February 2007

A WHOLE WORLD OF
T	R	O	U	B	L	E

This month in The Commonwealth magazine, we explore the consequences of isolationism, both socially and geopolitically; authors explain the need to "make language dance;" and a former news anchor addresses the "tarnished credibility" of contemporary journalism.

Apple Computer wunderkind Steve Wozniak starts off things with descriptions of his noncomputer life, which is almost as interesting as his techie experiences. So he discusses his unlikely ride in an F-15, his prank phone call to the pope, and other pranks before he turns to the early days of running a business from Steve Jobs' bedroom with "no money, no car and no bank account."

Comedian and author Harry Shearer discusses the present difficulty of "reminding people what a book is," while arguing that it wasn't a hurricane that deluged New Orleans, but a federal response system that "failed catastrophically" and unfairly scapegoated ex-FEMA director Mike Brown.

Also eyeing cracks in the current federal structure is former NBC newsman Tom Brokaw, who examines third-party politics in the victory of "the fed-up party" in last year's midterm congressional elections. As for the future of American journalism, he reasons it's "only as good as [individuals] want it to be."

Covering one of the world's hottest hot spots, Club President Dr. Gloria C. Duffy talks with North Korean experts Amy Sands and Philip Yun about why the U.S.'s mixed signals and lack of engagement with Kim Jong Il could be having a dangerous "spillover effect" on the rest of Asia, and how regime change could make things go from bad to worse.

Delving into another kind of estrangement, author Michael Zielenziger takes us into the strange and growing world of hikikomori, the monkey wrench in the corporate machine that is Japan's new generation of (mostly male) bedroom hermits. Will their silent rebellion be the unraveling of Japan's social and economic fabric?

In addition, a Voices of Reform panel debates the pros and con artists of proposed "clean money" models of campaign finance reform, while Bon Apétit Editor in Chief Barbara Fairchild proclaims trend-setting California as the place "where everything really starts."

Rounding out this month's contributions, Dr. Duffy - at a time when more nonprofits are paying honoraria to their speakers - examines and defends The Club's continued practice of unpaid guest speakers while re-establishing The Club's purpose and cultural value.

"I loved this ones-and-zeros world. A fifth-grader can understand ones and zeros as well as normal arithmetic. You don’t need algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus, differentials – and yet you’re doing computers."

The Geek Who Created Apple
STEVE WOZNIAK

The co-founder of Apple illuminates the spirit of the early digital revolution.

Audio

Other than That, Mrs. Lincoln...
HARRY SHEARER

The voice of Mr. Burns takes a look at incompetence in Iraq, tragedy in New Orleans and his new novel.

Audio

"Even if we were able to wave some kind of magic wand in the 21st century and assure complete communication for everyone, it will do us little good for we can’t wire the world and then short-circuit our secular souls."

Rowell Memorial Lecture
TOM BROKAW

Retirement hasn’t stopped the former anchor of the NBC Nightly News; he’s still on the front lines in Afghanistan and here at home.

Audio

North Korea’s Nuclear Statement

A panel of international relations experts examines the motives behind North Korea’s recent detonation of a nuclear weapon and the implications for the international community.

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"When the power of PCs and Internet technology and the globalization of society demanded self-empowerment and the unleashing of creativity, that’s precisely when the old Japan began to break down and couldn’t be reconstructed."

Japan’s Lost Generation
MICHAEL ZIELENZIGER

A veteran journalist peels back the outer layer of Japan’s hard cultural shell.

Audio

Could Clean Money Work Here?
VOICES OF REFORM

The Clean Money initiative might have lost last November, but it will be back next time. This pre-election debate lays out the terms of the issue.

Audio

The Joy of a Healthy Food Culture
BARBARA FAIRCHILD

American home cooking is rapidly changing, becoming more sophisticated yet less formal. The editor of West Coast-based Bon Appétit has been observing the food world for three decades.

Audio