In November 2018, California's Camp Fire devastated Paradise, killing 85 and destroying over 18,000 structures. Reporter Lizzie Johnson, who covered the disaster, now presents her book, *Paradise: One Town's Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire*. It details the fire, examines failures, and suggests ways to avert future tragedies amid worsening climate change.

Join Johnson (The Washington Post) in conversation with ProPublica's Elizabeth Weil on August 2, 2021. This timely discussion will revisit the Paradise tragedy, its recovery, and the increasing dangers of wildfires in our "new normal."

The Commonwealth Club of California, the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum, hosts this event. For more information: SUBSCRIBE for more VIDEOS | UPCOMING EVENTS | BECOME a MEMBER | DONATE NOW | Watch & Listen | CWC Facebook | CWC Instagram | CWC Twitter

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The East Bay Sanctuary was organized in 1982 to assist refugees fleeing the terrible violence in the Northern Triangle of Central America. While refugees from El Salvador and Honduras were fleeing,

The East Bay Sanctuary was organized in 1982 to assist refugees fleeing the terrible violence in the Northern Triangle of Central America. While refugees from El Salvador and Honduras were fleeing, mainly political persecution, the vast majority of Guatemalan refugees were Maya, fleeing persecution on account of their race. More than 200,000 Maya fled into Mexico at the height of the violence, and many eventually made their way to the United States, crossing the southern border without papers. Currently there are around 5,000 Mam Maya living in the East Bay, and thousands more working in the fields of the Central Valley of California, the forests in Washington, the meat packing plants in Iowa and Nebraska, the blueberry fields in Michigan, and the fields in many states in the Deep South. Through the years the sanctuary has assisted thousands of indigenous Guatemalans and currently has 5 attorneys and 9 paralegals on staff, as well as numerous volunteer attorneys, law students and undergrads. This summer, sanctuary is predicted to win its 4,000th asylum case. Michael Smith is the director of the Refugee Rights Program at the East Bay Sanctuary Covenant in Berkeley, CA. His background is in anthropology and archaeology, and he worked for many years on a project in Nicaragua for the National Museum. In 1984, he began work at East Bay Sanctuary and has been at sanctuary ever since. He has received awards from Helen Bamber and the Dalai Lama for his work in refugees and from Berkeley Law for his work with law students. MLF ORGANIZER Patrick O'Reilly, Moderator SPEAKERS Michael Smith Director, Refugee Rights Program, East Bay Sanctuary Covenant 💯SUBSCRIBE for more VIDEOS: https://www.youtube.com/user/commonwealthclub 📆 UPCOMING EVENTS: https://www.commonwealthclub.org/events 🎉 BECOME a MEMBER: https://www.commonwealthclub.org/membership 💰 DONATE NOW: https://support.commonwealthclub.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=298 📺➕📻 Watch & Listen https://www.commonwealthclub.org/watch-listen CWC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecommonwealthclub/ CWC Instagram https://www.instagram.com/cwclub/ CWC Twitter https://twitter.com/cwclub The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum 📣, bringing together its 20,000 members for more than 400 annual events on topics ranging across politics, culture, society and the economy. Founded in 1903 in San Francisco California 🌉, The Commonwealth Club has played host to a diverse and distinctive array of speakers, from Teddy Roosevelt in 1911 to Hillary Clinton in 2010. Along the way, Martin Luther King, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton have all given landmark speeches at the Club.

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Foreign policy expert Fiona Hill, from a coal-mining town, served under three presidents. Her book, "There Is Nothing for You Here: Finding Opportunity in the Twenty-First Century," warns of America's socioeconomic collapse and authoritarian shift, advocating for expanded opportunity.

Hill discussed these insights with Ellen Nakashima (The Washington Post) on October 12, 2021. This program is part of the Good Lit series by The Commonwealth Club, the nation's oldest public affairs forum.

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Tim Higgins, a Wall Street Journal reporter, offers an insider's look at Elon Musk's Tesla in his book, Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century. The book details Tesla's tumultuous history, from its early struggles and rival attacks to its triumph in making electric vehicles widely available and affordable, fundamentally changing the future of transportation.

Join Higgins and fellow WSJ columnist Joanna Stern for a discussion on Tesla's rise and its implications for a tech-driven future. This event is hosted by The Commonwealth Club of California, the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum.

For more, visit: YouTube | Events | Membership | Donate | Watch & Listen

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