The Future of Everything

The future of robotics

17 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Guest Jeannette Bohg is an expert in robotics who says there is a transformation happening in her field brought on by recent advances in large languag...

The future of brain science

10 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Guest Sergiu Pasca is a physician-scientist who turns skin cells into stem cells and then into brain tissues he calls “organoids” and “assembloi...

The future of cybersecurity

03 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

With TikTok in the hands of 170 million Americans, cybersecurity expert Amy Zegart says it’s time to talk about consequences. Foreign access to all ...

Best of: Regenerating and rejuvenating human tissues

26 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A best of episode where Russ interviews one of his bioengineering colleagues,  Fan Yang, about some of the fascinating work she’s doing in the real...

Best of: How do you build a better robot? By understanding people.

19 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A best of episode where Russ interviews computer scientist and electrical engineer, Dorsa Sadigh. They had a fantastic conversation about the work she...

Best of: Why AI must embody the values of its users

12 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We’re bringing back an episode about trust and AI. In a world where the use of Artificial Intelligence is exploding, guest computer scientist Carlos...

The future of addiction

05 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Guest Anna Lembke is a psychiatrist and a specialist in the behavioral sciences who studies addiction. While there is tremendous variety in the things...

The future of computer music

29 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Humans and computers making music together, it’s the best of both worlds.Ge Wang is a professor of music, a computer scientist, and director of the ...

The future of pediatric pain

22 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Laura Simons is a clinical psychologist and an authority on pain, particularly chronic pain in childhood, which is much more common than widely unders...

The future of measuring cancer

15 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Guest Olivier Gevaert is an expert in multi-modal biomedical data modeling and recently developed new methods in the new science of “spatial transcr...

The future of reading

08 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Rebecca Silverman is an expert in how humans learn to read. It’s a complex process, she says. First we must connect letters and sounds to decode wor...

The future of culture

01 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Professor and cultural psychologist Michele Gelfand’s latest book, Rule Makers, Rule Breakers, explores notions of what she calls “tight” and “...

Best of: What makes a surgeon great?

23 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We’re taking you into our archive of over 250 episodes to re-share an interview Russ Altman did in 2022 with Stanford Medicine Professor of Surgery,...

The future of bioprinting

16 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Mark Skylar-Scott is one of the world’s foremost experts on the 3D printing of human tissue, cell by cell. It’s a field better known as bioprintin...

The future of language learning

09 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Cognitive scientist Michael Frank studies differences in how children and AI learn language. There is a “data gap” between the billions of words C...

Best of: Computational modeling can help us understand Alzheimer’s disease

02 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We’re re-running an important episode on Alzheimer’s disease — a topic that touches many people. We still don’t have a complete understanding ...

The future of immigration

26 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ran Abramitzky studies the economic history of immigration by tapping into now-public government records and using AI to chart changing attitudes on i...

Best of: The future of art

19 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We’re re-releasing a wonderful episode about the positive impact art has on individual and societal health. Guest Deborah Cullinan, vice president f...

The future of digital health

12 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As the pandemic made a doctor visit as easy as a Zoom call and computer vision proved able to distinguish a benign blemish from something more worriso...

Best of: New life for old muscles

05 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

To kick off 2024, we’re bringing you an episode that’s been one of our most popular. The timing is just right as many of us are headed into the ne...

Russ's Holiday Episode Playlist

20 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Russ's curated playlist of six episodes from our archive to accompany you through the holiday season & into the new year.Curated Episode Links:Is it t...

Best of: Making sense of the gut biome

15 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Professor Michael Fischbach, tells us that the “gut biome” – that is, the complex community of bacteria that lives in our gastrointestinal tract...

Best of: What can the DNA in your blood reveal about your health?

08 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Professor Stephen Quake's research has helped countless patients avoid the pain and suffering that can come with invasive diagnostic testing. Russ and...

The future of AI Chat: Foundation models and responsible innovation

01 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Guest Percy Liang is an authority on AI who says that we are undergoing a paradigm shift in AI powered by foundation models, which are general-purpose...

The future of ecohydrology

17 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Guest Alex Konings studies fundamental links between the global cycle of water percolating into the ground and evaporating into the skies and a simila...

Best of: Bendable electronics

10 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We’re re-running a fascinating conversation Russ had with Zhenan Bao back in 2017 about the work she and her lab are doing to develop artificial ski...

Best of: Developing electronics for the extremes of space

03 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Space exploration and travel are two topics that are always exciting, and that have sparked a lot of enthusiasm about the future. Debbie Senesky, a pr...

The future of computational imaging

27 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Using math to improve photographs, with expert guest Gordon Wetzstein. Such methods have exploded in recent years and have wide-ranging impacts from i...

Best of: Guided missiles target cancer

20 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Almost everyone knows someone who has battled cancer. Today, on The Future of Everything, we’re re-running our episode with Professor Jennifer Cochr...

The future of neuroscience: Karl Deisseroth sheds light on the inner workings of the brain

13 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Transformational research techniques shaping our understanding of how the brain works.Guest Karl Deisseroth is a bioengineer and a psychiatrist who ha...

Best of: How do we educate a new kind of engineer?

06 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A perspective on the need for diversity and empathy in the engineering profession.  As we enter a new academic year, it’s an opportune time to thin...

The future of quantum mechanics: Unraveling entanglement's secrets

29 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Discover how quantum mechanics is reshaping our understanding of time, reestablishing computational capabilities, and ensuring the security of sensiti...

The future of the gut microbiome

22 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Discover the astonishing intricacies of microbial ecosystems and their potential to improve healthcare.  Guest KC Huang is many things: A bioengineer...

The future of coastal erosion

15 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Guest Jane Willenbring is a geoscientist who studies accelerating coastal erosion. The challenge lies not in understanding why coasts are receding tod...

The future of Muslim mental health

08 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Join host Russ Altman with guest Rania Awaad, M.D.,  a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Stanford University School of Medicine where...

The future of science education: Cultivating critical thinkers

01 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bad science is a big problem for society, says guest Jonathan Osborne, an expert in science education, but we don’t have to surrender to it. Beating...

Best of: How computer chips get speedier through specialization

25 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Future of computer chip design: delve into a revolutionary approach to chip design.  A re-run of a conversation Russ had in 2021 with Priyanka Ra...

Best of - AI and safety critical systems

18 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today we're rerunning a conversation Russ had in 2020 with Mykel Kochenderfer, a professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University.Myke...

The future of longevity

11 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Guest David Rehkopf is an expert in population health who says that where we live is one of the strongest influences on how long we live. While we kno...

The future of health outcomes

04 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As anyone with chronic disease knows, access to health care doesn’t always equate with equitable health care outcomes, says guest Alyce Adams, an ex...

Best of - How misinformation spreads

28 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We’re on the cusp of another election season. As people across the country educate themselves on the issues and candidates on this year’s ballot, ...

Best of - How light can power higher speed computing

21 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Delve into the possibilities of silicon photonics as a game-changer in chip manufacturing. This is a re-run of a show that Russ did with David Miller ...

The future of antibiotic synthesis

14 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Chaitan Khosla is a chemical engineer who says that the world’s most advanced drug factories are not behemoths of the industrial age, but microscopi...

Best of - How 3D printing is changing medicine

07 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Explore the frontiers of 3D printing in healthcare and its potential to revolutionize personalized medicine, reshape prosthetics, and reimagine drug d...

The future of human vision

30 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Neuroscientist Kalanit Grill-Spector studies the physiology of human vision and says that the ways computers and people see are in some ways similar, ...

The future of trauma therapy

23 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Guest Debra Kaysen is a psychologist specializing in treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who says that promising new cognitive and beha...

Best of - The future of robot simulations

16 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Hi everyone, Russ here, we’re running a best-of episode this week to re-share a conversation I had in 2021 with Karen Liu, an associate professor of...

The future of wastewater

09 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Guest Bill Mitch says it’s no secret the world is running short of fresh water. As a civil and environmental engineer, he sees wastewater as a poten...

The future of greenhouse gases

02 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Guest Matteo Cargnello approaches the challenge of greenhouse gases from a different perspective. He doesn’t study how harmful chemicals got in the ...

Best of - New forms of semiconductors are key to the future

26 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode of The Future of Everything podcast with Srabanti Chowdhury first ran in 2022. We’re sharing it again to offer a glimpse into research ...

The future of art

19 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Deborah Cullinan’s job is to integrate arts of every form across campus. She says art has the power to heal and may be the answer to many of our pre...

The future of movement disorders

12 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Helen Bronte-Stewart is a neurologist and an expert in movement disorders, like Parkinson’s. She says new approaches, such as closed-loop deep-brain...

The future of computational linguistics

05 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest, Christopher Manning, is a computational linguist. He builds computer models that understand and generate language using math. Words are the...

Best of - The future of computer science education

28 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode of The Future of Everything podcast with Mehran Sahami first ran in 2019. We’re sharing it again to offer a glimpse into the ways our f...

The future of simple rules

21 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Kathleen Eisenhardt is an expert in strategy and organizational behavior. She studies corporate decision making. She says the most creative companies ...

The future of proteins

14 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

While DNA may be the blueprint of life, proteins are the workhorses, says Polly Fordyce, a bioengineer, explaining how one of her favorites, kinesin, ...

The future of mosquito-borne diseases

07 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rising temperatures and rainfall from climate change will have a surprising effect on human health, says biologist Erin Mordecai, an expert in disease...

The future of infectious disease immunology

17 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When we’re sick, the time between onset and diagnosis is critical, sometimes life-saving. It turns out the human immune system is pretty good at kno...

The future of computational health economics

10 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When one has a medical procedure in America, it is often an algorithm that figures out how much of the cost will be reimbursed. That leads to a lot of...

Michael Snyder: Insights from medicine’s most-measured man

03 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

With the advent of wearable devices and omnipresent monitoring of heart, lungs, blood and more, scientists can now gather unprecedented amounts of per...

Barbara van Schewick: Net neutrality and the future of the internet

24 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

While many users remain blissfully unaware, a battle is raging for the future of the internet. On the one hand are the large phone and cable companies...

Beatriz Magaloni: Data illuminate the cycle of police violence in Latin America

17 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Beatriz Magaloni is a lawyer and a professor of political science who studies the challenges at the intersection of governance, poverty, and police vi...

Nicholas Bloom: Home is where the work is

10 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Guest Nicholas Bloom has studied telecommuting for 20 years. Prior to the pandemic, he says, just five percent of days were “worked from home,” bu...

Mac Schwager: How engineers are putting the ‘auto’ in autonomous

27 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast, guest Mac Schwager talks safety in multi-robot systems, like those contr...

Ilan Kroo: Better ways to build an airplane

20 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast, Ilan Kroo, is an expert in aircraft design. But when Kroo talk...

Helen Blau: New life for old muscles

16 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Helen Blau is a stem cell biologist and expert in why, as we age, our muscles weaken, even if we get exercise and try to stay fit. In an age when huma...

Lawrence Wein: Computation cracks cold cases

02 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode's guest on Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast is Lawrence Wein, an expert in the science of catching criminals usi...

Doug James: Computer-generated sound catches its graphical sibling

18 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Natural sounds in the world around us are based on the principles of physics. Today’s guest on Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything pod...

Melissa Valentine: The rise of the flash organization

11 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode's guest on Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast, management science and engineering professor Melissa Valentine stud...

Elaine Treharne: Why physical books will always be with us

04 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest on this episode of Stanford Engineering's The Future of Everything podcast, Elaine Treharne, is an English professor and an authority on anc...

Oussama Khatib: What if Aquaman were a robot?

28 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Stanford Engineering's The Future of Everything podcast, robotics expert Oussama Khatib takes us on a deep dive into the vagaries o...

Desiree LaBeaud: The curious connection between plastic trash and infectious disease

21 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Stanford Engineering's The Future of Everything podcast, Stanford infectious disease expert Desiree LaBeaud talks trash, literally....

Alexandria Boehm: Wastewater helps reveal COVID’s real reach

14 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Civil and environmental engineer Alexandria Boehm joins Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast to discuss how a new form of epidemi...

Is a good diagnosis possible without revealing your medical secrets?

07 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Stanford Engineering's The Future of Everything podcast, Stanford bioengineer Jan Liphardt talks about the challenge of getting goo...

The water problem that’s still unresolved in schools across the country

20 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Stanford pediatrics professor Anisha Patel tells us how engaging a local community about their health concerns can lead to impactful discoveries and i...

A scientist uses radar technology to map the insides of ice sheets

19 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

To better understand the inner workings of glacier — which are often many kilometers in depth — researchers are using ice-penetrating radar, which...

How un-syncing the brain can help Parkinson’s patients

07 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When we think of synchrony, we often think of positive things, like ice skaters gliding in tandem. But if there’s too much synchrony in the brain –...

How to put AI tools into the hands of primary care physicians

18 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Primary care medicine represents 52% of all care delivered in the United States, but when it comes to AI innovation, it’s been largely left behind.I...

A mobile app can be the gateway for helping communities improve their health and well-being

16 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Take a look around your neighborhood and you’ll see a few things you like -- and, most likely, a few you don’t. Maybe you need a crosswalk near th...

How to design algorithms with fairness in mind

08 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Algorithms inform the news you read, the TV shows you watch, and the advertisements that appear on your internet searches – and they also have a say...

Using technologies from the gaming industry to improve medicine

25 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Unfortunately, not every medical procedure is 100% successful. Due to the complexity of breast cancer lumpectomies, for instance, 16–25% of surgerie...

How to make quieter airplanes

18 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Since they were invented more than a century ago, airplanes have gone from carrying a single person to ferrying many hundreds of people and several to...

A cardiologist says embracing diversity will catalyze medical research

18 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Data shows that greater gender diversity on company leadership groups leads to improved business outcomes, says Stanford cardiologist Hannah Valantine...

An innovative polling model can move us past political polarization

24 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In our deeply polarized society, the prospect of holding thoughtful discussions on policy issues seems impossible. But it doesn’t have to be. In thi...

How cryptography and Web3 can fight misinformation and help restore trust in digital media

17 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Many of the lies, distortions, and pieces of disinformation online are easy to spot. But as technology advances it will become harder to tell the diff...

Computational modeling can help understand Alzheimer’s disease

14 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Physicians diagnose Alzheimer’s disease with tests that measure memory loss and behavioral change. But many years before these symptoms appear, the ...

Data is transforming our understanding of natural disasters

14 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Humans have been trying to predict when earthquakes will happen for centuries, with little success, by developing earthquake detectors and by wonderin...

How to develop ever better computer chips

25 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Computer chips are everywhere: your cellphone, your car, even your refrigerator. And they’re essential to enabling advances in artificial intelligen...

Training the next generation of entrepreneurs

25 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Search online and you’ll find lists of all the skills entrepreneurs should have - among them are imagination, creativity, innovation, entrepreneursh...

How to Fight Climate Change

17 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The consequences of climate change have already been devastating: wildfires, drought, coastal flooding, and increased temperatures, among them. And th...

The physics of gel-like substances

05 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The vast majority of substances are neither liquid, solid, nor gas – but an alternative form that shares characteristics of liquids and gases. Among...

What makes a surgeon great?

15 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Conducting a surgery is one of the most complex tasks an individual can do — but how do you recognize the difference between the highly skilled surg...

How social media can help gauge societal health

07 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Are U.S. adults happy? Sad? Depressed? One can answer these questions by calling thousands of people and surveying their psychological state, a strate...

What happens when computers can write like humans

04 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Start an email with “I hope” and before you can type the next word, the program will suggest you complete it with “all is well.” You may not h...

The impact of income gaps on children’s health

23 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The world has made remarkable gains in pediatric medicine and public health over the past several generations. The average American child of the 21st ...

The crucial role of data compression

13 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It may not be immediately obvious, but there are huge financial, environmental and security costs associated with storing all the selfies, videos, doc...

Regenerating and rejuvenating human tissues

12 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Children have an amazing capacity for healing after injury. Break a leg, the bone grows back; cut a finger, the skin heals. But as we age, most tissue...

Why AI must embody the values of its users

22 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

You might not realize it, but AI-driven systems are integrated into virtually every aspect of our lives. But how can we be certain the values AI syste...

A more thoughtful approach to technology can improve medical care

18 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Anyone who’s ever been to a hospital knows that the healthcare system is extremely complex. Every patient has their own challenges – and they will...

How do you build a better robot? By understanding people.

10 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Whether it’s autonomous vehicles or assistive technology in healthcare that can do things like help the elderly do core tasks like feeding themselve...