The Economy & The Coronavirus with Mohamed El-Erian and Alan Patricof

The Common Good was proud to present a timely and important conference call conversation on the the economy and the coronavirus with Mohamed El-Erian, one of the world's most influential economic thinkers and Chief Economic Advisor to Allianz SE, the parent of PIMCO, and legendary venture capitalist investor Alan Patricof. El-Erian and Patricof discussed a range of relevant economic issues including the possibility of recession in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the impact of the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package, investing in the current economic climate,  and the effect of the coronavirus on small businesses, banks and the global landscape. 

Check out the video below:

ABOUT MOHAMED EL-ERIAN

Dr. Mohamed A. El-Erian has worked on economic and financial issues in both the public and private sectors. He is the Chief Economic Advisor at Allianz, the corporate parent of PIMCO where he formerly served as chief executive and co-chief investment officer (2007-14) and is a Professor of Practice at the Wharton School. He also serves as senior advisor to Gramercy, a columnist for Bloomberg View, a contributing editor at the Financial Times, and a member of the boards of Barclays and UnderArmour, as well as several non-profits. Elected in May 2019, he is scheduled to succeed Lord Eatwell as President of Queens’ College Cambridge in October 2020.

From December 2012 to January 2017, Dr. El-Erian chaired President Obama’s Global Development Council. He was named to Foreign Policy’s list of “Top 100 Global Thinkers” for four years in a row.

ABOUT ALAN PATRICOF

A longtime innovator and advocate for venture capital, Alan Patricof entered the industry in its formative days with the creation of Patricof & Co. Ventures Inc., a predecessor to Apax Partners – today, one of the world’s leading private equity firms with $50 billion under management. 

He stepped back from the daily administration and operational aspects of Apax Partners, LP in 2004 to concentrate on a group of small venture deals on its behalf. In 2006, he founded Greycroft Partners, a venture capital firm, to invest in leading early and expansion stage investments in digital media. With offices in New York and Los Angeles, Greycroft is currently investing from its fifth Fund as well as its second Growth Fund and has $2B+ under management.

A true pioneer and legend in the venture capital world, Alan has helped build and foster the growth of numerous major companies such as America Online, Apple computer, Office Depot, Audible and many others.

Politics and the Public Health Response to the Coronavirus Crisis with Congresswoman Donna Shalala

The Common Good hosted Congresswoman Donna Shalala (D-FL) for an important conference call conversation on the coronavirus crisis. The longest serving former Secretary of Health and Human Services urged a more vigorous approach to fighting the outbreak. Shalala also offered up specifics on how we must prepare better for future epidemics. 

“This epidemic has shown us what a real leader looks like. From Andrew Cuomo to Jay Inslee, we’ve seen governors and mayors around the US who have been way ahead of the federal government and have really been on top of this issue...I support people that are standing around the President, I know many of them - certainly the heads of all of the major scientific agencies. I think the vice-president is trying to do the right thing. I’ve talked to him myself. But  the president, I just have never seen anything like it and I’d say the same thing if he was a Democrat.”

Check out the audio recording here:

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ABOUT CONGRESSWOMAN DONNA SHALALA

Congresswoman Donna E. Shalala is the longest-serving Secretary of Health and Human Services in U.S. history, having served for eight years under President Bill Clinton. In 2018, she returned to Washington as the Representative for Florida’s 27th District, which includes the city of Miami and surrounding municipalities in Miami-Dade County. In 2007, President George W. Bush hand-picked her to co-chair with Senator Bob Dole the Commission on Care for Returning Wounded Warriors, tasked with evaluating how wounded service members transition from active duty to civilian life. In 2008, President Bush selected her as the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award. Congresswoman Shalala has been named one of “America’s Best Leaders” by U.S. News & World Report (2005), received the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights (2010), was inducted into the National Woman’s Hall of Fame (2011), and has more than five dozen honorary degrees.

A Conversation with Governor Terry McAuliffe on the Political Landscape

The Common Good hosted former Governor Terry McAuliffe of Virginia, the charismatic “happy warrior” with excellent experience in the art of politics and policy. McAuliffe offered up incredibly insightful information and a rather sunny outlook on the Democratic Party’s chances in the upcoming 2020 election. The former governor also graced TCG members with insights on the handling of voter rights legislation as well as the Charlottesville protests during his time in office.

Terry McAuliffe served as the 72nd Governor of The Commonwealth of Virginia, holding office from 2014-2018. During his time as governor, Mr. McAuliffe was successful in implementing several policy changes including, but not limited to, immigration, voting rights for convicted felons, economic development and healthcare. The governor’s political tenure stretches back to President Jimmy Carter’s administration, where McAuliffe worked on the President’s reelection campaign. Mr. McAuliffe continued his work on the campaign trail with both Hilary and Bill Clinton’s presidential campaigns. He also held a chair at the Democratic National Committee from 2001-2005.

An evening with Steve Bannon

The Common Good hosted an evening with former White House Chief Strategist and former executive chairman of Breitbart News, Steve Bannon. The conversation was moderated by John Avlon, Senior news correspondent for CNN.

Discussed at the event were topics including Globalism, nationalism, The growing threat of an emergent China, and election interference during the 2016 election.

Steve Bannon is a former Media executive, Political Strategist, and White House Staff member. He is also one of the co-founders of Breitbart News.

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Nouriel Roubini: Global Economic Risks

The Common Good hosted a special discussion where world renowned economist Nouriel Roubini discussed a variety of tail risks for the global economy and markets. Including: Brexit, US-China trade and tech tensions, US-Iran relations and the risk of an Oil-Price shock. He also answered questions from those attending, addressing the likelihood of an imminent economic recession, as well as the changing methods of tracking and understanding the economy. After the event, our host provided guests with a lovely dinner.

Nouriel Roubini is a Professor of Economics and International Business at New York University Stern School of Business. He is also the co-founder and chairman of Roubini Global Economics, an independent, global macroeconomic and market strategy research firm.

Syria Debacle

The Common Good hosted a special conference call with Ambassador Robert Ford, former US Ambassador to Syria. Ambassador Ford gave credible insights into the state of the dispute in Syria, and the future of the current state in the Middle East.

The Common Good was honored to offer members a fresh take on the Syria conflict in a conference call with former US Ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford. Mr. Ford is a decorated diplomat who served as Ambassador to Syria under the Obama administration, with an extensive diplomatic tenure in Iraq as well as Northern Africa.

Ambassador Ford discussed many of the key proceedings taking place in Syria, including new developments such as the insertion of the Turkish military into the conflict. Mr. Ford has a decorated history of diplomacy in the Middle East. In 2012, he was rewarded by the John F. Kennedy library in Boston with the annual Profile in Courage Award for his defense of human rights in Syria. His expertise on these issues provided members with unique insights towards the ramifications of Turkey’s actions, such as potential consequences regarding NATO as well as the US relationship with the democracy supportive Kurds.

The Ambassador opened up the call to highly educated questions from informed members who shared his concerns on the conflict. His responses provided a plethora of distinct perspectives, unique to someone of his expertise.

The Rise of Lincoln & U.S. Division

The Common Good was proud to present a special discussion between Sidney Blumenthal, author, journalist, and past Presidential advisor, and John Avlon, CNN anchor, Senior Political Analyst and author. They dove into one of the most divisive periods in American history, the unlikely political ascendance of President Abraham Lincoln, and how Lincoln’s story is relevant today. The event was in co-sponsorship with Cooper Union and held in their Great Hall - the site where Lincoln gave one of the most important speeches in US history.

Sidney Blumenthal is an acclaimed journalist and author of many books including A Self-Made Man, Wrestling with His Angel and All the Powers of Earth, the first three volumes in his five-volume biography series The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln that the New York Times book review has called “Magisterial...A vividly written, wide-ranging and often surprising account of the president-to-be.” He is the former assistant and senior adviser to President Bill Clinton and senior adviser to Hillary Clinton. He has been a national staff reporter for The Washington Post and Washington editor and writer for The New Yorker. His books include the bestselling The Clinton Wars, The Rise of the Counter-Establishment, and The Permanent Campaign. He was the executive producer of the documentary Taxi to the Dark Side, directed by Alex Gibney, which won an Academy Award for Best Documentary of 2007.

John Avlon is senior political analyst and anchor at CNN. Previously, he was the editor-in-chief and managing director of The Daily Beast between 2013 and 2018, during which time the site's traffic more than doubled to over one million readers a day while winning 17 journalism awards. 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. He lives with his wife Margaret Hoover, the author of American Individualism, host of PBS’s Firing Line and a CNN contributor, and their two children in New York. He is now working on a book about Lincoln.

Watch the full event below:

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The Great Hack

The Common Good hosted a special screening of the Netflix documentary The Great Hack, and a riveting conversation with Brittany Kaiser, whistle-blower formerly at Cambridge Analytica, Director Jehane Noujaim, and Founder & CEO of The Common Good Patricia Duff.

Data has surpassed oil as the world’s most valuable asset. It’s being weaponized to wage cultural and political warfare. People everywhere are in a battle for control of our most intimate personal details. From award-winning filmmakers Karim Amer and Jehane Noujaim, The Great Hack uncovers the dark world of data exploitation with astounding access to the personal journeys of key players on different sides of the explosive Cambridge Analytica/Facebook data scandal.

The Great Hack is alarming - it shows how data is being used to hijack our elections and our democracy and how the internet is being used not only for information, but as a weapon. Citizens’ data is collected without their knowledge or permission, often for alarming reasons. Data is being used to drive wedges of fear and hate between us in order for one side to win elections, undermining our democracy and putting us all at risk. What do we give up when we tap that phone or keyboard and share ourselves in the digital age? Are our old democratic institutions too susceptible? What reforms do we need?

Brittany, Jehane and Patricia dove into these topics in discussion following the film, looking at legislation on the table to protect us and addressed how we can educate society to be less vulnerable to online targeting, sharing shocking revelations about the extent of information collected on us through digital data, and warning that even if social media ceases to exist, the data never does.

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Brittany Kaiser is an American former business development director for Cambridge Analytica which collapsed after details of its misuse of Facebook data were revealed to have potentially impacted voting in the U.K and the U.S. Kaiser testified about her involvement in the work of Cambridge Analytica before the U.K. Parliament and in private before the Mueller Investigation. She is the founder of the #OwnYourData campaign and cofounder of the Digital Asset Trade Association (DATA), a nonprofit lobbying firm advancing legislative and policy reform to protect the rights of individuals to control their own digital assets.

Jehane Noujaim is an Academy Award nominated director and one of two non-fiction directors to have won the Directors Guild Award twice. Her Oscar nominated film, The Square (2013), won the Audience Award both at Sundance and Toronto. Noujaim has produced and directed other award-winning films including Rafea: Solar Mama (2013), Control Room (2004) and Startup.com (2001). In 2006, Noujaim was awarded the TED prize which she used to create Pangea Day. Noujaim’s work has been nominated by the DGA, IDA, Independent Spirit and several Critics Association Awards. Noujaim’s most recent release was an animated feature, The Breadwinner (2017) which she executive produced with Angelina Jolie and which was nominated for a 2018 Academy Award.

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Hot Politics

The Common Good hosted a special discussion with Frank Luntz, and Ari Melber on “Hot Politics”. Both Luntz and Melber have credibility for political insights at opposite ends of the political divide - and also down the middle and offered their insight.

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Frank Luntz is an American political consultant, pollster, and "public opinion guru" best known for developing talking points and other messaging for various Republican causes. His work has included assistance with messaging for Newt Gingrich's Contract with America, and public relations support for pro-Israel policies in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. He advocated use of vocabulary crafted to produce a desired effect; including use of the term death tax instead of estate tax,and climate change instead of global warming.Luntz has appeared as a consultant or panel member on a number of television news shows, including The Colbert Report, Capital Gang, Good Morning America, Hannity, Hardball with Chris Matthews, Meet the Press, PBS NewsHour, Nightline, The O'Reilly Factor, Real Time with Bill Maher, and The Today Show. He has written op-eds for publications such as The Financial Times, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.

Ari Melber is an American Emmy-winning reporter, lawyer, and writer. He serves as a Chief Legal Correspondent for MSNBC where he covers the Justice Department, Supreme Court, FBI and legal issues. He serves as journalist for NBC News and also host of MSNBC’s The Beat with Ari Melber. The Detroit Free Press named The Beat with Ari Melber one of the “best” TV shows of 2017. Vanity Fair reported that the show established itself as an influential and “vocal critic” of Facebook’s impact on democracy, while The Hollywood Reporter stated that Melber’s show is proving to be a “success,” and “there are few cable news hosts more perfectly suited” to breaking down legal issues in the news. In a 2014 profile, the Columbia Journalism Review dubbed Melber a “rising star” who “wants to solve problems.” He is a former columnist for Politico and Reuters, and his writing has been published in several books and a variety of news outlets, including the Washington Post, the Atlantic, the Nation and the New York Daily News, among other publications.

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Siege: Trump Under Fire

The Common Good hosted a special discussion with Michael Wolff, New York Times bestselling author and journalist to discuss his book, Siege: Trump Under Fire. He is also the author of the New York Times bestseller Fire and Fury.

Just one year into Donald Trump’s term as president, Michael Wolff told the electrifying story of a White House consumed by controversy, chaos, and intense rivalries. Fire and Fury, an instant sensation, defined the first phase of the Trump administration; now, in Siege, Wolff has written an equally essential and explosive book about a presidency that is under fire from almost every side.

At the outset of Trump’s second year as president, his situation is profoundly different. No longer tempered by experienced advisers, he is more impulsive and volatile than ever. But the wheels of justice are inexorably turning: Robert Mueller’s “witch hunt” haunts Trump every day, and other federal prosecutors are taking a deep dive into his business affairs. Many in the political establishment―even some members of his own administration―have turned on him and are dedicated to bringing him down. The Democrats see victory at the polls, and perhaps impeachment, in front of them. Trump, meanwhile, is certain he is invincible, making him all the more exposed and vulnerable. Week by week, as Trump becomes increasingly erratic, the question that lies at the heart of his tenure becomes ever more urgent: Will this most abnormal of presidencies at last reach the breaking point and implode?

Both a riveting narrative and a brilliant front-lines report, Siege provides an alarming and indelible portrait of a president like no other. Surrounded by enemies and blind to his peril, Trump is a raging, self-destructive inferno―and the most divisive leader in American history.

"...it was a quiet weekend in Southampton, small family dinners, punctuated by a Common Good conversation with Michael Wolff, author of Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, and now The Siege: Trump Under Fire. Bonnie Lautenberg, widow of Senator Frank Lautenberg, and accomplished photographer, hosted in her lovely Watermill home, filled with her pictures of moments in history, captured during her fascinating life with Frank, and her new series of film stills married with artwork from the same period. To Wolff’s credit, or was it … when asked if he would comment on Epstein (before his demise), he said ‘No’." - Debbie Bancroft, New York Social Diary

Michael Wolffe is an American journalist, author, columnist and internet entrepreneur. He’s the founder of the news aggregation website ‘Newser’. His books include Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House (2018) and Burn rate: How I survived the Gold Rush Years on the Internet (1998). He’s written columns for publications like The Hollywood Reporter and USA Today. Wolf was born on August 27, 1953 in Paterson, New Jersey. His father, Lewis, worked in advertising, while his mother, Marguerite, worked as a newspaper reporter. He attended Vassar College followed by Columbia University.

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2020 Presidential Candidates Series: Governor Steve Bullock

The Common Good was proud to present a special discussion with presidential candidate Governor Steve Bullock as part of the Presidential Candidate Series. Governor Bullock spoke on trying to win back middle America with centrist progressive approaches around healthcare, Medicaid, pre-Kindergarten, and STEM education, supporting reproductive freedoms and LGBTQ+ rights, and getting dark money out of politics. This event space was graciously provided by First Republic Bank and hosted by Rohan Dalal.

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Governor Steve Bullock is a politician, attorney, and former professor. He was elected Montana’s 24th Governor in 2012 and reelected in 2016. Throughout his career Bullock has emphasizes his desire to bring people together and bridge partisan divides. As Governor, he has fought on behalf of workers, students, and families, working with a Republican legislature to expand Medicaid, pass an Earned Income Tax Credit, and establish the state’s first public pre-K. He was also the first governor in the country to protect net neutrality through Executive Order.

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Vicky Ward Investigative Reporter and New York Times bestselling author "Kushner, Inc."

The Common Good was proud to present a very timely discussion with investigative reporter and New York Times bestselling author Vicky Ward on “Kushner, Inc.” Ward will unpack the story of Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump’s rise to extraordinary power in Trump’s White House. This event was hosted by Ambassador Joseph R. Paolino.

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump are the self-styled Prince and Princess of America. Their swift, gilded rise to extraordinary power in Donald Trump’s White House is unprecedented and dangerous. In Kushner, Inc., investigative journalist Vicky Ward digs beneath the myth the couple has created, depicting themselves as the voices of reason in an otherwise crazy presidency, and reveals that Jared and Ivanka are not just the President’s chief enablers: they, like him, appear disdainful of rules, of laws, and of ethics. They are entitled inheritors of the worst kind; their combination of ignorance, arrogance, and an insatiable lust for power has caused havoc all over the world, and may threaten the democracy of the United States.

Ward follows their trajectory from New Jersey and New York City to the White House, where the couple’s many forays into policy-making and national security have mocked long-standing U.S. policy and protocol. They have pursued an agenda that could increase their wealth while their actions have mostly gone unchecked. In Kushner, Inc., Ward holds Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump accountable: she unveils the couple’s self-serving transactional motivations and how those have propelled them into the highest levels of the US government where no one, the President included, has been able to stop them.

Vicky Ward: Vicky Ward is a New York Times bestselling author, investigative reporter, and magazine columnist. She is the author of bestselling books The Liar’s Ball: The Extraordinary Saga of How one Building Broke the World’s Toughest Tycoons (Wiley). She is an editor at large at HuffPost and HuffPost’s long-form magazine, Highline, as well as Town & Country magazine. She was a contributing editor to Vanity Fair for eleven years, where she covered politics, finance, art, and culture.

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Political Briefing: "Election 2020: Messaging and Strategy"

The Common Good was proud to present a very important discussion with Guy Cecil. Chairman, Priorities USA, on “Election 2020: Messaging and Strategy”. What are the issues and messages that moved voters in 2018? What are the powerhouse approaches in 2018? He has spent years on the forefront of the national and local political arena working with numerous campaigns across the country. This event was hosted by Karen and Dennis Mehiel.

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Guy Cecil is one of America’s leading political strategists. He is currently the Chairman of Priorities USA Action, and independent political action committee, and the Founder of Miles Strategies. Guy has more than 15 years of experience managing high-profile political, non-profit, and corporate issue advocacy campaigns, including having served as Executive Director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. He is recognized as a leading Democratic strategist with experience in every region of the country, including senate races in 35 states.

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Rule of Law, Investigations, Testing the New Supremes

The Common Good was proud to present a very important discussion with one of the leading legal experts in the nation, Laurence Tribe, co-hosted by Fern Hurst and moderated by John Heilemann, host of Showtime’s The Circus, and the National Affairs Analyst, NBC News. Dr. Tribe discussed the many critical legal issues facing the nation that could bring sweeping changes and surprises: the investigations related to Trump, from Mueller to the House; the new Supreme Court and the consequential cases it is likely to hear; and the importance of the legal efforts regarding immigration, asylum, voting rights, and presidential financial entanglements with the foreign powers, among other possible areas of interest.

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Laurence Tribe, The Carl M. Loeb University Professor of Constitutional Law at Harvard, has taught at the Law School since 1968. Tribe helped write the constitutions of South Africa, the Czech Republic, and the Marshall Islands, and prevailed in three-fifths of the many appellate cases he has argued including 35 in the U.S. Supreme Court. Tribe was appointed in 2010 by President Obama and Attorney General Holder to serve as the first Senior Consular at the Dep’t of Justice for Access to Justice. He has written 115 books and articles, most recently, To End a Presidency: The Power of Impeachment. His treatise, “American Constitutional Law”, has been cited more than any other legal text since the 1950s.

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Economic Perils, Reeling Markets, Fed Action, Tariff Wars

The Common Good was proud to present a very important discussion with Byron Wien and Joseph Zidle of Blackstone’s Private Wealth Solutions. Two of Wall Street’s most respected investment advisors will sketch out the economic outlook for 2019 and projections regarding the volatile stock market amid rising risks stemming from tariffs, politics, Fed rates, and global turmoil. If you are concerned about your 401K, real estate or investment portfolio, or your business growth, listen up. They have some very strong and surprising predictions.

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Byron Wien is Vice Chairman of Private Wealth Solutions where he acts as a senior adviser to both the firm and its clients in analyzing economic, social and political trends to assess the direction of financial markets and thus help guide investment and strategic decisions. Wien is a distinguished advisor on investment decisions - named one of the most influential people on Wall Street by New York magazine, ranked the No. 1 strategist by SmartMoney.com, recognized on Smart Money Power 30 list of Wall Street’s most influential thinkers, and named by First Call as the most widely read analyst on Wall Street, Wien was Chief Investment Strategist for Pequot Capital and before that served for 21 years as Chief (later Senior) U.S. Investment Strategist at Morgan Stanley. In 1995, Wien co-authored a book with George Soros on the legendary investor’s life and philosophy, Soros on Soros — Staying Ahead of the Curve. The New York Society of Security Analysts (NYSSA) presented Wien with a lifetime achievement award in 2008. Wien received an AB with honors from Harvard College and an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School

Joseph Zidle is a Managing Director and Chief Investment Strategist in the Private Wealth Solutions group. Previously, he worked at Richard Bernstein Advisors, an independent investment advisor, where he was responsible for portfolio strategy, asset allocation, investment management and marketing to major wirehouses and independent RIAs. Zidle previously spent nearly a decade at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, most recently serving as head of Investment Strategy for Global Wealth Management and Deputy Director of the Research Investment Committee, where he was responsible for creating and communicating global investment strategies to the firm’s private client division across all major investment disciplines. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and History from Emory University. From 1993-2001, he served as a specialist in military intelligence for the U.S. Army Reserves.

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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. 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.

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"On the Fault Lines: Decision 2018" Midterm Elections Power Panel

The Common Good was proud to present an electrifying evening of predictions on the black swans and dark horses of this year’s election season - “On the Fault Lines: Decision 2018” Midterm Elections Power Panel, co-hosted by Hunter College. What are the ramifications of one of the most consequential elections in a generation?

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Haley Barbour, Founding Partner of BGR Group, returned to BGR in January 2012 after serving two consecutive terms as Governor of Mississippi, including two years as the Chairman of the Republican Governors Association. At BGR, he heads advocacy coalitions, lobbies on behalf of his clients and remains a major force in Republican party politics and elections. (1)

David Gergen served as a White House adviser to four U.S. presidents of both parties: Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton. He wrote about those experiences in his New York Times best-seller, Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership, Nixon to Clinton. He is currently a professor of public service and director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School. Gergen has been a regular commentator on public affairs for some 30 years. He is a senior political analyst at CNN and was the former chief editor of the U.S. News & World Report

Ann Lewis is a Democratic political veteran, serving as the White House Director of Communications for President Bill Clinton from 1997-2000 and Senior Advisor to the campaigns of Hilary Rodham Clinton for Senate in 2000 and 2006, and for President in 2008. In 2016, she was Co-Chair of Jewish Women for Hillary. (3)

Gerald Seib is the Washington bureau chief for The Wall Street journal, responsible for the Journal’s news and analysis from the nation’s capitol. he writes a weekly column, “Capital Journal,” which brings an insightful, predictive and original understanding to politics, national affairs and foreign policy. Mr. Seib appears regularly on networks such as CNBC, Fox Business Network, CNN, and the BBC as a commentator on Washington affairs.

Nate Silver is the founder of the award-winning website FiveThirtyEight and a special correspondent for ABC News. Silver has established himself as today’s leading political statistician through his innovative analyses of political polling. He first gained national attention during the 2008 presidential election, when he correctly predicted the results of the presidential election in 49 of 50 states, along with all 35 U.S. Senate races. In 2012, FIveThirtyEight predicted the election outcome in all 50 states. In 2009, he was named one of Time’s 100 most influential people.

Gloria Borger is CNN's chief political analyst, appearing regularly on The Situation Room. Borger plays an instrumental role in the network's daily coverage while reporting on a variety of political and breaking news stories. Before joining CNN in September 2007, Borger was CBS News' national political correspondent and a contributor to CBS's Face the Nation, 60 Minutes II and the network's special events coverage. From 2002 to 2004, she was the co-anchor of CNBC's Capital Report. (6)

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(1) Material from the BGR Group website.

(3) Material from the Democratic Majority for Israel website.

(6) Material from the CNN website.

Water Conference in Paris

The Common Good was proud to assemble a delegation to join the international Conference on Water in Paris in partnership with the Netanya Academic College with the cooperation of European Leadership Network (ELNET), France-Israel Foundation (FIF), French-American Chamber of Commerce (FACC) and Veolia Environment S.A.

The conference was dedicated to advancing cutting-edge technological water solutions through regional and global cooperation in scarce water environments with an emphasis on Middle East water cooperation and issues. This important conversation on solutions to the impending water crisis and discover the innovative ways to tackle this threat brought forth leading scientists, officials, and organizations who are on the frontlines of this issue.

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"North Korea: Progress or Stalemate?"

The Common Good was pleased to present a special briefing with Gordon Chang, leading North Korea expert and author. The stakes are high - for the Korean Peninsula, the nations of the far East and the United States.

Gordon Chang discussed the crucial US- North Korea relations and examine next steps to avoid a nuclear showdown or other possible conflict.

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“Are they playing us? I don’t know..If they’re playing Trump, we’re going to be in a world of hurt, because he’s going to have no options left. This is the last, best chance for beace right here.”

— Senator Lindsey Graham

“Chang knows Asia well, and has his eyes set on the long tem... In his eyes, it is the duty of the world’s dominant power to protect the international system from developing- world states seeking to go nuclear.”

— Foreign Affairs

Gordon Chang is a renowned expert on North Korea and China. Chang is the author of Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes On the World, and a columnist at The Daily Beast. He worked in China and Hong Kong for almost two decades as Counsel to Paul Weiss and Partner at Baker and McKenzie. Chang has briefed at the National Intelligence Council, the CIA, the State Department, U.S. Strategic Command, and the Pentagon. His writing on China and North Korea has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The National Interest, The American Conservative, The International Herald Tribune, Commentary, The Weekly Standard, National Review and Barron’s.

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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.

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.”

— Kirkus Review

“An intriguing partnership of economic policy and political reforms for solving stagnating economic growth in the West.”

— Liberty Journal

“Edge of Chaos gets seriously edgy”

— Bloomberg

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.

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Interested in attending future events?