The Commonwealth Club

The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. We bring more than 400 annual events on topics ranging across politics, culture, society and the economy to 22,000 members. The Club has offices in San Francisco and San Jose, with regular events in both cities, as well as programs in Marin and in Lafayette in the East Bay. For members outside the Bay Area, the Club's weekly radio broadcast—the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924—is carried across the nation on public and commercial radio stations. Our website archive features audio and video of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. Our Mission The mission of The Commonwealth Club of California is to be the leading national forum open to all for the impartial discussion of public issues important to the membership, community and nation. Our Speakers Founded in 1903, The Commonwealth Club has played host to a diverse and distinctive array of speakers, from Teddy Roosevelt in 1911 to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, actor Alec Baldwin and author Christopher Hitchens in recent years. Martin Luther King, Jr., Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Bill Gates have all given landmark speeches at The Club. Our Supporters As a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization, The Commonwealth Club relies on the support of its membership, the Business Council and foundation grants to continue its role in fostering open public discussion in the San Francisco Bay Area and throughout the nation via radio, Internet and television. The Commonwealth Club has many exciting ventures planned for the future. You can help!