Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California

For critics of the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court, much attention and ire is focused on the new justices appointed by President Donald Trump. But journalist Alex Wagner says the key president to note is Ronald Reagan, whose 1980 election marked a distinct right turn for American governance.

Wagner, host of Crooked Media’s “Runaway Country,” says Reagan’s election marked the return to power of the conservative right after many decades on the fringes: Tax cuts, aggressive foreign policy, and law and order would soon become the cornerstones of Reagan’s agenda. But, behind the scenes, a select group of administration officials and ideological allies had their eyes set on something much more valuable: an institution with the power to shape the country’s legal, cultural and existential identity, long after any presidential term ended.

Wagner says California’s own Ed Meese, an Alameda County district attorney, lawyer and aide to Reagan from his days as governor, knew exactly what he had to do to seize the Supreme Court: get as many judges on the bench as possible, and make sure they were as conservative as he was on issues like abortion rights, taxes and criminal justice. Working in parallel to achieve the same goal were a band of fellow true believers: Paul Weyrich, a firebrand organizer; Joe Coors, the beer magnate whose fortune funded many of Weyrich’s efforts; and Robert Bork, the towering legal intellect of the right and an important mentor to a few young law students starting a new organization called The Federalist Society.

By the end of the decade, these men would change the face of the American judiciary forever. Join us as Wagner draws on the work in her new book The Steal to go into the closed-door meetings, public nomination hearings, and back rooms of American political power to reveal the story behind one of the most significant moments in American history, and how it affects us to this day.

Notes

Photo courtesy of the speaker.

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Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California

Check out our new video upload featuring California Congressman Jared Huffman:

1 month ago | [YT] | 1

Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California

Wisconsin was written off by many Democrats after the GOP gained total control over the state’s executive, judicial, and legislative branches. For a while, the state—once known for clean government and transparency—became a national symbol of a highly gerrymandered state. But the Democrats figured out how to win, and they slowly and methodically rebuilt their power, regaining the governor’s office, cutting into legislative majorities, and are now on a run of consecutive landslide election victories for Democratic-leaning state supreme court justices, who are in the majority.

How did it happen?

Get an inside look when Ben Wikler visits Commonwealth Club World Affairs. Wikler, who has been hailed as the “preeminent state party chair” by Nancy Pelosi, led Wisconsin Democrats through a series of hold-your-breath fights against right-wingers that resulted, against the odds, in the unrigging of the political system of the most divided state in the nation.

Now, he draws on decades of experience in everything from school-board races to presidential elections to bring people inside the hidden web of power that shapes their lives. At every step, he shows what individuals and small groups can do to help build a future where democracy thrives and our country works for everyone. Join us as he draws on that experience and his new book This Is the Plan, an idealistic-yet-practical guide to turning the present crisis into a better future.

Notes
Wikler photo by SV Heart Photography; courtesy of the speaker.

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Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California

The U.S. Constitution is often at the center of debates about rights and wrongs and public policies in this country, but how many people have actually read it? How many have thought about it? How many understand it?

Join us as bestselling author and popular law professor Melissa Murray shares with us her look at the country’s founding legal document—a document that still guides our judges, lawyers, lawmakers and executives nearly a quarter millennium later. Murray has spent a lot of time demystifying laws for people, something she does as a contributor to MSNOW, on her podcast “Strict Scrutiny,” and in articles and books, including her most recent, The U.S. Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader.

With the Supreme Court and its interpretations central to the continuation of the republic, come see Murray act as an expert guide for reading and understanding the U.S. Constitution.

July 8, 2026

Speakers

Melissa Murray
Frederick I. and Grace Stokes Professor of Law, New York University’s School of Law; Co-host, "Strict Scrutiny" Podcast; Author, The U.S. Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader

In Conversation with Neil Chase
Chief Executive Offer, CalMatters

Photo by Alexandra Nataf

2 months ago | [YT] | 4

Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California

Screens—all the time, everywhere, it seems. We sit at our desks facing screens, hold meetings over screens, answer email after email on them. You’ve heard about the mental health harms of screens, but what about the physical ones? Headaches, back pain, restless sleep, and rising rates of preventable disease. Manoush Zomorodi, host of the TED Radio Hour, says technology is breaking us down, and she comes to Commonwealth Club World Affairs to share her investigation into how our digital lives are changing the way we think, learn and feel.

It’s a topic she explores in her new book Body Electric. From breath and eyesight to blood pressure, posture, and productivity, she says science has shown how small shifts—not “digital detoxes”—can make us healthier, and all we need is five minutes.

Melissa Painter, founder and CEO of Breakthru, will be joining Manoush Zomorodi. Painter is a pioneer in human-embodied intelligence, spatial computing, and kinetic literacy, working to redefine how we interact with technology to protect human health and cognitive performance. Her work bridges the gap between emergent technology and the physical self, creating practical avenues for embodied practices in an increasingly sedentary, screen-saturated world.

May 8, 2026

Speakers

Manoush Zomoradi
Host, NPR’s "TED Radio Hour"; Author, Body Electric: The Hidden Health Costs of the Digital Age and New Science to Reclaim Your Well Being

Melissa Painter
Founder and CEO, Breakthru

In Conversation with Lesley McClurg
Health Correspondent, KQED

Manoush photo courtesy of the speaker; Painter photo by Sandro Meallet.

2 months ago | [YT] | 2

Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California

Join us as legendary baseball player and manager Dusty Baker explores his extraordinary career, one filled with invaluable lessons on perseverance, leadership, and how to live life meaningfully on the field and off.

Dusty Baker walked with baseball legends and became one himself. After he signed with the Braves in 1968 at the age of 19 (against his father’s wishes), no less than the great Hank Aaron promised to take Baker under his wing. Mentored by Aaron, Orlando Cepeda and Willie Mays, Baker became a premier hitter, helping take the Dodgers to a World Series victory in 1981. Along the way he spent 10 seasons as the manager of the San Francisco Giants from 1993-2002. He would later lead the Houston Astros to a championship in 2002.

Baker has been respected by generations, and has come to embody the spirit of the sport. He explores this in his new book Crossroads, which delves into the mind of one of baseball’s mavericks: a curious, inquisitive thinker whose deep interest in the worlds of music, wine and the simpler joys of life charts a journey of success, struggle, faith and perseverance.

Don’t miss this chance to hear from a true American original, who counts among his friends presidents and dignitaries, bluesmen and artists.

June 24, 2026

Speakers

Dusty Baker
Former MLB Player and Manager; Author, Crossroads: A Memoir in Baseball and Life

In conversation with Raj Mathai
Anchor, NBC Bay Area, KNTV

Photo by Michael Zagaris.

2 months ago | [YT] | 4

Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California

Bestselling author and former U.S. attorney Barbara McQuade returns to Commonwealth Club World Affairs to share her exposé on the escalating threat of far-right politics—and a clear roadmap for saving our democracy.

McQuade has drawn on her decades of experience as a federal prosecutor to reveal how systems of organized crime and political opportunism exploit the levers of power—using corruption, cruelty, and chaos as tools to dominate institutions and eliminate accountability. She examined the tactics of today’s far-right MAGA system: information warfare, aggressive retribution, conformism enforced by fear, and pervasive dismantling of legal checks and balances necessary to defend the public interest and uphold justice.

She presented her views in her new book The Fix, in which she weaves together courtroom stories, real-time political analysis, and cautionary lessons from history and democratic backsliding abroad. She argues that the threats we face are not future possibilities—they’re already here. But she has more than just a warning; she has a call to action, outlining common-sense reforms and strategies that she says can reclaim the rule of law and recenter democracy with the power of the people.

June 23, 2026

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Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California

When the Pentagon formally designated Anthropic a “supply chain risk” this March, the dispute put a spotlight on civil liberties concerns in the AI-era. Anthropic had reportedly hit an impasse with the Trump administration over the company’s push for guardrails banning the use of its Claude model to conduct mass surveillance. Anthropic’s CEO had called such surveillance a “red line” it would not cross. But where exactly should those lines be drawn, and who should draw them?

Few people have spent more time thinking about those issues than Cindy Cohn, executive director of the San Francisco-based civil liberties group Electronic Frontier Foundation. Throughout her career, EFF’s executive director has been driven by a fundamental question: Can we still have private conversations if we live our lives online? Her new book, Privacy’s Defender: My Thirty-Year Fight Against Digital Surveillance, chronicles her battles to protect our right to digital privacy.

Cohn weaves her own personal story with the history of the Crypto Wars, FBI gag orders, and the post-9/11 surveillance state. She describes how she became a seasoned leader in the early digital rights movement, as well as how this work serendipitously helped her discover her birth parents and find her life partner. Along the way, she also details the development of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which she grew from a ragtag group of lawyers and hackers into “one of the most powerful digital rights organizations in the world.”

Cohn will be joined by Adam Savage, former co-host of the Discovery Channel show “Mythbusters,” to talk about the issues raised in her book, EFF’s work, and the emerging battle over AI surveillance.

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Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California

Join Commonwealth Club World Affairs for an in-depth conversation with one of America’s most seasoned national security voices.

4 months ago | [YT] | 4

Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California

Missed last month's Ai for Good: In Climate, Health & Investing program? Be sure to check it out on our channel and our Ai playlist!

When should artificial intelligence supplant human intelligence? And when should human intelligence lead? For climate action, for impacts on health, for investing and portfolios, where can AI tools multiply productivity—and what situations cause a quality assurance minefield?

Learn from innovators around the world (from Europe to Oceania to the Americas) when and how AI tools bring new value, expand audiences, and where human intelligence and empathy are still required, and how we all can benefit.

We will delve into how AI can improve the expansion and sustainability of food systems, which can also enhance climate justice and access to nutrition for low-income communities.

4 months ago | [YT] | 5