The Commonwealth October/November 2016 by The Commonwealth Club of California

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PAR AD O R E S & P O U SADA S Historic Lodgings of Spain and Portugal April 24 - May 8, 2017

With study leader and historian Thomas Dandelet

MADRID

LISBON EVO RA CARMONA RONDA

ÚBEDA

Explore Lisbon and see Jeronimos Monastery, Belem Tower and the National Palace of BARCELONA Queluz. Traverse the Alentejo region of olive groves and vineyards and discover Evora, a treasure-trove of Portuguese history and architecture, and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Visit the outstanding Roman ruins at Merida, and the UNESCO World Heritage site of Cordoba. Explore Seville, Andalucia’s charming capital, and Ronda, one of Spain’s oldest and most charming towns. Experience Granada’s famous Alhambra and Generalife Gardens, medieval Toledo, and Madrid’s Royal Palace and Prado Museum. A post-tour extension to Barcelona is available. Cost: $5,378, per person, double occupancy (including land and air from SFO).

Detailed brochure available at commonwealthclub.org/travel | 415.597.6720 | travel@commonwealthclub.org CST# 2096889-40

Inside T H E CO M M O N W E A LT H O C TO B E R / N O V E M B E R 2016

EDITOR’S DESK

Listening to and engaging with Black Lives Matter

THE COMMONS

HOMELESSNESS: WHAT WORKS?

Sam Dodge, Mark Farrell, and C.W. Nevius answer questions about homelessness and possible approaches.

First look at Tony Bennett, Minerva and Inforum, and Azariah Cole-Shephard

Photo by Sonya Abrams

Photo by Ed Ritger

BLACK LIVES MATTER AND THE LGBT COMMUNITY

Alicia Garza, Darnell Moore, Arid Sa’id, and Barbara Smith talk black lives

BARBARA BOXER The Art of Tough The U.S. senator from California recounts how she let Mitch McConnell know she meant business

VALERIE JARRETT The Obama Whisperer The senior advisor—and longtime friend—to the president explains her role and priorities in the White House

WILL DURST 2016 Election Madness The political satirist dissects the race for president and explains the difference between Milwaukee and San Francisco

KAREEM ABDULJABBAR The Political Kareem The NBA legend’s political activity began before he even joined the league

On the Cover

The former athlete and activist is now writing and speaking about politics, race, religion and more. Photo courtesy Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

EVENTS Program Information 16 Language Classes 16 Two Month Calendar 17 Program Listings 19

INSIGHT

Dr. Gloria C. Duffy President and CEO

I remembered seeing them when they were getting ready to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge, and I knew they were going to get hurt. K A R E E M A B D U L -J A B B A R

V O LU M E 110, NO. 06

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EDITORIAL TRANSCRIPT POLICY The Commonwealth magazine covers a range of programs in each issue. Program transcripts and question and answer sessions are routinely condensed due to space limitations. Hear full-length recordings online at commonwealthclub.org/media, podcasts on Google Play and Apple iTunes, or contact Club offices to buy a compact disc. Printed on recycled paper using soy-based ink. Copyright © 2016 The Commonwealth Club of California.

Photo by Ed Ritger

Listen and Engage and Learn

A M E S TAYLO R T E AC H E S political science at the University of San Francisco, where he is director of the African American Studies department. Earlier this year, during one of our political roundtable programs, he was discussing the Black Lives Matter movement and mentioned that it was primarily led by African-American LGBT women. That came as news to quite a few folks in the audience, and after the program was over, Dr. Taylor graciously hung around for nearly another hour fielding questions on the topic. It was, frankly, a perspective they had not heard before, though the LGBT cohort leading BLM is not news to folks in and around the movement. One person to whom it is not news is Michelle Meow, who besides hosting “The Michelle Meow Show” on KOFY TV and on radio is the president of San Francisco Pride. When she approached The Commonwealth Club about collaborating with us on an event, at the top of her list of ideas was Black Lives Matter, its leaders, and their concerns. We jumped at the chance, and this past June our Inforum staffers put together a sold-out program featuring BLM co-founder Alicia Garza and a panel of experts, all led by moderator Barbara Smith (see photo above). Besides kicking off what will be an ongoing series of big program collaborations between SFPride and The Commonwealth

Club, the program was a fascinating example of the work of the Club exploring extremely topical subjects. Just a few days after our program, BLM would pull out of the San Francisco Pride parade in protest of the increased police presence at the event, a presence that was pretty much inevitable just a couple weeks after the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. In election years, issues that have been with us for a long time get debated and seen in a different manner. Oftentimes, they are debated poorly, as complex issues are reduced to bumper stickers, attack ads, and social media memes. But other times, the very length of our elections actually provides a service by giving topics time to be treated in any number of ways, both superficially and in-depth. Such is the case with the issues surrounding African-Americans, LGBT issues and civil rights. You can be proud that your Club goes in-depth on issues such as rights and race (pages 6 and 16), homelessness (page 8), and politics (pages 10, 36 and 38). None of this means Commonwealth Club members and speakers agree on all of these topics. Far from it; we are a very diverse group of people. But we believe in exercising the very name of the group: Finding ground for expanding the “common” “wealth” of all of us. Together. JOHN ZIPPERER V P, M E D I A & E D I TO R I A L

O C TO B E R/N O V E M B E R 2016

TA L K O F T H E C LU B

The Commons

Connecting with Minerva Inforum partnership reaches students

Photo by marcen27

Now He Left His Statue in San Francisco And we got a first look

ONY BENNETT HAS MADE his mark on the worlds of music, painting, and even civil rights (he marched in Selma in 1965). He is most famous for his singing, of course; he has sold more than 50 million records during his 65year career, and his signature song “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” forever endeared the New Yorker to many Bay Area music lovers. When the city returned the favor in August, The Commonwealth Club was among the first on the scene. The August 19 unveiling of the singer’s eight-foottall statue included Bennett himself. The San Francisco Boys and Girls Chorus serenaded the Grammy Award-winning crooner (they sang that song, naturally), and officiating at the unveiling was Charlotte Shultz, the chief of protocol for the city of San Francisco and the state of California; she is also a member of The Commonwealth Club’s Board of Governors. Some of the first people to see the new statue was a Commonwealth Club walking tour group, visiting the site at the Fairmont Hotel as part of our regular series of Nob Hill tours.The Fairmont was chosen to host the statue because, as our tour guide Rick Evans noted, Bennett “introduced ‘I Left My Heart in San Francisco’ at the Fairmont Venetian Room back in 1962.”

In 2016, Inforum began a partnership with Minerva Schools at KGI, a new global liberal arts university seeking to reinvent and revolutionize higher education. Minerva students spend their freshman year in San Francisco, before spending six semesters in different cities around the world. As part of their first year, they work with Inforum to learn about the art and science of convening groups of individuals to learn and connect—including what makes a good conversation, how to identify great moderators, marketing events to the broader community, and the at-event experience. “Minerva students provide a unique lens on many of the topics we explore at Inforum,” said Marisa Levine, Inforum director. “They’re from dozens of countries, are eager to ask questions and engage on a wide variety of subjects, and love any opportunity to help event attendees engage with one another. It’s energizing to have more students in the room, and they’ve come up with great ideas, including exit-polling attendees.”

Photo by Ed Ritger

Azariah Cole-Shephard Oakland’s new youth poet laureate This summer, 18-year-old Azariah Cole-Shephard was named Oakland’s new youth poet laureate. Her talent was no surprise to us, and we were glad to see her recognized with the honor. As The East Bay Times wrote: “Appearing at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco this summer, she performed her passionate work, ‘For the Black Men My Love Cannot Protect.’ ... She got a 45-second standing ovation and several job offers after her almost 4-minute performance that night.”

CLUB LEADERSHIP CLUB OFFICERS Board Chair: John R. Farmer Vice Chair: Richard A. Rubin Secretary: Frank C. Meerkamp Treasurer: Lee J. Dutra President & CEO: Dr. Gloria C. Duffy BOARD OF GOVERNORS John F. Allen Carlo Almendral Courtland Alves Dan Ashley Massey J. Bambara Dr. Mary G. F. Bitterman** Harry E. Blount John L. Boland J. Dennis Bonney* Michael R. Bracco Thomas H. Burkhart Maryles Casto** Hon. Ming Chin* Mary B. Cranston** Susie Cranston Dr. Kerry P. Curtis Dr. Jaleh Daie Dorian Daley Evelyn S. Dilsaver Joseph I. Epstein* Jeffrey A. Farber Dr. Joseph R. Fink* Rev. Paul J. Fitzgerald, S.J. Dr. Carol A. Fleming Kirsten Garen Leslie Saul Garvin John Geschke Paul M. Ginsburg Rose Guilbault** Hon. James C. Hormel Mary Huss Claude B. Hutchison Jr.* Julie Kane John Leckrone Dr. Mary Marcy Lenny Mendonca Anna W. M. Mok** Kevin P. O’Brien Richard Otter* Joseph Perrelli* Donald J. Pierce Bruce Raabe Frederick W. Reid Toni Rembe* Victor J. Revenko* Skip Rhodes* Bill Ring Renée Rubin* Robert Saldich** George M. Scalise Lata Krishnan Shah Connie Shapiro* Dr. Ruth A. Shapiro Charlotte Mailliard Shultz George D. Smith, Jr. James Strother Hon. Tad Taube Hon. Ellen O’Kane Tauscher Charles Travers Nelson Weller* Judith Wilbur* Dr. Colleen B. Wilcox Dennis Wu* Jed York * Past President ** Past Chair ADVISORY BOARD Karin Helene Bauer Hon. William Bradley Dennise M. Carter Rolando Esteverena Steven Falk Amy Gershoni Dr. Charles Geschke Jacquelyn Hadley Heather M. Kitchen Amy McCombs Don J. McGrath Hon. William J. Perry Hon. Barbara Pivnicka Hon. Richard Pivnicka Ray Taliaferro Nancy Thompson

O C TO B E R/N O V E M B E R 2016

BLACK LIVES MATTER AND THE LGBTQI COMMUNITY Black Lives Matter has burst onto the national scene, bringing a new generation of leaders to the world of African-American politics. What is not often understood is the central role that LGBT individuals are playing in the movement.

Alicia Garza, co-founder of Black Lives Matter and special projects director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance; Darnell Moore, senior correspondent for Mic, co-managing editor of The Feminist Wire and writer-in-residence at Center on African American Religion, Sexual Politics and Social Justice at Columbia University; Aria Sa’id, programs director at St. James Infirmary; and moderator Barbara Smith, author and activist, co-founder of the Combahee River Collective, co-founder of Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, subject of the book Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around and special community projects coordinator/equity agenda for the city of Albany, New York. From the June 20, 2016, program in San Francisco, “Black Lives Matter + the LGBTQI Community: INFORUM + SFPride.” Photos by Ed Ritger. BARBARA SMITH: Why is there such a visible connection between Black Lives Matter and the LGBTQI [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex] community? We did not necessarily see that kind of connection during other periods of the black liberation struggle. ALICIA GARZA: Well, I think the first thing that feels pretty obvious, but if it’s not obvious we should just say it, is that the way that this upsurge has been able to emerge with visible, unapologetic leadership from queer folks, is because of the work that people like you, and people like Linda Burnham here in this room, have done to pave the way. We would absolutely not be here if it was not for the work you all have done, so thank you. [Applause.]

THE COMMO N WE AL TH

And then of course in addition to that I think that part of how we emerge is also from our experiences, trying to be a part of social justice work, and even though so much work has been done to lay the foundation for us to be here, it’s still incredibly difficult. And we’re still having conversations that we would have hoped had kind of been put to bed a while ago. These conversations about whether or not black folks are also queer. I would have hoped that we would have been done with that conversation, right? [Laughter.] But we get a lot of inquiries about what does the gay agenda have to do with Black Lives Matter? What we say is there is no agenda. We’re trying to get free. It is not a coincidence that this iteration of the black freedom movement is led by queer folks. It’s not a coincidence, but that doesn’t mean that it’s any less challenging. And it doesn’t mean that there are less conversations and interventions that need to be had. Even within the movement, right? DARNELL MOORE: [To Barbara Smith:] First of all, it’s just an honor, always, to be in conversation with you. So many of us who identify as queer, black, activist organizers, we name your work, and the work of so many black, lesbian feminists, as the grounds upon which our politics were shaped. [Applause.] But like sister Alicia said, the idea is that queer and trans and gender non-conforming black folk have always been involved in the long, black freedom struggle. To the extent that we have allowed those names and those lives to be celebrated is one story. I think for instance [of calls]

Clockwise from top left: Aria Said; an emotional scene from the audience; Alica Garza; Barbara Smith (seated) talked to audience member; and Darnell Moore.

This program was produced in partnership with San Francisco Pride to highlight issues of importance to the local and national communities.

to address queer antagonism, [and] the patriarchy and the sexism that was very much how [some people] understood black liberation to sort of go. I think about June Jordan and Audrey Lorde. I think about folk [who] were black and queer and trans. I think about Pauli Murray, who said it isn’t Jim Crowe, it’s Jane Crowe. So far before we had the languages afforded to us by people like Kimberly through inter-sectionality or the simultaneity of impression, which we find in the Combahee [River Collective] statement, our people have always been here. And not just in the ’70s and the ’60s—we were on the plantations. We were the Nat Turners on plantations, too. The Harriet Tubmans on plantations, too. Queer people always been here. Always been here. Jumping off ships to get free. So I don’t want to imagine ourselves out of this long struggle for black liberation. Black, queer and trans folk, gender nonconforming folk have always been a part of this struggle. The tools have been democratized. We don’t have to wait for straight cis-gender folk to talk for us. We will go on Twitter, we will go on Instagram. We will create our own avenues to say that we’ve been there. [Applause.] SMITH: Thank you, Darnell. Aria. ARIA SA’ID: I think now we’re just seeing a space where we can bring the fullness of ourselves in the narrative as opposed to before, where we had to be politically correct. And now, we get to shed that and we get to be all of our-

THE COMMO N WE AL TH

selves in who we are, and liberation on so many levels that intertwine, as opposed to just this linear way of thinking about race, because we’re talking about race now, we’re talking about gender, we’re talking about socioeconomic status, and we’re talking about privilege. Things that people weren’t talking about before in the same way. SMITH: I still find it interesting having lived through all those movements, at least most of them that we’re talking about—I wasn’t around for the slave rebellions. [Laughter.] But had I been alive at the time, I would have been involved. Be that as it may, I find it really intriguing that even in a place like Albany, New York, where I live, which is like a neighborhood in a city as far as its population—Albany is the capital of the capital of the world, says the mayor, our first woman mayor who I worked with, Kathy Sheehan. That’s how she describes our city and I believe that, but it’s still less than 100,000 people. And yet, our Black Lives Matter organization—and we also have another organization called Capital Area Against Mass Incarceration, which began a bit before BLM—it has a leadership of queer women of color. And I just find that fascinating. Because as I said, it’s not like a metropolis. And yet that movement, that kind of trajectory, of our politics, our leadership being central to the revolutionary interventions of our time—I just find it really interesting. And of course, we can’t write history as it’s happening, but in years to come, people are

going to look at that and say, “Okay, so because of the past, of the ’60s to the ’70s to the ’80s and the twentieth century, now, we’re actually at a place where we can be visible as a political leader.” I think it’s wonderful and exciting. So from the vantage point of your different spheres of work, how do you see the connections between Black Lives Matter and the LGBTQI movements? SA’ID: I think for me, being on the outside and looking in at Black Lives Matter and the work that you all are doing, we’re seeing so many different communities being elevated to a spotlight and noticed, and the humanity is sort of given back to them because of this movement. So like I was saying earlier about the fullness of ourselves, I think Black Lives Matter has sort of promoted that, number one, our lives do matter. Our lives have value. And I think because we don’t see ourselves in other people, we don’t value other people as much as we value ourselves and who we know. Black Lives Matter is giving voices to other people who are also black but also transgender and also gay and also queer-identified and also do sex work, or also are homeless or impoverished. And those voices are being heard more now than they were before. MOORE: I guess I’ll speak a bit about what I think is how Black Lives Matter has functioned as an intervention within media. And maybe within academic spaces too. But the one thing I know is that as someone who works in media and spaces where corporate media sectors are not always ready to talk about the type of stories that matter to black and brown people, in a way that they need to be talked about, what Black Lives Matter has done—Black Lives Matter isn’t the bad thing, but it has a double effect. On the one hand, it’s meant that those news outlets that have not talked about Black Lives Matter, either as a phenom, as a hashtag thing you’re behind. And now folk are rushing to get a black story, and the good ones are rushing to get black people to tell the story. [Laughter and applause.] On the other hand, though the danger of a moment like this is that it’s easy to commodify Black Lives Matter as a hashtag. That is to say, “See, we wrote the Black Lives Matter story,” but that doesn’t mean you care about the black lives attached to that story. So for me, it’s a double-edged sword, because I’ve been part of the sort of pitches and these conversations with writers across the country, who are being called upon to write about Black Lives Matter. And companies, let’s say, that [don’t] even have more than five black people working in the office. So it’s a disconnect, yeah, that you can gain traction because you’re talking about this hashtag while not addressing. And this is the same thing that’s happening in universities. Universities wanna have all kinds of Black Lives Matter conferences. And my response has been, if you cannot address the extent to which your policies are structurally racist—Where’s your faculty of color? Where are your policies that are not turning your schools into mini jail cells, so that people are getting policed on campuses where they should otherwise be going to the library? If

you’re not addressing those policies, then you don’t need to have a Black Lives Matter event. Don’t host the event. Fix yourselves so that you can demonstrate that black lives actually matter. [Applause.] GARZA: To me the connection is both obvious and it’s also underneath the surface. What I mean by that is, there really isn’t as much of a separation between Black Lives Matter and issues impacting LGBTQIA communities. But most of where that separation comes from, I think, is the ways in which narratives are told about who we are as black folks. Right? There is somehow a prototype of who black people are, and then everybody else is like an outlier. So when Black Lives Matter gets described, oftentimes people say it’s a movement against police brutality. That’s part of it. That’s not all of it. I don’t know how many times we can say that. We’ve been saying that Black Lives Matter is very much a movement about the sanctity of black life. It is a movement

Our lives have value. Because we don’t see ourselves in other people, we don’t value other people as much as we value ourselves. to restore dignity to black life. Which means that all of the issues impacting black people and all of our forms and contours is what’s at the center of this movement, period. So it’s not just about policing, although policing impacts queer communities differently than it impacts other communities. But when you’re black and queer, it’s a whole other thing. MOORE: Right. GARZA: This is a movement about economic justice. This is a movement about racial and gender justice. This is a movement to re-imagine what our lives can and should look like. Not just black lives. Y’all heard me? Somebody take notes. [Laughter.] Somebody tweeted me right now, they said, “You’re racist. You only talk about black people.” No. You know what I’m saying? It’s about all of us. But when we look at the quality of life of black folks, when we look at the issues that black folks are facing, then when we take that and layer it, and we say, well what are the issues that black queer folks are facing? What are the issues that black trans folks are facing? Right? Then we start to dive into the nuances and complexities of our specific experiences. And we start to use that to vision a better world. We don’t use black or any cis people as the control for what a better world can look like, okay? We have to start with the folks who are being impacted in multiple ways by interlocking systems that privilege some folks at the expense of others. That’s where we start from. O C TO B E R/N O V E M B E R 2016

THE ART OF TOUGH

Senator Barbara Boxer has earned a reputation for being tough in politics, and she earned it from her earliest days in the Senate. It was a lesson Mitch McConnell learned right away.

Barbara Boxer, U.S. Senator (D-California) and author of The Art of Tough: Fearlessly Facing Politics and Life; in conversation wtih Mary Marcy, president of Dominican University of California. From the June 20, 2016, program in San Francisco, “Senator Barbara Boxer: The Art of Tough.” Photo by Ed Ritger. MARY MARCY: Talk about the art of tough and where that title came from and what it means. BARBARA BOXER: First I want to say throughout my career especially in the later years people would keep coming up to me and say, “How did you get to be so tough?” I’m just doing what I think is right, you know and so on. I kind of dismissed it, and it kept on happening. I started a little collection of the things people said about me. It began to grow. I took a look at the thing and I actually opened the book with these quotes. One of my least favorite is Ann Coulter, who said of me, “Barbara Boxer is the perfect Democrat—female and learning disabled.” And that’s one of the milder ones that you’ll read about! So I realized “You know, I guess I’m tough.” MARCY: You do a great job of describing the difference between being tough and just being cruel, appalling and nasty. You have some wonderful anecdotes from early days all the way up through unexpected alliances like an alliance recently with Mitch McConnell. Talk a little bit about how you manage to hold the line when you need

THE COMMO N WE AL TH

to and you can still work with folks [across the aisle]. BOXER: In the course of publicizing this book I [visited the show of ] Samantha Bee. Do you know Samantha Bee? She’s so clever. So on the show she said, “In your book you said before you finally did some great work with Mitch McConnell, you didn’t talk to him for 20 years. Is that true?” And I said “Absolutely. I said hello and goodbye, but I really didn’t talk to him.” She looked at me, said, “That must have been the best 20 years of your life.” [Laughter.] But Mitch McConnell. So what happened is when I first got into the Senate, it was the year of the woman. The only reason I got into the United States Senate [is] because people looked at the United States Senate when Anita Hill appeared before the Judiciary Committee—there wasn’t one woman on the Judiciary Committee. There wasn’t one person of color on the Judiciary Committee. And people said, “Well, that’s just the committee,” and then they looked at the Senate. There were two women in the Senate out of a hundred. So I got in there because of Anita’s courage. I’m very humble about that—without her, no way would California have elected two women. So when I get there a story breaks that Bob Packwood—a senator from Oregon, long-revered liberal Republican—had not been a nice person to at least 23 different women, had harassed and worse. So I figured, “Well, I’m brand new here; I’ll just be quiet and watch them kick him out.” I get there and it is this huge coverup

going on, and it falls to me, a freshman, to become the bad person and say “But but but, wait a minute, this is wrong.” Well, Mitch McConnell threatened me in ways that were pretty awful. Forgiveness is part of the art of tough. You have to forgive. However, if someone really breaks your heart, if someone tears it apart, you can say hello and goodbye. But that’s it. So he was my hello and goodbye friend. For 20 years, until something weird happened. In 2015 we became for reasons that are too complex [to go into here] the only two people who could have saved the highway trust fund and all the jobs that go with it. You know the gas tax goes into the Highway Trust Fund. We fix the roads, the bridges—we now have 66,000 bridges that are structurally deficient. We were the only two people to save it, and we did. And we worked together and when it was over, we got a great bill. I bought him a tie with bridges all over it and he got me a slugger bat—I guess he felt confident I wouldn’t use it on him—that said “We hit a home run” or something really lovely like that. We had a good time doing it. But 20 years—because of the horrible situation with Packwood. So it’s an untold story that I tell. MARCY: It’s a great story, and there’s a theme there about always knowing what it is you’re trying to accomplish and who you’re trying to serve in the process of dealing with what was very nasty personal attacks; when you needed to work with him to get something done on behalf of the country, you did. It’s very powerful. I want to go back to that era for a second, because one of the things that happened in the year of the woman was there was a great line that I think you or Senator Feinstein started calling it on the campaign trail that “two percent is great for milk but it’s not good for the U.S. Senate.” What what we forget sometimes is what happened immediately after that. Part of the reason you understood that you had to stand up if Senator Packwood was going to be held to account was because of another woman. You had an interesting exchange with Senator Mikulski. BOXER: Barbara Mikulski—we love each other for a lot of reasons, not the least of which we can look eye-to-eye. I’m five feet tall; I tower over her—in my heels. I love Barbara; she is remarkable. Funny to the core and tough to the core. Barbara was on the Ethics Committee during this Packwood situation. When I knew I had to push publicly for public hearings—it was two years and nothing was happening— Mitch McConnell gave Barbara Mikulski a message for me, which was “You tell Boxer to do this or else.” So I said “That’s his message to me?” So of course I go right up to him—the art of tough—and and I look up at him and I say, “I just got your message from Senator Mikulski. Are you threatening me?” And he said, “I’m promising you.” So after that I knew I had to push and push and push for these public hearings, because you knew once 23

women came forward, that was [a serious problem]. And that’s why they were trying to hide it. I was in the dark. Now I have been the chairman and the ranking member of the Ethics Committee for many years now, but I was brand new then. They can’t talk. We can’t talk about anything. We’re on the Ethics Committee. So after this experience, I didn’t know what I could say to Barbara or anything but I just went up to her and I said, “Barbara, I know you can’t say anything, but I just got through talking to Mitch McConnell and I’m going to take this on; I don’t care what. I’m going with it. I’m going to push and force these public hearings and the vote.” And she never said a word; she looked at me and we were such good friends because we had served in the House. She just gave me one of those looks of “You go, girl.” But she never said a word. She never broke a rule, and I forced it, and the rest is history. He [Packwood] was out of there in 15 minutes after that.

California’s junior senator, Barbara Boxer, talks tough.

O C TO B E R/N O V E M B E R 2016

HOMELESSNESS: WHAT WORKS? Homelessness is a long-term problem, but public attention on it has spiked in recent years. Our panel answers questions on the problem and some possible approaches to dealing with it.

Sam Dodge, director of the (San Francisco) Mayor’s Office of Housing Opportunity, Partnerships and Engagement (HOPE); Mark Farrell, San Francisco supervisor for District 2; and C.W. Nevius, columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle. From the August 30, 2016, program in San Francisco, “Helping the Homeless of San Francisco: What Works?” Photo by Rikki Ward. MARK FARRELL: We talked about the same number of homeless people [being counted] on our streets, but it has become a lot more visible. I would suggest that all of the development that’s happening, in particular south of Market with the high-rises going up and so forth, that is displacing a significant amount of people that were previously homeless in those areas. During one of my first jobs in the city, after grad school, I used to park where is now going to be the new Transbay Terminal. There was a tent city there of 200 people that we didn’t pay much heat to. but I would suggest that it’s becoming a lot more visible because they’re being displaced and put in different parts of the city. They come into people’s neighborhoods a lot more and it’s a lot more visible. Second, in terms of housing-first, I had a study done by our budget legislative analyst inside of City Hall; it came out about a month and a half ago [and] clearly identified over the course of a few years, housing people is cheaper for the city than it is to treat them on the streets because of their need for emergency care and other types of medical interventions. Think about that as we talk about this topic. I think it’s really food for thought going forward for policymakers, that it is cheaper ultimately to house these individuals over the long term than to treat them on our streets. AUDIENCE MEMBER: I have two questions. The first one is about people selling off housing to the developers, or people like those two elderly women who were being put out and they had nowhere to go. One ended up dying in her 90s because the stress was so great, I think. How can you, especially Mark, stop the closing of a lot of affordable housing for people? The second one was when Reagan shut down a lot of the mental hospitals in California, there was no place for the people to go. If they are put into getting help [at a hospital] for the weekend or [a few] days, then they’re put back on the street. Why don’t we open up more mental facilities that are long term that help the people? I think that the Navigation Center has some help like that, but where’s the long term help for the mentally ill? I think a third of the population is mentally ill. FARRELL: I’ll address just the first one you talked about, the individual and the elderly who were being evicted and one passed away. It relates to homelessness, but that’s more about just evictions here in San Francisco and I think housing policies. We have a state law called the Ellis Act, that allows certain landlords to do certain things with their buildings as they permit. What we have

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seen though during the housing boom over the past few years is new people coming in, buying buildings, kicking people out and then redoing them, selling them off or what have you. That’s a whole separate topic around housing and eviction prevention that we have tackled ad nauseam as much as we can at the Board of Supervisors inside of City Hall. I think we’ve put almost as many restrictions in place as possible. Many of the things that we’ve done have actually already been struck down by the courts. We’re doing as much as we can as a city, ... but the way it’s construed right now, I think we are a little bit hamstrung on doing anything more. Those numbers of evictions have dropped significantly [from] what we’ve seen three or four years ago. Look, if you hear one story like that, it sticks in your mind and you remember it, and you think it’s an issue because it is. SAM DODGE: I think your second question talks to the state, and the Ellis Act is a state law. It needs to be reformed, and the mayor spent a lot of time working with Senator [Mark] Leno to try to reform that and it came very close, but a lot of Democrats defected and real estate money is really big in the state. He wasn’t able to ultimately succeed but then again, at the state level is where we’ve seen these huge cuts in the mental health services as well. It’s hard to resurrect those kinds of levels here locally. I mean we talked about the $250 million that’s spent on homeless services, with $120 million of that for people that are formally homeless just to be clear, and another $50 million for health services. This really comes down to around $50 million that we’re spending annually for people that are currently homeless. The behavioral health system that we have in the city for people in eviction crisis, mental crisis, is well over $300 million. I’m talking about a pretty straight-forward system about rehousing people and providing support services, but there’s clearly people [for whom] these issues go far beyond housing and that need those kinds of interventions. I would welcome that. Part of the psych emergency room we have at General [Hospital], the problem they have is how to discharge. It’s like a very high level to get someone into guardianship and to institutional level; but oftentimes people, if they can orient to the world and can say they know how to feed themselves even if it’s out of the garbage can, they’ll discharge right to the street. That’s really heartbreaking. C.W. NEVIUS: Concerning evictions, there was an interesting story in The New York Times that Brooklyn—which is the new Oakland or Oakland’s the new Brooklyn—experienced this building boom and they put an enormous number of apartments online. They are not lamenting the fact that rents have stabilized and that people have a difficult time running these places and they’re giving months of free rent because there are so many housing units. Then this runs of course into the dichotomy in San Francisco, which is as Carl Nolte, our columnist, said, “Everyone says San

Francisco was perfect the day I arrived and I don’t want anything to change.” We have to decide if we’re going to be able to build, if we’re going to be able to go vertical. That’s a dirty word, but we may have to do some of those kinds of things. The people who say supply and demand doesn’t work in San Francisco—I don’t see it. I think it would if we could give it a try. It has to be smart. There has to be affordable housing. We’re up to 25-percent now affordable [units in new developments], which we’ll be able soon to see if it works for developers, if they’re able to make money or not. Again, it’s not as if we’re ignoring it, we just need to move on. AUDIENCE MEMBER: My question is around choice and autonomy for the homeless. I was privileged to tour the Kroc Center in the Tenderloin a couple of years ago and [it’s] a beautiful, clean, secure, multi service program. Amazingly, a very significant number of the lovely rooms are not being taken advantage of because the requirement is that one night of doing drugs or alcohol and you’re removed from the program. How do we have compassion and also respect choices that are destructive? DODGE: The program you’re describing is the Salvation Army program, and we’ve been working really closely with Salvation Army to try to see if they can take some of their programs and take some of the evidence-based best practice that we know work, like harm reduction and housing-first. The idea is that when people come in and they’re facing

If they can orient to the world and can say they know how to feed themselves, they’ll discharge right to the street. substance abuse crisis, [when they get] a secure place to live we see people drop their substance abuse quite substantially. Part of recovery and for those that have experienced it or a family member experiences it, it’s relapse. It’s a journey. Then we need to have choice and economy in our system so that there are sober living places in our system. I think the Kroc Center does provide some of that. When we’re working with people facing multiple crises in their lives, we also need to work with them for the long term and see if we can not just have one-strike-and-you’re-out policies. The vast majority of our housing is not based on the sobriety rule. Part of the choice, there needs to be some sober-living choices in our system. I would say that that has virtue to it as well. FARRELL: This gets a little bit to the homeless population on our streets is not a homogeneous population, one size doesn’t fit all. I think for a lot of people, why the Navigation Center works so well is because you can bring O C TO B E R/N O V E M B E R 2016

your dog. You can bring whatever—previously, if I’m on the streets and I have a pet, and I have shopping cart full of belongings and you say, “Come to bed, I’ll find you a shelter for night. It’s not that great and everyone knows it, but it’s shelter for one night or a few nights but I won’t guarantee anything more.” But if you have to ditch your entire belongings and your pet on the streets, a lot of people practically just say no to that. For those individuals, we have to find places where they will welcome coming off the streets and we can work on that together. I think the Navigation Center represents that, but there are also people that choose proactively to live on our streets as a lifestyle as well. For those people, we have to [use] more of a stick than a carrot if you will. To me, that’s where we have to have policies that disincentivize being on the streets if you will for certain people. It’s something everyone struggles with, but I think it depends on who you’re talking about and I think having options for both is really important if you really think about a system-wide solution. NEVIUS: I honestly didn’t believe when I first started [writing about] this that you would go to someone on the street and say “We have a bed for you” and they would say no. I went with the homeless outreach team, and they said no. What Mark said—not just a pet, but a partner. But I’ve had people say “To be honest, I really enjoy getting high. I stay out here. I’m with some people I know. I formed a community. I don’t want to go in.” I think that’s the deal. It’s the option, the shelters frankly are a very difficult option. You’ve got to wait in line. You’ve got to go there early to get a bed, and then you spend the night, and then you’re out early the next morning. Where are you going to go next? Back in line and wait for the same bed in the shelter. It’s a zero-sum game. We need to figure a way to make that work. It isn’t right now. Again, I think the Navigation Center’s a great idea. We need to find a way to treat people as people,

I honestly didn’t believe that you would go to someone on the street and say ‘We have a bed for you’ and they would say no. and yet, I think we also have to have some standards and say, “We can’t bring in other people.” There are things you have to do, you have to be able to do a delicate balancing act. Again, I think we’re moving in the right direction but it’s certainly is a difficult problem. AUDIENCE MEMBER: I occasionally take Caltrain down in the peninsula to San Jose and drive along El Camino. Along much of the route, I see numerous [run-down] motels. Given that homelessness is not a San Francisco issue

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but a regional and statewide and federal issue, and since San Francisco lacks housing, should San Francisco lease or buy some of these derelict, near-derelict properties and repurpose them for some of the homeless? Is this realistic? DODGE: Yeah, it is realistic. Until recently, it’s been kind of taboo, but [we have] rapid rehousing vouchers; we end up using 70 percent of them through client choice and what’s available for whether it’s a realistic rent level. I think this has really just kind of helped open our eyes that many families working and like, myself actually, I live in Oakland. I mean it’s just the options, and it’s what I can do for my wife and two kids. It was a better solution, and so I wouldn’t deny that to any homeless family as well. That opportunity cost if I can only get units for $1,000 a month, then I can get them for half that or much less in nearby regions on transit lines. I mean that’s not something that I’m willing to give up. We have to find dollars that allow for that. The federal dollars and the state dollars that we pull down don’t allow us to move outside of the county currently. We have to look for partnerships in nearby municipalities, but Oakland said point blank that they would love to do projects jointly with us. NEVIUS: A number of SRO—single room occupancy— hotels in San Francisco [have] the rooms are available but they’re not being used. DODGE: Yeah, there’re weird cases. I mean San Francisco has 522 residential hotels and about 18– to 20,000 people that are living in residential hotels. Every once in a while, I’ll get one that’s been closed for a long time or something like that and I can figure out a way to lease it or purchase it. There’s still some opportunities we’re able to do. I brought on 530 units last year in residential hotels, revamped and really nice, proud places that people can come off the streets and live. This year, it looks like we’re going to be able to do 330. AUDIENCE MEMBER: Sam, I think you mentioned that there were 7,000 units of temporary transitional housing that’s currently available and then, we mentioned that there are 7,000 homeless over the last 10 years. It hasn’t changed much. Are there 7,000 more homeless than the housing we have or is it just in-between? The second one is that for all intents and purposes, our panelists represent what would be considered the establishment to some extent. My question would be if you could channel those who are not in the establishment, what do you think they would say are the causes of our epidemic? What do you find are the biggest impediments or road blocks to solving this epidemic? Thank you. DODGE: I’ll try to go fast. The point-in-time count is for people in shelter or on the street. Our permanent supportive housing 6,300 units are filled with people that are formerly homeless and turn over a little bit each year. It’s a separate group of people. I think to channel the activist, we have a housing system here in this country that has automatic entitlement to mortgage deductions on not just your primary house but

your beach house and multiple houses, and it’s bigger for the bigger size of your loan. It ends up subsidizing more higher-income people and we have scarce resources for those living without shelter. They get lotteries and long lines, and scarcity methods until there’s an entitlement for like a Section 8 voucher for people that are extremely low income. We’re going to be kind of in this space of dealing with crisis and managing scarce opportunities. FARRELL: We mentioned the 7,000 that are currently homeless, but in that 10-year period of time, we’ve housed 22,000 homeless people. We’ve sent through Homeward Bound close to 10,000. I would suggest that if we hadn’t done those things, our homeless population would be astronomically larger. It isn’t the same 7,000 people at all. We’ve [helped] a lot, but more and more come on to our streets in San Francisco or move here. I shudder at being called the establishment but fair enough. A fair point is that we’re spending so much but it’s still such a big problem. What I have come to realize as the fiscal conservative inside of the Board of Supervisors, and otherwise, this is probably the most expensive problem we have to solve. It is also always looking at new policies, ideas, and new priorities but again, compared to other cities and what we’ve done, I think what we’re doing is working. We’re not doing enough of it, if you really, truly want to make a dent on the issue. There’s no way it’s the same budget and we’re going to

be able to rent more rooms or what have you, you just can’t. It’s impossible. You can’t do that. I think the biggest outside impediment is people look at our budget and go, “You’re spending so much and it’s still such a big problem.” It’s not that we’re not spending enough. It’s that you guys don’t know how and what we’re doing with the money that we’re spending. NEVIUS: We may be the establishment here, but if we were in Kansas City, we’d be communist. The discussion has become so fraught, and it’s so difficult. We’ve talked to some of the advocates, and I’ve said, “Look, I understand that you’re passionate about this. That makes all the difference in the world. God bless you for doing it, but a group like yourself who [can’t just] say no all the time—take a group like, here’s a big example, the Bicycle Coalition, which no one is more rabid about their cause. The Bicycle Coalition has found a way to work through compromises. I’ve said you can’t just say no. What’s the yes? What is it that you like to see? We’re ready to get behind that. I’ve even said, if you want to take me on a tour of the shelters to show the lousy conditions there, I’m ready to go. The response I got was “Nothing is ever achieved without force.” That I think is the point where we’re at loggerheads if we want to solve this. Everybody wants to solve this, but it doesn’t have to be an argument about how we’re going to solve it. That’s what it seems to have degenerated into, and that I think holds us back.

International Relations Forum Chair Norma Walden introduces panelists (left to right) Sam Dodge, Mark Farrell, and C.W. Nevius.

O C TO B E R/N O V E M B E R 2016

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OCTOBER

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THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SAT/SUN

1/2

Michael Krasny October 5

3 6:30 p.m. Autonomous Vehicles and the Future of Transport FM

8/9

6:30 p.m. Sir Roger Penrose: What We All Need to Know About Physics

6 p.m. Can Courts Get the Law Right? Judicial Review’s Problem with Objectivity 6:30 p.m. KQED’s Michael Krasny: Oy, Does He Have Jokes for You 6:30 p.m. California Power Politics 7:45 p.m. 544 Days in an Iranian Prison

6:30 p.m. China’s Economic Slowdown: Will It Hurt the U.S. and the World?

12 p.m. From Arab Spring to Islamic State: A Regional Perspective FM 12 p.m. End-of-Life Challenges and Solutions FM

5:30 p.m. Presidential Debate Watch Party 10/9 FE

15/16

12 p.m. Parkinson’s Disease: Nutritional Therapy 6 p.m. From Moldova to Mountain View: Technovation Challenges Girls to Code Solutions to Social Problems

6 p.m. Grgich Hills Estate: A Toast to Mike Grgich 6:30 p.m. An Evening with Luvvie Ajayi

12 p.m. Nancy Cohen: Is the U.S. Ready to Elect a Woman President? FM 2 p.m. Nob Hill Walking Tour

Mary Ellen Hannibal October 21

6 p.m. Special Preview: Meet the 17th Annual Brower Youth Award Winners FM 6:30 p.m. Week to Week Political Roundtable & Social Hour FM

6 p.m. Why Presidents Fail and How They Can Succeed Again 6:30 p.m. Bread, Wine and Chocolate in a Warming World 7 p.m. Simon Sinek: Author and Optimist

5:30 p.m. Presidential Debate Watch Party 6:30 p.m. Chef Marcus Samuelsson: The Story of Food and Hustle in Harlem 7 p.m. Pascal Lee and Andy Weir: Exploring Mars

6:30 p.m. Election Education: An Evening with Rep. Eric Swalwell 7 p.m. Ralph Nader: Fighting for Democracy

12 p.m. McKibben & Tamminen: Disruptive Climate and Politics 12 p.m. Dispelling Ageism: The Journey of the Age March 7 p.m. Mary Ellen Hannibal: How to Be a Citizen Scientist

24 5 p.m. Humanities West Book Discussion: The World of Yesterday, by Stefan Zweig FM 6 p.m. Einstein’s Greatest Mistake 6:30 p.m. Socrates Café FM 6:30 p.m. How to Make a Spaceship! (without NASA)

25 6 p.m. Lincoln’s Generals’ Wives: Four Women Who Influenced the Civil War, for Better and for Worse

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10 3 p.m. Anthony Romero, ACLU Executive Director: Civil Liberties and Technology FM 6 p.m. The Creative Architect 6:30 p.m. Caitlin Shetterly: The Threat of GMOs 6:30 p.m. #Girlboss Sophia Amoruso 7 p.m. Larry Brilliant: Sometimes Brilliant

12 p.m. Senator Barbara Boxer: The Art of Tough 6 p.m. Tom Stienstra: The Mighty T, from Glacier to Golden Gate 7 p.m. Robert Lang: Origami — Between the Folds of Art and Technology

2 p.m. San Francisco Architecture Walking Tour 7 p.m. Yvon Chouinard, Founder of Patagonia

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22/23

29/30

7 p.m. Joel McHale Live

Joel McHale October 28

O C TO B E R/N O V E M B E R 2016

NOVEMBER

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6:30 p.m. A Place to Call Home FM 7 p.m. Frances Dinkelspiel: Greed, Murder, and Arson in California’s Vineyards

5:15 p.m. How to Protect Against Financial Elder Abuse 6:30 p.m. Ben Franklin Circles FM 6:30 p.m. Chef Jeremiah Tower: How to Behave in the Modern World and Why Bother? 7:45 p.m. The Secret Sauce of Dodge & Cox’s Investment Strategy

6 p.m. Egon Schiele: A Feminist Artist Ahead of His Time 6 p.m. The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High-Tech World

6 p.m. Public Health and Physician Activism: Lessons from Baltimore FM 6:30 p.m. Week to Week Political Roundtable and Social Hour

SAT/SUN

5/6

Frances Dinkelspiel November 1

6 p.m. Wings: Gifts of Art, Life and Travel in France 6 p.m. A Capitalist’s Lament: How Wall Street Is Fleecing You and Ruining America

FRIDAY

12/13

19/20

26/27

10 a.m. Chinatown Walking Tour 6 p.m. A Courageous Brain: Not Manipulated by Needless Fear

Francis Ford Coppola November 15

14 6 p.m. Raising America’s Porn Literacy—and Managing America’s Porn Panic FM 6:30 p.m. Historian Saul Friedländer: The Holocaust and Its Importance in 2016

15 7 p.m. Francis Ford Coppola: The Program You Can’t Refuse

21 6:30 p.m. Socrates Café FM 6:30 p.m. Janet Napolitano Interviews Uri Bar-Joseph on Spycraft

6 p.m. A Holiday Toast to the 2016 Wine Harvest: Sustainable Practices and Pairings 7 p.m. Dan Ariely: The Hidden Logic that Shapes Our Motivations

12 p.m. First Reversals of Cognitive Decline in Alzheimer’s Disease 2 p.m. North Beach Walking Tour 5:15 p.m. Tips for Helping Your Aging Parents (Without Losing Your Mind)

6 p.m. Russia’s Road to Terror and Dictatorship under Yeltsin and Putin

Janet Napolitano November 21

29 12 p.m. Troubled Turkey 5:30 p.m. Middle East Forum Discussion 6 p.m. Global Women Speak: Advice for Our New President on Issues Facing Women Around the World 6 p.m. Better Endof-Life Care: Using Video and Story to Aid Decisions

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30 7 p.m. Andy Cohen and Anna Sale: Taboo Topics

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OCTOBER 3-6 MONDAY, OCTOBER 3 3 MONDAY, OCTOBER Autonomous Vehicles and the Future of Transport Emily Castor, Dir. of Transportation Policy, Lyft Lauren Isaac, Mgr. of Transportation Sustainability, Parsons Brinckerhoff Linsey Willis, Dir. of External Affairs, Contra Costa Transportation Authority Jeanette Shaw, CEO, Techolicy—Moderator

For decades, drivers everywhere have dreamed of having a car that drives itself. Now that autonomous vehicles are here, what are the implications in the Bay Area and beyond? From Tesla to Uber and Google, autonomous vehicles seem to be everywhere in 2016. Will we all be passengers in our own cars soon? What about the future of public transportation? Join our panel of experts to discuss the possibilities, challenges and what lies ahead for autonomous vehicles. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4 4 TUESDAY, OCTOBER Sir Roger Penrose: What We All Need to Know About Physics Roger Penrose, Theoretical Physicist; Author, Fashion, Faith, and Fantasy in the New Physics of the Universe In conversation with Dr. David Eisenbud, Director, Mathematical Sciences Research Institute and Professor of Mathematics, UC Berkeley

Meet one of the world’s most renowned scientific thinkers. Sir Roger Penrose, colleague of Stephen Hawking and acclaimed theoretical physicist, will separate fiction from reality when it comes to physics and discuss the fact-based truths of the universe. Penrose argues that fashion, faith, and fantasy, while sometimes productive and even essential in physics, may be leading today’s researchers astray in three of the field’s most important areas—string theory, quantum mechanics and cosmology. Arguing that string theory has veered away from physical reality by positing six extra hidden dimensions, Penrose cautions that the fashionable nature of a theory can cloud our judgment of its plausibility. Come for a discussion that will illuminate physics and its significance to all of us.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing • Notes: In association with The Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI)

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5 5

come ready to laugh a lot. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing • Notes: This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation; photo by Howard Schatz

Can Courts Get the Law Right? Judicial Review’s Problem with Objectivity

California Power Politics

Tara Smith, Professor of Philosophy, University of Texas at Austin; Author, Judicial Review in an Objective Legal System

Climate disruption and the California drought have been mocked or marginalized in the national political debate. Are Republicans and Democrats in California similarly divided? Where can they agree on water, energy, agriculture and other issues related to the changing climate? Climate impacts such as massive forest fires, rising tides, and severe storms are hitting the state today. Governor Brown is trying to extend the state’s main climate law, AB 32. Is that going to happen?

The best laws in the world are useless if they are misunderstood by the courts. Yet the debate over judicial review—proper interpretation of laws—tends to be a minefield of loaded concepts, straw men and false alternatives. Tara Smith explains the pillars of objective law and the essentials needed to restore objective judicial review. Hear Smith’s unique perspective on the originalism vs. living constitution vs. minimalism debate. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond

KQED’s Michael Krasny: Oy, Does He Have Jokes for You Michael Krasny, Host, “Forum”; Author, Let There Be Laughter: A Treasury of Great Jewish Humor and What It Means In conversation with Peter Coyote

Michael Krasny has been telling Jewish jokes since his bar mitvah, and it’s been said that he knows more of them than anyone on the planet. He has now put together a compendium of Jewish jokes that packs the punches with hilarious riff after riff and also offers a window into Jewish culture. Let There Be Laughter borrows from traditional humor and such Jewish comedy legends and new voices as Jackie Mason, Mel Brooks, Joan Rivers, Larry David, Sarah Silverman, Jerry Seinfeld and Amy Schumer. With his background as a scholar and public radio host, Krasny also delves deeply into the themes, topics and form of Jewish humor: chauvinism undercut by irony and self-mockery, the fear of losing cultural identity through assimilation, the importance of vocal inflection in joke-telling, and calls to communal memory, including the use of Yiddish. Above all,

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Roger Penrose October 4

Kevin de Leon, President, California State Senate (D-Los Angeles)

SF • CLIMATE ONE PROGRAM • Location: Hotel Nikko, Carmel Room, 222 Mason St, San Francisco • Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. networking reception

Tara Smith October 5

Michael Krasny October 5

544 Days in an Iranian Prison Jared Huffman, U.S. Representative Ali Rezaian Jim Sciutto, CNN Chief National Security Correspondent—Moderator

Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian, a U.S. citizen, was held in an Iranian prison on undisclosed charges for 18 months. Why is Jason’s story relevant today? Congressman Jared Huffman and Jason’s brother, Ali, will give us the inside story of dogged diplomacy and knowledge gained that may help other Americans detained overseas. NB • MARIN CONVERSATIONS PROGRAM • Location: Outdoor Art Club, One West Blithdale, Mill Valley • Time: 7 p.m. check-in and light hors d’oeuvres, 7:45–9 p.m. program • Notes: Sponsored by Relevant Wealth Advisors and an anonymous donor

THURSDAY, OCTOBER THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6 6 China’s Economic Slowdown: Will It Hurt the U.S. and the World? Yingyi Qian, Dean and Professor, School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University, China Nicholas Lardy, Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics; Board Member, Asia Policy and The Chi-

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OCTOBER 6-10 na Review George Lewinski, Former Foreign Editor, “Marketplace”—Moderator

Jackie Speier & Rebecca Sudore October 7

Caitlin Shetterly October 10

With China’s growth slower than it has been in 25 years, China is experiencing an economic slowdown. The government has made changes to stabilize the situation and move the economy toward a “new normal.” Our panelists will discuss the different reforms China is working on now and how likely these reforms are to succeed. What does it mean for Americans if these reforms succeed—or if the reforms fail? Do we need to fear a stronger China, or moreso a weaker one? SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:45 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program • Notes: In association with The Committee of 100

FRIDAY, OCTOBER FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7 7 Sophia Amoruso October 10

From Arab Spring to Islamic State: A Regional Perspective Banafsheh Keynoush, Ph.D., Foreign Affairs Scholar; Author Dina Ibrahim, Ph.D., Middle East Analyst, Educator Robert Rosenthal, Executive Director, Center for Investigative Reporting—Moderator

Dr. Keynoush and Dr. Ibrahim will trace the demise of the Arab Spring and the violent rise and threat of Islamic State with Robert Rosenthal, a former editor of the San Francisco Chronicle. Dr. Keynoush is an advisor to policy centers in the Middle East, translator to four Iranian presidents, and author of Saudi Arabia and Iran: Friends or Foes. Dr. Ibrahim is associate producer of Hope and Fear: Egypt at the Tipping Point. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 11:30 p.m. networking reception, noon program • MLF: Middle East • Program organizer: Celia Menczel

End-of-Life Challenges and Solutions

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Jackie Speier, U.S. Representative (D-California 14th); Ranking Member, House Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations; Member, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Rebecca Sudore, M.D., Associate Professor of Medicine, UCSF; Clinician-researcher; Geriatrician; Hospice and Palliative Care Physician

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If you think your plans for serious illness are all set, think again. Congresswoman Jackie Speier, despite considerable forethought, struggled to ensure her dying loved ones were well-served. She will share her personal experiences navigating the medical system for her aging relatives. Following the congresswoman’s personal discussion, UCSF’s Dr. Rebecca Sudore will discuss how to prepare for future medical decisions and to get the care that is right for you. She will share video stories from an easy-to-use website and answer your questions about how best to ensure your wishes are honored during serious illness. Come gain a better understanding of how best to plan for future medical decision making, and explore tools to prepare for the endof-life. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program • MLF: Health & Medicine • Program organizer: Mark Zitter • Notes: Part of our End of Life series

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9 9 SUNDAY, OCTOBER Presidential Debate Watch Party 10/9 Join INFORUM, Brigade and KQED at the swanky Hotel Zetta to watch all three 2016 presidential debates! This election cycle has already been full of unforgettable moments; you won’t want to miss the opportunity to watch presidential nominees Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump face off live and debate the issues as they compete for your vote in November. Bring your friends and your opinions, we’ll provide the snacks and drinks! SF • INFORUM PROGRAM • Location: Hotel Zetta, 55 5th St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30–8 p.m. program • Notes: This is a 21-and-over event; valid ID required

MONDAY, OCTOBER MONDAY, OCTOBER 10 10 The Creative Architect Pierluigi Serraino, Architect; Author, The Creative Architect: Inside the Great Midcentury Personality Study In conversation with John King, Architecture Critic, San Francisco Chronicle

Monday Night Philosophy unearths a late 1950s “source of creativity” study whose data has finally been analyzed and published. Forty eminent architects—including Eero Saarinen,

Louis Kahn, Philip Johnson, George Nelson, Richard Neutra, Eliot Noyes, Pietro Belluschi, Serge Chermayeff and A. Quincy Jones—descended on UC Berkeley for three days of intensive testing in an attempt to discover the sources of their creativity. Pierluigi Serraino charts the development and implementation of this historic study, producing the first look at an amazing and matchless episode in the annals of modern architecture and psychology. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond

Caitlin Shetterly: The Threat of GMOs Caitlin Shetterly, Author, Modified: GMOs and the Threat to Our Food, Our Land, Our Future

GMO products are among the most-consumed and the least-understood substances in the United States today. They appear in everything from the interior coating of paper coffee cups and medicines to diapers and toothpaste. Shetterly discovered the importance of GMOs the hard way. Shortly after she learned that her son had an alarming sensitivity to GMO corn, she was told that she had the same condition, and her family’s daily existence changed forever. She takes a deeper look at how GMO products are currently infiltrating our food, our land, and how that could affect our health and future. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing

#Girlboss Sophia Amoruso Sophia Amoruso, Author, Nasty Galaxy and New York Times best-seller #Girlboss; Founder and CEO, Nasty Gal; Founder, #Girlboss Foundation; Host, #Girlboss Radio Alison Pincus, Co-founder, One Kings Lane; Co-Founder, HelloMazel—Moderator

Come get nasty with Nasty Gal’s #Girlboss Sophia Amoruso, at INFORUM! An entrepreneur and style-setter, Sophia’s life has been one wild ride, and we know it’s just the beginning! In the 2000s, she was a security monitor at the San Francisco Academy of Art, dumpster diving for food and selling

SF: San Francisco SV: Silicon Valley EB: East Bay NB: North Bay

OCTOBER 10-12 stolen books on eBay before founding Nasty Gal in 2006. Just a decade later, in 2016, Forbes named Sophia one of the youngest and richest self-made women in America—surpassing fellow #Girlboss Beyonce. Sophia launched her company, Nasty Gal, on eBay, reselling vintage clothes she scavenged from thrift stores. Nasty Gal quickly grew, growing from a makeshift store in Sophia’s living room to a fashion powerhouse, both online and brick-and-mortar, in less than a decade. Women around the world snap up Nasty Gal’s cutting-edge fashions with a vintage touch, and Sophia’s influence is evident on magazine covers, Pinterest, the runway and beyond. Sophia’s success isn’t just limited to fashion. Sophia champions aspiring female entrepreneurs through her #Girlboss Foundation and shares stories of other creative, successful women on her popular podcast #Girlboss Radio, with guests like Charlize Theron. Her first book, #Girlboss, dubbed “Lean In for misfits,” is a New York Times bestseller and is currently being turned into a Netflix original series (taping in San Francisco this fall!). SF • INFORUM PROGRAM • Location: Marines Memorial Theatre, 609 Sutter St, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 pm check-in, 6:30 pm program, book signing to follow • Notes: This program is generously supported by Wells Fargo

Larry Brilliant: Sometimes Brilliant Larry Brilliant, Chairman, Skoll Global Threats; Former Executive Director, Google.org; Author, Sometimes Brilliant: The Impossible Adventure of a Spiritual Seeker and Visionary Physician Who Helped Conquer the Worst Disease in History;

Brilliant’s life has taken him across continents and countercultural movements. He is responsible for some of the most significant medical, spiritual and social achievements of the past century, working with leaders and icons including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, Wavy Gravy, the Dalai Lama, and President Barack Obama. Brilliant lived in India for more than 10 years working as a United Nations medical officer, where he played a key role in the World Health Organization smallpox eradication program in South Asia. He also co-founded The

Seva Foundation, an international NGO whose programs and grantees have given back sight to more than 3.5 million blind people in more than 20 countries. SV • Location: Schultz Cultural Hall, Oshman Family JCC, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto • Time: 6:30 p.m. check-in, 7 p.m. program, 8 p.m. book signing • Notes: This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation; in association with Oshman Family JCC

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11 11 TUESDAY, OCTOBER Parkinson’s Disease: Nutritional Therapy Steve Blake, Sc.D., Faculty Nutritional Biochemist, Hawaii Pacific Neuroscience; Author, Vitamins and Minerals Demystified and Parkinson’s Disease: Dietary Regulation of Dopamine

Parkinson’s disease involves a deficiency of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Symptoms can include tremor, rigidity and slow movements. In this program, you will learn about changes in dietary protein that have been found to reduce these symptoms by half. Neurodegeneration is the loss of function and death of our brain cells. Why do our brain cells lose function and die? Learn about specific pollutants in certain foods that can damage our ability to make dopamine, and which foods harbor these persistent organic pollutants and how to avoid them. In contrast, certain foods and nutrients can help protect brain cells and slow degeneration. Since Parkinson’s disease symptoms do not often show up before half of the dopamine-producing brain cells are gone, all of us can benefit from proactive risk reduction. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 11:30 a.m. networking reception, noon program, 1 p.m. book signing • MLF: Health & Medicine • Program organizer: Bill Grant

From Moldova to Mountain View: Technovation Challenges Girls to Code Solutions to Social Problems Madhavi Bhasin, Global Partnerships Director, Technovation Allie Holmes, Events & Engagement Director, Technovation

Technovation, a flagship program of non-profit Iridescent, is the world’s largest global tech entrepreneurship competition for girls. The program

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offers girls around the world the opportunity to learn the necessary skills to emerge as tech entrepreneurs and leaders. Every year, Technovation challenges 10- to 18-year-old girls to build a business plan and mobile app that will address a community problem. Since 2009, more than 10,000 girls have participated from more than 87 countries. The international reach of the competition has escalated in the last three years. The winner of the 2014 competition was from Moldova, and the 2015 winner was a Nigerian team. Bhasin and Holmes will give an overview of the competition, its sponsors (Google, Facebook, and others), outreach efforts, and partners (such as UN Women, Peace Corps, and more).

Larry Brilliant October 10

Steve Blake October 11

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program • MLF: International Relations • Program organizers: Linda Calhoun, Barbara Jue

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12 12 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER

Violet Grgich October 12

Grgich Hills Estate: A Toast to Mike Grgich Violet Grgich, Vice President for Sales and Marketing, Grgich Hills Estate In conversation with Sasha Paulsen, Features Editor, Napa Valley Register

In the 40 years that have passed since he crafted the iconic Chateau Montelena Chardonnay that beat its French counterpart in the famous 1976 Judgment of Paris wine competition, Miljenko “Mike” Grgich has garnered wide acclaim as an industry pioneer while his wines have been served at White House state dinners. Having grown up alongside her father in the winery, trying her hand at everything from the bottling line to the tasting room, Violet Ggrich will share her personal recollections on publishing her father’s newly released memoir, A Glass Full of Miracles, as well as the family’s plans for the future. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing • MLF: Food Matters • Program organizer: Deborah Adeyanju

An Evening with Luvvie Ajayi Luvvie Ajayi, Comedian; Blogger; Author

Luvvie Ajayi, blogger and comedian extraordinaire, is that friend who brings up all the “touchy” topics you’re not supposed to talk about at dinner,

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OCTOBER 12-18 like love, sex, money and politics. In her new book I’m Judging You: The Do Better Manual, Luvvie deftly dissects everything from feminism to friendship to social media to sex tapes, all the while encouraging readers to take a hard look at why they think and act the way they do in today’s crazy-connected, digital world. Luvvie can and does school her readers on everything from proper Facebook etiquette to race relations: she tells you to “do better,” and people will want to listen. Recently named a member of Oprah’s SuperSoul 100, Luvvie’s award-winning blog AwesomelyLuvvie reaches more than 500,000 readers. She’s a highly coveted speaker all over the world, and she’s the executive director of the Red Pump Project, a national HIV/AIDS nonprofit.

Nancy Cohen October 14

Brower Youth Award Winners October 17

SF • INFORUM PROGRAM • Location: 555 Post St, San Francisco • Time: 5:30 pm checkin and premium reception, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 pm book signing

Elaine Kamarck October 18

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14 14 FRIDAY, OCTOBER Nancy Cohen: Is the U.S. Ready to Elect a Woman President? Nancy L. Cohen, Historian; Author, Breakthrough: The Making of America’s First Woman President In conversation with Dan Ashley, ABC 7 News Anchor

With election day just a few weeks away, Nancy Cohen, a frequent writer and commentator on women’s political leadership, will draw on some 125 interviews with elected officials and strategists from both parties to assess the history of women’s experience in politics, the changing political climate, and the current prospects for Hillary Clinton to win the country’s highest elective office. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 11:15 a.m. check-in, noon program, 1 p.m. book signing

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Nob Hill Walking Tour Explore one of San Francisco’s 44 hills, and one of its original “Seven Hills.” Because of great views and its central position, Nob Hill became an exclusive enclave of the rich and famous on the West Coast who built large mansions in the neighborhood. This included prominent tycoons such as Leland Stanford, and other members of the Big Four.

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Highlights include the history of four landmark hotels: The Fairmont, Mark Hopkins, Stanford Court, and Huntington Hotel. Visit the city’s largest house of worship, Grace Cathedral, and discover architectural tidbits and anecdotes about the railroad barons and silver kings. A true San Francisco experience of elegance, urbanity, scandals and fabulous views. SF • Location: Meet in front of Caffe Cento, 801 Powell St., San Francisco • Time: 1:45 p.m. check-in, 2–4:30 p.m. walk • Notes: Tour operates rain or shine; limited to 20 participants; tickets must be purchased in advance and will not be sold at check-in

MONDAY, OCTOBER MONDAY, OCTOBER 17 17 Special Preview: Meet the 17th Annual Brower Youth Award Winners Rosemary Brower Olsen, Granddaughter of David R. Brower—Moderator Panelists TBA

The Brower Youth Awards are recognized as North America’s most prestigious prize for youth environmental activism between the ages of 13-22. Six winners will be announced at the public awards ceremony in San Francisco. Join us for a special preview night, when we will hear more about what inspires, challenges and excites each of these young environmental change-makers. Learn more about past winners and the awards program by visiting broweryouthawards.org. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program • MLF: Environment & Natural Resources • Program organizer: Ann Clark • Notes: Photo by Amir Clark

Week to Week Political Roundtable and Social Hour 10/17 Carla Marinucci, Senior Writer, POLITICO California Playbook Additional Panelists TBA

Election Day is almost here. Some of you will have already voted and are now biting your nails for the final outcome. Join us then as we explore the biggest, most controversial, and sometimes the surprising political issues with expert commentary by panelists who are smart, are civil, and have a good sense of humor. Join our panelists for informative and engaging commentary on political and other major news, audience discus-

sion of the week’s events, and our live news quiz! And come early before the program to meet other smart and engaged individuals and discuss the news over snacks and wine at our social hour. SF • WEEK TO WEEK PROGRAM • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. wine-and-snacks social, 6:30 p.m. program

TUESDAY, OCTOBER TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18 18 Why Presidents Fail and How They Can Succeed Again Elaine Kamarck, Professor, Harvard Kennedy School; Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution; Author, Why Presidents Fail and How They Can Succeed Again

Elaine Kamarck argues that for most of their lives, Americans have experienced government failure. The idea that government can and will produce results, implement policy, and efficiently govern the nation is met with rolled eyes. Kamarck explores the failings of presidents Carter, Bush and Obama with a bipartisan analysis of how and why each fiasco occurred. Her insider’s perspective provides accessible explanations into the inner-workings and political bureaucracy that can cause a governmental meltdown. One big problem she sees is that we reward communicators over managers, rhetoric over governing skills. But persuasive speeches and tweets can be balanced with a grasp of policy and how to implement it. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond

Bread, Wine and Chocolate in a Warming World Simran Sethi, Author, Bread, Wine, Chocolate: The Slow Loss of Foods We Love

The industrialization of food has caused much of the food we eat to taste the same, whether you are nibbling at a farmer’s market in San Francisco, a Midwestern barbecue or a fast food joint in China. Ninety-five percent of the world’s calories now come from only 30 species, and Simran Sethi says a closer look at America’s cornucopia of grocery store options shows that our foods are primarily made up of only corn, wheat, rice, palm oil and soybeans. Sethi traveled to six continents in search of

SF: San Francisco SV: Silicon Valley EB: East Bay NB: North Bay

OCTOBER 18-20 delicious and endangered tastes and how we can save the foods we love. SF • CLIMATE ONE PROGRAM • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. networking reception

Simon Sinek: Author and Optimist Simon Sinek, Author, Start with Why and Together is Better: A Little Book of Inspiration

Sinek’s newest book, Together is Better, is a celebration of that simple human idea that we are better when we help each other than we are when we work alone. Too often, we avoid asking for help when we need it or refuse to accept it when it’s offered for fear that it will make us look weak or put us or our job at risk. We often keep self-doubt to ourselves instead of turning to someone we trust for inspiration. In the simplest way possible, Sinek reminds us what it means to be a leader, the courage it takes to ask for help and the value of working together. It is a story that illustrates the need for leaders to foster environments in which trust and cooperation can thrive. Sinek has taught companies and employees around the world how to inspire people. He is known for popularizing the concept of “Why,” and his TED talk is the third most-watched presentation. SV • Location: Schultz Cultural Hall, Oshman Family JCC, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto • Time: 6:30 p.m. check-in, 7 p.m. program, 8 p.m. book signing

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19 19 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER Better Health for the World’s Poorest Will Strengthen Global Security David Gottleib, CEO, Partners in Health; Former President and CEO, Partners HealthCare

While the developed world enjoys economic and social advancement enabled by health-care improvements, millions globally continue to die from 18th and 19th century illnesses. See website for event details. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program • MLF: International Relations • Program organizer: Linda Calhoun

Presidential Debate Watch Party 10/19 Join INFORUM, Brigade and KQED

at the swanky Hotel Zetta to watch all three 2016 presidential debates! This election cycle has already been full of unforgettable moments; you won’t want to miss the opportunity to watch presidential nominees Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump face off live and debate the issues as they compete for your vote in November. Bring your friends and your opinions, we’ll provide the snacks and drinks! SF • Location: Hotel Zetta, 55 5th St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30–8 p.m. program • Notes: This is a 21-and-over event; valid ID required

Chef Marcus Samuelsson: The Story of Food and Hustle in Harlem Marcus Samuelsson, Chef; Author, The Red Rooster Cookbook: The Story of Food and Hustle in Harlem In conversation with Chef Chris Cosentino

When Chef Samuelsson opened Red Rooster in Harlem, he envisioned more than just a restaurant. He wanted to create a melting pot that would highlight Harlem’s vibrant multicultural history with food, art and music. A James Beard award-winner, Samuelsson reflects on his journey from Ethiopia to Sweden to Harlem, and all the kitchen adventures he has encountered along the way.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing • Notes: This program is part of our Food Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation

Pascal Lee and Andy Weir: Exploring Mars Pascal Lee, Ph.D., Co-founder, Mars Institute; Planetary Scientist, SETI Institute; Principal Investigator of the Haughton-Mars Project, NASA Ames Research Center; Author, Mission: Mars Andy Weir, Author, The Martian

Sooner or later, humans will walk on the Red Planet. Weir and Lee want it to be “sooner,” and they have deep insights—both technical and psychological—about how to make it happen. Join Lee and Weir for a spirited conversation on the promise and peril of humanity’s first in-person exploration of an alien planet. SV • Location: Cubberley Community Theatre, 4000 Middlefield Road (Montrose & Middlefield), Palo Alto • Time: 6:30 p.m. check-in, 7 p.m. program, 8 p.m. book signing • Notes: In Association with Wonderfest

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20 20 THURSDAY, OCTOBER Election Education: An Evening with Rep. Eric Swalwell Eric Swalwell, U.S. Rep. (D, California-15) Nellie Bowles, Silicon Valley Correspondent, HBO’S “Vice News Tonight”—Moderator

Congressman Eric Swalwell has quickly made a name for himself as the voice of the millennial generation in Congress. The first person in his family to go to college, Rep. Swalwell is fighting for student loan reform and advocating for affordable housing and paid family leave. An avid user of social media platforms like Snapchat and Twitter, Swalwell has even inspired the popular hashtag #Swalwelling. He’s also believed to be the first member of Congress to Vine on the House floor and he has used Facebook Live to stream from the House chamber. Last year Swalwell created the bipartisan Sharing Economy Caucus with Republican Congressman Darrell Issa, which focuses on the opportunities and challenges related to the rise of companies such as Uber and Airbnb. Rep. Swalwell is also a member of the United Solutions Caucus, created in 2012 by a group of incoming freshman lawmakers who are working across political party lines to address important policy matters.

Simon Sinek October 18

Marcus Samuelsson October 19

Pascal Lee & Andy Wier October 19

Eric Swalwell October 20

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:45 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program

Ralph Nader: Fighting for Democracy Ralph Nader, Activist; Author, Breaking Through Power: It’s Easier than We Think

In this unprecedented election year, Ralph Nader makes an inspired case about how he thinks our country can—and must—be democratically managed by communities guided by the U.S. Constitution, not by big business or the wealthy few. Nader has fought for decades to give Americans back their political voice. He draws from his own experiences and shares his core political beliefs to explain how people can protect their rights to ensure democracy for all. SV • Location: Cubberley Theatre, 4000 Middlefield Road (near Montrose & Middlefield), Palo Alto • Time: 6:30 p.m. check-in, 7 p.m. program, 8 p.m. book signing

Ralph Nader October 20

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OCTOBER 21-24 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21 21 FRIDAY, OCTOBER McKibben & Tamminen: Disruptive Climate and Politics

Bill McKibben & Terry Tamminen October 21

Barbara Rose Brooker October 21

Mary Ellen Hannibal October 21

Bill McKibben, Co-founder, 350.org Terry Tamminen, CEO at Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation

As we careen toward unknown climatic changes and near the end of an equally unpredictable election cycle, what will the political and planetary climate be in 2017? Is climate disruption an issue high on the minds of the voters and political leaders? Two leaders of the nation’s most influential climate organizations provide an insider’s perspective on what’s at stake. As co-founder of 350.org, Bill McKibben has been working to influence major policy decisions around the world with campaigns such as Stop the Keystone XL Pipeline, Frack Free California and Break Free from Fossil Fuels. Terry Tamminen recently took over a new role as CEO of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation. SF • CLIMATE ONE PROGRAM • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program, 1 p.m. networking reception

Dispelling Ageism: The Journey of the Age March Barbara Rose Brooker, Author, The Viagra Diaries and There’s Something Wrong with All of Them

David Bodanis October 24

Years of age is a poor metric for quality of life. The true measure is functional ability and one’s capacity to enjoy life. Come join Barbara Rose Brooker, San Francisco native author and founder of the first Age March in history. She will talk about the journey of the Age March and her dream that ageism will dissolve and numbers won’t matter. “Anything is possible at any age,” Brooker says. She will then read from her new book, There’s Something Wrong with All of Them, stories about finding love after 60, love and ageism. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 11:30 a.m. networking reception, noon program, 1 p.m. book signing • MLF: Grownups • Program organizer: John Milford

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Mary Ellen Hannibal: How to Be a Citizen Scientist Mary Ellen Hannibal, Science Writer; Author, Citizen Scientist

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Digging deeply, Mary Ellen Hannibal traces today’s tech-enabled citizen science movement to its roots: the centuries-long tradition of amateur observation by writers and naturalists. Combining original reporting, meticulous research, and memoir in impassioned prose, Citizen Scientist is a literary event, a blueprint for action, and the story of how one woman rescued herself from an odyssey of loss—with a new kind of science. Hannibal is an emerging voice in environmentalism and a sought-after speaker connecting the scientific community to the public. She is an Alicia Patterson Foundation Fellow, a Stanford Media Fellow, and a recipient of the National Society of Science Writers’ Science and Society Award. EB • Location: Lafayette Library and Learning Center, 3491 Mt. Diablo Boulevard, Lafayette • Time: 6:30 p.m. check-in, 7–8:30 p.m. program • Notes: In partnership with the Lafayette Library and Learning Center

MONDAY, OCTOBER 24 24 MONDAY, OCTOBER Humanities West Book Discussion: The World of Yesterday, by Stefan Zweig Join us to discuss Stefan Zweig’s The World of Yesterday. Written as a recollection of the past and a warning for future generations, it recalls the golden age of literary Vienna—its seeming permanence, its promise and its devastating fall. Surrounded by the leading literary lights of the epoch, Zweig draws a vivid and intimate account of his life and travels through Vienna, Paris, Berlin and London, touching on the very heart of European culture. His passionate, evocative prose paints a stunning portrait of an era that danced brilliantly on the edge of extinction. Discussion led by Lynn Harris. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 4:30 p.m. check-in, 5 p.m. program • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond

Einstein’s Greatest Mistake David Bodanis, Author, Einstein’s Greatest Mistake

David Bodanis, best-selling author of E=mc2, has written a brisk, accessible biography of Albert Einstein that reveals his genius and his hubris. Einstein revolutionized our understanding of the cosmos with his general

theory of relativity. Yet in the final decades of his life he was also ignored by most scientists. Bodanis explains how Einstein’s imagination and self-confidence led to his early successes, but when it came to newer revelations in quantum mechanics, those same traits undermined his quest for the ultimate truth. Einstein’s conviction in his own intuition proved to be his ultimate undoing. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond • Notes: This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation.

Socrates Café Socrates Café at The Commonwealth Club is devoted to the discussion of a philosophical topic chosen at that meeting. The group’s facilitator, John Nyquist, invites participants to suggest topics, which are then voted on. The person who proposed the most popular topic is asked to briefly explain why she or he considers that topic interesting and important. An open discussion follows, and the meeting ends with a summary of the various perspectives. Everyone is welcome to attend. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 6 p.m check-in, 6:30 p.m. program • MLF: Humanities • Program Organizer: George Hammond

How to Make a Spaceship! (without NASA) Julian Guthrie, Author, How to Make a Spaceship: A Band of Renegades, an Epic Race, and the Birth of Private Spaceflight Mike Melvill, World’s First Commercial Astronaut Matt Stinemetze, Engineer and Project Manager, Burt Rutan’s SpaceShipOne Erik Lindbergh, Grandson of Aviators Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh; Supporter of Private Race to Space Brian Hackney, Electrical Engineer and Meteorologist, KPIX-TV CBS San Francisco—Moderator

Virgin founder Richard Branson said of Guthrie’s book, “This tells of a turning point in history, when entrepreneurs were offered the chance to do something only governments had done before. Whether you are 9 years old or 99, this inspiring tale will capture your imagination.”

SF: San Francisco SV: Silicon Valley EB: East Bay NB: North Bay

OCTOBER 24-27 Come meet the band of renegades who launched the private race to space, and the scrappy engineers and pilots who set out to win the $10 million prize offered to the first team that could build and fly a rocket to the start of space without the government’s help. This is the entrepreneurial adventure story of Peter Diamandis, the XPRIZE, SpaceShipOne, and the other teams in the hunt. The winning of the XPRIZE wasn’t just a victory for one team; it was the foundation for a new industry and a new age—SpaceX, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic. It is about dreamers and doers, and making the impossible possible. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing • Notes: Rendering of SpaceShipOne courtesy of Paiwei Wei

TUESDAY, OCTOBER TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25 25 Lincoln’s Generals’ Wives: Four Women Who Influenced the Civil War, for Better and for Worse Candice Shy Hooper, Author, Lincoln’s Generals’ Wives

The story of the American Civil War isn’t complete without examining the extraordinary lives of Jessie Fremont, Nelly McClellan, Ellen Sherman, and Julia Grant, who were their husbands’ closest confidantes and had a profound impact on their ambitions and actions. Once shots were fired on Fort Sumter, the women were launched into a new world, where their relationships with their husbands and their personal opinions of the president of the United States had national and historical consequences. Using letters, memoirs and photographs— and for the first time, maps of the women’s wartime travels—Hooper reveals how these four generals’ wives powerfully influenced our history. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond • Notes: This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation; photo by Andrea Hillebrand

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26 26 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER Senator Barbara Boxer: The Art of Tough Barbara Boxer, U.S. Senator (D-Califor-

nia); Author, The Art of Tough: Fearlessly Facing Politics and Life

Barbara Boxer has made her mark, combining compassionate advocacy with scrappiness in a political career spanning more than three decades. Now, retiring from the Senate, she continues the work to which she’s dedicated 30 years in Congress. Her memoir, The Art of Tough, shares her provocative and touching recollections of service, and cements her commitment to the fight for women, families, quality, and environmental protection—all in a peaceful world. Boxer has fought for her values even when her personal convictions conflicted with her party or the majority rule. EB • Location: Lafayette Library and Learning Center, Community Hall Building, 3491 Mt. Diablo Blvd, Lafayette • Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program, 1 p.m. book signing • Notes: In partnership with the Lafayette Library and Learning Center; no large bags; attendees are subject to search

Tom Stienstra: The Mighty T, from Glacier to Golden Gate Tom Stienstra, Outdoors Writer, San Francisco Chronicle

America’s best-known outdoors man and the SF Chronicle outdoors editor (lucky us), Stienstra will share dramatic photos, videos and stories from his expedition to climb the Lyell Glacier in Yosemite National Park, where he traces the melting drops of water to the Tuolumne River en route to San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge. His expedition is the storyline for a national PBS show airing in the late fall. Stienstra is the nation’s only four-time winner of the OWAA President’s Award, National Outdoor Writer of the Year, and only the fourth living member inducted into the California Outdoors Hall of Fame SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program • MLF: Environment & Natural Resources • Program organizer: Ann Clark

Robert Lang: Origami — Between the Folds of Art and Technology Roberg Lang, Origami Artist; Physicist

Origami is the centuries-old Japanese art of folding paper into decorative shapes and figures. Lang, a world-renowned origami artist, has taken this traditional art form one step further. Lang is one of the pio-

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neers of cross-disciplinary origami that combines mathematics, science, technology, engineering and design with origami. His applications have been used on medical devices, air bag designs and expandable space telescopes. With 50 patents awarded and pending on semiconductor lasers, optics and integrated optoelectronics, Lang has more than 500 designs catalogued and diagrammed and his artwork has been exhibited around the world. SV • Location: Schultz Hall, Oshman Family JCC, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto • Time: 6:30 p.m. check-in, 7 p.m. program • Notes: In association with the Oshman Family JCC

Candice Shy Hooper October 25

Barbara Boxer October 26

THURSDAY, OCTOBER THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27 27 San Francisco Architecture Walking Tour Explore San Francisco’s Financial District with historian Rick Evans and learn the history and stories behind some of our city’s remarkable structures, streets and public squares. Hear about the famous architects who influenced the building of San Francisco after the 1906 Earthquake. Discover hard-to-find rooftop gardens, Art Deco lobbies, unique open spaces, and historic landmarks. This is a tour for locals, with hidden gems you can only find on foot! SF • Location: Meet in the Lobby of the Galleria Park Hotel, 191 Sutter St., San Francisco • Time: 1:45 p.m. check-in, 2-4:30 p.m. walk • Notes: Tour involves walking up and down stairs, but covers less than one mile of walking in the Financial District; tour operates rain or shine; limited to 20 participants; tickets must be purchased in advance and will not be sold at check-in

Tom Stienstra October 26

Yvon Chouinard October 27

Yvon Chouinard, Founder of Patagonia Yvon Chouinard, Founder, Patagonia, Inc.; Author, Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman

Chouinard is a legendary climber, surfer and environmentalist. He is also the reluctant entrepreneur who founded Patagonia, Inc., one of the most respected eco and socially conscious companies in the world. Chouinard recounts his early days of selling climbing equipment out of his car and explains how that led to accidentally creating a multi-million dollar sporting goods company committed to environmentally responsi-

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OCTOBER 27 - NOVEMBER 2 ble design and production. Through Patagonia, he has led the way with innovations in organic cotton, sustainable wool and traceable down. However, Chouinard has not been limited by textiles. He has also created a venture fund called 20 million & Change and spun out Patagonia Provisions, reflecting his belief that food and agriculture will help solve our biggest environmental challenges. As companies and consumers seek a more sustainable economy, Chouinard will discuss how entrepreneurs can create greatness and achieve net positive social impact at a point where doing less-bad is no longer good enough.

Joel McHale October 28

Frances Dinkelspiel November 1

SV • CLIMATE ONE PROGRAM • Location: Villa Ragusa, 35 S. 2nd St., Campbell • Time: 6:15 p.m. check-in, 7 p.m. program • Notes: Part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28 28 FRIDAY, OCTOBER David G. Knitter November 2

Joel McHale Live Joel McHale, Actor; Author, Thanks for the Money: How to Use My Life Story to Become the Best Joel McHale You Can Be

Joel McHale is one of America’s favorite funny men, from “Community” and “The Soup” to sold-out standup comedy shows, and he’s ready to let INFORUM behind the scenes of the comedic life. His brand-new memoir Thanks for the Money is part memoir, part “self-help” book, and all hilarious. The book covers Joel’s ascent to fame, insider celeb secrets, tonguein-cheek tips for becoming Joel, and more, plus graphics and charts to give you a truly illustrated perspective on it all. Whether you want to know if there’s an upcoming “Community” movie starring Joel as Jeff Winger, or are dying to know what pop culture gossip never made it on to “The Soup,” get your tickets now! SF • INFORUM PROGRAM • Location: Nourse Theatre, 275 Hayes St, San Francisco • Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 7 p.m. program, 8 p.m. book signing

MONDAY, OCTOBER MONDAY, OCTOBER 31 31 Middle East Forum Discussion See website for details. For current prices, call 415.597.6705 or go to common wealthclub.org

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5 p.m. check-in, 5:30 p.m. discussion • MLF: Middle East • Program organizer: Celia Menczel

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1 1 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER A Place to Call Home Panelists TBA

The Bay Area is in the midst of an unprecedented housing crisis. The way that we deal with this crisis will have repercussions for generations to come. Across the Bay Area, everyone is feeling the effects, but none more than the 1 million working families— predominantly people of color—living below the poverty line. Without significant coordinated intervention, the housing crisis threatens to displace more than 1.5 million people in the Bay Area and erode the diversity, cultural vitality and spirit that make the Bay Area a successful, prosperous and resilient region. Despite the obvious challenges, there is growing awareness among elected officials, policymakers, business leaders and the general public of the magnitude of the region’s housing crisis, and we have seen significant willingness among all of these groups to take action. In this forum, we will hear from experts in government, the housing industry, and the nonprofit community about how to ensure that all residents in the Bay Area have a safe, affordable place to call home. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:45 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program • Notes: Sponsored by the San Francisco Foundation as part of the People, Power, Place Series, which addresses access and equity in the Bay Area.

Frances Dinkelspiel: Greed, Murder, and Arson in California’s Vineyards Frances Dinkelspiel, Author, Tangled Vines: Greed, Murder, Obsession, and an Arsonist in the Vineyards of California

In 2005 a massive warehouse fire broke out in Vallejo, destroying 4.5 million bottles of California’s finest wine. The damage came out to be $250 million, making it the largest destruction of wine in history, and it included priceless bottles of Port and Angelica made by Dinkelspiel’s greatgreat grandfather. An investigation revealed that the fire was deliberately set by Mark Anderson, a skilled con man and thief. What’s even harder to believe is this wasn’t the first time wine was at the center of crime and destruction. Dinkelspiel traces the history of Cal-

ifornia wine and unravels this story of greed, violence and obsession. SV • Location: Schultz Cultural Hall, Oshman Family JCC, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto • Time: 6:30 p.m. check-in and social, 7 p.m. program, 8 p.m. book signing • Notes: This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2 How to Protect Against Financial Elder Abuse David G. Knitter, Attorney; Member, Executive Committee for the Trusts and Estates Section, State Bar of California; Past President, Solano County Bar Association

David Knitter, the chair of the Educating Seniors Project of the State Bar of California, has deep experience with elders and their adult children, and he has trained attorneys to identify elder financial abuse and pursue remedies when abuse occurs. Learn from him how to protect yourself or elder family members from becoming the victim of financial elder abuse. The presentation will also provide tips on how to identify who the abusers are and determine whether elder financial abuse may be occurring. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 4:45 p.m. networking reception, 5:15 p.m. program • MLF: Grownups • Program organizer: John Milford

Ben Franklin Circles Join us monthly, every first Wednesday, for a 21st-century version of Ben Franklin’s mutual improvement club. One evening a week, for more than 40 years, the founding father discussed and debated with his friends the 13 virtues that he felt formed the basis for personal and civic improvement, a list he created when he was 20 years old. The virtues to which he aspired included justice, resolution and humility (but don’t misunderstand Ben on that one—his explanation of humility was “imitate Jesus and Socrates”). Ben Franklin Circles bring people together to discuss the most pressing philosophical and ethical issues of our time with the goal of improving ourselves and our world. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond

SF: San Francisco SV: Silicon Valley EB: East Bay NB: North Bay

NOVEMBER 2-7 Chef Jeremiah Tower: How to Behave in the Modern World and Why Bother? Jeremiah Tower, Chef; Author, Table Manners: How to Behave in the Modern World and Why Bother In conversation with Amanda Haas, Culinary Director, Williams-Sonoma

Jeremiah Tower was a founding chef in the 1970s at Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse restaurant and is widely credited as one of the creators of both New American Cuisine and California Cuisine. In 1984, Tower opened his own restaurant, Stars, in San Francisco. It was an overnight sensation and fostered the careers of numerous American chefs, including Mark Franz, Mario Batali, Tim Grable, Emily Luchetti and Jerry Traunfeld. The restaurant was among the top-grossing restaurants in the United States for close to a decade. Tower went on to win a James Beard Award as the best chef in America, hosted a PBS series and opened restaurants in Singapore and Hong Kong. He holds a degree in architecture from Harvard. Come hear his both witty and serious thoughts on manners in 2016—at the dinner party, the bar or in your own home. Tower has advice on everything: food allergies, RSVPs, iPhones, running late, thank-yous, restaurant etiquette, even what to do when you are served something disgusting. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing • Notes: This program is part of our Food Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation; photo by and copyright Kit Wohl

The Secret Sauce of Dodge & Cox’s Investment Strategy John A. Gunn, Chairman Emeritus, Dodge & Cox

John Gunn has been described as the Warren Buffet of the Bay Area. The extraordinarily successful firm of Dodge & Cox has had terrific investment performance, typically shuns publicity, and holds more than $270 billion in assets. What lessons did Gunn learn managing this remarkable growth? What do we need to keep in mind? It is a rare treat that John has agreed to be in conversation with Bruce Raabe, a member of the Club’s Board of Governors and the president of Relevant

Wealth Advisors. NB • Location: Outdoor Art Club, One West Blithedale, Mill Valley • Time: 7 p.m. check-in and light hors d’oeuvres, 7:45–9 p.m. program

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3 Egon Schiele: A Feminist Artist Ahead of His Time Kerrin Meis, Retired Lecturer, SFSU; Teacher, OLLI Berkeley and OLLI San Rafael

Egon Schiele, artistically active in Vienna during the last days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, adored women, and was influenced by the fin-de-siècle preoccupation with sex. The Viennese artist was excited by Sigmund Freud’s 1905 Theories of Sexuality, Gustav Mahler’s suggestive music, and Gustav Klimt’s gorgeous images of desire. Schiele was even more audacious in his nudes and his explorations of self in his self-portraits, in his landscapes of the small village where he had retreated from Vienna (and was imprisoned for his erotic art) and in his deeply perceptive portraits. His many masterpieces explore the mysteries of love and death. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond • Notes: In association with Humanities West

The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High-Tech World Adam Gazzaley, M.D., Ph.D., Professor in Neurology, Physiology and Psychiatry, University of California San Francisco; Founding Director, Neuroscience Imaging Center, Neuroscape Lab and the Gazzaley Lab; Co-founder and Chief Scientist, JAZZ Venture Partners; Co-author, The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High-Tech World

We are living in extraordinary times. Rapid advances in information technology continuously transform our lives in countless ways. But we are now aware that our increasingly information-saturated world, coupled with growing expectations of constant availability and immediate responsiveness, can place excessive demands on our brains. The consequences can include detrimental effects on our safety, education, workplace and relationships with family and friends. Dr. Adam Gazzaley, a neuroscientist and trailblazer in the study of how our

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brains process information, will take us on a journey into how and why we struggle with interruptions and distractions that emerge from both our inner and outer worlds. He will present a unique evolutionary perspective that the very essence of what has evolved in our brains to make us most human—our ability to set high-level goals—collides headfirst with our brain’s fundamental limitations in cognitive control. He will conclude by offering practical strategies for modifying our behavior, as well as sharing his lab’s latest innovations in enhancing our brain’s function, so that we can better survive and thrive in the information age.

Jeremiah Tower November 2

John A. Gunn November 2

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program • MLF: Health & Medicine • Program organizer: Patty James

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7 7 MONDAY, NOVEMBER Public Health and Physician Activism: Lessons from Baltimore

Kerrin Mels November 3

Leana Wen, MD, Emergency Physician, Commissioner of Health for Baltimore City; TED MED Speaker; Author, When Doctors Don’t Listen: How to Avoid Misdiagnoses and Unnecessary Tests

The Sixth Annual Lundberg Institute lecture focuses on Dr. Wen’s experiences as Baltimore’s commissioner of health during times of change, as our medical institutions are under pressure from all sides. She will also draw on her personal experiences as a child immigrant, who started learning English at age 8, but by 18 had already graduated summa cum laude from college. She will explain how those experiences have influenced her interest in improving patient-physician communication.

Adam Gazzaley November 3

Leana Wen November 7

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond

Week to Week Political Roundtable and Social Hour 11/7 Panelists TBA

Join us then as we explore the biggest, most controversial, and sometimes the surprising political issues with expert commentary by panelists who are smart, are civil, and have a good sense of humor. Join our panelists for informative and engaging

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AU G U S T/SE P T E M B E R 2016

NOVEMBER 7-14 commentary on political and other major news, audience discussion of the week’s events, and our live news quiz! And come early before the program to meet other smart and engaged individuals and discuss the news over snacks and wine at our member social (open to all attendees).

Erin Byrne November 9

SF • WEEK TO WEEK PROGRAM • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. wine-and-snacks social, 6:30 p.m. program

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9 Wings: Gifts of Art, Life and Travel in France

Leland Faust November 9

Erin Byrne, Author, Wings: Gifts of Art, Life, and Travel in France

France is steeped in refined traditions, with its rich history, exquisite art, robust culture and varied cuisine. Erin Byrne’s essays draw upon her trips, from Cézanne’s studio in Aix-en-Provence to a tiny village in the Jura Mountains, from a Left Bank neighborhood bistro to a plain high above the Normandy beaches. She collects stories, characters, tastes and secrets that act as ingredients for change, and then digs deeper to uncover meaning. Henri Cartier-Bresson issues a challenge, Sainte Geneviève offers resilience, Salvador Dalí seduces, Picasso entertains, and a wrought iron sign portends the future.

Rick Hanson November 10

Marty Klein November 14

Saul Friedländer November 14

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing • MLF: Humanities • Program organizer: George Hammond • Notes: This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation

A Capitalist’s Lament: How Wall Street Is Fleecing You and Ruining America Leland Faust, Founder and Chairman, CSI Capital Management; Member, Sporting News Top 100 Most Powerful People in Sports; Author, A Capitalist’s Lament: How Wall Street Is Fleecing You and Ruining America In conversation with Roy Eisenhardt, Former President, Oakland Athletics

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Leland Faust, an outspoken financial services insider and investment advisor, believes our great free enterprise system has been hijacked by Wall Street for its own gains, and he claims “you are being fleeced and

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exposed to risks you know nothing about.” Presenting a high-level insider view, Faust shares his real-world experience both from representing high-profile celebrities and managing a successful mutual fund. He warns that the financial services industry misleads us, and he delivers an upbeat message, saying “learn how to get ahead instead of getting taken.” SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program • MLF: Business & Leadership • Program organizer: Elizabeth Carney

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10 10 Chinatown Walking Tour Enjoy a Commonwealth Club Neighborhood Adventure. Join Rick Evans for a memorable midday walk and discover the history and mysteries of Chinatown. Explore colorful alleys and side streets. Visit a Taoist temple, an herbal store, the site of the first public school in the state, and the famous Fortune Cookie Factory. SF • Location: Meet in front of Starbucks, 359 Grant Avenue, San Francisco (corner of Grant & Bush near Chinatown Gate) • Time: 9:45 a.m. check-in, 10 a.m-12:30 p.m. walk • Notes: Temple visit requires walking up three flights of stairs; tour operates rain or shine; limited to 12 participants; tickets must be purchased in advance and will not be sold at check-in; photo by H Sanchez/ Flickr

A Courageous Brain: Not Manipulated by Needless Fear Rick Hanson, Ph.D., Psychologist; Author, New York Times bestselling Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm and Confidence

Our ancestors evolved a frightened brain for survival in harsh conditions. Today, unnecessary and unwarranted fear can make it harder to speak from the heart, dream big dreams and stand up to the manipulations of advertisers and demagogues. Dr. Hanson will explore the practical neuroscience of courage in ourselves, our homes, offices and politics. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing • MLFs: Environment & Natural Resources, Health & Medicine, Science & Technology • Program organizer: Ann Clark

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14 14 MONDAY, NOVEMBER Raising America’s Porn Literacy— and Managing America’s Porn Panic Marty Klein, Ph.D., Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist; Sex Therapist; Policy Analyst; Author, His Porn, Her Pain and the DVD Enhancing Porn Literacy in Young People

Less than 20 years ago, one of the most disruptive technologies in human history came to America— broadband Internet. Like most technical advances, it was immediately adapted for sexual purposes. When it brought free, high-quality pornography into 100 million American homes, the country was simply not prepared for it. Dr. Marty Klein says we still aren’t. He says that as a result, the United States is in the midst of what he calls a “porn panic,” marked by high levels of fear, outrage, misinformation, blame and demands for action. This is the background of the conflict many couples face about porn, of the anxieties of parents, and of the self-destructive uses of porn. In this talk, one of America’s experts on pornography discusses the context of our difficulties, with thought-provoking suggestions on how to respond. Using material from his new book His Porn, Her Pain, Dr. Klein will discuss building “porn literacy” in children, in couples and in porn consumers—while discussing the scientific evidence about how sexually explicit material actually affects consumers, their relationships and society. The subject of pornography sits at the intersection of politics, culture and our personal lives—and our audience last year found Dr. Klein so entertaining and provocative discussing “Sexual Intelligence” that we’ve invited him back again. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing • MLF: Personal Growth • Program organizer: Eric Siegel

Historian Saul Friedländer: The Holocaust and Its Importance in 2016 Saul Friedländer, Historian; Professor, UCLA, Author, When Memory Comes and Where Memory Leads: My Life In conversation with Stephen Pearce, Ph.D., Senior Rabbi Emeritus, Congregation Emanu-El, San Francisco

SF: San Francisco SV: Silicon Valley EB: East Bay NB: North Bay

NOVEMBER 14-17 Saul Friedländer is widely regarded as one of the quintessential experts on the Holocaust. Forty years after his Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece, The Years of Extermination: Nazi Germany and the Jews, 1939-1945, Friedländer returns with When Memory Comes: The Later Years, bridging the gap between the ordeals of his childhood and his present-day towering reputation in the field of Holocaust studies. After abandoning his youthful conversion to Catholicism, he rediscovered his Jewish roots as a teenager and built a new life in Israeli politics and a lifelong fascination with Jewish life and history. Friedländer went on to spend his adulthood shuttling between Israel, Europe and the United States, armed with his talent for language and an expansive intellect. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing • Notes: Photo by Gil Kenan • Notes: This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15 15 Francis Ford Coppola: The Program You Can’t Refuse Francis Ford Coppola, Director, The Godfather; Author, The Godfather Notebook

Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather is universally praised as one of the greatest films ever made. The 1972 epic won best picture and best screenplay Oscars and was subsequently followed by two successful sequels. Join us for a rare conversation with Francis Coppola, who will take us behind the scenes of these legendary films, as spelled out in his just-published book, The Godfather Notebook. Here’s a chance to learn about Brando, Pacino, the casting and the filmmaking, along with the personal and professional qualities that turned director Francis Coppola into an American icon. An offer you truly can’t refuse. SF • Location: Castro Theatre, 429 Castro St., San Francisco • Time: 6 p.m. check in and premium reception, 7 p.m. program, 8 p.m. book signing • Notes: Part of the Club’s Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16 16 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER A Holiday Toast to the 2016 Wine Harvest: Sustainable Practices and Pairings Lucas Pope, Halter Ranch Vineyards Neil Collins, Tablas Creek Vineyard Dirk Heuvel, McManis Family Vineyards Katie Jackson, Jackson Family Wines Allison Jordan, California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance—Moderator

Join our distinguished panelists, recipients of the 2016 Green Medal Awards, as they share their year-long journey toward the 2016 vineyard harvest and their commitments to environmental stewardship, social responsibility and the desire to keep land and businesses sustainable for future generations. Following the program, continue the conversation with our panel and celebrate the holidays with a tasting of their outstanding wines! SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7–8 p.m. wine tasting • MLFs: Business & Leadership, Environment & Natural Resources • Program organizer: Ann Clark

Dan Ariely: The Hidden Logic that Shapes Our Motivations Dan Ariely, Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics, Duke University; Author, Payoff: The Hidden Logic that Shapes Our Motivations Jenny Dearborn, Chief Learning Officer, SAP—Moderator

Every day we work hard to motivate coworkers, friends, family members and most important ourselves. Some people believe in positive reinforcement or financial incentives, others in tough love. But what works best? Ariely investigates what lies at the root of motivation—how it works, misconceptions and approaches to making better decisions in our own lives. SV • Location: TBA • Time: 6:30 p.m. check-in, 7 p.m. program, 8 p.m. book signing

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17 17 First Reversals of Cognitive Decline in Alzheimer’s Disease Dale E. Bredesen, M.D., Augustus Rose Professor of Neurology, Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA; Founding President, Buck Institute for Research on Aging

Alzheimer’s disease is a major global

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problem and now one of the leading causes of death in the United States. We have recently seen the publication of the first examples of the reversal of cognitive decline in early Alzheimer’s disease and its precursors, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and subjective cognitive impairment (SCI). The successful protocol is a personalized, multi-modal approach that involves subtyping of Alzheimer’s and addressing dozens of factors that contribute to cognitive decline. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program • MLF: Health & Medicine • Program organizers: Bill Grant, Susan Downs

North Beach Walking Tour Join another Commonwealth Club Neighborhood Adventure! Explore vibrant North Beach with Rick Evans during a two-hour walk through this neighborhood with a colorful past, where food, culture, history and unexpected views all intersect in an Italian “urban village.” In addition to learning about Beat generation hangouts, you’ll discover authentic Italian cathedrals and coffee shops.

Francis Ford Coppola November 15

Dale E. Bredesen November 17

Kira Reginato November 17

SF • Location: Meet at Victoria Pastry Cafe, 700 Filbert Street (at Columbus Ave) across from Washington Square Park. Getting There: Muni Bus 30, 41, 45; North Beach Parking Garage, 735 Vallejo St. • Time: 1:45 p.m. checkin, 2–4:30 p.m. walk • Notes: Tour operates rain or shine; limited to 20 participants; tickets must be purchased in advance and will not be sold at check-in

Tips for Helping Your Aging Parents (Without Losing Your Mind) Kira Reginato, Elder Care Manager; Speaker; Author; Elder Care Consultant

Speaking from her recent book, Tips for Helping Your Aging Parents (Without Losing Your Mind), elder care expert Kira Reginato shares her best tips for keeping your mind, temper and sense of humor as you care for a loved one. Kira’s upbeat approach outlines the basics of how to take care of anyone as they age without sacrificing taking care of yourself. Reginato, a gerontologist and elder care consultant, draws on her three decades of expertise helping older adults and their families, as well as from being the primary caregiver for her father. She knows the weight gain, the interrupted sleep, the worry, the resentment, along with the funny and

For current prices, call 415.597.6705 or go to common wealthclub.org

AU G U S T/SE P T E M B E R 2016

NOVEMBER 17-29

Janet Napolitano & Uri Bar-Joseph November 21

tender moments. She’s on a mission to reduce the caregiving burden she sees every day with her clients. She provides practical methods for combating “caregiving overwhelm” and helps you manage expectations of your loved one and yourself. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 4:45 p.m. networking reception, 5:15 p.m. program • MLF: Grownups • Program organizer: John Milford

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18 18 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER Troubled Turkey Jeffrey Collins, Fmr. White House National Security Staff Director for Turkish Affairs Banafsheh Keynoush, Ph.D., Foreign Affairs Expert; Author Additional Panelist TBA

David Satter November 22

Angelo Volandes November 29

A distinguished panel will discuss the unsettled situation in Turkey, one of the most important countries in the Middle East, after the unsuccessful coup attempt, a tightening of control by the regime of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and increased terrorism by Islamic State.

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program • MLF: Middle East • Program organizer: Celia Menczel

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21 21 MONDAY, NOVEMBER Socrates Café Socrates Café is devoted to the discussion of a philosophical topic chosen at that meeting. The group’s facilitator, John Nyquist, invites participants to suggest topics, which are then voted on. The person who proposed the most popular topic is asked to briefly explain why she or he considers that topic interesting and important. An open discussion follows, and the meeting ends with a summary of the various perspectives participants expressed. Everyone is welcome to attend. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 6 p.m check-in, 6:30 p.m. program • MLF: Humanities • Program Organizer: George Hammond

Janet Napolitano Interviews Uri Bar-Joseph on Spycraft For current prices, call 415.597.6705 or go to common wealthclub.org

Janet Napolitano, President, University of California; Former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security; Former Governor, Arizona Uri Bar-Joseph, Professor of Political Sci-

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ence, University of Haifa, Israel; Author, The Angel: The Egyptian Spy Who Saved Israel

The mystery of Ashraf Marwan’s death remains unsolved more than nine years after he plunged to his death from the balcony of his fifthfloor London apartment. But, drawing on once-secret archives and interviews with Israeli intelligence officers, University of Haifa’s Uri Bar-Joseph has stitched together a riveting story about an Egyptian who betrayed his homeland as a spy for Israel. Bar-Joseph writes that intelligence provided by Marwan at the outset of the 1973 Yom Kippur War helped prevent the fall of the Golan Heights. UC President Janet Napolitano interviews Bar-Joseph about his book, the vagaries of intelligence interpretation, and the advantages and disadvantages of human spies vs. electronic espionage. This conversation will be the third in a series of interviews of authors by the former secretary of homeland security. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:45 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing • Notes: Part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22 22 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER Russia’s Road to Terror and Dictatorship under Yeltsin and Putin David Satter, Former Moscow Correspondent, Financial Times; Fellow, Hudson Institute; Fellow, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies

Satter was the first U.S. correspondent to be expelled from Russia since the Cold War. He will discuss the criminalization of Russia under Yeltsin and the role of the 1999 apartment bombings in saving the corrupt Yeltsin entourage and elevating Putin to power. He will describe what he says was Putin’s subsequent construction of an autocracy dominated by the security services, and Russia’s emergence as an aggressor state. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing • MLF: International Relations • Program organizer: Norma Walden

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29 29 Middle East Forum Discussion The Middle East Forum discus-

sion group—which primarily covers the Middle East, North Africa and Afghanistan—has been meeting monthly for more than eight years. We are not a debate group; we are a discussion group. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5 p.m. check-in, 5:30 p.m. discussion • MLF: Middle East • Program organizer: Celia Menczel

Global Women Speak: Advice for Our New President on Issues Facing Women Around the World Jessica Buchleitner, Journalist; Author, 50 Women Anthology Series Silvia Vasquez-Lavado, First Peruvian Woman to Summit Mt. Everest; Executive Director, Courageous Girls; Principal of Enterprise Technology, eBay Nwe Oo, Member, UN Delegation, Commission on the Status on the Women, UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, UN Sustainable Development Goals Masha Maslova, Engagement Manager, Silicon Valley Talent Partnership; Co-founder, El Shadai Foster Home, Uganda Boona Cheema, Former Executive Director, Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS)

Join author Jessica Buchleitner and contributors Silvia Vasquez Lavado (Peru), Nwe Oo (Bangladesh/Burma border), Masha Maslova (Moldova), and Boona Cheema (India) as they offer advice for our new U.S. president to tackle the most prominent issues women face globally. Will the United States take a stand to ratify the CEDAW ordinance? What will be the fate of immigrant women with children and the programs they depend on? Each contributor offers her story and unique experiences serving communities through various means. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing • MLF: International Relations • Program organizer: Linda Calhoun • Notes: In association with the Women’s Intercultural Network (WIN)

Better End-of-Life Care: Using Video and Story to Aid Decisions Angelo Volandes, M.D., Faculty Member, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School

Why do so many Americans die in ways they say they don’t want, suffering and tethered to machines? When Harvard physician Dr. Angelo

SF: San Francisco SV: Silicon Valley EB: East Bay NB: North Bay

NOVEMBER 29-30 Volandes had trouble explaining to his dying patient the possible consequences of her treatment options, he walked her down to the ICU. She immediately understood where her decision might lead, and it changed her outlook. Since then, Dr. Volandes has created dozens of powerful videos to support advance care planning and facilitate difficult conversations about end-of-life care. His ground-breaking work has attracted support from the NIH and private foundations, and his efforts have helped thousands of clinicians, patients and families have “the conversation.” Dr. Volandes’ efforts have demonstrated the power of stories and video in helping patients make decisions that reflect their preferences and values. He has applied his approach to large health-care systems and entire states, and his work has been translated into multiple languages. His presentation will include excerpts from several videos as well as from his recent book, The Conversation: A Revolutionary Plan for End-of-Life Care. SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. program • MLF: Health & Medicine • Program organizer: Mark Zitter • Notes: Part of our End of Life series

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30 30 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER

LATE-BREAKING EVENTS LATE-BREAKING EVENTS

Andy Cohen and Anna Sale: Taboo Topics

MONDAY, OCTOBER 17

Andy Cohen, Host, “Watch What Happens: Live”; Executive Producer, “The Real Housewives” Franchise; Author, Superficial: More Adventures from the Andy Cohen Diaries Anna Sale, Host and Managing Editor, “Death, Sex & Money”—Moderator

Andy Cohen’s back on the INFORUM stage with his latest book, Superficial: More Adventures from the Andy Cohen Diaries, and Anna Sale of the cult-favorite podcast “Death, Sex and Money” will be wringing all the salacious details out of him live. Since we last saw him, Andy has continued to leave his footprints all over the media world, from touring with Anderson Cooper to creating his own Sirius station, Radio Andy. Andy’s new book will satiate your appetite with juicy stories about his personal and professional adventures, and everything in between. This time, Andy’s not holding back anything (especially his opinions!) and you won’t want to miss your chance to hear the scandalous scoop straight from the source. SF • INFORUM PROGRAM • Location: Castro Theater, 429 Castro St, San Francisco • Time: 6 p.m. check-in and premium reception, 7 p.m. program, 8 p.m. book signing

Why Russian and Ukraine Fight Herman Pirchner, Jr., Jr., President of The American Foreign Policy Council

Pirchner will examine the imperialist and nationalist ideology that drives Russia’s interference with the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Andy Cohen November 30

SF • Location: 555 Post St., San Francisco • Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program, 1 p.m. book signing

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9 Brain, Body and Consciousness Gopi Kallayil, Chief Evangelist for Brand Marketing, Google; Author, The Internet to the Inner-Net: Five Ways to Reset Your Connection and Live a Conscious Life

The internet has become humanity’s invisible central nervous system connecting us with a click of a button. Yet the most important technology is still within us: our brain, body, and mindfulness. Drawing on his own experiences as a high-tech industry executive and a devotee of meditative practices, Kallayil explains the importance of conscious living and encourages yoga, mindful eating and even napping in the workplace. SV • Location: TBA • Time: 6:30 p.m. check-in, 7 p.m. program, 8 p.m. book signing

Online Election: Commonwealth Club Board of Governors The election of members and officers of The Commonwealth Club Board of Governors for the 2017 term will be conducted online. The ballot will be available on the Club’s website from November 20, 2016, through December 1, 2016, during which time Club members may submit their votes. They are also being notified by email. Following the voting period, the votes will be tabulated, and a meeting of the membership will be held at 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday, December 15, 2016, preceding the program that evening. At that time the election results will be ratified by the members present. Members, please visit commonwealthclub.org/boardvote between November 20 and December 1 to submit your vote for the 2011 term of the Board of Governors.

Valerie Jarrett, long-time advisor and personal friend to the president and first lady, lets us peek behind the scenes of the White House.

Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor to President Barack Obama, in conversation with Judge LaDoris Hazzard Cordell (Ret.), the chair of the Santa Clara County Jail Commission and the former independent police auditor in San Jose. From the June 22, 2016, program in San Francisco, “Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to President Obama.” Photo by Ed Ritger. LADORIS CORDELL: You are the longest-serving senior advisor in the Obama administration, serving the president since inauguration day. So you’ve been called all sorts of things, up to the Obama whisperer, the night stalker, first friend, the fixer a la “Scandal”’s Olivia Pope, and gate keeper in chief. You are one of President Obama’s closest friends. So how did that happen? JARRETT: That’s a good story. So 25 years ago—this month actually, which seems like yesterday—I received a copy of a resume from a good friend of mine. He was the corporation counsel for the city of Chicago. And I was Mayor [Richard M.] Daley’s deputy chief of staff at the time. Across the top of the resume it said, “Outstanding young woman, terrific lawyer, has no interest in being in a law firm.” And I thought, that’s my kind of person, cuz I didn’t enjoy being in a law firm either, and had left my law firm after practicing for six years to work for [Chicago Mayor] Harold Washington. I stayed through his successors, and I had just been promoted to deputy chief

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of staff under Mayor Daley. So I called this young woman in for an interview, and what was supposed to be about a 20-minute interview lasted about an hour and 20 minutes, an hour and a half. Maybe about a quarter of the way through [the interview], I realized I was no longer interviewing her; she was interviewing me. At the end, I said, “Well, you have the job if you want it”—which is ridiculous; I didn’t have the authority to make her an offer or anything like that, but I was so bowled over by her, and so wise woman that she was, she said, “Well, let me think about it.” So we were talking a few days later, and I said, “Well, what do you think?” By that point, I had permission to give her the offer. She said, “My fiance, Barack Obama, doesn’t think it’s such a good idea.” I’m like “What, are you kidding?” [Laughter.] “He doesn’t want you to come work with me? Well, how could that be?” So she said, “He has some concerns about Mayor Daley. And he started his life as a community organizer. And he protested against City Hall. And now I would be in the mayor’s office, so he kind of wants to have an idea of who would be looking out for me, so would you have dinner with us?” So 25 years ago this month, we had dinner. And the rest is history. She did come and work with me, by the way. CORDELL: On issues impacting girls and women, you have taken a leadership role, culminating most recently in the White House United State of Women Summit. So

can you tell us about the summit and what the Obama administration sees as critical issues facing women and girls? JARRETT: A couple of months into the president’s first year in office, he created the White House Council on Women and Girls. It’s the first time the White House has had a council with representation from every federal agency. His thought was we wanted to make sure that in all of our programs, in all of our policies, in all of the legislation that we were thinking first about whether or not it would improve the lives of women and girls. I chaired the council since its inception and it has just been terrific, because we’ve worked on everything you can imagine from education and encouraging young girls to go into fields like science and technology, engineering, and math to ensuring that we are ending sexual assault on our college campuses. And we launched this It’s On Us campaign, where we’ve had 500 events at college campuses encouraging everyone to get involved in ending this culture of sexual abuse on campuses. One in five women is sexually assaulted while they’re in college. That’s just an epidemic. If it was anything else, it’d be a national emergency. We focus on entrepreneurship and getting women to think about starting their own businesses. Small businesses particularly have a challenge to getting access to capital, and we’re finding that women have a hard time getting that access, where actually they are really good investments.

Women pay back their loans. Sometimes men don’t as a general rule. Sorry, guys. We work on health care. The Affordable Care Act has wonderful benefits for women. You’re now able to go and get preventive care without a co-pay from regular checkups to contraception to screening for domestic violence. Whole range of services that are available under the Affordable Care Act and on from there. So this summit gave us an opportunity to look at all of the different ways where we have moved the needle, improved the lives of women and girls. CORDELL: One of the saddest moments that I can recall during this administration was President Obama’s press conference after the Sandy Hook shootings in 2012. The shooter killed 20 children in a classroom, six and seven year olds, and additionally killed seven adults using a semiautomatic rifle. President Obama had tears running down his face as he addressed the nation about this horrendous mass murder. JARRETT: Just last week, I was at a fundraiser for Sandy Hook Promise, which is an organization that several of the parents of the children who were murdered that day have formed to try to go into our schools and help young people identify their classmates who are in crisis and to know how to handle that situation, because so often after this happens you hear people say, well, “I knew there was something wrong but I didn’t do anything about it.” And so they’re taking this enormously tragic event in their lives and trying to help other children. And it was the worst day of the administration, it was really two days. The day that we found out what happened, and I was in the Oval Office when he found out the number of children. I just couldn’t even process the number 20, and anyone who has children, you know that at age six or seven, they are just as precious as they can be. ‘We went up to Newtown two days later for a memorial service. I will never forget him walking around, and he spent time with each family and they had photographs of the children. And there was one set of twins, and the twin was holding up the photograph with her twin. It was just gut-wrenching, and the country was prepared to take action. And keep in mind, the action that we proposed was simply to ensure that everyone who buys a lethal weapon goes through a background check. No infringement on the Second Amendment. For heavens to Betsy, as my grandmother would say, how could we not have sensible background checks? The problem is the NRA has decided to do what’s called “score” this issue. If you vote in favor of keeping people who are on the terrorist watch list from getting guns ..., the NRA has decided they’re going to mark that against you and work hard to defeat you when you’re up for re-election. They have a lot of money and they have a lot of influence. The only thing that’s going to be a counterbalance to that is truly you. It’s the American people. O C TO B E R/N O V E M B E R 2016

2016 ELECTION MADNESS

Can a political satirist make a living in a year when the presidential campaign is as wild as the 2016 election? We recently unleashed Will Durst to give us his take on the campaign.

Will Durst, political satirist, in conversation with Melissa Caen, political analyst for CBS SF. From the August 17, 2016, program in San Francisco, “Will Durst: 2016 Election Madness!” Photo by Sonya Abrams. WILL DURST: I have a career every four years for a month. This is that month, so I got between now and November 8th. I’ve written all this material, and November 9th, it’s going to evaporate. [Laughter.] People will be so sick and tired of politics. It will be “La, la, la, la, la.” [Laughter.] I’ll have to pivot—one of the buzzwords right now. I have no idea what I’m gonna do, but right now, I’m just running as fast as I can to keep up, because every day, there’s something with this guy [Donald Trump]. It’s good and it’s bad. Everybody says, “He must be a gift from comedy heaven.” Yeah, but no. How do you parody a parody? [Laughter.] Seriously. Donald Trump is the GOP nominee for president. That’s the joke. Everything else is farce. It’s like trying to staple smoke. MELISSA CAEN: You wrote that Hillary Clinton is the former first lady, former U.S. senator, former secretary of state, former female, former human. [Laughter.] Does one need to be human to run for president? DURST: Well, I mean, look at what she’s gone through. I mean, she was first lady. This is what they said about her when she was first lady: She’s a liar, she’s a thief, she’s a lesbian, she murdered Vince Foster with her bare hands and then ate him. [Laughter.] That’s when she was first lady. Can you imagine saying anything like that about Laura Bush, or Nancy Reagan—well, maybe Nancy Reagan. [Laughter.] But they just hate her so badly. I don’t know why. I don’t know if it’s that one statement she made in ’92, where “I’m not going to stay home and bake cookies,” that ticked everybody off. They worried about their womenfolk at home putting on shoes, getting out of the kitchen, or whatever. [Laughter.] I don’t know why, but it’s biochemical with

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Republicans, it really is. CAEN: Well, at the convention there were a couple of moments where the whole stadium went crazy. DURST: “Lock her up.” CAEN: Yeah, “Lock her up” or “guilty” during the Chris Christie speech. What did you make of thousands of people chanting? DURST: Well, all you gotta do is mention her name and the Republican Party, each individual, they start twitching like a hamster duct-taped to a Rototiller, honest to God. CAEN: Trump has been really good about making up nicknames. DURST: He was very effective during the primaries. “Little Marco” [Rubio]. “Crooked Hillary.” “Low-energy Jeb” was sort of spot-on and original. I just thought, Crooked Hillary—come on now. CAEN: What do you make of this making a statement, walking it back, making a statement, “Aw, I didn’t mean it.” “I wasn’t making fun of that reporter, I wasn’t imitating that reporter.” DURST: That one’s—there’s physical evidence. I mean, mocking a disabled guy. And I don’t think we’ve ever had an oaf for a president. We’ve had liars, we’ve had thieves, we’ve had cheats. But never an oaf. CAEN: That’s where we draw the line. Not liar or cheater. DURST: No. [Laughter.] The only time I trust a politician is when he calls the other guy a liar. That’s the only time he’s telling the truth. CAEN: I have a question here from the audience. It says, these days why would anyone admit to being a Republican? DURST: People, we’re in the 415 area code. This is not the real world. All right? San Francisco is a 49-square-mile circus in search of a tent. Melissa and I were speaking of this earlier; she’s from Georgia and I’m from Wisconsin. I go back home and I’m a commie, pinko, yellow rat bastard. But in San Francisco I’m a Nazi. [Laughter.] You know?

What happens when you go back to Marietta? CAEN: I don’t. [Laughter.] DURST: Problem solved! CAEN: This question says: If Trump is elected president, are we headed for an illiberal democracy or an autocracy? So are we headed for catastrophe or like serious catastrophe? DURST: You know both Hillary and Don, the Donald and the Hillary, they both are fond of saying if the other person is elected that it will be a disaster. But come on, man. I mean we’re pretty resilient. We made it through Reagan and Clinton and Carter and Nixon, and Jackson and Harding and Coolidge and Vixen. [Laughter.] So I think we’ll be okay. Although the joke at Cleveland, the convention—because I was with Free Speech TV, and Free Speech TV is a little to the left of Fidel, but they’re great people. I mean, Amy Goodman is their moderate, okay? CAEN: I love that this audience is like, “Yeah, we know.” DURST: I know, this audience got that joke, which nobody else would. But the joke amongst the journalists was, Let’s say Trump wins; what are you doing, north or south? [Laughter.] And everybody knew what everybody was talking about. And my answer was Vancouver, to learn Spanish. CAEN: This question says: I think both candidates are awful, but you both seem to be pro-Hillary. Please name two things she’s accomplished without horrific side effects.

DURST: Seriously dude? Well, I agree, both candidates will make you sick. One will give you intestinal cramps and the other Ebola. So you pick. CAEN: So we’ve got a note here to ask you to weigh in on Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate who’s polling relatively well, 8 to 10 percent. DURST: Yeah, it was at 11, and he only needs four more percentage points to get to 15 to qualify for the debates. But a lot of people think that the ticket should be switched. It should be William Weld on top and Gary Johnson [as vice presidential candidate]. Gary Johnson, you know, he’s kind of a firebrand. He’s kind of a wildcat. What’s he doing now? He sells pot for a living? Sells medical marijuana. And he actually made a vow that if elected president he will stop smoking pot. Then there’s Dr. Jill Stein. And then there’s Evan McKinnon, the CIA guy who’s running just to mess with Trump in Utah? ... And everybody knows what a Libertarian is. That’s a Democrat with a gun, or a Republican that smokes pot. Hence, Gary Johnson. But the problem with Trump—this is not original, I heard somebody on one of the shows, I don’t know if it was Chris Matthews, or whatever, but a lady journalist called Trump a monkey with a gun. [Laughter.] Sure you’re in a fight with a monkey, and you’re a human so you should win. But he’s got a gun. [Laughter.] And he’s a monkey.

Political analyst Melissa Caen and political satirist Will Durst get in some good reading before their Commonwealth Club program.

O C TO B E R/N O V E M B E R 2016

THE POLITICAL KAREEM

Basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will always be known for his historic achievements on the court, but he is also increasingly known for his involvement in and commentary on the current political scene. He speaks with CNNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Van Jones.

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O C TO B E R/N O V E M B E R 2016

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, NBA Hall of Fame Inductee; Columnist, Time Magazine; Author, Writings on the Wall: Searching for a New Equality Beyond Black and White, in conversation with Van Jones, CNN commentator. From the August 30, 2016, program in San Francisco, “An Evening with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.” Photos by Sonya Abrams. VAN JONES: First of all, I just want to say it’s an honor. Got a chance to see you briefly a couple times in my life. This is the first time we’re going to have a real conversation, so I’m a little nervous. We were talking backstage. I said “We don’t have that many heroes. We don’t have that many legends left.” You went directly to who? KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR: Directly to Emmett Till. I was eight years old when Emmett Till got murdered in Mississippi, and I didn’t understand what happened to him. I tried asking my parents about it. They did not have the words to explain it to me, and I couldn’t understand it. It just really made me focus my mind on what is this problem that causes somebody to get murdered like that? I started paying attention immediately at that moment to what was going on in the civil rights movement. From 1955 to 1965 was really the climax of it, so it was quite a thing to observe and it affected me. It made me want to see their goals achieved and eliminate Jim Crow. Of course, we’ve gotten Jim Crow off the books, but the sentiment that motivates people to have something like

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Jim Crow is still out there, and we still need to deal with it. That was the genesis for this book. JONES: Speaking of Donald Trump, I was just curious ... You are probably the most beloved Muslim in the world, certainly the most visible throughout the West; and yet we have someone running for office who is telling a billion people you’re not welcome in the United States. You’re eight years old. Your life is changed irrevocably by an act of racial bigotry. Now you’re sitting here and I would argue we’re seeing religious bigotry. How do you make sense of that? ABDUL-JABBAR: I think Mr. Trump is basically trying to use people’s fear and lack of understanding of what’s going on for votes. He’s translating that into votes by saying what he says and doing what he does. It’s pitting Americans against each other. For the longest time, Americans came together and realized how to solve problems. All of a sudden, that’s not working anymore because of a number of different reasons, but one of the things I see that really disappoints me is the fact that the members of Congress decided that they were going to do everything they could to see that the president of the United States was a failure. Why was that? Because he was a black American? I can’t get over that. It bothers me, and I don’t like it, and I got to say something about it. JONES: Since you mentioned wanting to speak out, we’ve got some controversy in the news. We have a football quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, who refused to stand up

for the Pledge of Allegiance. My father’s a veteran. A lot of people felt that was offensive and also anti-patriotic. You wrote a piece that took a different point of view. ABDUL-JABBAR: I did. I think that what Colin was doing was trying to attract attention to an issue that is very important to him. What I saw that he said was he is fed up with the fact that too many young black people are dying at the hands of police, who are reacting to fear and their misunderstanding of people that they’re supposed to protect and serve. Too many of these people are ending up dead for no good reason. That is a very worthy cause. Colin could have picked another place to make his statement, but he has the power of having so much attention focused on him as the quarterback for the 49ers, so he used that. I think he’s right in line with what Mr. Jefferson said when they were putting the Constitution together, that it’s important to protect the speech of people who you don’t want to hear, because freedom of speech is the basis for what America is about. Even people who say things that you don’t like, you have to fight for their right to say that, because at some point that’s going to be you. JONES: I think there is a big tug of war in the country right now about this idea of patriotism. You were at the DNC. I saw you at the DNC, but you also watched the RNC. ABDUL-JABBAR: Some of it. JONES: You were in a situation where you were at the DNC, you got a chance to speak. I think there is a tug

of war in this country over what patriotism even is. The Republicans thought they were being patriotic when they were saying “Keep the Muslims out. Keep the Mexicans out. Obama’s no good.” The Democrats thought they were being patriotic when they were chanting “USA, USA,” etc. Now you’re seeing a huge denunciation, saying that Kap is anti-patriotic. In what way do you see him as patriotic, and then what do you think about this broader discussion about what patriotism means? ABDUL-JABBAR: I think patriotism is about appreciating your country and trying to make it a better place. That’s what we’re supposed to be about. When people talk about the common good, I think that’s something we all have to work at. All people here, no matter what their political affiliation is, we are fellow citizens, and we have to work together to make these things happen. We can’t do it all on our own. It won’t all be Democrats or Republicans or conservatives or liberals. It’s going to be an amalgamation of all of these people coming together on common ground. The only way that we can get to that common ground is to have a discussion. The Continental Congress was a pretty raucous affair. There were days when the delegation from Massachusetts didn’t show up and the delegation from Georgia was so argumentative on some issue, and other times they were sending each other hate notes, but they got to a point where—

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar spoke to an enthusiastic and sold-out Commonwealth Club crowd at San Francisco’s Herbst Theatre.

O C TO B E R/N O V E M B E R 2016

JONES: Mean tweets. ABDUL-JABBAR: Yeah. They got to a point where they realized “We’ve got to listen to each other, because the other side has some valid points, and unless we understand that and deal with their issues, we’re not going to get to where we want to get.” JONES: I think the last time the country was this divided and this upset was probably in the 1960s. I think about you, probably being about the same age as Kap, maybe a little bit younger, and there was no precedent. Kap is standing in precedent. He can follow your example. He can follow Muhammad Ali’s example. You might mention some other examples he’s following, but when you were doing your thing and you were standing up, there was no precedent for what you were doing. What was it that you were leaning on and relying on when you took the stance that you took? ABDUL-JABBAR: I was relying on what I’d seen Dr. King

I was relying on what I’d seen Dr. King do, what Medgar Evers did, what the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee did. do, what Medgar Evers did, what the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee did, SNCC. As I was coming up through grade school and high school, I saw them. They risked their lives. They got on buses and rode into the South knowing that they were going to get beaten up and thrown in jail, and they did that so that we could have just the right to vote. That’s all we were trying to get, is the right to vote and be treated as equal citizens. Of course, it’s gone a lot further than that, but the courage that they showed really is paramount in what motivated me. When I saw John Lewis at the DNC, they asked me to say a few words, and I just remembered back. I remembered seeing them when they were getting ready to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge, and I knew they were going to get hurt. I just went back to that time and I choked up. I couldn’t talk because of the example I saw in those people that took that horrible beating, but it showed the world exactly how ugly Jim Crow was and it motivated people to say, “Hey, we’ve had enough of Jim Crow.” I’m so thankful. Because of the courage and determination of the people that came before me, I figured all I can do is just follow in their footsteps and try to do my part when I had the chance. JONES: It’s history repeating itself. You talked about the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, young people taking a stand, trying to do something that would make a difference, make an impact. We don’t have the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee anymore, but we do

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have Black Lives Matter. We don’t have just one Emmett Till. I think this generation feels like it’s seeing Emmett Till week after week with the videos. Whereas Emmett Till, it was a shock when the mother let the photograph of the body be printed, I guess in Jet magazine? ABDUL-JABBAR: Jet magazine. I remember. JONES: You remember seeing that picture? ABDUL-JABBAR: I remember seeing it. It’s one of the most horrible things I ever saw, and I wanted to know why. What did he do? JONES: You’re sitting here now, decades later, and I can see the pain in your face from something that happened one time, in ‘55. You were eight years old. You’re seeing one picture. What do you think the impact on a generation of African-American young people who are seeing in their social feeds, on television, scene after scene after scene of African-Americans being killed? ABDUL-JABBAR: I think they’ve got to be horrified, and they’ve got to wonder how much their lives are worth. I think that that’s a very unfortunate thing that black Americans have to think like that, but their survival depends on it. That shouldn’t be, but that is the way things are and until we train our police differently. We can’t automatically eliminate all bigots from the police force, but we can train them so that they can overcome their own personal bigotry and shortcomings and become good police officers. That’s what we want, and that’s what Black Lives Matter should be all about. We have no other choice, and the police are such an essential part of our democracy. JONES: It’s funny, because people will often say that the Black Lives Matter movement is anti-police. I always find that very interesting. ABDUL-JABBAR: They’re anti-bad policing. That’s what they are. JONES: Exactly. You wrote this piece; it was very diplomatic. You stuck up for Kap in a way and you said that he was a patriot. You have a lot of young people now who have platforms, who have positions where they’re in the spotlight, as you did. There must be tremendous pressure on you in those situations not to use your platform to adopt these causes. I’m sure Kap is not going to get the Hostess Twinkie business contract this year. Tell us how you work through those pressures in terms of “Don’t do this” from people who you care about who care about you. ABDUL-JABBAR: I’ll give you an example. After Dr. King was assassinated, we had a demonstration at UCLA. It was just people who wanted to make a statement standing on Bruin Walk. It happened my junior year at UCLA, 1968. We were all standing there. We stood there for an hour. I had at least 4 or 5 different individuals stop where I was standing and tell me that I was getting the opportunity to play in the NBA and what was I doing in a demonstration about Dr. King’s assassination? Their whole attitude about it was, because I was having an opportunity to do well in American life, that I needed to know my place and keep my mouth shut and not demonstrate that way.

JONES: What’s wrong with that? ABDUL-JABBAR: They don’t relate to each other. They’re mutually exclusive. JONES: Shouldn’t you be grateful? ABDUL-JABBAR: I am grateful, but the fact that I am grateful does not mean that the death of Dr. King was not a very horrible thing. It was a murder and something needed to be done about it. It had been happening for too long in America, and that’s why we protested. People get that type of mindset where if anybody has an advantage, they’re supposed to appreciate that advantage and not rock the boat. I don’t think that Colin has to abide by that. He has to do what his conscience dictates, and I think that’s why he made the statement he made. JONES: It’s so interesting. Some people feel that if you are able to succeed in society, gratitude means not trying to improve the society. Other people feel that if you’ve been able to do well, showing your gratitude might demand that you stand up, demand that you say something. I think one of your contemporaries, Muhammad Ali, was in a similar kind of situation. ABDUL-JABBAR: Absolutely. JONES: You did something very courageous at the time. Muhammad Ali, a black Muslim, at that time a militant black nationalist—talk about refusing to stand up. He refused to go fight. When he died, everybody said that he was the greatest human ever born; but at that time, he was radioactive. You, Jim Brown, and other top, top athletes went and sat with him publicly. Why? Because that was not you making a decision about your conscience and what you wanted to do. You’re now looking at another man making a decision, and why did you decide to go and sit with the other great, esteemed Muslim in American life and lore, Muhammad Ali? ABDUL-JABBAR: I just had respect for the position that he was taking about the Vietnam War. He was right. I knew it. For me, it was a no brainer. I wanted to be involved in it. I wanted to support him and what he was standing for. It made absolute sense to me. JONES: We’re sitting here all these years later and you say this so calmly, but it could not have been an easy decision. You must have had managers, lawyers, agents, [your] mama, somebody did not think this was a great idea. Am I wrong? ABDUL-JABBAR: No. You’re not wrong. You’re right. That’s what I meant to say. I had to make a choice then, but for me, it was a no brainer. I knew that he was right and he was willing to take the hit. He’s the one that lost the financial opportunities, not being able to fight for a couple of years, and he didn’t care. He really didn’t care. If having the opportunity to fight meant that he had to show some support for our presence in Vietnam, he was going to just forgo that and go his own way. I had ultimate respect for him. JONES: What was the most notable thing you learned

from [UCLA basketball coach] John Wooden? ABDUL-JABBAR: I think the most important thing was to understand what it means to be prepared. Prepared to do what you have to do to honor your commitments to your time. For him, it was more than that. It had to do with family and country. He wanted us to be good parents. He wanted us to be good husbands and good citizens. JONES: How’d he communicate that to you? ABDUL-JABBAR: He used basketball. I went through it every day at practice. I didn’t understand the pyramid. For a long time, I thought he was a mason. He had this pyramid thing. I said, “Aren’t those those guys with the thing?” It was motivated by his Christian faith, and he just wanted us to understand what it meant to commit to learning something, doing it the right way fundamentally, and being sound about it. He had, I think, a 60-percent graduation rate, which is awesome.

Abdul-Jabbar signed copies of his new book, Writings on the Wall.

O C TO B E R/N O V E M B E R 2016

InSight It’s not Long Now

Dr. Gloria C. Duffy, President and CEO

WO MONTHS FROM NOW, the Club expects to occupy its new headquarters at 110 The Embarcadero. About a month after that, in January, our members and the public will be invited to attend the first programs held in the building. We are in the final three months of a seven-year-long saga to provide the Club with a home in which its many talks and forums will be held. The saga actually dates back to 1982, when then-President of the Club Shirley Temple Black established the first building committee for the Club, at least in modern history. More recently, the Club held a board retreat in 2009 to consider whether we should pursue a building. The tale since then has involved many steps and stages, but a relatively straight path to our goal. For those who don’t already know, the new building will contain two auditoriums, a library, reception areas and lounges, an audio and video production suite, a full basement, a roof deck and garden, the premium Meyer Sound Constellation system in our large auditorium and other Meyer systems throughout the building, and three floors of glass on the Embarcadero with beautiful, panoramic views of the Bay. The Steuart Street side of the building will feature restoration of the historic façade and a plaque explaining the important labor history that took place at the site. So many wonderful people and institutions have helped and supported the Club to realize this dream. The Accornero family, who owned the building for more than 70 years, agreed to sell it to the Club and gave us the time we needed to close escrow so we could raise the necessary funds. Over 200 individuals, families and companies have contributed to the approximately $24 million raised thus far for the project. We will be acknowledging all of the extraordinarily generous donors when we open the building, but one deserves special note. The Packard Foundation awarded the Club a “program related investment,” essentially a bridge loan that allowed us to close escrow on-time, prior to some of our donations being received. We are especially grateful to them for their sustained support over the past 20 years. It has made a huge difference for the Club. The building will be sustainable, with a low-energy footprint. Windows in both facades will open, and together with large ceiling fans inside will allow us to cool mainly with outside air. The lobby tile is domestically manufactured and contains high recycled content, including crushed porcelain from toilet manufacturer Toto’s “seconds” that they are unable to sell. The carpeting has post-consumer yarn. The wood paneling we will use is being milled from the floor and ceiling joists we found in the building,

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which are old-growth fir. Other sustainable and renewable materials you will see in the building include cork, “plyboo” (bamboo plywood), low-water bathroom fixtures, bottle-filler fountains and countertops containing crushed post-consumer glass. Our architects, Leddy Maytum Stacy and Gensler and our contractor Steve Oliver have all done a great job of beautiful design Photo courtesy of Gloria Duffy and construction. Our project manager, Piper Kujac, has kept everyone on task, on time and on budget. We plan on grand opening ceremonies in mid-January, with specific dates to be set soon. There is so much to say about the building, and what the experience in it will be like for our members and the community. But we will have time in the next two months and when the building opens to introduce our members and the public to the new headquarters. What bears saying now is that all good projects take time and sustained focus to bring to fruition. Many people, including Mary Bitterman, the Club’s Board chair at the time we decided to proceed, the Board of Governors and the many building committee, finance committee, audit committee, and executive committee leaders and members spent seemingly endless hours reviewing information and making the decisions necessary to keep the project on track. Our Honorary 21st Century Campaign Co-Chairs George and Charlotte Shultz, and fundraising committees chaired first by Maryles Casto and then by John Farmer, have worked incredibly hard and effectively to raise the funds needed. We still have about $4 million left to raise, and we are working diligently to raise the final funds before the building opens in January. Our goal is to own the building free and clear, without a mortgage. Our bankers, our members, our real estate broker, our corporate and philanthropic supporters, our community partners including the Longshoremen’s Union, San Francisco city leaders, wise advisors and so many, many others have collaborated to make the project successful. The Club’s project shows what broad cooperation and sustained attention to a goal can achieve. We are in the home stretch. Thank you for being with us on the journey. We look forward to showing you the fruits of all of our labors, come January.

ANCIENT TRADITIONS OF THE

Inland Sea of Japan APRIL 30 - MAY 10, 2017

Explore Japan and South Korea during a seven-night cruise aboard the deluxe small ship m.s. L’Austral along the Inland Sea of Japan, plus two nights in Kyoto. Visit five UNESCO World Heritage sites. Explore Kyoto’s Nijo Castle; Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park; Hagi’s samurai quarter; Moji’s Mekari Shrine; and the Buddhist wonders of Gyeongju, South Korea. Disembark in Osaka. Optional pre-trip extension in Tokyo and post-trip to Kanazawa’s gardens and temples. From $5,795, per person, double occupancy Detailed brochure available at commonwealthclub.org/travel | 415.597.6720 | travel@commonwealthclub.org CST# 2096889-40

The Commonwealth Club of California 555 Post Street San Francisco, CA 94102

Purchase event tickets at commonwealthclub.org or call (415) 597-6705

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or (800) 847-7730 To subscribe to our free weekly events email newsletter, go to commonwealthclub.org and click on “MY CLUB ACCOUNT” in the menu at the bottom of the page.

PROGRAMS YOU WON’T WANT TO MISS Wednesday, October 19

Marcus Samuelsson

Yvon Chouinard

Marcus Samuelsson, Chef; Author, The Red Rooster Cookbook: The Story of Food and Hustle in Harlem Chris Cosentino, Chef

Yvon Chouinard, Founder, Patagonia, Inc.; Author, Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman

Chouinard is a legendary climber, surfer and environmentalist. He is also the reluctant entrepreneur who founded Patagonia, Inc., one of the most respected eco- and socially conscious companies in the world. To celebrate the re-release of his best-selling memoir, Chouinard recounts his early days of selling climbing equipment out of his car and explains how that led to accidentally creating a multi-million dollar sporting goods company committed to environmentally responsible design and production.

for event details, see page 23

for event details, see page 25

Cecile Richards

Thomas Friedman

Cecile Richards, President, Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund

Thomas Friedman, Columnist, The New York Times; Author, The Lexus and the Olive Tree, The World Is Flat, Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations

Monday, December 5

This year, Planned Parenthood marks its one hundredth year of providing vital health-care services, education, and information to women, men and families. While 2.5 million men and women visit Planned Parenthood affiliate health centers annually, the organization faces major opposition. During this historic election year, Planned Parenthood and its supporters have been under scrutiny by politicians and others who want to eliminate the organization’s state and federal funding and shut down clinics. details at commonwealthclub.org

Thursday, October 27

In his most ambitious work to date, Thomas L. Friedman shows that we have entered an age of dizzying acceleration— and explains how to live in it. A parallel explosion of economic interdependency has created new riches as well as spiraling debt burdens. Meanwhile, Mother Nature is also seeing dramatic changes. Friedman concludes that nations and individuals must learn to be fast, fair, and slow. details at commonwealthclub.org

Tuesday, December 6