PAST EVENTS
The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards, 2019
The Common Good Forum is an annual program presenting headline issues and the most important, forward-looking ideas affecting public policy and our lives. This year we built a remarkable roster for our annual event, with 30+ participants from government, media, business, foreign affairs and tech, as well as public policy activists…
The Common Good Forum is an annual program presenting headline issues and the most important, forward-looking ideas affecting public policy and our lives. This year we built a remarkable roster for our annual event, with 30+ participants from government, media, business, foreign affairs and tech, as well as public policy activists.
Our theme this year was
“Rethinking the Democracy Compact”
The very foundations of our nation and the global order have shifted: institutions and gatekeepers are bypassed, societal norms are reorienting and governments are being rearranged - for better or worse. What drives these changes? How do they impact our democracy’s future? Most importantly, how can we harness them?
We presented fascinating discussions on the global transformations underway – greatest international threats and changes from new geopolitical escalations and vacuums; national challenges and our inability to confront our biggest transformations from broken government to gross economic disparities and climate change; growing a vibrant economy and jobs for today and tomorrow; the high-tech and social media revolution and its dangers and opportunities; our shifting political realities, the 2020 race and the impact of activism, immigration, populism, and identity; Fake news and pressure on journalism and freedom of the press here abroad; new scientific and emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and gene editing – in short, configuring anew for a society that is human-centred, inclusive and sustainable.
Agenda:
Welcome
Patricia Duff, Founder, The Common Good
Smithsonian Briefing: “The Future of the Women’s Museum”
Emily Rafferty, Karri Brady and Wendy Pangburn
Changemaker Scholarships
Jamie Margolin, age 17 and Alexandria Villaseñor, age 13. Presented by ABC’s Juju Chang and Sharon Patrick
Women & Power
Kay Koplovitz, Mia Love, Sally Quinn, and Alessandra Stanley. Moderated by Juju Chang
The Road to 2020: Leaders & Ideas
Matt Bennett, Margaret Hoover, Steve Israel, Claire McCaskill, and Rick Tyler. Moderated by Errol Louis.
Can’t We All Just Get Along? How Washington Can Best Serve the Nation”
Renewing Democracy
Max Boot, Nicole Austin-Hillery, Cohen Curtis, and Michael Waldman. Moderated by Ari Melber
Growing a Fair Economy
Alan Schwartz and Stephanie Ruhle
Artificial Intelligence & Warfare
Major General (Ret.) Dr. Robert Latiff
World View: Security Challenges & Opportunities
Ambassador Bill Burns, Ambassador Nicholas Burns and Former Congressman Jane Harman. Moderated by Edward Luce
Rule of Law, Corruption, and Abuse of Power
Bill Browder and Preet Bharara. Moderated by John Avlon
Journalism & Democracy
Tom Brokaw, Lesley Stahl, and Sir Harry Evans
Citizen Activism & TRIBUTE TO robert f. kennedy
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
American Spirit Awardees
Sir Harry Evans
Courage in Journalism
Lesley Stahl
Courage in Journalism
Preet Bharara
Distinguished Public Service
Bill Browder
Citizen Activism
Changemaker Scholarship Recipients
Jamie Margolin
Climate Change Action
Alexandria Villasenor
Climate Change Action
Interested in attending future events?
Defending Democracy: John Avlon, Philip Bobbitt, Ian Kahn, Garry Kasparov, and Bret Stephens
The Common Good was proud to present a very important discussion with Garry Kasparov, Russian dissident and world chess champion, Bret Stephens, New York Times columnist, John Avlon, author of Washington’s Farewell and CNN anchor, Philip Bobbitt, constitutional law expert at Columbia University, and Ian Khan, who plays George Washington on AMC’s Turn.
The Common Good was proud to present a very important discussion with Garry Kasparov, Russian dissident and world chess champion, Bret Stephens, New York Times columnist, John Avlon, author of Washington’s Farewell and CNN anchor, Philip Bobbitt, constitutional law expert at Columbia University, and Ian Khan, who plays George Washington on AMC’s Turn. In our nation and across the globe, democracy is at risk. Leaders from left to right are increasingly alarmed as the central values and norms of liberal democracy are undermined or under outright attack. The US struggles with poisonous division and institutional sclerosis, far right parties are gaining traction in Europe, and Vladimir Putin tightens his authoritarian grip on Russia while subverting democracy abroad. These extraordinary thinkers will explore how we can defend and reinvigorate the best of our democratic values and culture, as the risks to democracy intensify across our nation.
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John Avlon is an author, columnist and commentator. He is a senior political analyst and fill-in anchor at CNN, appearing on New Day every morning. From 2013 to 2018, he was the editor-in-chief and managing director of The Daily Beast.He is the author of the books Independent Nation, Wingnuts, and Washington’s Farewell as well as co-editor of the acclaimed Deadline Artists journalism anthologies. Avlon served as chief speechwriter to New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and won the National Society of Newspaper Columnists award for best online column in 2012.
Philip C. Bobbitt is the Herbert Wechsler Professor of Federal Jurisprudence and director for the Center for National Security at Columbia Law School. He is one of the nation’s leading constitutional theorists. Bobbitt’s interests include not only constitutional law but also international security and the history of strategy. He has served as law clerk to the Honorable Henry J. Friendly; associate counsel to the president; the counselor on international law at the State Department; legal counsel to the Senate Iran-Contra Committee; and senior director for Critical Infrastructure and senior director for strategic planning at the National Security Council.
Ian Kahn recently starred as General George Washington in AMC’s critically acclaimed series Turn: Washington’s Spies, which recently completed its fourth and final season. Prior to landing the roe of the nation’s first president, Kahn appeared in numerous high-profile television series, including Sex and the City, Suits, Law & Order, Castle, The Unusuals and Shameless. Kahn has been speaking about his experience playing General Washington and how there is a direct connection to today, and our current political challenges, in venues around the country.
Garry Kasparov, one of the world’s greatest chess champions in history, fled Russia in 2013 after Putin’s crackdown on Kasparov’s and others’ reform efforts. Garry Kasparov joined The Common Good to discuss Russia and the dangers Vladimir Putin and his regime pose to the world. Kasparov serves as chairman of the Human Rights Foundation, and has authored numerous works on the Putin regime and artificial intelligence.
Bret Stephens is an op-ed columnist and associate editor for the New York Times. He previously worked for the Wall Street Journal, where he served concurrently as foreign-affairs columnist, deputy editorial page editor and member of the editorial board. Prior to that he was editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post, a position he assumed in 2002 at the age of 28. Mr. Stephens has degrees from the University of Chicago and the London School of Economics, as well as three honorary doctorates.
Interested in Attending Future Events?
Why Democracy is Failing to Deliver Economic Growth and How to Fix It: Dambisa Moyo
The Common Good is pleased to present a special discussion with acclaimed economist Dambisa Moyo, generously hosted by Jonathan Barnet, Guggenheim Partners. Dambisa Moyo takes a look at the difficulties in the political arena and new economic challenges and offers solutions to jump-start economic growth by reforms for our democracy. All of this is part of her very provocative new book, Edge of Chaos.
The Common Good is pleased to present a special discussion with acclaimed economist Dambisa Moyo, generously hosted by Jonathan Barnet, Guggenheim Partners. Dambisa Moyo takes a look at the difficulties in the political arena and new economic challenges and offers solutions to jump-start economic growth by reforms for our democracy. All of this is part of her very provocative new book, Edge of Chaos.
In Edge of Chaos, Dambisa Moyo sets out the new political and economic challenges facing the world, and the specific, radical solutions needed to resolve these issues and reignite global growth. Dambisa enumerates the four headwinds of demographics, inequality, commodity scarcity and technological innovation that are driving social and economic unrest, and argues for a fundamental retooling of democratic capitalism to address current problems and deliver better outcomes in the future. In the twenty-first century, a crisis in one country can quickly become our own, and fragile economies produce a fragile international community. Edge of Chaos is a warning for advanced and emerging nations alike: we must reverse the dramatic erosion in growth, or face the consequences of a fragmented and unstable global future.
“Moyo’s book is provocative and of much interest to advocates of growth. Moyo clearly identifies systemic problems that the democracies-or what’s left of them-would do well to address.”
“An intriguing partnership of economic policy and political reforms for solving stagnating economic growth in the West.”
“Edge of Chaos gets seriously edgy”
Dr. Dambisa Moyo is a pre-eminent thinker, who influences key decision-makers in strategic investment and public policy. She is respected for her unique perspectives, her balance of contrarian thinking with measured judgment, and her ability to turn economic insight into investable ideas.
Interested in attending future events?
A Conversation with Rob Riemen, “To Fight Against This Age: On Fascism and Humanism”
The Common Good presented a special conversation with Rob Riemen, public intellectual and founder of the Nexus Institute in Amsterdam. Riemen offered a thoughtful meditation on the rise of authoritarian and xenophobic strains in many corners of contemporary Europe and beyond, and how the romanticization of authoritarianism in the western societies contributes to the steady erosion of democratic ideals.
The Common Good presented a special conversation with Rob Riemen, public intellectual and founder of the Nexus Institute in Amsterdam. Riemen offered a thoughtful meditation on the rise of authoritarian and xenophobic strains in many corners of contemporary Europe and beyond, and how the romanticization of authoritarianism in the western societies contributes to the steady erosion of democratic ideals. We ignore the new global changes at our own peril, is a warning that Riemen has sounded for some time that resonance in our hemisphere as well. Reimen’s latest book, “To Fight Against This Age: On Fascism and Humanism”, is already a bestseller in many countries.
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“Extremely relevant, urgent call to receive true democracy and acknowledge the perils of the fascist ideology”
“This is a book for the people who want the West to regain its moral high ground, and who want to think hard about how to help help achieve that. ”
“Rob Riemen is one of the great modern champions of the enlightenment and the best of its legacy. ”
Rob Riemen, a European public intellectual and cultural critic, is the founder, president and CEO of the Nexus Institute, a leading international center for philosophical debate and and intellectual discourse. The Nexus Institute was founded in 1994 by Riemen to stimulate intellectual debate in the European tradition of humanism. The Nexus Institute is widely acknowledged for the quality of its insight into contemporary issues and an approach that offers the appreciation of the humanistic culture and philosophy as a counterweight to the dominance of commercial values in today’s society. Riemen has lectured around the world and is also an international best-selling author with a number of critically acclaimed publications.
Interested in Attending Future Events?
“Trump – Year One” Panel
The Common Good hosted a panel of specialists for a stimulating examination of one of the most extraordinary first 12 months in modern presidential history. We brought the best and the brightest to break it down – with questions like; What is the impact of this President on our politics, on our institutions, on our economy, on our democratic norms and values, on our international power and prestige? Where are we now? Where are we headed?
The Common Good hosted a panel of specialists for a stimulating examination of one of the most extraordinary first 12 months in modern presidential history.
We brought the best and the brightest to break it down – with questions like; What is the impact of this President on our politics, on our institutions, on our economy, on our democratic norms and values, on our international power and prestige? Where are we now? Where are we headed?
listen:
WATCH:
Douglas Brinkley is an award-winning presidential historian and best-selling author covering American Presidents including Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan. He is currently professor of history at Rice University and a CNN Presidential Historian. The Chicago Tribune has dubbed him “America’s new past master.”
Roger Cohen is a New York Times columnist with an international perspective. Cohen was a foreign correspondent for more than a decade before becoming foreign editor of the New York Times, and has been a columnist there since 2009. Mr. Cohen has written several books including: “Hearts Grown Brutal: Sagas of Sarajevo,” an account of the wars of Yugoslavia’s destruction, co-authored a biography of Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, and a family memoir. Raised in South Africa and England, he is a naturalized American.
David Frum is Senior Editor at the Atlantic Monthly. He served as a speechwriter and special assistant to President George W. Bush, and later a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, He is the author of nine books, including the New York Times bestseller The Right Man. David Frum’s latest book is Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic. Frum has been listed as one of the most influential public intellectuals in North America.
Dana Perino served as White House Press Secretary for President George W. Bush. She currently serves as co-host of FOX News Channel’s “The Five” and anchors “The Daily Briefing with Dana Perino.” While at the network, Perino has contributed to live top-rated election and political coverage. She is the president of Dana Perino and Company, and a frequent public speaker on political trends.
Edward Rollins has long been considered one of America’s premier political strategists and communication experts. He has managed political campaigns for candidates and initiatives in this country and around the world. Mr. Rollins managed President Ronald Reagan’s 49 state landslide reelection campaign in 1984 in which President Reagan won more electoral votes than any President in history.
Interested in attending future events?
The Russia Investigation with Congressman Adam Schiff and Secretary Jeh Johnson
Newsmaker and rising congressional leader, Congressman Adam Schiff, appeared with special host & TCG Honorary Board Member Secretary Jeh Johnson for an elegant luncheon and briefing. Congressman Schiff, the Ranking Minority Member on the House Intelligence Committee and Russia Investigation Task Force, gave the latest on the Russia election interference probe, the growing threat to liberal democracies from a rise in authoritarianism, prospects for the Midterm elections, and many other consequential topics.
Newsmaker and rising congressional leader, Congressman Adam Schiff, appeared with special host & TCG Honorary Board Member Secretary Jeh Johnson for an elegant luncheon and briefing. Congressman Schiff, the Ranking Minority Member on the House Intelligence Committee and Russia Investigation Task Force, gave the latest on the Russia election interference probe, the growing threat to liberal democracies from a rise in authoritarianism, prospects for the Midterm elections, and many other consequential topics. Financial advisor Peter Maroney and TCG Founder Patricia Duff co-hosted the event.
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Congressman Adam Schiff is the Ranking Minority Member on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and spearheads the Russia Investigation Task Force. As the U.S. Representative for California’s 28th District, Schiff has focused on growing the economy, bolstering national security, strengthening our communities, helping small businesses, and improving education, safety and health care. In his 9th term, Schiff served as State Senator for California’s 21st District, chairing the Judiciary Committee, the Select Committee on Juvenile Justice and the Joint Committee on the Arts. Before serving in the Legislature, Schiff served with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in LA for six years.
Former Secretary Jeh Johnson has distinguished himself in both public service and private corporate law practice. He served in the Obama cabinet as Secretary of Homeland Security (2013-2017) with vast responsibilities for homeland security, immigration, natural disaster relief, and many other critical policy areas. Prior to becoming Secretary of Homeland Security, Johnson served as General Counsel of the Department of Defense (2009-2012) and General Counsel of the Department of the Air Force under President Clinton (1998-2001). Earlier in his career, he was Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (1989-1991). Currently, he is a partner with the law firm of Paul Weiss. We are honored to have added Secretary Johnson to The Common Good Honorary Advisory board this year.
Interested in attending future events?
History in the Making: Post-Election Panel 2016
The Common Good was honored to host panelists Carl Bernstein, Kellyanne Conway, and Governor William Weld and moderator Alan Schwartz in a post-2016-election panel on the new political landscape.
The 2016 election was historic and change-making in many ways. Our panel examined the trends and events that led to the election results and how the new political landscape may shape America’s future.
The Common Good was honored to host panelists Carl Bernstein, Kellyanne Conway, and Governor William Weld and moderator Alan Schwartz in a post-2016-election panel on the new political landscape.
The 2016 election was historic and change-making in many ways. Our panel examined the trends and events that led to the election results and how the new political landscape may shape America’s future.
Carl Bernstein is a legendary journalist renown for his reporting alongside Bob Woodward at the Washington Post on the ‘Watergate’ scandal in 1972 that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon. He is also author or co-author of six books, including a major biography of former Secretary of state Hillary Clinton.
Kellyanne Conway is the Senior Advisor for President-Elect Donald Trump. As Campaign Manager, Ms. Conway is widely credited with playing a critical role in the Trump victory and is the first woman to lead a successful presidential campaign. Ms. Conway has worked in political strategy and polling for many years. The leaders she has worked for include Jack Kemp, Fred Thompson, Dan Quayle, Newt Gingrich, and Mike Pence.
William Weld served as Governor of Massachusetts from 1991 to 1997, having formerly been the US Attorney for the District of Massachusetts and head of the US Department of Justice Criminal Division. Governor Weld was the Vice-Presidential nominee for the Libertarian Party during the 2016 election running alongside Gary Johnson
Alan Schwartz is a Managing Partner and current Executive Chairman of Guggenheim Partners, a full service financial institution headquartered in New York and Chicago with more than $250 billion under management. Schwartz served previously as the CEO of Bear Sterns.
Interested in attending future events?
Captured: The Corporate Infiltration of American Democracy
The common good hosted a special conversation with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse about his new book, Captured: The Corporate Infiltration of American Democracy and issue on the environment, particularly protection of the oceans, and political campaign spending, small business growth, and protecting American liberties from warrantless wiretapping.
The Common Good hosted a special conversation with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse about his new book, Captured: The Corporate Infiltration of American Democracy, along with the protection of the oceans, political campaign spending, small business growth, and protecting American liberties from warrant-less wiretapping.
Senator Whitehouse’s new book, Captured: The Corporate Infiltration of American Democracy exposes how our government has been infiltrated and disabled by corporate power. Whitehouse explains how corporations have been able to threaten our elected representatives with million-dollar “dark money” election attacks to stack the judiciary — even the Supreme Court — in “business friendly” ways; to “capture” the administrative agencies meant to regulate corporate behavior; and to relate a corporate “alternative reality” on public health and safety issues like climate change.
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has been the US Senator representing Rhode Island since 2007. He has served as his state’s U.S. Attorney and as the state Attorney General, as well as its top business regulator. Senator Whitehouse is a passionate advocate for the environment, particularly protection of the oceans, and is renown for his advocacy of transparency in political campaign spending, small business growth, and protecting American liberties from warrant-less wiretapping.
Interested in attending more events?
The Common Good has been hosting events since 2006 that cover important issues of today, highlighting speakers who have worked to bolster our democracy and can provide great insight on the issues that matter.