The Commonwealth June/July 2020 by The Commonwealth Club of California

Commonwealth The

THE MAGAZINE OF THE COMMONWEALTH CLUB OF CALIFORNIA

JUNE/JULY 2020

CONFRONTING COVID

Inside COVID-19 Vaccines Seniors & Isolation Your COVID Stories Janet Napolitano Mike Pompeo Not-to-Miss TV $5.00; free for members | commonwealthclub.org

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

• Travel with David Baron, journalist, science reporter, and author of the award-winning book, “American Eclipse” which tells the story of 1878 eclipse that crossed the US Wild West. • Explore Santiago and Valparaiso. See Volcan Villarrica, and soak in the healing mineralrich hot springs of the Termas de Huife. • Experience one of Chile’s most stunning regions – laden with lakes and volcanos. • Enjoy three nights at our comfortable tented camp directly in the “path of totality” of the total solar eclipse. An optional post -trip extension to Patagonia is available.

Brochure at commonwealthclub.org/travel

| 415.597.6720

travel@commonwealthclub.org CST: 2096889-40

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Then a weird thing happened. Everyone was unemployed. Everyone is now struggling. We now live in the uncertainty of tomorrow together, as one nation, as one world. I suddenly didn’t feel so alone. —TYLER SWOFFORD

4 Editor’s Desk 5 The Commons

Commonwealth

8 COVID-19 Vaccines, Cures and More

Programs

Talk of the Club, plus an interview with a Legacy Circle member

The

June/July 2020 • Volume 114, No.3

How the medical and scientific communities confront COVID-19

51 Program Information

How the University of California is dealing with the pandemic

53 Program Listings

16 Janet Napolitano

22 Living with Our Pandemic

We asked Club members for their tales of life during lockdown

30 The View from the Front Desk

Education during the pandemic lockdown

About Club programs Club events for June and July

59 Late-breaking Events

Just added at press time

35 Prime TV Time

Now the lighter side of shelter-in-place: What to watch on TV

40 Addressing Social Isolation Among Seniors Strategies for countering loneliness

47 Secretary of State Mike Pompeo A message for Silicon Valley

60 InSight

Dr. Gloria Duffy

ON THE COVER: Over the past few months, the pandemic has changed nearly everything about everyday life, including making the wearing of masks ubiquitous. Photo by Visuals/Unsplash ON THIS PAGE: San Francisco’s Great Highway was closed to vehicular traffic, and pedestrians soon took over. Photo by and courtesy James Meinerth JUNE/JULY 2020

EDITOR’S DESK

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John Zipperer

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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, or via our free podcasts on Google Play, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Printed on recycled paper using soy-based ink.

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Photo John Zipperer

And How Was Your Day?

ike most of you, I have spent the past several months at home. Except for an infrequent trip to the Commonwealth Club’s headquarters to moderate an online program, my daily commute is now from my bedroom downstairs to my home office upstairs. I certainly miss large Club audiences gathering together to watch a program, ask questions, and chat at social hours. I miss being able to give members and visitors tours of the building to show off our beautiful waterfront home. And I miss seeing my colleagues and being around so many great people. There is at least one offsetting benefit of working from home. Only here am I able to work at my desk while my cat Ashes falls asleep with her head on my feet (photographic proof above). I will miss that when I return to the office. But life is different now, isn’t it? There’s good, there’s bad, there are great acts of kindness we see, but unfortunately we’ve probably all witnessed or heard about some people misbehaving. It’s an experience that we’ll all remember for the rest of our lives. That’s why we asked you, members of the Club, to tell us what your life has been like since the shelter-in-place orders came down. We received many responses, and you can

read a good selection of them in this issue. A lot of people have had an additional job foisted on them during this time. In addition to perhaps continuing to work their regular job from home, many people suddenly had to become home-schoolers, either teaching their children or making sure their kids kept up their online studies. Dr. Lauren Silver, who heads up the Club’s new education department, sent to educators and some students a similar request for stories about their time sheltering at home, and you can find those immediately following the member stories. As I’m writing this column, the first glimmers of “reopening” have become visible, and by the time you read this there will be even more. I share everyone’s hope that there is steady recovery—in terms of everyone’s physical health as well as the country’s economic and social health. As for me, the next time you see me at the Club, leading Week to Week panelists to the stage or chatting with other members in our lounge, I’ll be wearing a mask. I hope you will, too. Because I want this recovery to be long-lasting and happy for everyone. See you soon. JOHN Z I P P E R E R VP, ME DIA & ED I T O RI AL

Joe Fink and Willie Brown. Photo by James Meinerth.

LEADERSHIP OF THE

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

Remembering Joe Fink

he Bay Area lost a giant of the educational and nonprofit worlds in early May when former Commonwealth Club president Dr. Joseph Fink passed away following an illness. He was 83 years old. He was best known for the 23 years he served as president of Dominican University, where he was credited with dramatically expanding the institution’s enrollment, revenues, and diversity. “If you are not willing to roll up your sleeves and work hard, then you might want to go someplace else,” Fink described his approach in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle in 2000. He was known for rolling up his sleeves to tackle big projects, and he served on the boards of a number of local nonprofits, including the American Land Conservancy, the Marin Symphony, The North Bay Leadership Council, and of course The Commonwealth Club, where he served as president of our Board of Governors and chaired the Centennial Committee in 2003. “The plans Joe and his committee crafted were full of fun and meaning, including a Centennial Medallion and Medallion lecture series, a gala emceed by Tom Brokaw, and a procession down Market Street in the horse-drawn Wells Fargo wagon, placing a plaque outside our old headquarters at 595 Market Street,” said Dr. Gloria Duffy, president and CEO of the Club. “As in everything he did, Joe brought his leadership, creativity, sense of humor and willingness to draw on his network of contacts to benefit the Club during that year and all during the 30 years he was involved in the Club.” Heather Kitchen, former executive director of American Conservatory Theater and a former Club Board of Governors member, remembered Dr. Fink as “the right leader for the Board . . . as The Commonwealth Club continued its development toward the organization it is

today. The centennial year was so much fun and let everyone participate. I’m so grateful I had a chance to know Joe and appreciate his vast contributions to the Bay Area.” Club members continued to see Dr. Fink on our stage, where he occasionally moderated programs, including the annual political conversation with his friend, former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown.

The Club Joins CivXNow

he Club’s new education department continues to spread its wings, including organizating its first program, “History in the Present.” As a result of that event, the Club was invited to join CivXNow, a national coalition of civic learning providers, philanthropic organizations, academic institutions and others from across the political spectrum.

Eve Ensler and Lauren Schiller. Photo by James Meinerth

The Winner Is . . .

ongratulations to Lauren Schiller, host of “Inflection Point with Lauren Schiller,” who notified us that the Alliance for Women in Media has honored “Inflection Point” with a Gracie Award for its episode featuring Schiller’s recent interview at The Commonwealth Club with author Eve Ensler.

BOARD OF GOVERNORS Robert E. Adams Willie Adams John F. Allen Scott Anderson Dan Ashley Dr. Mary G. F. Bitterman Harry E. Blount John L. Boland Charles M. Collins Dennis Collins Kevin Collins Mary B. Cranston LaDoris Cordell Susie Cranston Dr. Kerry P. Curtis Dorian Daley James Driscoll Joseph I. Epstein Jeffrey A. Farber Dr. Carol A. Fleming Leslie Saul Garvin Paul M. Ginsburg Hon. James C. Hormel Mary Huss Lata Krishnan John Leckrone Dr. Mary Marcy Lenny Mendonca Michelle Meow Anna W.M. Mok DJ Patil Donald J. Pierce Bruce Raabe Skip Rhodes Kausik Rajgopal Bill Ring Richard A. Rubin George M. Scalise Charlotte Mailliard Shultz Todd Silvia George D. Smith Jr. David Spencer James Strother

Hon. Tad Taube Marcel TenBerge Charles Travers Kimberly Twombly-Wu Don Wen Dr. Colleen B. Wilcox Brenda Wright Jed York Mark Zitter PAST BOARD CHAIRS AND PRESIDENTS * Past Chair ** Past President Dr. Mary G. F. Bitterman* J. Dennis Bonney** John Busterud** (deceased) Maryles Casto* Hon. Ming Chin** Mary B. Cranston* Joseph I. Epstein** John Farmer* Dr. Joseph R. Fink** Rose Guilbault* Claude B. Hutchison Jr.** Dr. Julius Krevans** (deceased) Anna W.M. Mok* Richard Otter** Joseph Perrelli** Toni Rembe** Victor J. Revenko** Skip Rhodes** Renée Rubin** Richard Rubin* Robert Saldich* (deceased) Connie Shapiro** Nelson Weller** Judith Wilbur** Dennis Wu** ADVISORY BOARD Karin Helene Bauer Hon. William Bradley Dennise M. Carter Steven Falk Amy Gershoni Jacquelyn Hadley Heather Kitchen Amy McCombs Don J. McGrath Hon. William J. Perry Hon. Barbara Pivnicka Hon. Richard Pivnicka Ray Taliaferro Nancy Thompson

JUNE/JULY 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 Kimberly Maas at kmaas@commonwealthclub.org or (415) 597-6726.

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Making a Legacy

Interview with Legacy Circle Member Louie Bava

embers of The Commonwealth Club’s Legacy Circle make plans in their wills to benefit the Club. We recently spoke with one Legacy Circle member, Louie Bava, about his decision to support the Club with its first gift annuity. How did you decide to join The Commonwealth Club? LOUIE BAVA: I got a letter from the Club inviting me to join. This was quite a while ago. I came in—I was in a hurry, so I just grabbed a couple of your magazines. I thought it would be a good thing to join. Tell us about the types of places you support. BAVA: The National Kidney Foundation, The Southern Poverty Law Center, Mayo Clinic, Doctors Without Borders, Salvation Army, the Alzheimer’s Association and Saint Anthony’s kitchen. Those are the ones that I’ve been giving to since 2014. Not everyone feels a need to give, to support things. Why do you? Where does that come from? BAVA: Probably because I’m getting older, and I know my time here is getting shorter. When I was in my twenties and thirties, I wasn’t what you would call a model citizen, you know. I used to ride motorcycles. I was never with the Hell’s Angels, but I knew one of the original starters of the Hell’s Angels. But I never joined. My other friends and I, we were kind of like outlaws. Some kind of trouble was always coming my way, unfortunately. I regret it, but so in a way maybe I’m trying to make up for that.

Why is civil dialogue imporant to you? BAVA: It’s important that we talk to each other. Because this country’s becoming tribal. Very much so. And even though we don’t like each other, because of whatever—race, creed, religion, color, whatever your particularly dislike is—and I live in a place where there’s a lot of dislike. I actually know people who won’t watch television because they don’t want their children to see black people. I haven’t found any other venue where people get together and they allow other people to talk— even people that they don’t like. What are some of the programs you’ve been to here? BAVA: I went to Scott Adams. That really surprised me. Because if you read “Dilbert,” Dilbert is liberal, and Scott Adams is on the other side! I went to another one where three speakers spoke about electromagnetic effects. What would you say to someone who is thinking of supporting the Club? BAVA: The Club is a good way to find out about how other people think. I think it’s good to listen to intelligent people who know what they’re talking about. Whether you like it or not. You have to respect their knowledge, and you learn something. Maybe you don’t want to learn it, but you do learn it. It also gets to the idea of always learning, throughout your life. BAVA: My life has not been dull. I can say that. I have traveled to over 50 countries. But I would like to do things more to benefit my fellow man.

Louie Bava Why gift annuities? What do you like about them? BAVA: Well, I like gift annuities because if you’re going to support somebody in your will, why not give it to them before you die and get interest back? On top of that, when you give something you always get something back. Any other things you want to tell us about that you think would be of interest to other members like you? BAVA: Somewhere I read that after [people secure] the three basic things of life—sex, money and power—people want to be happy. The secret to happiness, I’ve read somewhere and I think it was true, is to make other people happy. That’s it. Learn more about legacy giving to support the Club at cwclublegacy.org. JUNE/JULY 2020

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Image by Hank Williams from Pixabay

COVID-19 EMERGING TESTS, VACCINES AND CURES A LOOK AT THE STATE OF

medicine concerning COVID-19. From the April 3, 2020, online program “COVID-19: Emerging Tests, Vaccines and Cures.” MARK MCCLELLAN, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Business, Medicine and Policy, Duke University; Former Director, Food and Drug Administration; Former Director, Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services KEN KELLEY, Biotech Executive; Former Sr. Advisor on Pandemic Preparedness and Vaccine Research, Department of Health and Human Services and National Institutes of Health GREG BUREL, President, Hamilton Grace, LLC; Former Director, U.S. Strategic National Stockpile MARK ZITTER, Founder and Chair, The Zetema Project; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors—Moderator MARK ZITTER: I want to say that today is April 3, 2020. That’s important for those [hearing about this] later because things are moving very quickly. At the time of the program I hosted earlier this week, there were about 161,000 cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. Right now we have about 265,000, which is a 65 percent increase in just four days—and given the shortage of tests, the real number of actual cases is probably a lot higher. So that’s our environment as we speak. Let’s get JUNE/JULY 2020

“The more sensitive a test is the bigger chance there is of a false positive, so there’s a tradeoff between those two.” —MARK MCCLELLAN

right to the program. I’m going to start with you, Mark McClellan. We all know that from the start of this pandemic, the U.S. has not done enough testing, at least in part [because it] didn’t have the test kits available. Where are we today with test kit availability, and how far are we from having as many as we need? MARK MCCLELLAN: We are getting there in terms of test capacity. And if you’ll indulge me for a minute, since there are a few elements to why we have the shortages now that isn’t just a matter of the number of test kits available, I can hopefully give you a picture of where we’re headed. But I’d also like to say at the outset that substantial, massive testing capacity is absolutely critical for getting through this surge of cases, getting this initial wave to a more manageable and sustainable level, and then being able to implement an effective surveillance system in every part of the country so that we can roll back some of the extreme restrictions we’re seeing now on physical isolation and the ability of people to live their lives. This is absolutely critical. The amount of test kits available for what you would call molecular testing—that’s testing for whether someone has an active COVID-19 viral infection going on right now, has a virus shedding out of their system into their their nose and the like, and potential for contagion as well as being able to diagnose that individual—that test copacity is going way up. It has consisted mainly up until now of so-called PCR tests. These are the tests that involve a nasal swab or nasal pharyngeal swab. They get sent off to a lab at a hospital or a state or a big national lab like Quest or LabCorp and the results come back in a matter of hours, or as you’re seeing out in California now for many of these tests, it can be days. That supply is

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ramping up to the point where hundreds of thousands of test kits should be available for weekly use. On top of that, we’re seeing some very important innovation in the way that this kind of diagnostic testing is accomplished with a move toward what are called pointof-care tests. These are ones that also involve sampling from the patient for whether they’ve got active infection right now, but they can be done more quickly right there in the facility. This is the Abbott test that was announced recently, Cepheid, and there’s some more tests coming and others recently announced in the works. That capacity is going to ramp up pretty quickly too. Those have the advantage of also coming with, in most cases, the manufacturers have all the reagents that are needed right there in the test kits. So when you get the kit, you’ve got pretty much what you need to run the test in the office or whatever the point of care turns out to be. So I think from a standpoint of supply of diagnostic test kits, we’re really getting there pretty quickly. But that’s not all there is to it. There are two other pieces. One is having the logistics and the availability of a testing setting so that when a doctor orders a test, when a patient has symptoms, or there’s a risk someone’s been exposed, they need to be able to get that test done quickly. We’re getting better at that in terms of drive throughs and other popups. This is a contagious enough condition that you can’t just have testing done in a pharmacy or other routine, community-based place. And there also is some progress happening, I think we’re a little ways off, for the potential for home testing and certainly at least tests that people can administer themselves, reducing need for health-care workers to use a lot of personal

protective equipment to do the test. So we’re getting closer on that logistical capacity, too. Where there are still some constraints is around the supplies needed to actually do the test—the swabs and for the PCR test, that first category of tests, some of the reagents that are needed to actually run the test itself after you’ve gotten the sample to enable getting the results, the pipettes that the chemicals, etc., that supply is also catching up. My guess is that these issues will also take care of themselves over the next couple of weeks. But we are definitely not there yet. This is absolutely critical to work out all of these aspects of diagnostic test supply in order to get to a reliable way of detecting and being able to act appropriately on every single case and every single risk of a case of COVID-19 that occurs. There’s another type of tests that we maybe get to later, the so-called serologic tests for whether people have been previously exposed and may be immune to COVID-19—that’s going to be really important going forward, too. But that’s another set of issues. MARK ZITTER: I’ve heard some rumblings [that some people] have concerns not only about having a test, but their accuracy and false positives and false negatives. [Dr.] Harlan Krumholz just wrote something I saw today that said in China, they think that false negatives could be as high as 30 percent. What do we think about the accuracy of the diagnostic tests? MARK MCCLELLAN: So no test is perfect. For COVID-19, compared to even flu or strep throat, you really want tests that are sensitive. You don’t want to miss cases. If the more sensitive a test is the more that you pick up, the bigger chance there is of a false positive, meaning people might get isolated

“Vaccine trials [are] inherently longer, more complicated than a simple drug therapy trial. So it will take time.” —KEN KELLEY

or other steps happen that aren’t needed because the person really doesn’t have the COVID-19 infection. So there’s a tradeoff between those two. I do think that we’re getting better at high-sensitivity testing, of setting these tests the right way. As we move into this era of more pointof-care testing—and we’ve had an estimate of that of 750,000 tests per week—once we get the current outbreak under control, for just ongoing maintenance surveillance, probably more tests than that are going to be needed for quite a while. There is going to be a need for making sure these tests are really accurate. Part of our nation’s strategy on going forward with this surveillance testing is further studies in actual practice to make sure that we’re not missing any. I think we’re getting pretty close on the PCR tests at least, and some more work to do on the point-of-care tests. That’s a really good point to raise and it’s part of the next phase of the COVID-19 response—making sure all of these tests are not only widely available but also very accurate and interpreted correctly. ZITTER: I have one quick question we got from a listener: We’ve heard that one symptom many people have when they get COVID-19 is loss of a sense of smell. How sensitive is that as an indicator of whether I might have it? MCCLELLAN: I think it’s a good indicator. But again, for right now, we need to be making sure that everybody who is seriously ill is getting treated, and we need to make sure that everybody else is taking pretty extreme physical distancing measures to get this initial wave under control. MARK ZITTER: Ken, I want to turn to you. You know, all this testing is great, but what

we all really want is to not get the disease in the first place. And that’s where vaccines [come in]. So my question for you is, When do you think we’ll have vaccine? I heard that we created the basis for one in record time, nine weeks or so, and we actually have one in testing. Why should it take 12–18 months to get a vaccine? KEN KELLEY: Excellent question. For a true global solution to COVID-19, we need to have a vaccine that is safe and highly efficacious, that can be deployed around the world to the level of billions of doses. The bottom line, to answer your question, is most likely we’ll have a vaccine in about 18 months. So think of that as September 2021, in the fall, to address the third wave, if this COVID-19—if this SARS-CoV-2 [the coronavirus responsible for COVID-19]— becomes resident amid humans as the reservoir and it becomes seasonal, migrating from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere and back again. Let me break that down in terms of why does it take that length of time? It’s likely that we’ll have a proof of concept that a vaccine is efficacious, but without having been manufactured, by the fall and the winter coming up. There are different types of vaccines; there are three different buckets of them. But some of them are very fast to start, like the gene-encoded vaccines, the one you’ve read about; and there is an RNA vaccine, [where] very quickly you can get the sequence of the virus makeup component into a vaccine, produce it and start a trial. That’s wonderful. But it will be a little bit slower to finish, because there is no RNA or DNA vaccine approved anywhere in the world today, not approved by the U.S. FDA in this country. So there is no existing large-scale manufacturing plant that

can make billions of doses of that vaccine. So it’d be fast to start, slow to finish. Other vaccines take a little bit of time to design and construct. They take a while to start, but the manufacturing capacity already exists. There are manufacturing plants that can make tens or hundreds of millions doses, so slow to start and then quick to finish. There’s a race to see which of these will be successful. To put this in context, vaccines take longer to prove efficacy than a drug. If you administer drug, you’d look to see a few alleviated clinical symptoms in a few days—very rapidly. But in the cases of vaccine, you want to know how long does it take to get protection? It could be 14 days, it could be 45 days, if it’s a two-dose vaccine, for example. Then how long do you want to protect for? Do you protect for several months or several years? So these make vaccine trials inherently longer, more complicated than a simple drug therapy trial. So it will take time. Remember, vaccines typically take 6 to 12 years to go through the full development process, and we’re trying to compress that down to 18 months to two years. So it’s unprecedented. There’s been a remarkable response by government, foundations and industry to COVID-19. Everyone is leaning in, and there are—as of public sources today—about 150 vaccine candidates in the design phase alone. There are about 50 that are [in] preclinical testing. So people trying to do some animal work on them. There were five in clinical trials around the world and one in the United States, that gene-encoded one, it’s been in the news. So this is an incredible response by industry trying to tackle this problem. As I said, we will have indications of efficacy JUNE/JULY 2020

“The medical supply chain is very fragile. It runs on a just-in-time basis. That’s great if you’re [making an] automobile, but it’s not right for health.” —GREG BUREL by the fall and we’ll have a vaccine available in fall 2021. ZITTER: Wow. I appreciate the answer, but I’m disappointed that it’s actually fantastically fast that it’s going to take 18 months. Second question: I know many drugs are launched and then don’t end up being very effective or impactful. Once we actually get a vaccine, how confident are you that it will actually work? Both for individuals and in the [wider] population? KELLEY: Most vaccines that are used today, and there were some 20-odd, are highly efficacious and very safe. Flu vaccines have a little bit of a bad reputation, because their efficacy ranges from 10 percent to 60 percent in a given year. That’s because the virus mutates and changes and shifts a little bit from season to season as it migrates from North to South. But in this particular case, at this time, I think scientists think that it’s very likely there will be at least one if not more successful vaccines that are safe and efficacious. It’s based on preliminary results that have come out of monkey studies in the past month where monkeys had been infected, they’ve had an immune response. They can not be reinfected. Plasma from one can protect another. These are the basis for the theory that vaccination will work. So it’s very likely that we will have a vaccine. This is not that tough a nut to crack technically, if you will. Then there’s this question of which vaccine would be the most efficacious and will its efficacy be 50 percent or 70 percent or 95 percent? That takes time to figure out. That’ll take longer than two years. It takes a long time. The ideal vaccine would be something that was a single dose that could protect you within 14 days, that was very inexpensive and can be massively deployed around the world.

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ZITTER: That’s plausible. Not certain, but plausible? KELLEY: Correct. ZITTER: Well, let’s hope for the best, because it’s sure going to take longer than what we’d all like. Greg, I’m going to turn to you now. You ran the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile for the past 12 years. It seems to have been designed for just this type of pandemic, yet we’re running short of a lot of critical supplies. How much of what we need was in the SNS, and why was that insufficient? GREG BUREL: Well, thank you for the question. So let’s dispel one thing immediately. The Strategic National Stockpile was really originally designed to address chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats. The pandemic influenza became a part of our mission after we received some additional appropriations in 2005–2006. We bought a lot of material to prepare for pandemic influenza, but even then we knew that there was no way we could hold enough. So states were also working in this area. Some localities were working in this area. There was a buildup of these kinds of stocks all around the country, not just in the Strategic National Stockpile. What happened is in 2009 we had to respond to the H1N1 pandemic influenza. So we sent out a lot of that material. Not all of it was used, and it still remained in stocks in the states that received it. In the intervening year or so, we have had the thing happen that we have so often in our emergency management: The farther you move from an event, the less risk there is in the mind of the public and in the Congress and everybody else. [People are] having to worry about this again. What happened to the stockpile is we

never received additional funds targeted toward pandemic influenza that could have built stock that would also be further useful in any other pandemic emerging infectious disease. So we’re relying on the stocks that were left from those initial buys for pandemic influenza years ago, plus some additional materials that we’ve been able to carefully add by using our limited annual appropriation to expand that stock. I think given the situation, the Strategic National Stockpile has stood forward to do this in the best way possible. I’m very pleased to see the response; but what I hope we see at the other side of this event is an understanding we cannot continue to underfund public health preparedness in the United States, or public health in general. Because we’ll be in this position again some day. ZITTER: Yeah. and if the SNS had been better funded over the last five or eight years, would it have been sufficient or is it still meant to be sort of a stop gap or a coordinator as opposed to— BUREL: Yeah, I think if the Strategic National Stockpile had been better funded, our stocks might’ve been higher. But I also think that if state and local public health had been better funded, they could have invested more money in those same stocks. The final piece of this puzzle, though, is that the medical supply chain in the United States and globally is very fragile. It runs on a very just-in-time basis. Now that’s great if you’re trying to save all the money you can and get auto parts into the plant the day you make the automobile, but it’s not right for health. We need to see safety stock. We need to see flexibility at all links in the supply chain for health-care material of all types. If we don’t see that happen, we’re just going to keep seeing these problems over and over again.

“Let’s hope for the best, because it’s sure going to take longer [to get a vaccine] than what we’ d all like.”

—MARK ZITTER

ZITTER: Now we all hear a lot about ventilators and N-95 masks and other PPE, personal protective equipment for health-care workers. Are those the most critical items that we’re running out of? And why? I assume that each one has a different supply chain and manufacturing environments. BUREL: You’re absolutely right. So these are the most important things at this time. As we began to identify therapeutics, going back to the earlier comments, as we begin to develop drugs or vaccines or other types of materials that will help protect people from a pharmaceutical standpoint, we’ll have other concerns. Today we have to use PPE to keep the spread of the disease as slow as possible. Those supply chains also originate mostly outside the United States. There’s very little made onshore. This was sort of a perfect storm. Many of those plants are in China. When China was hit with the virus early on, we saw a slowdown of manufacturing. Then we saw some interdiction of those supplies to hold in China to take care of the problem they were having. That kept things from getting here. Ventilators have a long lead time to manufacture. They’re almost a made-to-order type product. Something else that you have to remember about ventilators: It’s not just the initial purchase, but they have to be maintained year after year after year, and eventually cycled out because they become obsolete. It is a very expensive proposition to maintain ventilators. ZITTER: Mark, I’m going to switch back to you, because I want to talk about actually treating the disease. Earlier this week there was an announcement where the FDA authorized widespread use of two antimalarial drugs to treat COVID-19 patients. And

I was curious about that. The drugs had been previously approved out on the market for years, so doctors were already allowed legally to prescribe them. So first question is, What does this new authorization really mean? Also, given the very limited evidence that the drugs are effective in combating the disease and they also have some serious side effects, how much impact do you think that particular action will have? MCCLELLAN: It is having an impact, and it’s a response to the reality that we’re living in today, which is that this is a very serious illness which is causing a lot of death and a lot of serious complications. There are no known, really good therapies for it. I just want to reinforce Ken’s point that there was a lot of promising work going on in the vaccine area and some unprecedented efforts to try to compress that timeline even further. So announcements this week with help from BARDA [the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services], some of the manufacturers that don’t know that their vaccines work yet are already investing more in capacity so they can get literally billions of those as potentially available if and when the vaccine shows effectiveness in well-designed and well-done clinical studies, because there’s going to be a treatment that we’re giving to billions of people. We want to make sure it works pretty well at least. That’s still a ways off, but we need treatments in the meantime. Scott Gottlieb and I had another paper on the Duke Margolis website—Duke Margolis Center for Health Policy—about some of the steps that can be taken to accelerate the availability of treatments. We point out there what is actually happening with hydroxychlo-

roquine, which is there is some suspicion, and some people believe in the evidence more strongly than than I do based on what I’ve seen, but some suspicion that it may have benefits in some patients. People are trying it out, and in some cases hoarding it, and it’s really disrupted the available supply of the drug. This is a generic that doesn’t have a whole lot of manufacturers normally, so it doesn’t have a ton of supply available. The way to interpret what the federal government did, which was creating an emergency authorization for some supplies of the drug—basically supplies from a couple of manufacturers that had extra capacity available that were donated into the Strategic National Stockpile as we just described— making them available for compassionate use with the expectation or maybe the hope that the providers who use it will track what happens to the patients. And that’s really important. Not just to see did they actually recover or not, but these drugs have important side effects too, especially for people with heart disease and other chronic conditions. So it’s not at all clear that this is going to be at all beneficial. What’s needed for these and other drugs that are on the market that may actually be beneficial for COVID-19 is some really rapid, well-done clinical studies dealing with the reality that people want some kind of treatment, they want some kind of hope, but still try to sort out is there a real treatment effect there and are there important side effects as well? There are a few studies announced this week to start doing that. This notion of being able to do so-called real world clinical trials in the context of COVID-19—it’s never been more urgent. So hopefully for drugs like these others that are already on the market JUNE/JULY 2020

“If there’s enough natural infection around the world or enough vaccination in the next two to three years, herd immunity will protect those unable to receive vaccination.” —KEN KELLEY and have been shown to be effective and safe and other conditions, we can not just try to use these without actually learning about how well they work. But take account of the fact that people do need some kind of compassionate use, emergency access pathway. We have got to learn for the sake of everyone whether or not these treatments actually work or not. Beyond that there are a lot of treatments in the pipeline. Some I think are pretty close to market, or pretty close to having sufficient clinical study evidence that is good to be a basis for an approval decision. A lot of people talk about Gilead’s drug Remdesivir, which I think has a lot of promise. A lot of activity is underway now to evaluate immune globulins from people who have been infected and recovered—that is not a slam dunk; it didn’t always work out well in the case of Ebola; but also some monoclonal version, some synthetic version of these antibodies that companies like Regeneron are working on. Again, if the studies are well designed, done right, enough can be learned to get those drugs to the market for emergency use. You’ve got better evidence than we have with hydroxychloroquine now, and then learn even more about them once they’re on the market. But if we don’t do that, we’re going to be really flailing in this epidemic. There is so much potential for treatments that could help to be evaluated and then made available in the coming months, not a year, year and a half, that we really need to get this right. ZITTER: Ken, once the vaccine is developed and approved, how much supply will there be, how quickly, both in the U.S. and globally? KELLEY: On the back end of this 18 months

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or 24 months, we think that if we are using a vaccine that has an analogous vaccine that exists today—so the manufacturing process exists, the quality control exists, the FDA [supports it]—then it’d be relatively quick to scale that up to tens of millions of doses that would be satisfactory to the United States. But it depends on the type of vaccine. If it’s the new gene-encoded kind, where manufacturing plants are not built to that scale yet, then it might take even longer and then add an additional year, unless there’s kind of a Manhattan-like project with funding. And as Mark said, BARDA is already leaning in to certain manufacturers to supply capital to build manufacturing capacity ahead of even having the vaccine trial start, never mind knowing whether the vaccine works. So that’s appropriate risk-taking, I would say. But for the world it’s probably a sadder story. I know we’re all concerned about the effects of COVID-19 on our population, our economy and so forth. But for the developing world, there’s many more people, they have things a lot worse off. They don’t have the physicians, the medical equipment, the health-care system, and it will be quite a while before they get vaccine supply, I’m afraid, because the vaccine producers are pretty much concentrated in the United States, in Northern Europe and then in China and Japan for Asia. So we will have to rely on herd immunity. If there’s enough natural infection that happens around the world or enough vaccination that happens with vaccines that are launched in the next two to three years, that herd immunity will protect those that are unable to receive vaccination. So in the case of, for example, flu, if say 25 percent of the population has a flu vaccine

or has prior exposure, that herd immunity can kick in and provide a benefit. In the case of something much more infectious like measles, you’d have to have 75 percent of the population previously been infected or were vaccinated to protect others. This one’s probably somewhere in between, and we don’t know and we won’t know that figure for quite a while. But we’ll have to rely on that for the safety of most of humanity, I’m afraid. ZITTER: Greg, how much of what we’re facing is a true shortage versus misallocation? BUREL: It’s a great question, and it’s a difficult thing to really understand. We know that there are hotspots in the United States, but we also know there are hotspots around the world where we see a much greater concentration of people becoming ill with this disease, people succumbing to this disease, additional case counts rising on a daily basis. So what we have to hope is that the material is getting to the place that it needs to be the most at the time. We know that there is material in the places where we don’t see a high burden of disease yet, but what we fear is that we will see that burden of disease rise in those places just as quickly as everywhere else. So I’m not in favor of trying to reallocate those materials at this time, but hopefully our supply chain can continue to become more competent so that we can direct everything everybody needs to the right place at the right time. Realistically, we’re way away from that. This program and other COVID-19-related Club program was generously supported by the Chan Zuckerberg initiative and a collaborative of local funders and donors.

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JUNE/JULY 2020

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JANET NAPOLITANO DEALING WITH COVID-19 AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA WE TALKED WITH A VETERAN CRISIS LEADER

about the pandemic’s impact on our society. From the April 16, 2020, online program “Janet Napolitano: COVID-19, California’s Universities and National Security.” Janet Napolitano, President, University of California; U.S Homeland Security Secretary Under President Obama; Former Governor, Arizona In Conversation with Dr. Gloria Duffy, President and CEO, The Commonwealth Club

GLORIA DUFFY: President Napolitano, we’re so happy to have you with us. I believe you’re in your home. Is it in Oakland? JANET NAPOLITANO: I’m in Oakland. I’m at my dining room table. DUFFY: Let’s start with national policy and policymaking. You were U.S. secretary for homeland security, and in fact served during the H1N1 virus epidemic in 2009. How do you evaluate our national leadership and policy in the current crisis? Should there, for example, have been or still be appointed a single czar or national coordinator for coronavirus policy? Are there other national actions or policies you would like to see? NAPOLITANO: Well, every pandemic has its own characteristics. With respect to COVID-19, I think it’s fair to say that the current administration has been slow to the ball and somewhat chaotic. It looks from the timelines

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Left to right: Janet Napolitano and Gloria Duffy

I’ve seen that six weeks were allowed to elapse between the time we knew the pandemic was coming to when the president began to acknowledge that indeed there was going to be a pandemic and that could be a serious event. You know, that six weeks could have been very valuable in terms of setting up a national, widespread testing regime; acquiring the materials necessary to do testing; acquiring an inventory of masks, personal protective equipment and ventilators; and making sure that there was coordination among all the agencies in the federal government that have some role to play in a pandemic response. So it’s still somewhat chaotic out there. And now of course we have the issue of having shut down the country. How do you reopen the country? I think we’re going to find that reopening it is even more complicated than shutting it down. DUFFY: So what about this question of a single national coordinator? Would that have made a difference? NAPOLITANO: There’s always the temptation to have a so-called czar. In point of fact, I think that the vice president was at least ostensibly performing that role during H1N1. The secretary of homeland security— myself—was the lead in terms of coordinating all of the federal response. As I said, every pandemic has different characteristics, and every administration is organized somewhat differently. Nonetheless, we still need to see greater organization and coordination from the federal level. It is still somewhat chaotic. And you know, now [that] we are months into this, we would hope for greater clarity. DUFFY: As secretary of homeland security in 2009, you coordinated a national response to H1N1. What did you do? What lessons can we take from that experience for this crisis? NAPOLITANO: We built our response to H1N1 on the pandemic plan that had been left over from the Bush administration. There are extensive planning documents in Wash-

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ington, D.C. Those are updated annually or should be updated annually and are regularly or should be regularly exercised. One of the things we were able to do on H1N1 is to identify hotspots in the country where we could focus our resources immediately, before it became a widespread pandemic and necessitating what we have now, which is a widespread shutdown. H1N1 was a different organism than the coronavirus. Lethality was much lower than the coronavirus, and it was a form of flu. We have kind of in-the-hopper lots of different types of flu vaccines. So the scientists were able to immediately work on those and tweak them to have a vaccine for the H1N1. The first case in the United States was in April of 2009. By July a vaccine had been approved. It was in mass manufacture in August. By early October we had a nationwide vaccine campaign underway. With the coronavirus, it’s a much more complicated organism. Developing a vaccine is going to take longer. Obviously we need to make sure it’s a safe vaccine, and that means it needs to go through the clinical trial process. The estimates we hear about a year to 18 months—I think 18 months is more realistic. DUFFY: You mentioned that there was a pandemic plan. It identified hotspots. It should have been regularly exercised. Do you mean exercised in terms of going through drills about how this would work? NAPOLITANO: Yeah. There are drills that are called tabletops, where a scenario is presented and you have the relevant individuals from the various agencies around. As you go through the tabletop, different facts are thrown on the table. New developments, because these things are not static. And you work your way through, and then afterwards you analyze what went well, what didn’t, what could be done better, and then you update the plan accordingly. DUFFY: Do we have a pandemic plan like this now? Have we been doing any such

exercises? What do you see for the future of developing and testing a pandemic plan? NAPOLITANO: My understanding is that the pandemic plan that the Department of Homeland Security is in charge of has not been updated in the current administration. I gather it hasn’t been exercised or used as well. What that meant is that the administration wasn’t as prepared as it could have been for a pandemic, even though the administration was put on notice that a pandemic was one of the kinds of disasters that they needed to continually prepare for. DUFFY: So that sounds like something on the national to-do list: update pandemic plan and test it out. Who would do that? How would that happen? How can we make sure that happens looking forward to the future? NAPOLITANO: It is a function of a variety of cabinet agencies, but within the federal family, the Department of Homeland Security has the lead role for overall pandemic planning. But the leadership has to come from the White House. The White House has to say, “Where are we on pandemic planning? Are we up to date? Are we up to speed?” And when I say the White House, that includes from the National Security Council as well as obviously the president. DUFFY: Let’s talk about the state level a little bit. You were also governor of Arizona. California and Governor Newsom are being praised for having been tough for issuing early stay-at-home orders, thereby reducing the spread of the virus and deaths in California. How do you evaluate the state leadership and policy in California? NAPOLITANO: Well, in point of fact, the governors of the 50 states are really the ones with the authority and the power to order shutdowns for public health reasons—to order businesses to close, schools to close, and the like. I think Governor Newsom does deserve credit. He acted promptly and clearly and strongly. He followed up on the mayors of the cities in the Bay Area, who were a couple of days ahead of him and shut down the Bay Area. I think the analysis is that even by shutting down a few days earlier than cities on the East Coast, that gave us a greater head start on controlling the growth of the pandemic and the steepness of the curve. Of course, what you want to do is flatten the curve so that your health-care system doesn’t get overwhelmed by a surge. To date, we have

not been overwhelmed, and it doesn’t look likely that we will be overwhelmed. I credit a lot of that to the governor and the mayors for acting so promptly here. DUFFY: What can other states learn from California? What else can the states do now? What do you think of this collective decisionmaking by California, Oregon and Washington [about how and when to reopen]? NAPOLITANO: Governor Newsom announced the guidance that he was using. He has six factors, beginning with the availability of widespread testing, beginning with having an assurance that the health-care system could handle any surge in patients, and he’s got four other factors to look at as well. I think there’s some wisdom in coordinating regionally between Washington, Oregon

ant and large institution in the state—10 campuses and many other aspects. How has the COVID-19 crisis impacted campus operations? NAPOLITANO: So great credit to the faculty at the university. They turned on a dime and converted their classes to remote learning or online instruction. That has gone relatively smoothly at all the campuses. We decanted the dorms and the dining facilities as completely as we could. We have some students who have nowhere else to go, so they were allowed to stay on campus. But by and large, the campuses emptied out. Adjustments were made to the grading system so that students could take more classes pass-fail. So they didn’t have that pressure of the letter grade. We also added

The governor had asked us to increase our bed capacity by 40 percent, and we did. That meant, for example, converting some of our operating rooms into rooms with beds, making those kinds of adjustments. We immediately began the process of making sure we had an adequate inventory of masks and personal protective equipment and ventilators for our staff, for the health-care work force. That’s been a bit of the Wild West out there. The supply chain for that kind of equipment was not established. That’s again, something that the federal government should have really taken the lead on, but it didn’t. So we had to make sure that we had an adequate supply chain, which we did, although we still run into shortages of things like cotton swabs that you use for the

some flexibility to our admissions system, so that we would count classes that were taken pass-fail by community college or high school students this semester. We suspended the requirement of the SAT for 2020 and 2021. We wanted to make sure that students and their families in California knew that the University of California was still accessible and that the doors were open to them. That’s on the campus side. But we also operate these large academic teaching hospitals throughout the state. We immediately stopped all elective surgeries, and sometimes what’s called an elective surgery is an important surgery. But we wanted to make sure we had the bed capacity for COVID-19 patients. We added 40 percent to our bed capacity.

[COVID-19] test. So we’ve had the great cotton swab hunt. But all of that work has been undertaken. Fortunately, I think because of the social distancing that occurred, the type of surge that was predicted early in this pandemic didn’t occur. Now some of our hospitals are being able to add back in some of those important surgeries that had to be postponed because of COVID-19. DUFFY: There are a lot of questions coming in from the audience, particularly about UC. I understand that some of the answers are unknowable right now. Folks want to know, When will in-person classes resume? Also, what’s the impact on enrollment, financial aid requests and refund requests that you see? NAPOLITANO: We don’t know on enroll-

“There’s some wisdom in coordinating regionally between Washington, Oregon and California. These viruses travel and people travel.” and California. These viruses travel and people travel—even now they travel—and both from an epidemic standpoint but also from an economic standpoint these three states share a lot in common. They are our Pacific-facing states. They are the states that have a greatest concentration of the high-tech industry. They have a lot of trade with Asia, particularly with China. So it makes sense for them to coordinate, just as it makes sense for the states in the Northeast to coordinate. The key fact is that it’s really the nation’s governors that are the point of the spear here; they’re going to have to help lead this country out of this crisis. DUFFY: Speaking of California, the [University of California] system is a very import-

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ment, and we really won’t know until the fall, although we’re doing some scenario planning for possible reductions in both students who were admitted this spring but decided for whatever reason not to attend the UC in the fall and also for returning students. We’re particularly concerned about international students and whether they attend or return to the universities. So we just don’t know on enrollment. In terms of when we can return to in-person classes, we’re working through that now. That depends on when we can begin to populate the campuses safely. That depends on testing and contact tracing and all of those steps you have to go through. Because we want safety of our students and faculty and staff to be our guiding concern. In terms of refunds, we did refund the housing and dining fees that were not used because students left the campuses. We are also now evaluating some other student fees as to whether they should be refunded or partially refunded. We have not refunded tuition, and I want to spend a minute on that. We haven’t because our agreement with our students is that we provide the educational content, but it doesn’t say by which medium we do that. So professors are still teaching, students are still making progress toward their degrees, and that’s what tuition is for. So we’ve held tuition flat. We will be holding it flat for our existing students for the coming year, but we are not intending a refund there. DUFFY: There are many questions being considered right now about the future of education on all levels, both elementary and higher education, given the move to digital classwork and so on. Can you talk a little bit about where you see this impacting higher education in the longer term? Will there be a wholesale change to conducting classes digitally? A diminishing of the on-campus presence for students? NAPOLITANO: I think there are going to be a lot of lessons learned from this episode. I don’t see schools like the University of California becoming fully online. I think that over time students will be able to return to campuses and campus life will be able to be resumed. There is so much value to that overall in-person student experience, that personal interaction with your fellow students, the involvement in student activities. In addition to the educational life, the

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social life of the campus. It’s an opportunity for young people to experience living away from home, many for the first time. And it’s a terrific growth experience as well as [exposure to] first-class academics. But I do see greater use of online learning and greater incorporation of it into the curricula of the university. We have now a greater technology tools for classes online. Our professors are learning lots about the pedagogy of teaching online. So I think we definitely will see more of it. But again, I believe that the University of California at some point will have students back on campus

apeutics treatments for COVID-19. Both of those are in the human trial phase—phase one of the trial process. They’re making great progress, moving along very rapidly. DUFFY: Jumping back for one second to the situation on campus: There’s a lot of talk going on about how we might have a gradual return to in-person activities, where people would wear masks, they might be seated or standing six feet apart from each other. Do you see a gradual return like that on the UC campuses and what might that look like? NAPOLITANO: Our campuses are each beginning to imagine what the fall term will

“Professors are still teaching, students are still making progress toward their degrees, and that’s what tuition is for. So we’ve held tuition flat.” DUFFY: UC is also a very major research university. What all is going on within UC, in the sciences, particularly, in research that relates to the COVID crisis? NAPOLITANO: Oh, so much. This is really the secret sauce of the University of California—the research enterprise. We have over 300 research projects underway now related to COVID-19, everything from the development of a pop-up testing lab at Berkeley that can handle a thousand tests a day to engineers who have figured out how to convert sleep apnea machines into ventilators, and to basic research into the organism itself that will contribute to the development of a vaccine and better therapeutics and also the availability of different treatments for coronavirus. So just a lot of really exciting research. We are hosting some of the nation’s first clinical trials. We’ve got at least two that I know of for new drugs that are potential ther-

look like and indeed what the entire academic year will look like. It’s possible that we will remain online through the fall, because again, one of the big barriers to really fully resuming normal activity is the availability of widespread testing and contact tracing. I think all of our campuses under the leadership of their chancellors are beginning to think about what would it look like if we partially opened, and would we do some of the things that you just mentioned? For example, housing, we normally have doubles and sometimes triples in our dorms. I think that’s unlikely. So we would have to adjust our housing availability and our housing budget. How we would conduct classes if some people are on campus and some are still learning remotely—if you had a hybrid kind of class, how would that happen? So there are lots of variations here, and we’re now beginning to turn our attention to that.

DUFFY: What are the financial implications of all of this? If enrollment is going down, if there has to be distancing or spacing and [lower] class density, what’s the impact on the UC system? NAPOLITANO: It’s a concern for us. I think it’s a concern for Cal State; I think it’s a concern for every institution of higher education in America right now. We are working our way through various budget scenarios, and there’s a lot we don’t know yet. We don’t know what the state budget is going to look like, and we probably won’t know that until the late summer or early fall, once the July

billion for hospitals. I think $30 billion of that has been distributed. We got some of those funds, not nearly enough to close our gap, but nothing to sneeze at. There was funding in there for higher education. Again, it was about a $30 billion total. Half of that is for students or emergency aid for student needs and half for higher education institutions. The secretary of education has begun distributing those funds. But we’re already turning our attention to the next stimulus bill and what it needs to have in it to help protect these valuable institutions. We need great public universities in

“If enrollment is going down, if there has to be distancing or spacing and [lower] class density, what’s the impact on the UC system?” tax returns are in. We don’t know really what enrollment is going to look like. We don’t know how much we’re going to get for out-of-state tuition. We don’t know how our auxiliaries—housing and dining—what the impact on those will be. But we’re going to be working our way through kind of a scaled set of scenarios from only a little bit bad to really bad. On the hospital side, we’re also experiencing terrific losses, because of having to postpone surgeries that we would normally be performing; having to have a lot of beds that are empty, that are being held for COVID-19 patients should they be necessary. So we are right now, like every hospital system in America, losing a lot of revenue on the hospital side. One of the other unknowns is how much federal money we will get. The last stimulus bill, the so-called Cares Act, had in it $100

this country. We need great academic teaching hospitals in this country. So we need to make sure that they’re financially supported enough so that they can navigate this crisis. DUFFY: Tell us how you see the national security aspects of this pandemic crisis. Is it a national security issue? How do we relate to other countries, international institutions? What should we be doing to protect our national security in the era of a pandemic? NAPOLITANO: Well, it is a security issue, and I can name three different ways right off the top of my head. One is to the effect active duty military are infected by the virus. That’s our overall military preparedness. That’s a security issue. Second, a security issue is that with the virus, so much activity has gone online and that creates even greater cybersecurity issues. And then the third security issue is the use by our adversaries of misinformation about the virus.

For example, spreading the myth that the virus was created in the United States and then exported to China. Done to undercut the credibility of the United States. So that’s one of the reasons pandemic planning was put in the Department of Homeland Security, because there is a security aspect of this. Moving forward, I think we need to recognize that a pandemic just by the word means it’s global—it’s pan, [it affects] the globe. These organisms don’t stop at national borders, and they require international coordination for the globe to emerge from a pandemic. One of the areas of coordination and cooperation that is benefited by global outreach is the research side. Scientists here are working on this aspect and scientists in China or in France or in Kenya may be working on another aspect—the ability to share that information [is important] so that the science moves forward. That’s another area where global cooperation really makes a difference. So it makes a difference in terms of ability to emerge from the pandemic and also to further the science and health associated with the pandemic. DUFFY: We have the World Health Organization [WHO]. What other institutions or organizations do we have through which global cooperation on predicting, preparing for and defeating pandemics can take place? What are the mechanisms globally? NAPOLITANO: Of course the WHO is in the news because the president has announced that he wants to freeze the U.S. contributions to it, which I think is really the wrong move. I think where the WHO is concerned, its response to this pandemic, after we’ve dealt with it and we’re through it, there should be a lot of going back and looking at how different organizations responded and reacted. We should be looking at our federal government, we should be looking at our states. We should also be looking at the WHO. But to freeze funding for the WHO when we’re in the midst of a pandemic doesn’t make much sense. There are other international organizations that have a role here—the G–7 and the G–20 are two that I can name that the United States is a member of; in Europe, the European Commission, I think from a pan-Europe standpoint, should have done some pandemic planning. But from a global standpoint, the WHO is probably the lead international institution. JUNE/JULY 2020

• SPECIAL FEATURE •

LIVING WITH OUR PANDEMIC

s the Bay Area settled into a shelter-at-home routine this spring, businesses closed, unemployment rose, pe ople shoppe d, worried, connected online with friends, and coped with the biggest combined health and economic crisis of our time. We asked you, the members of The Commonwealth Club, to share with us some of your stories about living in the COVID pandemic. You sent us stories of hope, acts of kindness, fears and disappointments, and daily acts of coping. Together, they make up a chronicle of life during this pandemic. —The Editors HIGH-RISK AND LUCKY Absolutely quarantined within my assisted living building, I survived thanks to the exercise room on the third floor and the outdoor terrace on the second. And wrote a lot, including a geezer house quarantine story published on Medium April 13. Major interruption? Halfway through cataract surgery on March 15, I sheltered in place with one good eye, one bad eye and a pair of glasses bewildered about which way to go. Major survival strategy? Friends who brought Trader Joe’s necessities, fresh flowers, homemade dinners and love from the outside world and shared “Romeo and Juliet” scenes as I waved from the terrace and they parked briefly in the courtyard. I might have been in the high-risk category,

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but was definitely among the fortunate and grieve for those who have suffered. Plus, I miss The Commonwealth Club! Fran Johns, San Francisco EVERYONE’S IN IT I feel less lonely in this odd time that has gripped the nation and the world. I was laid off from my job in August of 2019. In spite of my college degree and work experience, I found it difficult to find a new job — I remain jobless to this day. It was a new experience for me. My world became full of uncertainty. I did not know how well I would be able to eat day to day. Paying rent just to have a bed to sleep in became a paramount priority, and that too was uncertain at time if it weren’t for government aid for unemployment—which has since run out. I felt so alone. I was greeted with trite words of encouragement, such as “keep trying” or “you just need to try harder” that have since turned into epitaphs of my job search. I am trying. I’m so dearly trying hard. I felt very alone. Like I somehow failed at life. Then a weird thing happened. Everyone was unemployed. Everyone is now struggling. We now live in the uncertainty of tomorrow together, as one nation, as one world. I suddenly didn’t feel so alone. I felt like others now identified with a struggle they once only imagined. Now faced with the reality of life and the necessities to just survive each day with enough food to eat and a safe place to sleep, the trite phrases of encouragement have turned into questions of how I have been doing this for so long. I haven’t even been doing this that long—only eight or so months.

Image by Sumanley JUNE/JULY 2020

Photo by James Meinerth

Imagine having to live like this your entire life? Then you would understand the loneliness of struggle and uncertainty too many people face in our so-called civilized society. Then they wouldn’t feel so alone. We all are in this together now. Our next step does not just impact ourselves but everyone and everything around us. The only remaining question is: Where do we go from here? Tyler R. Swofford, Los Angeles NEW WORLD OF DATING In 2019 I was engaged, and then very abruptly no longer engaged. And because I was in one relationship for all of my post-college, adult life, I entered into the dating world at the age of 29 while COVID was beginning to wreak havoc. That changed everything with this strange digital age of dating. I met someone in February, a doctor, who intrigued me and kept

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me interested in him. Frankly, I was excited with the prospect of dating someone completely new and different than my last partner. But because this is also now the age of a viral pandemic, it also opened up a whole new world of concern—concern over his safety as someone working on the front lines, concern over my health and exposure, concern over the fact that we can’t see each other now sheltered in place. Can a new burgeoning dating interest survive social isolation and distancing? Is this truly Love in the Time of Corona? Virtual first dates are now commonplace. People seem to be finally slowing down and actually getting to know one another. And I’m learning to date again for the first time ever through screens, a strong glass of scotch, and a few technical hiccups. Cheers to that. Michelle Wu, San Francisco PREPARED It has been nearly 30 days

since I retreated to my home, a couple of days before [Gov. Gavin] Newsom’s directive. It has occurred to me how prepared we are for this social distancing and this isolation. We’ve been working on it for more than a decade. More and more people have been working at home for some time, interacting with their colleagues through Zoom and email, and avoiding the scrutiny of their supervisors. Who goes to the bank since direct deposit and “bill pay” handles the monthly bills? There is no need to go to the Post Office since personal letters ended in the 20th century, and packages are delivered and picked up on your front porch. With Amazon, why waste the time at the mall, walking the aisles and finding little and enduring the incredibly slow people in line at the register? Safeway will now deliver your groceries to your doorstep and with a modest tip to your refrigerator.

Go to college online and avoid both the parking fees and the students who continually ask irrelevant and stupid questions. View the entire real estate market on your phone. (The buyers of our Peninsula home viewed and purchased it online without a walk-through.) Even houseguests continually respond to the beeps coming from their phones. No more video stores; movies come direct and if you are highly technological, you can avoid theaters when you learn how to illegally download top box office attractions. No reason to drive across town to visit the grandchildren when FaceTime is so convenient. No more newspaper delivery boys nor waiting for the dog to bring you the morning newspaper since The Washington Post, The New York Times and even the local publications are a click away. No need to shower, shave and dress to sit in a restaurant complaining about the service and

deliberating the amount of the tip. You have food delivery, but if you wish to cook yourself, all the ingredients will come in a box each day with clear directions. If you’re into it, porn is available online so you don’t have to sneak into adult theaters. Family members even text each other when at home rather than making the arduous trek to the upstairs bedroom. So many people have found love on dating sites, critically analyzing the necessary attributes for a relationship before the first encounter. If you are politically active, there are many ways to contribute to the excessive requests for your money through email, or you can watch the one television station that reinforces your already defined prejudices without debate. Basketball and football are far more entertaining in the comfort of your “man cave” with immediate video highlights and playbacks and, of course, less expensive beer. And when you become really lonely, there is Facebook, where you can interact with your friends and family members (along with the Russians influencing our elections). The pictures and videos make you feel like you are really there. So why does it feel so odd, isolated at home in this virtual world? It’s clear. I am a Baby Boomer. Ken Ranella, Hayward WAKING UP ON ANOTHER PLANET Not sure if this is suitable, but I wrote the following true story for my media outlet’s newsletter: grist.org/climate/waking-up-onanother-planet-a-global-pandemic-and-a-mothers-death. Shannon Osaka, San Jose HERMAN’S DAUGHTER I’m 60, one of 5 siblings. Our dad is 86; he has lived in a skilled

“The idea that my father’s life might be dispensable due to his age was unacceptable.” nursing facility [SNF] for the last 2 years due to Parkinsons, some dementia. He has received good care, and I’ve felt he finally had eased into a “new” home.” It was hard not having him return to his home of 45 years. Last Monday I received a call—his oxygen level was low, we was weak and there was a “cloud” on his lung xray. He was being transported to the ER. The blood rushed from my head, I felt weak. He’s not suppose to leave the SNF. Well he was tested for COVID and 3 days later negative. The idea that my father’s life might be dispensable due to his age was unacceptable. I want him to live another day, I want to hear his voice, to hear words of wisdom even when repeated over and over again, to be in his presence. I want to show my love and gratitude. There will never be enough time for that. Herman’s Daughter— Michelle H., Antioch COFFEE BREAK Recently, I went for my daily walk in the senior community where I live. As a rule, I avoid the nearby shopping center, but from afar, felt the pull of Starbucks. I hadn’t had a latte in weeks, mostly because I’m self-isolating as much as possible. The cafe was closed, but the drive up window was open. But when I walked up to the window, I was told that they couldn’t sell me a latte because one must be in a car to buy anything. I was disappointed and turned to leave but the next driver in line asked me what I’d like. I said, “a latte.”

She said that she’d order one for e. As I was taking out my money to pay for the latte, the driver smiled and said, “Put that away. It’s our pleasure!” She handed me the latte in her gloved hands and mentioned that she had just changed her gloves to be sure she gave me a clean cup. Her thoughtful gestures made my day. Celia Menczel, Walnut Creek NO TESTING Bozeman, Montana is in Gallatin County—the county with the highest number of infections in Montana. It’s also the county with the highest volume of air travel. The reason that people travel to Bozeman in the winter is to go ski at Big Sky Resort, where I work. Our visitors come from all over the country—New York, Seattle, Chicago and California, just to name a few places. In the last few weeks of the season before it ended early, several of my coworkers got sick . . . and so did I. I have a feeling that our guests brought COVID to Bozeman when they were going on their ski trips, but no one seems to be investigating this. I was sick for two and a half weeks. My first symptom was feeling like I’d just sprinted down a block after going up the stairs. I never had the high fever, but I developed a cough that took a hold in my lungs. I was wheezing like I used to as a child when I had pneumonia. I developed a sinus and ear infection. I had a headache, a sore throat, and pink eyes. Worst of all, I had muscle aches and a complete lack of energy. Just as I thought I was getting better, the wheezing came

back again, and I went through round 2 of feeling sick. I went to the doctor twice. I’m a college student, and our clinic is closed on the weekends. Unfortunately, I woke up with the worst ear infection of my life on a Sunday and had to go to an urgent care in town. The doctor examined me without PPE or without seeming to take my cough or any of my symptoms seriously. My lack of a high fever meant that I did not get a test, even though I asked. A few days later, I went to the clinic on campus, because my eyes were embarrasingly red and my cough and wheezing had gotten a lot worse. The nurse practitioner that I saw also examined me without any PPE at all. This was alarming. I was also denied a test after asking for it. I am looking forward to the antibody test, because it is the only way that I’ll be able to find out whether or not I had COVID. I wish that I’d gotten sick a few weeks later, because at the time, there weren’t any confirmed cases in the state and no one seemed to take me seriously. It would give me peace of mind to know whether or not I had it, because I am now working in the field as an EMT, screening miners for a fever or COVID symptoms before they get on the bus in the morning (which is actually the middle of the night). If I am immune, I will feel so much more empowered to work as a medical provider in my state. Until then, I can only hope for the best. A bunch of my friends got sick too, but only one got tested. She told me that she had to fight for it. Anonymous, Bozeman, Montana SEDER PREP Big regrets and heartfelt apologies. As the Seder approaches an eerie feeling creeps through me that perhaps I might have something to do with the onset JUNE/JULY 2020

Photos by James Meinerth

of the corona plague. You see, for years I have been fervently complaining to anybody who would listen how long and how hard it is to prepare for the Seder. I proclaimed that I actually experience the slavery of the Jewish forefathers in Egypt in the two weeks prior to each Seder when I undertake the intensive cooking, baking and setting of the Seder table. You think SHE up there heard my pleas and decided to release me from the hardship this year? I must urgently correct the record and dispel any ensuing wrong impressions. SHE ought to be reminded that I come from Polish Jewish parents. Although I truly love to cook and host, as many of my friends will confirm, it would be against the core of my upbringing to admit to it so lightly and offhandedly. You have to first kvetch and get people to sympathize so they appreciate how much you sacrificed in making the Seder happen. That’s all. No need to release me from my duties and no need to go to such extremes as unleashing a pandemic virus

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without debate or warning. Shouldn’t SHE have sent someone down first to negotiate and check if the outcry is indeed so grave (Hakeza’a’kata)?* *Reference to the Bible story of Sodom and Gomorrah, where god sent down angles to assess the severity of the cries emanating from the cities and to decide on their destruction. Nina Peled, San Francisco NO PAIN NO GAIN I’m 70 and retired; not much has changed. The athletic club closed but moved a spin bike to my condo. I still go out for afternoon exercise. I don’t go to the grocery store or movies in the afternoon, a small give-up. I’m on fixed income—that hasn’t changed. Therein is the problem; many Americans are feeling no pain from the shutdown, and some are getting paid vacations. That leaves too many reticent to support prudent opening up again so that those who really are suffering hardship can get back to work. Tom Bentley, San Francisco

FOOD HELP Hearing the news and getting a creeping sense of what was coming with corona (the virus, not the beer!) should have been enough for me to decide against my annual St Patrick’s Day dinner. Choosing to put on blinders, on March 15 I hosted dinner for those nine guests willing to still venture out. In hindsight I know I was foolish, and sure enough the next day Mayor Breed announced the official lockdown. But I also cook two days a week for a program, Downtown Streets Teams [DST], that employs homeless people in San Francisco and throughout parts of California. For our two weekly team meetings I am the only volunteer that cooks and serves lunch, along with five formerly homeless DST hirees. I assumed I’d still be doing this work as an “essential” service. Not so! The kitchen was shut down. I pivoted to doing 100 boxed lunches out of my home each week. Without donated food coming in any longer,

however, I have had to fund the lunches myself. How could I even complain? I have a home to shelter in, I have food in my cabinets, I have the time to prepare these lunches, and while it is a stretch on my retirement resources, I have the funds to do this. I vacillate between anxiety for this homeless community I am so connected to and relief that my adult children are safe and still employed. My anger mounts daily over the injustice of it all, the disruption to this amazing DST program and the homeless population they serve. I feel shame. Denise J. Mulle, San Francisco MASKED HEROES I feel very fortunate to be able to keep my job and work from home during the lockdown. My work is largely about ensuring that local governments continue providing uninterrupted services to the residents, and it has been more stressful and more demanding than in normal times.

As the pandemic was unraveling, I found myself obsessively reading the news and collecting more and more information about the virus, which was very depressing. Eventually I decided that I had enough of it and that I need to do something useful. So I borrowed a sewing machine, set out to make masks, and soon found a group on social media that works with the hospitals and clinics. Initially, because I am media- and tech-savvy, I was asked to help the group better organize on the social media platform. Now that is done, and I am finally making masks, too. Doing something useful turned out to be the best anti-depressant. My days go by faster, I do not feel lonely or claustrophobic, I even made new friends through the mask-making community—and a true community it is. People show incredible levels of support and camaraderie through supporting our healthcare workers in these difficult times. The group just announced yet another delivery of almost

“Doing something useful turned out to be the best anti-depressant. My days go by faster, I do not feel lonely or claustrophobic, I even made new friends through the mask-making community.” 100 masks to the local hospital! Making masks fills my days with purpose and satisfaction and makes me confident that we, the people, will inevitably prevail over the virus. Anonymous, Berkeley MAKING A DIFFERENCE Refecting on [my] 24-year career in early February . . . decide to quit and Move On. Last day of old job March 12, already started schooling for new job. Old job goes into quarantine. Would’ve lost job. Just graduated school, now going to be an EMT—FRONT AND CENTER—MAKE AN IMPACT! I am here for those who need

me. Proud to make a difference and put myself on the front line during these troubling times. Jimmy Beckland, Richmond SPREADING JOY My objective is to help people to feel joy, laughter and love rather than being mired in fear. I want to take them away from the media news, which is depressing and suppresses the immune system. So I support many via email by sharing the talent of some of our most incredible artists. I’ve shared: 1) the heart-stirring music of Andrea Bocelli and his son, Matteo; watching them perform together and experiencing the love between

them filled me with emotion; 2) the soul-stirring music and video of K.D. Lang performing the most outstanding rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics; 3) the incredible 1984 Olympic dancing on ice of Jane Torvill and Christopher Dean; and 4) jokes and videos, like the Italian dog doing yoga with his owner. Joy is priceless and supports the immune system. We must remember and experience the good and joy every day. Adrea Brier, Mill Valley SURVEYING I am in the midst of a survey of anecdotes of retirees, to see how their responses to COVID have been different from the rest of the population. Here are some quotes from respondents: “Social distancing in full force . . . Boomers are saving the world again.” “Able to play competitive Mahjong with the Chinese who have to stay at home.” “Using Zoom for theme cockJUNE/JULY 2020

Photos by James Meinerth

tail parties like Tacky Tavern Time. Some even come in appropriate attire!!!” With retirees on Social Security, income may not have changed much, but [there are] several mentions about expenses being lower. “With being stuck at home, not spending as much as before.” “We are not spending much money.” “With Zoom, I have to wash my face, shave occasionally, and put on a clean shirt (but not clean pants—you normally can’t see them online).” Final survey results [scheduled] to be published in May at richardhaiduck.com. Richard Haiduck, Woodside HUMAN CONTACT I am 73 years old and I live alone. I have lived alone for the past 17 years, but until now I have never felt lonely. For years my social underpinning has been the vast network of individuals I encounter while going to cultural events: local theater, sympho-

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“I reinvented myself once. I can do it again. Perhaps even in better times reinvention can be an enabler for living a long life.” ny, lectures, museum and art gallery openings. In normal times, I enjoyed three or four outings per week. At my gym, I habitually participated in communal classes like cycling, body conditioning and kickboxing. After my retirement from a job in philanthropy two years ago, I reinvented myself as a fashion model. Posing for photo shoots and walking runway fashion shows was another outlet for social connections. During the first week of the shelter-in-place order I had several planned events, including a couple of Commonwealth Club lectures. These outings were all cancelled—instantly changing my position and status as an elderly woman. I am no longer the

extremely active, independent, culturally fluent dilettante. I can now be counted as one more old woman who lives alone; isolated for the foreseeable future as my event gatherings have disappeared. Well-meaning individuals have suggested that I can continue to hear lectures, symphonic concerts and opera online. Indeed I am taking advantage of the plethora of online options. In fact I just participated in my first Zoom gala for the Berkeley Symphony. But the collateral value of actually going to these events are the other people: the energetic buzz and chatter before and after the performance; rubbing elbows with seat mates, the clink of

glasses and conversations with strangers in line for refreshments at intermission—the human contact. I realize I must find alternatives for social interactions since large gatherings are cancelled indefinitely. There is convincing research and literature about the negative health effects of living alone without human interactions. Specifically, I heard Daniel Levitin, author of Successful Aging at [The Commonwealth Club] offer scientific evidence that isolation and loneliness are associated with early mortality, increasing the risk that you will die in the next seven years by 30 percent. I must act to mitigate this inevitability. Since I began my modeling career, I have acquired 500 followers on a newly minted Instagram account. Now I’m considering how I might take advantage of those likes and comments and turn them into meaningful social relationships. Can my life be transformed

again by tapping into my followers, likes, direct messages, reposts and clicks on my IG account as a replacement for in-person human contact? Maybe I will learn to use digital connectivity to deepen relationships with these individuals who apparently have an interest in me. I reinvented myself once. I can do it again. Perhaps even in better times reinvention can be an enabler for living a long life. Carolyn Doelling, Oakland VITAMIN D I published a review on the potential for vitamin D supplements to reduce risk of COVID-19 incidence and death. Vitamin D is an important component of the immune system. It reduces respiratory tract infections by reducing survival and replication of viruses and reduces risk of a cytokine storm that damages the lining of the lungs, leading to pneumonia. As of April 11, at 8:45 a.m., this review had over 75,000 views

“The virus has stolen a lot from me and given me additional fears, yet this time has allowed me to be the parent I’ve always wanted to be.” of the preprint and over 24,000 views of the published version. A number of other researchers are also recommending vitamin D supplementation in the time of COVID-19. Hopefully, this work will help reduce the impact of COVID-19, although I am well aware that novel ideas regarding health and disease, especially regarding nutrients and supplements, take a long time for acceptance. mdpi.com/20726643/12/4/988 William B. Grant, Ph.D., San Francisco PRIME PARENTING In mid-December 2019, I was shocked to have received a diagnosis of stage 3 ovarian and Fallopian tube cancer out

of the blue. I was happy, felt healthy aside from some small odd things, and active. I almost immediately had life-saving surgery, followed in January by the start of 6 rounds of aggressive chemotherapy. Then in mid-February, due to chemotherapy, my white blood cell count plummeted and I had to be super cautious about my immune system. My friends say I had shelter-in-place down pat before COVID even was the threat it became. Now I must be even more incredibly cautious about the virus, as I have two more treatments to go, and it would be perilous to get it. The looming virus threat has made me scared of even getting packages and the mail, and take-

out food. The small pleasures I had even when previously being abundantly cautious prior to COVID while taking walks and hikes on my own I feel have been stolen by this virus treat. Our 24-year-old son who lives at home left his job to stay at home with me, so I wouldn’t get exposed to the virus by his contact with others. We adopted him at the age of 12 from foster care, so parenting has only been for the last 12 years: All this time that we are home together has given me the chance for us to become closer, and for me to share my life lessons and allow us to get to know each other more meaningfully than before. We are spending time cooking together, having long conversations about current events and the world around us. The virus has stolen a lot from me in the past couple of months and has given me additional fears, yet this time has allowed me to be the parent I’ve always wanted to be. Connie White, San Mateo JUNE/JULY 2020

• SPECIAL FEATURE •

THE VIEW FROM THE FRONT DESK Education in the time of pandemic

s part of our project to collect stories from our community about life in the COVID era, we made a special effort to find out how students and educators have been affected. We received fewer stories than we expected; initially, we were dismayed, but this explanation, received from a teacher, gave us good insight into the realities of education in the face of school closures and shelter in place: Teachers are struggling to engage students and fewer students are logging in each day. Many students are in situations where they can’t really concentrate on schoolwork because it’s noisy and they are babysitting siblings. Kindergarten teachers report that it’s not appropriate to try to engage 5-6 year olds online. Teachers feel inadequate to the challenge and discouraged, but of course they aren’t getting the support they need—seems that everyone was very unprepared for this, but I’m not surprised about that. Just sad. It feels like too much is expected from everyone, but maybe that’s because it’s late at night. Though I think the big reason people didn’t respond is that

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they’re overwhelmed, and didn’t have anything good to report. In the end, we received stories from two students and a number of teachers. All were insightful and honest about their challenges, frustrations, and hopes. Taken together, they highlight the fact that education is more than just academics: it is social-emotional growth, community and creativity. Never has this been more apparent that in this era of learning together while physically apart. —Dr. Lauren Silver, Education Director, The Commonwealth Club CHILDREN ARE MY PEOPLE I have worked with children for 33 years and love it! Children are my people! They keep me young and on my toes. So having to teach via the Internet has been painful on so many levels. It’s painful because it feels so ineffective. It’s painful because so many kids are falling behind. And it’s physically painful to sit in front of a computer for hours on end. But the parents have stepped up and are heroes in my eyes! Parents who, through FaceTime and WhatsApp, learn how to use computers, many for the first time, to get their children on our Zoom classes. Parents who make it a point to get their kids on Clever.com, our distance learning platform,

Image by Geralt JUNE/JULY 2020

to do their assignments and call to ask for clarification when some technical aspect or some assignment is not clear. I’ve always loved my students and their families but never as much as I do now! Pamela Long, Oakland, CA; 3rd grade teacher, International Community School LIFE LESSON IN ADJUSTING COVID19 has slowed our school day to a crawl, as we transitioned to a new school order. As a principal, one goal was to stay actively connected with my families and with my staff/teachers. What I learned from this experience is to be grateful for grace. Helping folks to see the humanity in the other was a huge mindset transformation. Teachers had to learn a new way of teaching and forgiving themselves for a state of chaos. Teachers have families at home. Teachers face incredible challenges that we often don’t see, like domestic violence, food/home scarcity, and mental health. As a principal, I was intentional with making space for my own family and for myself. I take long walks with my dog, gardening and cooking have been added to my life in new ways, and finding time to just be. It’s been a struggle for children the most; they just want things to be the same as before, they want to see their teacher and friends, and they want to learn and play! This is an early life lesson in adjusting to change. Something they will have to get used to from here on out. Paulette Smith, San Leandro, CA; Principal, James Madison Elementary School READY TO RETURN Our school was closed a week earlier than other schools in the Bay Area, because we found out that one of the families was in that cruise ship where passengers tested positive for COVID-19. It was very abrupt, so I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to my students or take home my teaching resources to get ready to teach remotely. It was a very stressful time for me. I had no idea what it all meant at the time. Fortunately, the administration was highly supportive of its teachers and worked right away to come up with a distance learning program for our students. I teach second grade, and I am using Seesaw as my distance learning platform. I am the first one to ad-

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“Teachers had to learn a new way of teaching and forgiving themselves for a state of chaoes.” mit that I am not very savvy with technology, but this pandemic has forced me to learn a new way of teaching. I took part in lots of training for a variety of remote learning platforms. It wasn’t easy to juggle teaching from home, attending trainings and taking care of my family at first, but I have now found a balance, since we’ve been in this for 2 months. I definitely miss my students and I wish we could go back in our classroom, but that is not going to happen. I have a lot of worries for the next school year and what that’s going to look like. I am worried about my students’ social emotional development. I am sad that I will not see my second graders and give them hugs and high fives. I am sad about my sons not having an eighth grade and high school graduation. I am ready to go back and do what I do best, and that is to teach in the classroom. Anonymous, Berkeley, CA; 2nd grade teacher MENTORING TEACHERS As a retired teacher in a large East Bay district, I mentor new teachers in the process of completing their credential requirements. I also tutor students at the school from which I retired, and I speak frequently with their regular teachers. After the school shut-downs began, my role changed from helping new teachers plan engaging lessons to providing emotional support around their many concerns about curriculum, student internet access, and low levels of participation. Whether they work in an affluent school or in a high-needs neighborhood, teachers at all three of my schools share concerns about the rate and consistency of student participation. While the highest percentage of student engagement I heard about was around 70 percent in March, as we near the end of the school year the rate has dropped below 50 percent in my three elementary schools. Two-parent households, able to manage working from home and their children’s online learning, struggle with scheduling computer usage. Working

remotely requires student maturity and discipline, and even those with access to a quiet bedroom have difficulty staying focused. For children whose parents work outside of the home, or in single-parent families, the challenges are daunting. Students as young as third and fourth grade must often take care of younger siblings, have no quiet place to work, and may not have reliable internet. There may be only one computer or mobile phone shared by several school-age children in the family. The issues of equity are profound. Teaching under the best of circumstances is challenging, and education has never been funded at the level it should be, so districts, schools, and classrooms before the pandemic were constantly seeking additional resources to meet the needs of all students. Now, without physical classrooms or access to their own materials, teachers work even longer hours to connect to students and their families: they are working 10–12 hours a day and on weekends, trying to creating online lessons, organize Zoom or Google classroom sessions, supporting students individually, and talking to parents in the evenings. This is taking a toll on their mental and physical health. Young teachers feel they are failing their students and parents. I am really worried about several of the teachers I mentor, as they tell me that working under these conditions is not sustainable. For the most part, our teachers and students are working in isolation. Education at its core does not happen in isolation. While one may need silence to study, an excellent education requires students and teachers interacting in real time in a classroom environment. An essential part of our children’s educational experience is the physical space of a school where students share ideas, work out their disagreements, and socialize. Sue Scott, Dublin, CA; retired teacher, Oakland Unified School District QUESTIONS During one office hour on Zoom with my

The views of students No end in sight

As fears started to rise in my own family about the impending pandemic in late February, we started taking some slight precautions. Nothing excessive, just basic things like restocking things slightly ahead of schedule and being more diligent about washing our hands. Then, partway through March the community college I attend canceled classes overnight and moved our spring break up by a month so it was the very next week. I woke up on a Wednesday to a message that classes were cancelled for the week, and I haven’t been on campus since then. My classes have moved online, and I have watched as my peers struggle with motivation and become engaged with classes we used to enjoy. Everything is shrouded in fear now, and it has become increasingly hard to manage when we have no end date in sight. Amara Kassam, Oakland California, 12th grade

The Asian-American Experience

COVID-19, more widely known as the novel coronavirus, swept up the entire world in fear in the matter of months. The outbreak originated in Wuhan, capital of the Hubei province of China, late last year. From there, it quickly spread throughout China and its neighboring countries, reaching Europe and America in January. With it came fear, panic and frenzied action. And accompanying this, came anti-Asian racism. When Lowell, my majority Asian-American high school in San Francisco, was shut down over a parent of a student having contracted the virus, racist comments soon trickled into the comment section of the Instagram page of our school’s student-run publication. “We got just as many Asians, just praying one of ’em got corona,” commented a student from Balboa, later defending his comment as simply a joke. “Damn, they’re hella Asian,” read another comment. Similar comments made their way into the comment section of the SFUSD live stream of a press conference addressing Lowell’s closure. Adults and SFUSD parents made pointed remarks wondering why Lowell, as the school with the highest Asian-American population in the district, was the first to get shut down over the virus. Other observations were made speculating on the cause of the virus outbreak in America being anything from Chinese-American restaurants serving exotic animals to a manner of biological warfare.

Throughout the country, malicious comments made by social media users have evolved into actual physical violence and harassment. In a New York subway, an Asian American woman was attacked and sprayed down with Febreze by a fellow passenger. In San Fernando Valley, a young Asian American boy was beaten by his classmates until the point of hospitalization. Even Asian-American frontline health workers have been treated with this fear and stigma. Walking the streets of downtown S.F., my peers have been called “corona-carriers” and told to go back to their country, despite not even being Chinese and having lived in the U.S. for generations. Reports of similar attacks and racism have come from all over the globe. This racism is not, however, a novel development. In all of these recent attacks, there are strong undertones of stereotypes and racist beliefs that have been around for centuries, just not talked about. Asian-Americans have consistently faced discrimination and outright racism in this country, but often just swallow it or have their problems silently dismissed. Because Asian-Americans reach America’s standard of success—representation in elite schools, high performance on standardized tests, high household incomes—in numbers disproportionate to their population they are labeled a model minority. Having reached this status in the eyes of the public, our problems are simply not seen. As such, many don’t realize that this new wave of racism is really only representative of racist sentiment that goes back decades, more visible simply because it accompanies a pandemic which provides the only excuse many need to start unleashing their destructive beliefs. Still, despite the deeply hurtful experiences that have accompanied this virus, the current situation can be used to produce something good in the midst of the fear and anger. This event has finally opened the eyes of the public and the media to the similar racism Asian-Americans face every day, whether a pandemic is raging outside or not. Multiple prominent news sources have recently started publishing pieces addressing the racism and relating the experiences of Asian-Americans scared to leave their homes or wear a mask. More and more of these attacks have started to come to light in the media. Policy makers and officials have finally started calling for a change. Taking this as a starting point, maybe we can finally begin to recognize the experiences of Asian-Americans in this country. Joelle Chien, San Francisco, CA; age 17, Lowell High School

“This has opened the eyes of the public and the media to the similar racism Asian-Americans face every day.”

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Image by Geralt

“Teachers, take heart: Your students just want to know you are there for them with love and encouragement. The rest of us had better figure out how to be there for you.” seniors, a few students dropped by. None of them had questions about what we were reading, or what was assigned; they bantered with each other and with me for a little while, and then one of them said, “I want to know what graduation will be like.” For the rest of the time, that’s all we discussed: was it possible that somehow they could be in the same space at the same time, to acknowledge their four years together? Suggestions bubbled: What about an open space, like a park? In separate cars, driving around the school? Couldn’t we do it after school had ended? A seminar’s worth of points and counterpoints were exchanged. As time wound down, the elephant in the Zoom got a nod: Would any of this be

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allowed? I said I would submit every idea to our administrator, with my endorsement. Did they want to keep planning? “First let us know what our admin says; we don’t want to live with false hope,” said one who’d stayed quiet for a while. Nods, mm-hmms, and a quiet “yeah” followed. Then a silence. “I’ll let you know,” I said, and we subsided to thanks and ‘til-next-times, behind our screens. Michael “Mike” Jones, Oakland, CA; English teacher, Oakland High School MATH COMMUNICATION As a retired teacher, I’ve found a way to engage a couple of neighborhood second graders in a friendly math competition in which they have to come up with all the

ways to arrive at the number for today’s date. For example on April 23rd, they each wrote different equations that equal 23, [such as] 9+11+4-1 = 23. That day Asha came up with 14 ways that Julius didn’t think of, while Julius came up with 13 ways that Asha didn’t have. They leave their solutions on my porch (asynchronously), and we discuss it later in the courtyard, six feet apart. They are starting to notice patterns—5+5+5+5 is the same as 4x5! To everyone’s relief, no Zoom meetings are involved—how cool is that? And I found the Lawrence Hall of Science Family Math books in my garage to share more meaningful games with them, as well as with teacher friends who can’t get their own materials from their classrooms. This is all pretty hard on everyone, but teachers, take heart: Your students just want to know you are there for them with love and encouragement. The rest of us had better figure out how to be there more effectively for you. Jackie Shonerd, Oakland, CA; retired educator, Alameda County Office of Education

On the Road to Freedom: Native American Voices UnderstandingtheCivilRights North Dakota, South Dakota & Colorado Movement October 4â&#x20AC;&#x201C;12, 2020 With Discussion Leader Dakota Wind Goodhouse

Bismarck l Fort Yatesl Keystone l Denver l Del Norte l Ignacio

Discussion Leader Dakota Wind Goodhouse

Dakota is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and a Native American Studies instructor at the United Tribes Technical College, a Native American owned and operated college. He has his M.A in History from North Dakota State University and B.A. in Theology from the University of Mary. Dakota runs The First Scout blog which focuses on Lakota issues and traditional moon counts. Previously Dakota was an interpreter at the State Heritage Center and Museum in Bismarck. He is both Yanktonai and Húŋkphapȟa Lakȟóta, and was raised in Fort Yates on the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation.

What to Expect Please note that our itinerary involves some time driving from city to city, as well as, a fair amount of walking around the sites including some stairs and uneven terrain. Most days have an early-morning start and include a full day’s schedule of activities. Participants must be in good health and able to keep up with an active group. Drive times average is between 3-4 hours per day, sometimes over winding roads. The longest day of driving is 7 hours total with stops for touring along the way. In October the temperatures in the region average in the 55- 65’s (°F) during the day, and 35- 45’s (°F) in the evenings. This program will be covering topics that include violence, and that may be difficult for children. Therefore, we do not recommend this program for people under 16.

BISMARCK, NORTH DAKOTA

KEYSTONE, SOUTH DAKOTA

Sunday, October 4

Tuesday, October 6

Independent arrivals into Bismarck. and to the Radisson Hotel Bismarck. Meet at 3:00 with our group to depart for an afternoon visit to the North Dakota Heritage Center and State Museum. Our discussion leader Dakota Wind Goodhouse will guides us through the museum. End the afternoon meeting with Danielle Ta’Sheena Finn, a citizen of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and an acclaimed activist and artist. Enjoy a welcome reception and dinner with fellow travelers. Radisson Hotel D

BISMARCK, NORTH DAKOTA Monday, October 5

Depart the hotel and drive to Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site, a National Parks Service site, which preserves the historic and archaeological remnants of bands of Hidatsa, Northern Plains Indians. This area was once a major trading and agricultural area. Continue on to the Double Ditch Indian Village, a large earth-lodge community inhabited by the Mandan Indians for nearly 300 years, and once a center of trade between the Mandans, their nomadic neighbors, and later, Euro-American traders. End the afternoon meeting with Emma Doll, a Native American who set up the Five Nations Arts Organization, a resource to artists and collectors of Native American art in the region. Also meeting the group will be Cheryl Kary, co-founder of the Sacred Pipe Resource Center (SPRC) which was founded by a group of residents of the Bismarck-Mandan area who are committed to the mission of maintaining a home-away-from-home for off-reservation Native Americans living in the area. Radisson Hotel B,L,D

Today begins with a visit to Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park. The reconstructed ‘On-ASlant Indian Village’ provides an excellent introduction to the earth-lodges of the Mandan Indians who occupied this site. Continue driving along Highway 1806, the Standing Rock National Native American Scenic Byway, an 86-mile route that climbs up and down the Missouri River, past buffalo herds and eagle’s nests. History comes alive on this journey where the great Lakota spiritual leader Sitting Bull lived and died. Enter the Standing Rock Reservation, home to the Lakota and Dakota people. Meet with Rev. John Floberg, who is deeply committed to the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) protests. With the endorsement of the national Episcopal Church, Floberg provided supplies to campers and hosted protestors in his church. Continue on to nearby Fort Yates, the main town of Standing Rock and enjoy a locally cooked lunch at the Community Center. After lunch, visit the original burial site of Sitting Bull who was assassinated on the western part of the reservation. End the afternoon visiting the Standing Rock Tribal Council Offices which were designed following authentic Native American architectural elements. Drive about three hours to our Keystone hotel, tucked deep in the Black Hills. Dinner at our hotel. K Bar S Lodge B,L,D

KEYSTONE, SOUTH DAKOTA Wednesday, October 7

This morning meet with Sequoia Crosswhite, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. He is an accomplished musician, grass dancer and historian, as well as an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe and a descendant of Chief War Eagle and Chief Swift Cloud. Drive just over an hour to the inspiring Thunder Valley Community Center. A Lakota run grass roots center with goals to “create models of change that will overpower intergenerational poverty and build momentum towards regional equity.” Head towards the town of Pine Ridge stop-

For additional information or to make a reservation, contact Commonwealth Club Travel Telephone: (415) 597-6720 — Email: Travel@commonwealthclub.org

ping at the site of the Massacre of Wounded Knee in 1890. The “battle” was actually a massacre where hundreds of unarmed Lakota women, children, and men, were shot and killed by U.S. troops. Stop in at the Oglala Tribe Justice Center which houses courtrooms, a short term correctional holding facility, offices for law enforcement and justice officials. Funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the facility is the first of its kind to blend traditional tribal justice concepts with a technologically advanced design. End the afternoon meeting with artist Joe Pulliam Buffalo Dreamer whose work is in the permanent collection of the National Museum of the American Indian. Pulliam has dedicated his art to preserving Lakota culture. K Bar S Lodge B,L

DENVER, COLORADO Thursday, October 8

Accompanied by Sequoia Crosswhite spend the morning visiting the Badlands National Park and stopping at the Wind Cave National Park, an important spot in the Emergence Story. Continue to Denver making a stop in Boulder to meet with the Native American Rights Fund (NARF). NARF has provided legal assistance to Indian tribes, organizations, and individuals who might otherwise have gone without adequate representation involving tribal sovereignty, treaty rights and natural resource protection. Continue to Denver and checkin to our hotel. Enjoy dinner on your own. Downtown Renaissance Hotel B,L

DEL NORTE, COLORADO Friday, October 9

Depart the hotel and meet with Darius Smith director of the Denver Anti-Discrimination Office where he investigates, conducts administrative hearings and mediates civil rights discrimination complaints. Darius also serves as the American Indian Liaison to the Denver American Indian Commission that advocates for social and cultural awareness to promote economic and political equality. After lunch, drive through spectacular landscapes stopping at the Great Sand Dunes National Park, home to the highest sand dunes in

North America. The mountains, forests, and dunes in the park are sacred to the Apache, Navajo, Ute, and Pueblo Indians. Drive on to Del Norte and the Windsor Hotel, one of Colorado’s oldest hotels. Windsor Hotel B,L,D

IGNACIO, COLORADO Saturday, October 10 This morning drive about two hours to Chimney Rock, an intimate, off-the-beaten path archaeological site located at the southern edge of the San Juan Mountains. The site was home to the ancestors of the modern Pueblo Indians. Enjoy lunch nearby before driving to Durango and the Native American Center (NAC). The center provides academic, cultural, social, and transitional support for undergraduate Native American students. Continue on to Ignacio and the Sky Ute Casino Resort, located on the Southern Ute Reservation. The oldest continuous residents of Colorado are the Ute Indians. End the afternoon with a discussion focusing on the social and economic impact of Indian gaming. Gaming has had a significant positive economic impact on the Native American community, yet is not without its detractors. We’ll hear from tribal experts on the economic and political realities. Sky Ute Casino Resort B,L

IGNACIO, COLORADO Sunday, October 11 This morning visit the Southern Ute Cultural Center and meet with Linda Baker, director of the Southern Ute Cultural Center. Owned and operated by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe to preserve and promote Ute culture. Here we will also meet with Edward Box III, Culture Director of the Preservation Department.

Tour Price Per Person: $4,895 Single Supplement: $880 Based on minimum of 15 travelers Maximum 28 travelers, not including staff.

Tour Price includes: • Accommodations and meals as per itinerary • All sightseeing in an air-conditioned coach • Bottled water on the bus • All entrances and events as listed • Discussion Leader to accompany the group • Pre-departure materials and reading list • The services of a professional tour manager to accompany the group • Gratuities

Does not include: • Airfare to Bismarck and back from Ignacio/Durango • Alcoholic beverages except for wine and beer at welcome and farewell events • Excess luggage charges • Trip Insurance • Items of a purely personal nature

Meet with the staff at the Southern Ute Drum, the tribe’s biweekly community newspaper. Enjoy a farewell dinner this evening. Sky Ute Casino Resort B,L,D

DEPART Monday, October 12

Independently transfer to the Durango– La Plata County Airport for flights home. B

The Commonwealth Club (CST# 2096889-40) and Distant Horizons, (CST #2046776-40) are California Seller of Travel and a participant in the California Travel Restitution Fund

Native American Voices NorthDakota,SouthDakota&Colorado

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Date run the trip at the scheduled time. As noted above, trip deposits are fully refundable until 60 days prior to departure.

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 60 days prior to departure and must be paid by check.

Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance: We strongly advise that all travelers purchase trip cancellation and interruption insurance as coverage against a covered unforeseen emergency that may force you to cancel or leave trip while it is in progress. A brochure describing coverage will be sent to you upon receipt of your reservation.

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•60 days or more prior to departure: Trip deposit is fully refundable without penalty. •61-30 days to departure: 50% of fare •29-1 days prior to departure: 100% fare

Itinerary Changes & Trip Delay: This itinerary is based on information available at the time of printing (January 2020) and is subject to change. We reserve the right to change a program’s dates, staff, itineraries, or accommodations as conditions warrant. If a trip must be delayed, or the itinerary changed, due to bad weather, road conditions, transportation delays, airline schedules, government intervention, sickness or other contingency for which CWC or DH or its agents cannot make provision, the cost of delays or changes is not included. The minimum group size of this departure is 20 paying participants, should the number of participants fall below this number, a small group surcharge and/or revised staffing will apply.

The tour can also be cancelled due to low enrollment. Neither CWC nor DH accepts liability for cancellation penalties related to domestic or international airline tickets purchased in conjunction with the tour. COVID-19: We understand that travelers have some concerns about booking travel based on the current COVID-19 pandemic. As we look forward, we are hopeful that conditions will be favorable. Should U.S. authorities – Department of State and the CDC – deem it unsafe to travel to and from the destinations in the brochure, we will not

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PRIME TV TIME WHAT TO WATCH WHILE SHELTERING AT HOME

WANT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR GOOD SHUT-IN TV?

Three critics share their tips. From the April 2, 2020, online program “Prime TV Time: What to Watch While Sheltering in Place.”

AARON BARNHART, TV Critic, PrimeTimer; Former TV Critic, Kansas City Star; Author, Hunker Down TV and Tasteland INKOO KANG, TV Critic, The Hollywood Reporter; Former Chief TV Critic, MTV News; Former TV Critic, Village Voice MICHAEL SNYDER, Print and Broadcast Pop Culture Journalist; Host, “Michael Snyder’s Culture Blast,” Roku, Spotify and YouTube; TV and Film Reviewer, Marina Times JOHN ZIPPERER, Vice President of Media & Editorial, The Commonwealth Club—Moderator

JOHN ZIPPERER: We’re going to get into television series, television specials, documentaries, and movies. But let’s start with television series. Michael, what’s something people can dig into? What would you recommend? MICHAEL SNYDER: Well, a lot of people make jokes about this because of the subtitle situation. But there are things out there from other countries, and I just want to lead with this because I’m so enamored of it. There is a German series called “Babylon Berlin.” AARON BARNHART: That’s great. SNYDER: It’s set during the Weimer Republic; it’s a mystery and it’s a cultural investigation. It’s decadence, and you see what’s coming down the road. If you’ve watched or are familiar with Cabaret the movie or the stage play, this is the dark underbelly of even that. It is not only beautifully art directed and beautifully written and beautifully acted, it’s directed with such panache. The third season just dropped on Netflix. That’s something I think people could really get caught up in. There are other things that are coming down the pike. If you watch the wonderful miniseries “Liar” a couple of years ago starring Joanne Froggatt—who people know mostly as a beloved maid on “Downton Abbey”—“Liar” is a fantastic—and feminist in its way—drama about a woman who is basically raped and tries to prove that her accuser did this. They’ve moved on to a second series that’s just coming out now. In another week or so it’s going to start running on American television. There are things from overseas that I really love. But the truth is at this point in time, you would do worse than just start watching classic sitcoms like “Seinfeld” or maybe even get back to the beginning of “The Good Place,” which is a recent show that’s just exquisite and will make you laugh and will make you choke up. It’s finished its run. It’s not drama per se; it’s comic and you’ll laugh. But it’s such a wise piece of work JUNE/JULY 2020

about the human condition. Maybe the best who’s been wrongfully convicted who through performance of Ted Danson’s career—I think some machinations that have been cooked up in a lot of ways it outstrips everything else he’s mostly in a Hollywood screenwriter’s head ever done. The great Kristen Bell is one of the is able to try cases in the courtroom and leads. “The Good Place” is something I think exonerate other wrongfully convicted people people can—I’m not going to say rediscover, while working on his own case. So it’s sort of because it just ended its run on NBC, but it’s like revenge on the whole courtroom genre such a lovely journey and it’s uplifting and in a way, but it is based on a real person’s life. sweet and worth people’s time. Also on ABC is what I call the PTSD biZIPPERER: Briefly describe the plot or the sexual remake of “The Rockford Files,” which setting of “The Good Place.” is a show called “Stumptown,” starring Cobie SNYDER: A bunch of kind of questionable Smulders and based on a graphic novel series. people die and find themselves apparently in That’s very good. heaven, but it’s not all that it seems. And I The one other one that’s on, that started swear to God it’s a comedy and it could get this season that I really strongly recoma little on the [rough] side here and there in mend is “Mixed-ish,” which is the prequel terms of them not pulling punches. It address- to “Black-ish” set in the 1980s. It’s this es matters of life and death, yet it’s wonder- culture clash [involving] Rainbow—Tracee fully funny and wonderfully life affirming. Ellis Ross’s character from “Black-ish”—her ZIPPERER: Aaron, you’re nodding your parents were hippies who dropped out of head. I know a couple of those Berkeley to become part of a shows are in your Hunker hippie commune. Then they Down TV booklet. were kind of unceremoniously BARNHART: Those are a kicked out of that and had to couple of great ones. You go live with his dad, who’s a know, whenever you’re asking Ronald Reagan-supporting people to commit to series conservative lawyer. It’s just TV today, you do so with this really well-scripted comedy some trepidation, right? Our with great chemistry. In a way it old friend Tim Goodman, kind of feels like an ’80s sitcom, former critic at The Hollywood like there’s always a moral at the Reporter, where Inkoo is, said end of the story, and of course that series now start to stress it weaves in a lot of 80s culture. people out. People just get But at the same time it’s a way of stressed when they turn to looking back at the not-too-distheir watch list and see a show tant past through 21st-century that’s got a hundred episodes. eyes. And then at a certain time Just give me something that I in the show it turns around and can watch in a weekend. now the ’80s kind of look forINKOO KANG: But isn’t ward at us and makes us think now the point where you about our own assumptions. For want shows that are like kind of a slapdash 19-minute 2,000 episodes long, because sitcom with some politically you finally have the time? incorrect laugh lines to it, I think BARNHART: [Laughter.] it’s really well done. Exactly. So now really is the On the Hulu side, jumping time to jump on these things. on Michael’s point about series Michael named a couple television coming over from of good ones. There’s some other countries—which is a that have just started out recent development, and Netflix this season that are worth gets a lot of credit for driving investing in as well. Most of that. [Netflix has] a comedy these are available on Hulu. I called Derry Girls, which you think of the ABC series “For Top to bottom: Aaron can watch in a weekend, and Life,” which is a courtroom Barnhart, Inkoo Kang it’s the biggest show in Northern procedural. It’s about a guy and Michael Snyder Ireland. It’s set in the ’90s during

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the Troubles in Northern Ireland. It’s just this raunchy teenage, working-class Irish family sitcom with a Catholic school, and then the Troubles are hanging over all of it, because it takes place pre-Good Friday accord. So there’s a lot of series to discover. A lot of the new streaming [services] are going to be hanging their hat on things like “Friends” and “The Office,” knowing that a good series can be comfort food for a generation of viewers. KANG: I think it’s interesting that both Michael and Aaron recommended shows that are set in the past, because I certainly have been also finding myself much more enamored of shows that take place in the past. I think maybe partly because the times are so dire or they feel so uncertain and I think knowing that other people in different times of history also had to deal with some incredibly terrible situations has been weirdly comforting. As soon as the shelter-in-place policy took effect in the Bay area, I read Jeffrey Toobin’s American Heiress, which is a recounting of the Patty Hearst saga. I thought to myself, “Well, this is a terrible time that we’re living in, but we don’t also have the melting down of American civil society alongside two serial killers who are running around the city alongside this like completely mysterious group who is terrorizing rich people All of which is like a very long preamble to say I think that the show that I would recommend in this vein is HBO’s “My Brilliant Friend,” which is an adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels. Basically, they follow two girls who meet in kindergarten or first grade. One of them gets to continue her education, the other one is sort of forced by her impoverished parents to quit school. Essentially the girl who is forced to quit school is the smartest girl on town, and the girl who is allowed to continue her education is the second smartest girl. The second smartest girl gets to move out of her small town and just has an extraordinarily rich life that the uneducated girl who is possibly more intelligent doesn’t get to. The novels take place over the course of their lifetimes. So far the TV show has two seasons. The first one is about their childhoods, which at least for me was a little bit less interesting I think because it’s harder for me to relate to children. But the second season, which is currently on the air, is about their teenage lives and their young adulthood. The show is really brilliant in its design, because it

The two stars of “Babylon Berlin,” Liv Lisa Fries as Charlotte Ritter and Volker Bruch as Gereon Rath. Photo courtesy X Filme Creative Pool GmbH

takes place in a post-war, completely broken Naples, Italy, and you slowly see the town develop around them as Italy reconstructs itself. Also, parts of the show take place on the island of Ischia off the Amalfi coast. So if you need a little vacation, there is nothing more gorgeous than that island. That is the first place I’m going to go to whenever we are able to get back on planes. [Laughter.] BARNHART: If I could just add one that’s not from the past—because Inkoo’s point is exactly right—I guess we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention a serial that’s set in some sort of techno-future, and that’s the new FX series “Devs,” which is simulcasting. FX [is] a cable channel that is sort of transitioning into becoming a streaming channel, because I think everybody sort of sees that that’s the future. So FX is now co-launching on Hulu. This “Devs” series stars Nick Offerman as this shaggy, entrepreneurial, Silicon Valley type genius CEO with this big secret in his backyard, this technology he’s working on, which essentially can, when perfected, destroy the notion that human beings have free will and that we can predict human actions in the future. But at the heart of it is just an old-fashioned murder conspiracy theory. Just some great writing on this show. It’s just launched on FX and FX on Hulu. This is a great time to sort of absorb yourself into a serial that’s ongoing. SNYDER: “Devs” was pretty wonderful, and you’ve just pushed me to extrapolate a little bit. That would be to say that this would be a great time for people to get into “Westworld” if they haven’t before. [You] have two seasons to binge. So you can hold on to some of these wonderful puzzle-like complexities as the

show rolls on into the second season. And the third season is just starting on HBO. It’s very much in tune with the themes of “Devs,” and also it seems a little more linear in its storytelling. So for people who have had problems with series one and two and watch them on a week by week basis, by all means continue on the road because to me it’s a wonderful piece of work. Just a quick jump back to “My Brilliant Friend”—my brother and his wife and youngest daughter live in Naples right now and are undergoing one of the biggest lockdowns in the world; my brother needs papers to get to his job. It’s so amazing to watch “My Brilliant Friend” and see this reconstruction going on and then realize what’s happening right now. I’m also a big fan of “My Brilliant Friend,” and it couldn’t be more relevant to my life and my family’s life. ZIPPERER: Inkoo, we were talking before about shows that had some historical setting, whether it was a long time ago or a couple of decades ago. When you’re watching something like that, how important is the accuracy? KANG: Not to throw my youth in everyone’s face, but if it’s set in a place that is before 1995, I probably won’t notice. [Laughter.] It doesn’t really bother me. I think it would depend if there was like a weird narrative of choice, but why distract yourself from a really great story by focusing on little tiny details that may or may not be there for important reasons? BARNHART: Something that we’ve been talking about in PrimeTimer is these shows that are “inspired by” texts now. They’re no by. What longer “based on,” they’re that really means is that they optioned the book and then the writer thumbed through

it a few times and then they throw it in the trash and they wrote something else. There’s been several of these coming out. A series that just aired on Netflix called “Unorthodox” as a prime example of this. This is based on a memoir of a woman who escaped an ultra-Orthodox community and went touring Europe for awhile and then she came back to the United States. There’s been some questions about whether she was completely forthright with her own printed memoir. But the TV show, which is written by a couple of German screenwriters who’ve done a lot of good shows over in Germany, bears no resemblance to it at all. The week before that I reviewed a show called “Self Made,” inspired by the life of Madam CJ Walker, which starts Octavia Spencer as a one of the pioneering women in black hair-care products in the early 1900s. KANG: Don’t watch it! BARNHART: This has nothing to do with the story of Madam CJ Walker if you drill down to it. And yes, Inkoo is right—this has been a very polarizing show. Some people enjoy it and some people really, really hate it. KANG: I think that creative license is fine, and I think with something like Madam CJ Walker, it’s a bad show, but it’s not a bad show because it’s historically inaccurate. It’s a bad show because it goes for too many different things in its bid to make it relevant to the modern-day audience. The very first scene of the miniseries is basically Octavia Spencer in character as Madam CJ Walker, who was born a few years after Emancipation, and essentially she’s in boxing gear. She’s in a satin robe. She has boxing gloves. She’s about to go punch her opponent, who was actually her business JUNE/JULY 2020

rival. I think that if you had a scene like that where it’s a modern departure and it works and it’s not like a bludgeon-to-the-head type of metaphor where she’s a fighter—okay, we get it—I think that’s fine. I think one of the really fun things about a lot of historically set shows and movies is when they do have really modern connections or touches. One example that I will talk about is the upcoming series “Mrs. America,” which is about the attempt to pass the E.R.A. It was greenlit at FX, but it is going to debut on Hulu in two weeks. Instead of one core character that we follow, it gives center stage to various characters or various historical personages in the second wave [feminist] movement. So there’s Phyllis Schlafly, who of course is a woman who is trying to destroy all of those second wavers. But there’s Gloria Steinem, Bella Abzug, Betty Friedan. One of the great things about the show is that the show makes it very obvious why we currently are in the midst of the cultural wars that we are now, and how Schlafly has all of these like weird, eerie connections to Trump. Like they both lie about crowd size, they both lie about their familiarity with the Bible. Something like that can be useful. BARNHART: Inkoo is right, this is a terrific production. I would actually push back a little bit against the historical creative license. As somebody who came from kind of the more conservative side of the tracks and spent a lot of time in that movement at some point in my long and storied career, I really thought that this was a quite sympathetic portrayal of Phyllis Schlafly and just the whole pushback against the E.R.A. I also have to say that on the other side, the portrayal of Bella Abzug by Margo Martindale is, even by Margo Martindale standards, just a superb performance and really shows a woman who is just trying to use the brute force of her power in the U.S. Congress to get things done. She’s kind of an interesting triangulation point between these two women who each lead their respective sides—Phyllis Schlafly the anti; Gloria Steinem the pro. She’s also trying to actually move this legislation through. While you’re waiting for that [show], if you haven’t watched the RBG documentary [about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg], that’s actually a good thing that goes with it, because it also shows how at the same time in the judicial branch, councilor

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Ginsburg was trying to get the women’s rights agenda moved as well. KANG: Just to add one extra point. There is like a 5-second cameo by a younger Ruth Bader Ginsburg in “Mrs America,” and instead of being the icon essentially that we know today, she is this meeker, shyer person, which really tells you how far she herself has advanced as a person and in her career, but also the era that we were living in where a lot of the women who are now powerhouses didn’t really have the voice that they do now back then because they were still growing as people. That’s another extra little touch in terms of drawing connections to the modern day. SNYDER: It’s funny you brought this up, because, honestly, the idea of being true to history and at the same time resonating in the current day is never more obvious than in the deliberately alternate history of “The Plot Against America”— BARNHART: Took the words out of my mouth! SNYDER: [It is airing] currently on HBO. [It’s an] adaptation of the Philip Roth novel that suggests what might’ve happened had Franklin Delano Roosevelt lost to a populist figure, a celebrity, Charles Lindbergh, in the 1940 presidential election. Lindbergh, who was well known to be—let’s call him, um, a Nazi sympathizer, or at least— BARNHART: You can call him a Nazi sympathizer. SNYDER: And an anti-Semite. He gets the presidency and the course of history and certainly the course of the United States and its history is irrevocably changed. The show basically focuses on an extended Jewish family, including as two sisters the wonderful Zoe Kazan and the back-on-thebeam Winona Ryder, both doing excellent work. John Turturro’s on the show as a rabbi who’s clearly collaborating with the Lindbergh administration. The use of archival footage, the fantastic [art direction]. I was raving about “Babylon Berlin”’s art direction; the art direction and the way they shoot “The Plot Against America” is wonderful. And as someone who lovesalternative history, sci fi, that sort of stuff, “The Plot Against America” was right in my wheelhouse. BARNHART: The only thing I would add to this—as David Simon says, remember, Lindbergh was a hero. That is a big difference between a then and now. But talk about a guy who’s absolutely committed to building

a world that is authentic and feels true. At a certain point, he begins pivoting away from history and yet you just feel like you’re being transported into an America that actually existed in 1941 after Lindbergh. SNYDER: David Simon is one of the people behind this. And he’s got a great track record. BARNHART: By the way, so far we’ve been talking about Netflix and Hulu. We should mention that Apple TV+ is out there. They’re not putting out a lot of content, and their output’s been been pretty uneven. But they do have a couple shows to recommend. One of them I highly recommend is “Little America.” This is based on a series of stories originally commissioned for an online journal

Hulu presents “Mrs. America,” which tells the story of conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly, shown here in a 2011 photo in Iowa. Photo by Gage

called “Epic.” It was sort of a collaborative deal between the online publication and the producers of this Apple TV+ show. Basically, each one of them is a story about the immigrant experience some time in the last 5 to 30 years. The stories are kind of intentionally chosen for their smallness. These are bite-sized stories, humble stories, but stories that in some way or another really remind you of why people come here and how despite all of the hardships and the very, very real difficulties people face integrating into American life, particularly the shock that they have that the streets aren’t paved with gold and things just don’t immediately go swimmingly for them, [they build lives]. A lot of them turn back. You get some really some really inspiring outcomes, and you’re really reminded of the reason, whether it’s this girl who is getting in trouble in her inner city high school in San

Diego until one day she discovers racquetball at the local white person’s racquetball club, or an African national who goes to graduate school in Oklahoma and finally wins some acceptance when he dresses up like a cowboy. Every episode is told a little bit differently. There’s one where you’re 28 minutes in and you’re still not sure who the immigrant is in it. Really some beautifully told little stories. Since so many people are now getting Apple TV+ one-year subscriptions when they buy an iPhone or a buy a new Apple product of any kind, I think a lot of people who are watching this probably have access to Apple TV+ content. KANG: I would really like to plug one other

Apple TV+ show, which I think is the best Apple TV show so far. “Little America” is the second best. The first best is a documentary about TV and the queer representation called “Visible: Out on Television.” I wasn’t that super-familiar with the history of television. It sounds a little hokey, because you think it’ll start at “Will and Grace” and go to “Pose” or something. It actually starts all the way back in the 1950s. It’s not only about representation on regular scripted television, but also about sports and news and the way that some activists went and either like on behalf of queer acceptance or for the fight for AIDS awareness would come into newscasters’ studios and disrupt the programs. Even for someone that’s obsessed with television as I am, I learned an incredible amount. A lot of these stories about television are interspersed with stories by real people about real

people that you know, through television, like Tim Gunn or Wilson Cruz, and they tell their own stories about their own experiences. Tim Gunn has one of those stories where if you listen to it and you don’t cry, there’s something wrong with your tear ducts. But in any case, “Visible” is one of those tinier shows that I feel like I have been recommending to everyone that I meet, and because everyone has been so busy, no one pays any mind. One of my hopes for this quarantine time is that if you need to watch something like “Cheers” or “Friends” or “The Office,” something really, really nostalgic and comfort food, I absolutely get it. But if you sort of want to use this time where we’re all aware we are all forced to watch TV and you want to do a little bit more digging around to see maybe what hidden gems you might have missed, “Visible” I just cannot recommend enough. I am going to put in a plug for one other tiny show that I feel has been off the radar unfairly, which is a Showtime comedy called “Work in Progress.” The premise just sounds absolutely looney: You have a middle-aged lesbian who is suicidal and she says to herself, I’m just going to give myself a set amount of time—I think it’s three months or six months—to live. A coworker at her temp office gives her a bunch of almonds and tells her “You should lose weight by eating almonds.” So she takes 60 or 90 almonds and puts one in the trash every day and sort of says if stuff in my life don’t look up, then I’m just going to kill myself—which I know sounds really dire and like the last thing that you want to watch in these very terrible times. But it’s also an incredibly funny show and of course there is a love interest. The love interest is just so utterly romantic. BARNHART: It is inspired by or based on the life of a real woman who’s a Chicago comic and the creator of “Work in Progress.” ZIPPERER: Obviously we never even got around to movies. So let me make that the

exit question for each of you. What are one or two great movies you would suggest people take a look at? KANG: The very last great movie that I saw in a theatrical venue was a movie called First Cow by Kelly Reichardt. I love a modern take on a Western, which this absolutely is. It’s about two men who are sort of like not super macho men in an Oregon Western town, and basically the first cow in Oregon comes to their town. One of the men is obsessed with trying to make business out of this cow even though the cow does not belong to him. The other one has the skills to make the business. I am not describing this movie very well, but if no other movie is released this year and this movie gets the best picture Oscar next year, I would be more than happy. SNYDER: Blow the Man Down is a wildly entertaining . . . film. Margo Martindale plays the local madam of a Maine seaside town. Two sisters are burying their mom and uncover in the process a lot of the secrets about the relationships between a bunch of the women in the small town. Annette O’Toole plays one of the older women. It’s a pretty wonderful film. BARNHART: I want to leave everybody here with what I think are the two outstanding services where you can watch a bunch of movies. Let’s start with the cheap one: PBS Passport. This is the streaming service of PBS and it’s available to anybody who pledges $60 a year to their local PBS station. They can then unlock a vault online and through the PBS app on their Apple TV or Roku devices where they can watch a whole library of PBS films, the entire oeuvre of Ken Burns, for example, or even just little documentaries that show once on your local PBS station. The second thing is if you have a library card, the chances are very good that your library subscribes to a service called Kanopy. This is a haven of art films, foreign films, educational films. They have the entire Great Courses collection. Also the whole Criterion collection, which is a really fabulous cultivated set of foreign films, all the great classics. During this stay at home month, these libraries are extending the the number of downloads that you can have every month with your library card. It’s absolutely free. They give you a certain number of credits a month; this month, that’s 20. So if you didn’t get enough from the three of us in this last hour, go there, because those are really great services. JUNE/JULY 2020

Photo by Sam Wheeler on Unsplash

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ADDRESSING SOCIAL ISOLATION AMONG SENIORS ONE OF THE HARDEST-HIT

populations during shelteringin-place has been our seniors. From the April 8, 2020, Grownups Member-Led Forum online program “Relieving Social Isolation Among Seniors.”

PATRICK ARBORE, Ed.D., Director and Founder, Elderly Suicide Prevention and Grief Related Services at Institute on Aging and the Friendship Line JOHN BLAZEK, M.S., J.D., Executive Director, Day Services, OnLok Inc.; Executive Director, 30th Street Senior Center EMMA DAVIS, MFT, Director of Programming, Rhoda Goldman Plaza Dr. GLORIA DUFFY, President and CEO, The Commonwealth Club ANDY GAINES, Executive Director, Ashby Village

KATIE HAFNER: The reason I believe that I was asked to be on this panel is that I wrote a story a few years ago about an epidemic of loneliness around the world. That’s turned into a huge public health problem. It’s something that people don’t really think about much in terms of actual physical health. That’s something I think we need to address today—loneliness is truly epidemic. With COVID, obviously we all know about social distancing, and then there are concerns about that leading to social isolation. Academics make a pretty strict distinction between social isolation and loneliness. What they say is that one can be socially isolated and not feel lonely. So what I’d like to do is talk about the phenomenon of loneliness as a result of social isolation. Also, obviously, you can be surrounded by people and feel lonely, but that’s not very relevant right now. So let’s start with Patrick. Why don’t you tell us a little bit about what you’re seeing right now? PATRICK ARBORE: I’ve been making a lot of calls to older adults and younger disabled individuals remotely, because of the need for physical distancing. Just the other day I called one of my older clients who lost her husband about 15 years ago [and] lives alone. She picked up the phone and said, “Hi, Patrick, I am scared to death.” I’m hearing that quite a bit from our older clients, whether they’re on our friendship line or in our grief program. It really struck me as a very hard way to live, being scared to death. When I asked her about that—you know, what’s happening, what is she experiencing—she said it’s primarily this unpredictability; this lack of control. She said, “In my life as a woman in my late seventies, I have my routine and I value that routine. . . . I never realized how much I valued that routine until it had been taken away from me.” And she said, “I feel like the thing that I need is control, and I just don’t have it.” The [effects] of that she’s experiencing as panic and fear. She has said to me numerous times, “I want someone to tell me when this is going to be over.” And of course that isn’t something we can say right now. But what I could feel really helps her is the fact that what is predictable are my calls. She knows when they’re going to happen, she knows they will happen, and she knows that I will acknowledge her feelings. That’s really something that is very important for her, because she said she has no one else to [tell] these things. So when I say to her, “It makes sense to me that you feel scared, and let’s just talk about that,” I know that matters. And at the end of the call she says, “I do feel better, and I’m really looking forward to our next call.” So having that in place is very important for her. That’s what I’m seeing from this. Although people are at home JUNE/JULY 2020

by themselves—I often hear people say this [when] they don’t have to be alone, and I’m having a little trouble with that because I think that people who have been living alone for a long time do feel alone. They feel lonely. As you were pointing out, Katie, earlier that description of social isolation versus loneliness. What I find by and large, our clients are really, really lonely and not a lot of people are reaching out to them. I hope that changes down the road, that we learn from this end to be more mindful and more connected as a community. HAFNER: Thank you for that. Andy, as someone who is very steeped in the concept and the practice of aging in place, tell us a little bit about what you’re seeing and your perspective. ANDY GAINES: I was just appreciating, Patrick, your reflection about isolation and loneliness. I do feel like speaking from the village perspective. We’re having a slightly different experience. Villages are not where adults live, but how we live in the homes and neighborhoods that we love. We integrate support with volunteers who are helping out. So in these days of isolation, the experience that we’re trying to impart and people are getting is that we’re apart but not alone. When this shelter-in-place was first instituted, I was just astounded and gratified to experience that the level of community that we had built and the level of support and infrastructure that we had established were relatively solid and in place. So our members certainly were apart, but there’s continually this expression of gratitude for the type of support that people are feeling. In addition to the community and the connections that people have built with one another through interest groups and neighborhood groups and ways of connecting that build a sense of trust, we also provide volunteer support to help people out. We have a core of about 300 vetted and screened and trained volunteers who know the systems and are ready to jump in. And in this time where there’s social distancing, we’ve been able to adjust our system such that we can be available to support people with the essentials of getting groceries and getting medications, but also to feel connected and supported. One of the first things that happened was that when the shelter-in-place was announced, we initially sent out a note to all of our volunteers asking, “Will you be available

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to call out to our members?” because, in general they were socially visiting, etc. But now it’s shifted, and we had within the first day about 30 volunteers who stepped forward to start making recurring calls to our members, to check in on a weekly basis. The other piece that happens is that every morning we send out requests to our volunteers to assist our members with the types of things I mentioned as well as technology support. Within the first hour they’re all taken, and some of our late-sleeping [volunteers] are really frustrated because they can’t get enough to do, and they don’t necessarily want that. One of our volunteers was really, really frustrated. He went to a grocery store, was shopping for one of our members and got the food, went to the member’s home, and when he passed this to her from a distance, of course, he was so touched by the relief and the gratitude this person felt to have their groceries, that his frustration totally dissolved away. So part of the thing that we’ve been really focusing on is active communication in this time, because it’s really important for people to feel like we’re here for them and that even though there’s this disruption, there’s something that’s consistent and here. So we’ve done regular updates, etc. We started what I think the most popular thing, [which] is what we call the daily dose of dopamine. So every morning at 10 a.m., everyone receives an email with a video or a cartoon or an image that really kind of lightens the day and makes more of this moment. I feel like as much of a challenge as this is, and as difficult as it is, it’s also an opportunity. Rather than pulling back from our activities and our engagement, we’re actually moving more toward encouraging [and] helping our interest groups to go online and creating programming that can engage with people. Next week we have a group of people who have been using creativity to liven up their days, and they’re going to be sharing some of that with others in the community so that we can all kind of use some of that. So I’m really grateful that we’ve established this within our village and the village movement, and I’m excited to hear the different ways that people are dealing with it and different contexts. HAFNER: John, one thing about OnLok that I think is important for people to know is it was started in 1971 in Chinatown, and it’s Cantonese for graceful, peaceful place.

JOHN BLAZEK: Yes. Peaceful abode or peaceful home HAFNER: Can you build on what Andy was saying? BLAZEK: I can. Patrick has a slightly different twist. But you know, going back to the history of OnLok 50 years ago, the organization in Chinatown and North Beach really was born of a need in the community. So you’ll see that today, I think with all my colleagues here, that there’s a need in the community and our organizations to come together and rise up to meet those needs. It’s inspiring and exciting to hear their stories. One thing I wanted to talk about was the before-and-after just two months ago. I was at 30th Street [Senior Center], the largest multipurpose senior center in the city. It’s an incredibly active place. There’s a senior choir; a garden where they even make their own honey from bees. There is a Latin dance on Friday afternoons. There’s art and music and exercise classes; we even have a beauty salon. There’s all this activity and wonderful things going on. These are a little bit different than what Patrick was talking about, where people are isolated. These were active seniors that were engaging in community and having a wonderful time—and suddenly find themselves sheltering in place and finding themselves in a new situation of isolation or loneliness. So we’ve tried to figure out how to deal with that in a new way. We have a woman here named Jeannie. She’s a wonderful person. We were once interviewing her for a story and she said something that I still remember. She said, “When I started coming to 30th Street, I’ve never had so many friends in all my life.” When the pandemic first started, we moved our congregate meals—where people could come here for a meal each day—and we created a to-go meal, where you could pick it up. I saw Jeannie and I said to her, because we talk about that line from time to time [about how] you have so many friends. As she was picking up the meal, I said, “You know, you still have friends.” She said, “I feel that, and I know that.” I said, “Do you still have more friends than you’ve ever had before?” And she said, “Yes.” She was talking then with me that we just have to be more deliberate and intentional, like Patrick was saying that you’ve got to make the time to make the call, and to put aside a time to say this is what I’m going to do. I think that’s Photo by Katrena

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what’s changing in the world. I learned that professionally working. I’m not going to bump into people in the hallway. We asked them how they are. I have to make sure that I am deliberate and intentional. I believe it’s something that’s really going to be important to us as we move through this process. HAFNER: Emma, Rhoda Goldman [Plaza assisted living in San Francisco]—that’s going to be very interesting to talk to you about that, because I’m assuming no visitors can come to Rhoda Goldman now. Correct? EMMA DAVIS: Correct. We have a no-visitor policy. We’re only allowing essential health-care workers into the facility at this time. So no visitors, which is a huge change from how we normally operate. When the shelter-in-place order went into effect, we really had to kind of reinvent our programming overnight. So much of our programming is focused on getting residents out of their apartments; now we want them to stay in their apartments, but we want them to stay engaged. So we’ve put together a whole bunch of things that we’re doing. I probably won’t even be able to talk about all of them. Some of the highlights are, every morning the residents get a packet on their breakfast tray, and we call it The Daily Chronicle. It has some things that happened in history that day. It has word games, it has puzzles, it has trivia biographies. It varies every day, and it’s something that they can do in their apartment. It also helps provide that structure that the other panelists were talking about and help reorient them to the day and give them something to do throughout the day. Then we do another handout that our resident services department does with their lunchtime tray—because all their meals are being delivered to their rooms—and that one has the TV guide. It usually has a note from management. Today it has something about Passover, because today’s the start of Passover. We have a weekly poem. It’s a chance for us to say hello. We also got stickers with all of our department heads’ faces to put on the lunch trays just so that they can see some familiar faces. We also put together our mobile activity cart. We can bring it to residents. It has all kinds of supplies, including watercolor kits, decks of cards, greeting cards they can send to their neighbors that we can deliver, origami. I recently just got a quilt, and I’m going to

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give them each a square of the quilt and then they decorate it and at the end we’re going to put it all together and it’ll be a coronaquilt. We’re doing something together, and we’re really trying to foster that. We also have a DVD cart [so] they can borrow DVDs. We’re doing exercise handouts. Our big program is our virtual visits. We’ve dedicated our laptop to providing Zoom visits for residents and their families. The family members can go and sign up online. We’re offering this in half hour slots every day, and we’re pretty much booked for weeks. We’ll continue to do it until this ends, but it’s just been the most heartwarming thing to see, to have somebody say to their mom, “Mom, it’s so good to see you. I’m glad to see you on the screen.” I never could have imagined when I was younger that something like this could have been possible, where I can’t see my son or daughter in person, but I can see them on the screen. So that’s been really cool, and we’re trying to set it up for residents who have that capability in that rooms. HAFNER: Gloria, tell us quickly about your setup with your mom. GLORIA DUFFY: We’re a care system for one, really, here at home. My mom has lived with us for a number of years. She’s 96. She’s able to walk only with assistance from an aide and a walker, or she’s in a wheelchair. So we have two challenges. One is to shelter her and keep her safe. We have four caregivers who come in and out of the house and to manage the system so that it’s safe for all and safe for her. She still went out to luncheons, to church, to visit family members, to events with me, with other family members or with the caregivers accompanying her. That’s all cut off at this point. The physical therapist can’t come in, the massage therapist can’t come in. So what we’ve done is replace these with a variety of activities. My mom was a professional woman. She actually was a radio broadcaster. I am doing my radio voiceovers from home as well as recording programs like this. She’s actually here in the studio audience, so to speak, at the other end of the living room. So I try to engage her. The fact that I’m working at home instead of being where you are, Katie, at The Commonwealth Club, means that I’m here and I try to engage her in whatever is going on. So [we are] engaging her in whatever is

going on. If I’m cooking—making sure she’s in the kitchen. If I go out to pick some herbs or fruit in the garden, I bring it in, show it to her. Just sort of engaging her in whatever’s going on in the household. Then we are supported by a lot of virtual activities. Our church started doing virtual services a couple of weeks ago—that’s over in Lafayette, the Lafayette United Methodist Church. The minister is doing a great job, and she’s gotten better and better at it. So we’re able to participate in that. She has members of the congregation recording videos when we sort of greet each other normally during the service. We have virtual greetings, and then she shows those as part of the ser-

Photo by Georg Arthur Pflueger on Unsplash

vice. So there are a variety of virtual activities that are replacing the [in-person] activities. We’re also becoming very versatile at home. One of our caregivers previously was licensed as a barber and haircutter. So several of us are going to have haircuts later today. HAFNER: [Laughter.] Can I come? DUFFY: We have found ways to replicate the services that we had. One of the caregivers is doing physical exercise with my mom; we have the equipment here that the therapist was using. So we’ve replaced activities and just tried to engage her in whatever is going on. HAFNER: Gloria, you might be a good person to address this question that has come in [from a viewer]. What is the best way to

handle fears that seniors are expressing from watching the news on TV that gives the worst-case scenarios? DUFFY: That’s a very important question, right? Because, as you know, it’s a feed constantly on CNN and elsewhere of the latest terrible, bad news. I really do look at that with my mom. She may sit and watch this a lot of the day on TV, so we talk about it quite a bit. I try to balance it somewhat, but also find constructive things to do. We live right near Valley Medical Center, and as you know, Santa Clara County is a very big hotspot here. We got a request from a friend who’s a doctor who practices at VMC asking for donations toward primary

protective equipment for the doctors at Valley medical center. I sat down with my mom and said we have this request and here’s what’s going on and I think I’m going to make a small donation this. I involved her in that process. How can we help, how can we be involved? And since she’s a very philanthropic person, she said, “No, I want to do it. What can I give?” So it’s finding the positive aspects or the constructive aspects. It’s not just doom and gloom. What can we do to help? And where is there some news that’s a little more positive about bending the curve, and more positive stories about vaccines and about treatments and so on? JUNE/JULY 2020

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MIKE POMPEO

CALLING ON SILICON VALLEY MIKE POMPEO 70th U.S. Secretary of State In conversation with

CARL GUARDINO

CEO, Silicon Valley Leadership Group

The cyber attacks, the threats from nation-state actors like Iran, North Korea, Russia [and] China, are really sophisticated and broad. But now we face them from non-state actors as well.

Photos by James Meinerth

From the question-andans wer s e s sion of t he January 13, 2020, program in S an Francisco “ Mike Pompeo, U.S. Secretary of State.” This program was held in association with the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. CARL GUARDINO: You talked about U.S. and China trade relations. Many Silicon Valley employers, large and small, engage in trade with and do business in China. Are there opportunities to ensure greater fairness between U.S. employers and our Chinese counterparts? MICHAEL POMPEO: Yeah, I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. Look, I’m happy to take responsibility for this in two ways. One, I ran a small company. We had an office in Shanghai. Then I was a member of Congress where I probably didn’t do all that I should have. I think [there now is] this recognition that there is this upended trade relationship that fundamentally doesn’t permit the company like the small one that I ran to invest in China in the same way that they could have invested in the United States, that the reciprocity has just simply been missing, that the imbalance, the unequal treatment didn’t treat American employers, American companies, American innovation fairly, gave the Chinese too much room to run. We hope we can fix that. Fix that not by containing China or restricting China, but rather just the opposite of that, by ensuring that we have exactly the same opportunities to sell our products, to build our businesses, to invest, to create joint ventures with Chinese companies to help China be successful. There are still several hundred million people in China that need to be lifted out of poverty. America should be a part of that, but we’ve got to do so in a way that fundamentally treats American businesses the same way in China that Chinese businesses are treated here in the United States. We’ve made real progress in these three years, and we’re still working on that project. GUARDINO: Secretary Pompeo, the current tariff dispute with China seems to

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have reached an opening for improved trade relations with the phase one deal anticipated to be signed this Wednesday. How do you see the next phase of a trade deal developing, and what do you think are the key component parts of the phase two deal? POMPEO: I’m going to take a pass on that only in the following sense. I’ve seen the phase one deal. It’s real progress. It’s good stuff. It took a lot of energy and a lot of effort. I applaud Ambassador [Robert] Lighthizer and Secretary [Steven] Mnuchin for their diligent effort. It also took a president who was prepared to convince the Chinese we were prepared to take action that was going to be cost-imposing on them to convince them that this wasn’t just something we should talk about for the next 50 years, but rather had to be dealt with in real time. The president was serious about that. There were those that critiqued that path forward in his use of tariffs, but I think it ultimately has gotten us to a place where we will have a better set of trade relationships come this Wednesday than we had before that, with a lot of work still in front of us. GUARDINO: Secretary Pompeo, you mentioned 5G in your prepared remarks,[that] the administration has put a great deal of emphasis on 5G technology. Why does the administration view this as critical to our technology dominance? POMPEO: I did mention 5G. It’s broader than that, this challenge, but with respect to 5G, we see so many countries that are completely unprepared for what installing 5G technology in their nationwide systems will do for their security. You go to European countries, and they’re keenly aware of the need to protect the private information of their citizens, their health-care records, all of the things that none of us want out in the public space. Yet, they’re prepared to allow that information to transit across Chinese infrastructure. I remind them—this is an imperfect analogy, and I’m deeply aware of that—but none of us would have installed Soviet technology, right? We would’ve never allowed our private citizens to work across that. The Chinese Communist Party will have access to this information. How they’ll get it, when they’ll get it, how much of it they’ll decide to have access to, we can all debate, but make no mistake about it. They’ll have the capacity to get this deeply personal information.

As someone who ran the Central Intelligence Agency for 18 months, [I know that] if it’s not done properly, the close information sharing relationships we have with these countries are potentially at risk. We will never permit U.S. sensitive information to transit across the network that we knowingly believe is not a trusted network, and this technology for all of its glory—indeed some of the things that make it so special create those very risks in spades. GUARDINO: What would you want the average American citizen to know about the work that you do and the work of your compatriots at the State Department? POMPEO: Oh, goodness. A couple of things. The team of people who decide to come to the State Department either as civil servants or to work, to take the foreign service officer tests and try to engage the world putting America’s best forward diplomatically are truly people who care so deeply about the same things I talked about here just a few minutes ago. We don’t get it right every day by any stretch of the imagination collectively, but [it’s worth] the effort and the risks that they take. You saw this just this past couple of weeks in Baghdad where many of the folks who worked directly for me were at real risk in not only the embassy in Baghdad, but embassies throughout the region. They were prepared to leave their families, go into hardship places, take real risks for themselves all for the purpose of working to deliver America’s diplomatic message, so that we can be a force for good in the world. It’s a powerful team, a big team. If we get it right, a lot fewer of our boys and girls will have to ever go into armed conflict, which creates enormous risk and has enormous cost. I take that on board every morning with my counterparts at the Defense [Department] knowing that if we do our job at the State Department, we can save an awful lot of American military lives. GUARDINO: Let’s talk about cyber. As a leading member of the administration, you have unique access and insight into United States national security matters. What can you share with us about the extent of hacking aimed at our United States government? POMPEO: Boy, I want to be very humble in this room talking about cyber threats. So many of you are on the front lines not only in protecting information for our private

industry, but assisting the United States government making sure that we’re thoughtful and capable in defending American national security networks as well as governmental networks. The place to begin is that the threat has changed over the last 8 to 10 years; as more [things] become networked, the cost of inflicting harm on these networks is reduced. You see, the cyber attacks, the threats from nation-state actors like Iran, North Korea, Russia [and] China, are really sophisticated and broad. But now we face them from nonstate actors as well, whether that’s al-Qaeda or ISIS or others who are something more akin to criminal gangs. The threat from the cyber risks to American infrastructure is real. The good news is, and I am thankful—I want to thank folks in this room, many in private industry have expended enormous resources to ensure that these networks are protected— we’ve done really good work since I came into Congress back in 2011. I’ve watched us become more nimble, more capable at defending our financial infrastructure, our energy infrastructure, these things that pose real costs if we get it wrong, and many of you have been helpful too in taking America’s most sensitive networks and making them more secure. The threat is real. The cost is cheap, and we need to be ever vigilant. GUARDINO: Secretary Pompeo, as secretary of state, you enjoy close relations with many foreign leaders. How do your counterparts view the challenge of supporting international trade while also protecting vital technology? POMPEO: That’s fascinating. Same thing happens in, I think, every institution. If I talk to my counterparts on the national security team, they’re with us. Then it goes over to their commerce department and treasury department and they’ve got a different outlook, a different optic. It makes perfect sense—each is charged with a different mission. But what I’ve found, whether it’s with our European counterparts or our counterparts in Southeast Asia, they take on board our technical analysis that we provide them. This for us isn’t about politics. Indeed, some of the best 5G technology isn’t [in the United States]. Right? It’s in European countries, not here in the United States, [that there are] some of the folks that could most directly and most quickly challenge Huawei. This isn’t about selling American stuff.

It’s not an American commercial effort. It’s a national security effort. They’ve got to make their own balances, too. Some of these countries aren’t countries with great wealth. When the Chinese show up with Huawei technology and it’s cheap and it’s ready, I understand the appeal. We have to help them understand the risks that are associated with that. Then each country gets to make its own sovereign decision. GUARDINO: Let’s talk a little bit about our ongoing relations with North Korea. Relations between the United States and North Korea saw both breakthroughs and challenges in 2019. Many believe that North Korea continues to pose a cyber risk to the United States. How do you see such relations progressing in 2020? POMPEO: My son joked with me that I’ve now spent more time with Chairman Kim [Jong-un] than anybody, including Dennis Rodman. We continue to be in conversation with them about convincing them that it is North Korea’s best interest to deliver on the commitment that Chairman Kim made—now, goodness, 18 months ago in June of 2018. It’s been slow. It’s been two steps forward and a step or two back. I still remain hopeful that North Korea will make the right decision, not certainly the right decision for the world, but the right decision for the North Korean people as well. The weapons systems that they have do pose a real risk. America doesn’t pose a security risk to the Koreans. We want a brighter future for them. If we can get the right arrangement, if we can get the sequence right and we can have serious conversations about it, I still hold out hope that we can convince Chairman Kim to move away from the nuclear weapons as their great wall of protection and convince them that there’s a brighter, even more secure posture that they can have without those nuclear weapons. It’s been a challenge for an awfully long time. The sanctions that we have put in place on North Korea along with the rest of the world—these are United Nations sanctions, global sanctions, not American sanctions— have certainly caused Chairman Kim to think seriously about the right path forward for his people. I hope we have a successful 2020. It would be [great]

for America. It would be great for the world. It’d be great for the region as well. GUARDINO: We have wonderful questions from our Commonwealth Club [and] Silicon Valley Leadership Group audience. Since we’re both proud Italian-Americans whose grandparents came here at the turn of the last century, let’s start with that immigration. Silicon Valley was built in large part through the brains and on the backs of immigrants who came to this country, risked all, worked in American companies or started their own. What do you view as the administration’s role moving forward to ensure that the U.S. remains an attractive place for attracting the top talent from around the world? POMPEO: Yeah. It’s a great question. None of our businesses can survive without making sure we have the right human capital and access to that. We’ve taken a view that says we want to make sure that immigration is lawful. I remember when I was a member of Congress, I would have people call my office and say, “My family member is in country X. How can [I] get them?” We would help them fill out the paperwork, and it’d be 6, 8, 10 years if everything went right. We have people who are coming here illegally and that never made any sense. We ought to have an immigration system that

APRIL/MAY 2020

is fundamentally based on the rule of law. President Trump is trying to do that. One that welcomes human capital to come here and promote our businesses. If we get it right, if we get both pieces of this right, we will still have folks like our family members who came here, who wanted to be American, who wanted to participate in this great American dream. They will be able not only to make sure that we continue to grow our innovation economy, but to build on the central understandings that our founders created about what has made this place so unique and so special. GUARDINO: Secretary Pompeo, what thoughts do you have on helping Americans rebuild trust in each other as well as our government at all levels? POMPEO: Having now been in Washington for 10 years, having sworn to my wife it would be 10 years and no more, I’m at the end of my current license. My obligation every day—and I’m sure I fall short from time to time—is to do my level best, not to be part of the bickering, not to be part of the partisanship, to always do my level best to tell the truth to the American people what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, to accept when people are critical, when they say, “Boy, we think you’ve got it wrong.” That doesn’t truly ever bother me. If we have a good, lively discussion about policy, how we get it right, what the attendant risks are when we don’t, those are valuable conversations that I try to take on board, and I tell my team at every level to take on board as well. [It] is an incredibly partisan environment.

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There are attacks taking place that are a direct result of personal animosity and not based on what indeed is best for America. I hope as I perform my function around the world, trying to deliver American diplomacy around the world, that I’m not part of that, that I’m doing my level best every day to represent President Trump and this administration. The American people gave us a mission, gave the president a mandate. We try to deliver on that every day. GUARDINO: Secretary Pompeo, our next Commonwealth Club/Silicon Valley Leadership Group question reads, Is there a plan to harden security for our infrastructure such as water, electrical, telecommunications? If so, will there be funding associated with this effort? POMPEO: I served on the Energy and Commerce Committee when I was a member of Congress. I watch the good work that was being done in each of those spaces. There is money that’s available. There are grants and assistance that are provided to small communities, to cities, both rural and urban, to help them at least identify their needs. Often, it’s the case that those cities are responsible for executing the plan themselves. We’ve come a long way. I actually feel pretty good about many of those. It’s always easier to pay offense than defense. Some of the things that were put in place in 2016 and ’17 to harden energy infrastructure and water and waste treatment systems probably need to be looked at again, but we need a national consensus on the standards and then we need a local effort to figure out how best to deliver

those outcomes. GUARDINO: This next question is quite fascinating and goes to the heart of innovation here in Silicon Valley and beyond. What steps will the administration undertake to ensure American leadership in the self-driving vehicle industry? In particular, how will leadership be maintained over China, given controls over exports mandated in the 2018 Export Control Reform Act? POMPEO: I do not know the answer to that question, but I’ll speak more broadly to next-generation technologies. It has fundamentally been President Trump’s view that Washington-driven ideas about how to achieve this are doomed to fail. Rather, we have done our best to roll back tax burdens, create more capital, more freedom, to get rid of some of the regulations that I know when I was a small business owner back in the 2000s were incredibly difficult, incredibly expensive, prevented me from competing in ways against not only China but countries from Europe and from South America, leaving the decision making, the entrepreneurship to those who are best suited to do that, who frankly have the incentive system right where government never possibly can. Then, second, making sure that when we are competing against Chinese companies that are often subsidized to do our best to [address] that. Take a look at what we’re trying to do in phase two of the trade deal to take down some of that competitive advantage that is driven by the state-owned enterprises inside of China, where it makes it very difficult for our U.S. private companies to compete.

The Commonwealth Club organizes nearly 500 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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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.

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Democracy

MONDAY, JUNE 1 VIVIAN LEE: THE LONG FIX

Vivian Lee, M.D., President of Health Platforms, Verily; Author, The Long Fix: Solving America’s Health Care Crisis with Strategies that Work for Everyone

Physician and health-care CEO Vivian S. Lee says that health care is killing our economy and, in many cases, killing us. Beyond the outrageous expense, the quality of care varies wildly, and millions of Americans can’t get care when they need it. This is bad for patients, bad for doctors and bad for business. The problem, Lee explains, is not so much who’s paying, it’s what we are paying for. Insurers, employers, the government and individuals pay for every procedure, prescription and lab test, whether or not it makes us better—and that is both backward and dangerous. She proposes turning the way we receive care completely inside out. When doctors, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies are paid to keep people healthy, care improves and costs decrease.

Vivian Lee 6/1

Location: Live stream Time: noon PT program Notes: All tickets include a copy of David Frum’s new book, Trumpocalypse: Restoring American Democracy, which will be shipped to the address you provide at checkout (U.S. domestic only); photo by Michael Bennett Kress

Location: Live stream Time: TBD Notes: Photo by Aaron Wolf

TUESDAY, JUNE 2 ARLAN HAMILTON: IT’S ABOUT DAMN TIME

Arlan Hamilton, Author, It’s About Damn Time Arlan Hamilton 6/2 Megan Rose Dickey, Senior Reporter, TechCrunch—Moderator

In 2015, Arlan Hamilton was homeless, sleeping on the floors of the San Francisco airport, and dreaming of making it big in the venture capital world. As a gay black woman, she knew she didn’t fit the typical mold of a VC superstar, but she also knew that there were countless other founders and funders whose potential remained underestimated and untapped because they were different. With zero connections in Silicon Valley and a single laptop, she founded Backstage Capital—a seed-stage investment fund that has since garnered national recognition and invested $5 million in more than 100 start-ups founded by minorities. Join Hamilton at INFORUM, where she will share her incredible story of triumph in the face of systematic adversity.

INFORUM PROGRAM Location: Live stream Time: 6–7 p.m. PT program Notes: Part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation

The “Trump effect” on our democracy reaches far beyond 4-year presidential terms. President Trump has highlighted a chasm among the American people, revealing a fierce “us vs. them” mentality that might not be amended depending on who is elected in 2020. Many Americans feel the rest of the country is building a future that doesn’t have a place for them. Why would they want to participate in the systems that have led to their disenfranchisement? Popular political commentator David Frum believes there is a way for those excluded from Trump’s America to reclaim their democracy and reshape the political landscape. Frum outlines a map for the reinvention of American democracy and world leadership in the wake of Trump’s historic presidency. He argues that the United States is experiencing great trauma, and we need to do better—for ourselves, for our neighbors, for our nation. Join us for a virtual conversation as David Frum makes the case for believing in the possibilities of a united America once again.

WILL CLIMATE MATTER IN THE ELECTION?

Vanessa Hauc, Journalist and Senior Correspondent, Noticias Telemundo Nathaniel Stinnett, Founder and Executive Director, Environmental Voter Project Greg Dalton, Founder and Host, Climate One

The 2020 elections have moved climate change to the political mainstage in ways Americans haven’t seen before. For the first time, candidates were competing to declare themselves “the climate candidate” and debated their action plans with compelling urgency. But with the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic, skyrocketing unemployment and an economic shutdown, climate once again David Frum 6/3

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3 DAVID FRUM: RESTORING AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

David Frum, Senior Editor, The Atlantic; Author, Trumpocalypse: Restoring American

See late-bre a commonwea king events at lthclub.org /online Most onlin e programs are free, bu please con t sider a don ation durin registration g to support our product ion costs

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threatens to get pushed to the political back burner. How will climate be covered in the elections? Will President Trump’s stance on climate hurt Republicans in down-ballot races? Join us with Vanessa Hauc, journalist and senior correspondent at Noticias Telemundo, and Nathaniel Stinnett, founder and executive director of the Environmental Voter Project, for a conversation on climate coverage in the race for the presidency. CLIMATE ONE PROGRAM Location: Live stream Time: 4–5 p.m. PT program

THURSDAY, JUNE 4 JENNIFER STEINHAUER: THE WOMEN RESHAPING CONGRESS

Jennifer Steinhauer, Congressional Reporter, The New York Times

In her career as a reporter at The New York Times, Jennifer Steinhauer has worked a wide range of beats, including the metro, bureau and national desks, the Los Angeles bureau chief, and the United States Congress. She has covered pressing issues across the country, including health care, veterans’ rights, and disaster relief during Hurricane Katrina. Now Steinhauer divulges a fresh perspective on a shifting political landscape in her book The Firsts: The Inside Story of the Women Reshaping Congress. Steinhauer documents the incredible story of the women who were newly elected to the House of Representatives in 2018 and follows their pursuit of groundbreaking change. Tune in as Steinhauer shares her unique perspective of a congressional reporter to give insight into the campaigns of these strong freshman congresswomen and how their victory in 2018 has translated to change on the Hill. INFORUM PROGRAM Location: Live stream Time: noon PT program

Notes: Photo by Bill Pierce

TUESDAY, JUNE 9 GEORGE PACKER: THE END OF THE AMERICAN CENTURY

George Packer, Staff Writer, The Atlantic; Author, Our Man: Richard Holbrooke and the End of the American Century

Richard Holbrooke is one of the most important diplomats of the last 50 years. Equally admired and detested, he was the force behind the Dayton Accords that ended the Bal-

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Jennifer Steinhauer 6/4

American impulse to take the lead on the global stage. But his sharp elbows and tireless self-promotion ensured that he never rose to the highest levels in government that he so desperately coveted. Holbrooke’s story is thus the story of America during its era of supremacy: its strength, drive and sense of possibility, as well as its penchant for overreach and heedless self-confidence. In Our Man, drawn from Holbrooke’s diaries and papers, journalist George Packer gives us a nonfiction narrative that is both intimate and epic in its revelatory portrait of this extraordinary and deeply flawed man and the elite spheres of society and government he inhabited. Location: Live stream Time: 10 a.m. PT program Notes: Part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation; copies of Our Man are available for purchase at checkout

BAKARI SELLERS: A VANISHING COUNTRY

Bakari Sellers, CNN Analyst; Author; Former U.S. Representative (D-SC) Dr. Michael McAfee, President and CEO, PolicyLink—Moderator

Bakari Sellers became the youngest elected official in the country at the age of 22 when he won a seat in South Carolina’s House of Representatives. He argues, however, that his journey began long before he was born. His William Davidow (above) and Michael Malone family faced many struggles as a part of the (below) 6/9 South’s dwindling rural, black working class— losing access to health care as rural hospitals disappeared; attempting to make ends meet as the factories people relied on shut down and moved overseas; attempting to hold on to precious traditions as towns eroded; and forging a path forward without succumbing to despair—these are all facets of not only his life, but of an entire community’s. In My Vanishing Country, Bakari Sellers tells the story of his father’s rise to become a civil rights hero, a member of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and a role model for his own developing identity as a father to newborn twins. Join Sellers at INFORUM, where he will tell his deeply personal story of hope in the face of adversity and a kan wars, considered by some to be America’s history that is reflective of countless families in greatest diplomatic achievement in the post- the American south. This conversation will be moderated by PolicyLink President and CEO Cold War era. Dr. Michael McAfee. From his days as a young adviser in Viet- INFORUM PROGRAM nam to his last efforts to end the war in Af- Location: Live stream ghanistan, Holbrooke embodied the postwar Time: 3–4 p.m. PT program

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ts at aking even See late-bre nline /o rg .o lthclub ea w n o m m co t are free, bu e programs n g li n n ri o u st d o n M atio sider a don ion please con ur product o rt o p p su to n o ti a registr costs

THE AUTONOMOUS REVOLUTION: WILLIAM DAVIDOW, MICHAEL MALONE

William Davidow, Co-Founder, Mohr Davidow Ventures; Co-Author, The Autonomous Revolution Michael Malone, Co-Author, The Autonomous Revolution

Civilizations around the globe have been transformed over the past three centuries through the agricultural and industrial revolutions, eras that impacted all aspects of human society. According to two savvy Silicon Valley experts in business and society, we are now at the dawn of a third revolution that will similarly change human history: the autonomous revolution in artificial intelligence (AI) that is ushering in an epic cultural transformation across the globe. William Davidow and Michael Malone explore the impact on society of having machines that are capable of learning and adapting faster than humans and doing so entirely on their own. And for the first time in human history we no longer require physical locations to work, play, shop, socialize or be entertained. The same institutions that help society operate will remain—schools, banks, churches and corporations—but they will radically change form, obey new rules and use new tools. Davidow and Malone, authors of the seminal book The Virtual Corporation, explore the enormous implications of these developments, how we might adapt our values to these massive changes and how people can prepare to not only survive but thrive in this new era. Please join Davidow and Malone as they discuss the coming revolution and how we can deal with these emerging challenges before the autonomous revolution overcomes us.

Barton Gellman 6/10

Molly Ball 6/10

ment’s access to our every communication. Those three shared the Pulitzer Prize for public service for their work. But that was only the beginning for Gellman. He went on to dig deeper into both the U.S. surveillance state and Snowden’s own complicated history. As he sought the truth, Location: Live stream Barton was harassed with legal threats, governTime: 6 p.m. PT program ment investigations, and foreign intelligence agencies intent on stealing his files. Come for WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10 a detailed look at Edward Snowden, AmeriBARTON GELLMAN: EDWARD ca’s surveillance state now and post-COVID, as well as Mr. Gellman’s own account of his SNOWDEN AND THE AMERICAN personal cloak-and-dagger experience of being SURVEILLANCE STATE Barton Gellman, Three-time Pulitzer surveilled by unknown adversaries. Prize-winning Investigative Reporter; Writer, The Washington Post; Author, Dark Mirror: Edward Snowden and the American Surveillance State

In the run-up to the 2016 election, The New Yorker’s Masha Gessen stood out from other journalists for calling out the significance of Donald Trump’s speech and behavior, unprecedented in a national candidate. Within 48 hours of his victory, Gessen’s essay “Autocracy: Rules for Survival” had gone viral, and Gessen’s coverage of Trump’s norm-breaking presidency became important reading for a citizenry struggling to wrap their heads around the unimaginable. Thanks to the unique perspective from a childhood in the Soviet Union and two decades covering the resurgence of totalitarianism in Russia, Gessen has a sixth sense for signs of autocracy—and the unique cross-cultural fluency to delineate its emergence to Americans. Now, as the 2020 race takes shape, their new book Surviving Autocracy provides an indispensable overview of what Gessen views as the calamitous trajectory of the past few years. Join us for a conversation with one of our leading journalists as they highlight the dangers of complacency and how America can forge a new path forward. Location: TBD Time: 12:30–1:30 p.m. PT program Notes: Copies of Surviving Autocracy are available for purchase at checkout

PELOSI

Molly Ball, National Political Correspondent, Time Magazine; Author, Pelosi In Conversation with Carla Marinucci, Senior Writer, Politico California Playbook

How did an Italian grandmother in fourinch heels become the most effective legislator since LBJ? Join us virtually as award-winning political journalist Molly Ball takes you inside the life and times of the speaker of the House. Based on exclusive interviews and deep backLocation: Live stream ground reporting, Ball shows Nancy Pelosi Time: 10–11 a.m. PT program through a thoroughly modern lens, explaining Notes: Photo by Robin Davis Miller how this extraordinary woman has met her moment by taking on a president. MASHA GESSEN: Ever since the Democrats took back the SURVIVING AUTOCRACY House in the 2018 midterm elections, Nancy Masha Gessen, Staff Writer, The New York- Pelosi has led the opposition. It’s a remarkable er; Author, Surviving Autocracy; Twitter comeback for the veteran politician who for

While a reporter at The Washington Post, Barton Gellman was one of three journalists Edward Snowden picked to review the vast and explosive archive of highly classified files revealing the extent of the American govern- @mashagessen

JUNE/JULY 2020

years was demonized by the right and taken for granted by many in her own party even though, as speaker under President Barack Obama, Ball argues that she deserves credit for epochal liberal accomplishments, from reforming Wall Street to allowing gay people to serve openly in the military, from universal access to health care to saving the U.S. economy from collapse. Perhaps twice.

ences among adults later in life.

Location: Live stream Time: 4–5 p.m. PT program MLF: Grownups Program organizer: Denise Michaud

TUESDAY, JUNE 16 KRISTA TIPPETT: MINDFULNESS IN UNCERTAIN TIMES

Location: Live stream Time: 3 p.m. PT program MLF: Humanities Program organizer: George Hammond Notes: Photo by Tim Coburn

THURSDAY, JUNE 11 LAVENDER TALKS: LGBTQ IMMIGRANTS, REFUGEES AND ASYLUM SEEKERS

Krista Tippett, Founder and CEO, The On Being Project; Host, “On Being” and “Becoming Wise”; Curator, The Civil Conversations Project

Chris Wallace 6/17

In the midst of one of modern history’s most uncertain moments, how can we all work to keep mindful of ourselves and those who matter most to us? Krista Tippett’s podcast, “On Being,” aims to shine a light on people whose insights illuminate the best aspects of the human spirit. Every week, Tippett talks to writers, scientists, poets, activists and theologians from an array of faiths who have all opened themselves up to her compassionate yet searching conversations. In times like these, it’s easy to lose track of what keeps us grounded in the human experience. Join us for an enlightening conversation with one of America’s luminaries as she discusses her fiercely hopeful vision for humanity in these uncertain times.

Edwin Carmona-Cruz, Co-Director and Paralegal, Pangea Legal Services; Adjunct Faculty, University of San Francisco Melanie Nathan, Attorney; Mediator; Human Rights Advocate; Executive Director, African Human Rights Coalition; Country Conditions Expert for LGBTQI Asylum Cases; Former Marin Human Rights Commissioner Anjali Rimi, MBA, Business Executive; President, Board of Directors, Parivar Bay Area; Member, Board of Directors, SF Pride Okan Sengun, Executive Director and Co-Founder, LGBT Asylum Project Location: Live stream Michelle Meow, Producer and Host, “The Joan Ryan 6/17 Time: 12:30–1:30 p.m. PT program Michelle Meow Show” on KBCW/KPIX TV and Online Radio; Member, Commonwealth Club sity Project; Author, Divergent Mind: Thriving WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17 in a World That Wasn’t Designed For You Board of Governors—Host Immigration has been a flash point in U.S. Mina Kim, Anchor and Host of Forum, KQED— CHRIS WALLACE politics for years, but for the past several years, Moderator Chris Wallace, Anchor, “Fox News Sunday”; While topics such as ADHD, autism, bipo- Author, Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary it has been one of the defining dividing lines in American life. When you add LGBTQ status lar and dyslexia are often discussed in the con- Story of the 116 Days that Changed the World to the normal challenges facing immigrants, text of children, what happens after these chil- In Conversation with Dr. Lanhee Chen, Ph.D., refugees and asylum seekers, even more hur- dren grow up, and what happens when they David and Diane Steffy Fellow in American dles come up. What are the problems new ar- don’t receive such diagnoses until their 50s, Public Policy Studies, the Hoover Institution

60s or later? Jenara Nerenberg offers practical takeaways and surprising scientific discoveries on how families, society and medicine can better meet the needs of those with mental and sensory processing differences. Nerenberg, an award-winning reporter with Location: Live stream the UC Berkeley Greater Good Science Center Time: noon PT program Notes: In association with San Francisco Pride; and the Garrison Institute, is the founder of generously supported by Comcast The Neurodiversity Project. Her work appears in CNN, Fast Company, KQED, Healthline and Time. She is a graduate of the Harvard DIVERGENT MINDS THRIVING IN School of Public Health and UC Berkeley. ADULTHOOD Jenara Nerenberg, Reporter, UC Berkeley Nerenberg was named a Brave New Idea Greater Good Science Center; Reporter, the Speaker by the Aspen Institute for her work in Garrison Institute; Founder, the Neurodiver- destigmatizing and celebrating mental differrivals to this country are struggling with? What is being done to help them? What can be done? Join us for the third in our new series of Lavender Talks—produced in partnership with San Francisco Pride.

THE COMMO N WE AL TH

During his 16 years at Fox, veteran journalist Chris Wallace has covered almost every key political event and interviewed numerous U.S. and world leaders. Now, he explores the crucial 116 days and events leading up August 6, 1945—the infamous date that President Harry Truman gave the order to unleash the world’s first atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima, Japan. Hear more of how we got to that pivotal moment as Wallace gives a rare behind-the-scenes account of the secret meetings and iconic figures who changed the course of history forever. Location: Live stream Time: TBD

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

vorite teams have the intangible “it” factor and some, too often, don’t.

Location: Live stream Time: 6 p.m. PT

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24 DR. EZEKIEL EMANUEL

Ezekiel Emanuel 6/24

Cleve Jones 6/25

JOAN RYAN: TEAM CHEMISTRY AND THE SECRET TO SUCCESS

Joan Ryan, Journalist; Author; Media Consultant, San Francisco Giants

For decades, beloved Bay Area sportswriter Joan Ryan has written about winning (and losing) sports teams. In her groundbreaking new book, Intangibles, Ryan explores the importance of team chemistry and the mystery of why some teams “click,” foster trust and respect, and push players to exceed their own potential. In sports, team chemistry is often overlooked, in part because it is assumed that it can’t be scientifically measured. But after interviewing more than 100 players, coaches, managers and statisticians in addition to reviewing the thousands of games she has covered as a journalist, Ryan proves that the social and emotional state of a team does affect performance and should not be underestimated. Join us to hear Ryan discuss the importance of team chemistry, and how some of our fa-

Ezekiel Emanuel, M.D., Vice Provost for Global Initiatives, Diane V.S. Levy and Robert M. Levy University Professor, Chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy, University of Pennsylvania; Author, Which Country Has the World’s Best Health Care? In conversation with Mark Zitter, Chair, The Zetema Project; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors

See late-bre a commonwea king events at lthclub.org /online Most onlin e programs are free, bu please con t sider a don ation durin registration g to support our product ion costs

In this program, we will feature a conversation with three of our Pride 50 awardees— Cleve Jones (Gilbert Baker Pride Founders Award), Gabby Rivera (José Julio Sarria History Maker Award) and Mike Wong (Audrey The preeminent doctor and bioethicist Eze- Joseph LGBTQ Entertainment Award). kiel Emanuel is repeatedly asked one question: Location: Live stream Which country has the best health care? He set Time: noon PT program Notes: In association with San Francisco Pride; off to find an answer. The United States spends more than any generously supported by Comcast other nation, nearly $4 trillion, on health care. RAPHAEL BOB-WAKSBERG: Yet, for all that expense, the United States is SOMEONE WHO WILL LOVE YOU IN not ranked No. 1—not even close. In Which Country Has the World’s Best ALL YOUR DAMAGED GLORY Raphael Bob-Waksberg, Author Healthcare?, Emanuel profiles 11 of the world’s Ariane Lange, Journalist—Moderator health-care systems in pursuit of the best or at From the creator of the beloved and wideleast where excellence can be found. Using a ly acclaimed television series “BoJack Horseunique comparative structure, the book allows man,” a fabulously off-beat collection of short health-care professionals, patients and policystories about love—the best and worst thing in makers alike to know which systems perform the universe. well and why, and which face endemic prob“Complex, daring, emotional, and unique, lems. F with notes of melancholic brilliance and an afrom Taiwan to Germany, Australia to Swittertaste of subtle elation: it is hard to describe zerland, the most inventive health-care providthe writing of Raphael Bob-Waksberg without ers tackle a global set of challenges—in pursuit sounding like Frasier discussing wine.”—B. J. of the best health care in the world. Novak, author of One More Thing Location: Live stream Written with all the scathing dark humor Time: 12:30 p.m. PT that is a hallmark of BoJack Horseman, RaNotes: Photo by Stephen Zipp phael Bob-Waksberg’s stories will make you laugh, weep and shiver in uncomfortably THURSDAY, JUNE 25 delicious recognition. In “A Most Blessed LAVENDER TALKS: A CELEBRATION and Auspicious Occasion,” a young couple OF PRIDE 50 AWARDEES engaged to be married is forced to deal with Cleve Jones, Human Rights Activist; Author; interfering relatives dictating the appropriLecturer; Co-Founder, San Francisco AIDS ate number of ritual goat sacrifices for their Foundation; Founder, The NAMES Project wedding. “Missed Connection—m4w” is the AIDS Memorial Quilt tragicomic tale of a pair of lonely commuters Gabby Rivera, Comics Author, America (Mareternally failing to make that longed-for convel Comics); Comics Creator, b.b. free; Host, “Gabbyt Rivera’s Joy Revolution” (forthcom- tact. And in “More of the You That You Already Are,” a struggling employee at a theme ing) Mike Wong, Artistic Director, Marching and park of dead presidents finds that love can’t be Pep Bands, San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Free- genetically modified. Equally at home with the surreal and dom Band Join us for the fourth in our new series of the painfully relatable (and both at once), Lavender Talks—produced in partnership Bob-Waksberg delivers a combination of humor, romance, whimsy, cultural commentary with San Francisco Pride. JUNE/JULY 2020

at events eaking g/online r b e t See la ealthclub.or nw e, but commo are fre ing s m a r ur rog ation d nline p r a don r production Most o e id s n u co pport o please n to su ts io t a r t s co regis

and crushing emotional vulnerability.

INFORUM PROGRAM Location: Live stream

Time: 6–7 p.m. PT program

FRIDAY, JUNE 26 PAYING FOR TRANSPORTATION IN CALIFORNIA: DOES COVID-19 CHANGE EVERYTHING?

Welcome by Dr. Karen Philbrick, Executive Director, Mineta Transportation Institute Keynote by David S. Kim, Secretary, California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) Moderated by Nuria Fernandez, Chair, American Public Transportation Association; General Manager and CEO, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Asha Weinstein Agrawa l, Director, Mineta Transportation Institute’s National Transportation Finance Center Carl Guardino, President and CEO, Silicon Valley Leadership Group Therese Watkins McMillan, Executive Director, Metropolitan Transportation Commission in San Francisco Matthew Tucker, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, North County Transit District

The COVID-19 pandemic threatens every aspect of transportation funding in California. State revenues from federal, state, regional and local taxes and fees are all at risk. Since California’s shelter-in-place order went into effect in March, the state has already faced plummeting revenues from gasoline taxes, tolls, transit fares and sales taxes. These revenue sources will most likely continue to be severely threatened in the coming months and possibly even years. Panelists will discuss the opportunities for every level of government to help recover transportation revenues in our uncertain future. Can we rely on our traditional mix of revenue sources? Will the COVID-19 crisis stimulate innovation in transportation finance? These and other revenue options will be discussed at the 11th Annual Norman Y. Mineta National Transportation Policy Summit. Location: Live stream

THE COMMO N WE AL TH

Time: 10–11:30 a.m. PT program Notes: Underwritten by the Mineta Transportation Institute

TUESDAY, JUNE 30 FLOODING IN AMERICA’S HEARTLAND

Julia Kumari Drapkin, CEO and Founder, ISeeChange Martha Shulski, Director, Nebraska State Climate Office Greg Dalton, Founder and Host, Climate One

Miami might be the poster child of rising waters in the United States, but further inland, states are grappling with torrential flooding that is becoming the new norm. Last year, flooding in the Southeast killed 12 people and caused $20 billion in damages. This year’s rains have already driven Mississippi into a state emergency, and Missouri is bracing itself with a levee system still in disrepair from last year’s storms. Can infrastructure such as floodplains, wetlands and engineered barriers save riverside states from their new, saturated norm? How are communities adapting to a changing, wetter climate in some of the most conservative parts of the country? Join us for a conversation with Julia Kumari Drapkin, CEO and founder of ISeeChange, and Martha Shulski, director of the Nebraska state climate office, for a conversation on flooding in America. CLIMATE ONE PROGRAM Location: Live stream Time: 4 p.m. PT program Notes: This program is generously underwritten by the Water Foundation

THURSDAY, JULY 9 TRUMP AND THE MIDDLE EAST 2020

Nuria Fernandez 6/26

Martha Shulski 6/30 Time: 2–3 p.m. PT program MLF: Middle East Program organizer: Celia Menczel

BILLION DOLLAR BURGER See website for event details.

CLIMATE ONE PROGRAM Location: TBD

Banafsheh Keynoush, Ph.D., Author, Saudi Arabia and Iran Eddy Simonian, MA, International Relations, Time: 4 p.m. PT program University of San Francisco THURSDAY, JULY 16 Eran Kaplan, Ph.D., Rhoda and Richard Goldman Professor in Israel Studies, San FrancisDEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN co University A.J. Baime, Author, Dewey Defeats Truman: Jonathan Curiel, Journalist—Moderator This event is the Middle East Forum’s fourth The 1948 Election and the Battle for Ameriannual panel about how the Trump presidency ca’s Soul

is affecting the Middle East. Our distinguished panel of Middle East experts will continue the conversation and will also discuss why some believe that during the past year, Trump has helped destabilize the region with impulsive rhetoric and inflammatory actions, while others believe that Trump is making America safer. Location: Live stream

Monday Night Philosophy welcomes back best-selling author A.J. Baime with his latest book, Dewey Defeats Truman, the thrilling story of the 1948 presidential election, during which Truman mounted a remarkable comeback and staked a claim for a new course for America. On the eve of the 1948 election, America was a fractured country. Racism was rampant, foreign

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

Haas Business School, UC Berkeley; Former Dean, UC Berkeley School of Public Health Dennis Berens, Former President, National Rural Health Association and the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health

relations were fraught and political parties were more divided than ever. Americans were certain that President Truman’s political career was over. His own staff did not believe he could win, nor did his wife Bess. But win he did. Baime sheds light on one of the most action-packed six months in American history, as Truman not only triumphs but also oversees watershed events—the Marshall Plan, the creation of Israel, the origins of the Cold War and the first desegregation of the military.

Location: Live stream Time: 6–7 p.m. PT program MLF: Health & Medicine

Program organizer: Robert Lee Kilpatrick

TUESDAY, JUNE 16 THE LIFE-CHANGING SCIENCE LEADING TO SPONTANEOUS HEALING

Location: Live stream Time: 6–7 p.m. PT programMLF: Humanities Program organizer: George Hammond Notes: Baime photo copyright Rob Williamson

THURSDAY, JULY 23 THE SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE TECH COMPANY: IDEALS VERSUS PRACTICE

William Perry 7/29

tial Power from Truman to Trump; Twitter @TomCollina

Since the Truman administration, America has been one “push of a button” away from nuclear war—a decision that rests solely in the hands of the president. Without waiting for approval from Congress or even the secretary of defense, the president can unleash America’s entire nuclear arsenal. Almost every governmental process is subject to institutional checks and balances. Why is potential nuclear annihilation the exception to the rules? Dr. William Perry and Tom Collina share their firsthand experiences on the front lines of the nation’s nuclear history and offer a sobering look at what nuclear executive authority means.

Ian I. Mitroff, Ph.D., Senior Research Affiliate, The Center for Catastrophic Risk Management, University of California, Berkeley; Professor Emeritus, Marshall School of Business and the Annenberg School of Communication, University of Southern California; Author, Techlash: The Future of the Socially Responsible Tech Organization Melanie Ensign, CEO and Founder, Discernible, Inc.; Press Department Lead, DEF CON; Global Head of Security, Privacy & Engineering Communications, Uber; Former Security Communications Manager, Facebook Gerald Harris, President, Quantum Planning Location: Live stream Group; Chair, Technology & Society MemTime: 12:30 p.m. PT program ber-Led Forum—Moderator

Notes: Perry photo by Light@11b

Ian Mitroff will lay out the theory and ideals of companies performing in a socially respon- LATE-BREAKING EVENTS sible manner, and Melanie Ensign will share her experience with those ideals in the real THURSDAY, JUNE 4 world of firms such as Uber and Facebook. Join us for an engaging discussion about CARMEN ESPOSITO: how crises are managed and what the commu- SAVE YOURSELF nications challenges are with the public. Carmen Esposito, Standup Comic; Actor; Location: Live stream Time: 6–7 p.m. PT program MLF: Technology & Society Program organizer: Gerald Harris

WEDNESDAY, JULY 29 WILLIAM PERRY AND TOM COLLINA

Writer Michelle Meow, Producer and Host, “The Michelle Meow Show”; Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors—Co-Host John Zipperer, Producer and Host, Week to Week Political Roundtable—Co-Host MICHELE MEOW SHOW PROGRAM Location: Live stream Time: 2:30–3:30 p.m. PT program

Jeffrey Rediger, M.D., Medical Director, McLean SE Adult Psychiatry and Community Affairs, McLean Hospital; Faculty Member, Harvard Medical School; Author, Cured Location: Live stream Time: 10 a.m. PT program MLF: Health & Medicine Program organizer: Adrea Brier

FRONT ROW AT THE TRUMP SHOW

Jonathan Karl, Chief White House Correspondent and Chief Washington Correspondent, ABC News; Author, Front Row at the Trump Show In conversation with Nassir Ghaemi, Professor of Psychiatry, Tufts University School of Medicine; Author, A First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Health Location: Live stream Time: 5–6 p.m. PT program

THURSDAY, JUNE 18 DOMINIQUE CRENN: REBEL CHEF

Dominique Crenn, Chef and Owner, Atelier Crenn; Author, Rebel Chef: In Search of What Matters Maddie Oatman, Food Writer, Mother Jones Magazine; Host, Mother Jones’ “Bite” podcast INFORUM PROGRAM Location: Live stream Time: 6–7 p.m. PT program

MONDAY, JUNE 22 STACEY ABRAMS: OUR TIME IS NOW

Stacey Abrams, Founder, Fair Fight Action and Fair Fight 2020; Author, Our Time Is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America; Twitter @staceyabrams

Dr. William Perry, Former U.S. Secretary of Defense; Co-Author, The Button: The New Nuclear Arms Race and Presidential Power from A HEALTHY SOCIETY SERIES: Location: Live stream Truman to Trump; Twitter @SecDef19 Time: 6–7 p.m. PT program Tom Collina, Director of Policy, Plough- HEALTHIER RURAL AMERICA— shares Fund; Co-Author, The Button: The TOWARD A BETTER FUTURE New Nuclear Arms Race and Presiden- Stephen Shortell, Ph.D., MPH, MBA, Professor, Visit commonwealthcluborg/online.

JUNE/JULY 2020

INSIGHT

DR. GLORIA C. DUFFY, PRESIDENT AND CEO

Social Distancing and Social Capital

ocial capital is the strength a society accumulates over time through the relationships individuals create by working and socializing together, developing common interests and good will. Social capital is then available to be “spent” on cooperation and solving problems, enabling society to function effectively. What this means in practice is that, because you know someone and trust them as a result of interacting with them in prior situations, you respond when that person asks for your business, your help with a problem, to join them in supporting a cause or for other social purposes. In many ways, social capital is the fabric that holds our society together. Social capital is accrued through common activities—peoples’ experiences attending school together, working together, raising children together, being in the Rotary Club or the PTA or other organizations, volunteering, going to church, traveling together, advocating for causes together, enjoying music, cultural and social events together. Among countries, the United States has been uniquely strong in social capital. The French aristocrat and diplomat Alexis de Tocqueville was the first person to widely report this strength, from his travels in America in the 1830s. In his 1835 book, Democracy in America, de Tocqueville observed, “Americans of all ages, all conditions, all minds constantly unite. Not only do they have commercial and industrial associations in which all take part, but they also have a thousand other kinds: religious, moral, grave, futile, very general and very particular, immense and very small; Americans use associations to give fêtes, to found seminaries, to build inns, to raise churches, to distribute books, to send missionaries to the antipodes; in this manner they create hospitals, prisons, schools. Finally, if it is a question of bringing to light a truth or developing a sentiment with the support of a great example, they associate.” How does social capital fare, during a crisis when we are maintaining social distance? Our children can’t go to school together, the Rotary Club and PTA cannot meet face-to-face, we can’t travel or eat together, we can’t get together with our friends and most of us cannot go to work outside of our homes. Physical contact has always been presumed to be the bedrock of social capital. This is true of the formal associations noted by de Tocqueville, and also informal connections that can be just as important. For example, on Capitol Hill, the House Cloakroom is legendary for informal meetings where deals get done outside official sessions of Congress. In diplomacy, agreements are sometimes reached through side talks or the proverbial “walk in the woods.” In the workplace, there are the legendary conversations around the water cooler, or their more modern equivalents in the staff kitchen.

THE COMMO N WE AL TH

“Preserving our social capital is one of many reasons we need to get handling of this pandemic right.” Photo courtesy of Gloria Duffy

Both formal meetings and casual social encounters are severely limited right now, due to concerns about COVID-19 contagion. This is clearly a time when we are drawing on previously accumulated social capital that we formed through years of face-to-face contact. When I attend Zoom board meetings, ask staff members at the Club to collaborate on projects, or ask for help with funding, people respond because we have previously worked together in person. Preserving our social capital is one of many reasons we need to get handling of this pandemic right, so we can return as soon as possible to the in-person activities that keep our democratic society strong. But the need for distancing and technology are also creating new ways to build social capital. Our nation will certainly have a shared experience of this pandemic, including children who will remember it as a formative experience of their lives. We need to draw the lessons, and teach about the pandemic in our educational system in a way that stresses the shared experience and strengthens our unity as a country. Many organizations have already responded to the crisis in ways that add to social capital. The Club launched immediately into online programming, with dozens of livestreamed panels, talks and interviews. The audience for these has been larger than our usual in-person attendance, and all our programs have been interactive with chat functions so audiences can participate. This provides greater access to the Club’s programs and has widened the Club’s network and the strength of our relationships. Zoom meetings and social media have enabled many of us to continue our work and other activities and to be in touch with an ease and frequency unrivaled by in-person contact. I have found opportunities, as I know others have, during the shelter-at-home period to get back in touch with friends and colleagues with whom I had lost touch. Some of this increased electronic contact will continue, once we resume in-person activities, strengthening our social bonds through wider networks. Social capital is a precious commodity, and we must continue to keep it strong, in the face of the pandemic challenge.

Nepal & Bhutan Himalayan Kingdoms October 23 – November 6, 2020 Explore two distant and devout lands, where spiritual traditions suffuse all aspects of life and the surrounding Himalayan scenery casts an awe-inspiring spell. Visit Kathmandu’s iconic Swayambhunath Temple and culturally rich Patan, a UNESCO site. Admire Boudhanath, Nepal’s largest Buddhist stupa and visit Bhaktapur, known for its fine artisans. Dine with a family in Bhutan’s capital, Thimphu and take a rafting trip on the Punakha River. Explore Paro and the legendary cliffside Tiger’s Nest monastery. $6,974 per person, double occupancy, including air from SFO

Brochure at commonwealthclub.org/travel

| 415.597.6720

travel@commonwealthclub.org CST: 2096889-40

To purchase tickets:

The Commonwealth Club of California

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TUESDAY, JUNE 2

Details on page 53

TUESDAY, JUNE 16

ARLAN HAMILTON

KRISTA TIPPETT

Author, It’s About Damn Time

Founder and CEO, The On Being Project; Host, “On Being” and “Becoming Wise”; Curator, The Civil Conversations Project

From a black, gay woman who broke into the boys’ club of Silicon Valley comes an empowering guide to finding your voice, working your way into any room you want to be in, and achieving your own dreams.

During one of modern history’s most uncertain moments, how can we all work to keep mindful of ourselves and those who matter most to us?

In 2015, Arlan Hamilton was on food stamps and sleeping on the floor of the San Francisco airport, with nothing but an old laptop and a dream of breaking into the venture capital business. Hamilton had no contacts or network in Silicon Valley, no background in finance—not even a college degree. What she did have was fierce determination and the will to succeed. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17

Details on page 56

CHRIS WALLACE

Chris Wallace, Anchor, “Fox News Sunday”; Author, Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the 116 Days that Changed the World In Conversation with Dr. Lanhee Chen, Ph.D., David and Diane Steffy Fellow in American Public Policy Studies, the Hoover Institution

From Chris Wallace, the veteran journalist and anchor of Fox News Sunday, comes an electrifying behindthe-scenes account of the secret meetings and events across the globe during the 116 days leading up to the world’s first use of the atomic bomb in wartime— the American attack on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.

Details on page 56

In times like these, it’s easy to lose track of what keeps us grounded in the human experience. Join us for an enlightening conversation with an America’s luminary as she discusses her fiercely hopeful vision for humanity in these uncertain times.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24

Details on page 57

EZEKIEL EMANUEL

The preeminent doctor and bioethicist Ezekiel Emanuel is repeatedly asked one question: Which country has the best health care? He set off to find an answer.