quote health insurance for cancer survivor

Commonwealth Club Radio Program
The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed will be updated once a week and is always un-edited.

• Alfred Regnery, Publisher, The American Spectator; Author, The Ascendance of American Conservatism
  Alfred Regnery, Publisher, The American Spectator; Author, The Ascendance of American Conservatism
  
  
  Upstream: The Ascendance of American Conservatism
  
  

  Noted conservative and publisher, Alfred Regnery, will explain the rise of the conservative movement in the post-WWII era. Regnery will show how, in the years prior to and just following World War II, expanding government power at home and the growing Communist empire abroad inspired American conservatives to band together to fight these threats.

  
  
  Regnery is President of Regnery Publishing, a right-wing publishing house founded in 1947 by his father, Henry Regnery. The company published William F. Buckley’s first book in 1951. Now, Regnery Publishing publishes works by Pat Buchanan, Ann Coulter, David Horowitz, Michelle Malkin, and Oliver North. The publishing company is known for publishing controversial works. Regnery is also the current publisher of The American Spectator, a conservative magazine. He is a practicing attorney and Of Counsel to the Washington law firm of Keller and Heckman.

  
  
  In 1983, Regnery, appointed by Ronald Reagan, served as head of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. During this time, he also acted as the unofficial head of Ed Meese’s Commission on Pornography. Regnery also served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Land and Natural Resources Division between 1981 and 1986.

  
  
  He received his J.D. from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 1971. Before that, he studied at Beloit College where he received his B.A. in 1965.

  
  

  
  This program was recorded in front of a live audience on June 2, 2008
  

• Mahvish Khan, Lawyer; Journalist, Author of "My Guantanamo Diary: The Detainees And The Stories They Told Me"
  Mahvish Khan-Lawyer; Journalist, Author of "My Guantanamo Diary: The Detainees And The Stories They Told Me"
  
  

  Spurred by the detainment of prisoners
  at Guantanamo Bay, American lawyer
  Khan decided to offer help to the de-
  tainees. Born to Afghan parents, she used
  her language skills as a translator, and
  from her time with these detainees she
  has written a diary that provides insights
  into the lives and families of those held
  at Guantanamo.

  
  
  

  This program was recorded in front of a live audience on July 10, 2008
  

• Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, Commissioner of The U.S. Food and Drug Administration
  Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, Commissioner of The U.S. Food and Drug Administration
  

  
  

  The man who heads the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, will discuss the challenges facing his agency and facing consumers. With Congress pushing for faster approval of new medications and federal coffers shrinking, the FDA is facing tough challenges. Von Eschenbach will explain what lies ahead for the nation's premiere consumer protection and health agency and the future of consumer safety.
  
  Von Eschenbach, M.D., was sworn in as the 20th Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on December 13, 2006. As the former Director of the National Cancer Institute (appointed in January 2002 by George W. Bush), he is a nationally recognized urologic surgeon and oncologist. He was also president-elect of the American Cancer Society at the time of his appointment to the NCI.
  
  Prior to serving as Director of the NCI, Dr. von Eschenbach was Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where he lead a faculty of more than 1,000 cancer researchers and clinicians. There, he also served as Vice President for Academic Affairs and held the Roy M. and Phyllis Gough Huffington Clinical Research Distinguished Chair in Urologic Oncology. He was founding director of the Prostate Cancer Research Program at the University in 1996. He also served as a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps from 1968 to 1971.
  
  Dr. von Eschenbach, a cancer survivor himself, has been recognized by several organizations for his achievements and leadership. He has received numerous awards including the 2003 Carpe Diem Award from the Lance Armstrong Foundation. He was also chosen by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people to shape the world in 2006.
  
  He received his M.D. from Georgetown University School of Medicine in 1967. The native Philadelphian earned a B.S. from St. Joseph’s University in 1963.
  
  

  This program was recorded in front of a live audience on June 10, 2008

• Now and Then: In conversation with Ambassador Jim Hormel
  Now and Then: In conversation with Ambassador Jim Hormel
  

  
  

  The inaugural program of the new Now and Then series features former Ambassador Hormel. Over the years, Ambassador Hormel has been a driving force for change, social equality and progress. He has created national and local institutions and broken down barriers by being the first openly gay U.S. ambassador. Don't miss this unique chance to hear him discuss his - and our - developments in recent history.
  
  

  This program was recorded in front of a live audience on June 25, 2008

• Scott McClellan, Former White House Press Secretary (2003-2006); Communication Strategist; Author, What Happened: Inside the Bush White House Washington's Culture of Deception
  Scott McClellan,
  Former White House Press Secretary (2003-2006); Communication Strategist; Author, What Happened: Inside the Bush White House Washington's Culture of Deception
  
  

  On the heels of his testimony to the House Judiciary Committee former Bush administration insider, Scott McClellan, TELLS ALL about his experiences as White House press secretary during the first three years of the Iraq War. He will share his views on where he thinks the President and his top aides veered off course on Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, Washington’s bitter partisanship, and the last two contentious presidential campaigns. Reflecting on mistakes of the past, McClellan will look to the future and discuss the lessons Americans need to learn as they choose a new leader in the upcoming election.

  
  
  McClellan served as White House Press Secretary from 2003-2006, and was a staunch defender of Bush policies during this time. In his new 2008 memoir What Happened, he strongly criticizes the Bush administration, accusing the President of "self-deception” and asserting that the administration relied on an aggressive "political propaganda campaign" instead of truth to sell the Iraq war. His book also criticizes the press for being too accepting of the President’s policy on Iraq.
  As the 25th White House Press Secretary, McClellan was preceded by Ari Fleischer and succeeded by Tony Snow. He served as Bush’s traveling press secretary during the 2000 Presidential election. In addition to working as campaign manager for his mother, the Texas State Comptroller, McClellan served as the Chief of Staff to a Texas State Senator.
  He received his B.A. from The University of Texas at Austin.

  
  

  This program was recorded in front of a live audience on June 24, 2008

• Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri, Chair of the Nobel Peace Prize winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); Director General, Energy and Resources Institute in New Delhi
  

  Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri, Chair of the Nobel Peace Prize winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); Director General, Energy and Resources Institute in New Delhi

  Mary Nichols, Chair, California Air Resources Board (CARB)

  Ray Lane, Managing partner of venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins
  

  Greg Dalton, Commonwealth Club Vice President, founder of The Club's Climate One Initiative

  
  
  

  PANEL: Leading a transformation to a global low-carbon economy

  Dr. Rajendra Kumar Pachauri, Mary Nichols and Ray Lane will address questions concerning California’s leading role in the fight against dangerous climate change. What is the state of science on the causes and impacts of global warming? Can California consumers, corporations and policymakers facilitate systemic change and spur others to act? What are the costs and what are the opportunities? What role does innovation play?

  “California's culture of innovation is