or nonexistence.” Tragically, more than a half century after Dr. King’s assassination, we face a resurgence of racist hatred, ubiquitous gun violence, extreme inequality, pervasive homelessness and threats to the human species from global warming and nuclear weapons. How can we rediscover

The Rev. Paul J. Fitzgerald, S.J., President, the University of San Francisco Clarence B. Jones, Director, the USF Institute for Nonviolence and Social Justice; Former AN EVENING WITH NICHOLAS Lawyer, Strategic Adviser and Draft Speechwriter for Martin Luther King Jr. KRISTOF AND SHERYL WUDUNN Nicholas Kristof, Op-Ed Columnist, The New Jonathan D. Greenberg, Senior Associate York Times, Co-Author, Tightrope: Americans Director and Scholar in Residence, the USF Institute for Nonviolence and Social Justice Reaching for Hope Sheryl WuDunn, Co-Author, Tightrope: Amer- Program—Moderator icans Reaching for Hope The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. im-

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

the power of nonviolence to effectively address these grave problems and urgent threats? What role do colleges and universities play to further Dr. King’s legacy of nonviolence? Join us for a dialogue on nonviolence, social justice, moral vision and higher education today. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Toni Rembe Rock Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond • Notes: In association with the USF Institute for Nonviolence and

ings and turning them into assets that make Co-Host  We’re in the third year of “The Michelle others take notice. Come for a fascinating conversation about how to find your unique edge Meow Show” bringing interesting, provocative and sometimes controversial speakers to Comand keep it sharp. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embar- monwealth Club audiences and discussing cadero, Taube Family Auditorium, San Francisco a very wide range of topics of interest to the • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, LGBT audience. See this week’s speaker details 7:30 p.m. book signing at commonwealthclub.org/mms.

DANIEL J. LEVITIN: SUCCESSFUL AGING

SAN FRANCISCO • MICHELLE MEOW PROGRAM • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Max Thelen Boardroom, San Francisco • Time: 11:30

Daniel J. Levitin, Founding Dean of Arts and a.m. check-in, noon program Humanities, the Minerva School; Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Neuroscience, NORTH BEACH WALKING TOUR McGill University; Author, Successful Aging: HARVARD’S LAURA HUANG: TURNJoin another Commonwealth Club neighA Neuroscientist Explores the Power and Po- borhood adventure! Explore vibrant North ING ADVERSITY INTO SUCCESS Laura Huang, Associate Professor, Harvard tential of Our Lives Beach with Rick Evans during a two-hour As America’s older population continues to walk through this neighborhood with a colBusiness School; Author, Edge: Turning Adgrow, understanding all aspects of aging is crit- orful past—where food, culture, history and versity into Advantage In Conversation with Tracy Chou, Founder ical. Perhaps nothing is more important than unexpected views all intersect in an Italian understanding what happens to our brains as “urban village.” In addition to learning about and CEO, Block Party Social Justice

Laura Huang, a preeminent Harvard Business School professor, says that success is about gaining an edge: that elusive quality that gives you an upper hand and attracts attention and support. Some people seem to naturally have it. She says the rest of us can create our own successes from the challenges and biases we think hold us back, turning them to work in our favor. Huang argues that success is rarely just about the quality of our ideas, credentials and skills, or our effort. Instead, she says achieving success hinges on how well we shape others’ perceptions—of our strengths, certainly, but also of our flaws. It’s about creating our own edge by confronting the factors that seem like shortcom-

they age and what people can do to enhance cognition as they get older. And there is, perhaps, no better person to explain this all than neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitin, author of the iconic best sellers This Is Your Brain on Music and The Organized Mind. Levitin examines what happens in brains as people get older and what people can do to make the most of their 70s, 80s and 90s. He uses research from developmental neuroscience and the psychology of individual differences to show that 60+ years is a unique developmental stage that, like infancy or adolescence, has its own demands and distinct advantages. Levitin looks at the science behind what we all can learn from those who age joyously as well as how to adapt our culture to take full advantage of older people’s wisdom and experience. This event will be hosted at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in Novato, one of the leading research institutions on helping people live longer.

Beat hangouts, you’ll discover authentic Italian cathedrals and coffee shops.

SAN FRANCISCO • Location: Victoria Pastry Cafe, 700 Filbert St., San Francisco (at Columbus Ave., across from Washington Square Park) • Time: 1:45 p.m. check-in, 2–4:30 p.m. walk • Notes: Take Muni bus 30, 41 or 45; use North Beach Parking Garage on 735 Vallejo St.; tour operates rain or shine; tickets must be purchased in advance and will not be sold at check-in

HONG KONG ON THE BRINK

Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Author, Vigil: Hong Kong on the Brink (Forthcoming); Professor of History, UC Irvine In Conversation with Helen Zia, Journalist; Author, Last Boat Out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao’s Revolution

After witnessing the biggest protests in its history during the middle months of 2019, Hong Kong remains a subject of intense global interest and global concern. In this talk, Jeffrey MARIN • MARIN CONVERSATIONS PROGRAM Wasserstrom, a professor of modern Chinese • Location: Buck Institute, 8001 Redwood Blvd., history at UC Irvine and longtime scholar of Novato • Time: 7 p.m. check-in, 7:30 p.m. prosocial unrest, will use forays into history and gram, 8:45 p.m. book signing • Notes: Levitin comparison to help audience members make will also be speaking in San Francisco on January 21; wine available; in association with the sense of Hong Kong’s complex present and uncertain future. Wasserstrom’s new book, Vigil: Buck Institute Hong Kong on the Brink, has been described THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6 by one reviewer as “. . . essential reading for THE MICHELLE MEOW SHOW 2/6/20 understanding China’s foreign policies, the legacies of empire and above all the extraordinary Speaker TBA Michelle Meow, Host, “The Michelle Meow politics, society and culture of contemporary Hong Kong.” Show” (Radio and KBCW TV) John Zipperer, Host, Week to SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The EmbarWeek Political Roundtable— cadero, Toni Rembe Rock Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. pro-

THE COMMO N WE AL TH

Harvard’s Laura Huang: Turning Adversity into Success 3/5

For current prices, call 415.597.6705 or go to commonwealthclub.org

gram, 7 p.m. book signing • MLF: Asia-Pacific

fore, it’s helpful to be aware of any subtle pat- MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10 terns to our experiences. Rejoin the continuing conversation of human civilization—this time FRANKLIN AND WASHINGTON: THE FOUNDING PARTNERSHIP EZRA KLEIN: WHY WE’RE POLARIZED at The Commonwealth Club.

Affairs • Program organizer: Lillian Nakagawa

Ezra Klein, Editor-at-Large and Co-Founder, Vox; Author, Why We’re Polarized In Conversation with Anna Sale, Host, WNYC’s “Death, Sex & Money”

This program is sold out.

SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Taube Family Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing

IMPERFECT CIRCLES

George Hammond, Author, Conversations with Socrates and Rational Idealism— Moderator

Are you someone who never tires of talking or thinking about philosophical, scientific or religious theories? Are you interested in psychological insights, or attempts at such insights, into human life? There are many who would insist that being realistic about human life means you should ignore such fundamental questions—starting around the time the ink dries on your diploma. But it is unrealistic to ignore the fundamental explanatory concepts which underlie each successful human civilization; these concepts sometimes help and sometimes hinder us in our pursuit of happiness. Such profound questions are naturally provoked simply by living an alert life. There are millions of realistic people, of all ages and walks of life, who also find it impossible to delegate to one infallible authority or another the task of providing all the answers to such questions. Life is not totally chaotic, even though it looks that way sometimes. There-

SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Max Thelen Boardroom, San Francisco • Time: 6:15 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7 BLACK TRANS WOMEN ON FINDING SELF-LOVE

Aria Sa’id, Transgender Advocate; Co-Founder/Executive Director, Compton’s Transgender Cultural District Diamond Stylz, Lifestyle Influence;, Activist; Executive Director, Black Trans Women’s Inc. Breonna McCree, Advocate; Clinical Research Coordinator, UCSF Center of Excellence for Transgender Health Michelle Meow, Producer and Host, “The Michelle Meow Show”; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors

What can self-love and self-led gender affirmation look like for transgender people? Much of the literature and thoughts on transgender people are rooted in the physicality of transgender people. But what about digging deeper—beyond physicality—to become your own best friend? Three transgender women thought leaders dicuss their journeys on self-love, with a hope that viewers and audience members might find inspiration to awaken a self-love journey for themselves. SAN FRANCISCO • MICHELLE MEOW PROGRAM • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Toni Rembe Rock Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program

Edward Larson, University Professor of History and Hugh and Hazel Darling Chair of Law, Pepperdine University; Author, Franklin & Washington: The Founding Partnership

Monday Night Philosophy welcomes back Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Edward Larson to discuss his joint biography of our two most influential Founding Fathers. Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, though divided by a 26-year age gap and vastly different life experiences, underwent a similarly dramatic transformation from loyal British colonists to American nationalists, and Larson makes a persuasive case that neither one could have succeeded without the other’s help. Washington’s military skills required Franklin’s diplomatic skills to win the Revolutionary War. Their partnership was also key to the success of the Constitutional Convention. In an enlightening and dramatic account of these two men’s intertwined lives, Larson covers from the French and Indian War through the Revolution and Constitutional Convention, and he concludes with Franklin’s last political maneuver: forcing the issue of slavery before the new republic’s first Congress. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Toni Rembe Rock Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond

BIG IDEAS WITH DANIEL ESTY AND ANDY KARSNER

Daniel Esty, Hillhouse Professor of Environmental Law and Policy, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and Yale Law School Andy Karsner, Former Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy; Senior Strategist, X — the Moonshot Factory Greg Dalton, Founder and Host, Climate One

Can hip hop help bridge the divide between communities of color and environmentalism? Are strong regulations making fracking safer and cleaner? Environmentalists probably nod at the first question and bristle at the second. But tackling climate means taking everyone outside their comfort zone. In the new book A Better Planet: 40 Big Ideas for a Sustainable Future, author and Yale professor Daniel Esty showcases innovative ideas designed to push the boundaries of possible Franklin and Washington: The Founding Partnership 2/10

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

Seeking Asylum at the Southern Border 2/11

climate solutions from leaders in industry, government, business and land management. Join us for a conversation on turning big ideas into action with Daniel Esty, professor of environmental law and policy at Yale Law School and Andy Karsner, former assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy under the Bush administration and senior strategist at X — the Moonshot Factory. SAN FRANCISCO • CLIMATE ONE PROGRAM • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Taube Family Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 6 p.m. checkin, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. networking reception

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11 ADVANCING THE SCIENCE: THE LATEST IN ALZHEIMER’S RESEARCH

Claire E. Day, Chief Program Officer, the Alzheimer’s Association Northern California and Northern Nevada

• Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program • MLF: International Relations • Program orga-

cation: 110 The Embarcadero, Taube Family Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-

nizer: Ian McCuaig

in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12 HOW TO BE IRRESISTIBLE IN THE Jessica Valenti, Columnist, Medium; FoundDATING GAME Alzheimer’s disease is a global health prob-

lem with more than 5.8 million people living with the disease in the United States alone. The only way to solve that problem is through research, and this talk will focus on the scientific advancements and progress in the field. Tremendous gains have been made in the understanding of the science and basic biology underlying Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, and these advances are leading to great strides in prevention, detection, diagnostics and therapeutic interventions. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Toni Rembe Rock Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 4:45 p.m. check-in, 5:15 p.m. program • MLF: Psychology • Program organizer: Patrick O’Reilly

SEEKING ASYLUM AT THE SOUTHERN BORDER

Clara Long, Senior Researcher, U.S. Program, Human Rights Watch (Focusing on Immigration and Border Policy) Julie Small, Reporter, Guest Anchor and Host, KQED Public Radio (Focusing on Criminal Justice and Immigration)—Moderator

Border walls and immigration were hot-button issues in the 2016 federal election, and the Trump administration’s evolving policies and practices have been the subject of numerous media stories and segments. Join Julie Small of KQED and Clara Long of Human Rights Watch in a discussion of conditions for asylum seekers on the southern border and what you need to know. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Max Thelen Boardroom, San Francisco

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BELIEVING WOMEN: JESSICA VALENTI AND JACLYN FRIEDMAN

er, Feministing.com; Author, Believe Me: How Trusting Women Can Change the World (Forthcoming) Jaclyn Friedman, Founder and Former Executive Editor, Women, Action and the Media; Podcaster, “Unscrewed”; Author, Believe Me: How Trusting Women Can Change the World (Forthcoming) Moderator TBA

With the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and the broader #MeToo movement, the political slogan “believe women” has become a rallying cry for the era. First used as a call to end false accusations of deception against women, agenda-setting feminist editors Jessica Valenti and Jaclyn Friedman go beyond the slogan with their new anthology to ask and answer the crucial question: What would happen if we didn’t just believe women but acted as though they matter? Building on the success of the #MeToo movement’s demand for accountability—not just discouraging actions generally but naming names—Believe Me: How Trusting Women Can Change the World is part exposé on misogyny in our culture and part outline for how trusting women creates the foundation for future progress. With essays spanning a call to action by Representative Ayanna Pressley (D–MA) and an interview with #TimesUp activist and Emmy award winner Tatiana Maslany, Valenti and Friedman bring together a powerful group of women whose diverse experiences and thoughtful solutions give us a vision of what a better future could look like.

Rich Gosse, Author; Chairperson, Society of Single Professionals; Executive Director, the International Association of Dating Websites; Founder, ThePartyHotline.com

Rich Gosse, the worldwide authority on dating, gives wildly successful, sold-out talks at the Club every year before Valentine’s Day. Last year, Gosse taught a class in flirting; this year, Gosse is turning up the power to teach you to be irresistible. You won’t just catch their eye—they’ll be walking over to you. But be warned: You may not like hearing some of Gosse’s advice. He will be blunt. He will ask you to look closely at some reasons that things haven’t worked, and he’ll dive deep to give you a complete plan for changing yourself inside and out. The good news is that once you see what you’re doing, you can choose to change. As we said last year, “Stop hugging the wall, the drink or the person you don’t want.” Listen to Rich, see what works and what doesn’t. Then make the changes to become irresistible. You might even find a match at our complimentary wine-and-cheese social hour afterward! SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Toni Rembe Rock Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing and social hour • MLF: Personal Growth • Program organizer: Eric Siegel

ZACH NORRIS: BUILDING AN INCLUSIVE AMERICA

Zach Norris, Executive Director, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights; Author, We Keep SAN FRANCISCO • INFORUM PROGRAM • Lo- Us Safe: Building Secure, Just, and Inclusive

For current prices, call 415.597.6705 or go to commonwealthclub.org

Communities In Conversation with Fred Blackwell, CEO, the San Francisco Foundation

As the effects of aggressive policing and mass incarceration harm historically marginalized communities and tear families apart, how do we define safety? Community leader and lawyer Zach Norris believes in a radical way to shift the conversation about public safety away from fear and punishment and toward growth and support systems for our families and communities. In order to truly be safe, Norris says we have to dismantle the mentality of us versus them and bridge our divides. Norris’s new book, We Keep Us Safe, is a blueprint of how to hold people accountable while still holding them in community. The result reinstates full humanity and agency for everyone who has been dehumanized and traumatized so they can participate fully in life, in society and in the fabric of our democracy. He makes the case that directing resources to stability and well-being, such as health care and housing, education and living-wage jobs, result in real safety. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Taube Family Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing • Notes: Norris photo by Eurydice Thomas

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13 CALIFORNIA AND BEYOND: AUSTRALIA, DENMARK AND ISRAEL

Felicia Marcus, Member, Water Policy Group

Most recently, Felicia Marcus was chair of the State Water Resources Control Board, responsible for drinking water, water quality and water rights. She led the state board through California’s worst drought in modern history. As regional administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 9, she was responsible for environmental issues under the EPA’s jurisdiction. In the the nonprofit world, Marcus was the western director for the Natural Resources Defense Council and the executive vice president and chief operating officer for the Trust for Public Land. In her prior work, she was a private and nonprofit sector attorney and organizer in Los Angeles. She has a law degree from New York University and an AB in East Asian studies from Harvard University. Marcus is also known as a devoted whale watcher. Join us to discuss her important environmental work and her outstanding commitment and dedication for the planet, the environment, the present and the future.

Part of the Middle East Forum’s series on the importance of interfaith understanding

History, UC Berkeley; Author, Age of Coexistence: The Ecumenical Frame and the Making of the Modern Arab World In Conversation with Eddy Simonian, International Relations Graduate, University of San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Max Thelen Boardroom, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing • MLF: Asia Pacific Affairs •

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18 THE RESISTERS BY GISH JEN

Gish Jen, Author, The Resisters In Conversation with Mary Kay Magistad, Director of Audio Journalism, UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism; Creator and Host, “Whose Century Is It?” Podcast; Journalist

Funny, surprising and observant, Gish Jen is a brilliant chronicler—in both fiction and nonfiction—of America and the immigrant experience. Jen’s early novels, including her debut Typical American—a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award—are classics of American immigrant literature. Jen’s fifth novel, The Resisters, is the story of one family struggling to maintain its humanity and normalcy in circumstances that threaten their every value—even their very existence. A feminist baseball dystopia, it presents America’s possible future with both alarm and hope. Ann SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The EmbarPatchett wrote, “The Resisters is palpably lovcadero, Toni Rembe Rock Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. pro- ing, smart, funny and desperately unsettling. gram • MLF: Environment & Natural Resources The novel should be required reading for the country, both as a cautionary tale and because • Program organizer: Ann Clark it is a stone-cold masterpiece. This is Gish Jen’s FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14 moment. She has pitched a perfect game.” Join us for a stimulating program about an importAGE OF COEXISTENCE Ussama Makdisi, Ph.D., Visiting Professor of ant new book.

Ussama Makdisi, who was born in Washington, D.C., spent his early years in Lebanon and earned his Ph.D. at Princeton University. He will discuss his latest book, Age of Coexistence: The Ecumenical Frame and the Making of the Modern Arab World, which has been described as an easily accessible, provocative engagement with existing literature about sectarian, secular, colonialism and Arab nationalists. And, although headlines paint the Middle East as a collection of war-torn countries and extremist groups consumed by sectarian rage, Makdisi shows how people of different faiths have tried to build modern societies that transcend religious and sectarian differences. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Toni Rembe Rock Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program, 1 p.m. book signing • MLF: Middle East • Program organizer: Celia Menczel • Notes: Age of Coexistence 3/14

Program organizer: Lillian Nakagawa

CLUB BIRTHDAY PARTY AND WEEK TO WEEK POLITICAL ROUNDTABLE

Panelists TBA John Zipperer, Producer and Host, Week to Week; Vice President of Media and Editorial, The Commonwealth Club—Moderator/Host

We’re celebrating two big birthdays tonight! It’s The Commonwealth Club’s 117th birthday, and it’s also the 8th anniversary of Week to Week. Join us for a special social hour before our program, in which we will discuss the biggest, most controversial and surprising political issues of the day with expert commentary by panelists who are smart, are civil and have a good sense of humor. Our panelists will provide informative and engaging commentary on political and other major news, and we’ll have audience discussion of the week’s events and our live news quiz! SAN FRANCISCO • WEEK TO WEEK PROGRAM FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

• Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Taube Family Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in and party, 6:30 p.m. program • Notes: Each attendee receives two free tickets for a glass of wine or soft drink during our social hour

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19 COMMONWEALTH CLUB WEEKLY TOUR

Join us for a complimentary tour of our beautiful new headquarters on San Francisco’s waterfront. At our state-of-the-art gathering space, featuring a rooftop terrace with unobstructed views of the Bay Bridge and San Francisco Bay, learn about our storied history and the many amenities of being a Club member. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Osher Lobby, San Francisco • Time: 1:45 p.m. check-in, 2–3 p.m. tour

AGE IS THE NEW DESIGNER DRUG: HOW TO REDEFINE AGE IN OUR ANTI-AGE CULTURE

Barbara Rose Brooker, Instructor, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at San Francisco State University; Founder, Age March; Author, Love, Sometimes

Barbara Rose Brooker, 83-year-old author, teacher and performer, will talk about her personal experiences with ageism in the Hollywood industry, our anti-age culture and how to promote a generation where age doesn’t count. She will sign copies of her new novel, Love, Sometimes. Join us for this fabulous evening. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Toni Rembe Rock Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 4:45 p.m. check-in, 5:15 p.m. program • MLF: Grownups • Program organizer: Denise Michaud

DESTINATION HEALTH: PREVENTING GUN VIOLENCE

Kyleanne “Ky” Hunter, Ph.D., Vice President for Programs, Brady—United Against Gun Violence; Combat Veteran, U.S. Marine Corps Thea James, M.D., Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, Boston Medical Center/Boston University School of Medicine; Director of the Violence Intervention Advocacy Program, Boston Medical Center Steve Kerr, Head Coach, the Golden State Warriors; Survivor of Gun Violence; Advocate for Gun Violence Prevention Mike McLively, Senior Staff Attorney, Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence Brian Watt, Morning News Anchor, KQED Radio—Moderator

Gun violence is one of the most critical

THE COMMO N WE AL TH

health issues of our time. Every day in the United States, health professionals confront the effects of firearm injury in the clinical arena. In emergency rooms, trauma centers, ambulatory offices, and acute care and rehabilitation facilities, health professionals and the health systems they work within attempt to heal the wounds that firearms inflict on individuals, their families and their communities. Experts say this critical public health issue requires us to move past the politics around gun ownership and develop non-political solutions to this crisis. What can we do right now to prevent gun violence? Join a diverse panel of experts and advocates as they discuss public-private partnership solutions to this growing public health crisis. Together we will explore new ways to build healthy communities—safe from firearm-related injuries and death.

SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Taube Family Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program • Notes: Attendees subject to search; this event is the second in The Commonwealth Club’s Thought Leadership series on the future of health, featuring in-depth conversations on the challenges driving physical, mental and social

from the earliest days. Mario Torelli provides an independent account of Etruscan history based on monuments and other sources. Jean MacIntosh Turfa surveys the evidence for Etruscan trade with the Phoenicians, Greeks and other neighbors. Marie-Françoise Briguet, Friedhelm Prayon, David Tripp and Bonfante survey Etruscan art, architecture, coinage and daily lives, respectively. And Emeline Richardson contributes an archaeological introduction to the Etruscan language designed to help anyone read the inscriptions on the many surviving Etruscan monuments. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Max Thelen Boardroom, San Francisco • Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond • Notes: In association with Humanities West

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20 THE MICHELLE MEOW SHOW 2/20/20

Speaker TBA Michelle Meow, Host, “The Michelle Meow Show” (Radio and KBCW TV) John Zipperer, Host, Week to Week Political Roundtable—Co-Host

We’re in the third year of “The Michelle Meow Show” bringing interesting, provocative, and sometimes controversial speakers to Commonwealth Club audiences and discussHUMANITIES WEST BOOK ing a very wide range of topics of interest to the DISCUSSION: ETRUSCAN LIFE AND LGBT audience. See this week’s speaker details AFTERLIFE Join us to discuss Etruscan Life and After- at commonwealthclub.org/mms. life: A Handbook of Etruscan Studies by Larissa SAN FRANCISCO • MICHELLE MEOW PROGRAM • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Max Bonfante. Bonfante pushes back against the Thelen Boardroom, San Francisco • Time: 11:30 traditional myth of the “enigmatic and isolata.m. check-in, noon program ed Etruscans.” She and seven other classicists guide you through recent Etruscan scholarCOMMON SPACE FORUM ship, which has proved to be an excellent exMiri Miller, Co-Host, Common Space Forum ample of how to turn archaeology into history. Tobias Snyder, Co-Host, Common Space FoNancy Thomson de Grummond traces the rum interest in and knowledge of the Etruscans James Xiao, Co-Host, Common Space Forum This program is for all curious members of society who are eager for civil peer-to-peer discussion but are concerned with the lack of such conversation in our busy everyday lives. Every third Thursday of the month, the Common Space Forum offers an open debate for you and your peers to talk through topics that range from automation’s effects on the job market to climate change. Here’s how it works: Before the event, members elect a single news topic to focus on. When a topic is chosen, the moderators—Miri, Tobias and James—will send out relevant materials, including podcasts, news articles, short videos health, underwritten by Kaiser Permanente

Destination Health: Preventing Gun Violence 2/19

For current prices, call 415.597.6705 or go to commonwealthclub.org Katy Butler: The Art of Dying Well 2/24

popular topic is asked to briefly explain why she or he considers that topic interesting and important. An open discussion follows, and the meeting ends with a summary of the various perspectives participants expressed. Everyone is welcome to attend. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Max Thelen Boardroom, San Francisco • Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30–8 p.m. program • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond

KATY BUTLER: THE ART OF DYING WELL

from brain injury or stroke, demonstrated impacts of brain exercise for sustaining our brain health, and for successful supportive therapies in patients facing age-related dementia. Strategies for employing neuroplasticity science for human benefit are rapidly emerging. One of the pioneers in this field is neuroscientist Michael Merzenich, a professor emeritus at UC San Francisco.

SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Toni Rembe Rock Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program • MLF: Health & Medicine • Program organizer: Bill Grant, Tamara Gurin

Katy Butler, Journalist; Author, The Art of Dying Well (Forthcoming); @katybutlerbooks Moderator TBA

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26 COMMONWEALTH CLUB WEEKLY Dying is an unavoidable part of life, yet we TOUR

all seem to find ways to dodge questions about death and how we’d like to die. Katy Butler, author of the new book The Art of Dying Well, wants to inspire us to meet this fear. Butler offers a practical guide for all aspects of life before dying, including: living with a chronic medical condition, choosing the right doctor, and even when not to call 911. Butler’s guide to living and dying is both reassuring and thoroughly researched. It offers both guides and SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Max Thelen Boardroom, San Francisco • testimonials to help us all cope and succeed in Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6–7:45 p.m. program • our last act. Katy Butler is one of the leading advocates MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond • Notes: If you’d like to be added to for medical reform. Her first book, Knocking the mailing list, you can subscribe on our web- on Heaven’s Door: The Path to a Better Way of site at: commonspaceforum.com/contact Death, was a heartfelt and personal memoir of her own parents’ experience with dying. ButMONDAY, FEBRUARY 24 ler believes that whether you have two weeks MIDDLE EAST FORUM DISCUSSION  or two decades, it is never the wrong time to The Middle East Forum Discussion group, discuss how to forge a better path to the end which primarily covers the Middle East, North of life. Africa and Afghanistan, has been meeting for SAN FRANCISCO • INFORUM PROGRAM • Loover 10 years. We do not debate. We discuss cation: 110 The Embarcadero, Toni Rembe Rock political and cultural subjects in a civil atmo- Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. sphere with respect for others and their opin- check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book ions. Those interested in contributing to our signing conversation and learning more about the reTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25 gions we cover are encouraged to attend. and an easy-to-read fact sheet with the bare necessities. So, even if you are unfamiliar with the topic, you can quickly be brought up to speed and join the conversation. The goal is to have an informal but informative discussion where anyone can speak and everyone will listen. Bring your curiosity, your ideas and the desire to talk about anything but the daily travails of pop entertainers.

SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Max Thelen Boardroom, San Francisco • Time: 4:30 p.m. check-in, 5 p.m. program • MLF: Middle East • Program organizer: Celia Menczel

SOCRATES CAFÉ

Socrates Café is devoted to the discussion of a philosophical topic chosen at that meeting. The group’s facilitator, John Nyquist, invites participants to suggest topics, which are then voted on. The person who proposed the most

RETHINKING HOMO SAPIENS: THE BRAIN PLASTICITY REVOLUTION

Michael Merzenich, Professor Emeritus, UC San Francisco

Until recently, it was widely believed that the brain was hardwired from childhood and resistant to any remodeling in adults. Breakthrough research and clinical practice has recently shown that our brains are remarkably plastic across the human life span. Neuroplasticity accounts for functional self-improvement at any age, often remarkable recoveries

Every Wednesday at 2 p.m., we’re giving both members and nonmembers behind-thescenes tours of our home at 110 The Embarcadero. Join us for a complimentary tour of our beautiful new headquarters on San Francisco’s waterfront. At our state-of-the-art gathering space, which features a rooftop terrace with unobstructed views of the Bay Bridge and San Francisco Bay, you can learn about our storied history and the many amenities of being a Club member. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Osher Lobby, San Francisco • Time: 1:45 p.m. check-in, 2–3 p.m. tour

BRIAN GREENE: MIND, MATTER AND THE SEARCH FOR MEANING

Brian Greene, Director, Columbia University’s Center for Theoretical Physics; Author, Until the End of Time: Mind, Matter, and Our Search for Meaning in an Evolving Universe

World-renowned physicist Brian Greene offers a captivating exploration of the cosmos and our ongoing quest to understand it. Greene takes us on a journey across time— from our most refined understanding of the universe’s beginning to the closest science can take us to the very end. He also explains the distinct but interwoven layers of reality—from quantum mechanics to consciousness to black holes. Greene is known for his groundbreaking discoveries in superstring theory. He provides a clearer sense of how we came to be, where we are now and where we are ultimately headed.

Silicon Valley • Location: Villa Ragusa, 35 S. 2nd Street, Campbell • Time: 6:15 p.m. check-in, 7 p.m. program, 8 p.m. book signing • Notes: In association with Wonderfest; Greene photo by Elena Seibert FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

hood adventure. Join Rick Evans for a mem- try THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27 orable midday walk and discover the history In Conversation with Judge LaDoris Cordell THE MICHELLE MEOW SHOW 2/27/20 and mysteries of Chinatown. Explore colorful (Ret.), Member, Commonwealth Club Board

Speaker TBA Michelle Meow, Host, “The Michelle Meow Show” (Radio and KBCW TV) John Zipperer, Host, Week to Week Political Roundtable—Co-Host

We’re in the third year of “The Michelle Meow Show” bringing interesting, provocative and sometimes controversial speakers to Commonwealth Club audiences and discussing a very wide range of topics of interest to the LGBT audience. See this week’s speaker details at commonwealthclub.org/mms. SAN FRANCISCO • MICHELLE MEOW PROGRAM • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Max Thelen Boardroom, San Francisco • Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program

CHINATOWN WALKING TOUR

Enjoy a Commonwealth Club neighbor-

alleys and side streets. Visit a Taoist temple, an of Governors The United States stands at a crossroads. herbal store, the site of the first public school in the state and the famous Fortune Cookie Broad and principled opposition to Donald Trump’s presidency has drawn millions of Factory. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: Starbucks, 359 previously disengaged citizens to the public Grant Ave., San Francisco (corner of Grant and square and to the ballot boxes. This inspired Bush, near Chinatown Gate) • Time: 9:45 a.m. and growing activism for social and politicheck-in, 10–12:30 p.m. walk • Notes: The cal change hasn’t been seen since the days of temple visit requires walking up three flights of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal policies and the stairs; the tour operates rain or shine; limited Progressive and civil rights movements. But if to 12 participants; tickets must be purchased in progressives and moderates are unable–and advance and will not be sold at check-in; walks unwilling–to overcome their differences, they with fewer than six participants will be canceled could not only enable Trump to prevail again (You will receive notification of this at least three but also squander an occasion for launching a days in advance.) new era of reform. In Code Red, award-winning journalist E.J. E.J. DIONNE JR. Dionne Jr. calls for a shared commitment to E.J. Dionne Jr., Columnist, The Washington Post; Author, Code Red: How Progressives decency and a politics focused on freedom, fairand Moderates Can Unite to Save Our Coun- ness and the future, encouraging progressives and moderates to explore common ground and expand the unity that brought about Democrat victories in the 2018 elections. He offers a unifying model for furthering progress with a politics of remedy, dignity and more: one that solves problems, resolves disputes and moves forward; that sits at the heart of the demands for justice by both long-marginalized and recently displaced groups; and that posits a positive future for Americans with more covered by health insurance, more with decent wages, more with good schools, more security from gun violence, more action to roll back climate change. Breaking through the partisan noise and cutting against conventional wisdom to provide a realistic look at political possibilities, Dionne offers a strategy for progressives and moderates to think more clearly and accept the responsibilities that history now imposes on them. Because at this point in our national story, says Dionne, change can’t wait. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Taube Family Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 11 a.m. check-in, noon program, 1 p.m. book signing • Notes: Dionne photo by Paul Morigi

GEORGE MARSHALL: DEFENDER OF THE REPUBLIC

David Roll, Partner, Steptoe & Johnson LLP; Founder, Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation; Author, George Marshall: Defender of the Republic

As a young officer in World War I, George Marshall’s sterling reputation started forming

THE COMMO N WE AL TH

E.J. Dionne Jr. 2/27

For current prices, call 415.597.6705 or go to commonwealthclub.org

when he planned and executed a nighttime movement of more than a half million troops from one battlefield to another, leading to the armistice. Between the world wars, he helped modernize combat training, restaffed the U.S. Army’s officer corps with future leaders such as Dwight Eisenhower, Omar Bradley and George Patton and served as army chief of staff in the run up to Work War II, when his commitment to duty came face-to-face with the realities of Washington politics. Roll sets his biography of Marshall against the backdrop of five major conflicts—the two world wars, Palestine, Korea and the Cold War—and focuses on the nuances and ambiguities of Marshall’s education in the use of military, diplomatic and political power while watching America emerge as a global superpower. Roll’s conclusion could hardly be clearer: Principled leadership matters. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Toni Rembe Rock Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond

UBER WHISTLEBLOWER SUSAN FOWLER

uncharted territory. Her decision to share a blog post about her “very, very strange year at Uber” with the public would open the floodgates for women to share similar experiences of systematic sexual harassment in Silicon Valley and beyond. Fowler’s open letter not only led to the CEO’s ouster but it also caused a complete disruption of the status quo of workplaces, culminating in mass movements for women’s empowerment launched worldwide. Now Fowler details how this courageous act was entirely consistent with her life so far—a life characterized by extraordinary determination, a refusal to accept things as they are, and the desire to do what is good and right. Since taking her leave from Uber, Fowler, along with other “silence breakers,” was named Time’s 2017 Person of the Year and in 2018 was brought on as an opinion editor at The New York Times. Come with your questions and join Susan Fowler as she visits INFORUM to share her riveting story about breaking the silence and speaking truth to power. SAN FRANCISCO • INFORUM PROGRAM • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Taube Family Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. checkin, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28

Susan Fowler, Writer; Engineer; Author, Whistleblower: My Journey to Silicon Valley and BREAKING HATE: A FORMER EXTREMIST’S JOURNEY Fight for Justice at Uber (Forthcoming) Christian Picciolini, Former White SupremModerator TBA Revelations about misconduct at the biggest acist; Founder, Free Radicals Project; Counter-Extremism Expert; Author, White American startups and tech companies seem to saturate Youth: My Descent into America’s Most Viotoday’s news cycle—but it wasn’t always this lent Hate Movement—and How I Got Out and way. In 2017, when penning her now famous Breaking Hate: Confronting the New Culture 2,900-word blog post about the pervasive cul- of Extremism (Forthcoming) ture of sexual harassment at Uber, soon-to-be Michelle Meow, Producer and Host, “The Miwhistleblower Susan Fowler was stepping into chelle Meow Show” (Radio and KBCW/KPIX TV)—Co-Moderator John Zipperer, Host, Week to Week Political Roundtable—Co-Moderator

and peace advocate. Come learn the truth about “white power” movements and the inspiring story about how to leave them behind. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Max Thelen Boardroom, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in and cash bar, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing • Notes: Photo by Dennis Sevilla

MONDAY, MARCH 2 JERRY MITCHELL

Jerry Mitchell, Founder, the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting; Author, Race Against Time: A Reporter Reopens the Unsolved Murder Cases of the Civil Rights Era

On June 21, 1964, more than 20 Klansmen murdered three civil rights workers. The killings, in what would become known as the Mississippi Burning case, were among the most brazen acts of violence during the civil rights struggle. Even though the killers’ identities, including the sheriff’s deputy, were an open secret, no one was charged with murder. It took 41 years before the mastermind was brought to trial and finally convicted for the three innocent lives he took. If there is one man who helped pave the way for justice, it is investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell. Mitchell take us on the twisting road that led to the reopening of four of the most infamous killings from the civil rights era, decades after the fact. His work played a central role in bringing killers to justice for the assassination of Medgar Evers, the firebombing of Vernon Dahmer, the 16th Street Church bombing in Birmingham, and the Mississippi Burning case. He reveals how he unearthed secret documents, found long-lost suspects and witnesses, building up evidence strong enough to take on the Klan. He takes us into harrowing scenes, as when he goes into the lion’s den, meeting oneon-one with the very murderers he is seeking to catch. His efforts have put four leading Klansmen behind bars, years after they thought they had gotten away with murder.

Is there an answer to the widespread—and increasingly public—rise of racial extremism? Come learn about the white nationalist movement from someone who was a leader in it unSAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embartil he renounced racism and devoted his life to cadero, Taube Family Auditorium, San Francishelping others leave it behind. co • Time: 11 a.m. check-in, noon program, Christian Picciolini went from leading 1 p.m. book signing • Notes: This program is neo-Nazi bands with names such as Final part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Solution and White American Youth to Bernard Osher Foundation; Mitchell photo by running a record store that only sold James Patterson “white power” music. But he left that and led organizations to counter ex- TUESDAY, MARCH 3 tremism domestically and abroad, STEVEN LEVY : INSIDE FACEBOOK and has become an award-winning Steven Levy, Editor-at-Large, Wired; Author, television producer, speaker, author Facebook: The Inside Story

Breaking Hate: A Former Extremist’s Journey 2/28

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

In his sophomore year of college, Mark Zuckerberg created a simple website to serve as a campus social network. The site caught on like wildfire, and soon students nationwide were on it. Today, the social network that Zuckerberg created in 2004 has grown far beyond its original iteration, larger and more powerful than anyone could have imagined. Facebook has grown into a tech giant, the largest social media platform and one of the most gargantuan companies in the world, with a valuation of more than $576 billion and almost 3 billion users across the globe. There is no denying the power and omnipresence of Facebook in American daily life. And in light of recent controversies surrounding election-influencing “fake news” accounts, the handling of its users’ personal data and growing discontent with the actions of its founder and CEO, never has the company been more central to the national conversation regarding the direction of the county’s politics, economy and how individuals communicate with each other. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Taube Family Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing

HARVARD’S ROSABETH MOSS KANTER: HOW TO BE MORE INNOVATIVE AND CHANGE THE WORLD

Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Professor, Harvard Business School; Founder, Harvard’s Advanced Leadership Initiative; Author, Think Outside the Building: How Advanced Leaders Can Change the World One Smart Innovation at a Time

Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter is re-

nowned for strategy, innovation and leadership for change. Her insights guide leaders worldwide through teaching, writing and direct consultation to major corporations, governments and startup ventures. She is either the author or co-author of 20 books. Her breakthrough work with hundreds of successful professionals and executives, as well as aspiring young entrepreneurs, identifies the leadership paradigm of the future: the ability to “think outside the building” to overcome establishment paralysis and produce significant innovation for a better world. Kanter is convinced that positive change is possible, and she’ll discuss how that philosophy can have real impact on some of today’s biggest problems—from climate change to gun safety to inequality to racial issues. Come hear Kanter’s advice on finding an innovative approach to improving both your life and the world. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Taube Family Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 1 a.m. check-in, noon program, 1 p.m. book signing • Notes: Kanter photo by Peter Simon

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4 COMMONWEALTH CLUB WEEKLY TOUR

Every Wednesday at 2 p.m., we’re giving both members and nonmembers behind-the-scenes tours of our home at 110 The Embarcadero. Join us for a complimentary tour of our beautiful new headquarters on San Francisco’s waterfront. At our state-of-the-art gathering space, which features a rooftop terrace with unobstructed views of the Bay Bridge and San Francisco Bay, you can learn about our storied history and the many amenities of being a Club member. Space is limited, so reserve your spot now to visit San Francisco’s newest—and oldest— cultural treasure at our new location. Feel free to call the front desk ahead of time for extra availability. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Osher Lobby, San Francisco • Time: 1:45 p.m. check-in, 2–3 p.m. tour

DISCOVER, RECOVER, UNCOVER: WOMEN’S NEW ROLES IN THE WORKPLACE

Recent feminist movements such as #MeToo and #TimesUp have called out sexism. They have empowered women to become more aware and also raise more questions: How do we find common ground in the new world we are building? How do we keep the momentum going with individual power, structural power and the power of movements? How do we handle a real situation at work, which could affect our livelihoods? Join psychotherapist and professor Joanne Bagshaw, author of The Feminist Handbook, in a lively, engaging dialogue meant to educate, prompt inner reflection and inspire. Walk away with a plan to help change society for yourself, your community and future generations. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Max Thelen Boardroom, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing • MLF: Business & Leadership • Program organizer: Elizabeth Carney

CONOR DOUGHERTY: INSIDE AMERICA’S HOUSING CRISIS

Conor Dougherty, Reporter, The New York Times; Author, Golden Gates: Fighting for Housing in America ; Twitter @ConorDougherty

Spacious and affordable homes used to be the hallmark of American prosperity. Today, however, punishing rents and the increasingly prohibitive cost of ownership have turned housing into the foremost symbol of inequality and an economy gone wrong. In the San Francisco Bay Area, fleets of private buses ferry software engineers past the tarp-and-plywood shanties where the homeless make their homes; according to New York Times journalist Conor Dougherty, this is ground zero for this crisis. The adage that California is a glimpse of the nation’s future has become a cautionary tale. Dougherty has chronicled America’s housing crisis from its West Coast epicenter, peeling back the decades of history and economic forces that brought us here and taking readers inside the activist uprisings that have risen in tandem with housing costs. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Toni Rembe Rock Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing

Joanne Bagshaw, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology and Women’s Studies, Montgomery THURSDAY, MARCH 5 College; AASECT-Certified Sex Therapist; Columnist, “The Third Wave,” Psychology Today; THE MICHELLE MEOW SHOW 3/5/20 Author, The Feminist Handbook Speaker TBA Additional Panelists TBD Michelle Meow, Host, “The Michelle Meow

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Jerry Mitchell 3/2

For current prices, call 415.597.6705 or go to commonwealthclub.org

Show” (Radio and KBCW TV) Week to Week; Vice President of Media and get things done in America today. John Zipperer, Host, Week to Week Political Emanuel, the former two-term mayor of Editorial, The Commonwealth Club—ModerRoundtable—Co-Host  Chicago and President Obama’s first White ator/Host

We’re in the third year of “The Michelle Meow Show” bringing interesting, provocative and sometimes controversial speakers to Commonwealth Club audiences and discussing a very wide range of topics of interest to the LGBT audience. See this week’s speaker details at commonwealthclub.org/mms. SAN FRANCISCO • MICHELLE MEOW PROGRAM • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Max Thelen Boardroom, San Francisco • Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program

IMPERFECT CIRCLES

George Hammond, Author, Conversations with Socrates and Rational Idealism—Moderator

Are you a person who never tires of talking or thinking about philosophical, scientific or religious theories? Are you interested in psychological insights, or attempts at such insights, into human life? There are many who would insist that being realistic about human life means you should ignore such fundamental questions—starting around the time the ink dries on your diploma. But it is unrealistic to ignore the fundamental explanatory concepts which underlie each successful human civilization; these concepts sometimes help and sometimes hinder us in our pursuit of happiness. Such profound questions are naturally provoked simply by living an alert life. There are millions of realistic people, of all ages and walks of life, who also find it impossible to delegate to one infallible authority or another the task of providing all the answers to such questions. Life is not totally chaotic, even though it looks that way sometimes. Therefore, it’s helpful to be aware of any subtle patterns to our experiences. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Max Thelen Boardroom, San Francisco • Time: 6:15 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond

RAHM EMANUEL: HOW MAYORS RUN THE WORLD

House chief of staff, offers a firsthand account of how cities, rather than the federal government, stand at the center of innovation and effective governance. Drawing on his own experiences in Chicago, and on his relationships with other mayors around America, Emanuel shows how cities are improving education, infrastructure, job conditions and environmental policy at a local level. Emanuel argues that cities are the most ancient political institutions, dating back thousands of years, and have reemerged as the nation-states of our time. Emanuel argues that mayors are accountable to their voters to a greater degree than any other elected officials and that progressives and centrists alike can best accomplish their goals by focusing their energies on local politics. Join us as Rahm Emanuel maps out a new, energizing and hopeful way forward. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Taube Family Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing • Notes: Emanuel photo by Steven E. Gross

MONDAY, MARCH 9 MINIMIZING FEAR

George Hammond, Author, Rational Idealism and Conversations with Socrates

Monday Night Philosophy understands that we have explained life to ourselves in ways that have scared us silly for so long that it has become an engrained habit. Ironically, it’s a habit we rather enjoy because fear often keeps us more alert than we’d otherwise be. But there are other ways to remain intellectually alert to the nuances of life that are not so debilitating. So tonight we’ll sort through those fears with the goal of understanding how unlikely it is that these fears are justified, eliminating those that are highly irrational and minimizing those that are merely ridiculous.

We will discuss the biggest, most controversial and surprising political issues of the day with expert commentary by panelists who are smart, are civil and have a good sense of humor. Our panelists will provide informative and engaging commentary on political and other major news, and we’ll have audience discussion of the week’s events and our live news quiz! And come early for our pre-program members social hour (open to all attendees). SAN FRANCISCO • WEEK TO WEEK PROGRAM • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Taube Family Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in and social hour, 6:30 p.m. program • Notes: Each attendee receives two free tickets for a glass of wine or soft drink during our social hour

TUESDAY, MARCH 10 NOB HILL WALKING TOUR

Explore one of San Francisco’s 44 hills, and one of its original “Seven Hills.” Because of great views and its central position, Nob Hill became an exclusive enclave of the rich and famous on the West Coast who built large mansions in the neighborhood. This included prominent tycoons, such as Leland Stanford, and other members of the Big Four. Highlights include the history of four landmark hotels: The Fairmont, Mark Hopkins, Stanford Court and Huntington Hotel. Visit the city’s largest house of worship, Grace Cathedral, and discover architectural tidbits and anecdotes about

SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Toni Rembe Rock Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond • Notes: Banner photo by

Rahm Emanuel, Former Mayor of Chicago; Former White House Chief of Staff for Presi- Josep Castells on Unsplash dent Barack Obama; Author, The Nation City: WEEK TO WEEK POLITICAL Why Mayors Are Now Running the World

At a time of anxiety about the effectiveness of our national government, Rahm Emanuel believes local government offers a clear vision, for both progressives and centrists, of how to

ROUNDTABLE AND SOCIAL HOUR 3/9/20

Panelists TBA John Zipperer, Producer and Host, Rahm Emanuel 3/5

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

the railroad barons and silver kings. A true San on the lives of those afflicted with mental illFrancisco experience of elegance, urbanity, ness. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarscandals and fabulous views. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: Caffe Cento (meet in front), 801 Powell St. • Time: 1:45 p.m. checkin, 2–4:30 p.m. walk • Notes: Tour operates rain or shine; limited to 20 participants; tickets must be purchased in advance and will not be sold at check-in; walks with fewer than six participants will be canceled (you will receive notification of this at least three days in advance)

PSYCHIATRY AND ITS DISCONTENTS

Andrew Scull, Ph.D., Distinguished Research Professor of Sociology and Science Studies, UC San Diego; Author, Psychiatry and Its Discontents; Former President, Society for the Social History of Medicine

Andrew Scull provides a wide-ranging and critical perspective on the profession that dominates the treatment of mental illness. He traces the rise of the field, the midcentury hegemony of psychoanalytic methods, and the paradigm’s decline with the ascendance of biological and pharmaceutical approaches to mental illness. Ranging from the age of the asylum to the rise of psychopharmacology and the dubious triumphs of “community care,” Scull shows the impact of psychiatry’s ideas and interventions

cadero, Toni Rembe Rock Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 4:45 p.m. check-in, 5:15 p.m. program • MLF: Psychology • Program organizer: Patrick O’Reilly

cadero, Toni Rembe Rock Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in and networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond

THURSDAY, MARCH 12 THE MICHELLE MEOW SHOW 3/12/20

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11 PRESIDENTIAL LEADERSHIP IN CRISIS: FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT TO DONALD TRUMP

Speaker TBA Michelle Meow, Host, “The Michelle Meow Show” (Radio and KBCW TV) John Zipperer, Host, Week to Week Political Roundtable—Co-Host

SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embar-

hanced Life

Kenneth T. Walsh, White House Correspondent, U.S. News & World Report; Author, Presidential Leadership in Crisis: Defining Moments of the Modern Presidents from Franklin Roosevelt to Donald Trump

We’re in the third year of “The Michelle Meow Show” bringing interesting, provocative and sometimes controversial speakers to Commonwealth Club audiences and discussing a very wide range of topics of interest to the Crises pose a challenge to leaders as no LGBT audience. See this week’s speaker details other tests they confront can. Veteran jour- at commonwealthclub.org/mms. nalist Kenneth Walsh offers a probing look SAN FRANCISCO • MICHELLE MEOW PROat how presidents from FDR to Trump have GRAM • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Max dealt with the crises they faced. Delving into Thelen Boardroom, San Francisco • Time: 11:30 both domestic conflicts and international a.m. check-in, noon program conflagrations, Walsh goes in search of lessons we can learn. His findings focus on the SUMMONING HELP: presidential attributes and skills that matter PRESENT AND FUTURE Richard G. Caro, D.Phil, Co-Founder, Tech-Enmost in trying times.

Happy 117 Birthday th

Help us commemorate our milestone by donating 117 dollars, one dollar for every year of our existence! to our Annual Member Fund www.commonwealthclub.org/memberfund

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For current prices, call 415.597.6705 or go to commonwealthclub.org Psychiatry and Its Discontents 3/10

Author, Barry Sonnenfeld, Call Your Mother: Memoirs of a Neurotic Filmmaker In Conversation with Daniel Handler, Author, Screenwriter, and Accordionist

Being able to reliably summon help when you need it is an important part of the safety net one needs in place to make aging at home a successful experience. In this talk, Richard Caro will give an overview of emerging trends in this field. With accelerating advances in wearables and voice-enabled assistants, are there better options to conventional medical alerts, which many feel are ugly and stigmatizing? SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Max Thelen Boardroom, San Francisco • Time: 4:45 p.m. check-in, 5:15 p.m. program • MLF: Grownups • Program organizer: John Milford

foundation for a strong central government. Congress at War is a timely reconsideration of the conflicts of power between the White House and Congress that will change the way we understand both the Civil War and our own future. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Toni Rembe Rock Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond

MONDAY, MARCH 16 INDIA, ISRAEL AND BERKELEY

Matan Zamir, Deputy Consul General for Israel for the Pacific Northwest CONGRESS AT WAR Soma Chatterjee, Member, Silicon Valley InFergus Bordewich, Author, Congress at War: terfaith Council How Republican Reformers Fought the Civil Francesco Spagnolo, Ph.D., Curator, The War, Defied Lincoln, Ended Slavery, and Re- Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, UC made America Berkeley

Accounts of the Civil War almost invariably put President Lincoln at the center. But Fergus Bordewich shows how four Republican congressional leaders often led the way, pushing Lincoln to do more and even defying him at times. Thaddeus Stevens, Pitt Fessenden, Ben Wade and the proslavery Clement Vallandigham, all members of the newly empowered Republican party, passed the drastic measures to defeat the Confederacy; planned Reconstruction; created the forerunner of the Internal Revenue Service; laid the foundation for the Federal Reserve System; passed the Pacific Railway Act to link the heartland with California; created the Land-Grant Colleges Act, which laid the groundwork for public state university systems nationwide; demanded emancipation of the slaves before Lincoln was ready to consider it and in the process laid the

Our distinguished panel will discuss the ties between Israel, India and Berkeley demonstrated in the Berkeley-based Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life’s beautiful collection of Indian Jewish artifacts. Deputy Consul General Matan Zamir, who was previously stationed in Mumbai, will talk about his experiences. The little known fact that Jews have lived in India for thousands of years and that presently about 80,000 Indian Jews live in Israel will also be discussed. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Toni Rembe Rock Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program • MLF: Middle East • Program organizer:

Film and television director Barry Sonnenfeld’s outrageous and hilarious memoir traces his idiosyncratic upbringing in New York City, his breaking into film as a cinematographer with the Coen brothers, and his unexpected career as the director behind such huge film franchises as The Addams Family and Men in Black and beloved work like Get Shorty, “Pushing Daises” and “A Series of Unfortunate Events.” Barry Sonnenfeld’s philosophy is, “Regret the Past. Fear the Present. Dread the Future.” Constantly threatened with suicide by his over-protective mother, disillusioned by the father he worshiped, and abused by a demonic relative, Sonnenfeld somehow went on to become one of Hollywood’s most successful producers and directors. Will Smith once joked that he wanted to take Sonnenfeld to Philadelphia public schools and say, “If this guy could end up as a successful film director on big budget films, anyone can.”

SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Taube Family Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing • Notes: Part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation; Sonnenfeld photo by Sasha Erwitt

SOCRATES CAFÉ

Socrates Café at The Commonwealth Club is devoted to the discussion of a philosophical topic chosen at that meeting. The group’s facilitator, John Nyquist, invites participants to suggest topics, which are then voted on. The person who proposed the most popular topic is asked to briefly explain why that topic interesting and important. An open discussion follows, and the meeting ends with a summary of the various perspectives participants expressed. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Max Thelen Boardroom, San Francisco • Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30–8 p.m. program • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond

TUESDAY, MARCH 17 REBEL CINDERELLA

Adam Hochschild, Journalist; Lecturer, Graduate School of Journalism at UC Berkeley; Author, Rebel Cinderella: From Rags to Riches to Radical, the Epic Journey of Rose BARRY SONNENFELD Barry Sonnenfeld, Film and TV Director; Pastor Stokes Celia Menczel

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

Award-winning author Adam Hochschild has drawn on Rose Pastor Stokes’ diary, dueling memoirs, letters, newspaper accounts and government surveillance reports to unearth the rich, overlooked life of a social justice campaigner. Stokes played a dramatic role in the struggle for labor equality and women’s rights but is now forgotten. Rose Pastor arrived in New York City in 1903, a Jewish refugee from Russia who had worked in cigar factories since she was 11. Just two years later, she married James Graham Phelps Stokes, scion of a legendary New York high society family. Their union, of rich and poor, native-born and immigrant, Gentile and Jew, made them America’s most improbable couple, whose Socialist Party friends included Emma Goldman, Eugene V. Debs, John Reed, Margaret Sanger, Jack London and W.E.B. Du Bois. Stokes became a renowned radical orator, advocating for the rights of labor and in favor of birth control, earning her notoriety as “one of the dangerous influences of the country” from President Woodrow Wilson. But in a way no one foresaw, her too-short life would end in the same

abject poverty with which it began.

DAN PFEIFFER : A PLAN TO MAKE AMERICA A DEMOCRACY AGAIN

Few people know politics better than “Pod Save America” co-host and best-selling author Dan Pfeiffer. With the 2020 election on the horizon, Pfeiffer offers a candid look at the current state of our political landscape and explains how Democrats can dismantle Trumpism politics and take back the White House. According to Pfeiffer, conservatives have rigged American politics to drown out the voices of the people in favor of the powerful. He argues that without an aggressive response that recognizes who the Republicans are and what they have done, American democracy as we know it won’t survive this moment, and a conservative, shrinking, mostly white minority will govern the country for decades. Pfeiffer was one of President Barack Obama’s longest-serving advisers, working on two presidential campaigns and spending six years in the White House as communications director and senior adviser to the president.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18 COMMONWEALTH CLUB WEEKLY TOUR

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SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Osher Lobby, San Francisco • Time: 1:45 p.m. check-in, 2–3 p.m. tour

DAVID PLOUFFE: HOW TO BEAT DONALD TRUMP

David Plouffe, Sr. Adviser to the President Under Barack Obama; Head of Policy and Advocacy, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative; Author, A Citizen’s Guide to Beating Donald Trump

Dan Pfeiffer, Co-Host, “Pod Save America”; David Plouffe is a leading Democratic poAuthor, Un-Trumping America: A Plan to litical strategist. He led Barack Obama to Make America a Democracy Again victory in 2008 and remains one of his most

SILICON VALLEY • Location: Schultz Hall, Oshman Family JCC, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto • Time: 6:15 p.m. check-in, 7 p.m. program, 8 p.m. book signing

Club member.

Barry Sonnenfeld 3/16

trusted advisers. Following his public service, he worked for Uber as the senior vice president of policy and strategy before joining the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative in 2017. Now Plouffe provides a guide for the 2020 voter on how to make a difference. He draws on decades’ worth of experience to coach voters on what they can do every day, from the comfort of their homes, to ensure Donald Trump’s defeat. His advice is simple: Change will only happen from action and direct dialogue from citizen to citizen. For those invested, Plouffe argues that the time to start is now. Join political strategist David Plouffe as he gives us a pragmatic and motivational guide on how to tackle the electoral road ahead. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Taube Family Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing • Notes: Plouffe photo by Dale Ramos

THURSDAY, MARCH 19 THE MICHELLE MEOW SHOW 3/19/20

Speaker TBA Michelle Meow, Host, “The Michelle Meow Show” (Radio and KBCW TV) John Zipperer, Host, Week to Week Political Roundtable—Co-Host

We’re in the third year of “The Michelle Meow Show” bringing interesting, provocative and sometimes controversial speakers to Commonwealth Club audiences and discussing a very wide range of topics of interest to the LGBT audience. See this week’s speaker details at commonwealthclub.org/mms. SAN FRANCISCO • MICHELLE MEOW PROGRAM • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Max Thelen Boardroom, San Francisco • Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program

COMMON SPACE FORUM

Miri Miller, Co-Host, Common Space Forum Tobias Snyder, Co-Host, Common Space Forum

For current prices, call 415.597.6705 or go to commonwealthclub.org

James Xiao, Co-Host, Common Space Forum

This is for all curious members of society who are eager for civil peer-to-peer discussion but are concerned with the lack of such conversation in our busy everyday lives. Every third Thursday of the month, the Common Space Forum offers an open debate for you and your peers to talk through topics that range from automation’s effects on the job market to climate change. Here’s how it works: Before the event, members elect a single news topic to focus on. When a topic is chosen, the moderators will send out relevant materials. So even if you are unfamiliar with the topic, you can quickly be brought up to speed and join the conversation. The goal is to have an informal but informative discussion where anyone can speak and everyone will listen. Bring your curiosity, your ideas and the desire to talk about anything but the daily travails of pop entertainers. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Max Thelen Boardroom, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6–7:45 p.m. program • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond • Notes: If you’d like to be added to the mailing list, you can subscribe on our website at commonspaceforum.com/contact

Activist; Author, Vegetable Kingdom (Forthcoming) Emory Douglas, Artist; Former Minister of Culture, Black Panther Party Rose Aguilar, Host, “Your Call,” KALW—Moderator

Food intersects with many facets of human life. Culture, art, family, nutrition and even social justice all share a common thread in what and how a person cooks. James Beard award-winning chef and Oakland food justice activist Bryant Terry has dedicated his life to dissecting these complicated themes while also honoring their tradition. Using only real ingredients, he strives to nourish both his local community and the black community at large through afro-vegan cooking, something he thinks is the future of food. Joining Bryant Terry at INFORUM is Emory Douglas, artist and legendary minister of culture for the Black Panther Party, whose work still resonates decades after the organization’s founding. Together Douglas and Terry will examine how art and food are the cornerstone of culture and how they can be used to not only foster community but also transform it.

SAN FRANCISCO • INFORUM PROGRAM • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Taube Family Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 book signing • Notes: Part of our Food Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25 COMMONWEALTH CLUB WEEKLY TOUR

Every Wednesday at 2 p.m., we’re giving members and nonmembers behind-the-scenes tours of our home at 110 The Embarcadero. Join us for a complimentary tour of our beautiful new headquarters on San Francisco’s waterfront. At our state-of-the-art gathering space, which features a rooftop terrace with unobstructed views of the Bay Bridge and San Francisco Bay, you can learn about our storied history and the many amenities of being a Club member. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Osher Lobby, San Francisco • Time: 1:45 p.m. check-in, 2–3 p.m. tour

TRANSITIONS AND TRANSFORMATIONS: THE WONDERFUL JOURNEY OF MIDLIFE WOMEN

Barbara Mark, Ph.D., Elite Executive Coach

MONDAY, MARCH 23 BETWEEN EZRA AND JESUS, THERE IS DANIEL

If you’re going through a transition (and who isn’t?)—whether it’s an empty nest; a career shift; dealing with ageism, divorce, the loss of a spouse or parents; not to mention hot flashes in the conference room—this event will provide many survival tips and tricks as well as the power that comes from information. For decades, Barbara Mark has worked with professional women in midlife to listen, guide, support and cajole them to clarity and decisive action as well as attaining professional and personal fulfillment and satisfaction. She is an in-demand speaker on the psychology of midlife women, the stages of adult development and how these stages impact career and leadership development in women.

Daniel Kohanski, Computer Programmer; Recently Retired Foreign Service Officer; Author, The Philosophical Programmer: Reflections on the Moth in the Machine, After God: A Secular Review of Religion (in progress)

The half millennium between Ezra and the birth of Jesus is often overlooked, but it shaped our ideas about God, life after death and the end of the world. Daniel Kohanski clarifies these developments in Judaism and their impact on Christianity, taking us on an overview of this culturally chaotic era—from Alexander the Great to the Maccabees and the Romans, from Plato to the Dead Sea Scrolls. In particular, we’ll look at the Book of Daniel, one of the most influential texts of that time.

SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Toni Rembe Rock Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 4:45 p.m. check-in, 5:15 p.m. program • MLF: Grownups • Program organizer: Denise Michaud

SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Toni Rembe Rock Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond

TUESDAY, MARCH 24 AFRO-VEGANS BRYANT TERRY AND EMORY DOUGLAS

MERVYN KING

Mervyn King, Former Governor, the Bank of England; Co-Author, Radical Uncertainty: Decision-Making Beyond the Numbers

Bryant Terry, Vegan Eco-Chef; Food Justice David Plouffe: How to Beat Donald Trump 3/18

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

In Conversation with Michael Lewis, Contrib- monwealth Club audiences and discussing check-in and social hour, 6:30 p.m. program • uting Editor, Vanity Fair a very wide range of topics of interest to the Notes: Each attendee receives two free tickets

For over half a century, economics has assumed that people behave rationally by optimizing among well-defined choices. Behavioral economics questioned how far people are rational, pointing to the cognitive biases that seem to describe actual behavior. Now former Bank of England Governor Mervyn King takes us past standard and behavioral economics, shifting our understanding of the role economics can play in decision-making. We can never have the information required to optimize. But the failure to come to terms with this reality has led us to build our largest financial organizations, develop major policy decisions and create business structures on shifting sands—the false belief that the numbers provided by economic models give us the answer. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Taube Family Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing • Notes: King photo by Andrew Crowley

THURSDAY, MARCH 26 THE MICHELLE MEOW SHOW 3/26/20

Speaker TBA Michelle Meow, Host, “The Michelle Meow Show” (Radio and KBCW TV) John Zipperer, Host, Week to Week Political Roundtable—Co-Host

LGBT audience. See this week’s speaker details at commonwealthclub.org/mms.

SAN FRANCISCO • MICHELLE MEOW PROGRAM • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Max Thelen Boardroom, San Francisco • Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program

RUSSIAN HILL WALKING TOUR

Join a more active Commonwealth Club neighborhood adventure! Russian Hill is a magical area with secret gardens and amazing views. Join Rick Evans for a “cardio hike” up hills and staircases and learn about the history of this neighborhood. See where great artists and architects lived and worked, and walk down residential streets where some of the most historically significant houses in the Bay Area are located.

SAN FRANCISCO • Location: Swensen’s Ice Cream, 1999 Hyde St., San Francisco • Time: 1:45 p.m. check-in, 2–4:30 p.m. walk • Notes: Take Muni (Bus 45) or a taxi; there is absolutely no parking on Russian Hill—no parking lots or street parking; please take a taxi or public transport; the tour ends about six blocks from Swensen’s Ice Cream, at the corner of Vallejo and Jones; it is an easy walk down to North Beach from there; there are steep hills and staircases; the tour is recommended for good walkers only; the tour operates rain or shine; limited to 20 participants; tickets must be purchased in advance and will not be sold at check-in; walks with fewer than six participants will be canceled (you will receive notification of this at least three days in advance)

for a glass of wine or soft drink during our social hour

MONDAY, MARCH 30 MIDDLE EAST FORUM DISCUSSION

The Middle East Forum Discussion group, which primarily covers the Middle East, North Africa and Afghanistan, has been meeting for over 10 years. We do not debate. We discuss political and cultural subjects in a civil atmosphere with respect for others and their opinions. Those interested in contributing to our conversation and learning more about the regions we cover are encouraged to attend. SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Max Thelen Boardroom, San Francisco • Time: 4:30 p.m. check-in, 5 p.m. program • MLF: Middle East • Program organizer: Celia Menczel

KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION’S DREW ALTMAN: U.S. HEALTH CARE AT A CROSSROADS—WHERE WE’VE BEEN AND WHERE WE’RE GOING

Drew Altman, Ph.D., President and CEO, Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation In conversation with Mark Zitter, Chair, The Zetema Project; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors

American health care has seen dramatic changes over the past decade. Obamacare reduced the number of uninsured citizens, but We’re in the third year of “The Michelle rising prices and deductibles have made care Meow Show” bringing interesting, provocative unaffordable for many. Medicaid has become and sometimes controversial speakers to Comthe nation’s largest payer and now pays for half of all long-term care. Today we face a direct legal challenge to FRIDAY, MARCH 27 the Affordable Care Act and arguments about WEEK TO WEEK POLITICAL ROUNDMedicare For All, a public option, and govTABLE AND SOCIAL HOUR 3/27/20 ernment drug price negotiation. All this is Panelists TBA John Zipperer, Producer and Host, Week to happening within the context of a presidenWeek; Vice President of Media and Editorial, tial election within a highly polarized country. Will the Democrats or Republicans drive The Commonwealth Club—Moderator/Host We will discuss the biggest, most controver- health-care change—or will gridlock continue? sial and surprising political issues of the day SAN FRANCISCO • Location: The Commonwith expert commentary by panelists who are wealth Club, 110 The Embarcadero, Toni Remsmart, are civil and have a good sense of hu- be Rock Auditorium • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program mor. Our panelists will provide informative and engaging commentary on political and TUESDAY, MARCH 31 other major news, and we’ll have audience disA STATE OF IMMIGRANTS AND THE cussion of the week’s events and our live news quiz! And come early for our pre-program PUBLIC HEALTH THREAT CREATED BY FEDERAL POLICIES members social hour (open to all attendees). SAN FRANCISCO • WEEK TO WEEK PROGRAM • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Taube Family Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m.

THE COMMO N WE AL TH

Mervyn King 3/25

See website for panelists

New federal policies that target immigrants have a profound impact in California, where

For current prices, call 415.597.6705 or go to commonwealthclub.org

half of our state’s children have at least one immigrant parent. Critics say these policies perpetuate and accelerate a climate of fear, division and confusion that discourages participation in important health services and creates both immediate and lasting negative health consequences for communities across California. Join us for an important discussion of immigration policy and its impact on the lives of immigrants and our state’s physical and economic health.

and reception, 7–8:30 p.m. program, 8:30 p.m. book signing • Notes: Wine available

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24 WHAT THE 2030 CLIMATE DEADLINE REALLY MEANS

Chris Field, Faculty Director, Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University David Fenton, Founder, Fenton Communications Renee Lertzman, Climate Engagement Strategist and Author SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embar- Greg Dalton, Founder and Host, Climate One cadero, Taube Family Auditorium, San Francisco See website for details

• Time: 10:15 a.m.–4 p.m. program • Notes: See website for registration information; this is a free event that includes lunch; registration is required; in association with the Charles and Louise Travers Department of Political Science at UC Berkeley

MONDAY, MARCH 16 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND YOU: THE FUTURE OF THE MIND

Susan Schneider, Ph.D., Author, Artificial You: AI and the Future of the Mind; NASA– Blumberg Chair in Astrobiology; NASA Distinguished Scholar, Library of Congress; • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program SAN FRANCISCO • CLIMATE ONE PROGRAM Director of AI, Mind and Society Group, the • Notes: This program is generously supported • Location: The Commonwealth Club, 110 The University of Connecticut Embarcadero, Taube Family Auditorium, San Joe Epstein, Past Chair, Commonwealth Club by Blue Shield of California Foundation Francisco • Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. pro- Board of Governors—Moderator See website for details LATE-BREAKING PROGRAMS gram, 7:30 p.m. networking reception

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13 SAN FRANCISCO DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHESA BOUDIN

Chesa Boudin, San Francisco District Attorney Alicia Garza, Principal, Black Futures Lab; Strategy and Partnership Director, National Domestic Workers Alliance; Co-Founder, Black Lives Matter—Moderator

This program is sold out.

FRIDAY, MARCH 6 THIRD ANNUAL WOMEN’S LUNCHEON

See website for honorees and details

SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Toni Rembe Rock Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing • MLF: Technology & Society • Program organizer: Gerald Harris

SAN FRANCISCO • Location: The Commonwealth Club, 110 The Embarcadero, Taube Family Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 11:45 check-in, noon program • Notes: The lunch starts promptly at noon; closing remarks at 1:30 p.m.; if you have any questions, please contact Kate Steffy (ksteffy@commonwealthclub.org)

MONDAY, MARCH 23 REDUCING NUCLEAR WEAPONS: STOPPING THE WAR THAT NO ONE WANTS

p.m. check-in, 7–8:30 p.m. program, 8:30 p.m. book signing • Notes: Wine available

5:30 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program • Notes: Attendees subject to search

Jerry Brown, Former Governor of California Rose Gottemoeller, Former Deputy SecreSAN FRANCISCO • INFORUM PROGRAM • Lotary General of NATO, October 2016 to Octocation: 110 The Embarcadero, Taube Family ber 2019 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11 Boardroom, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. Izumi Nakamitsu, Under-Secretary-General THE AUTONOMOUS REVOLUTION: and High Representative for Disarmament check-in, 6:30 p.m. program Affairs, United Nations RECLAIMING THE FUTURE WE’VE William Perry, Former U.S. Secretary of SOLD TO MACHINES SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15 William H. Davidow and Michael S. Malone, Defense REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL: Co-Author, The Autonomous Revolution: Re- George Shultz, Former U.S. Secretary of State IMPEACHMENT, MEDICARE FOR ALL claiming the Future We’ve Sold to Machines Dr. Gloria Duffy, President and CEO, The Commonwealth Club—Moderator AND THE PROGRESSIVE FIGHT See website for details Pramila Jayapal, U.S. Representative (D–WA); MARIN • MARIN CONVERSATIONS PROGRAM See website for details Co-Chair, Congressional Progressive Caucus • Location: Mill Valley Community Center, 180 SAN FRANCISCO • Location: Marines’ MemoriSee website for details Camino Alto, Mill Valley, CA 94941 • Time: 6:30 al Theatre, 609 Sutter St., San Francisco • Time: See website for details

SAN FRANCISCO • Location: The Commonwealth Club, 110 The Embarcadero, Toni Rembe Rock Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: noon check-in, 1 p.m. program • Notes: Attendees subject to search

FRIDAY, MARCH 13 22ND ANNUAL TRAVERS CONFERENCE ON ETHICS AND WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19 ACCOUNTABILITY IN GOVERNMENT: RAPHAEL LIOGIER: REFORMING CONGRESS? HEART OF MALENESS Raphael Liogier, Founder and Host, Climate ETHICS, ACCOUNTABILITY AND LEADERSHIP IN THE One CONTEMPORARY CONGRESS See website for details MARIN • MARIN CONVERSATIONS PROGRAM • Location: Outdoor Art Club, One West Blithedale, Mill Valley • Time: 6:30 p.m. check-in

See website for panelists and details

EAST BAY • Location: Bancroft Hotel, Great Hall, 2680 Bancroft Way,Berkeley, CA 94704

TUESDAY, MARCH 24 HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN EARTH SUPPORT?

Christopher K. Tucker, Chairman, American Geographical Society See website for details

SAN FRANCISCO • Location: 110 The Embarcadero, Toni Rembe Rock Auditorium, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing • MLF: Environment & Natural Resources • Program organizer: Ann Clark FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

INSIGHT Shoring Up the Arms Control Regime Dr. Gloria C. Duffy, President and CEO

ince the end of World War II, beginning with scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project, each generation of senior scientists, diplomats, military and political leaders has called for steps to control and reduce nuclear weapons. Their concern, of course, has stemmed from the enormous destructiveness of nuclear weapons and their potential spread to many countries and perhaps to non-state terrorist groups. Over the past 75 years, the nuclear arms control movement led to a framework of treaties and agreements that have placed limits on many aspects of nuclear weapons, beginning with the Partial TestBan Treaty in 1963 and extending to four dozen other agreements. Arms control treaties have capped the number of nuclear weapons and delivery vehicles the United States and Russia are permitted to have, prohibited nuclear tests that release radiation into the environment, and prohibited nuclear weapons from being deployed in outer space, in Latin America, in the South Pacific, and on the seabed. These are just a few of the restrictions in the four dozen existing arms control treaties. Perhaps no other arms control agreement of the nuclear age is more significant than the 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty, negotiated through the United Nations. This treaty, to which 191 countries are parties and which 93 have signed, limits nuclear weapons to those states that already had them in 1968—the United States, Russia, China, France, and the United Kingdom. It committed those countries to reduce and eliminate their nuclear weapons. And it committed countries that signed the agreement, that didn’t have nuclear weapons, not to get them. It is the most globally comprehensive treaty restricting nuclear weapons, separating the world into nuclear haves and have-nots and designed to permanently restrict the advent of new nuclear weapons states. Every five years, the NPT comes up for review by the countries that are parties. An NPT Review Conference is scheduled for April and May of 2020, at the UN. The review conferences monitor the viability of the treaty and the compliance of the party states with its provisions, as well as working on measures to enhance the effectiveness of the treaty and move toward the global elimination of nuclear weapons. In recent years, the arms control regime of treaties and agreements has progressively frayed. The United States has abandoned several treaties, including the 1987 Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty negotiated by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, from which the Russians have also withdrawn; the Open Skies Treaty, the nuclear agreement with Iran, and various other pillars of the arms control regime. Some people wonder whether the Non-Proliferation Treaty

THE COMMO N WE AL TH

will be next to unravel. Steps by the United States and Russia to dispense with their existing limits on nuclear weapons may signal to non-nuclear arms states that the essential bargain in the NPT—movement to eliminate these weapons by the nuclear weapons countries in trade for the commitment of non-nuclear weapons states to eschew the weapons—is no longer valid. Photo courtesy of Gloria Duffy This issue is likely to rear its head at the upcoming NPT Review Conference. These conferences are often fractious, with especially the non-nuclear countries accusing the nuclear countries of not upholding their commitment to move toward the elimination of nuclear weapons. Given the overall environment of deterioration in the arms control regime, the upcoming NPT Review Conference could be particularly difficult, with the danger that some of the non-nuclear countries could simply abandon the agreement and decide to pursue nuclear weapons programs. A number of constructive steps could also come out of the NPT Review Conference, such as agreements on additional steps to verify compliance with the terms of the agreement, and a consensus agreement on steps to pursue the elimination of nuclear weapons. To assist with the preparations for the NPT Review Conference, on March 23 The Commonwealth Club will host a panel in San Francisco of current and former senior U.S. and United Nations officials to discuss the importance of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the prospects for the upcoming review. The participants will include former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz, former U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry, current U.N. Under-Secretary General for Disarmament Izumi Nakamitsu, former NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller, U.S. Ambassador and former arms control negotiator James Goodby, and former California Governor Jerry Brown, who has long been interested in stimulating cooperation to reduce the danger of nuclear war. I will moderate the panel discussion, which will be open to our members and the public. Beyond talking about the status of the NPT and nuclear arms control in general, several of our panelists will present proposals that they hope can be part of a positive outcome for the NPT Review Conference. We invite you to be with us on March 23, as we consider the fate of this most important treaty and try to contribute to the upcoming review conference.

MACHU PICCHU TO THE GALAPAGOS

AUGUST 25 – SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 Encounter two of South America’s greatest treasures on this 16-day journey exploring Machu Picchu’s enigmatic Inca ruins and seeing the fascinating Galapagos Islands’ wonders on a 4-night adventure. Further discoveries await in Lima, the Sacred Valley, Cuzco and Quito. Experience the Amazon rainforest with a 4-day/4-night pre-tour option. Cost: $9,293 per person (in double occupancy) including all internal flights and international flights from SFO. (Other gateway cities are available.)

Brochure at commonwealthclub.org/travel

| 415.597.6720

travel@commonwealthclub.org CST: 2096889-40

To purchase tickets:

The Commonwealth Club of California

visit commonwealthclub.org or call (415) 597-6705 or call (800) 847-7730

P.O. Box 194210 San Francisco, CA 94119

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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26

Details on page 43

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27

BRIAN GREENE

SUSAN FOWLER

Susan Fowler, Engineer; Author, Whistleblower: My Journey to Silicon Valley and Fight for Justice at Uber (Forthcoming); @susanthesquark

Director, Center for Theoretical Physics, Columbia University; Author, Until the End of Time: Mind, Matter, and Our Search for Meaning in an Evolving Universe

Mina Kim, Anchor and Host of Forum, KQED—Moderator

MONDAY, MARCH 23

Details on page 53

REDUCING NUCLEAR WEAPONS

Jerry Brown, Former Governor of California Rose Gottemoeller, Former Deputy Secretary General, NATO Izumi Nakamitsu, UnderSecretary General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, United Nations William Perry, Former U.S. Secretary of Defense George Shultz, Former U.S. Secretary of State Dr. Gloria Duffy, President and CEO, The Commonwealth Club— Moderator

Details on page 45

In 2017, when penning her nowfamous 2,900-word blog post about the pervasive culture of sexual harassment at Uber, soon-to-be whistleblower Susan Fowler was stepping into uncharted territory. Her decision to share a blog post about her “very, very strange year at Uber” with the public would open the floodgates for women to share similar experiences of systematic sexual harassment in Silicon Valley and beyond.

TUESDAY, MARCH 24

Details on page 51

BRYANT TERRY & EMORY DOUGLAS

Bryant Terry (at left), Vegan Ecochef; Food Justice Activist; Author, Vegetable Kingdom (forthcoming) Emory Douglas, Artist; Minister of Culture, Black Panther Party Rose Aguilar, Host, “Your Call,” KALW—Moderator

James-Beard award-winning chef and Oakland food justice activist Bryant Terry strives to nourish both his local community and the Black community at large through afro-vegan cooking using only real ingredients, something he thinks is the future of food. Joining him is artist and activist Emory Douglas.