500 episodes listed below
Public conversations with civic weight.
Commonwealth Club of California Podcast presents forum-style conversations with authors, public officials, journalists, researchers, and community leaders. Its episodes favor context over combat, moving from personal stakes to the larger systems shaping public life.
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Commonwealth Club of California Podcast presents civic conversation as a public discipline. The format is usually measured, introduced with formal context, and guided by moderators who make room for extended answers. It is not built around one personality. The energy comes from the guests, the subject, and the institution of the forum itself. Recent episodes show its range. A Climate One program uses video games as a doorway into climate communication, cooperation, and public imagination. A conversation with Dr. Ibram X. Kendi places racism, history, and authoritarian politics in a broader frame. Josh Shapiro's appearance links public service with faith, family, and a political life shaped through several offices. Taekoo Lee's discussion of corporate scandal treats moments of crisis as possible openings for democratic reform. A justice-focused program with Dionne Lim centers community pain after a verdict in a case and asks what accountability can mean. Another Climate One episode considers how environmental concern might move across party lines in a polarized country. Women Leading Change turns toward leadership, invisible labor, community building, and the work of making civic power more representative. The science of Project Hail Mary brings astrobiology, SETI, fictional planets, and the limits of biological possibility into the same room. The show can be warm when people speak from experience. It can also be grave, especially when the subject is violence, discrimination, or democratic strain. Its best moments connect a human story to a larger structure without rushing the lesson. The pace is deliberate. Introductions can be formal, and some episodes include event housekeeping or sponsor material before the main discussion settles in. For listeners who value context, that patience is part of the appeal. The result is a broad public-affairs feed for people who want civic conversation with breadth, seriousness, and institutional memory.
Made for: For listeners who want thoughtful public-affairs conversations across politics, race, climate, science, justice, and community leadership. It suits people who prefer context-rich interviews and panels over personality-driven debate.
What sets it apart: The show brings forum discipline to a wide civic agenda, pairing formal introductions with guests who speak at length about policy, research, lived experience, and public consequence.
The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's largest public affairs forum. The nonpartisan and nonprofit Club produces and distributes programs featuring diverse viewpoints from thought leaders on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast — the oldest in the U.S., since 1924 — is carried on hundreds of stations. Our website features audio and video of our programs. This podcast feed is usually updated multiple times each week.
Based on 5 episodes we listened to · August 2026
A broad public forum feed connecting policy, climate risk, leadership, public resources, and science to the economic choices behind civic life.
Commonwealth Club of California Podcast is a public forum feed with real use for Business & Finance listeners who care about policy before it turns into balance sheet pressure.
Bring a notebook for plastic caps, river math, alien solvents, and civic power.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
Climate politics here becomes a study in polarization, social media, and a practical case for solar.
Climate One treats climate as one more arena where politics can crowd out basic common ground. It uses Backer's point about the staff website feature, with political labels crossed out and replaced by surfer or hiker, to argue for a simpler, less polarized way of seeing people…
A steady civic conversation about the unseen work behind public change.
The Commonwealth Club program treats leadership as civic labor, not performance. Women Leading Change, Power, Policy, and Purpose gathers voices shaped by lived experience, community work, and public service, and the conversation stays grounded rather than theatrical.
A science-first panel that tests Project Hail Mary against real astrobiology and planetary science.
Commonwealth Club's program approaches Project Hail Mary as a science-first conversation, with Dr. Maggie Turnbull, Dr. Pascal Lee, and Tucker Hyatt unpacking the science and technology behind the story.
A clear look at how Colorado River uncertainty reaches budgets, crops, tribal revenue, and federal intervention.
The Colorado River crisis comes through as a planning problem as much as a water-policy fight. Seven states and 40 million people are facing dwindling flows, reservoirs at historic lows, and a February 14 deadline after which the Bureau of Reclamation could divide water among…
A civic, public-health look at plastic, from book covers to local turf fights.
This episode treats plastic as a practical issue that reaches publishing, schools, and everyday routines. Judith Enck's discussion of The Problem with Plastic stands out for the book's plastic-free cover and for the praise aimed at that choice, while also pressing major…
This episode features an interview with Jenna Nicholas and Wayne Silbey discussing the intersection of spirituality, business, and investing, inspired by stories from the early days of Calvert Funds.
Judith Enck discusses the pervasive issue of plastic pollution, linking it to fossil fuel industries and climate change.
Climate One host Arianna Brocious interviews Sarah Porter, director of the Kyle Center for Water Policy, about the crisis on the Colorado River.
This episode analyzes the escalating direct military conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran, including the assassination of Iran's supreme leader and its implications for regional stability and US policy.
Raj Mathai interviews Dusty Baker at the Commonwealth Club of California about Crossroads, his memoir of baseball, family, faith, and perseverance.
Melissa Murray tells Neil Chase that her Constitution guide began after Luke Campbell’s Twitter demands exposed confusion about which powers belong to the president, Congress, mayors, and city councils.
The hosts play the cooperative video game Overcooked 2, humorously navigating its cooking challenges for zombies while discussing its relevance to climate issues.
This episode features an interview with Dr.
Governor Josh Shapiro discusses his personal and professional journey in public service, tied to his new book 'Where We Keep the Light'.
This episode features Professor Taeku Lee discussing how corporate scandals can expose hidden power and create opportunities for democratic reform, based on his book 'The Billionaire Backlash'.
This episode features a discussion with D.A.
Climate gets dragged into politics.
Virginia Chung opens on March 31, 2026, the last day of Women's History Month.
The Commonwealth Club brings together a panel to look at the science behind Andy Weir's *Project Hail Mary*.
This episode analyzes the escalating direct military conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran, including the assassination of Iran's supreme leader and its implications for regional stability and US policy.
Judith Enck discusses her book 'The Problem with Plastic,' highlighting its unique plastic-free cover and exploring how the petroleum industry rapidly infused plastic into everyday life.
This episode features an interview with Emily Galvin Almanza about her book 'The Price of Mercy,' discussing the challenges in the public defense system and her work with Partners for Justice to reform it.