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Commonwealth Club-INFORUM
INFORUM is a division of The Commonwealth Club by and for people in their 20's and 30's, with a mission to inspire debate around civic issues.

• Panel: Post Election Analysis. Bloggers, pundits and political insiders review the 2008 election and what it meant for the nation.
  President Barack Obama
  Let’s Break It Down…
  

  
  
  Bloggers, pundits and political insiders review the 2008 election and what it meant for the nation

  
  Frank Russo, Founder, California Progress Report
  Mark DiCamillo, Director, The Field Poll
  Josh Richman, Political Blotter blogger, Bay Area News Group - East Bay
  Thomas Del Beccaro, Vice Chairman, California GOP; Publisher, Political Vanguard
  Carla Marinucci, Political Reporter, San Francisco Chronicle – Moderator
  
  

  As the dust from a historic election clears, INFORUM assembles leading pollsters, bloggers and pundits, each with a unique perspective on the election and voting trends. Was the YouTube effect truly as pivotal as the introduction of TV into the Nixon-JFK presidential race? Will the election of our first African-American president change the face of American politics and presidential races? How did other issues influence the outcome of the election? Come and find out what this historic election year means for us and for President-Elect Barack Obama.

  
  

  This program was recorded in front of a live audience on November 19, 2008

• Building Livable Streets: Gil Penalosa on Reclaiming Cities for People
  

  Building Livable Streets: Gil Penalosa on Reclaiming Cities for People

  
  

  How can major cities all over the world reclaim their streets for the people? Penalosa transformed Bogota, Colombia, with his Ciclovia project, which opens more than 70 miles of streets to 1.5 million people each week. Penalosa will discuss how the Ciclovia has promoted health, environmentalism, and increased economic vitality and competitiveness. Cities all over the world are following Colombia's lead and closing their streets to cars, allowing walkers, skaters and bicyclists to take over the streets. Hear Penalosa describe how he is helping cities become a part of this international phenomenon, and why he thinks it is important for more cities to follow this road less travelled.

  
  

  This program was recorded in front of a live audience on November 13, 2008

• Panel: Bailing Out Wall Street
  Bailing Out Wall Street
  
  Dave Callaway, Editor-in-Chief, MarketWatch
  Jonathan Berk, Professor, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University
  Maggie Mui, San Francisco Market Regional President, Wells Fargo
  Kathleen Pender, Net Worth Columnist, San Francisco Chronicle - Moderator
  
  

  This summer, Americans thought they were the victims of a mortgage crisis, but the ensuing financial collapse revealed that we are experiencing a global credit crisis. Now, the financial giants at the helm of business are facing massive losses and bankruptcies and asking Congress and taxpayers to save them. Even after a $700 billion bailout and support from abroad, the market is still suffering. How will the Treasury and the Federal Reserve try to solve this problem? What is our market going to look like by the end of the year? Experts will steer you through murky economic waters.

  
  

  This program was recorded in front of a live audience on November 3, 2008

• Panel: The Politics of Black in America Today
  The Politics of Black in America Today
  
  Cheo Tyehimba, Executive Director, Forwardever Media Center; Director, "I've Known Rivers," Museum of the African Diaspora; Author, The Ghetto Solution
  Richard Thompson Ford, Professor, Stanford Law School; Author, The Race Card
  Carmen Dixon, Negotiation Strategist; Creator, All About Race blog; Columnist, AOL Black Voices - Moderator
  
  Whether or not race is a key issue in the 2008 presidential election, the nomination of a minority candidate marks a clear turn in America’s political history. Will it help close the racial divide at all? African Americans and others have politicized art, music, culture and comedy to make statements about the race and battle to be represented fairly in the higher education system and political landscape. What does it mean to be black in America today, and will that change as a result of who is elected president?
  
  

  This program was recorded in front of a live audience on October 23, 2008

• Naomi Wolf, Author, The Beauty Myth and The End of America
  Give Me Liberty
  
  Naomi Wolf, Author, The Beauty Myth and The End of America
  In conversation with Katharine Mieszkowski, Senior Writer, Salon
  
  

  Human micro-chipping, FBI e-mail tracking or even just Googling yourself might make you murmur that America is becoming an Orwellian dystopia. But recently, with revelations of warrantless wiretapping, secret prisons, and the like, some people fear the hyperbole is becoming reality. In a time of increasing secrecy and fear, author and occasional Democratic political advisor Wolf dares to address the prospect of what she believes may be an increasingly fascist government. Wolf challenges what she perceives as affronts to freedom and how we can break free to protect our humanistic rights.

  
  

  This program was recorded in front of a live audience on October 14, 2008

• Panel: Battling for the Environment-Stories from the Frontlines
  Battling for the Environment: Stories from the Frontlines
  
  Jerry Mander, Founder, International Forum of Globalization; Sr. Fellow, Public
  Media Center; Co-editor, The Case Against the Global Economy and for a Turn Toward Local
  Tom Kostigen, Author, You Are Here: Exposing the Vital Link Between What We Do and What That Does to Our Planet; Co-author, The Green Book
  Claire Hope Cummings, Author, Uncertain Peril
  Christie Matheson, Author, Green Chic
  
  Sebastian Copeland, Author and Photographer, Antarctica: The Global Warning; Member of the Board of Directors, Global Green USA
  Jane Kay, Environment Editor, San Francisco Chronicle – Moderator
  
  The fight for the environment does not stop at the edge of Antarctica’s icebergs. The front lines stretch from the WTO and South Korean farms to our shopping bags and gas tanks. With so many simultaneous environmental combat zones, many questions arise. Who is fighting this war? And who is going to win? We have compiled a panel of leading authors, each with a unique perspective on environmental battles. They use stories to explain what is happening to the environment around the globe, and how we are being directly affected at home and how each of us can play a part.
  
  

  This program was recorded in front of a live audience on October 9, 2008
  

• Kerry Kennedy, Founder, Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights; Author, Being Catholic Now
  Faith in a Modern Era
  
  Kerry Kennedy, Founder, Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights; Author, Being Catholic Now
  
  In conversation with, David Batstone, Ph.D., President, Not For Sale Campaign; Professor, University of San Francisco; Author, Not For Sale
  
  How do you spend your Sundays? Could churches change their image among young skeptics by using more innovative Web 2.0 technologies? Kennedy interviewed high-profile church members in an exploration of personal journeys and interpretations versus dogmatic and impersonal mandates sent from above. Kennedy shares her experiences, replete with tales of struggle, spirituality, denial and much more.
  
  This program was recorded in front of a live audience on October, 2008
  

  
  

• Ralph Nader, Candidate for U.S. President
  Ralph Nader
  Candidate for U.S. President
  
  With Tabitha Soren former political reporter, MTV and NBC
  
  Without ever having held political office, Nader has had a tremendous political impact by advocating for improved consumer safety through seat belts, air bags, product labeling, and helping 100 organizations become watchdogs over corporate, government and environmental corruption. Nader’s role in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections fueled controversy, and he's set to challenge the two-party system again this fall as he runs for president for the fifth time.
  
  

  This program was recorded in front of a live audience on September 30, 2008
  

• Panel: Eco Fashion; From Birkenstock to Couture
  Eco-Fashion: From Birkenstock to Couture
  
  Tierra Forte, Founder and Designer, Del Forte Denim
  Caren Holzman, Director of Category Management, TransFair USA
  Zem Joaquin, D