The Future of Everything presented by Stanford Engineering

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Prior to becoming an anesthesiologist, Alyssa Burgart trained in bioethics. She now counts herself among a growing number of certified clinical bioethicists who help doctors, nurses, patients, and their families handle ethically complex medical decisions at the bedside. Bioethicists are critical to care, Burgart argues, helping patients facing difficult choices to clarify personal values and weigh a complex array of risks and benefits, as well as emotions and familial, cultural, and religious norms. While much of her work is in pediatrics and maternal-fetal cases, she also studies how moral distress and moral injury impact clinicians, contributing to burnout among doctors and nurses. Having a strong ethical community brings resilience to these challenging environments, Burgart tells host Russ Altman in this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Have a question for Russ? Send it our way in writing or via voice memo, and it might be featured on an upcoming episode. Please introduce yourself, let us know where you're listening from, and share your question. You can send questions to thefutureofeverything@stanford.edu.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Alyssa Burgart, a professor of anesthesiology and perioperative pain at Stanford University.

(00:03:16) Path into Bioethics & Anesthesiology

How Burgart became a bioethicist and then chose anesthesiology.

(00:05:18) What Bioethics Means

How bioethics helps connect medical decisions to values, risks, and benefits.

(00:07:03) Making Hard Decisions Manageable

How ethics consultation helps clinicians act with integrity.

(00:08:33) Ethics Consults

A detailed explanation of hospital ethics services

(00:12:23) Pediatric Ethics

Examples of Dr. Burgart’s work with children, families, and clinicians

(00:15:45) Culture, Faith, and Trust

Navigating cultural and religious differences as a bioethicist.

(00:17:57) Family Decision-Making

How ethics consultants help families and care teams honor a patient’s voice.

(00:21:55) Moral Injury

What is moral injury and how do clinicians specifically experience it?

(00:24:52) Institutional Betrayal

Why barriers like policies, laws, and denied approvals can create moral strain.

(00:26:37) Moral Distress

What is moral distress and how does it manifest itself in healthcare.

(00:28:28) Moral Residue

When clinicians experience repeated moral strain and cannot recover between incidents.

(00:29:33) Treating Moral Injury & Distress

Strategies for helping clinicians manage these parts of their work.

(00:33:54) Future In a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: clinical bioethics, human dignity, and moral resilience.

(00:36:15) Conclusion

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These days, AI is everywhere, and it’s increasingly hard to separate the gains from the slop. With that in mind, we're re-releasing my conversation with Stanford Law professor Daniel Ho on the future of AI and the law. When we look for applications where AI can deliver measurable benefit, the legal profession stands out, both for its potential gains in efficiency and equity, and for how much is at stake if we get it wrong. Dan's research — from using AI to identify racist property covenants buried in county deed records, to mapping obsolete regulations that waste thousands of hours of government time — shows what's possible when the technology is applied with rigor and purpose. If you’re curious about how AI can serve both justice and good governance, this one is well worth another listen.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Dan Ho, a professor of law, political science, and computer science at Stanford University.

(00:02:19) Path into Legal AI

How Ho’s background shaped his interest in law, and technology.

(00:03:35) What Lawyers Do

What makes law a complex domain for AI.

(00:05:28) Legal Hallucinations

When AI performs well and when it fails.

(00:07:52) Searching Legal Records in California

How AI can help identify outdated, harmful, or legally important material.

(00:10:28) Scaling Redaction

How a model accelerated a process that overwhelmed county recorder offices.

(00:13:04) Legal Reform at Scale

How AI has supported legal reform by scanning massive bodies of law.

(00:15:02) STARA & The City of San Francisco

How AI was used to go through San Francisco’s code and clean up reporting.

(00:20:53) Outdated Obligations

How “regulatory sludge” takes the time & resources of the public service

(00:25:02) Open vs. Closed AI

The differences and associated risks of the different AI systems.

(00:30:58) Legal Chatbots

Why legal chatbots are promising but risky.

(00:33:42) Conclusion

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Dr. Karen Adams, obstetrician/gynecologist and Farwell Family Director of the Stanford Program in Menopause and Healthy Aging, studies menopause and, perhaps more importantly, perimenopause – the critical years preceding it. During this time, hormone-related symptoms like mood instability, sleep disruption, hot flashes, and joint pain can be severe even though periods continue. Adams explains that perimenopausal symptoms are often misdiagnosed and improperly treated. She says hormonal therapies are safe and effective in perimenopause and menopause, and can even have heart and bone benefits. “Menopause is inevitable, but suffering is not,” Adams tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Karen Adams, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Stanford University.

(00:02:11) Path into Menopause Medicine

How Adams built one of the first clinical programs focused on women over 40.

(00:04:19) Menopause and Perimenopause

What menopause is and how the hormonal transition often begins years earlier.

(00:06:19) Beyond Hot Flashes

The wide range of symptoms that can appear during perimenopause.

(00:11:09) Pregnancy Risk During Perimenopause

Why contraception can still matter until a full year without a period.

(00:11:11) Unpredictable Symptoms

Why perimenopausal symptoms can be harder to recognize than PMS.

(00:13:37) Hormone Therapy

How treatment differs during perimenopause and after menopause.

(00:22:57) The Women’s Health Initiative

What the landmark hormone therapy study showed.

(00:27:53) Sexual Health and Vaginal Estrogen

Why local estrogen can safely treat genitourinary symptoms for many women.

(00:30:36) Future In a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: menopause care, women’s health, and better clinical support

(00:32:58) Conclusion

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Biochemist Suzanne Pfeffer is an expert on the molecular roots of Parkinson’s disease. Her work focuses on mutated proteins linked to Parkinson’s risk. She’s discovered, for instance, that drugs inhibiting one of the proteins can help neurons regrow primary cilia and stave off cell death, reversing disease progression. Since similar drugs are in clinical trials, her findings bring great hope for people with a subtype of Parkinson’s and hopefully can be linked to earlier detection through warning signs like REM sleep disruptions and loss of smell. “This is precision medicine,” Pfeffer tells host Russ Altman of the future of Parkinson’s disease on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Suzanne Pfeffer, a professor of biochemistry at Stanford University.

(00:03:25) Path into Parkinson’s Research

How Pfeffer’s protein work led to a life-changing work on Parkinson’s disease.

(00:05:28) Parkinson’s Primer

The various causes and the effects of the disease on the brain and body.

(00:10:26) Lewy Bodies and Dementia

How Lewy bodies, synuclein, and dementia relate to Parkinson’s disease.

(00:11:56) Molecular Trafficking

Pfeffer breaks down the effects of LRRK2 and GBA mutations in the brain.

(00:16:10) Early Disease Changes

Some of the early changes in the body and how they show up as symptomatically.

(00:20:04) Current Treatments

The limitations of symptom-focused treatments.

(00:21:46) Treating Earlier

Opportunities for slowing or reversing disease progression when detected earlier.

(00:22:32) Targeting LRRK2

Current research on disease treatment & trial challenges.

(00:27:33) The Value of Basic Science

Why curiosity-driven research can unexpectedly lead to disease breakthroughs.

(00:29:33) Future In a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: biomarkers, brain donation, and better Parkinson’s treatments.

(00:31:52) Conclusion

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Law professor Julian Nyarko has drawn attention for his studies using large language models to investigate and improve legal education and explore AI’s biases. He hopes AI can become a reliable, always-on legal learning and assistance tool to lower costs and expand access to legal services. In one recent study, he asked a group of law professors to evaluate written answers to student questions. Three-quarters of the time, the professors preferred AI-generated answers to those of their human colleagues. “AI is good at law,” Nyarko says, the challenge now is to use it most effectively, he tells host Russ Altman in this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Julian Nyarko, a professor of law at Stanford University.

(00:02:31) Path into AI and Law

How Nyarko’s early work led him to legal AI.

(00:05:03) Law, Economics, and Computation

How Nyarko’s training, methods, and self-taught coding shaped his research.

(00:07:23) Building the LIFT Lab

Why a law professor started a lab.

(00:09:06) Evaluating Legal AI

How AI raises fundamental questions about what counts as good lawyering.

(00:10:22) Improving Legal Services

Using AI to work faster, reduce errors, and make informed decisions.

(00:10:57) Rethinking Legal Education

How AI may change the way future lawyers learn

(00:11:51) AI in Office Hours

How AI answers law students’ questions compared with human professors.

(00:15:18) Surprising Results

Why AI answers were often preferred

(00:16:16) What the Study Shows

The findings support AI tutoring, but don’t prove AI improves learning.

(00:18:48) Limits of One-Shot Answers

Why real teaching often depends on dialogue, clarification, and productive struggle.

(00:20:59) AI for Social Science

How AI can become both an object of study and a tool.

(00:22:43) Research Agents

Using AI to test claims and make previously impossible research scalable.

(00:24:51) Agentic AI in the Lab

How Socratic dialogue with AI can sharpen research ideas.

(00:26:07) Fairness and Bias

How computational tools can be audited for bias and used to audit decision-making.

(00:27:29) Discrimination in Models

Exploring bias and how it can be reduced.

(00:30:16) Disparate Impact

How policies and systems disadvantage groups even without explicit intent.

(00:32:53) From Evidence to Policy

How Nyarko’s lab works with stakeholders to surface disparities.

(00:34:49) Future In a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: justice, talent, and the future of legal AI.

(00:36:57) Conclusion

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In the western United States and Canada, this time of year is the beginning of peak wildfire season, a reality that's become impossible to ignore. In light of this, we're re-releasing my conversation with energy and climate policy expert Michael Wara on the future of wildfire management. Michael walks us through how we got here, why fires are burning bigger and more frequently, and what a smarter, more proactive approach to managing our landscapes might look like. Whether you're in a fire-prone region or simply paying attention to the changing climate around you, this one is well worth another listen.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Michael Wara, a wildfire expert and professor of law at Stanford University.

(00:02:05) Journey to Wildfire Research

How Michael’s clean energy work led to wildfire research.

(00:03:36) Communities at the Frontlines

The community-level challenges and responsibilities in fire prevention.

(00:05:53) Shifting Community Perspectives

How awareness is rising but state efforts remain misaligned.

(00:08:17) Legacy Homes, Modern Risk

Why older homes pose a major risk and retrofitting is crucial.

(00:09:55) Utility-Led Safety Limitations

The significant but insufficient progress utilities have made.

(00:13:23) Targeting High-Risk Areas

How utilities now prioritize high-risk areas for safety upgrades.

(00:14:30) Insurance Industry Realities

Why insurers can't price risk without crashing markets.

(00:17:19) Urban Wildfires

How today's major fires in suburbs are mostly fueled by homes.

(00:22:12) The Climate Change Multiplier

The impact of atmospheric dryness and fuel moisture on fire risk.

(00:24:45) New Fire Regulations

Recent mandates that have been implemented to decrease fire risk.

(00:28:17) Rethinking Wildfire Communication

Why better messaging is key to changing homeowner behavior.

(00:31:52) Conclusion

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“Stories … are powerful tools that can help us make sense of our lives,” says physician-scientist Maya Adam. She now combines visual storytelling and health education to create animations that go beyond the barriers of language and culture to convey important health messages. The subject matter ranges from vaccine acceptance and addiction to mental health and nutrition. These emotionally engaging narratives – often without a single spoken word – are more effective than traditional pamphlets and lectures, Adam says. Visual stories have the potential to achieve “near-universal understanding” that can support better health outcomes, she tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Maya Adam, a professor of pediatrics and infectious disease from Stanford University.

(00:03:43) From Ballet to Medicine

How Adam’s background shaped her approach to health education.

(00:05:02) Why Stories Work

Why lived experience makes evidence-based health recommendations more meaningful.

(00:06:17) The Story Creation Process

Adam’s techniques for creating effective scalable health stories on any topic

(00:09:20) Real World Stories

Adam shares some particularly challenging topics the team has created stories for

(00:11:10) Global Accessibility

Designing stories and characters that can resonate across cultures and contexts.

(00:12:38) Measuring Impact

Using technology to run trials to test and measure impact

(00:15:23) Iterating the Message

Adapting and changing approaches to create the most effective message

(00:17:53) AI and Storytelling

How AI is beginning to affect health communication and creative production.

(00:19:45) Testing Human vs. AI Art

A trial comparing responses to human-created and AI-generated health storytelling.

(00:25:42) Human-in-the-Loop AI

How AI may best support artists and clinicians by reducing burden rather than replacing

(00:27:43) Future In a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: stories, collaboration, media, and the future of health communication.

(00:29:44) Conclusion

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The World Cup is here, and while we watch some of the world's greatest athletes competing on a global stage, it's fascinating to consider what effect this intense activity may have on the human body. With that in mind, we're re-releasing our conversation with Stanford biochemist Jonathan Long on the future of exercise. Jonathan studies the chemistry of what happens inside your body when you move, and his findings are pointing toward some genuinely surprising possibilities — including treatments for obesity, diabetes, and even, someday, an exercise pill. If the athleticism on the pitch has you feeling inspired, this one is well worth another listen.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Jonathan Long, a professor of pathology from Stanford University.

(00:02:02) Effective Weight Loss Drugs

The history and development of GLP-1 receptor agonists.

(00:04:04) Understanding Metabolism and Exercise

Why Long’s lab starts with molecules to understand metabolism and physical activity.

(00:05:10) Animal Models in Exercise Studies

The use of animal models in exercise studies and the discovery of Lac-Phe.

(00:06:47) Psychological Preparation for Exercise

The psychological aspects of exercise and the involvement of endocannabinoids in exercise motivation.

(00:09:00) Lac-Phe's Role and Mechanism

The role of Lac-Phe and its production in the gut.

(00:12:08) Differences in Exercise Response

Differences in exercise response between trained athletes and untrained individuals.

(00:12:57) Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases

The relationship between diabetes, exercise, and metabolic diseases.

(00:15:01) Lac-Phe as a Potential Therapeutic

The potential of Lac-Phe as a weight loss drug, and parallels to GLP-1 drug development.

(00:16:21) Importance of How Weight is Lost

Whether the method of weight loss matters, and the importance of preserving lean muscle mass.

(00:18:37) Exercise as Medicine

The concept of exercise as medicine, and defining physical activity at the same resolution as modern medicines.

(00:22:11) Metformin and Exercise Pathways

The unexpected connection between metformin and the Lac-Phe pathway.

(00:24:01) Prospects of an Exercise Pill

The future of an exercise pill, and the challenges associated with its development.

(00:27:05) Conclusion

Final thoughts on the future of exercise.

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Professor of ophthalmology Daniel Palanker is a physicist who has combined his skills in optics and electronics to create PRIMA – the Photovoltaic Retinal Implant. Inserted beneath the retina, it restores vision to patients blinded by retinal degeneration, allowing them to read and write – and with the next-generation software, to recognize faces. PRIMA’s photovoltaic pixels act like tiny solar panels, converting light into electricity to stimulate the remaining retinal neurons. Better yet, the growing field of brain-computer interfaces may have implications beyond ophthalmology. “Unlike medicine, where the road ends with curing a disease or restoring lost function, the prospects for brain-machine interfaces may be infinite,” Palanker tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction
Russ Altman introduces guest Daniel Palanker, a professor of ophthalmology and electrical engineering at Stanford University.

(00:03:17) Path into Ophthalmology
How Palanker’s background in physics and optics led him to vision research.

(00:04:33) How Vision Works
A primer on the eye, retina, photoreceptors, and the neural code of sight.

(00:08:50) Retinal Degeneration
How diseases like macular degeneration and inherited retinal disorders damage vision.

(00:13:18) The PRIMA Implant
How a photovoltaic retinal implant converts light into electrical stimulation.

(00:15:05) Augmented Reality Glasses
How camera-equipped glasses amplify and project images to power the implant.

(00:17:42) From Reading to Face Recognition
Why grayscale vision is the next step toward recognizing faces.

(00:20:18) Implanting the Device
How the wireless chip is placed under the retina and powered by light.

(00:21:45) Replaceable Vision Technology
How future generations of implants could be swapped in for higher resolution.

(00:22:28) Limits of Resolution
Why geometry and proximity to neurons determine how small pixels can get.

(00:24:00) Moving to 3D Electrodes
How pillar-shaped electrodes help neurons move closer to the implant.

(00:26:28) Clinical Path Forward
The status of European trials, FDA discussions, and future patient access.

(00:28:10) Safety and Real-World Use
What trials reveal about surgical risks, durability, and patients using implants at home.

(00:30:11) Future In a Minute
Rapid-fire Q&A: neural coding, brain-machine interfaces, and restoring vision.

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Engineer Aaron Lindenberg is an expert in the ways atoms and electrons move through materials. He uses X-ray “flash photography” to make movies of atoms moving at ultrafast speeds to predict the fundamental limits of electronics in future consumer devices, solar cells, and AI chips. He estimates we are “many orders of magnitude away” from the physical limits of both speed and energy efficiency in our electronics. Today’s computers are at least a thousand times slower than they could be, Lindenberg tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Aaron Lindenberg, a professor of Material Science & Photon Science at Stanford University.

(00:03:26) Path into Materials Science

How a biology problem inspired Lindenberg’s interest in atomic-scale dynamics.

(00:05:34) What Materials Scientists Study

Understanding how atoms, electrons, and ions create useful material properties.

(00:06:44) Seeing Atoms in Motion

How X-ray scattering and diffraction reveal atomic structure and dynamics.

(00:08:59) Femtosecond Timescales

Why ultra-fast measurements are needed to capture atomic motion.

(00:10:25) Making Atomic Movies

How researchers use snapshots to study materials as they change.

(00:13:08) Speed Limits in Materials

What determines how fast a material can switch between states.

(00:15:32) Faster and More Efficient Devices

Why electronics still have room to improve in speed and energy use.

(00:17:43) The Energy Cost of Switching

How fundamental energy limits shape future computing devices.

(00:19:10) Speed, Energy, and Reliability

The trade-offs that govern how materials perform in real devices.

(00:21:29) Solar Cells at the Atomic Scale

How materials convert light into electricity inside a solar cell.

(00:23:40) Capturing Energy Before It Becomes Heat

Why ultra-fast dynamics matter for improving solar cell efficiency.

(00:26:13) Randomness in Materials

How stochastic atomic motion affects material performance.

(00:28:20) Measuring Dynamic Complexity

Why nanoscale materials do not behave the same way every time.

(00:30:26) AI for Materials Research

How AI helps in Lindenberg's research

(00:32:56) Future In a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: science, collaboration, and future materials.

(00:36:13) Conclusion

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Commencement season is here and, as many students are closing one chapter and stepping into the next, it's a nice moment to ask: what did learning really look like for these students, and how might it change for the next generation? With those questions in mind, we’re re-releasing a conversation with Computer Science Professor Chris Piech on the future of computer-aided education. Chris studies how computers can and will help students learn. His message isn't that teachers are obsolete — far from it. He shares that the future of education certainly involves AI, but that we must never lose the human element. Whether you're a new grad, a lifelong learner, or an educator wondering what's coming next, this one is well worth another listen.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Chris Piech, a professor of computer science from Stanford University.

(00:01:44) Teaching People to Code

What programming is and why learning to code can be challenging.

(00:02:54) Motivation in Learning

Why joy and motivation are central challenges in education.

(00:03:54) Recent Learners as Teachers

How near-peer teachers helped scale a Stanford coding course to thousands

(00:07:10) AI and Computer Programming

How generative AI is changing coding for students and professionals.

(00:09:24) The Joy of Programming

How AI tools can expand what learners are able to create.

(00:12:41) Experiments with Teaching

What experiments reveal about one-on-one teaching & AI support.

(00:14:39) Rethinking Assessment

The value Piech sees in computational assessment.

(00:16:38) Fairness in Grading

Why AI grading raises questions about bias, context, and real-world use.

(00:20:59) Feedback & Assessment

How computers can evaluate creative and less structured assignments.

(00:22:21) Dream Grader

A system that interacts with student projects to understand and assess them.

(00:25:30) Beyond the Classroom

How assessment tools can also support medical testing.

(00:26:52) Measuring Vision More Precisely

Using adaptive testing to improve eye exams and track subtle changes.

(00:27:57) Generative Grading

What is generative grading and how can it actually function and be useful?

(00:29:44) Teachers and AI Together

Why the future of grading may depend on combining teacher insight with AI support.

(00:31:33) Conclusion

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Food security expert David Lobell is immersed in the data of agriculture. He uses satellite imagery, yield data, and advanced computational modeling to analyze the roughly 500 million farms worldwide to increase productivity and ensure global food security – now and in the future. Though food is often taken for granted, feeding a hungry world is our greatest environmental challenge, he says. Lobell goes on to explain how data can do much more than increase yields – it also cuts costs, prevents conflicts, reduces emissions and deforestation, and improves nutrition. Smart farming is key to food security and avoiding the problems that stem from hunger, Lobell tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest David Lobell, a professor of Earth System Science at Stanford University

(00:03:01) Path into Food Security

How Lobell’s interest in math and the environment led him to agriculture.

(00:04:31) Understanding Farming Systems

How farming differs across smallholder and large-scale operations.

(00:06:13) Agriculture’s Biggest Challenges

Improving productivity in developing regions & reducing agriculture’s environmental impact.

(00:08:15) Farm Potential

How researchers estimate potential outputs & the barriers to better outcomes

(00:11:03) Using Satellites to Study Farms

How satellites help researchers understand what is happening in agriculture internationally.

(00:16:13) What Satellites Can Measure

Tracking crops, planting dates, harvest timing, yields, and management practices.

(00:18:23) Identifying Crops from Space

How seasonal patterns, biomass, and reflectance help distinguish crops.

(00:20:01) Why Food Matters

How food security connects to political stability, conflict, climate, and the environment.

(00:23:58) Cover Crops and Tradeoffs

Why a promising sustainability practice can sometimes reduce productivity.

(00:26:06) Crop Rotation Insights

How different rotations affect yields depending on local conditions.

(00:27:35) Personalized Farming

The importance of balancing large data with local information and implementation

(00:31:47) Future In a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: smarter farming, food access, and the future.

(00:33:01) Conclusion

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Fungi are “nature’s biological recycling machines,” says guest Vayu Hill-Maini, a former chef turned bioengineer. That is, they take waste and turn it into good things. Hill-Maini now melds his scientific and culinary skills to create new foods, but also medicines, faux leather, pigments and other valuable products from mushrooms and molds. He uses CRISPR gene editing technology to “domesticate” these fungi – removing off-flavors and increasing nutritional content to make new-age cheeses, burgers, salami, and more. “We call it the DBTL cycle – design, build, taste, learn,” Hill-Maini tells host Russ Altman about his creative process on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Vayu Hill-Maini, a professor of bioengineering at Stanford University.

(00:03:33) From Chef to Bioengineer

How Hill-Maini’s culinary background led him to study food through science.

(00:05:23) Building a Lab with a Kitchen

Why his Stanford lab combines bioengineering research with culinary experimentation.

(00:07:32) What Are Fungi?

A primer on yeasts, molds, mushrooms, and their role in food and medicine.

(00:10:22) Domesticating Fungi

How humans have shaped fungi over thousands of years.

(00:14:23) Mushrooms as a Food Source

The nutrients, proteins, vitamins, and beneficial molecules found in fungi.

(00:16:21) Fungi as Biological Recyclers

Using fungi to turn food waste, agricultural waste, and other materials into useful products.

(00:18:22) Making Waste-Based Foods Desirable

Why taste, emotion, and culinary design matter for sustainable foods.

(00:20:22) Engineering Delicious Fungi

Using genetics and CRISPR to improve flavor, nutrition, and usability.

(00:22:50) Gentle Genetic Tweaks

Making small changes to reduce off-flavors or enhance useful traits.

(00:23:46) Design, Build, Taste, Learn

How the lab moves between kitchen and bench science to improve foods.

(00:24:06) Chefs in the Lab

How culinary collaborators help guide research and creativity.

(00:28:58) Fungi-Based Materials

The potential to create textiles, leather alternatives, and building materials.

(00:31:03) Future In a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: sustainability, students, and the promise of fungi.

(00:33:25) Conclusion

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In the dotcom era, communication professor Angèle Christin embedded herself in newsrooms, where she witnessed how audience metrics tilted journalism toward viral content over in-depth reporting. Christin now researches the influencer economy and how content creators monetize their production by any of three means – brand sponsorships, engagement-based payments from social media platforms, and direct-to-audience subscriptions, donations, or sales. She says this engagement-based ecosystem steers communication toward what captures attention, not always what best informs. To improve our reeling national dialogue, we must first change the financial model of social media content, Christin tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Angèle Christin

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Angèle Christin, a professor of sociology at Stanford University.

(00:02:28) From Journalism to Social Media

How Angèle’s research moved from journalism to influencers.

(00:03:23) Journalism’s Digital Disruption

How platforms and advertising shifts changed the news industry.

(00:06:16) Metrics in Newsrooms

Why journalists began tracking clicks, traffic, and audience behavior.

(00:09:01) Redefining Success

The tension between editorial quality and online popularity.

(00:14:08) Unbundling Media

How digital platforms changed the way audiences consume news.

(00:15:29) The Pull of Virality

Why going viral can be both rewarding and distorting.

(00:16:22) The Creator Economy

How influencers emerged as a new media ecosystem.

(00:19:09) Studying Influencers Online

How Christin researched creators during the pandemic.

(00:23:59) The Passion Principle

Why many creators begin by sharing expertise or personal experience.

(00:25:44) Influencer Revenue Models

The three main ways creators make money online, and the pitfalls of each model

(00:33:59) Rethinking Monetization

The case for subscriptions, donations, and direct support.

(00:35:09) Future In a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: incentives, social media, and research.

(00:36:23) Conclusion

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Earlier this year, we got to witness the incredible launch and return of Artemis II, a NASA mission meant to lay the groundwork for a future lunar landing. Among the many accomplishments of the Artemis II mission, the crew successfully gathered real-time observations of the Moon that will contribute to our increased understanding of the cosmos. If you were inspired the same way we were, we thought it would be an opportune time to re-share an episode we recorded with astrophysicist Risa Wechsler on the future of the universe. We hope you’ll take another listen and that this episode will help you tap into more of that wonder the Artemis II crew sparked.

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Stanford Profile: Risa Wechsler

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Risa Wechsler, a professor of astrophysics from Stanford University.

(00:01:30) Big Questions About the Universe

What the universe is made of, how it evolved, and how galaxies formed.

(00:02:15) Mapping the Universe

New surveys and telescopes enabling more detailed cosmic maps.

(00:04:22) What Is a “Map” of the Universe?

2D images, 3D structure, and looking back in time through light.

(00:05:48) Spectroscopy & Redshift

How astronomers measure distance and motion using light.

(00:08:41) Our Place in the Universe

Why there is no clear center or edge in the observable universe.

(00:10:54) A Clumpy Universe

How small early fluctuations led to galaxies and large-scale structure.

(00:12:06) How Galaxies Form

The role of dark matter and gas in building galaxies over time.

(00:14:35) Types of Galaxies

Why galaxies vary in size, structure, and environment.

(00:17:06) Gravity Across Scales

How the same laws govern everything from planets to galaxies.

(00:19:02) What Is the Universe Made Of?

The invisible matter shaping galaxies and cosmic structure.

(00:22:03) Using Maps to Study the Unknown

How large-scale surveys reveal dark matter and energy effects.

(00:24:43) The Milky Way as a Laboratory

Studying nearby galaxies to understand fundamental physics.

(00:26:48) Diversity in Galaxy Formation

How different histories shape galaxies.

(00:28:02) Reading Cosmic History

Using observations to reconstruct galaxy evolution.

(00:28:50) Observing Nearby Galaxies

Why distance matters for studying full galactic systems.

(00:29:17) Conclusion

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Michael Jewett is a pioneer of cell-free biotechnology. Instead of using living microbes as factories, he uses their internal molecular machinery to make valuable proteins, medicines, diagnostics, and other chemicals. Jewett recently used the technique for vaccine production in an approach that could produce up to 150,000 doses from one liter. He believes cell-free biotech could democratize the production of essential medicines, improve water safety, and help convert atmospheric carbon into useful products, among other promising possibilities. “It’s just-add-water biotechnology,” Jewett tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Michael Christopher Jewett

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces Mike Jewett, a professor of bioengineering and chemical engineering at Stanford University.

(00:03:23) What Is Cell-Free Biotechnology?

Using the internal machinery of cells without the cells themselves.

(00:04:20) Removing “Evolutionary Baggage”

Why cells’ natural priorities can conflict with engineering goals.

(00:07:41) Advantages of Cell-Free Systems

From large-scale production to decentralized, on-demand manufacturing.

(00:11:40) Making Proteins Outside Cells

How DNA instructions are used to produce functional proteins.

(00:13:49) Biosensors for Water Safety

Detecting contaminants like lead using engineered proteins.

(00:17:05) Engineering Better Sensors

Improving sensitivity and selectivity through protein design.

(00:20:33) AI in Bioengineering

How data and models accelerate discovery and design.

(00:23:22) Sustainability & Carbon Capture

Turning atmospheric carbon into useful chemicals.

(00:26:18) Building New Biological Pathways

Combining chemistry and biology to create novel production systems.

(00:27:54) From Molecules to Materials

How acetyl-CoA enables fuels, plastics, and other products.

(00:30:51) Teaching Biotechnology

Making biotech accessible through hands-on, “just-add-water” kits.

(00:33:12) Future In a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: innovation, collaboration, and the future of biotech.

(00:35:32) Conclusion

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Education researcher Susanna Loeb studies the broad spectrum of learning experience, including ways to recruit and retain expert teachers, how to optimize classrooms, and the impact of technology on learning. She says pandemic-inspired innovations in tutoring have led to greater student engagement and improved learning outcomes. And on the growing influence of AI in education, Loeb counts herself an optimist. She sees it as a tool for good, enhancing personalized learning and supporting teachers. These innovations that didn’t exist a few years ago stand to help students to thrive, Loeb tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Susanna Loeb

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Susanna Loeb, a professor of education at Stanford University.

(00:02:58) Path into Education

Susanna’s journey from engineering to education and her focus on impact at scale.

(00:04:41) The Field of Learning Science

The different approaches and challenges in education and its research.

(00:07:06) Tutoring After the Pandemic

How COVID exposed learning gaps and accelerated interest in tutoring.

(00:10:14) What Makes Tutoring Effective

The different factors that go into making tutoring effective.

(00:12:16) Spreading Proven Practices

Using proof points and partnerships to drive adoption across districts.

(00:14:00) Building Education Networks

The importance of trusted relationships and communication channels.

(00:14:50) AI in the Classroom

How schools are beginning to adopt AI tools and respond to demand.

(00:16:00) AI & Education

How teachers are leading AI adoption, with limited direct student use.

(00:19:37) A Framework for Using AI

The focus on improving student experiences and personalized learning.

(00:21:23) Studying AI in Real Time

Challenges of evaluating fast-changing tools and the need for rapid testing.

(00:23:22) Partnering with AI Companies

Collaborating with industry to test tools like ChatGPT in schools.

(00:25:26) AI & Tutoring

Blending human tutors with AI support to improve outcomes.

(00:27:22) The Limits of AI Tutors

Why human motivation and relationships remain essential.

(00:28:54) The Future of Education Systems

Balancing innovation with equitable access and student engagement.

(00:30:51) Future In a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: optimism, scaling education, and collaboration.

(00:32:54) Conclusion

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Computer scientist Keith Winstein is an expert in how computers communicate. Computer networks create what he calls shared fictions – abstract realities, like a website or a Zoom call, that exist only because the computers on either end agree to act as if they are real. Unfortunately, today’s networks lack a shared notion of a “computation,” which hurts market efficiency in cloud computing and frustrates efforts to hold tech companies accountable for the results of their algorithms. As computational power becomes concentrated in a smaller number of companies, Winstein advocates for a shared language of “computational truths,” defining computations precisely so results are reproducible and auditable. His research group hopes this will lead to greater transparency and accountability in the cloud and, ultimately, to greater confidence in the computations that companies do every day on our behalf. The truth matters, Winstein tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Keith Winstein

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Keith Winstein, a professor of computer science and electrical engineering at Stanford University

(00:02:56) Why Choose Networking

The appeal of the shared digital “fictions” created by connected computers.

(00:04:22) The Internet’s Impact

The broader societal implications of networking technologies.

(00:05:35) Computational Truth

The concept of tracking how data is produced and verified.

(00:09:18) Misaligned Cloud Computing

How “pay for effort” models create inefficiencies in cloud systems.

(00:13:51) Determining Computational Truth

The need for verifiable computation that produces consistent results.

(00:18:19) Computations & Accountability

How identifying computations could improve trust in systems.

(00:20:56) Collaborating Online

Why latency challenges make online performance collaboration difficult.

(00:24:38) Real-Time Performance Systems

Creating a custom system for musicians to perform together online.

(00:28:00) Latency vs. Bandwidth

Why faster internet speeds don’t necessarily reduce delay.

(00:30:43) Eliminating Latency

How buffering layers in software create unnecessary delay.

(00:32:41) Balancing Audio Quality & Delay

The different trade-offs for musicians, actors, and audiences.

(00:34:20) Rethinking Computer Science Education

The need to bring playfulness and interactivity back into learning.

(00:35:46) The Xylophone-Based Class

Teaching computation through real-time sound and music.

(00:38:34) Future In a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: optimism, truth in computing, and innovation.

(00:41:01) Conclusion

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April is Earth Month, and in appreciation of the plant life all around us, we’re re-running a conversation we had with Beth Sattely last year on the future of plant chemistry. Beth reminds us that plants are more than food or pretty things to look at — they have the potential to help us fight climate change or even cancer. We hope you’ll take another listen and join us in learning more about how plants can positively impact environmental and human health.

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Stanford Profile: Elizabeth Sattely

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Beth Sattely, a professor of chemical engineering at Stanford University.

(00:01:28) Path to Plant Metabolism

How chemistry and gardening led to a career in plant science.

(00:02:12) Environmental & Human Health

Using plants to improve both the planet and people’s well-being.

(00:03:11) Engineering Climate-Resilient Crops

Making crops more sustainable and nutritious amid global change.

(00:04:16) Old vs. New Crop Engineering

Comparing traditional breeding with modern molecular tools.

(00:06:22) Industry & Long-Term Food Security

The gap between short-term market goals and long-term environmental needs.

(00:07:31) Tomato Chemistry

Tomatoes reveal how plants produce protective molecules under stress.

(00:10:44) Plant “Vaccines” & Immune Signaling

How plants communicate threats internally and mount chemical defenses.

(00:12:32) Citrus Greening & Limonoids

The potential role of limonoid research on citrus greening.

(00:15:17) Plants Making Medicine

How plants like Yew trees naturally produce cancer drugs like Taxol.

(00:19:37) Diet as Preventative Medicine

Identifying plant molecules to understand their preventative health effects.

(00:22:54) Food Allergies & Plant Chemistry

Why the immune system tolerates some foods and rejects others.

(00:25:00) Understanding Tolerance in Immunity

Possibility of reintroducing tolerance through partial molecular exposure.

(00:26:20) Engineering Healthier Plants

Potential for designing plants to enhance micronutrient content.

(00:27:58) Training the Next Generation

Beth celebrates her students’ role in shaping a sustainable future.

(00:28:57) Conclusion

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Candace Thille is an authority in learning science, educational technology, and AI-enabled learning environments. She is closing the two-way gap between the science of learning research and the hands-on practice of instruction to help students learn better. Timely and targeted feedback with the opportunity to apply that feedback is critical to learning, Thille says, and this is an area where AI supporting humans excels. She imagines a day in the not-too-distant future when human educators and AI-enabled assistants unite to help students learn faster and better than ever before. Learning is not a spectator sport, and AI can help us engage with learners – and educators – in new ways, Thille tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Candace Thille

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Candace Thille, a professor of education at Stanford University.

(00:03:16) Path into Learning Science

How Candace became interested in improving how people learn.

(00:03:47) The Science of Learning

An overview of the field and why it’s still developing.

(00:04:42) Training Educators

How learning science is applied in teacher education.

(00:05:17) The Research to Practice Gap

Why insights from classrooms rarely feed back into research.

(00:06:43) Technology Supporting Teachers

Using AI and other technological tools to enhance teaching.

(00:09:00) The Open Learning Initiative (OLI)

The origins of one of the first large-scale digital learning systems.

(00:11:08) Learning with OLI

How feedback and structured practice improved student outcomes.

(00:13:14) Building OLI Across Disciplines

The collaboration between researchers, instructors, and engineers.

(00:14:36) The Accelerated Learning Study

Evidence that students can learn faster without sacrificing outcomes.

(00:18:02) Learning Science at Amazon

Applying learning science research to workplace education.

(00:22:29) Research as a Feedback Loop

Why teaching practice should continuously inform research.

(00:24:49) The Importance of Infrastructure

Using captured learning data to improve instruction at scale.

(00:25:37) Predictive AI for Learning Science

The applications of older AI models in learning science research.

(00:28:22) Generative AI as a Learning Interface

How generative AI can make education more accessible.

(00:31:01) The Myth of Learning Styles

The misconception that most people have different learning styles.

(00:33:30) Future In a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: new tools, data infrastructure, and supporting learners.

(00:35:24) Conclusion

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Legal expert Richard Ford studies the intersection of dress codes and the law. Clothing and hairstyles communicate power, identity, and social status, he says. Legal restrictions on dress stretch at least to the Middle Ages when “sumptuary laws” stipulated what one could wear by rank. Today, written rules have given way to unwritten codes that are in many ways more powerful culturally. Fashion is not trivial, he says, and no less worthy of study than high art or music. Clothing shapes everything, Ford tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Richard Thompson Ford | Stanford Law School

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Rich Ford, a professor of law at Stanford University.

(00:02:21) From Law to Fashion

Rich Ford explains the legal roots of dress code disputes.

(00:03:42) The Origins of Dress Codes

Sumptuary laws and how clothing signaled social hierarchy.

(00:05:06) Formal vs. Informal Dress Codes

The shift from written laws to social norms and cultural expectations.

(00:06:28) Teenagers & Self-Expression

How people push boundaries within strict dress codes.

(00:08:01) Masculine Renunciation

Why men abandoned flashy fashion in the 1700s.

(00:09:42) The Feminization of Fashion

The gender shift in clothing and style expectations.

(00:10:57) Controlling Dress Codes

The effectiveness and consequences of imposed dress standards.

(00:12:44) Hair, Identity, & Regulation

The cultural and legal significance of hairstyles in dress codes.

(00:14:40) Civil Rights & Clothing

How dress became a tool for dignity and resistance.

(00:18:29) Dressing for Respect

How lived experience shaped Rich’s interest in fashion

(00:20:40) Reverse Snobbery

Why dressing casually can function as a marker of social standing

(00:22:28) Gender Inequality in Fashion

How clothing has historically limited women.

(00:24:46) The “Midtown Uniform”

How informal norms create uniformity even in the absence of rules.

(00:26:03) Uniforms & Social Equality

The benefits and limitations of uniforms in educational settings

(00:27:44) The Future of Dress Codes

Why fashion won’t disappear but is becoming more casual.

(00:28:49) Future In a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: young people, time, and studying tailoring.

(00:30:10) Conclusion

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Epidemiologist Yvonne “Bonnie” Maldonado is an expert in vaccine research and public health. Look back centuries, and the story is always the same, she says: Death rates from viruses have plummeted, especially in children and the elderly. And yet, millions of children die each year from vaccine-preventable diseases. Vaccines need a return of public confidence, and that starts with better messaging and greater support of nongovernmental messengers like herself. The bottom line is that vaccines are safe, she says. Vaccines work and we have saved many lives because of them, Maldonado reminds host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Yvonne Maldonado

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Yvonne “Bonnie” Maldonado, a professor of pediatrics, epidemiology and population health at Stanford University.

(00:03:01) Career in Vaccines

Bonnie shares what led to her career in vaccine research.

(00:04:53) How Vaccines Work

How vaccines train the immune system to recognize and fight pathogens.

(00:06:46) Why Vaccine Responses Vary

The variability in immune responses and breakthrough infections.

(00:09:22) Risk vs. Benefit in Vaccines

How researchers evaluate side effects versus disease severity.

(00:11:53) How Viruses Evolve

The evolutionary dynamics that shape viral behavior.

(00:13:59) Vaccine Boosters

Why some vaccines last for life while others require multiple doses.

(00:17:14) Herd Immunity

How community protection works and why vaccination rates matter.

(00:21:22) Vaccine Controversy

The controversy surrounding vaccines and what led to it.

(00:24:27) Global Vaccine Hesitancy

How declining trust and past outbreaks influence vaccination globally.

(00:27:07) The Future of Vaccines

Why vaccines are essential and how outbreaks shape public response.

(00:29:08) Preparing for Future Pandemics

How healthcare systems prepare for new threats after COVID-19.

(00:30:43) Future In a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: hope, public trust, and the future of health.

(00:32:54) Conclusion

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For many of us, this coming weekend marks the start of Daylight Saving Time, when we “spring forward” and move our clocks ahead by an hour. While the extra evening daylight can be one of the joys of the summer months, the time change has been known to disrupt our sleep.

Last year we sat down with neurobiologist Jamie Zeitzer, a leading expert on sleep, to talk about practical strategies for getting a better night’s rest. As we approach this transition, it’s the perfect time to revisit that conversation. We hope you’ll add this episode to your podcast queue and give it another listen this weekend.

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Stanford Profile: Jamie Zeitzer

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Jamie Zeitzer, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University.

(00:02:01) Understanding Circadian Rhythms

How the biological clock regulates sleep and other body functions.

(00:03:45) The Mystery of Sleep’s Purpose

What is still unknown about the fundamental need for sleep.

(00:04:49) Light & the Circadian Clock

The impact light exposure has on the body’s internal sleep timing.

(00:07:02) Day & Night Light Contrast

The importance of creating a light-dark contrast for healthy rhythms.

(00:10:06) Phones, Screens, & the Blue Light

Whether blue light from screen use affects sleep quality.

(00:12:37) Defining & Diagnosing Sleep Problems

How stress and over-focus on sleep quality worsen insomnia.

(00:14:50) Sleep Anxiety & Wearables

The psychological downsides of sleep data from tracking devices.

(00:16:03) CBT-I & Rethinking Insomnia

Mentally reframing sleep with cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia

(00:19:50) Desynchronized Sleep Patterns

Studying student sleep patterns to separate circadian vs. sleep effects.

(00:22:37) Shift Work & Circadian Misalignment

The difficulty of re-aligning circadian clocks in rotating shifts.

(00:25:14) Effectiveness of Sleep Medications

The various drugs used to promote sleep and their pros and cons.

(00:28:34) Circadian “Sleep Cliff” & Melatonin

The brain’s “wake zone” before sleep and the limited effects of melatonin.

(00:31:41) Do’s & Don’ts for Better Sleep

Advice for those who want to improve their sleep quality.

(00:33:44) Alcohol and Caffeine Effects

How metabolism influences the effects of alcohol and caffeine on sleep.

(00:36:13) Conclusion

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Heart disease should be treated just like cancer, says guest Mike McConnell, an author and expert in preventive cardiology at Stanford: Detect and stage early, then treat aggressively. In his practice, McConnell focuses on using low-dose CT imaging for detecting early coronary artery disease. He also helped pioneer the use of AI to infer cardiovascular risk from retinal scans. Such non-invasive, consumer-friendly tools could expand prevention, personalize therapy, and cut heart attacks and strokes across the board, he says. “Everybody also deserves a proactive preventive cardiologist in their phone,” McConnell tells host Russ Altman of the latest approaches to heart disease on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Michael V. McConnell, MD, MSEE

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Michael McConnell, a professor of cardiology at Stanford University.

(00:03:02) Reframing Heart Disease

Why coronary disease should be approached the same as cancer.

(00:05:46) Core Risk Factors

The key drivers of cardiovascular disease, and life’s essential eight.

(00:07:18) Coronary Artery Calcium Scoring

How low-dose CT scanning detects disease before symptoms develop.

(00:08:57) The Limits of Stress Testing

Why traditional stress tests often miss early coronary disease.

(00:10:18) AI in Cardiac Imaging

Using AI to identify hidden risks in routine chest scans.

(00:11:30) Retinal Imaging

How AI analysis of retinal blood vessels can predict heart disease risk.

(00:14:55) Detecting Risk Before Symptoms

Why retinal and vascular changes occur long before clinical signs appear.

(00:15:58) Staging Coronary Disease

Using calcium scores to stage coronary disease and personalize treatment.

(00:19:36) Direct-to-Consumer Prevention

The rise of mobile health records, wearable devices, and AI tools.

(00:22:23) Opportunities & System Challenges

Balancing accessibility, guideline-based care, and healthcare system capacity.

(00:25:26) AI-Powered Health Record Analysis

The potential of automated reviews to identify silent risk factors.

(00:27:41) Physician Adoption & System Friction

Barriers to integrating early detection tools into clinical practice.

(00:30:12) Advances in Treatment

Overview of current cholesterol therapies and plaque stabilization.

(00:33:31) Future In a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: prevention, implementation science, and future hopes.

(00:35:38) Conclusion

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Psychiatrist Jennifer Derenne specializes in eating disorders. Most eating disorders begin in adolescence, but they can appear much earlier – or later – in life, too. To begin healing, Derenne works with an interdisciplinary team to first stabilize and renourish her patients and uses evidence-based psychotherapy that incorporates strong family involvement. Recent clinical studies are exploring the use of psychedelics to open new avenues for treating these notoriously hard-to-treat illnesses. Eating disorders are a life-threatening medical condition, Derenne asserts, telling host Russ Altman that “food is the best medicine” on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Jennifer L. Derenne, MD

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Jennifer Derenne, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University.

(00:03:11) Studying Eating Disorders

Jennifer’s path from pediatrics to psychiatry and studying eating disorders.

(00:03:44) Types of Eating Disorders

A breakdown of the main diagnoses and what distinguishes them.

(00:04:59) Who Gets Eating Disorders?

The age ranges of those affected and when symptoms first appear.

(00:05:46) Disordered Vs. Normal Eating

Distinguishing common weight concerns from dangerous dysfunction.

(00:07:15) Treating Teen Eating Disorders

Why family involvement is crucial and treatment focuses on behaviors.

(00:08:56) Genetics & Social Media

The different risk factors that can contribute to disordered eating.

(00:10:08) Smartphones & Mental Health

The impact of smartphones on the development of coping mechanisms.

(00:12:32) Transitioning to College

Why mental health can destabilize during the move to independence.

(00:15:51) Treating Eating Disorders

The multidisciplinary approach to treating disordered eating.

(00:18:39) Supervision & Safety

The importance of supervision and medical follow-ups to help prevent relapse.

(00:21:03) AI in Adolescent Psychiatry

The pros and cons of AI tools in adolescent mental health support.

(00:25:21) The Limits of Medication

How medications often target comorbidities rather than the eating disorder itself.

(00:27:08) Psychedelics Research

Emerging studies on using psychedelics in the treatment of eating disorders.

(00:29:47) Future In a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: curiosity, treatment optimism, and becoming a book editor.

(00:31:48) Conclusion

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Spring is right around the corner and as the weather changes and things begin to bloom, that also means the onset of allergy season. Last fall, we sat down with Tina Sindher who shared that while allergies may be affecting more people worldwide, prevention is playing catch up. If you’re someone or know someone who lives with environmental or food allergies, we hope you’ll tune into this episode to hear some of Tina’s strategies for better managing these conditions.

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Stanford Profile: Sayantani (Tina) Sindher

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Tina Sindher, a professor of medicine and allergy at Stanford University.

(00:01:50) Inside the Immune Response

Why our immune systems trigger allergic reactions.

(00:03:31) Genes vs. Environment

Whether genetics or environment drive allergy risks.

(00:06:39) The Microbiome Factor

The role of the microbiome and early exposures in prevention.

(00:07:51) A Global Allergy Surge

How global allergy trends reveal rising health challenges.

(00:10:29) Potent Food Triggers

Why some foods cause stronger and faster reactions.

(00:12:23) Emerging Risks

Whether Alpha-Gal signals new emerging allergy risks.

(00:14:21) Multi-Food Allergies

How multi-food allergies complicate diagnosis and treatment.

(00:17:36) Preventing Allergies Early

Why early food introduction may help prevent allergies.

(00:19:28) Skin’s Role in Allergies

The importance of infant skin health in allergy development.

(00:22:13) Testing Limitations

The limits of current testing methods to truly diagnose allergies.

(00:23:47) Standard Testing Procedure

The current methodologies deployed when testing for allergies.

(00:26:02) New Therapies

How new therapies like OIT and Xolair are reshaping treatment.

(00:30:24) The Future of Allergies

The potential of combined therapies to aid in allergy treatment.

(00:33:07) Managing Seasonal Allergies

How to manage seasonal allergies effectively at home.

(00:35:41) Conclusion

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Chuck Eesley, a professor of management science and engineering, studies entrepreneurship across diverse contexts – from refugee entrepreneurs in Uganda to semiconductor startups navigating U.S.-China economic policy. His research on recent export controls revealed a counterintuitive outcome: Rather than solely strengthening U.S. semiconductor innovation, these policies accelerated Chinese investment in its own domestic chip industry, boosting startups there as much as – or more than – here. This finding underscores how global technology markets are deeply interconnected: Barriers can produce unintended consequences that accelerate innovation abroad rather than protecting it at home. Open technology trade and investment create larger markets for American innovations, strengthen collaborative partnerships, and demonstrate that interconnected markets drive progress for all participants. “Entrepreneurial talent exists everywhere,” Eesley tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Charles (Chuck) Eesley

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Chuck Eesley, a professor of management and engineering at Stanford University.

(00:03:04) Why Study Entrepreneurship?

Chuck explains why entrepreneurs are drivers of modern economic growth.

(00:03:30) Defining Entrepreneurship

Broad vs. narrow entrepreneurship, from startups to large organizations.

(00:04:33) Institutional Environments

How policies and culture both shape entrepreneurial outcomes.

(00:05:44) Studying Institutions & Entrepreneurship

Measuring institutional shifts to isolate entrepreneurial outcomes.

(00:08:12) Founder & Talent Incentives

What’s needed for high-opportunity-cost talent to start companies.

(00:09:36) AI Entrepreneurship

The impact of data and compute concentration on startup dynamism.

(00:11:28) Designing AI Regulation

Historical examples of regulation enabling startups to compete fairly.

(00:13:43) Incentives Inside Big Tech

Why some incumbents support startups while others tilt the playing field.

(00:15:28) Ad Placement & Misinformation Funding

How digital advertising can unintentionally fund low-credibility content.

(00:21:24) Misinformation Market Solution

The disclosure mechanisms that may reduce misinformation incentives.

(00:25:23) Semiconductors & Entrepreneurship

The importance of startups in a field often dominated by large incumbents.

(00:29:30) Unintended Policy Effects

How U.S. policy may be accelerating Chinese semiconductor investments.

(00:31:09) Competing Industrial Policies

Why evaluation and iteration are essential for effective policy design.

(00:32:31) Global Entrepreneurship

Emerging entrepreneurship models spreading across regions and contexts.

(00:36:26) The Universal Entrepreneurial Mindset

Shared entrepreneurial traits across cultures, contexts, and countries.

(00:37:14) Future In a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: democratizing entrepreneurship, context, and equitable inclusivity.

(00:41:02) Conclusion

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Developmental psychologist Bonnie Halpern-Felsher specializes in teenage health-related decision-making, especially in their use of tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, and other substances. Young people, she says, value immediate social benefits over long-term risks. In response, she supports bans on flavored nicotine products and has developed nationally and internationally used evidence-based substance use prevention and intervention programs, including some that are culturally targeted, such as her vaping prevention curriculum in Hawaii zeroing in on popular flavors like mango and poi. The reward, she says, is reduced substance use and better mental health. “Talk to your kids. Don’t lecture. Have a conversation,” Halpern-Felsher tells host Russ Altman of the best way to break through on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Episode Reference Links:

Stanford Profile: Bonnie Halpern-Felsher
Halpern-Felsher REACH Lab | Stanford Medicine

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, a developmental psychologist at Stanford University.

(00:03:52) Focus on Youth Substance Use

Bonnie explains her focus on studying substance behaviors in adolescents.

(00:05:32) Current Trends in Youth Health

The mixed indicators across behavior and mental health in youth.

(00:08:46) Effective Health Communication

Why long-horizon risk messaging often underperforms in adolescents.

(00:11:16) Policy Translation & Advocacy

How Bonnie translates research findings into policy advocacy.

(00:13:54) School-Based Prevention Programs

An overview of evidence-based curricula and target age groups.

(00:15:04) Measuring Program Impact

The evaluation approaches and challenges of the prevention programs.

(00:16:41) Youth Dependence & Cessation

Why addiction develops quickly and the limited treatment options.

(00:18:18) Program Adaptation Across Contexts

How curricula are localized without redesigning core methods.

(00:21:00) Youth-Oriented Product Marketing

The strategies used by substance industries to market to youth.

(00:23:38) Cannabis Potency & Health Risk

The link between higher THC concentrations and medical outcomes.

(00:26:48) Patterns of Cannabis Use

The common modes of cannabis use and related exposure risks.

(00:28:10) Early Exposure & Prevention Needs

The reports of substance exposure and use at increasingly early ages.

(00:29:10) Guidance for Caregivers

Practical guidance for caregivers concerned about substance use.

(00:31:23) Future In a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: asking for help, substance regulation, and alternate degree.

(00:33:37) Conclusion

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As 2026 gets underway we know that many take time around this new beginning to improve not only their physical, but also their mental health. With that in mind, we’re rerunning an episode with Leanne Williams on the future of depression care. Leanne is an expert on clinical depression and is working on new ways to more precisely diagnose depression in order to develop more effective treatment. For anyone who has suffered from depression or knows someone who has, it’s an episode that provides hope for what’s on the horizon. We hope you’ll take another listen and also share this episode with anyone who you think may benefit from the conversation.

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Stanford Profile: Leanne Williams

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Leanne Williams, a professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stanford University.

(00:01:43) What Is Depression?

Distinguishing clinical depression from everyday sadness.

(00:03:31) Current Depression Treatment Challenges

The trial-and-error of traditional depression treatments and their timelines.

(00:06:16) Brain Mapping and Circuit Dysfunctions

Advanced imaging techniques and their role in understanding depression.

(00:09:03) Diagnosing with Brain Imaging

How brain imaging can complement traditional diagnostic methods in psychiatry.

(00:10:22) Depression Biotypes

Identifying six distinct biotypes of depression through brain imaging.

(00:12:31) Cognitive Features of Depression

How cognitive impairment plays a major role in certain depression biotypes.

(00:14:11) Matching Treatments to Biotypes

Finding appropriate treatments sooner using brain-based diagnostics.

(00:15:38) Expanding Treatment Options

Personalizing therapies and improving treatment outcomes based on biotypes.

(00:19:03) AI in Depression Treatment

Using AI to refine biotypes and predict treatment outcomes with greater accuracy.

(00:22:15) Psychedelics in Depression Treatment

The potential for psychedelic drugs to target specific biotypes of depression.

(00:23:46) Expanding the Biotypes Framework

Integrating multimodal approaches into the biotype framework.

(00:27:29) Reducing Stigma in Depression

How showing patients their brain imaging results reduces self-blame and stigma.

(00:29:38) Conclusion

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Pediatrician Yair Bannett studies and treats ADHD in preschool-age children. His interests stem from watching too many families struggle to understand their child’s behavior. He now focuses on improving frontline care using artificial intelligence to analyze electronic health records. One recent study explored whether doctors are making appropriate non-drug interventions before choosing to medicate children. Through his research, he hopes to raise the standard of ADHD care for thousands – and perhaps millions – of children. Early diagnosis and better care can prevent later problems, Bannett tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Yair Bannett

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Yair Bannett, a developmental behavioral pediatrician at Stanford University.

(00:03:44) Why Study ADHD

Yair’s path from primary care pediatrics to ADHD research.

(00:04:32) Understanding ADHD

The core symptoms and diagnostic criteria for ADHD.

(00:05:57) Diagnosing ADHD in Youth

Why diagnosis is challenging and relies on clinical judgment.

(00:08:21) Known Causes of ADHD

What is known about biological origins and environmental influence.

(00:10:08) Geographic and Cultural Differences

The variations in ADHD prevalence across regions and populations.

(00:11:37) ADHD Across Countries

Prevalence of ADHD globally and challenges with monitoring diagnosis.

(00:12:23) Natural History of Untreated ADHD

The lifelong persistence of ADHD and associated risks when untreated.

(00:14:28) ADHD Diagnosis in Adults

The challenges in identifying and diagnosing ADHD later in life.

(00:16:27) ADHD Treatments

An overview of the two treatment interventions used to treat ADHD.

(00:18:16) Stimulant Medications

The effectiveness and long-term benefits of stimulant treatments.

(00:21:30) Non-Stimulant Medications

When and why alternative medications for ADHD are used.

(00:22:31) Non-pharmacological Interventions

The alternative interventions used outside pharmacological treatments.

(00:23:18) Reducing Household Chaos

Strategies for structure and behavior management within the home.

(00:24:55) Measuring Quality of ADHD Care

Using electronic health records and AI to improve treatment.

(00:28:10) Importance of Early Diagnosis

The benefits of identifying ADHD before school entry.

(00:29:29) Future In a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: applying AI, collaboration, and theatre dreams.

(00:31:55) Conclusion

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Physician-scientist Randall Stafford studies the effects of alcohol use on population health – the true health impact, he emphasizes. Stafford explains how early research suggested that drinking is beneficial – or at least not bad – for people. That mindset produced decades of wishful thinking based on inconsistent science driven by social, emotional, and industry forces. The small cardiovascular benefits, he says, are far outweighed by the risks of cancer, liver disease, depression, and other ills. Although the harms of low-level consumption are small, there is no safe level of alcohol use, Stafford tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Randall Stafford

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Randall Stafford, a professor of medicine at Stanford University.

(00:03:35) Challenges in Alcohol Research

Why cultural norms and study limitations complicate evidence.

(00:03:56) Historical Perspectives on Drinking

How early studies suggested benefits and why those conclusions shifted.

(00:09:12) Risk, Dose, and Drinking Patterns

The increased risks with binge drinking and higher doses of alcohol.

(00:12:15) Health Benefits vs. Lifestyle Enjoyment

Clarifying what alcohol does—and does not—provide medically.

(00:13:37) Alcohol and Mental Health

The bidirectional effects between alcohol use and mental health.

(00:17:37) Broader Mental and Social Effects

Alcohol’s connection to bipolar disorder, unemployment, and social harm.

(00:20:12) How Alcohol Myths Persist

Why simplified conclusions endured despite contradictory data.

(00:22:46) Changing Cultural Attitudes

Cultural trends toward reduced drinking and alcohol-free periods.

(00:25:49) Alcohol and Liver Disease

The effects of alcohol beyond heavy use, including metabolic disease.

(00:27:29) Strategies to Reduce Harm

Way to reduce alcohol consumption and avoid binge drinking.

(00:29:25) Future In a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: avoiding alcohol, research needs, and studying liver disease.

(00:31:04) Conclusion

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We're here to wish you a very happy New Year! We hope you’re ringing in the new year in good health and looking forward to what’s ahead in 2026. As people are setting goals and making resolutions, we’re re-running an episode today on the future of motivation. Last year, we sat down with Szu-chi Huang, an expert in motivation. She explained how science is changing our understanding of goal-setting and achievement, and offered a few tricks you can try when you feel stuck. We hope you’ll tune in again today and pick up a few insights on how to sustain enthusiasm for your goals over time.

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Stanford Profile: Szu-chi Huang

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces Szu-chi Huang, a professor of Marketing at Stanford GSB.

(00:02:13) Studying Motivation

Szu-chi shares what led her to study motivational science.

(00:02:45) Defining Motivation

Motivation as the drive to close the gap between current and ideal self.

(00:03:39) The Science of Motivation

Studying motivation through behavioral and neurological data.

(00:04:30) Why It Matters in Business

How motivation science applies to leaders, teams, and customers.

(00:05:21) The Motivation Framework

The strategies needed in order to stay motivated over time.

(00:06:24) Journey vs. Destination Mindset

The different mindsets needed throughout the stages of motivation.

(00:08:03) Motivating Kids to Choose Healthy

Collaborating with UNICEF to study what motivates children.

(00:09:37) Gamified Coupons in Panama

A study using gamified coupons to influence children's food choices.

(00:13:08) Loyalty Programs as Motivation

How customer reward programs act as structured goal journeys.

(00:15:29) Progress Versus Purpose

The different incentives needed in each stage of loyalty programs.

(00:17:11) Retirement Saving Lessons

How financial institutions apply motivational science to long-term goals.

(00:19:54) Motivation in Social Context

The role of social connections in goal pursuit and sustaining motivation.

(00:21:20) Support vs. Competition in Shared Goals

The benefits and drawbacks of sharing goal journeys with others.

(00:24:52) Designing Apps for Motivation

How redesigning user interfaces can help users stay motivated.

(00:26:02) AI as a Motivation Coach

Using AI to personalize feedback across all stages of goal pursuit.

(00:28:50) Starting and Sustaining a Goal

Practical strategies for launching and sustaining a goal.

(00:30:59) Conclusion

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Hi everyone, it’s your host, Russ. As we celebrate another holiday season and round out the year, I want to take a moment to say thank you for listening. This show started out over 8 years ago as an experiment and has not only grown to become a passion project, but also an archive of the impactful work my colleagues across Stanford dedicate their lives to. In a time when the sheer volume of information available to us can make it hard to determine what’s accurate, I’m proud to be able to bring you information directly from expert scientists in the fields of physics, medicine, technology, computer science, law, and much more.

The show, however, would not exist without you. So thank you for giving us your time and attention; it means a lot and also makes what we do possible.

Happy holidays and happy new year!

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We hope you’re enjoying the holiday season with family, friends, and loved ones. We’ll be releasing new episodes again in the new year – in the meantime, today, we’re re-running a fascinating episode on The future of AI coaching. The past few years have seen an incredible boom in AI and one of our colleagues, James Landay, a professor in Computer Science, thinks that when it comes to AI and education, things are just getting started. He’s particularly excited about the potential for AI to serve as a coach or tutor. We hope you’ll take another listen to this conversation and come away with some optimism for the potential AI has to help make us smarter and healthier.

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Stanford Profile: James Landay

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest James Landay, a professor of Computer Science at Stanford University.

(00:01:44) Evolving AI Applications

How large language models can replicate personal coaching experiences.

(00:06:24) Role of Health Experts in AI

Integrating insights from medical professionals into AI coaching systems.

(00:10:01) Personalization in AI Coaching

How AI coaches can adapt personalities and avatars to cater to user preferences.

(00:12:30) Group Dynamics in AI Coaching

Pros and cons of adding social features and group support to AI coaching systems.

(00:13:48) Ambient Awareness in Technology

Ambient awareness and how it enhances user engagement without active attention.

(00:17:24) Using AI in Elementary Education

Narrative-driven tutoring systems to inspire kids' learning and creativity.

(00:22:39) Encouraging Student Writing with AI

Using LLMs to motivate students to write through personalized feedback.

(00:23:32) Scaling AI Educational Tools

The ACORN project and creating dynamic, scalable learning experiences.

(00:27:38) Human-Centered AI

The concept of human-centered AI and its focus on designing for society.

(00:30:13) Conclusion

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Microbes are awesome, says biologist Paula Welander. They have shaped Earth’s chemistry and its environment over billions of years, including oxygenating the planet to make it habitable for larger life forms. In turn, microbes have been shaped by that very same environment, evolving as the climate has evolved, she says. Welander now studies the lipid membranes of ancient microbes, which can endure for millions of years, to understand this evolution and where we might be headed in the future. Microbes are our connection to the ancient world, Welander tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Paula Welander, a professor of Earth Science at Stanford University.

(00:04:06) Why Study Microbial Lipids

Why lipids are essential for modern microbiology and Earth’s history.

(00:05:19) Diversity of Microbial Membranes

How bacteria and Archaea build different kinds of membranes.

(00:07:15) Reconstructing Ancient Environments

Using specific lipid biomarkers to understand the early planet.

(00:09:20) Chemical Fossils vs. Organism Fossils

Why microbes don’t leave traditional fossils—but their lipids do.

(00:10:55) Lipids as Environmental Clues

How certain lipids indicate the environments organisms lived in.

(00:12:36) Archaea: A Distinct and Ancient Entity

Archaea’s evolutionary importance and chemically distinct membranes.

(00:15:43) The Lipid Divide

Why eukaryotic membranes resemble bacterial, not Archaeal, membranes.

(00:17:12) Tracing Membrane Evolution

Recent breakthroughs in studying Archaeal lineages related to eukaryotes.

(00:19:11) Lipid Preservation Over Time

How archaeal lipids are especially reliable as long-term biomarkers.

(00:20:58) Sterols as Biomarkers

The role sterols, including cholesterol, play in lipid archeology.

(00:23:14) Bacterial Cholesterol Discovery

The discovery that a rare bacteria can synthesize sterol precursors.

(00:25:02) Functional Roles of Bacterial Sterols

The possible roles sterols may play in microbial membranes and cell function.

(00:26:31) Archaea in the Human Gut

The number and types of Archaea found in the human microbiome.

(00:28:43) Archaea and Antibiotics

Whether Archaea react similarly to bacteria when exposed to antibiotics.

(00:29:46) Future In a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: hope, research needs, and alternate career dreams.

(00:31:43) Conclusion

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Molecular biologist Judith Frydman studies the nuances of protein folding and how defects in the process lead to neurodegenerative diseases. Her team studies protein folding in human cells and in model organisms, like yeast and worms, to understand the molecular events that precipitate harmful protein defects in humans. In one example, Frydman’s team explored how aging affects the creation and the quality of proteins in the brain, leading to cognitive problems. She is now looking to develop therapies – someday perhaps leading to cures – to debilitating diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, ALS, and others. The power of science gives her true hope in these important pursuits, Frydman tells host Russ Altman in this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Judith Frydman

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Judith Frydman, a professor of biology and genetics at Stanford University.

(00:04:00) Linking Protein Folding to Aging

How aging disrupts protein-folding machinery across many organisms.

(00:07:16) Universal Aging Patterns

The similar age-related protein-folding defects found across organisms

(00:09:27) Studying Killifish Ageing

Research on the African killifish as a rapid-aging model organism.

(00:13:05) Ribosome Function Declines

How aging causes ribosomes to stall and collide, creating faulty proteins.

(00:15:31) Aging Across Species

The potential factors causing alternate aging rates in different species.

(20:11) What Fails Inside Aging Cells

The cellular components that are leading to bad protein creation.

(00:24:04) Therapeutic Approaches

Potential interventions to combat cellular and neurological degeneration.

(00:25:12) Gene vs. Small-Molecule Treatments

How some interventions may be better suited for certain diseases.

(00:27:47) Ribosome Drug Potential

Why ribosomes and translation factors are viable drug targets.

(00:28:56) Next Steps in Aging Research

Using human skin fibroblasts to study human aging mechanisms.

(00:31:46) Future In a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: scientific progress, young researchers, and archeology.

(00:33:54) Conclusion

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Maria Barna is an authority on ribosomes – “life’s most ancient and spectacular molecular machines.” Ribosomes make proteins in the body. There can be a thousand different types of ribosomes in a single cell, she says, each with a specific job to do. But sometimes things go awry and ribosomes get “hijacked,” leading to disease. Barna studies these “diabolical” variations to find new therapies to treat diseases ranging from cancer and COVID to Parkinson’s. When diseases hit, it’s all about the ribosomes, Barna tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Maria Barna, a professor of genetics at Stanford University.

(00:04:21) Origins of Ribosome Research

Maria explains why ribosomes became the focus of her work.

(00:06:14) Ribosome Function and Scale

Ribosomes’ functions and the energy required for their production.

(00:08:28) Ribosomes as Machines

How ribosomes influence which proteins are produced and when.

(00:09:48) Ribosome Regulation

The regulatory layers within ribosomes and their possible variants.

(00:14:35) Ribosomes and Disease

How ribosomal dysfunction is linked to a wide range of diseases.

(00:18:16) Ribosome Mutations and Development

Congenital disorders that can be attributed to specific ribosomal mutations.

(00:20:44) RNA vs. Protein Output

Why RNA measurements alone do not accurately predict protein levels.

(00:24:16) Designing Ribosomes for Therapy

The potential of using engineered ribosomes for target therapies.

(00:26:16) Small-Molecule Ribosome Modulators

Screening compounds that may enhance ribosome activity for treatments.

(00:28:39) Future Ribosome Profiling

Isolating individual ribosomes to understand their specific roles.

(00:30:35) Future In a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: scientific progress, community, and alternative career interest.

(00:34:01) Conclusion

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In October, chemical engineer Will Tarpeh was awarded a 2025 MacArthur “Genius Grant” in recognition of his pioneering work to turn wastewater into a source of valuable materials. Will envisions a future in which the concept of wastewater is obsolete, thanks to advances in recycling. A couple of years ago, we sat down to talk with him about this work, and we hope you’ll take another listen today to learn more about the research Will is doing to transform the potential of wastewater into resources.

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Stanford Profile: William Abraham Tarpeh

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces Will Tarpeh, a professor of chemical engineering at Stanford University.

(00:03:01) Wastewater as a Modern Mine

How elements like nitrogen and phosphorus can be recovered from waste.

(00:04:15) Path to Sanitation Research

Will shares what led to his interest in studying wastewater.

(00:06:55) The Science of Separation

The electrochemical and material techniques to extract valuable compounds.

(00:08:37) Urine-Based Fertilizer

How human urine could meet up to 30% of global fertilizer needs.

(00:11:08) Drugs in Wastewater

The potential of reclaiming pharmaceuticals from waste streams.

(00:14:14) Decentralized Sanitation

Opportunities for neighborhood or household-scale treatment systems.

(00:16:48) Source Separation Systems

How dividing waste at the source improves recycling and recovery.

(00:18:56) Global Sanitation Challenges

Ways that developing countries can adopt modern waste solutions.

(00:23:51) Preventing Algal Blooms

The systems that are helping to reduce nutrient pollution and dead zones.

(00:27:16) The Urine Summit

A community advancing urine recycling and sustainable sanitation policy.

(00:28:43) Conclusion

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Gabriel Weintraub studies how digital markets evolve. In that regard, he says platforms like Amazon, Uber, and Airbnb have already disrupted multiple verticals through their use of data and digital technologies. Now, they face both the opportunity and the challenge of leveraging AI to further transform markets, while doing so in a responsible and accountable way. Weintraub is also applying these insights to ease friction and accelerate results in government procurement and regulation. Ultimately, we must fall in love with solving the problem, not with the technology itself, Weintraub tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Gabriel Weintraub, a professor of operations, information, and technology at Stanford University.

(00:03:00) School Lunches to Digital Platforms

How designing markets in Chile led Gabriel to study digital marketplaces.

(00:03:57) What Makes a Good Market

Outlining the core principles that constitute a well-functioning market.

(00:05:29) Opportunities and Challenges Online

The challenges associated with the vast data visibility of digital markets.

(00:06:56) AI and the Future of Search

How AI and LLMs could revolutionize digital platforms.

(00:08:15) Rise of Vertical Marketplaces

The new specialized markets that curate supply and ensure quality.

(00:10:23) Winners and Losers in Market Shifts

How technology is reshaping industries from real estate to travel.

(00:12:38) Government Procurement in Chile

Applying market design and AI tools to Chile’s procurement system.

(00:15:00) Leadership and Adoption

The role of leadership in modernizing government systems.

(00:18:59) AI in Government and Regulation

Using AI to help governments streamline complex bureaucratic systems.

(00:21:45) Streamlining Construction Permits

Piloting AI tools to speed up municipal construction-permit approvals.

(00:23:20) Building an AI Strategy

Creating an AI strategy that aligns with business or policy goals.

(00:25:26) Workforce and Experimentation

Training employees to experiment with LLMs and explore productivity gains.

(00:27:36) Humans and AI Collaboration

The importance of designing AI systems to augment human work, not replace it.

(00:28:26) Future in a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: AI’s impact, passion and resilience, and soccer dreams.

(00:30:39) Conclusion

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Biochemist Lingyin Li survived breast cancer at just 30 and now works to harness the human immune system to fight cancers that have long evaded treatment. T cells, she says, are powerful cancer killers, but they can be oblivious. She and her lab colleagues have discovered a masking enzyme that squelches the immune system’s “danger signals” and are now developing drugs to block that enzyme. She likens her work to an arms race between cancer and immunotherapy. “The cancers are not getting smarter, but we are,” Li tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Lingyin Li

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Lingyin Li, a professor of biochemistry at Stanford University.

(00:03:38) Research Motivation

Lingyin explains how her breast cancer diagnosis inspired her research.

(00:04:31) How T-Cells Work

T-cell mechanisms and why they struggle to reach solid tumors.

(00:05:38) Immune System Overview

Innate and adaptive immunity and how mutations make cancer recognizable.

(00:07:28) Awakening the Immune System

Efforts to stimulate innate immune cells to detect and expose tumors.

(00:10:54) The Cancer Signal

Discovery of cancer-derived DNA signals that alert the immune system.

(00:13:01) Cancer’s Evasion Mechanism

How tumors destroy immune signals to hide from detection.

(00:14:26) ENPP1 Enzyme

Identification of ENPP1 as the enzyme enabling immune evasion.

(00:15:22) Balancing Immunity and Safety

Role of ENPP1 in autoimmunity and the challenge of targeting it safely.

(00:19:30) ENPP1 Inhibitors

Development of molecules to block ENPP1 and enhance immune signaling.

(00:24:55) Preclinical Findings

The promising results against aggressive solid tumors in animal studies

(00:28:05) From Lab to Clinic

The progress toward FDA approval and preparation for human testing.

(00:31:04) Future In a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: innovation, collaboration, and the outlook for cancer treatment.

(00:33:14) Conclusion

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On our 300th episode, Stanford Hoover Institution Director and former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice talks about her return to Stanford after years in government and the impact she sees rapidly advancing technologies having on democracy and public policy. She says the future demands greater collaboration among industry, academia, and government to ensure promising fields like quantum computing and AI are used for the greatest good—in education, medicine, and the sciences. We are in a race that we must win, Rice tells host Russ Altman on this special episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Condoleezza Rice

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Condoleezza Rice, former U.S. Secretary of State and a professor of political science and political economy at Stanford University.

(00:04:08) Returning to Stanford

Why Condoleezza returned to academia after serving as Secretary of State.

(00:04:50) Higher Education & Public Trust

Potential factors impacting universities' connection to the broader public.

(00:07:31) Why Research Still Matters

The importance of curiosity-driven, federally funded university research.

(00:09:32) Hoover’s Emerging Tech Initiative

An outline of the Hoover Institution’s Tech Initiative and its policies.

(00:12:11) Uniting Scientists & Policymakers

How engineers and researchers are engaging with policy and ethics.

(00:13:41) The Race For Innovation

Emerging themes and key enablers in the technology innovation race.

(00:19:17) Industry in the Lead

How private companies are now the primary drivers of innovation.

(00:22:02) Global Tech & National Interests

The tension between globalized tech firms and U.S. policy interests

(00:24:35) AI & Education

Using AI as a tool to enhance teaching and critical thinking in students.

(00:28:30) Students Driving Policy

The contribution students are making to Hoover’s tech policy work.

(00:29:23) Future In a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: hope, innovation, time, humanity, and alternate careers.

(00:31:09) Conclusion

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Tune in on Friday, November 7th to listen to our 300th episode with a very special guest.

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About a year ago, a research team at Stanford Engineering led by Guosong Hong published a paper about their work to use a common food dye to make mouse skin transparent. Their findings made a big splash and have the potential to provide a range of benefits in health care. You can imagine that if we have the ability to see what’s going on under the skin without having to cut into it, or use radiation to get a clear look, this could improve everything from invasive biopsies to painful blood draws. We hope you’ll tune in again and enjoy.

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Stanford Profile: Guosong Hong
Guosong's Lab: THE HONG LAB

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces Guosong Hong, an expert in physics, material science, and biology from Stanford University.

(00:01:52) Material Science Meets Neuroscience

How Guosong’s research blends nanomaterials and brain science.

(00:03:00) Why Tissue Isn’t Transparent

The challenge of light penetration in biological tissues.

(00:04:54) A New Approach to Tissue Clearing

The physics behind tissue transparency and refractive index manipulation.

(00:07:57) UV Light and Transparency

How manipulating UV absorption can align refractive indexes.

(00:10:16) First Experiments and Results

Initial tests that demonstrate successful tissue clearing.

(00:12:19) Applications in Medicine

The potential of transparent tissues in dermatology and medical imaging.

(00:14:36) Testing on Live Tissue

The results of testing transparency techniques on live mice.

(00:18:30) Transparency in Nature

How some species have naturally transparent tissue.

(00:19:52) Human Eye and Protein Transparency

The unique proteins that keep our lenses clear using similar physics.

(00:22:24) Wireless Light Inside the Body

Developing ultrasound-activated light sources for tissue imaging.

(00:24:55) Precision of Ultrasound Light

How precisely ultrasound can trigger tiny particles to emit light.

(00:28:14) Conclusion

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Clinician-scientist Jill Helms is an expert on healing. Until about age 30, people heal easily, she says, but later on, not so well. Regenerative medicine suggests avenues for improvement, she promises. Her research focuses on understanding the physical and molecular processes of healing to design better therapies. One approach awakens “sleeper” stem cells to aid healing, a new drug in trial regenerates bone, and another avenue targets infections that appear near medical devices using gum-like tissues that create sealing barriers. In many ways, nature remains our best model for healing, Helms tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Jill Helms

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Jill Helms, a professor of surgery at Stanford University.

(00:03:42) Why Study Wound Healing

Jill shares what led her to explore how the body repairs itself after injury.

(00:04:23) How Healing Works

Explanation of physical signals, stem cells, and the stages of tissue repair.

(00:07:23) Healing Declines with Age

How healing quality and speed drop significantly after age thirty.

(00:10:48) Physical vs. Biological Signals

The biological and physical signals that work together to guide healing.

(00:13:21) Regenerative Medicine

Therapies designed to restore healing capacity and accelerate repair.

(00:16:55) Infection and Implants

Challenges of preventing infections around skin penetrating medical devices.

(00:21:54) Nature’s Blueprint

Using biological models to inspire self-renewing wound interfaces.

(00:26:19) Biomimicry and Evolutionary Insight

What scientists are learning from animals to inform human tissue repair.

(00:30:51) Future In a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: scientific curiosity, young researchers, and supportive environments.

(00:33:04) Conclusion

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Bioengineer Michael Fischbach studies alternative vaccine delivery methods, like self-administered creams with no needles, health professionals, or side effects. He teases a day when vaccines that don’t make you feel bad come in the mail in ketchup-style packets. Such innovations would greatly improve vaccine uptake, especially in developing countries, and speed global response to novel viruses. It would change how we think about vaccines, Fischbach tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Michael Fischbach

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Michael Fischbach, a professor of bioengineering at Stanford University.

(00:04:24) Cream-Based Vaccines

The discovery that revealed the skin’s ability to spark systemic immunity.

(00:07:36) Engineering Immunity

Modifying staph epidermidis to carry antigens and test immune response.

(00:09:38) Tumor Regression

How engineered bacteria triggered tumor-killing immunity in mice.

(00:12:53) Antibody Discovery

Evidence that skin exposure can generate long-lasting antibodies.

(00:17:02) Antibody Response in Humans

Whether humans show antibody responses to their own skin bacteria.

(00:18:42) Turning Bacteria into Vaccines

Embedding harmless pathogen fragments into bacterial surface proteins.

(00:20:55) Immunity Without Shots

How mice achieved vaccine-level immunity through topical application.

(00:24:00) Reimagining Vaccine Delivery

The potential for self-applied, needle-free, and multiplexed vaccines.

(00:26:50) Mechanism Behind Skin Immunity

How skin immune cells may constantly sample microbes for defence.

(00:28:14) Next Steps in Development

The path toward testing safety, dosage, and delivery in higher models.

(00:29:57) Choosing Vaccine Targets

Viruses and diseases that could be targets for early skin-based vaccines.

(00:31:11) Safety and Reversibility

Ensuring safety with reversible bacteria and limited trial participants.

(00:33:04) Transitioning to Biotech

Transitioning research from Stanford to large-scale biotech development.

(00:34:31) Future In a Minute

Rapidfire Q&A: creative science, vaccine innovation, and biology’s future.

(00:36:56) Conclusion

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As fall arrives, many regions experience dramatic weather shifts—think early frosts, storms, or unusual temperature swings. Last year, we sat down with Noah Diffenbaugh, an expert on climate change. We discussed the fact that extreme weather is becoming more frequent. Noah pointed out that there are still things we can do to mitigate the impacts of severe weather. We hope you’ll take another listen to this episode to learn about the solutions that are within reach.

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Stanford Profile: Noah Diffenbaugh

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Noah Diffenbaugh, a professor of Earth System Science at Stanford University.

(00:02:07) Global Impact of Climate Change

The areas where climate change is having the greatest impact globally.

(00:03:00) Climate Phenomena and Humans

Connecting climate science with localized human impacts.

(00:05:49) Understanding Climate Forcing

The concept of "climate forcing" and its significance in Noah’s research.

(00:09:34) Geoengineering & Pinatubo Cooling

The risks associated with reflecting sunlight to cool the planet.

(00:13:23) Climate Interventions

Why manipulating the climate could have unforeseen outcomes.

(00:20:51) Adaptation to Climate Change

Humanity’s response to climate change as impacts accelerate.

(00:24:53) Increase in Extreme Events

Why extreme climate events are more frequent and severe.

(00:28:08) AI in Climate Research

How AI enables testable, data-driven climate predictions.

(00:32:02) Conclusion

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Rishee Jain is an engineer and an expert in the built environment – the manmade structures of modern life. The future, Jain says, will be a place where everyone has a safe, comfortable place to live and work, and the built environment adapts in real time to our needs. Jain is now exploring cool roofs that reflect heat to lower indoor temperatures and improve occupants’ well-being. We once believed that humans bent infrastructure to our needs, but now we understand how infrastructure changes us, too, Jain tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’sThe Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Rishee Jain

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Rishee Jain, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University.

(00:03:50) Focus on Built Urban Environments

Rishee Jain shares how early hands-on projects inspired his career.

(00:04:51) The Social Dimension

Why infrastructure must account for human behavior and social needs.

(00:07:03) How Infrastructure Shapes Us

Examples of sidewalks, bike lanes, and design choices influencing wellbeing.

(00:09:11) Defining Urban Form

Defining urban form as design across buildings, neighborhoods, and cities.

(00:10:58) Decision-Makers at Every Level

How policymakers, communities, and building owners shape design.

(00:13:38) Dynamic Infrastructure

The shift from static infrastructure to adaptable, responsive systems.

(00:15:19) Levers of Change

Using thermal and lighting design as key factors for wellbeing.

(00:19:36) Climate & Extreme Heat

The impact of extreme heat on building design and vulnerable communities.

(00:23:25) Measuring Impact

Studies using wearables to track the benefits of infrastructure interventions.

(00:24:25) Community Feedback

The optimistic research results on infrastructure interventions.

(00:26:18) Retrofitting Old Buildings

Challenges in adapting existing infrastructure with minimal disruption.

(00:31:12) Future in a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: hope, infrastructure, research needs, and lessons from history.

(00:33:01) Conclusion

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In a special Future of Everything podcast episode recorded live before a studio audience in New York, host Russ Altman talks to three authorities on the innovation economy. His guests – Fei-Fei Li, professor of computer science and co-director of the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI); Susan Athey, professor and authority on the economics of technology; and Neale Mahoney, Trione Director of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research – bring their distinct-but-complementary perspectives to a discussion on how artificial intelligence is reshaping our economy.

Athey emphasizes that both AI broadly and AI-based coding tools specifically are general-purpose technologies, like electricity or the personal computer, whose impact may be felt quickly in certain sectors but much more slowly in aggregate. She tells how solving one bottleneck to implementation often reveals others – whether in digitization, adoption costs, or the need to restructure work and organizations. Mahoney draws on economic history to say we are in a “veil of ignorance” moment with regard to societal impacts. We cannot know whose jobs will be disrupted, he says, but we can invest in safety nets now to ease the transition. Li cautions against assuming AI will replace people. Instead, she speaks of AI as a “horizontal technology” that could supercharge human creativity – but only if it is properly rooted in science, not science fiction.

Collectively, the panel calls on policymakers, educators, researchers, and entrepreneurs to steer AI toward what they call “human-centered goals” – protecting workers, growing opportunities, and supercharging education and medicine – to deliver broad and shared prosperity. It’s the future of the innovation economy on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Fei-Fei Li
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Stanford Profile: Neale Mahoney

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces live guests Fei-Fei Li, Susan Athey, and Neale Mahoney, professors from Stanford University.

(00:02:37) Lessons from Past Technology

Comparing AI with past technologies and the bottlenecks to their adoption.

(00:06:29) Jobs & Safety Nets

The uncertainty of AI’s labor impact and investing in social protections.

(00:08:29) Augmentation vs. Replacement

Using AI as a tool to enhance, not replace, human work and creativity.

(00:11:41) Human-Centered AI & Policy

Shaping AI through universities, government, and global collaboration.

(00:15:58) Education Revolution

The potential for AI to revolutionize education by focusing on human capital.

(00:18:58) Balancing Regulation & Innovation

Balancing pragmatic, evidence-based AI policy with entrepreneurship.

(00:22:22) Competition & Market Power

The risks of monopolies and the role of open models in fair pricing.

(00:25:22) America’s Economic Funk

How social media and innovation are shaping America’s declining optimism.

(00:27:05) Future in a Minute

The panel shares what gives them hope and what they’d study today.

(00:30:49) Conclusion

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About a year ago we released an episode on the future of ultrafast electronics and it quickly became one of our most popular episodes on YouTube. We’re excited to re-share it with you today. Physicist Matthias Kling walks us through his study of photons and the things science can do with ultrafast pulses of x-rays. The knowledge he’s gaining could reshape fields like materials science, artificial intelligence, ultrafast and quantum computers, and medical diagnostics. We hope you’ll tune in again wherever you get your podcasts. And as a reminder, we post full video versions of each of our episodes on YouTube every Friday, so be sure to check those out if you haven’t already.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Matthias Kling, a professor of photon science and applied physics at Stanford University.

(00:02:21) Ultrafast Electronics

New technologies enabling ultrafast photonics and electronics.

(00:05:40) Attosecond Science Applications

Capturing electron and molecular movements with attosecond pulses.

(00:10:23) Real-Time Molecular Measurements

How free-electron lasers enable detailed, atom-specific measurements.

(00:15:02) Free-Electron Lasers

Using light waves to capture images of molecules at room temperature.

(00:22:28) Electronics at Light Speed

Whether attosecond science could enable computing at petahertz speed.

(00:26:24) Lightwaves & Quantum Computing

How lightwave electronics could allow for energy-efficient quantum computers.

(00:29:29) AI Meets Ultrafast Science

AI's role in optimizing research and data collection in ultrafast electronics.

(00:31:47) The Future of Ultafast Electronics

How attosecond science, computing, and AI converge to accelerate innovation.

(00:35:25) Conclusion

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Allergist Tina Sindher acknowledges that allergies may be affecting more people worldwide, influenced by a combination of factors such as environmental changes, modern lifestyles, urbanization, and evolving dietary habits. Prevention is playing catch-up, and promising new strategies include earlier food introduction than was popular only a few years ago. On the treatment front, hopes are rising for immunotherapies and a new prescription medicine, omalizumab, that addresses multiple allergens at once. While no single approach helps all, these strategies could allow millions worldwide to better manage their allergies, Sindher tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Tina Sindher, a professor of medicine and allergy at Stanford University.

(00:03:16) Inside the Immune Response

Why our immune systems trigger allergic reactions.

(00:04:57) Genes vs. Environment

Whether genetics or environment drive allergy risks.

(00:08:05) The Microbiome Factor

The role of the microbiome and early exposures in prevention.

(00:09:17) A Global Allergy Surge

How global allergy trends reveal rising health challenges.

(00:11:56) Potent Food Triggers

Why some foods cause stronger and faster reactions.

(00:13:49) Emerging Risks

Whether Alpha-Gal signals new emerging allergy risks.

(00:15:47) Multi-Food Allergies

How multi-food allergies complicate diagnosis and treatment.

(00:19:02) Preventing Allergies Early

Why early food introduction may help prevent allergies.

(00:20:54) Skin’s Role in Allergies

The importance of infant skin health in allergy development.

(00:23:39) Testing Limitations

The limits of current testing methods to truly diagnose allergies.

(00:25:13) Standard Testing Procedure

The current methodologies deployed when testing for allergies.

(00:27:28) New Therapies

How new therapies like OIT and Xolair are reshaping treatment.

(00:31:50) The Future of Allergies

The potential of combined therapies to aid in allergy treatment.

(00:34:33) Managing Seasonal Allergies

How to manage seasonal allergies effectively at home.

(00:37:08) Conclusion

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Endocrinologist Joy Wu says that osteoporosis can affect more than half of women and a quarter of men over 50 – often without symptoms until a fracture changes everything, leading to a loss of mobility and independence. Wu explains why bones weaken with age and how to strengthen them through exercise and smart medicine. Her lab is exploring innovative drugs and turning skin cells into new bone-forming osteoblasts. We’re delving into the great mystery of building new bone and making old bones stronger, Wu tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Joy Wu

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Joy Wu, a professor of endocrinology at Stanford University.

(00:03:06) Path into Bone Research

Joy shares her path from endocrinology training to studying bone biology.

(00:04:10) Calcium and Vitamin D in Bone Health

How these nutrients build strong bones and prevent fractures.

(00:05:13) Why Bones Heal Themselves

Why bones can regenerate so effectively compared to other tissues.

(00:06:26) Can We Feel Our Bones?

The mystery of weather-related aches at old fracture sites.

(00:07:23) Understanding Osteoporosis

The prevalence of osteoporosis in the elderly, especially in women.

(00:08:34) Diagnosing Osteoporosis

Why osteoporosis often goes undetected until fractures appear.

(00:09:36) Risk Factors Beyond Aging

The risk factors outside of aging that can lead to osteoporosis.

(00:10:48) Steroids, Exercise, and Bone Health

The impact of systemic steroids and exercise on bone health.

(00:12:40) Height Loss and Spine Fractures

How shrinking height in older adults can signal vertebral fractures.

(00:14:46) Cancer and Bone Health

How cancers spread to bone and how therapies affect bone health.

(00:17:09) Medications for Osteoporosis

The complexities of using certain medications in cancer patients with bone loss.

(00:20:10) Hormones and Bone Growth

Using SERMs to protect bone while reducing breast cancer risk.

(00:21:45) Stem Cells and Building Bone

Research on reprogramming skin cells into bone-forming osteoblasts.

(00:23:31) Why Treatments Plateau

Why bone-building drugs stop working after two years.

(00:24:49) Challenges in Bone Regeneration

The potential of Wnt signalling and stem cells in lasting bone regeneration.

(00:28:09) Validating Osteoblasts in the Lab

Testing whether reprogrammed cells behave like natural osteoblasts.

(00:29:11) Future Outlook for Bone Biology

The limits of bone cell replication and what it means for future therapies.

(00:30:10) Advice for Strong Bones

Practical do’s and don’ts for optimizing bone health.

(00:32:41) Conclusion

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It’s still summer, but many children and teachers are back in school or preparing to return to the classroom. About a year ago, we sat down with Rebecca Silverman, a professor of education, to discuss the complex process of learning how to read. Professor Silverman unpacks the challenges of decoding and comprehension, two things that are vital for reading instruction to be successful. Whether you’re supporting a new reader or curious about the hurdles new readers must overcome, we hope you’ll tune in to this conversation again.

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Stanford Profile: Rebecca D. Silverman

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces Rebecca Silverman, a professor of education at Stanford University.

(00:01:59) Why Reading Is Hard

Why reading is a complex, non-natural skill essential for education.

(00:03:14) Decoding & Comprehension

The core components of reading and the challenges of comprehension.

(00:05:07) Improving Comprehension

Why improving comprehension takes years and sustained support.

(00:06:40) Variability in Learning

Why some kids excel, others need help, and many struggle.

(00:08:26) Nature vs. Nurture

How genetics and environment combine to shape reading ability.

(00:09:17) Reading Across Languages

How different writing systems affect how quickly kids learn to read.

(00:10:57) Identifying Struggling Readers

Research challenges in identifying decoding and comprehension issues.

(00:14:42) Paper vs. Digital Reading

Key differences between reading on paper and screens.

(00:18:04) Technology in Literacy

How technology is effective for decoding but less so for comprehension.

(00:19:58) Family Influence

The importance of family and storytelling in literacy development.

(00:21:52) Adult Literacy

Whether adults can learn to read as easily as young learners.

(00:23:13) Challenges For Teachers

The challenges teachers face in teaching literacy alongside multiple subjects

(00:25:15) The Future of AI in Reading

The potential of AI and digital tools to help tailor literacy support.

(00:28:50) Conclusion

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Sociologist David Grusky argues that all the usual debilitating debates about inequality can be sidestepped if we focus on the worst forms – those rooted in cronyism, racism, and nepotism – that everyone can agree are nothing more than a pernicious transfer of income or wealth from the powerless to the powerful. To fight this “worst form” of inequality, Grusky shows how powerful interventions can be identified with new quasi-experimental methods, including those that use naturally occurring or AI-generated doppelgangers instead of very expensive randomized controlled trials. “We’re leaving a lot of talent on the table. And the cost is profound,” Grusky tells host Russ Altman about the price of inequality on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest David Grusky, a professor of sociology at Stanford University.

(00:02:57) Studying Inequality

David explains his motivation for studying inequality.

(00:03:44) What Is Good Inequality?

How productive contributions create justifiable inequalities in income.

(00:04:48) Example of Bad Inequality

When legitimate productivity becomes mixed with exploitation

(00:07:22) Widespread Nature of Bad Inequality

Different groups within society who benefit from bad inequality.

(00:10:58) The Birth Lottery Problem

How the circumstances of birth create hidden advantages.

(00:13:15) Status & Social Class Inequality

Whether prestige and non-financial rewards intersect with inequality.

(00:14:52) Good Jobs vs. Bad Jobs

What constitutes a good job in an era of rapid technological change.

(00:16:20) The Limits of Progressive Taxation

Why progressive taxation fails to distinguish between inequalities.

(00:21:01) Predistribution Solutions

Preventing bad inequality before it occurs with institutional reform.

(00:24:31) Reform Challenges

How entrenched interests and weak evaluation block reform progress.

(00:25:54) Inequality Research Tools

Quasi-experimental methods that evaluate inequality interventions.

(00:28:39) AI Clones for Policy Testing

Using large language models to simulate individuals and test policy ideas.

(00:33:55) Conclusion

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Neurologist Michelle Monje studies the close relationship between cancer and the nervous system, particularly in an aggressive brain cancer that often strikes in childhood. Her research shows that the cancer cells are electrically integrated into the brain itself and these connections actually help the cancer to grow. Monje and collaborators have now developed an immunotherapy that has shown great promise in mice and early human trials. One patient had a “complete response” and is cancer-free four years after treatment, Monje tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Michelle Monje

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Michelle Monje, a professor of pediatric neurology at Stanford University.

(00:03:39) Focus on Cancer Research

Monje’s clinical observations led to exploring cancer-neuron interactions.

(00:05:28) Neurons and Glial Cells

The role of neurons and glial cells in brain function and disease.

(00:08:32) Gliomas in Children

An overview of gliomas and their origins in glial precursor cells.

(00:10:12) Rethinking Brain Cancer Behavior

How gliomas don’t just grow—they integrate with brain circuits.

(00:14:49) Mechanisms of Tumor Growth

Two primary mechanisms by which cancer exploits the nervous system.

(00:16:32) Synaptic Integration of Cancer Cells

The discovery that glioma cells form synapses with neurons.

(00:20:06) CAR T-Cell Therapy

Adapting CAR T-cell immunotherapy to target brain tumors.

(00:22:52) Targeting GD2 Antigen

Identification of a surface marker enables precision CAR T-cell therapy.

(00:24:35) Immune Access to the Brain

The ability of CAR T-cells to reach the brain, despite prior understanding.

(00:26:16) First Clinical Trial Results

The significant tumor reduction and response from CAR T-cell therapy.

(00:28:21) Combined Therapies

Pairing immune therapy with neural signaling blockers for better outcomes.

(00:30:35) Conclusion

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It’s summertime, and for many of us that means a recreational trip to the beach or coast. Worldwide, billions of people live year-round near a coastline, and these settings can be responsible for everything from buffering storms and preventing sea-level rise to fishing, flourishing tourism, and trade. For all these reasons, the acceleration of coastal erosion is an important topic to understand. A couple years ago, we sat down with Jane Willenbring, a geoscientist who says that by studying what coastlines looked like long ago, we can better understand where they are headed and how to protect them. No matter where you live, we hope you’ll tune in to better understand the forces behind coastal erosion.

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Stanford Profile: Jane Kathryn Willenbring

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Jane Willenbring, a professor of Earth systems at Stanford University.

(00:01:30) What Causes Coastal Erosion

The natural processes that build up or break down coastal regions.

(00:02:58) When Coastlines Grow

Where and how coastal buildup can still occur, especially near rivers.

(00:04:11) Measuring Coastal Erosion

The technological and geological measurements used to track change.

(00:06:12) Dating Coastal Rock

Using cosmic radiation to help measure long-term erosion rates.

(00:07:48) Archaeology & Shifting Settlements

How ancient coastal settlements reflect environmental change.

(00:09:03) Tectonics vs. Erosion

Differentiating between sea level rise and tectonic land uplift.

(00:10:09) Infrastructure at Risk

The dangers of coastal erosion to critical infrastructure.

(00:12:12) Science Meets Policy

Why long-term erosion timelines complicate policymaking.

(00:14:11) Real-World Responses

Examples of successes and failures due to policy inaction.

(00:15:14) Disadvantages of Building Bridges

The unintended effects of building bridges and barriers.

(00:16:11) “Unzipping” Landscapes

How rivers and streams carve landscapes from the inside out.

(00:17:47) Sea Level Rise & Coastal Changes

The mechanics of sea level rise and how it increases erosion.

(00:19:25) Beaches as Natural Defenses

Why wide beaches are crucial to the protection of coastlines.

(00:20:42) Cliff Collapse & Beaches

What happens when sand is lost due to erosion or human intervention.

(00:22:11) The Social Impacts of Coastal Erosion

The effects of coastal erosion on different socioeconomic classes

(00:24:11) Public Health Risks of Coastal Erosion

The different health and infrastructure risks posed by unmanaged erosion.

(00:26:05) Vegetation, Kelp, & Green Solutions

The potential for vegetation and kelp to help soften coastal impact.

(0028:43) Conclusion

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Chemical engineer Beth Sattely studies the intricate chemistry of plant life. Plants are more than food, she says: They are living chemical factories churning out molecules that help plants do everything from adapting to climate change to fighting infections – or even producing valuable new cancer drugs. Lately, Sattely’s lab is working on ways to make crops more resilient to engineer more sustainable foods and environments. Some of our most exciting technologies already exist in nature, we just have to find them, Sattely tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Elizabeth Sattely

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Beth Sattely, a professor of chemical engineering at Stanford University.

(00:03:10) Path to Plant Metabolism

How chemistry and gardening led to a career in plant science.

(00:03:54) Environmental and Human Health

Using plants to improve both the planet and people’s well-being.

(00:04:53) Engineering Climate-Resilient Crops

Making crops more sustainable and nutritious amid global change.

(00:05:58) Old vs. New Crop Engineering

Comparing traditional breeding with modern molecular tools.

(00:08:04) Industry and Long-Term Food Security

The gap between short-term market goals and long-term environmental needs.

(00:09:13) Tomato Chemistry

Tomatoes reveal how plants produce protective molecules under stress.

(00:12:26) Plant “Vaccines” and Immune Signaling

How plants communicate threats internally and mount chemical defenses.

(00:14:14) Citrus Greening and Limonoids

The potential role of limonoid research on citrus greening.

(00:16:59) Plants Making Medicine

How plants like Yew trees naturally produce cancer drugs like Taxol.

(00:21:19) Diet as Preventative Medicine

Identifying plant molecules to understand their preventative health effects.

(00:24:36) Food Allergies and Plant Chemistry

Why the immune system tolerates some foods and rejects others.

(00:26:42) Understanding Tolerance in Immunity

Possibility of reintroducing tolerance through partial molecular exposure.

(00:28:02) Engineering Healthier Plants

Potential for designing plants to enhance micronutrient content.

(00:29:04) Training the Next Generation

Beth celebrates her students’ role in shaping a sustainable future.

(00:30:39) Conclusion

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Biologist Lauren O’Connell studies poisonous frogs, but not just the toxins that make them dangerous. She also studies the neuroscience of their complex parenting. She’s learned that tadpoles recognize their mothers by smell and do a “begging dance” when hungry, and that the frogs produce a protein that protects them from their own poisonous chemistry. That protein could help treat overdoses in humans, O’Connell tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Lauren O'Connell

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Lauren O’Connell, a professor of biology at Stanford.

(00:03:34) Why Poison Frogs?

Lauren shares what led her to focus her research on poison frogs

(00:05:16) Parenting Styles in Frogs

The diverse parental strategies across frog species.

(00:08:36) The Role of Opioids in Parenting

The signalling factors in the frog brain that regulate bonding,

(00:10:05) Hormones & Gender Roles

The influence of testosterone and estrogen on caregiving behaviors.

(00:11:34) Implications for Human Research

How studying frogs reveals basic neural blueprints of parenting.

(00:13:23) Tadpole’s Communication

The neural circuits behind tadpole communication and behavior.

(00:15:10) Autism Gene Experiments in Tadpoles

How genetic changes can alter tadpole social communication

(00:17:47) Transparency & Tadpole Biology

Observing tadpole behavior and neural activity via their transparency.

(00:20:59) Tracking Frogs in the Wild

Research on how frogs navigate back to their tadpoles

(00:24:31) Male vs. Female Navigation

Testosterone’s influence on the ability to navigate more efficiently.

(00:25:38) Toxin Tolerance Mechanisms

A toxin-binding protein that allows frogs to avoid self-poisoning.

(00:29:01) Origin of the Toxins

The origin and mechanisms of the toxins found in frogs.

(00:31:15) The Value of Basic Science

How studying fundamental science can lead to unexpected applications.

(00:33:10) Conclusion

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We’re in the midst of summer and we know that power outages can happen more frequently during this season due to higher temperatures and an increased demand for electricity. A couple years ago we sat down with Ram Rajagopal, an expert in the future of electrical power. He shared a few ways our existing system of massive power plants is slowly but surely giving way to a much leaner, decentralized system of small-scale power generation. Ram refers to this as a move from an “infrastructure-centric” model to a “human-centric” grid — one that will be much smarter, more inclusive and better able to adapt to the needs of individual users. It’s a topic that impacts all of us and we hope you’ll tune in again for a refresher on how the electric grid works and how it’s evolving.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Ram Rajagopal, a professor of engineering at Stanford University.

(00:03:47) What is Powernet?

Outline of Powernet—a decentralized, user-focused power grid vision.

(00:05:34) Behind-the-Meter Intelligence

Aiming to align supply and demand by understanding consumer needs.

(00:07:58) Smart Dimmers & Data Privacy

Balancing energy efficiency with privacy concerns in home automation.

(00:10:05) Aggregators & Local Control

Future energy sharing may rely on local devices and trusted middlemen.

(00:11:50) Human Motivation & Energy Behavior

Why both ethics and cost will drive user participation in energy decisions.

(00:14:02) Teaching Energy Awareness

A program teaching middle-schoolers to analyze home energy use.

(00:16:17) Automating Energy Use

Behavioral and systems changes to help align wellness with grid needs.

(00:18:58) Grid Shift: Renewables & Storage

How evolving the grid demands real-time monitoring and local resilience.

(00:19:57) Sensors & Operational Safety

The sensing technology that ensures transformers and lines stay within limits.

(00:21:27) Smart Dairy: Cooling Cows with AI

How smart fans and storage reduced a dairy farm’s energy output.

(00:23:28) Building Trust with Farmers

The collaborative process behind deploying the grid tech at the farm.

(00:25:01) Smart Ventilation at Scale

Scaling the ventilation tech tested on farms to improve public health spaces.

(00:26:06) Equity in the Human-Centered Grid

How price signals risk overburdening the most vulnerable communities.

(00:28:22) Conclusion

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Law professor Daniel Ho says that the law is ripe for AI innovation, but a lot is at stake. Naive application of AI can lead to rampant hallucinations in over 80 percent of legal queries, so much research remains to be done in the field. Ho tells how California counties recently used AI to find and redact racist property covenants from their laws—a task predicted to take years, reduced to days. AI can be quite good at removing “regulatory sludge,” Ho tells host Russ Altman in teasing the expanding promise of AI in the law in this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast

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Stanford Profile: Daniel Ho

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces Dan Ho, a professor of law and computer science at Stanford University.

(00:03:36) Journey into Law and AI

Dan shares his early interest in institutions and social reform.

(00:04:52) Misconceptions About Law

Common misunderstandings about the focus of legal work.

(00:06:44) Using LLMs for Legal Advice

The current capabilities and limits of LLMs in legal settings.

(00:09:09) Identifying Legislation with AI

Building a model to identify and redact racial covenants in deeds.

(00:13:09) OCR and Multimodal Models

Improving outdated OCR systems using multimodal AI.

(00:14:08) STARA: AI for Statute Search

A tool to scan laws for outdated or excessive requirements.

(00:16:18) AI and Redundant Reports

Using STARA to find obsolete legislatively mandated reports

(00:20:10) Verifying AI Accuracy

Comparing STARA results with federal data to ensure reliability.

(00:22:10) Outdated or Wasteful Regulations

Examples of bureaucratic redundancies that hinder legal process.

(00:23:38) Consolidating Reports with AI

How different bureaucrats deal with outdated legislative reports.

(00:26:14) Open vs. Closed AI Models

The risks, benefits, and transparency in legal AI tools.

(00:32:14) Replacing Lawyers with Legal Chatbot

Why general-purpose legal chatbots aren't ready to replace lawyers.

(00:34:58) Conclusion

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Psychiatrist Carolyn Rodriguez studies hoarding disorder and says that all of us have attachments to our possessions. But for many, these attachments can disrupt daily life and even pose health risks. For those with loved ones who struggle with hoarding disorder, she says treatments exist, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Lately, she’s been studying how virtual reality can augment CBT through virtual discarding practice and ways brain stimulation may improve symptoms. But, Rodriguez says, never underestimate the value of empathy for those in need of help, as she tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Carolyn Rodriguez

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces Carolyn Rodriguez, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at Stanford University.

(00:02:47) Motivation to Study Hoarding Disorder

Why Carolyn chose to focus her research on hoarding disorder.

(00:03:44) Collecting Versus Hoarding

Distinguishing between normal behavior and clinically significant hoarding.

(00:05:47) Prevalence of Hoarding Disorder

The universality and pervasiveness of hoarding disorder.

(00:07:11) The Brain Science Behind Hoarding

Early neuroscience findings on attachment and discarding behavior.

(00:08:47) Dopamine and Excessive Acquisition

The connection between hoarding and potential dopamine reward pathways.

(00:09:55) Risk Factors and Cognitive Challenges

Personality traits, genetics, and processing difficulties involved in hoarding.

(00:11:14) Gender Differences and Insight Issues

Gender prevalence in treatment-seeking and the concept of anosognosia.

(00:12:35) The “Why” Behind Hoarding

How motivations and emotional attachments influence behavior.

(00:13:50) Onset and Progression of Disorder

Typical onset age, aging effects, and early warning signs.

(00:15:05) Historical References to Hoarding

Accounts from ancient literature of hoarding-like behavior

(00:17:16) Attachment to Objects

The emotional, aesthetic, and identity-based reasons people retain objects.

(00:20:45) Current Treatment Options

The treatment landscape, including lack of medications and focus on CBT.

(00:22:30) Chronic Nature of Hoarding Disorder

Framing hoarding as a long-term condition with hopeful outcomes.

(00:23:08) Virtual Reality for Treatment

A study on using VR to safely practice letting go of personal items.

(00:25:58) Neuromodulation Research

Using non-invasive brain stimulation to reduce acquisition urges.

(00:27:00) Advice for Individuals and Families

The importance of empathy and self-care for individuals and caregivers.

(00:28:47) Conclusion

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Summer is in full swing and we hope you are enjoying it with family and friends. As we spend more time outdoors, it’s an opportune moment to revisit a conversation we had with Zakia Rahman, a dermatologist who shared a number of helpful measures we can take to care for our skin. She reminds us that skincare is about more than vanity — it’s about vitality. We hope you’ll tune in again and enjoy.

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Stanford Profile: Zakia Rahman
Stanford Center on Longevity

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altman introduces guest Zakia Rahman, a professor of dermatology at Stanford University.

(00:01:57) The Impact of Digital Technologies

How digital media shapes dermatology and self-perception

(00:03:13) Effects of Self-Image on Dermatology

Balancing vanity and vitality in modern skincare trends.

(00:04:38) The Role of Lasers in Dermatology

The uses and types of laser technology in dermatology.

(00:08:17) Lasers in Skin Cancer Treatment

How laser technology aids in the treatment and prevention of skin cancer.

(00:09:44) Progress in Skin Cancer

Skin cancer prevention and the effectiveness of sun protection measures.

(00:13:02) Effectiveness of Physical Sun Protection

Guidance on protecting from UV damage using physical sun protection.

(00:18:27) Ethnic Differences in Skin Health

Differences in skin health and sun exposure across ethnic groups.

(00:20:30) Tanning: Protective or Problematic?

The science behind tanning and the skin’s role as an endocrine organ.

(00:23:16) Aesthetics and Culture in Skin Care

How cultural perceptions of beauty intersect with skincare and health.

(00:25:38) Therapeutic Effects of Light

Potential benefits of red light exposure from masks and sunsets.

(00:28:28) Conclusion

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Guest Lisa Goldman Rosas is an authority on public health who says that food insecurity goes deeper than hunger and can lead to chronic diabetes, heart disease, and even anxiety and depression. Rosas champions a concept she calls “nutrition security,” which focuses on food’s health value over mere calories. She discusses her work with “Recipe4Health,” an Alameda County-led program that issues produce prescriptions, offers health coaching, and integrates electronic health records to improve diets and well-being. Food is medicine, Rosas tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Lisa Goldman Rosas
Recipe4Health

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces Lisa Goldman Rosas, a professor of epidemiology and population health, medicine and pediatrics at Stanford University.

(00:03:56) Journey Into Food & Health

Lisa’s path from environmental science to food security and medicine.

(00:05:54) Food Insecurity vs. Nutrition Security

Distinguishing between food insecurity and nutrition security.

(00:07:12) Food Choices Under Pressure

Factors that contribute to food insecurity in families.

(00:09:03) Health Impacts of Food Insecurity

Links between food insecurity, chronic illness and mental health issues.

(00:12:04) Government & Policy Support

How programs like SNAP and WIC support food access.

(00:14:15) Food as Medicine

A growing movement connecting healthcare with nutrition support.

(00:17:34) Trial Periods & Lasting Impact

Why short-term programs can help families discover healthier habits.

(00:21:27) What is Recipe4Health?

An outline of a clinic-based produce and behavior prescription program.

(00:24:07) When Disease Causes Food Insecurity

How expensive chronic disease can push people into food insecurity.

(00:24:23) Medicaid Waivers for Food Prescriptions

The state level policy shifts that allow food as a reimbursable health expense.

(00:26:27) Private Sector’s Role in Food Insecurity

How companies are getting involved in promoting healthy foods.

(00:27:34) Simple Tips for Eating Better

Strategies to make small but impactful changes for eating healthier.

(00:30:39) Conclusion

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Everyone has goals — some are monumental, others modest — but every goal matters. Join guest Szu-chi Huang, an expert in sustaining enthusiasm for individuals, customers, and employees across global corporations and organizations, as she delves into the science of motivation. Discover how the gap between where you are and where you want to be is bridged by a dynamic blend of psychology, sociology, behavioral economics, neuroscience, and the latest in AI. The secret to achieving your goals? Stay adaptable. If one approach falters, switch gears to keep your drive alive, Huang tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Szu-chi Huang

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces Szu-Chi Huang, professor of marketing at Stanford GSB.

(00:03:31) Studying Motivation

Szu-chi shares what led her to study motivational science

(00:04:03) Defining Motivation

Motivation as the drive to close the gap between current and ideal self.

(00:04:57) The Science of Motivation

Studying motivation through behavioral and neurological data.

(00:05:48) Why It Matters in Business

How motivation science applies to leaders, teams, and customers.

(00:06:39) Motivation Framework

The strategies needed in order to stay motivated over time.

(00:07:42) The Mindset of Motivation

The different mindsets needed throughout the stages of motivation.

(00:09:21) Motivating Kids to Choose Healthy

A Collaboration with UNICEF to study what motivates children.

(00:10:55) Gamified Coupons in Panama

A study using gamified coupons to influence children's food choices.

(00:14:26) Loyalty Programs as Motivation

How customer reward programs act as structured goal journeys.

(00:16:47) Progress Versus Purpose

The different incentives needed in each stage of loyalty programs.

(00:18:29) Retirement Saving Lessons

How financial institutions apply motivational science to long-term goals.

(00:21:12) Motivation in Social Context

The role of social connections in goal pursuit and sustaining motivation.

(00:26:10) Designing Apps for Motivation

How redesigning user interfaces can help users stay motivated.

(00:27:20) AI as a Motivation Coach

Using AI to personalize feedback across all stages of goal pursuit.

(00:30:09) Starting and Sustaining a Goal

Practical strategies for launching and sustaining a goal.

(00:31:57) Conclusion

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It’s graduation season here at Stanford and students are getting ready to collect their diplomas and take their education out into the real world. A couple years ago, we sat down with Tina Seelig, a professor in our Management Science and Engineering department who’s done a lot of research on how we can teach skills including imagination, creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship — all things that can come in handy when you’re setting out to make a positive contribution to the world. We’re re-running this episode today, so whether you’re a new grad trying to figure out your next steps, or someone simply looking for a solution to a big challenge, we hope you’ll tune in again and be inspired.

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Stanford Profile: Tina Seelig

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces Tina Seelig, professor of management science and engineering at Stanford University.

(00:02:04) Is Entrepreneurship Teachable?

Whether entrepreneurial traits can be learned or are innate.

(00:04:22) Parsing the Creative Process

Differences between imagination, creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

(00:05:52) Universality of Entrepreneurial Skills

How entrepreneurial skills apply to industries beyond tech.

(00:07:33) Teaching with Framestorming

A method to redefine problems before jumping to solutions.

(00:10:29) Framestorming vs Brainstorming

The concept of “framestorming” and why it’s critical for innovation.

(00:12:05) Inventing the Future Course

Tina’s course where students debate the ethics of emerging technologies.

(00:13:35) Creativity and Ethical Considerations

The importance of separating ideas from judgment while innovating.

(00:16:20) Anticipating the Downside

How students often identify ethical risks in technologies even experts miss.

(00:18:49) Creativity and Leadership

Why leaders need creative problem-solving and entrepreneurial thinking.

(00:19:42) Teaching Leadership

Cultivating leadership through values-driven education and training.

(00:21:01) Combatting Leadership Stereotypes

Creating diversity cohorts to show leadership comes in many forms.

(00:22:58) How to Engineer Your Own Luck

Outlining the differences between fortune, chance, and luck.

(00:25:50) The Micro-Decisions of Luck

How consistent effort and initiative lead to perceived “luck.”

(00:27:34) Conclusion

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Jason Yeatman is an expert in the neurobiology of literacy whose lab is fostering a virtuous research cycle between academia and school communities, aligning scientific inquiry with real-world needs of students, parents, and educators. His lab has developed ROAR – the Rapid Online Assessment of Reading—a gamified, web-based dyslexia screening tool. ROAR provides fast, precise, and scalable assessments, helping educators identify and get support to struggling students. We’re aligning cutting-edge reading science with the challenges teachers face every day, Yeatman tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Listen to the end to hear a question from one of our listeners for Professor Renee Zhao, as well as Professor Zhao's response.

Episode Reference Links:

Stanford Profile: Jason Yeatman
Rapid Online Assessment of Reading (ROAR)
Jason and his team just launched ROAR@Home BETA, a parent research portal. Any parent who listens can sign up for ROAR here - https://roar.stanford.edu/signup/

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces Jason Yeatman, a professor of pediatrics education and psychology at Stanford University.

(00:03:12) Why Reading?

Why Jason dedicated his career to studying reading acquisition.

(00:04:12) Are We Built to Read?

How reading is a relatively new invention using older brain systems.

(00:06:41) Reading as a Continuum

Whether reading ability is distributed like other genetic human traits.

(00:07:53) Defining Dyslexia

Reframing dyslexia as a label for support, not a binary diagnosis.

(00:10:19) Phonological Awareness

Understanding how speech sound recognition underpins reading.

(00:13:37) Nature vs. Nurture

The influence of both genetics and environment in reading ability.

(00:16:40) The Origin of ROAR

An online reading assessment tool created during the pandemic.

(00:19:06) ROAR’s Effectiveness

The accuracy in which ROAR can assess reading capability.

(00:22:45) Reading Interventions That Work

Expanding support with evidence-based interventions for all ages.

(00:25:25) Personalized Diagnoses

Tailoring interventions based on detailed individual skill diagnostics.

(00:26:36) Scaling ROAR

Scaling ROAR via an academic research-practice partnership model.

(00:29:34) Infrastructure Behind ROAR

The team and technology required to scale ROAR in schools.

(00:31:54) Future of Reading Assessment

Expanding ROAR to include other dimensions of reading development.

(00:33:44) Reading Across Languages

Why English poses more reading difficulties than many languages.

(00:35:34) Listener Q&A

New segment answering audience questions from past episodes.

(00:37:46) Conclusion

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Neurobiologist Jamie Zeitzer is an expert on sleep – or, more accurately, an expert on why so many can’t sleep. He notes that, ironically, it’s often anxiety about sleep that prevents good sleep. In short, we lose sleep over lost sleep. Wearables and other tools can help but only to a point, and medications do not induce natural sleep. Instead, he counsels consistent routines, less stimulation at bedtime, and cognitive behavioral therapy to reduce worry about insomnia. Unfortunately, you can’t work harder to get better sleep – you have to learn to relax, Zeitzer tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Jamie Zeitzer

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Jamie Zeitzer, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University.

(00:03:12) Understanding Circadian Rhythms

How the biological clock regulates sleep and other body functions.

(00:04:57) The Mystery of Sleep’s Purpose

What is still unknown about the fundamental need for sleep.

(00:06:00) Light and the Circadian Clock

The impact light exposure has on the body’s internal sleep timing.

(00:08:13) Day and Night Light Contrast

The importance of creating a light-dark contrast for healthy rhythms.

(00:11:18) Phones, Screens, and the Blue Light

Whether blue light from screen use affects sleep quality.

(00:13:49) Defining and Diagnosing Sleep Problems

How stress and over-focus on sleep quality worsen insomnia.

(00:16:02) Sleep Anxiety and Wearables

The psychological downsides of sleep data from tracking devices.

(00:17:14) CBT-I and Rethinking Insomnia

Mentally reframing sleep with cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia.

(00:21:21) Desynchronized Sleep Patterns

Studying student sleep patterns to separate circadian vs. sleep effects.

(00:23:49) Shift Work and Circadian Misalignment

The difficulty of re-aligning circadian clocks in rotating shifts.

(00:26:26) Effectiveness of Sleep Medications

The various drugs used to promote sleep and their pros and cons.

(00:29:46) Circadian “Sleep Cliff” and Melatonin

The brain’s “wake zone” before sleep and the limited effects of melatonin.

(00:32:52) Do’s & Don’ts for Better Sleep

Advice for those looking to improve their sleep quality.

(00:34:55) Alcohol and Caffeine Effects

How metabolism influences the effects of alcohol and caffeine on sleep.

(00:37:24) Conclusion

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Deborah Kado is a geriatrician who believes her field is misunderstood. Her interest in the science of aging began with a childhood encounter in a nursing home but recently resulted in intriguing work in which Kado linked microbes in the gut to vitamin D metabolism and poor sleep. Kado refuses to blame aging alone for health problems, advocating for better care regardless of age. It’s never too late to strive for better health, Kado tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Deborah Kado

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Deborah Kado, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at Stanford University.

(00:03:22) Origin Story in Geriatrics

How a childhood encounter led to Deborah’s career in geriatrics.

(00:06:04) Geriatrics vs. Gerontology

The clinical and research distinctions between the two related fields.

(00:06:58) Rethinking Aging

Reframing aging as a lifelong process rather than decline and loss.

(00:08:34) Patient Care Approach

Why symptoms should be investigated, not dismissed as inevitable aging.

(00:11:33) Linking Bone Health, Gut, and Brain

The surprising relationship between microbiomes, bones, and cognition.

(00:14:34) Vitamin D: Storage vs. Active Form

Why only the active form of vitamin D correlates with microbiome health.

(00:17:22) Gut Health and Sleep

How better sleep quality is linked to healthier microbiomes.

(00:21:20) Medical Education & Geriatric Training

The shortage of geriatrics training in U.S. medical schools.

(00:23:08) Measuring Geriatric Knowledge

The challenges and efforts to measure student knowledge about aging.

(00:27:24) Takeaways for Medical Professionals

Two anecdotes where symptoms were misattributed to old age.

(00:30:51) Empowering Aging Patients

Advice to aging individuals: agency, purpose, and not settling for less care.

(00:34:02) Conclusion

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It's teacher appreciation week and along with schools across the country, we here at The Future of Everything want to send out a heartfelt thank you to the teachers who make a difference every day in the lives of our children and in society as a whole. In light of this, we’re re-running an education related episode, and more specifically one on the future of educational technology with the Dean of the Stanford School of Education, Dan Schwartz. Dan is exploring effective ways to use AI in the classroom to support teachers–not to replace them–and to enhance student learning. We hope you’ll take a moment to tune in again and enjoy.

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Stanford Profile: Daniel Schwartz

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altman introduces guest Dan Schwartz, Dean of the School of Education at Stanford University.

(00:01:44) The Role of AI in Modern Education

The widespread reactions and implications of AI in education.

(00:02:59) Technology in the Classroom

The historical and evolving relationship between technology and education.

(00:04:51) Engaging Students with AI

How AI can enhance engagement through innovative teaching.

(00:07:45) Impact of AI on Student Learning

The balance between AI tools and maintaining educational standards.

(00:13:21) Challenges with EdTech Collaboration

Concerns about industry prioritizing speed over creativity in learning tools.

(00:15:23) Teachers Adapting to AI

The role of teachers in effectively integrating AI into the classroom.

(00:18:21) Assessment and Grading with AI

The potential and concerns of using AI for educational assessment

(00:22:16) AI and Conceptual Understanding

How AI can shift focus from task completion to true understanding.

(00:24:49) Physical Activity and Learning

The connection between physical activity and improved learning outcomes.

(00:28:59) Conclusion

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Lisa Patel is a pediatrician and an expert in environmental health who says that pollution is taking an increasing toll on children’s health. Pollution from wildfires, fossil fuels, and plastics can cause asthma, pneumonia, and risks dementia in the long-term. But, she says, all hope is not lost. Solutions range from DIY air filters to choosing induction stoves over gas, cutting down on meat consumption and plastics use, and pursuing clean energy, among other strategies. If we all take local action, we can solve this problem globally, Patel tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Lisa Patel

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Lisa Patel, a professor of pediatrics at Stanford University.

(00:03:39) Climate Advocacy Journey

The personal events that drove Lisa’s focus to environmental health.

(00:04:53) Fossil Fuels and Clean Air Act

How fossil fuels and weakened regulations harm public health.

(00:07:20 Long-Term Health Impacts

Links between pollution to asthma, cancer, and early Alzheimer’s.

(00:10:12) Air Quality Guidance for Families

Advising parents on air quality monitoring and precautions.

(00:13:04) Indoor Cooking and Gas Pollution

How pollution from gas stoves impacts indoor air quality.

(00:14:37) Lead in Water and Health Risks

Current issues with lead exposure in water for children.

(00:16:24) Microplastics and Early Health Damage

Evidence showing widespread microplastics are harmful to health.

(00:19:12) Clean Energy Progress and Setbacks

Benefits of renewable energy and dangers of policy rollback.

(00:21:22) Active Transport and Better Air

The environmental impact of increasing public transit.

(00:22:44) Benefits of Electric Vehicles

How electric vehicles are linked to cleaner air and healthier kids.

(00:23:51) Plant-Forward Diets for Health

Whether plant-forward diets aid personal and planetary health.

(00:25:33) Kids Leading Dietary Changes

Children’s reactions and adaptations to plant-forward diets.

(00:28:12) Taking Local Action

The local actions that can offer real solutions for change.

(00:31:01) Conclusion

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Michael Wara is a lawyer and an expert in wildfire policy who says that solutions are out there, but face financial, political, and cultural resistance. What’s needed, he says, are “whole-of-society” approaches that raise wildfire risk to the community level. In this regard, the devastation in Los Angeles in 2025 could provide the spark needed for smarter communication, better policies, and renewed urgency on wildfires, Wara tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Michael Wara

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Michael Wara, a wildfire expert and professor of law at Stanford University.

(00:03:17) Journey to Wildfire Research

How Michael’s clean energy work led to wildfire research.

(00:04:48) Communities at the Frontlines

The community-level challenges and responsibilities in fire prevention.

(00:07:05) Shifting Community Perspectives

How awareness is rising but state efforts remain misaligned.

(00:09:28) Legacy Homes, Modern Risk

Why older homes pose a major risk and retrofitting is crucial.

(00:11:06) The Limits of Utility-Led Safety Efforts

The significant but insufficient progress utilities have made.

(00:14:35) Targeting High-Risk Areas

How utilities now prioritize high-risk areas for safety upgrades.

(00:15:42) Insurance Industry Realities

Why insurers can't price risk without crashing markets.

(00:18:24) Urban Wildfires

How today's major fires in suburbs are mostly fueled by homes.

(00:23:24) The Climate Change Multiplier

The impact of atmospheric dryness and fuel moisture on fire risk.

(00:25:57) New Fire Regulations

Recent mandates that have been implemented to decrease fire risk.

(00:30:58) Hollywood’s Role in Culture Change

Michael’s suggestion to showcase fire-safe landscaping.

(00:33:04) Conclusion

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Physician and psychologist Heidi Feldman is a pioneer in the field of developmental behavioral pediatrics who says that the world’s understanding of childhood disability is changing and so too are the ways we approach it. Where once institutionalization was common, today we find integrative, family-centered approaches, charting a more humane, hopeful path forward. For example, for children born prematurely with increased likelihood of disability, increasing skin-to-skin contact – what is called “kangaroo care” – can literally reshape that child’s brain development, she tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Heidi M. Feldman

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Heidi Feldman, professor of pediatrics at Stanford University.

(00:03:26) Path to Developmental Pediatrics

Heidi’s journey from education to developmental-behavioral pediatrics.

(00:05:10) The Emergence of Developmental Pediatrics

How developmental disabilities entered the medical mainstream.

(00:07:30) Common Disorders in Children

The most prevalent disabilities seen in practice and diagnostic trends.

(00:09:46) Preterm Birth and Disability Risk

Why premature birth is a major risk factor for developmental challenges.

(00:13:53) Brain Connections and Outcomes

How white matter and brain circuitry impact development.

(00:17:09) Kangaroo Care’s Potential

How skin-to-skin contact positively influences brain development.

(00:21:30) Inclusive Family and Community Support

Why integrated care and inclusive classrooms benefit all children.

(00:23:37) Social and Economic Upsides

Cost savings and increased independence from inclusive care.

(00:24:33) Transitioning to Adult Care

Gaps and opportunities in supporting disabled youth into adulthood.

(00:27:12) Using AI to Improve Care Quality

AI models help track whether care guidelines are being followed.

(00:31:00) Conclusion

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The world of women’s sports is experiencing unprecedented growth, attention, recognition, and investment. Elite athletes including Simone Biles, Caitlin Clark, Serena Williams, and many others are having a significant impact on culture, and more women than ever are participating in both professional and recreational sports. Earlier this year, Russ sat down with Dr. Emily Kraus to talk about the future of female athletic health and we’re re-running the episode today. She shared a number of key differences between women and men in sport, and illuminates that these differences are vastly understudied, though she’s working to close that gap. This is an episode we shared with a number of athletes we know, and we hope you’ll do the same.

Episode Reference Links:

Stanford Profile: Emily Kraus
Emily’s Survey: Centering The Female Athlete Voice in a Sports Science Research Agenda
Stanford FASTR Program
Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces Dr. Emily Kraus, professor of orthopedics at Stanford University.

(00:01:55) Injury Trends in Female Athletes

Prevalent injuries and health issues unique to female athletes.

(00:03:34) Menstrual Health in Young Athletes

How training affects puberty, periods, and long-term health.

(00:06:30) Body Image & Mental Health

Navigating body composition, stigma, and disordered eating.

(00:08:30) Competing Through Motherhood

Postpartum athletes and the need for more scientific support.

(00:11:34) Sharing vs. Guarding Performance Data

Whether female athletes are sharing information or staying competitive.

(00:12:25) Fueling, Recovery & Modern Training

Nutrition, rest, and strength training as key performance tools.

(00:15:31) Gender-Based Nutrition Differences

How under-researched female athletes are fueling without guidance.

(00:18:55) The Female Athlete Voice Project

What elite athletes want researched—and what’s missing.

(00:21:21) FASTR & the Science of RED-S

New initiatives addressing energy deficiency and performance.

(00:24:05) Applying Elite Insights to All Women

How weekend warriors can benefit from elite research.

(00:25:11) Cultural Challenges in Sport

Sexism, inequity, and overlooked institutional barriers.

(00:27:03) Getting the Word Out

Finding ways to educate athletes, coaches, and clinicians more effectively.

(00:29:37) Conclusion

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Nora Freeman Engstrom is a professor of law who says that in three-quarters of cases one or more of the parties lacks legal representation. Worse yet, often the litigants are involved in high-consequence civil cases where there is no right to a lawyer and costs are prohibitive. Some states are looking at alternatives including non-lawyer representation, curated legal help for low-income citizens, and even AI, as Engstrom tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering's The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Nora Freeman Engstrom

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Nora Freeman Engstrom, a professor of law at Stanford University.

(00:03:11) Path to Justice Work

Nora’s journey into legal ethics and justice reform.

(00:04:46) Misconceptions About Civil Court

How civil cases often involve one represented and one unrepresented party.

(00:08:40) Limits of Judicial Help

Why the U.S. adversarial system limits judicial involvement.

(00:10:40) Problems with Self-Help

The lack of reliable resources for people trying to represent themselves.

(00:13:41) The Cost of Legal Help

The high cost of representation and how legal aid is overwhelmed.

(00:15:20) A Missing Middle

How law lacks mid-level professionals to offer affordable legal help.

(00:17:41) Expanding Legal Access

Why law lacks mid-level roles and bans non-lawyer advice.

(00:22:22) New Models for Legal Support

The ways some states are testing trained non-lawyers to expand access.

(00:27:22) Legal Help in the Past

The history of legal access, including lawyers in banks and auto clubs.

(00:30:29) Legal Protectionism

How depression-era protectionism led to today’s lawyer-only model

(00:32:48) The Role of AI in Legal Access

The potential of AI for creating smarter legal tools for courts.

(00:35:52) Conclusion

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Physician Tina Stankovic is an ear, nose, and throat specialist and a lover of music whose seemingly disparate pursuits — medicine and music — have led her to a groundbreaking career in hearing research. She recently worked with music legend Paul Simon during his well-publicized battle with hearing loss and he has become a vocal advocate for hearing research. New understandings and new approaches like regenerative medicine have put the once-impossible dream of hearing restoration within reach, Stankovic tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Episode Reference Links:

Stanford Profile: Konstantina M. Stankovic
Stanford Researchers Assist Paul Simon with his Return to the Stage
Inside the Stanford Initiative to Cure Hearing Loss: Cutting-Edge Science and Innovation

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Tina Stankovic, a professor of otolaryngology and neurosurgery at Stanford University.

(00:03:36) Why Hearing Loss

What inspired Tina’s lifelong journey into hearing science.

(00:04:17) Treating Hearing Loss

Limits of current options and lack of FDA-approved therapies.

(00:05:23) Causes of Hearing Loss

The two main categories of hearing loss: conductive vs. sensorineural.

(00:07:47) Inside the Inner Ear

The complexity of the inner ear, and why diagnosis is so difficult.

(00:09:22) Tinnitus & Hearing Loss

Why ear damage can cause phantom sounds in the brain.

(00:10:28) Emerging Technologies in Hearing Research

New technologies that are evolving treatment approaches.

(00:15:19) Recreating the Ear in the Lab

Challenges the inner ear’s unique composition pose to researchers.

(00:20:02) AI Applications in Hearing Diagnosis

The ways AI is transforming diagnosis and genetic analysis.

(00:21:31) Can Ears Regrow?

Why humans don’t regenerate ear cells—but mice might help.

(00:23:55) Emotional & Social Toll of Hearing Loss

How hearing loss can lead to isolation, stigma, and cognitive decline.

(00:26:06) Born Deaf vs. Later Hearing Loss

Experiential differences between those with early and late hearing loss.

(00:27:52) Paul Simon’s Role and Advocacy

How the artist got involved with Tina’s work and the initiative at Stanford.

(00:29:44) Protecting Your Hearing

Best practices for protecting your hearing.

(00:33:21) Conclusion

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Michael Rau is a professor, theater director, and tech innovator in one. He says that today’s technologies – AI, gaming, interactive storytelling, and even email – are reshaping what performers can do on stage and how audiences experience those performances. The best of the stage has always been about reflecting life, and technology is part of how we live today. It belongs on the stage, as Rau tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Have a question for Russ? Send it our way in writing or via voice memo, and it might be featured on an upcoming episode. Please introduce yourself, let us know where you're listening from, and share your quest. You can send questions to thefutureofeverything@stanford.edu.

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Stanford Profile: Michael Rau

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Michael Rau, a professor of theatre and performance studies at Stanford University.

(00:03:16) Why Theater Needs Technology

How AI and digital media are reshaping live performance.

(00:05:15) AI & Emerging Theater Tech

AI scripts, machine learning, AR, and interactive storytelling.

(00:07:28) Theater as Food

How both classic and experimental theatre styles can coexist.

(00:10:13) The Relationship Between Theater & Gaming

Theatrical storytelling and its deep connection to gaming.

(00:14:40) The Debate on Liveness

Whether live actors are necessary to theatre performances.

(00:20:2) Temping: A Play Without Actors

Rau’s theatrical piece where the audience becomes the protagonist.

(00:25:38) AI’s Role in Theater

AI-generated visuals and scripts reshape storytelling and performance.

(00:30:44) AI-Driven Improv

AI-driven improv requires new skills, blending structure with spontaneity.

(00:33:44) Should Audiences Know AI Is Involved?

How transparency increases audience engagement and appreciation

(00:35:30) Conclusion

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We've been thinking a lot about culture recently, and reflecting on how–whether or not we’re aware of it–culture is a force that’s always exerting influence on us. It’s typically only when we get outside of our daily routine, our city or even our country, and are confronted with new ways of doing things that we can clearly see the values, norms, and practices that make up the culture we live in. Today, we’re re-running a thought-provoking conversation we had with Michele Gelfand about notions of what she calls “tight” and “loose” cultures. It’s a conversation that helps illuminate some of the invisible forces of culture, and also sheds light on how understanding these forces helps us better navigate the world. We hope you’ll take another listen and enjoy.

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Stanford Profile: Michele Gelfand
Mindset Quiz

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces Michele Gelfand, a professor of psychology and business studies at Stanford University.

(00:02:22) What is Culture?

Defining culture as a set of norms, values, and beliefs.

(00:03:36) The Tight-Loose Continuum

Tight versus loose cultures and their enforcement of social norms.

(00:06:20) Individual vs Societal Tight-Loose

The differences in tight-loose orientation across individuals and nations.

(00:08:25) Tight-Loose Across Societal Levels

How history, ecology, and mobility shape cultural tightness or looseness.

(00:11:25) Cultural Intelligence (CQ)

The role of cultural intelligence in negotiations and leadership.

(00:16:21) Tight-Loose in Personal & Professional Life

Negotiating cultural differences in relationships and organizations.

(00:19:53) Cultural Evolutionary Mismatch

Cultural responses to crises and the influence of perceived vs. real threats.

(00:23:45) Tight-Loose Differences in Business

Cultural differences in mergers, acquisitions, and financial performance.

(00:25:58) Improving Cultural Intelligence

Whether individuals can improve their CQ through practice and exposure.

(00:28:37) Tight-Loose in Politics

The growing tight-loose divide in political and social issues.

(00:31:09) Conclusion

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We are on the cusp of a materials revolution – in electronics, health care, and avionics – says guest engineer-scientist Eric Pop. For instance, silicon and copper have served electronics admirably for decades, he says, but at the nanoscale, better materials will be needed. Atomically thin two-dimensional semiconductors (like molybdenum disulfide) and topological semimetals (like niobium phosphide) are two candidates, but with AI tools to design new materials, the future is going to be really interesting, Pop tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Have a question for Russ? Send it our way in writing or via voice memo, and it might be featured on an upcoming episode. Please introduce yourself, let us know where you're listening from, and share your quest. You can send questions to thefutureofeverything@stanford.edu.

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Stanford Profile: Eric Pop

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ introduces guest Eric Pop, a professor of electrical engineering and materials science at Stanford University

(00:02:59) The Status of Electronics Today

The stability of silicon and copper and the challenges with miniaturization.

(00:06:25) Limits of Current Materials

How miniaturization has increased speed but also created new bottlenecks.

(00:10:29) Universal Memory

The need for faster, non-volatile memory that integrates directly with the CPU.

(00:14:57) The Search for Next-Gen Materials

Exploring better materials for chips, from silicon to copper alternatives.

(00:17:54) Challenges of Copper at Nanoscale

Issues with copper at the nanoscale and the potential of niobium phosphate.

(00:24:46) Two-Dimensional Semiconductors

The potential of carbon nanotubes and 2D materials as replacements for silicon.

(00:29:47) Nanoelectronics and Manufacturing

The shift to 2D materials and the challenges in scaling up production

(00:32:34) AI in Material Discovery

AI’s potential in discovering and manufacturing new materials.

(00:34:56) Conclusion

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Physician Ash Alizadeh has seen the future of disease diagnosis and monitoring. It is coursing through every patient’s veins. Traditionally, biopsies have required invasively gathering tissue – from a lung, a liver, or a fetus. Now it’s possible to look for disease without surgery. The DNA is sitting there in the bloodstream, Alizadeh tells host Russ Altman, as they preview the age of liquid biopsies on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Have a question for Russ? Send it our way in writing or via voice memo, and it might be featured on an upcoming episode. Please introduce yourself, let us know where you're listening from, and share your quest. You can send questions to thefutureofeverything@stanford.edu.

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Stanford Profile: Ash A. Alizadeh, MD/PhD

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Ash Alizadeh, a faculty member at Stanford University in Oncology and Medicine.

(00:03:39) What is a Liquid Biopsy?

Accessing tissues non-invasively using bodily fluids.

(00:04:31) Detecting Cancer with Liquid Biopsies

How localized cancers can be detected through blood samples.

(00:06:32) The Science Behind Cancer DNA Detection

The differences between normal and cancer DNA

(00:09:51) How Liquid Biopsy Technology Works

The technologies behind detecting cancer-related DNA differences.

(00:12:36) Advances in Liquid Biopsy

New detection approaches using non-mutant molecules and RNA.

(00:14:10) RNA as a Real-Time Tumor Marker

How RNA reveals active tumor processes and drug resistance.

(00:15:55) Tracking Cancer Reccurence

Using tumor-informed panels to monitor cancer recurrence.

(00:16:28) Adapting to Tumor Evolution

Why core mutations remain detectable despite cancer changes.

(00:17:57) Stability of DNA, RNA, and Methylation

Comparing durability and reliability of different biomarkers.

(00:20:49) Listener Question: Early Cancer Detection

Daniel Kim asks about pre-cancer detection and its potential impact.

(00:24:44) Liquid Biopsy in Immunotherapy

Using liquid biopsy to track and improve immune-based treatments.

(00:27:35) Monitoring CAR T-Cell Therapy

How liquid biopsy helps assess immune cell expansion.

(00:32:02) EPIC-Seq: Inferring RNA from DNA

Using DNA fragmentation to predict gene expression in tumors.

(00:34:49) Targeting Tumor Support Systems

Treatment strategies disrupting the tumor microenvironment.

(00:35:52) Conclusion

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February is American Heart Month, and in light of that, we’re bringing back an episode about a group here at Stanford Engineering that’s developing 3D printing methods for human tissues and organs, a process known as bioprinting. Motivated in part by the critical need for heart transplants, Mark Skylar-Scott and his team are specifically working to bioprint tissues of the human heart. It may sound like science fiction, but it’s actually just another example of the groundbreaking research we do here. We hope you’ll take another listen and be inspired by the possibilities.

Have a question for Russ? Send it our way in writing or via voice memo, and it might be featured on an upcoming episode. Please introduce yourself, let us know where you're listening from, and share your quest. You can send questions to thefutureofeverything@stanford.edu.

Episode Reference Links:

Stanford Profile: Mark A. Skylar-Scott
Mark’s Lab: The Skylar-Scott Lab | Stanford Medicine

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest, Mark Skylar-Scott, a professor of bioengineering at Stanford University.

(00:02:06) What is Bioprinting?

The role of cells and biopolymers in printing functional biological structures.

(00:03:31) Bioprinting a Heart

The potential of printing organs on demand, especially heart tissue.

(00:04:38) Obtaining Cells for Bioprinting

Using stem cells derived from the patient's own cells to create heart tissue.

(00:06:29) Creating Multiple Cell Types for the Heart

The challenge of printing eleven different heart cell types with precision.

(00:08:50) The Scaffold for 3D Printing

The support material used in 3D printing and how it’s later removed.

(00:10:10) Cell Migration and Organ Formation

How cells organize themselves to form functional heart tissue.

(00:12:08) Growing a Full-Sized Heart

Whether they’re printing full-sized hearts or starting with smaller organs.

(00:13:34) Avoiding Overgrowth Risks

The role of bioreactors in shaping the early stages of the organ.

(00:14:57) Scaling Up Cell Production

The need to generate massive numbers of cells for experimentation.

(00:18:32) The Challenge of Vascularization

Creating a blood vessel network to supply oxygen and nutrients.

(00:22:35) Ethical Considerations in Bioprinting

Consent, stem cell sourcing, and the broader ethical landscape.

(00:26:04) The Timeline for Bioprinted Organs

The long timeline for bioprinted organs to reach clinical use.

(00:27:24) The State of the Field & Collaboration

The collaborative, competitive biofabrication field and its rapid progress.

(00:28:20) Conclusion

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Welcome to Stanford Engineering's The Future of Everything, the podcast that delves into groundbreaking research and innovations that are shaping the world and inventing the future. The University has a long history of doing work to positively impact the world and it's a joy to share about the people who are doing this work, what motivates them, and how their work is creating a better future for everybody. Join us every Friday for new episodes featuring insightful conversations with Stanford faculty and to discover how Stanford's research is transforming tomorrow's world.

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Guest Kristy Red-Horse is a biologist who specializes in coronary artery development and disease. She says the latest advances in treatment of blockages could do away with invasive bypass surgeries in favor of growing new arteries using molecules like CXCL12, known to promote artery regrowth in mice. Red-Horse explains how leaps forward in medical imaging, expanding atlases of gene expressions, and new drug delivery mechanisms could someday lead to trials in humans. But, before that day can arrive, much work remains, as Red-Horse tells host Russ Altman in this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Have a question for Russ? Send it our way in writing or via voice memo, and it might be featured on an upcoming episode. Please introduce yourself, let us know where you're listening from, and share your quest. You can send questions to thefutureofeverything@stanford.edu.

Episode Reference Links:

Stanford Profile: Kristy Red-Horse
Kristy’s Lab: Red-Horse Lab

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces Kristy Red-Horse, a professor of biology at Stanford University.

(00:03:46) Replacing Open-Heart Surgery

Why bypass surgery is invasive, risky, and requires long recovery.

(00:05:09) Challenges in Artery Growth

The difficulty of targeting artery growth with medical interventions.

(00:07:32) The Role of Collateral Arteries

Definition and function of collateral arteries as natural bypass.

(00:09:37) Triggers for Natural Bypass Formation

Genetic factors that may influence the growth of these bypass arteries.

(00:10:49) Unique Properties of Coronary Arteries

Challenges of ensuring artificial growth replicates natural artery function.

(00:13:04) The Discovery of CXCL12

A key molecule that stimulates collateral artery formation.

(00:16:16) Precise Artery Growth Control

The results of targeted CXCL12 injections into mice hearts.

(00:17:32) CXCL12’s Overlooked Role

The molecule’s role in the immune system and stem cells.

(00:20:27) Guinea Pigs and Heart Attack Resistance

How guinea pigs naturally develop collaterals.

(00:23:19) Preventing Heart Disease

Using artery growth treatments to target early-stage coronary disease.

(00:25:25) Breakthroughs in Imaging Technology

New technology that enables identification of collateral growth pathways.

(00:27:07) How Collateral Arteries Form

The two mechanisms in which new arteries form.

(00:28:48) The Future of Medical Artery Growth

The possibility of eliminating bypass surgery with targeted artery growth.

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Materials scientist and physicist Guosong Hong is an expert in getting materials to do remarkable things. Recently, he and collaborators used a common food dye found in snack chips to turn living tissue transparent, allowing light to penetrate through skin and muscle. Hong is now working to realize a new age of medical imaging that lets doctors see deep into the body – without surgery. It’s a miracle of physics but it could change medicine, Hong tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Have a question for Russ? Send it our way in writing or via voice memo, and it might be featured on an upcoming episode. Please introduce yourself, let us know where you're listening from, and share your quest. You can send questions to thefutureofeverything@stanford.edu.

Episode Reference Links:

Stanford Profile: Guosong Hong
Guosong's Lab: THE HONG LAB

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces Guosong Hong, an expert in physics, material science, and biology from Stanford University.

(00:02:52) Material Science Meets Neuroscience

How Guosong’s research blends nanomaterials and brain science.

(00:04:01) Why Tissue Isn’t Transparent

The challenge of light penetration in biological tissues.

(00:05:55) A New Approach to Tissue Clearing

The physics behind tissue transparency and refractive index manipulation.

(00:08:57) UV Light and Transparency

How manipulating UV absorption can align refractive indexes.

(00:11:17) First Experiments and Results

Initial tests that demonstrate successful tissue clearing.

(00:13:19) Applications in Medicine

The potential of transparent tissues in dermatology and medical imaging.

(00:15:36) Testing on Live Tissue

The results of testing transparency techniques on live mice.

(00:19:30) Transparency in Nature

How some species have naturally transparent tissue.

(00:20:52) Human Eye and Protein Transparency

The unique proteins that keep our lenses clear using similar physics.

(00:23:24) Wireless Light Inside the Body

The development of ultrasound-activated light sources for tissue imaging.

(00:26:56) Precision of Ultrasound Light

How precisely ultrasound can trigger tiny particles to emit light.

(00:29:14) Conclusion

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With the tremendous amount of information available to us today, the ability to discern what’s reliable from what’s not is crucial to combating the spread of misinformation. In 2023, we sat down with Jonathan Osborne, an expert in science education to talk about the tools our students (and really all of us!) need to critically evaluate science news and information. We hope you’ll tune into this episode again to hear about the three valuable skills Osborne says we should be teaching our students so they can debunk scientific misinformation.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces Jonathan Osborne, a professor of education at Stanford University.

(00:01:50) State of Science Education

Current education's failure to prepare students for misinformation.

(00:03:46) Internet-Age Challenges

Why younger generations struggle with evaluating credibility online.

(00:05:07) Tools for Evaluating Claims

Three key questions to assess scientific credibility.

(00:08:10) Teaching Credibility

Using interactive challenges to teach critical thinking.

(00:10:46) Attitudes Toward Science

Flaws in the way science education is currently taught to youth.

(00:14:28) Barriers to Reform

Resistance to curriculum changes and systemic challenges.

(00:19:02) Scientific Argumentation

The importance of teaching reasoning behind scientific discoveries.

(00:24:03) Modes of Scientific Argumentation

Deductive, abductive, and inductive reasoning as key scientific methods.

(00:25:45) Inspiring Curiosity in Science

Framing science as imaginative, evidence-backed ideas to engage students.

(00:28:06) Adapting Science Standards

The need for flexible standards to address evolving education challenges.

(00:29:57) Conclusion

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Oceanographer Kristen Davis, an authority on ocean physics and climate sustainability, discusses the growing excitement around seaweed and kelp as tools to combat climate change. Like trees on land, these underwater plants use photosynthesis to absorb carbon dioxide and convert it into organic matter. When they die, some of that carbon may sink to the ocean depths. However, the science is still evolving and there’s a lot we don’t yet understand about how seaweed farming might impact carbon sequestration. Davis shares insights into the ongoing research and its promise on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast with host Russ Altman.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Kristen Davis, a professor of oceans at Stanford University.

(00:03:20) Understanding the CO2 Problem

The origins of the CO2 problem and its connection to ocean dynamics.

(00:06:11) Seaweed as a Solution

Seaweed's potential as a carbon sink and its comparison to terrestrial trees.

(00:09:02) Challenges in Seaweed Cultivation

Ecological impacts and practical challenges of scaling seaweed farming.

(00:12:00) How a Seaweed-Based Solution Works

Logistics for seaweed farming nearshore and in deep ocean settings.

(00:15:08) Genetic Advances in Seaweed Farming

Bioengineering seaweed for resilience and optimizing carbon capture.

(00:16:43) Seaweed Beyond Carbon Storage

Potential uses of seaweed for biofuel, food, and reducing methane.

(00:20:20) Internal Waves in Ocean Dynamics

Internal waves and their role in mixing and nutrient distribution.

(00:24:18) Currents vs. Internal Waves

The relationship between ocean currents and internal waves.

(00:26:47) Measurement Technologies

Innovations in fiber-optic sensors for mapping internal waves.

(00:30:22) A Global Wave Map

The vision for a comprehensive, global study of internal wave dynamics.

(00:31:22) Conclusion

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Nephrologist Manjula Tamura discusses the downsides of kidney dialysis, especially for old or frail patients. Her field has set its sights on offering alternatives, including supportive medical management without dialysis, dialysis in increments, wearable artificial kidneys, and transplanted kidneys from genetically modified pigs – in addition to advances in preventive care that can help humans avoid kidney failure in the first place. Dialysis can extend life, she says, but it is a lifestyle change. The goal is to ensure that every patient’s choice aligns with their values and life goals, Tamura tells host Russ Altman in this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest, Manjula Tamura, a professor of medicine and nephrology at Stanford University Medical School.

(00:02:58) The Kidney’s Vital Role

The kidney’s role and why its failure is life-threatening.

(00:04:51) Causes of Kidney Failure

The leading causes of kidney failure in developed countries.

(00:07:58) Kidney Transplantation

The feasibility, barriers, and supply challenges of kidney transplantation.

(00:09:50) The Dialysis Process

How hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis work and patient experiences.

(00:14:07) The Evolution of Dialysis Treatment

The history of dialysis and how Medicare’s expansion influenced its use.

(00:18:48) Study Design: Emulating Clinical Trials

Using VA electronic health records to simulate trials on dialysis.

(00:25:31) Findings: Survival vs. Time at Home

The trade-offs between extended survival and reduced time at home.

(00:27:02) Quality of Life and Dialysis

Measuring quality of life impacts through electronic health records.

(00:30:32) The Future of Kidney Treatments

Innovations like xenotransplantation and wearable artificial kidneys.

(00:33:04) Conclusion

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Guest Renee Zhao works at the cutting-edge of robotic surgery – literally. Emboldened by advances in 3D-printing and miniaturization, she builds “millibots,” magnet-controlled, millimeter-scale soft robots that navigate the bloodstream to remove blood clots and treat brain aneurysms. While the millibot’s promise is clear, much work remains before the devices are commonplace. Revolutionizing health care with surgical robots will require a delicate balance of design, buildability, and functionality, Zhao tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Renee Zhao, a professor of mechanical engineering at Stanford University.

(00:03:34) Robotic Surgery and Healthcare

Renee’s inspiration for soft robotics and its potential in healthcare applications.

(00:05:49) Current Status of Robotic Surgery

Current robotic surgery technologies and the push for more advanced solutions.

(00:09:32) Nature-Inspired Soft Robotics

How soft robotic systems are ideal for working within delicate human tissues.

(00:11:41) Millirobotic Systems

Recently developed millimeter-sized robots that swim and navigate blood vessels.

(00:14:46) Millirobot Control

The role of magnetic fields and imaging technology for robot navigation.

(00:17:18) Treating Blood Clots and Aneurysms

The multifunctional abilities of robots to deliver drugs and treat blood clots.

(00:19:46) Doctor’s Reaction to New Technology

Excitement for the new robotic advancements amongst the need for better tools.

(00:21:04) Trends in Robot Size and Functionality

The design challenges for creating small yet functional robots.

(00:25:52) AI and Machine Learning in Robotic Design

AI’s role in optimizing robot design for specific patients.

(00:28:59) Why Millimeter-Scale Robots

Why millirobots strike the right balance for performance and functionality.

(00:32:34) Conclusion

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Happy New Year! For many of us, a new year brings a renewed sense of motivation when it comes to health. Earlier this year, Russ sat down to speak with Jonathan Long, a Stanford biochemist who studies the chemicals produced during exercise. The conversation was one of our most popular during 2024 and today we’re re-sharing it. As many of us look to create healthy habits in 2025, we hope you’ll tune in to hear the exciting research Professor Long is doing to better understand the deep chemical connections between diet, exercise, and human health.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altman introduces guest Johnathan Long, a professor of pathology at Stanford University.

(00:01:55) Effective Weight Loss Drugs

The history and development of GLP-1 receptor agonists.

(00:03:27) Understanding Metabolism and Exercise

The role of metabolic chemicals released during physical activity.

(00:05:02) Animal Models in Exercise Studies

The use of animal models in exercise studies and the discovery of Lac-Phe.

(00:06:40) Psychological Preparation for Exercise

The psychology of exercise preparation and the involvement of endocannabinoids.

(00:08:53) Lac-Phe's Role and Mechanism

Lac-Phe’s role in suppressing appetite and its production in the gut.

(00:11:46) Differences in Exercise Response

Exercise response between trained athletes and untrained individuals.

(00:12:50) Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases

The relationship between diabetes, exercise, and metabolic diseases.

(00:14:54) Lac-Phe as a Potential Therapeutic

Lac-Phe’s potential and parallels to the early stages of GLP-1 drug development.

(00:16:13) Importance of How Weight is Lost

The importance of losing fat while preserving lean muscle mass.

(00:19:04) Exercise as Medicine

The need to define physical activity at the same resolution as modern medicines.

(00:22:03) Metformin and Exercise Pathways

The unexpected connection between metformin and the Lac-Phe pathway.

(00:23:53) Prospects of an Exercise Pill

The future of an exercise pill, and challenges associated with its development.

(00:26:57) Conclusion

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Happy Holidays! However you’re celebrating, we hope you’re able to find time to connect with friends, family, and loved ones. To accompany you through the season, we’re re-running one of our most popular episodes from 2024, the future of skin longevity with Professor Zakia Rahman. As an expert in dermatology, Professor Rahman explains that our skin is our most photographed organ, and taking care of it is not about vanity but rather vitality. Tune in to hear our conversation about everything from laser therapies to sun protection.

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Stanford Center on Longevity

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altman introduces guest Zakia Rahman, a professor of dermatology at Stanford University.

(00:02:05) The Impact of Digital Technologies

How digital technologies and image exposure affect dermatology and self-perception.

(00:03:20) Effects of Self-Image on Dermatology

Balancing vanity and vitality in modern skincare trends.

(00:04:46) The Role of Lasers in Dermatology

The use of laser technology in dermatology, including types and applications.

(00:08:25) Lasers in Skin Cancer Treatment

How laser technology aids in the treatment and prevention of skin cancer.

(00:09:52) Progress in Skin Cancer

Skin cancer prevention and the effectiveness of sun protection measures.

(00:13:10) Effectiveness of Physical Sun Protection

The protective benefits of everyday clothing versus specialized sun-protective gear.

(00:18:35) Ethnic Differences in Skin Health

The differences in skin health and sun exposure across various ethnic groups.

(00:23:24) Aesthetic and Cultural Implications in Skin Care

How cultural perceptions of beauty intersect with skincare and overall health.

(00:25:46) Therapeutic Effects of Light

The potential skincare benefits of red light therapy and its popularity.

(00:28:33) Conclusion

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Leanne Williams is an expert in depression. The first thing that she wants the world to know is that depression is not some sort of character flaw, but a real illness with symptoms that can impair one’s ability to function day to day. The past decade has seen remarkable advances, she says, as functional MRI has opened new avenues of understanding depression’s mechanisms and its treatments. These are hopeful times for the science of depression, Williams tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Leanne Williams, a professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stanford University.

(00:02:13) What Is Depression?

Distinguishing clinical depression from everyday sadness.

(00:04:02) Current Depression Treatment Challenges

The trial-and-error of traditional depression treatments and their extended timelines.

(00:06:46) Brain Mapping and Circuit Dysfunctions

Advanced imaging techniques and their role in understanding depression.

(00:09:33) Diagnosing with Brain Imaging

How brain imaging can complement traditional diagnostic methods in psychiatry.

(00:10:52) Depression Biotypes

Identifying six distinct biotypes of depression through brain imaging

(00:14:41) Biotypes and Personalized Treatments

How biotypes allow for targeted therapies and improve treatment outcomes.

(00:19:33) AI in Depression Treatment

Using AI to refine biotypes and predict treatment outcomes with greater accuracy.

(00:22:45) Psychedelics in Depression Treatment

The potential for psychedelic drugs to target specific biotypes of depression.

(00:24:16) Expanding the Biotypes Framework

Integrating multimodal approaches into the biotype framework.

(00:27:59) Reducing Stigma in Depression

How showing patients their brain imaging results reduces self-blame and stigma.

(00:30:08) Conclusion

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Guest Michael Greicius is an authority on Alzheimer’s disease. He makes the case that while effective treatments have remained elusive, there are high hopes for new approaches that target tau proteins in the brain associated with the disease. In the meantime, to reduce Alzheimer’s risk stay active, eat well, and manage circulatory risks, but skip genetic testing for now until better treatments emerge, Greicius tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Michael Greicius, a professor of neurology and neurological sciences at Stanford University.

(00:02:12) Understanding Alzheimer's Disease

The roles of amyloid and tau proteins in Alzheimer's disease.

(00:04:53) Challenges in Developing Treatments

The multiple hurdles in creating Alzheimer's therapies.

(00:09:07) Current Alzheimer's Drugs

The controversies and limitations of recently approved drugs.

(00:10:23) Amyloid Plaques and Their Impact

Why removing amyloid plaques hasn’t improved patient outcomes.

(00:14:29) Problems with Alzheimer's Trials

The disconnect between amyloid removal and patient outcomes.

(00:18:03) Functional Unblinding and Trial Bias

How functional unblinding affects trial results and drug evaluations.

(00:23:51) The Potential of Targeting Tau

New breakthroughs in targeting tau protein for Alzheimer’s.

(00:26:35) The Future of Prevention

Potential preemptive treatments for Alzheimer's and their administration.

(00:29:19) Lifestyle and Risk Reduction

Recommendations for reducing risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

(00:31:43) Conclusion

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Two-time guest Nate Persily is a professor of law and policy who studies the intersection of artificial intelligence and democracy. AI is creeping into democracy, he says, and 2024 saw its share of deepfakes and synthetic media, but with surprisingly little impact. His bigger concern is the opposite – politicians claiming the truth to be fake. It breeds distrust and, for democracy, that’s more pernicious, Persily tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Nate Persily, a professor of law at Stanford University.

(00:02:49) How AI Impacts Democracy

AI's role in influencing elections and its implications for democratic systems.

(00:03:38) Deepfakes and the Election

The limited impact of deepfakes and emerging disinformation trends.

(00:04:37) Is Skepticism Beneficial?

The role of skepticism in navigating AI-driven disinformation.

(00:06:06) AI and Social Media

How AI powers social media and its implications for democratic dialogue.

(00:08:40) AI Monopoly and Democracy

Risks of concentrated AI power among tech giants.

(00:12:03) Risks of Open AI Models

Balancing innovation and misuse risks of open AI models.

(00:17:20) Regulating AI

Global efforts to regulate AI and lessons from the European AI Act.

(00:19:54) The Global AI Race

The international race to balance progress and safeguards with AI.

(00:23:35) Global South and AI

The digital divide and role of open models in under-resourced nations.

(00:25:05) AI in Legal Practice

Potential and challenges of AI in law, from drafting to adjudication.

(00:28:55) Conclusion

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The field of robotics has a long history at Stanford Engineering, and Professor Oussama Khatib has been a pioneering leader in that field, working on everything from human-interactive robots to underwater exploration, pushing the boundaries of what robots can do. Most recently, he’s led the opening of a new Robotics Center at Stanford. Today we’re bringing back the conversation we had with him about his work on OceanOneK — a humanoid robot who now has a new home in the Robotics Center. Join us as we talk about his journey, his vision for the future of robotics, and how his research is transforming the way humans interact with machines. We hope you enjoy the episode!

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Stanford Robotics Lab

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Oussama Khatib, a professor of engineering at Stanford University.

(00:01:54) Underwater Robotics Advancements

Innovations in underwater robotics, including breakthroughs for deeper exploration.

(00:05:35) New Flotation Materials

The discovery of lightweight, strong flotation materials for deep-sea robots.

(00:06:25) Robot Battery Challenges

The challenges of powering robots at extreme depths.

(00:09:09) Importance of Anthropomorphic Design

Why humanoid features are essential for performing delicate underwater tasks.

(00:14:20) Robotic Design Challenges

The design of lightweight robotic arms that can withstand underwater pressure.

(00:19:51) Ease of Use for Operators

How both novices and experts can quickly adapt to controlling these robots.

(00:22:37) Applications in Biology and Archaeology

Future applications in marine biology and underwater archaeology.

(00:26:12) Search and Rescue Potential

The potential for robots to assist in search and rescue missions.

(00:27:48) Future of Deep-Sea Exploration

The future of deep-sea exploration using robotics.

(00:29:40) Conclusion

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Guest James Landay is an expert in human-centered artificial intelligence, a field all about optimizing technology for human and societal good. Landay says one of the most promising intersections is in education and AI, where the technology excels as a coaching and tutoring tool. His Smart Primer and Acorn apps use augmented reality and AI to engage children in outdoor, hands-on environmental science, and his GPT Coach is an AI-powered fitness planning tool. When it comes to AI and education, things are wide open and only just getting started, Landay tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: James Landay
Smart Primer

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest James Landay, a professor of computer science at Stanford University.

(00:02:04) Evolving AI Applications

How large language models can replicate personal coaching experiences.

(00:06:44) Role of Health Experts in AI

Integrating insights from medical professionals into AI coaching systems.

(00:10:21) Personalization in AI Coaching

How AI coaches can adapt personalities and avatars to cater to user preferences.

(00:12:51) Group Dynamics in AI Coaching

Pros and cons of adding social features and group support to AI coaching systems.

(00:14:08) Ambient Awareness in Technology

Ambient awareness and how it enhances user engagement without active attention.

(00:17:44) Using AI in Elementary Education

Narrative-driven tutoring systems to inspire kids' learning and creativity.

(00:22:59) Encouraging Student Writing with AI

Using LLMs to motivate students to write through personalized feedback.

(00:23:52) Scaling AI Educational Tools

The ACORN project and creating dynamic, scalable learning experiences.

(00:27:58) Human-Centered AI

The concept of human-centered AI and its focus on designing for society.

(00:30:34) Conclusion

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Climate change authority Noah Diffenbaugh says that the effects of climate change are no longer theoretical but apparent in everyday, tangible ways. Still, he says, it is not too late to better understand the effects of climate change, to mitigate them through reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and other measures, and to adapt how we live in the face of a warmer planet. Society is falling behind in its ability to deal with increasingly extreme climate events but solutions are not out of reach, Diffenbaugh tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Noah Diffenbaugh, a professor of Earth System Science at Stanford University.

(00:02:34) Global Impact of Climate Change

The major areas where climate change is having the greatest impact globally.

(00:03:27) Climate Phenomena and Humans

Connecting climate science with localized human impacts

(00:06:16) Understanding Climate Forcing

The concept of "climate forcing" and its significance in Noah’s research.

(00:10:00) Geoengineering and Climate Interventions

The potential and risks of intentional climate interventions.

(00:21:18) Adaptation to Climate Change

How humans are adapting to climate change and why we might be falling behind.

(00:25:19) Increase in Extreme Events

Why extreme climate events are becoming exponentially more frequent and severe.

(00:28:34) AI in Climate Research

How AI is revolutionizing climate research by enabling predictive capabilities.

(00:32:26) Conclusion

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Climate modeler Aditi Sheshadri says that while weather forecasting and climate projection are based on similar science, they are very different disciplines. Forecasting is about looking at next week, while projection is about looking at the next century. Sheshadri tells host Russ Altman how new data and techniques, like low-cost high-altitude balloons and AI, are reshaping the future of climate projection on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Aditi Sheshadri

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Aditi Sheshadri, a professor of Earth systems science at Stanford University.

(00:02:58) Climate Projection vs. Weather Forecasting

The differences between climate projection and weather forecasting.

(00:04:58) The Window of Chaos

The concept of the "window of chaos" in climate modeling.

(00:06:11) Scale of Climate Models

The limitations and scale of climate model boxes.

(00:08:19) Computational Constraints

Computational limitations on grid size and time steps in climate modeling.

(00:10:56) Parameters in Climate Modeling

Essential parameters measured, such as density, temperature, and water vapor.

(00:12:18) Oceans in Climate Models

The role of oceans in climate modeling and their integration into projections.

(00:14:35) Atmospheric Gravity Waves

Atmospheric gravity waves and their impact on weather patterns.

(00:18:51) Polar Vortex and Cyclones

Research on the polar vortex and on tropical cyclone frequency.

(00:21:53) Climate Research and Public Awareness

Communicating climate model findings to relevant audiences.

(00:23:33) New Data Sources

How unexpected data from a Google project aids climate research,

(00:25:09) Geoengineering Considerations

Geoengineering and the need for thorough modeling before intervention.

(00:28:19) Conclusion

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Halloween may be behind us in the US but here at The Future of Everything we’re not quite done with spooky season. If you’re pairing your trick-or-treat haul with some scary movies, we invite you to revisit with us a conversation Russ had with Lawrence Wein a couple years ago about the work he’s doing in forensic genetic genealogy to crack cold cases. Professor Wein shares how he’s using math to catch criminals through traces of their DNA. It’s both haunting and hopeful, and we hope you’ll take another listen.

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Stanford Profile: Lawrence M. Wein
Lawrence’s Paper: Analysis Of The Genealogy Process In Forensic Genetic Genealogy

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Lawrence Wein, professor of management science at Stanford University.

(00:02:18) Forensic Genealogy Explained

Forensic genetic genealogy and its impact on solving unsolved crimes.

(00:04:31) Third-Party Databases in Genealogy

Insight into databases that allow law enforcement to search for criminal suspects.

(00:08:23) Math Models in Genealogy

Using mathematical models to streamline genealogy work.

(00:11:31) Components of the Genealogy Algorithm

The algorithm's methods, including ascending and descending family trees.

(00:14:12) Algorithm Efficiency and Comparison

Comparing the new algorithm's effectiveness to traditional genealogy strategies.

(00:16:53) Algorithm in Practice

Role of human input alongside the mathematical algorithm in genealogy cases.

(00:20:42) Role of Genealogists

Genealogists’ insights on balancing human skill and mathematical algorithms.

(00:22:45) DNA Databases and Ethics

The ethical and privacy concerns related to using genetic data.

(00:27:01) Background and Interest in Forensic Genealogy

Lawrence’s journey from operations management to forensic genealogy.

(00:30:16) Conclusion

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Returning guest Marco Pavone is an expert in autonomous robotic systems, such as self-driving cars and autonomous space robots. He says that there have been major advances since his last appearance on the show seven years ago, mostly driven by leaps in artificial intelligence. He tells host Russ Altman all about the challenges and progress of autonomy on Earth and in space in this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Marco Pavone
Center for AEroSpace Autonomy Research (CAESAR)

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Marco Pavone, a professor of aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford.

(00:02:37) Autonomous Systems in Everyday Life

Advancements in the real-world applications of autonomous systems.

(00:03:51) Evolution of Self-Driving Technologies

The shift from fully autonomous cars to advanced driver assistance systems.

(00:06:36) Public Perception of Autonomous Vehicles

How people react to and accept autonomous vehicles in everyday life.

(00:07:49) AI’s and Autonomous Driving

The impact of AI advancements on autonomous driving performance.

(00:09:52) Simulating Edge Cases for Safety

Using AI to simulate rare driving events to improve safety and training.

(00:12:04) Autonomous Vehicle Communication

Communication challenges between autonomous vehicles and infrastructure.

(00:15:24) Risk-Averse Planning in Autonomous Systems

How risk-averse planning ensures safety in autonomous vehicles.

(00:18:43) Autonomous Systems in Space

The role of autonomous robots in space exploration and lunar missions.

(00:22:47) Space Debris and Collision Avoidance

The challenges of space debris and collision avoidance with autonomous systems.

(00:24:39) Distributed Autonomous Systems for Space

Using distributed autonomous systems in space missions for better coordination.

(00:28:40) Conclusion

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Physicist Matthias Kling studies photons and the things science can do with ultrafast pulses of X-rays. These pulses last just attoseconds – a billionth of a billionth of a second, Kling says. He uses them to create slo-mo “movies” of electrons moving through materials like those used in batteries and solar cells. The gained knowledge could reshape fields like materials science, ultrafast and quantum computers, AI, and medical diagnostics, Kling tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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SStanford Profile: Matthias Kling
Matthias’ Lab: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Matthias Kling, a professor of photon science and applied physics at Stanford University.

(00:02:52) Ultrafast Electronics Overview

The technologies enabling ultrafast photonics and electronic advancements.

(00:05:32) Attosecond Science Applications

Capturing electron and molecular movements with attosecond pulses.

(00:09:31) Photoelectric Effect Insights

Attosecond science’s impact on understanding the photoelectric effect and quantum mechanics.

(00:13:27) Real-Time Molecular Measurements

Using light waves to capture images of molecules at room temperature.

(00:19:32) Future of Ultrafast Electronics

How attosecond light pulses could revolutionize computing with petahertz speed.

(00:23:28) Energy-Efficient Quantum Computing

Potential for room-temperature quantum computers using light wave electronics.

(00:26:33) AI and Machine Learning in Science

AI's role in optimizing research and data collection in ultrafast electronics.

(00:28:51) Real-Time AI Data Analysis

Machine learning enables real-time analysis of massive experimental data.

(00:32:15) Conclusion

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We’re just weeks away from a national election, and in our polarized society, we all know it can be difficult to find and create spaces for thoughtful policy discussions. A couple of years ago, James Fishkin, a professor of communication at Stanford, joined the podcast. He talked about a system called deliberative polling that can serve as a model for structuring small group discussions to help bring people together and bridge differences in conversations about some of the most politically fraught issues. It’s an opportune time to bring this conversation back for another listen and we hope our discussion helps as you go about your conversations through this political season and beyond.

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Stanford Profile: James Fishkin
James’ Lab: Deliberative Democracy Lab

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest James Fishkin, a professor of communication at Stanford.

(00:01:31) What is Deliberative Democracy?

The concept of deliberative democracy and how it addresses political divides.

(00:03:47) Managing Balance in Deliberation

The importance of balanced group discussions and strategies for avoiding conflict.

(00:04:55) Scaling Deliberation for Large Groups

The logistics and technology behind scaling to larger groups, both online and in person.

(00:06:54) Deciding Which Questions to Address

How tough issues are selected for deliberation in different locations.

(00:10:54) The Human Element in Deliberation

The surprising effectiveness of online platforms for fostering connection.

(00:13:13) Automated Moderators in Deliberation

The development and success of automated moderators in online deliberations.

(00:19:20) Applying Deliberative Democracy to the U.S.

Whether deliberative polling could help address political deadlock in the U.S.

(00:25:30) The Future of Deliberative Polling

The future possibilities of scaling deliberative polling to larger populations.

(00:27:23) Conclusion

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Astronautics professor Grace Gao is an authority on the Global Positioning System. GPS has long been key to navigation on Earth, she says, but science is now shifting its focus outward to the frontiers of space. Gao is working on a GPS-like system for the Moon. To keep costs low, this lunar positioning system will leverage Earth-based satellites complemented by a network of smaller satellites in lunar orbit. It could lead to autonomous vehicles on the moon and a new era of lunar exploration, Gao tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Grace Gao
Grace’s Labe:

Stanford NAV Lab

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces Grace Gao, a professor of aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford University.

(00:02:15) GNSS vs. GPS

The difference between GPS and GNSS, and the different global navigation systems.

(00:03:09) How Does GPS Work?

GPS operation, including the role of satellites, ground monitoring stations, and user receivers.

(00:04:07) GPS Signal and Satellites

How GPS uses multiple satellites and how the different global systems collaborate to improve accuracy.

(00:05:23) GPS Challenges in Cities

Issues with GPS in urban environments and the importance of reliability and safety.

(00:07:53) Improving GPS Accuracy

Multimodal sensor fusion helps enhance GPS accuracy in challenging environments.

(00:10:11) Collaboration Among Autonomous Vehicles

The potential for autonomous vehicles to share information for better navigation and safety.

(00:14:07) GPS Safety and Signal Jamming

GPS safety concerns and real-world signal disruption examples.

(00:18:56) GPS in Space Travel

How GNSS and Earth-based GPS systems can support space missions.

(00:25:05) Designing Lunar GPS

The cost and coverage challenges of creating a lunar navigation system.

(00:27:13) Autonomous Moon Rovers

NASA’s plans for collaborative autonomous rovers on the Moon.

(00:30:42) Conclusion

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Sports medicine physician Emily Kraus knows a lot about the health challenges of female athletes. Women face far more ACL tears and bone stress injuries than men, for instance, and excessive training or poor nutrition can also delay puberty and affect menstruation. These differences are vastly understudied, she says. To close the gap, Kraus initiated the “Female Athlete Voice Project” that asks female Olympic and Paralympic athletes about their health experiences. We need to tailor approaches specific to female athletes, Kraus tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’sThe Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Emily Kraus
Emily’s Survey: Centering The Female Athlete Voice in a Sports Science Research Agenda
Stanford FASTR Program
Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altman introduces Emily Kraus, a professor of orthopedics at Stanford University and an expert on the issues of women's health.

(00:02:19) Health Challenges for Female Athletes

Prevalent injuries and health issues unique to female athletes.

(00:03:57) Hormonal Health and Puberty

The impact of hormonal health and menstrual cycles on young athletes’ performance.

(00:06:57) Body Composition and Mental Health

The challenges and psychological impact puberty has on young athletes.

(00:08:53) Female Athletes in Adulthood

The lack of research and resources available for female athletes during major life transitions.

(00:12:48) Nutrition, Fueling, and Recovery Science

How science has evolved in understanding nutrition, recovery, and strategic rest.

(00:15:54) Gender Differences in Fueling and Recovering

The differences between male and female athletes in nutrition and recovery.

(00:19:19) Survey of Olympic Athletes

Insights from female Olympians and Paralympians on the key gaps in sports science research.

(00:21:40) The WUSAI Human Performance Alliance

The WUSAI Human Performance Alliance’s focus on uncovering the principles of human performance.

(00:25:35) The Female Athlete Survey

The unexpected findings from the survey, highlighting the sexism and inequity in sports.

(00:27:26) Spreading Knowledge to Athletes and Clinicians

How Emily’s research is being received by the broader athletic and medical communities.

(00:30:00) Conclusion

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Today, we’re bringing you a best-of from our archive of over 250 episodes. We’re all aware that the consequences of climate change range from rising sea levels, to drought, wildfires, economic disruption and the displacement of populations. We’re seeing and living through many of these effects, but is there hope for managing additional risk? A couple years ago we sat down with environmental scientist Chris Field to ask this question. He shared that it’s still possible to pave the way to a sustainable future. Take another listen to this episode to hear more about how he thinks we can do this together.

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Stanford Profile: Chris Field
Original Episode: How to fight climate change | Stanford University School of Engineering

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altman introduces guest Chris Field, a professor of earth systems science and biology at Stanford.

(00:01:59) The Status of Climate Change

The current status of global warming and the need for ongoing emissions reductions.

(00:03:17) Understanding CO2 and Temperature

The linear relationship between CO2 emissions and global warming.

(00:05:00) Is Zero Emissions Feasible?

The UN's climate goals and why both mitigation and adaptation are crucial.

(00:06:04) Global Collaboration for Climate Action

The role of both private sector innovations and global political collaboration in climate action.

(00:08:22) Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies

Progress made in strategies for mitigating climate change and adapting to its effects.

(00:11:25) Climate Impact on Disasters

How rising temperatures exacerbate coastal flooding and wildfire risks.

(00:14:07) Adaptation to Coastal Flooding

Insights into strategies such as improving infrastructure and planned relocation.

(00:16:47) Adaptation to Wildfires

Assessment of fire management policies and the challenges of wildfire risk in high-risk regions.

(00:19:03) Technological Innovations in Climate Change

The potential for future technological innovations to solve climate change.

(00:20:54) Ukraine Conflict and Climate Change

The surprising connection between the Ukraine conflict and global climate change.

(00:23:41) Individual Impact on Climate Change

How individuals can make contributions to combating climate change in their everyday lives.

(00:25:57) The Role of Young People in Climate Change

The role young people play in the fight against climate change.

(00:27:12) Conclusion

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Taken any selfies lately? Dermatologist Zakia Rahman studies both the science of healthy skin and the effects of the exponential increase in skin images on self-esteem. As a result, skin health is linked to mental health, she says. It’s not about vanity, it’s about vitality, Rahman tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Zakia Rahman
Stanford Center on Longevity

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altman introduces guest Zakia Rahman, a professor of dermatology at Stanford University.

(00:02:24) The Impact of Digital Technologies

How digital technologies and frequent image exposure affect dermatology and self-perception.

(00:03:40) Effects of Self-Image on Dermatology

Balancing vanity and vitality in modern skincare trends.

(00:05:05) The Role of Lasers in Dermatology

The use of laser technology in dermatology, including types and applications.

(00:08:44) Lasers in Skin Cancer Treatment

How laser technology aids in the treatment and prevention of skin cancer.

(00:10:11) Progress in Skin Cancer

The effectiveness of sun protection measures and how we can better prevent skin cancer.

(00:13:29) Effectiveness of Physical Sun Protection

The protective benefits of everyday clothing versus specialized sun-protective gear.

(00:18:56) Ethnic Differences in Skin Health

The differences in skin health and sun exposure effects across various ethnic groups.

(00:23:43) Aesthetic and Cultural Implications in Skin Care

How cultural perceptions of beauty intersect with skincare and overall health.

(00:26:08) Therapeutic Effects of Light

The potential skincare benefits of red light therapy and its popularity.

(00:28:55) Conclusion

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Arvind Karunakaran studies the intersections of work, AI, and organizational behavior. He says AI can enhance speed and productivity in the short run, yet degrade skills over time. But it is in organizational power dynamics where AI has had its most marked impact, he says, telling host Russ Altman about situations in law firms where AI has fostered tension between paralegals and junior attorneys. It’s AI and the modern workplace on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything Podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Arvind Karunakaran

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altman introduces guest Arvind Karunakaran, a professor of management science and engineering at Stanford University.

(00:02:47) Productivity vs. Skill Development

The broader impact of AI on workplace productivity and the potential skill loss among workers.

(00:04:39) New Skills for the AI Era

Whether new skill sets required by AI tools are emerging or if it's still too early to tell.

(00:06:17) AI and Power Dynamics

How AI is influencing authority and power dynamics in the workplace.

(00:09:16) Challenges of Role Re-Design with AI

The need for systemic changes in job roles and organizational structures to accommodate AI.

(00:11:02) Accountability and AI in Decision-Making

The complexities of accountability when AI is involved in decision-making processes.

(00:15:14) Platforms and Power Dynamics

The role of platforms as intermediaries and their impact on authority and power dynamics.

(00:20:28) AI Experimentation in the Workplace

How organizations are experimenting with AI and the importance of trust in these processes.

(00:23:29) Rethinking Training for AI Integration

The necessity of innovative training methods to effectively integrate AI in workplace settings.

(00:25:30) Management Strategies for AI Adoption

Ways managers can approach AI integration in their organizations to foster productivity and innovation

(00:28:12) AI in Gig Work Platforms

Challenges and opportunities AI presents within gig work platforms.

(00:32:20) Conclusion

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We want to wish our listeners in the states a happy Labor Day weekend. We hope, wherever you are, you’re taking some time to savor the last bit of summer. After a couple months full of travel and news about the airplane industry, we can’t help wondering — are there better ways to build airplanes? Our previous guest, Ilan Kroo, an expert in aeronautics, discusses how recent developments in fuels, engines, materials, and computer controls are leading to a new era of airplanes. We hope you’ll tune in and learn something new.

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Stanford Profile: Ilan Kroo

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altman introduces guest Ilan Kroo, a professor of aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford University.

(00:01:33) The Future of Airplane Design

The technological advancements that are enabling new types of aircraft designs.

(00:03:52) Designing Airplanes with Active Control

Active control systems and their impact on airplane safety and efficiency.

(00:05:03) Personal Flying Vehicles

eVTOL vehicles as a promising future technology for personalized and commercial travel.

(00:06:54) Scaling eVTOL and Air Traffic Control

How companies and regulatory bodies are preparing for the rise of eVTOL vehicles.

(00:10:21) Sustainable Aviation

New engine concepts, composite materials, and sustainable fuels in commercial aviation.

(00:16:42) Hydrogen-Powered Aircraft

Hydrogen's potential as a sustainable fuel source and its impact on airplane design.

(00:19:44) Climate Modelling in Airplane Design

The intersection of climate science and airplane design for a more sustainable future.

(00:22:04) Unconventional Airplane Designs

New designs that may become the future of aviation, with benefits in sustainability and performance.

(00:25:55) Conclusion

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Political scientist Kathryn Stoner is the Director of the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) at Stanford and an authority on Russian/Ukrainian politics. She says views on the current war depend on which side someone is on: Many Russians and their leader Vladimir Putin say Ukrainians are Russians and have been since the 10th century. Ukrainians strongly disagree, likening the two nations to the U.S. and Great Britain. How the present conflict is resolved has important implications for other former Soviet states and the future of the European Union, as Stoner tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford CDDRL Profile: Kathryn Stoner

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altman introduces guest Kathryn Stoner, director of the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law at Stanford University.

(00:02:09) Historical Context of the Russia-Ukraine Conflict

How historical narratives shape perspectives on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

(00:05:38) U.S. and International Perspectives

The strategic implications of the Russia-Ukraine conflict for the United States and its historical agreements.

(00:08:49) The Domino Effect and Regional Risks

The potential risks to other former Soviet republics and the concept of the domino effect.

(00:12:43) Democracy in the Post-Soviet States

Analysis of the state of democracy in Ukraine, Georgia, and other former Soviet republics

(00:18:59) The Unexpected Stalemate

Why the Russia-Ukraine war has not gone as expected and the strategic missteps by Russia.

(00:22:39) Domestic Impact in Russia

The impact of the war on Russian public opinion and why Russians are not openly protesting against it.

(00:28:46) Hope for the Future

Potential sources of optimism for the future of Russia and its younger generation.

(00:31:40) Conclusion

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Dan Schwartz is a cognitive psychologist and dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Education. He says that artificial intelligence is a different beast, but he is optimistic about its future in education. “It’s going to change stuff. It’s really an exciting time,” he says. Schwartz imagines a world not where AI is the teacher, but where human students learn by teaching AI chatbots key concepts. It’s called the Protégé Effect, Schwartz says, providing host Russ Altman a glimpse of the future of education on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Daniel Schwartz

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altman introduces guest Dan Schwartz, a professor of education and a dean of the School of Education at Stanford University.

(00:02:06) The Role of AI in Modern Education

The widespread reactions and implications of AI, particularly ChatGPT, in education.

(00:03:22) The Role of Technology in the Classroom

The historical and evolving relationship between technology and education.

(00:05:14) Engaging Students with AI

How AI can enhance student engagement through innovative teaching methods.

(00:08:08) Impact of AI on Student Learning

The balance between AI tools and maintaining educational standards.

(00:13:42) Industry's Role in Educational Technology

Challenges and opportunities in collaborating with educational technology companies.

(00:15:44) Teacher's Role in Adapting to AI

The critical role of teachers in effectively integrating AI into the classroom.

(00:18:39) Assessment and Grading with AI

The potential and concerns of using AI for educational assessment.

(00:22:34) Learning Strategies and Conceptual Understanding

The importance of understanding the underlying concepts rather than just using AI tools.

(00:25:08) Physical Activity and Learning

The connection between physical activity and improved learning outcomes.

(00:29:17) Conclusion

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Today, we’re re-running a fascinating conversation with Sara Singer, a Stanford professor of medicine, and an expert on integrated healthcare. Anyone who’s had to navigate the healthcare system knows it’s extremely complex, and care can often feel disjointed or inefficient. In this episode, Sara highlights new technologies that could improve integration within the healthcare system, ultimately enhancing a practitioners’ ability to care for patients. We hope you’ll take another listen and enjoy.

Episode Reference Links:

Stanford Profile: Sara Singer

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Sarah Singer, a professor of medicine and organizational behaviour at Stanford University

(00:02:25) Defining Integrated Care

The concept of integrated care and its significance in improving patient experience.

(00:03:37) Global Implementation of Integrated Care

The global challenges and successes in implementing integrated care.

(00:04:45) Cost Implications of Integrated Care

The potential cost-saving benefits of integrated care through efficient coordination.

(00:05:34) COVID-19’s Impact on Healthcare Integration

The pandemic's dual role in exposing challenges and providing opportunities for integrated care.

(00:07:45) The Role of AI in Healthcare's Future

AI’s potential in healthcare and the importance of user collaboration.

(00:09:38) Importance of Iterative Development

The need for continuous collaboration in healthcare technology development.

(00:12:16) Patient Perspectives in Tech Development

The value of integrating patient feedback into healthcare technology.

(00:13:20) Consumer Suggestions for Health Care

How patient feedback has influenced health care improvements.

(00:16:49) Iterative Development of Health Care Technologies

The iterative process of developing health care technologies with continuous input from end users.

(00:24:29) Advice for Healthcare Technologists

Advice for technologists on developing useful and accepted healthcare tools.

(00:27:22) Conclusion

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Psychologist Judy Fan is an expert in how physical objects facilitate learning. In the classroom, these include pencils, pens, paper, and whiteboards. But in any learning situation, the physical world provides tools for learning and communicating, often trumping the speed and reach of today’s digital technologies. These objects are cognitive tools – physical representations of human thought, she says. They help us think, solve problems, and communicate with others better and more effectively, as she tells host Russ Altman in this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Episode Reference Links:

Stanford Profile: Judy Fan

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altman introduces guest Judy Fan, a professor of psychology at Stanford University.

(00:02:02) The Essence of Cognitive Tools

What cognitive tools are and their importance from ancient times to the present.

(00:03:37) Historical Context of Cognitive Tools

The historical evolution of cognitive tools and their role in education.

(00:06:57) Cross-Cultural Insights on Cognitive Tools

The universality of cognitive tools and cross-cultural variations.

(00:12:39) Developmental Trajectories in Visual Communication

How children develop the ability to visually communicate concepts and the differences between cultures.

(00:17:01) The Influence of Cultural Artifacts on Perception

How cultural exposure shapes our perception and depiction of the world.

(00:22:15) The Future of Learning Technologies

The impact of technological advancements on cognitive tools and potential directions for the future.

(00:24:29) Hands-On Learning and Interactive Tools

The importance of interactive learning activities that allow students to engage with scientific processes.

(00:27:44) Enhancing Creative Processes Through Technology

Ways technology can aid creative professionals and the development of tools for high-level experts.

(00:30:44) Bridging Novice and Expert Needs

The challenges of designing technology that serves both novices and experts.

(00:33:19) Conclusion

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From witchcraft to shamans to those with schizophrenia, voices and visions have always been part of human experience and they have always intrigued anthropologist Tanya Luhrmann. She now studies how various cultures understand these mysterious mental phenomena. Luhrmann has observed and talked to hundreds who’ve experienced voices and visions and learned there are “different pathways” to understand them, as she tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Episode Reference Links:

Stanford Profile: Tanya Marie Luhrmann
Tanya Luhrmann: Website

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altman introduces guest Tanya Luhrmann, a professor of anthropology at Stanford University.

(00:02:18) Origins of Interest

Tanya shares her background and how it influenced her studies on the human mind and its perceptions.

(00:05:53) Methodologies in Anthropological Research

The methods used to understand experiences like hearing voices and seeing visions.

(00:07:04) Cultural Variability in Human Experiences

How hearing voices varies across cultures, and their implications on mental health.

(00:13:42) The Clinical and Non-Clinical Spectrum

The clinical aspects of hearing voices, and how they are perceived and treated in different contexts.

(00:18:01) Non-Clinical Manifestations and Practice

The influence of practices and beliefs on non-clinical supernatural experiences.

(00:22:24) Characteristics of Leaders

Factors that make certain individuals leaders in perceptual practices.

(00:23:43) AI and Relationships with Chatbots

Parallels between relationships with imagined entities and modern AI chatbots.

(00:28:40) Conclusion

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Whether you’re taking a summer road trip, planning a long plane ride, or simply enjoying walks in the warm weather, we want to take a moment to recommend to you a few recent episodes of The Future of Everything to listen to along the way. You’ll find a list of these episodes in the show notes, but as a brief preview we’ve got conversations on robotics, brain science, cybersecurity, the universe, and exercise waiting for you. If you’re interested in any one of these topics, check out this summer playlist and be sure to download these episodes before you head out for summer fun.

Curated Episode Links:

The future of robotics (Jeannette Bohg): Website / YouTube
The future of brain science (Sergiu Pasca): Website / YouTube
The future of cybersecurity (Amy Zegart): Website / YouTube
The future of the universe (Risa Wechsler): Website / YouTube
The future of exercise (Jonathan Long): Website / YouTube

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Alberto Salleo is an expert in the long, chain-like molecules known as polymers. The world relies on polymers and the most common are in plastics. Salleo is now working on a new generation of organic polymers made of Earth-abundant materials that could lead to flexible electronics that can biodegrade or be easily recycled. These polymers could be game-changers, Salleo tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Episode Reference Links:

Stanford Profile: Alberto Salleo
Alberto’s Lab: Salleo Research Group

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altman introduces guest Alberto Salleo, a professor of materials science and engineering at Stanford University.

(00:03:02) Defining Polymers

A fundamental definition of polymers, emphasizing their structure as long molecules composed of repeating subunits.

(00:04:43) Everyday Applications of Polymers

The commonplace polymers that people encounter daily and their broader impacts.

(00:05:42) Organic Polymers and Electronics

The unique properties of organic polymers, their applications in electronics and potential for biodegradability.

(00:07:52) Advanced Polymer Applications

The development of flexible electronics using organic polymers, including the challenges and current research status.

(00:11:27) Neuromorphic Computing

The role of polymers in neuromorphic computing, highlighting how their properties could mimic brain functions.

(00:14:42) Human-Brain Interface and Computing Applications

The dual potential of polymers in interfacing with human brains and creating new generations of computers.

(00:18:04) Emerging Research and Technologies

The integration of electron microscopy from biology to study polymers and their structures.

(00:22:22) Electron Microscopy and Cryo-EM Techniques

Advanced electron microscopy techniques, such as cryo-EM, to study polymers.

(00:26:19) Electrochemistry and Sustainable Batteries

The application of polymers in electrochemistry, particularly in creating high-density, recyclable batteries.

(00:29:26) Conclusion

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We have another best-of episode for you today. This one is a conversation with Irene Lo about the work she’s doing to study and leverage markets for social impact — think markets for public school assignments, or medical school residency matches. Irene reminds us that markets exist to help effectively allocate limited resources, and not all marketplaces are based in cash. We hope you’ll tune in again to this thought provoking conversation to hear Irene talk about the changing face of markets.

Episode Reference Links:

Stanford Profile: Irene Lo

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altman introduces guest Irene Lo, a professor of management science and engineering at Stanford.

(00:03:23) Unique Challenges of Non-Financial Markets

The unique challenges in markets where monetary transactions are not feasible or ethical.

(00:04:21) School Choice and District Perspectives

The multifaceted decisions parents and school districts face in school choice.

(00:06:54) Collaboration with San Francisco School District

Connecting with the San Francisco School District to redesign their student assignment system.

(00:08:27) Algorithms and Testing of School Assignment Policies

The extensive simulations and community engagement involved in testing the new school assignment policies algorithm before implementation.

(00:11:18) Goals and Issues of the Old System

Why the old school assignment system failed to achieve its goals of predictability, proximity, and diversity.

(00:12:52) Algorithm Adaptation for Broader Use

The potential for adapting the San Francisco school assignment algorithms for use in other cities and districts.

(00:14:42) Applying Market Design to Medical Residency Matches

Adapting market design principles to medical residency placements, emphasizing multifactorial considerations.

(00:19:07) Market Design in the Developing World: Indonesian Palm Oil Market

Insights into the challenges and solutions in improving the supply chain for palm oil in Indonesia.

(00:24:08) Crowdsourcing Information

How crowdsourcing information can help improve market efficiency for palm oil farmers and the challenges involved.

(00:26:32) Market Manipulation and Algorithms

The future application of advanced algorithms to improve market dynamics once sufficient data is gathered.

(00:28:08) Conclusion

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Jonathan Long is a biochemist who studies the chemicals produced during exercise. In Long’s world, “you always start with molecules,” which offer “clean handles” to understanding complex processes. His lab has identified a chemical produced in the digestive tract during exercise that can make a person stop eating. Long now studies this “gut-brain axis” for ways to treat obesity, diabetes, and, perhaps, even age-related conditions like dementia, as he tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Episode Reference Links:

Stanford Profile: Jonathan Z. Long
Jonathan’s Lab: LongLab@Stanford
Study on Endocannabinoids and Exercise Motivation: The Endocannabinoid System and Physical Exercise

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altman introduces guest Jonathan Long, a professor of pathology at Stanford University

(00:02:30) Effective Weight Loss Drugs

The increase of effective weight loss drugs, and the history and development of these GLP-1 receptor agonists.

(00:04:03) Understanding Metabolism and Exercise

Outline of metabolic chemicals released during physical activity and their potential to combat obesity and diabetes.

(00:05:38) Animal Models in Exercise Studies

The use of animal models in exercise studies and the discovery of Lac-Phe.

(00:07:15) Psychological Preparation for Exercise

The psychological aspects of exercise and the involvement of endocannabinoids in exercise motivation.

(00:09:28) Lac-Phe's Role and Mechanism

The role of Lac-Phe and its production in the gut.

(00:12:21) Differences in Exercise Response

Differences in exercise response between trained athletes and untrained individuals.

(00:13:25) Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases

The relationship between diabetes, exercise, and metabolic diseases.

(00:15:29) Lac-Phe as a Potential Therapeutic

The potential of Lac-Phe as a weight loss drug, and parallels to GLP-1 drug development.

(00:16:48) Importance of How Weight is Lost

Whether the method of weight-loss matters, and the importance of preserving lean muscle mass.

(00:19:40) Exercise as Medicine

The concept of exercise as medicine, and defining physical activity at the same resolution as modern medicines.

(00:22:39) Metformin and Exercise Pathways

The unexpected connection between metformin and the Lac-Phe pathway.

(00:24:08) Prospects of an Exercise Pill

The future of an exercise pill, and the scientific challenges associated with its development.

(00:27:33) Conclusion

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We’re digging back into our archives with an episode with bioengineer Polly Fordyce. Polly studies the form and function of proteins. She refers to proteins as the “workhorses” that make things in the body happen, and her study of these molecules reveals a greater understanding of human life. We hope you’ll tune in to this conversation again, and enjoy.

Episode Reference Links:

Stanford Profile: Polly Fordyce
Polly’s Lab: The Fordyce Lab

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altman introduces guest Polly Fordyce, a professor of bioengineering and genetics at Stanford University.

(00:01:51) What are Proteins?

The basics of proteins and their crucial roles in the body.

(00:05:01) Protein Structure and Function

The relationship between protein structure and function.

(00:07:07) Innovations in Protein Research

The high-throughput technologies used in the lab to study protein functions.

(00:09:44) Mutant Proteins and Functional Variants

How mutations in proteins affect their function and structure, using the example of the protein PafA.

(00:14:24) The Impact of Protein Research on Medicine

Insight into how protein mutations can aid in developing targeted therapies.

(00:17:37) Proteins and DNA Interaction

The role of proteins in reading DNA and regulating gene expression.

(00:21:41) Transcription Factors and DNA Binding

The relationship between transcription factors and specific DNA sequences.

(00:25:36) Mechanisms of Transcription Activation

The process of transcription activation and the role of co-activators and RNA polymerase.

(00:28:15) Future Directions in Protein Research

The future of protein research, including making advanced research tools more accessible.

(00:30:36) Conclusion

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Chris Piech is a professor of computer science who studies how computers can help students learn. In comparing human- and computer-aided education, he says humans are great one-on-one, but AI is more consistent at grading and feedback. He and colleagues have created several generative AI grading apps to take advantage of these relative strengths, as he tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Episode Reference Links:

Stanford Profile: Christopher Piech
Stanford Coding Program: Code in Place

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altmans introduces guest Chris Piech, a professor of computer science at Stanford University.

(00:01:50) Defining Coding and Its Challenges

What coding entails for beginners and the challenges associated with learning to code.

(00:03:37) Enhancing Learning with Computers

How computers and AI can be used to make learning more enjoyable and effective.

(00:05:12) Human Connection in Education

The significance of teacher-student relationships and how recent learners can be effective teachers.

(00:07:02) AI and Coding Education

The impact of AI on professional coding and how it can enhance the learning experience for new coders.

(00:08:48) Joy of Programming

The creative joy of programming and how AI tools can elevate the creation process.

(00:11:57) Comparing Human and AI Tutors

Results from experiments comparing the effectiveness of human and AI tutors.

(00:14:43) Fair and Effective Assessment

Challenges and strategies for fair and effective computational assessment of students' work.

(00:16:42) Addressing Bias and Fairness in Grading

Demographic fairness in grading algorithms and the potential biases in different subjects.

(00:20:52) Interactive and Unstructured Feedback

Using AI to provide feedback on unstructured and interactive student work, like games and apps.

(00:25:30) Expanding Beyond Academic Tests

Application of AI in non-academic assessments, such as medical tests, to improve accuracy and efficiency.

(00:27:42) Generative Grading

Introduction to generative grading, where AI generates potential misconceptions to help with grading and feedback.

(00:31:37) Conclusion

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Guest Matt Abrahams is a master communicator who helps others overcome their fear of speaking — before live audiences, in small groups, or even one-on-one. His catchphrase, “Think Fast, Talk smart,” describes a mindset that, he says, is key to speaking well. Thinking fast is the ability to recognize and respond to patterns in order to talk smart — becoming more salient, relevant, and concise in the process. Abrahams coaches host Russ Altman on how to talk smart on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Episode Reference Links:

Matt Abrahams: Website
Stanford Profile: Website
Matt’s Podcast: Think Fast, Talk Smart: The Podcast

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altman introduces Matt Abrahams, an expert on communication and lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Business.

(00:02:04) The Power of Thinking Fast and Talking Smart

Matt explains the concept behind his catchphrase and podcast, "Think Fast, Talk Smart".

(00:06:22) Addressing Speaking Anxiety

The prevalence of speaking anxiety, its evolutionary roots, and how it has evolved with modern communication tools.

(00:08:46) Impact of AI on Communication

How LLMs like ChatGPT can aid in preparation for speaking engagements and assist non-native speakers with communication.

(00:11:33) Virtual vs. In-Person Communication

Differences between in-person and virtual communication and how individuals can adapt to virtual communication environments.

(00:13:59) Handling Difficult Questions

Strategies for responding to questions when you don't know the answer or can't legally or ethically provide one.

(00:17:18) Structuring Effective Communications

Methods for structuring communications to ensure clarity and impact.

(00:22:10) Cultural Influences on Communication

The impact of cultural differences on communication styles and the importance of sensitivity and adaptation.

(00:25:11) Reevaluating the Use of Presentation Tools

The appropriate use of PowerPoint and other visual aids in presentations, with tips for making visuals effective and audience-focused.

(00:29:21) Conclusion

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We’re bringing you a timely best-of episode, given the recent advances in generative AI tools like ChatGPT. A couple years ago we interviewed Jeff Hancock, a Stanford professor of communication whose research explores the psychological and interpersonal processes at play when people communicate with each other and with computers. At the time of this conversation, ChatGPT wasn’t yet available to the public, but today Jeff’s insights about how such technologies impact the ways we communicate seem more relevant than ever. We hope you’ll take another listen and enjoy.

Episode Reference Links:

Stanford Profile: Jeffrey Hancock
Jeff’s Lab: Stanford Social Media Lab
Stanford’s AI Institute: Stanford HAI
Jeff and Jeremy Bailenson’s paper on deep fakes: The Social Impact of Deepfakes
Jeff's paper on AI accessibility: Not All AI are Equal: Exploring the Accessibility of AI-Mediated Communication Technology
Jeff’s paper on encountering fake news: Credibility Perceptions and Detection Accuracy of Fake News Headlines on Social Media
Original episode: Ep.177 What Happens When Computers Can Write Like Humans Website / YouTube

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altman introduces guest Jeff Hancock, a professor of communications at Stanford University.

(00:03:04) Evolution of Communication

How social media and AI tools like spellcheck have changed the way we communicate.

(00:04:08) AI in Everyday Communication

The role of AI in daily communication tasks, like email responses, and whether this is beneficial or problematic.

(00:06:35) Authenticity and Bias in AI Communication

The potential biases in AI-generated language and its societal implications.

(00:08:42) Large Language Models and Their Capabilities

Overview of large language models like GPT-3 and their ability to generate human-like text.

(00:10:34) Practical Uses and Implications of AI-Generated Text

Practical applications of AI in generating text for marketing, education, and other fields.

(00:12:18) Tailoring AI Messages

The potential of AI to create personalized messages for different demographics.

(00:14:49) Ethical Considerations in AI-Assisted Writing

The ethical dilemmas in education regarding AI-assisted writing.

(00:17:15) AI and Disinformation

The risks associated with AI-generated disinformation and its impact on society.

(00:21:06) AI in Advertising and Marketing

AI's role in advertising and marketing, including the ethical considerations of using AI to create highly persuasive content.

(00:22:38) Building Resilience Against Disinformation

Tips for individuals to build resilience against disinformation.

(00:26:35) Conclusion

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Astrophysicist Risa Wechsler studies the evolution of the universe. She says that our understanding of how the universe formed and how it will change over time is changing as new technologies for seeing and measuring space come online, like a new high-resolution camera that can quickly map the full sky to see everything that moves, or new spectrographs that will map the cosmos in 3D and enable us to get new clues about the elusive dark matter. You can’t understand the universe or our presence in it until you understand dark matter, Wechsler tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Episode Reference Links:

Risa Wechsler: Website
Stanford Profile: Website
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) | Rubin Observatory
Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI)
The SAGA Survey

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Professor Risa Wechsler, professor of physics, particle physics, and astrophysics from Stanford University.

(00:01:46) Tools for Studying the Universe

Technologies and methods used to study galaxies and the universe, including the Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time.

(00:04:37) Understanding Maps of the Universe

The concept of mapping the universe in two and three dimensions, the significance of redshifts, and the application of spectroscopy.

(00:08:56) The Structure and Scale of the Universe

The age, expansion, and overall structure of the universe, touching on its isotropic nature and clumpiness on different scales.

(00:12:23) Delving into Galaxy Formation and Evolution

An in-depth look at galaxy formation, the role of dark matter, and how galaxies have evolved over billions of years.

(00:14:49) The Diversity of Galaxies and Their Structures

The various types of galaxies, including satellite and dwarf galaxies, and how they form and evolve differently.

(00:18:56) Dark Matter and Dark Energy

The fundamental aspects of dark matter and dark energy, their role in the universe, and the challenges in studying them.

(00:22:32) Mapping the Universe with Modern Tools

How current technologies and methods contribute to our understanding of the universe’s expansion and structure

(00:24:57) Applying Cosmic Understanding

The SAGA Survey and its implications for understanding the Milky Way in a broader cosmic context.

(00:29:29) Conclusion

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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 language models. The LLMs have a certain common sense baked in and robots are using it to plan and to reason as never before. But they still lack low-level sensorimotor control — like the fine skill it takes to turn a doorknob. New models that do for robotic control what LLMs did for language could soon make such skills a reality, Bohg tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Episode Reference Links:

Jeannette Bogh: Website
Stanford Profile: Website
Jeannette's Lab: Website
Robotics startup Jeannette discusses: Diligent Robotics

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ introduces guest Professor Jeannette Bohg, an expert in robotics from Stanford University.

(00:01:58) AI's Impact on Robotics

How AI is transforming robotics and the use of AI in high-level planning and reasoning in robotics.

(00:04:26) Challenges of Applying Language Models in Robotics

The challenges and potential of using large language models for robotic task planning and interaction between humans and robots.

(00:07:06) Data Shortages in Robotics

The scarcity of training data in robotics compared to other AI fields and its impact on development.

(00:10:43) Human-Robot Interaction and Augmentation

The potential for robots to augment human capabilities rather than replace them and different approaches to autonomy in robotics.

(00:16:41) The Future of Robotic Hardware

The current state of robotic hardware, its limitations, and what the future might hold for robotic development.

(00:19:53) The Financial and Practical Realities of Robotic Research

Cost and maintenance challenges associated with robotic research platforms, as well as practical applications of robotics in everyday life.

(00:25:11) Humanoid Robots vs. Practical Robots

The practicality and implications of designing robots that mimic human appearance and capabilities.

(00:27:55) Future Outlook and Commercial Viability

The future outlook for robotic platforms and when they might become commercially available.

(00:29:08) Conclusion

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Guest Sergiu Pasca is a physician-scientist who turns skin cells into stem cells and then into brain tissues he calls “organoids” and “assembloids” in order to study psychiatric and neurological illness in a dish instead of in living human beings. With this knowledge, Pasca hopes to develop new treatments for conditions ranging from schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders to chronic pain, he tells host Russ Altman in this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Episode Reference Links:

Sergiu’s Lab: Pasca Lab
Sergiu’s Stanford Profile: Website
Center at Stanford Sergiu Leads: Stanford Brain Organogenesis
Sergiu’s recently published paper: Antisense Oligonucleotide Therapeutic Approach for Timothy Syndrome
Paper by Shinya Yamanaka Sergiu discusses: Induction of Pluripotent Stem Cells from Mouse Embryonic and Adult Fibroblast Cultures

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ introduces guest, Sergiu Pasca, professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University.

(00:02:43) The Science of Growing Brain Tissue from Skin Cells

The process of developing brain organoids from skin cells and the potential medical applications of these models.

(00:03:59) Enhancing Neurological Research Tools

Advancing the complexity of brain models to include various brain structures and their applications in modeling diseases.

(00:07:20) Introduction of Assembloids

Introduction to assembloids, detailing how combining different organoids can mimic complex brain structures

(0015:58) Testing Therapeutics Using Humanized Models

The innovative approach of using humanized rat models to test neurological therapies and drugs.

(00:21:03) Complex Circuit Modelling for Disease Understanding

The current capabilities of modeling complex brain circuits and their relevance in understanding the neural pathways involved in diseases.

(00:23:36) The Future of Pain Modelling and Drug Testing

How assembled brain cells can model pain perception and response, leading to potential new treatments for chronic pain and psychiatric disorders

(00:27:46) Ethical Considerations and Public Engagement

Ethical concerns related to creating brain-like tissues and the importance of public engagement in scientific research.

(00:32:01) Future Directions and Global Collaboration

The future of brain organogenesis research and the potential impacts on treating neurological and psychiatric conditions.

(00:34:05) Conclusion

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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 that data on so many Americans is a national security threat, she asserts. For those as concerned as she, Zegart has good news and bad. The government has gotten better at fighting cyberthreats, but artificial intelligence is making things very complicated, very fast. The US needs to adapt quickly to keep pace, Zegart tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Episode Reference Links:

Amy Zegart's Stanford Profile
Hoover Institution Profile: Website
Ep.20 How Vulnerable Are We to Cyber Attacks? (Amy’s previous episode on The Future of Everything)

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altman introduces guest Amy Zegart, a cybersecurity expert from Stanford University.

(00:02:37) Government and Cybersecurity Speeds

How AI has changed the pace at which both government and cyber attackers operate, and the evolving dynamics of cybersecurity efforts.

(00:04:12) Corporate Cybersecurity

The unexpected role of the SEC in regulating corporate cybersecurity efforts and how the cyber attack surface has expanded beyond traditional big industries

(00:07:30) Global Cyber Threats and Preparedness

Insights into the strategic use of cyber operations by other countries, and the multifaceted nature of international cyber relations.

(00:09:13) Cyber Dynamics in the Russia-Ukraine Conflict

The cyber aspects of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and its implications for global cybersecurity strategies.

(00:11:35) Misinformation and Disinformation Dynamics

The difference between misinformation and disinformation, their impacts on society and the challenges in combating them.

(00:15:04) TikTok and National Security

Risks associated with TikTok as a platform controlled by Chinese interests, discussing data privacy and potential for foreign influence.

(00:20:11) Corporate Power in AI and National Security

The role of corporations in national security through their control over AI, and the challenges this poses for regulation and innovation.

(00:22:47) Learning from Cybersecurity to Manage AI Risks

Lessons from cybersecurity that could help manage emerging AI risks, highlighting the need for developing independent AI research capacities.

(00:26:44) European Regulation and Global AI Safety

The European approach to AI regulation and data protection, advocating for international AI safety norms and collaborative efforts.

(00:29:21) AI's Role in Enhancing Intelligence

How AI can transform intelligence services, and advancements that could lead to significant efficiency gains in national security.

(00:31:23) Conclusion

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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 realm of tissue engineering. Hear more about the ways her lab is modeling human tissue to help develop a better understanding of how we might effectively replace damaged tissues and alleviate a number of health concerns.

Episode Reference Links:

Fan Yang's Stanford Profile: Website
Fan Yang’s Stanford Lab: Website
Ep.174 Regenerating and Rejuvenating Human Tissues: Website / YouTube (original episode)

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altman introduces guest Fan Yang, a bioengineer at Stanford.

(00:03:15) The Basics of Tissue Engineering

The purpose and significance of tissue engineering, emphasizing its role in addressing critical medical needs like late-stage arthritis.

(00:04:23) Challenges in Tissue Engineering

Technical hurdles in creating viable tissues for clinical use, such as integrating these tissues into the human body.

(00:07:00) 3D Printing and In Situ Polymerization

Technological advances in shaping tissues using 3D printing and the benefits of in situ polymerization to adapt to complex tissue shapes.

(00:09:15) Specific Challenges with Cartilage

The challenges specific to cartilage regeneration, explaining why it has been a difficult tissue to replicate and heal.

(00:13:56) Micro Ribbon Based Hydrogels

Explanation of micro ribbon based hydrogels, a new development aimed at improving tissue regeneration.

(00:19:16) Cancer Research and Tissue Engineering

How tissue engineering technologies are not only pivotal for therapeutic uses but also crucial for understanding diseases and aiding drug discovery.

(00:24:38) Regulatory Challenges and Commercialization

The regulatory and commercialization challenges facing new medical technologies, including the need for industry partnerships and the role of the FDA

(00:26:20) Conclusion

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A best of episode where Russ interviews computer scientist and electrical engineer, Dorsa Sadigh. They had a fantastic conversation about the work she’s doing to train robots to better understand humans, and as she shares, it turns out that one key to this work is better understanding human behavior. If you’re curious about how we’re going to make human-robot interaction work, this is a great episode to tune into again. Enjoy.

Episode Reference Links:

Dorsa Sadigh: Website
Dorsa Sadigh: Stanford Profile
Ep.171 - How do you Build a Better Robot? By Understanding People. YouTube / Website (original episode)

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altman introduces guest Professor Dorsa Sadigh, a computer scientist and electrical engineer at Stanford.

(00:02:24) Bridging Robotics and Human Psychology

The journey from focusing solely on robotics to incorporating human behavioural insights to enhance robot design and functionality.

(00:05:31) Blending Cognitive Science and Robotics

The integration of cognitive science with robotics to build better computational models of human behaviour.

(00:07:35) Addressing Suboptimal Human Decision Making

Exploring human decision-making biases and their impact on robot interaction, with focus on bounded rationality and prospect theory.

(00:10:39) Robot Adaptations to Human Imperfections

How robots can adapt to human imperfections in collaborative tasks, using theories from behavioural economics.

(00:14:57) Training Robots and Humans for Better Interaction

Strategies for teaching both humans and robots to improve their interactions, including active teaching and understanding each other’s capabilities.

(00:18:41) Partner Modelling in Robotics

Insights into partner modelling in robotics, demonstrated through a scalable model in an air hockey game setup.

(00:21:54) Complex Multi-Agent Interactions

Addressing the dynamics of multi-agent systems like traffic, where autonomous and human-driven vehicles interact.

(00:24:11) Robots in Healthcare

The role of robots in healthcare, particularly in assistive technologies, and the challenges and advancements in this area.

(00:26:26) Conclusion

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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 Guestrin shares insights from the work he’s doing to support the development of trust between humans and machines. We originally recorded this episode in 2022, but the insights are just as if not more relevant today. We hope you’ll take another listen and enjoy.

Episode Reference Links:

Carlos Ernesto Guestrin (Stanford Profile)
Carlos Guestrin (Carlos’ Website)
Measuring Patients' Trust In Physicians When Assessing Quality Of Care (Paper Carlos discusses as comparison to his work with AI)
Adding Glycemic And Physical Activity Metrics To A Multimodal Algorithm-Enabled Decision-Support Tool For Type 1 Diabetes Care (Carlos’ published paper about Stanford Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital diabetes type 1 project)
XGBoost Documentation (Carlos’ out-source project)
Ep.172 - Why AI Must Embody the Value of Its Users YouTube / Website (Original Episode)

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces the episode with guest Carlos Guestrin, a professor of computer science at Stanford, whose focus is bringing AI into broader use.

(00:02:58) Current Status of AI

The current capabilities of AI and machine learning and the widespread use and integration of these technologies.

(00:05:44) Deep Dive into Trust and AI

Three core components of trust in AI and how these factors influence the adoption and efficacy of AI systems.

(00:09:43) Technical Challenges in Implementing Trust

The challenges of translating the abstract concepts of trust into practical, implementable AI features.

(00:14:32) Enhancing AI Transparency and Generalization

Methods to improve AI’s generalisation capabilities and transparency.

(00:18:00) The Role of Open-Source in AI Development

The impact of open-source software on the AI field, highlighting the benefits of shared knowledge and collaborative advancements.

(00:22:34) AI in Healthcare

Healthcare and the use of AI in enhancing data-driven decisions in medical treatments.

(00:27:11) Conclusion

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Guest Anna Lembke is a psychiatrist and a specialist in the behavioral sciences who studies addiction. While there is tremendous variety in the things people can be addicted to, all forms are tied to dopamine, a biochemical that is key to human senses of pleasure, reward, and motivation. She says that new treatments are combining traditional abstinence with programs that help patients reenergize dopamine centers in the brain through physical exercise, which is a known producer of dopamine. If patients can reach 30 days of abstinence there is a good chance at recovery, Lembke tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Episode Reference Links:

Anna Lembke's Stanford Profile
Anna Lembke's Website
How do we fight the disease of addiction? (Anna's previous episode on The Future of Everything podcast)

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altman introduces guest Professor Anna Lembke, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University, and an expert on addiction.

(00:02:27) The Personal Nature of Addiction

Professor Lembke shares a personal story of addiction to romance novels, providing insight into how seemingly benign habits can become harmful addictions.

(00:06:02) The Brain Chemistry of Addiction

What happens in the brain during addiction, including dopamine's role in pleasure, reward, and the process of becoming addicted.

(00:11:10) Addressing Addiction in Healthcare

How the medical community has evolved in recognizing and treating addiction, partly due to the opioid epidemic.

(00:13:23) Strategies for Managing and Treating Addiction

Treatment approaches for addiction, including the concept of hormesis, and how engaging in challenging physical activities can help manage addictive behaviors.

(00:17:31) Treatment and Recovery from Addiction

Professor Lembke’s own experience with overcoming her addiction through self-intervention and “dopamine fasting”.

(00:22:05) The Addictive Personality and Genetic Vulnerabilities

The concept of an "addictive personality," genetic predispositions to addiction, and how these factors play into the challenge of treating and managing addiction.

(00:23:29) The Opioid Epidemic: Insights and Challenges

An update on the opioid epidemic, the rise of fentanyl, and the ongoing challenges in addressing opioid addiction.

(00:29:08) The Future of Addiction

The broader context of addiction in society, emphasizing the importance of addressing addiction to digital media and other non-substance-related addictions

(00:29:57) Conclusion

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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 Stanford Laptop Orchestra – an orchestra in which human musicians and computers collaborate to make music. “I once thought computer music was abstract and inaccessible, but it can be very playful, too,” he says. Humans and computers making music together, it’s the best of both worlds, Wang tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Episode Reference Links:

Ge Wang's Stanford Profile
Ge Wang's Personal Website
Stanford Laptop Orchestra (SLOrk) Ge Wang directs: Stanford Laptop Orchestra
Music programming language Ge Wang built: ChucK
Ge Wang’s book: Artful Design: Technology in Search of the Sublime
Artful Design | Pi-shaped Person
Artful Design | Ocarina
Scott A. Lindroth (Ge Wang’s professor at Duke who taught his first computer music class)
Perry R. Cook (Ge Wang’s Computer Science professor at Princeton who inspired him to merge computers and music)

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altman introduces guest Professor Ge Wang and his work around the intersection of AI, computer science, and music.

(00:02:48) Early Inspirations and Merging Music with Technology

Ge Wang shares his early experiences with music and computers, leading to his unique career path combining both passions.

(00:07:42) Developing Musical Tools and Instruments

Significance of playfulness in merging music with computer science, illustrated by projects like the Ocarina app and the Stanford Laptop Orchestra.

(00:13:27) The Role and Impact of AI in Music

The evolution of AI in music, with deeper questions about AI's role and the value of human creativity.

(00:18:28) Music, AI, and Future Generations

The future of music and AI in the context of a parent, and the cultural dimensions and values that will shape the use of technology in art.

(00:20:19) Ethical and Cultural Concerns of AI in Music

Ethical dilemmas and cultural implications of using AI in music, copyright issues and the potential for generic AI-generated content.

(00:25:09) Rethinking the Role of AI in the Creative Process

AI’s role in creativity, the value of the creative process over the mere output, and the potential for AI to enrich rather than replace human creativity.

(00:29:32) The Concept of a Pi-Shaped Person

The "Pi-Shaped Person," with emphasis on the importance of disciplinary expertise, domain knowledge, and an aesthetic lens.

(00:33:52) Conclusion

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Laura Simons is a clinical psychologist and an authority on pain, particularly chronic pain in childhood, which is much more common than widely understood. Most people don't even think chronic pain happens in children, says Simons. The consequences, however, are serious, ranging from learning gaps from missed school to social isolation and even depression. Better treatment begins with a better understanding of the science of pain, as Simons tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Episode Reference Links:

Laura Simons | Stanford Medicine
International Association for the Study of Pain | IASP (Website for the association Laura mentions)
Beth Darnall (Beth Darnall’s website, founder of Empowered Relief)
Empowered Relief (Program Laura works with for pain management)
TrainPain (Program Laura is working with on virtual realities studies for pain relief)

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altman introduces guest Laura Simons and her research on chronic childhood pain.

(00:02:34) Understanding the Scope and Causes of Childhood Chronic Pain

Common forms of childhood pain, its underlying causes, and the impact of unrecognized chronic conditions.

(00:05:08) Diagnostic Challenges and Family Dynamics

The difficulties in diagnosing chronic pain in children and adolescents, and the role of family in recognizing and managing a child's chronic pain.

(00:07:38) The Impact of Chronic Pain on Children's Lives

How chronic pain affects children's daily lives, from school attendance and social interactions to the broader family impact.

(00:10:15) Transitioning from Adolescent to Adult Pain Management

The challenges young people face as they move from pediatric to adult pain management systems and the importance of tailored transitional programs.

(00:12:07) Treatment Approaches and Innovations

Treatment strategies for childhood chronic pain, emphasizing non-pharmacological approaches such as behavioral interventions and physical therapy.

(00:19:14) Empowered Relief Program and Its Adaptation for Teens

The Empowered Relief program, adapted for teens, focusing on pain science education and the development of coping strategies.

(00:23:48) Exploring Virtual Reality and Sensory Retraining Techniques

Advanced treatment methods, including the use of virtual reality to enhance physical therapy and sensory retraining techniques to manage pain sensitivity.

(00:28:57) Conclusion

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Guest Olivier Gevaert is an expert in multi-modal biomedical data modeling and recently developed new methods in the new science of “spatial transcriptomics” that are able to predict how cancer cells present spatially and will behave in the future.

Tumors are not monolithic, he says, but made up of various cell types. Spatial transcriptomics measures cells in the undisturbed organization of the tumor itself and enables a more detailed study of tumors. This new technology can be used to determine what type of cells are present spatially and how each cell influences neighboring cells. It paints a picture of tumor heterogeneity, Gevaert tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Episode Reference Links:

Olivier Gevaert: Standford Profile
Olivier Gevaert’s Research Lab
The Cancer Genome Atlas Program (TCGA)

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction to Olivier Gavaert

His work in the advancement of spatial transcriptomics technologies.

(00:02:52) The Basics of Transcriptomics

Transcriptomics’ significance in identifying active genes in cancer cells and the technological advancements enabling this research.

(00:05:34) Heterogeneity and Cell interaction in Cancer

Heterogeneity within cancer cells and the importance of analyzing the interactions between various cell types to develop treatments.

(00:07:19) Advancements in Brain Cancer Research

Recent studies on brain cancer using spatial omics techniques to understand tumor cell types and their spatial organization for prognosis prediction.

(00:10:53) AI and Whole Slide Imaging in Oncology

How AI and machine learning are combined with whole slide imaging to enhance data resolution and interpret spatial transcriptomic data.

(00:14:49) Enhancing Pathology with AI

Integrating AI with pathology to improve cancer diagnosis and treatment by analyzing whole slide images and predicting cell types.

(00:18:40) Multimodal Data Fusion in Cancer Treatment

Importance of combining different data modalities to create comprehensive models for personalized cancer treatment.

(00:24:49) The Future of Synthetic Data and Digital Twins

Synthetic data and digital twins in oncology, and how these technologies can simulate treatment outcomes and support personalized medicine.

(00:29:16) Conclusion

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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 words in texts. Researchers know a lot about the decoding process and how to teach it. But, beyond that, we must also comprehend what the words in texts are conveying. Comprehension is complex, and researchers know much less about the comprehension process and how to teach it, Silverman tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Episode Reference Links:

Rebecca Silverman’s Research Lab: Language to Literacy Lab

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction to Reading Challenges

Host Russ Altman introduces guest Rebecca Sliverman and her research into the complexities of reading.

(00:03:53) Decoding vs. Comprehension

The breakdown of reading into decoding and comprehension, the challenges associated with each, and the lifelong process of improving these skills.

(00:07:18) Variability in Learning to Read

How children learn to read, including the impacts of linguistic comprehension, memory and socio-emotional contexts.

(00:09:55) Cross-Cultural Differences in Reading

The variability of reading acquisition across languages and cultures, highlighting the components of reading that vary in their developmental trajectory.

(00:11:35) Research Challenges and Interventions in Reading

Current research on the challenges of reading, particularly in identifying and supporting children with difficulties.

(00:15:03) The Role of Technology in Reading

The impact of technology on reading, the differences between reading on paper and digital formats, and the potential of educational technology in literacy development.

(00:20:38) Importance of Family in Reading Development

How families play a role in early reading, with emphasis on storytelling and culturally relevant practices.

(00:23:52) Challenges for Teachers in Literacy Education

Responsibilities of teachers in teaching literacy and the need for comprehensive support and training for teachers.

(00:27:44) Future Directions and the Potential of AI

Future research on AI in literacy education, and the importance of human oversight in technological interventions.

(00:29:29) Conclusion

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Professor and cultural psychologist Michele Gelfand’s latest book, Rule Makers, Rule Breakers, explores notions of what she calls “tight” and “loose” cultures, and how each shapes us as individuals and the world around us. Tight cultures closely follow unwritten cultural norms, while those on the looser side have more latitude. Culture is complicated, she says, but understanding its nuances is key to understanding the world, Gelfand tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Episode Reference Links:

Michele Gelfand Website / Bio
Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight & Loose Cultures Wire Our World (Michele Gelfand’s Book)
Mindset Quiz (Quiz on Michele’s Website)
Threat Dictionary
Tight-Looseness Across the 50 United States (PNAS paper on reclassifying states from red/blue to tight/loose)
The Culturally Intelligent Negotiator: The Impact on Cultural Intelligence (CQ) on Negotiation Sequences & Outcomes (Michele Gelfand & Lynn Imai Study)
Differences Between Tight and Loose Cultures: 33 Nation Study (Michele’s study published in Science on factors that predict strict and permissive social norms)
Together From Afar: Introducing a Diary Contact Technique for Improving Intergroup Relations (US / Pakistan Study)

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ introduces Michele Gelfand and her research on the study of culture and cultural intelligence.

(00:02:33) Defining Culture

A working definition of culture and the invisible impact of cultural norms, values, and beliefs.

(00:03:46) The Tight-Loose Spectrum

The concept of tight and loose cultures and how social norms vary across cultures.

(00:06:30) Cultural Variance within and between Societies

Variations of tight-loose norms at national, state, and organizational levels, and the role of threat in shaping these norms.

(00:11:34) Cultural Intelligence in Global Leadership

How the tight-loose spectrum and cultural studies inform leadership, and the significance of cultural intelligence (CQ) in global interactions.

(00:18:59) Cultural Evolutionary Mismatch

Implications for global threats and societal responses.

(00:23:56) Applying Cultural Insights in Business

Insights on applying cultural understanding to improve business mergers, negotiations, and the success of expatriate assignments.

(00:26:09) Enhancing Cultural Intelligence

Improving cultural intelligence and steps individuals can take to enhance their CQ and adapt to cultural differences.

(00:28:48) Urban vs. Rural Cultural Differences

Tight-loose division in politics and societal contexts, and the cultural divide between urban and rural areas.

(00:31:19) Conclusion

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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, Carla Pugh. Performing surgery is profoundly complex and requires precision, dexterity and lots of practice. Dr. Pugh shares about how she’s studying the movements of skilled surgeons to better understand what makes them successful, which can in turn help to improve training for new surgeons.

Episode Reference Links:

Technology Enabled Clinical Improvement Center
Dr. Pugh’s Research: Use of sensors to quantify procedural idle time

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction
Host Russ Altman introduces the episode with Dr. Carla Pugh discussing her research studying the movements of surgeons to improve surgical training.

(00:02:27) Dr. Carla Pugh's Research and Goals
Introduction of Dr. Carla Pugh and her research utilizing sensor technology to quantify physician performance and the long-term goals of her research.

(00:04:32) Wearable Sensors in Surgical Training
How wearable sensors are being used, and the reaction of surgeons to being monitored.

(00:06:21) Expertise Identification & Universality of Movement
How idle time and motion tracking can distinguish between novice and expert surgeons & how expert surgeons exhibit similar motion patterns.

(00:10:10) Expert vs. Novice Surgeon Behaviors
Observed differences in speed and precision between expert and novice surgeons, & working volume.

(00:12:48) Ethical Considerations
The ethical considerations of measuring surgeon performance, with a focus on
managing the careers of aging surgeons through data-driven decisions.

(00:16:03) The Role of Robotics in Surgery
The current and future roles of robots in surgery, debunking myths, setting realistic expectations & how this research can be applied.

(00:20:29) Demand for Robotic Surgery and Tech Trust
Patients' trust in technology and robots for surgery and the pitfalls of relying too much on the technology, using orthopedic surgery as a specific example.

(00:23:07) Preserving Human Skills in Medicine
Dr. Pugh elaborates the importance of capturing human surgical skills amidst the rise of automation in order to maintain a record of traditional practices.

(00:24:49) Evolution of Surgical Procedures and Techniques
The evolution of surgical procedures due to technological advancements, and how surgeons transition between different surgical technologies.

(00:27:17) Conclusion

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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 bioprinting. But Skylar-Scott hopes to take things to a level most never imagined. He and his collaborators are working to bioprint an entire living, working human heart. We’re printing biology, Skylar-Scott tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Episode Reference Links:

Skylar-Scott Lab

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altman introduces the episode, guest Mark Skylar-Scott and his work bioprinting the heart.

(00:02:15) What is Bioprinting & Tissue Engineering?

Explanation of bioprinting and its distinction from traditional 3D printing. Overview of the technology and its applications in tissue engineering and how to get the cells for this purpose.

(00:06:37) Engineering the Cells of the Heart

The 11 different cell types of the heart that are being created, and the steps involved in printing them, scaffolding them, and how they form tissue.

(00:12:23) Building Hearts: Size and Growth Considerations

The scale of bio-printed hearts, potential strategies for growth and integration, & technical challenges in controlling cell growth and development.

(00:15:05) Scaling Up Cell Production

The importance of scaling up cell production for efficient experimentation. Exploration of the transition from laboratory research to clinical implementation.

(00:18:40) Vascularization: The Key to Functional Bioprinted Organs

Critical importance of creating a comprehensive vascular network & the challenges of integrating capillaries and ensuring nutrient delivery to all cells.

(00:23:00) Ethical Considerations in Bioprinting

Examination of the ethical issues surrounding the use of human cells in bioprinting, focusing on consent and the potential for inequality in access due to cost.

(00:26:12) The Future of Bioprinting: Timeline and Field Dynamics

Projections about the timeline for the clinical application of bio-printed organs and the state of collaborative competition within the fabrication field.

(00:28:28) Conclusion

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Cognitive scientist Michael Frank studies differences in how children and AI learn language. There is a “data gap” between the billions of words ChatGPT has to work with and the millions of words a toddler is exposed to. But, says Frank, children learn in a rich social context that supports their learning. He’s currently conducting the “BabyView Study,” where he puts cameras on young children's heads to help him understand their learning experience, as Frank tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Episode Reference Links:

Wordbank: An open database of children's vocabulary development
ManyBabies
The SAYCam
BabyView Study

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Chapters:

(00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman, host, introduces the episode's focus on the future of language learning and guest, Michael Frank, an expert on how children acquire language

(02:05) Child Vs AI Language Acquisition

Child language acquisition and the comparison with AI systems like ChatGPT, the differences in language learning between humans and AI, including the vast data exposure AI systems have compared to children.

(05:23) Data-driven Approaches

The importance of big data in understanding language acquisition and the Wordbank database.

(08:04) The Early Stages of Language Learning

The universal aspects of language learning across different languages and cultures, specifically babbling and its evolution into language-specific sounds.

(10:30) Exploring Multimodal Language Learning

Introduction to the SAYcam project, and the BabyView study both using camera footage from children to gather multimodal information.

(13:12) Social Learning and Language Acquisition

Insights into how social interactions and grounded contexts facilitate children's language learning. Exploration of active learning strategies in children.

(18:22) The ManyBabies Project

A Global research consortium to understand child development across cultures, their first study documented infants' global preference for infant-directed speech. Michael outlines the funding challenges

(21:28) Understanding Pragmatics and AI Common Sense

Explanation of pragmatics in language acquisition and its importance in social cognition and inference making. The connection between pragmatic language skills in children and the challenge of instilling common sense in AI systems.

(24:21) The Role of Reading in Language Learning

The benefits of reading to children for language development while still recognizing diverse learning paths and early auditory learning.

(27:54) Multilingualism and Early Learning Flexibility

The natural ease of learning multiple languages in childhood and when and why the flexibility in language learning begins to decline.

(30:35) Conclusion

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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 of the disease and that makes it hard to design effective therapies. In 2022, Russ Altman sat down with mechanical engineer Ellen Kuhl who offered a glimpse into the way she’s using computational modeling to help improve our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction
Russ introduces the episode on Alzheimer's disease, highlighting its global impact, challenges treating it, and Dr. Ellen Kuhl’s research on it.

(00:02:08) The Approach and Research Methods
Ellen Kuhl discusses her lab's interdisciplinary approach, and method of using existing data to create dynamic models to study the brain's lifecycle and degeneration in Alzheimer's disease.

(00:03:46) Key Features of Alzheimer's Disease and Detection
Biomarkers of Alzheimer's, their role in brain cell death and cognitive decline, and the possibilities for early detection methods of these protein issues.

(00:07:20) How Computational Models Function
How the models integrate various data points and physics principles to comprehensively understand Alzheimer's progression.

(00:08:43) Spread of the Disease
Exploring the mechanisms of how Alzheimer's spreads from cell to cell in the brain, and the progression through the lobes of the brain, regardless of the cause genetic or trauma induced.

(00:12:33) Interdisciplinary Collaboration
The challenges and benefits of working as a mechanical engineer in Alzheimer's research and the opportunities of a multidisciplinary approach.

(00:14:33) Alzheimer's Drug Development
Modeling a controversial Alzheimer's drug, its potential impact, and the importance of early diagnosis for effective treatment.

(00:16:04) Transition to COVID Research and Modeling
How the Alzheimer's model was rapidly adapated to study the spread of COVID-19, drawing parallels between brain regions and city networks.

(00:18:38) Covid Modeling Learnings and Applications
How their COVID models highlighted the importance of asymptomatic transmission and helped governments with reopening strategies.

(00:20:24) Responsible Model Application
The rampant and at times irresponsible use of models during the pandemic, and metrics for measuring credibility of models

(00:23:59) COVID Data Sharing
The positive legacy of COVID-19, focusing on the accelerated progress facilitated by open and transparent data sharing.

(00:24:53) Model Interpretability and Closing
Insights into the importance of model interpretability and the value of reducing complexity to enhance understanding.

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Ran Abramitzky studies the economic history of immigration by tapping into now-public government records and using AI to chart changing attitudes on immigration captured in written documents and official speeches. What’s revealed is a remarkable story that often diverges from conventional wisdom. Not all streets were paved with gold, Abramitzky tells host Russ Altman, himself a descendant of immigrants, on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction
Host Russ Altman introduces the episode's focus on immigration myths, and the data story behind them with economist Ran Abramitzky.

(00:01:56) The Methods & Data used
Ran explains his approach to researching immigration using quantitative methods, data sets, and text analysis.

(00:03:39) Who is an Immigrant?
A conversation on the scope of the term 'immigrant' and the focus on voluntary immigration in this work

(00:05:01) Personal Anecdotes and Immigrant Experiences
Russ & Ran discuss the truth behind opportunities presented through immigration, illustrated by Russ’s family experience.

(00:07:11) The Rags to Riches Myth
Debunking this story, looking at the economic status of immigrants on arrival and the generational improvements, often driven by taking jobs beneath their skill levels.

(00:09:17) Cultural Assimilation
Examining the cultural assimilation of immigrants, including marriage patterns, naming children, and citizenship.

(00:10:53) Current Relevance of Historical Immigration Patterns
The consistency of historical immigration trends across nationalities and generation, despite policy changes regarding borders

(00:13:09) Crime Myths
Exploration of resistance to immigration, debunking of myths linking immigrants to increased crime rates, incarceration data

(00:15:39) Historical and Contemporary Polarization
Examining how political rhetoric and attitudes towards immigrants have evolved over the last 150 years, focusing on polarization.

(00:18:00) Immigrant Beliefs on Immigration
Discussion on how immigrants' attitudes towards immigration change after settling in the U.S.

(00:20:34) Refugees & Ellis Island Interviews
Interviews with immigrants from Ellis Island provide insights into the experiences of refugees versus economic immigrants and the convergence of immigrant paths by the second or third generation.

(00:24:36) Impact of Research on Government Policy
The influence, or lack, of immigration research on government policy and public perception. Abramitzky shares the importance of a long-term view of immigration success.

(00:27:15) Conclusion

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We’re re-releasing a wonderful episode about the positive impact art has on individual and societal health. Guest Deborah Cullinan, vice president for the arts at Stanford, shares how including just 10-20 minutes of art in your day — whether through drawing or dancing to your favorite song — can contribute to improved health. Her insights remind us, and hopefully will remind you as well, that art plays a valuable role in both individual and societal well being.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

(00:02:04) The Power & Appreciation of Art

Discussion on the societal shift and increased appreciation and demand for art activities.

(00:05:30) Expansive Definition of Art

Discussion on potential pushback and challenges in defining art boundaries.

(00:07:55) Art and Health

The intersection of art and health, emphasizing its significance and the book “Your Brain on Art” and some of the neuroscience based benefits.

(00:11:33) Art in Healthcare

Highlighting some of the programs integrating art and healthcare at Stanford including, Stanford Medicine's program "Medicine in the Muse" art programs for healthcare providers, and supporting mental health services for students.

(00:13:30) Micro Art Moments

The potential benefits of small doses of art and demand for art programs

(00:15:19) Fluidity in Creating and Consuming Art

The symbiotic relationship between creators and consumers of art and the way creating makes you appreciate art more.

(00:18:04) Technology and the Arts

(00:22:44) Exciting Art Collaborations at Stanford

(00:25:53) The Importances of Art Spaces as safe spaces and community hubs

(00:28:27) Conclusion

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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 worrisome, guest Eleni Linos, MD, DrPH, grew fascinated with the many ways digital technologies will impact all of medicine, not just her specialty, dermatology. She now believes the future of digital health is the future of health, period. But much work remains to ensure those benefits extend to every sector of society. Linos previews the future of digital health for host and fellow physician Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Chapters:

(00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces Professor Eleni Linos and they discuss a future where digital health encompasses all aspects of healthcare and how we have moved towards that.

(02:10) Defining Digital Health

The challenge of defining digital health and envisioning a future where it integrates seamlessly into healthcare without differentiation.

(03:33) Dermatology and Digital Health

Eleni explains her interest in digital tools for dermatology, how they have been applied in dermatology and why they are useful.

(06:41) Challenges in Examining Diverse Skin Types

Addressing challenges in dermatological exams for patients with diverse skin tones and backgrounds.

(09:05) Impact on Patients and Health Disparities

Assessing patient reactions & benefits to remote interactions and studying health disparities concerning age, ethnicity, and technology literacy.

(10:56) LLMs, Digital Health, & Bias

How large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT are used in digital health, and their biases, and the need for and how Dr. Linos is working to reduce these.

(15:24) Empathy and AI

Dr. Linos tells a personal story about empathy demonstrated by Chat GPT, and reflects on the potential of AI to enhance patient interactions and care.

(18:47) Social Media in Public Health

Insights into leveraging social media for public health campaigns, the strategies used to influence behavioral changes in specific demographics, and how it was employed during COVID

(24:33) Challenges in Digital Medicine Education

Exploring the challenges & opportunities in preparing future clinicians for a digital medicine-infused future.

(28:20) Stanford Center for Digital Health

The vision and purpose of the Center for Digital Health at Stanford, emphasizing the collaboration between academia, tech companies, and a global perspective to tackle future health challenges.

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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 new year thinking about how to live better. In this episode, Professor Helen Blau, a stem cell biologist, tells us all about how she’s recruiting stem cells to regenerate youthful muscle in older people. We’re thrilled to bring this episode out of the archives for another listen and renewed hope about possibilities ahead in the world of health. Happy New Year from Russ and the team here at The Future of Everything.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction & Importance of Muscles in Aging
Host Russ Altman introduces the episode, the ways that muscles weakening with age affects us, and how guest, Professor Helen Blau’s work with stem cells is addressing this.

(00:02:03) Regenerative Medicine & Stem Cells

The goals of regenerative medicine in enhancing the quality of life as people age. Overview of different types of stem cells and their potential.

(00:04:28) Focus on Muscle: Sarcopenia and Aging

Emphasizing the desire to age well, and the centrality of muscles in daily activities and how they atrophy with age.

(00:07:44) Approaches to Combating Muscle Aging

Lack of available drugs addressing muscle wasting and potential research directions. Targeting stem cells and mature muscle fibers for rejuvenation.

(00:09:09) Lab Discoveries and Challenges

Dr. Blau's lab experiments to identify and maintain functional stem cells, the breakthrough in bioengineering microenvironments & it’s impact.

(00:12:41) Stem Cell Rejuvenation

Insights into rejuvenating stem cell functions through cell therapy that lead to.

(00:14:37) Inflammatory Pathways and Stem Cell Response

Dr Blau explains the importance of the wave of inflammation for stem cells, and the discoveries this lead to.

(00:17:55) Broad-Scale Muscle Rejuvenation

Exploring systemic alterations targeting inflammation pathways for global muscle regeneration. Identification of PGE-2 degrading enzyme and results of limiting this enzyme.

(00:21:33) Human Trials, Challenges & Drug Development

Discussion on the prospects of translating findings to human treatments and developing an oral drug

(00:24:42) Timeline and Clinical Trials

Anticipated timelines for the drug's availability for human trials and potential applications.

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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 time to rethink philanthropy? (Robert Reich) --> YouTube or Episode Page
The future of the gut microbiome (KC Huang) --> YouTube or Episode Page
How 3D printing is changing medicine (Joseph DeSimone) --> YouTube or Episode Page
The future of computational linguistics (Chris Manning) --> YouTube or Episode Page
Why physical books will always be with us (Elaine Treharne) --> YouTube or Episode Page
A mobile app can be the gateway for helping communities improve their health and well-being (Abby King) --> YouTube or Episode Page

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Professor Michael Fischbach, tells us that the “gut biome” – that is, the complex community of bacteria that lives in our gastrointestinal tract – is what makes digesting and extracting nutrients from those meals possible. We hope you’ll tune in.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction to Microbiome: A Primer

Host Russ Altman introduces the episode and its focus on the gut biome with guest Professor Michael Fischbach. Russ discusses the importance of bacteria & the influence of diet on maintaining a healthy microbiome, specifically yogurt

(00:04:08) The Role of Bacteria

An explanation of how bacteria are utilized by our body for digestion

(00:06:16) Antibiotics and Gut Microbiome Disruption

The repercussions of antibiotic use on the gut microbiome's composition and its effects on digestion.

(00:07:14) Bacterial Chemicals in the Body

A detailed explanation of how bacteria create chemicals that enter the bloodstream & example of one of these chemicals, of TMAO (trimethylamine N oxide) and its connection to heart disease risk.

(00:09:48) Vegans and TMAO

Insight into a study involving vegans and their lack of TMAO production due to the absence of specific gut bacteria & its implications.

(00:12:31) Bacteria's Use of Chemicals for Survival

Dr. Fischbach explains how bacteria utilize chemicals in food due to the absence of oxygen in the gut. The concept of electrons and their role in bacterial survival.

(00:14:17) Microbial Communities

Discussion on manipulating microbial communities and the challenges associated with making precise changes.

(00:15:22) Fecal Transplants and Community Dynamics

Insight into the success of fecal transplants in treating gut infections. Understanding the dynamics of microbial communities and their role in combating infections.

(00:18:30) Building Complex Microbial Communities

Exploring efforts to construct diverse communities and the stability of ecosystems. Early observations on the interactions between various bacterial species in complex communities

(00:21:16) Precision Fecal Transplants

Discussion on the limitations of fecal transplants and the need and potential for precision in microbial composition for treating diseases.

(00:22:29) Microbiome Diagnostics for Disease Detection

The potential of microbiome analysis as a diagnostic tool for diseases like Crohn's, based on differences in gut community rosters. The debate around whether changes in the microbiome precede or result from diseases, as well as genetic & environmental factors.

(00:25:39) Fermented Foods and Microbiome Impact

Discussion on the potential health benefits of fermented foods and predictions about future interventions involving bacteria

(00:26:29) Microbiome and Aging Effects

Early research on the impact of aging on the microbiome and the potential for programmed microbiome composition at different life stages.

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Professor Stephen Quake's research has helped countless patients avoid the pain and suffering that can come with invasive diagnostic testing. Russ and Stephen discuss his work to develop a number of noninvasive blood tests to help detect preterm births, genetic disorders like Down Syndrome, cancer, and organ transplant rejection. It’s an episode that reminds us of the power of good science. We hope you’ll take another listen and enjoy.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altman introduces the episode featuring Dr. Stephen Quake, highlighting his contributions to non-invasive blood tests.

(00:00:46) Understanding DNA in Diagnostics

Introduction to the revelation of detecting DNA in the bloodstream, shedding light on various bodily processes.

(00:02:24) The Beginning of Dr. Quake’s work with Cell Free DNA

Dr. Quake tells the story of his journey into research with cell free DNA beginning with searching for a less risky alternative to an amniocentesis

(00:05:11) Impact on Prenatal Testing

The transformation in prenatal diagnostics, replacing invasive tests & understanding the detection capabilities for prenatal genetic disorders like using cell-free DNA.

(00:06:39) Transplant Rejection Monitoring

The discovery of cell free DNA & it’s use in heart & lung transplant patients detecting early rejection & the real-life implications of this technology.

(00:10:35) Unveiling Infectious Agents

The detection of infectious agents in blood & the real life applications of this discovery

(00:14:52) Advances in Cancer Detection

Discussion shifts to cancer detection using cell-free DNA, emphasizing the important application of monitoring cancer progression and treatment efficacy.

(00:17:18) Predicting Preterm Birth

Dr. Quake delves into the groundbreaking research predicting preterm births using cell-free RNA and DNA, sharing insights into discoveries indicating preterm birth risks and gestational age predictions and the significance of this.

(00:21:42) The Chan Zuckerberg Biohub's Mission

The origins and bold mission of Steve Quake’s current work at the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, to cure, treat, or prevent all human diseases by the end of the century and the feasibility of such an ambitious goal.

(00:24:03) Biohub's Research Strategy

Biohub's strategy focusing on cell biology and infectious diseases internally, while funding nearly a hundred faculty across diverse areas in Bay Area Universities.

(00:26:26) Conclusion

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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 models trained at immense scale, such as ChatGPT. In this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everythingpodcast, Liang tells host Russ Altman about how foundation models are built, how to evaluate them, and the growing concerns with lack of openness and transparency.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction
Host Russ Altman introduces Percy Liang, who runs the Stanford Center on Foundation Models

(00:02:26) Defining Foundation Models

Percy Liang explains the concept of foundation models and the paradigm shift they represent.

(00:04:22) How are Foundation Models Built & Trained?

Explanation of the training data sources and the scale of training data: training on trillions of words. Details on the network architecture, parameters, and the objective function.

(00:10:36) Context Length & Predictive Capabilities

Discussion on context length and its role in predictions. Examples illustrating the influence of context length on predictive accuracy.

(00:12:28) Understanding Hallucination

Percy Liang explains how foundation models “hallucinate”, and the need for both truth and creative tasks which requires “lying”.

(00:15:19) Alignment and Reinforcement in Training

The role of alignment and reinforcement learning from human feedback in controlling model outputs.

(00:18:14) Evaluating Foundation Models

The shift from task-specific evaluations to comprehensive model evaluations, Introduction of HELM & the challenges in evaluation these models.

(00:25:09) Foundation Models Transparency Index

Percy Liang details the Foundation Models Transparency Index, the initial results and reactions by the companies evaluated by it.

(00:29:42) Open vs. Closed AI Models: Benefits & Risks

The spectrum between open and closed AI models , benefits and security impacts

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Guest Alex Konings studies fundamental links between the global cycle of water percolating into the ground and evaporating into the skies and a similar cycle of carbon moving through the world, shaping ecosystems, droughts, and fires. These cycles are inextricably bound, she says, and understanding how they function individually and in tandem is key to life on planet Earth. These important cycles may be easily overlooked but they cannot be ignored, Konings tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introductions

Host Russ Altman introduces the episode's focus on plant water with Dr. Alex Konings.

(00:02:37) Understanding Global Carbon and Water Cycles

Dr. Konings defines and explains the global carbon and water cycles and their interconnectedness, and significance

(00:05:08) Transpiration

Detailed explanation of transpiration: the movement of water through plants, from soil to leaves and into the atmosphere. Significance of transpiration in the context of water loss and its impact on available resources.

(00:07:25) Implications of Transpiration

Discussion on how transpiration affects weather, solar energy, weather forecasts & water cycling via transpiration.

(00:10:21) Transpiration and Climate Change

Dr. Konings elaborates on the changing dynamics of transpiration in response to rising atmospheric temperatures & how plants adapt to increased transpiration, as well as their area of research.

(00:13:48) Using Satellites to measure Plant Water Content

Explanation of how satellites utilize microwaves and radar technology to measure water content in plants & challenges associated with it.

(00:18:37) Impact of Transpiration on Droughts

Dr. Konings elaborates on how increased transpiration in higher temperature intensifies and speeds up the onset of drought conditions.

(00:21:37) Satellite Gravity Measurements for Groundwater Assessment

An explanation of how satellites can be utilized to measure groundwater by measuring the force of gravity.

(00:22:30) Plant Water Dynamics, Fire Risk & Predictions

Dr. Konings discusses the intricate relationship between plant water dynamics and fire risk, and how satellite-derived plant water data can be utilized in fire risk assessment models.

(00:26:39) Satellite Sources and Public Data Accessibility

Insight into the satellites used for measurements & accessibility of satellite data from federal agencies for research and public use.

(00:27:51) Role in Governmental Agencies and Policy

Dr. Konings elaborates on how her measurements and research is being utilized by government bodies and the potential for it.

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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 skin. The possible applications of a material that could replicate properties of human skin range from restoring a sense of touch for amputees to creating bendable electronics. Thank you for tuning in, we hope you enjoy this episode from the archives.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction and Understanding the Significance of Skin

Russ Altman introduces the episode, guest, Dr. Zhenan Bao, and the topic of artificial skin technology.

(00:02:40) Exploring the Science Behind Artificial Skin

Dr. Bao explains the materials and mechanisms behind artificial skin.

(00:05:51) Practical Applications and Future Possibilities

Potential applications, including foldable cell phones, sensors on prosthetic limbs, paint, and clothing, the opportunities and concerns.

(00:10:06) Self-Healing Properties of Artificial Skin

Dr. Bao explains the concept of self-healing materials, inspired by biological systems, enabled by shape memory materials.

(00:12:33) Exploring Applications in Energy Sources

Potential applications of flexible materials in solar cells and lithium-ion batteries, & safety concerns and battery health monitoring using these materials.

(00:15:05) Integrating Multiple Sensory Functions

Russ asks about the possibility of integrating various sensory functions into a single material, and Dr. Bao explains options for layering using inkjet and 3d printing.

(00:17:56) Interface Challenges and Communicating with the Human Brain

The conversation delves into the challenges of interfacing electronic materials with the human brain.

(00:19:54) Research Motivation and Collaborative Approach

Dr. Bao shares her journey into her field of research, the collaborators she chooses and her studentès innovations.

(00:22:51) Bendable Cell Phones: A Glimpse into the Future

Insights into the future of smartphones, describing bendable devices that offer a transformative user experience.

(00:25:11) University Research and Transformative Impact

Dr. Zhenan Bao explains the focus of university research, emphasizing the importance of dreaming about the future, training the next generation, and balancing transformative impact with long-term goals.

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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 previous guest on the show, researches ways to develop tiny, tough electronics that could help augment our abilities to further explore extreme environments, such as those found in space. Today we’re re-running a conversation Russ had with Debbie in 2017 on this topic. Enjoy.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces the episode, guest, Dr. Debbie Senesky and electronics for extreme environments.

(00:04:29) Challenges in Space Exploration

Dr. Senesky's insights into the challenges of space exploration, focusing on the need for tiny and tough electronics and introduces wide bandgap semiconductor materials.

(00:07:38) Operation Temperatures of New Materials

Discussion on the operational temperatures of wide band gap semiconductor materials, & contextualization of these temperatures in everyday life.

(00:10:13) Venus and it’s harsh environment

Introduction to Venus, and its unique characteristics as well as the scientific goals and reasons for studying it.

(00:13:10) History of Venus Missions and Exploration

Overview of past Venus missions, including the Venera program by Russia, and the challenges faced in engineering for these missions

(00:16:21) Engineering Challenges in Other Space Exploration

The conversation moves on to some of the other challenges posed by exploring other planets and areas of space including cold temps and power sources.

(00:18:03) Collaboration with Space Agencies

Discussion on collaborations between research labs and space agencies like NASA; Dr. Senesky explains her current area of research and opportunities for testing.

(00:21:15) The Space Industry Renaissance and Access to Space

Russ & Debbie discuss the current boom of the space industry, the technology and developments, as well as the challenges raised by it.

(00:23:34) Nanoscale Materials and Engineering Challenges

Introduction to nanoscale materials, their production, and their applications in space technologies.

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Using math to improve photographs, with expert guest Gordon Wetzstein. Such methods have exploded in recent years and have wide-ranging impacts from improving your family photos, to making self-driving cars safer, to building ever-more-powerful microscopes. Somewhere in between hardware and software, he says, is the field of computational imaging, which makes cameras do some pretty amazing things. Wetzstein and host Russ Altman bring it all into focus on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introductions

Host Russ Altman introduces the guest, Gordon Wetzstein as well as the concept of non-line-of-sight imaging.

(00:02:58) Computational Imaging

Gordon Wetzstein explains the concept of computational imaging and the way it integrates hardware and software for optimal image capture.

(00:04:22) High Dynamic Range (HDR) Imaging & Focal Stacking

An explanation of what HDR is and how it captures high-contrast scenes, and the similar process of focal stacking, using multiple images to create depth.

(00:09:56) Non-Line-of-Sight Imaging

(00:15:51) Optical Computing: Extending Hardware Capabilities

Insights into optical computing, explaining how specially designed hardware can preprocess data for AI algorithms.

(00:18:08) Applications of Optical Computing

Exploration of applications for optical computing in power constraint systems and increased efficiency in data centers.

(00:23:07) The Intersection of AI, Physics, and Computer Graphics

Synergy between AI, physics, and computer graphics in creating 3D content and models.

(00:25:47) Generative AI to Create 3D from 2D

Exploring the challenge of generating 3D digital humans from unstructured 2D images using algorithms

(00:32:02) Challenges & Advancements in VR and AR Design

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Almost everyone knows someone who has battled cancer. Today, on The Future of Everything, we’re re-running our episode with Professor Jennifer Cochran who is bringing some hope in this area through work she and her lab are doing to find ways to localize therapies directly to the site of cancer tumors for more efficient and effective treatment. You won’t want to miss this one, it’s full of inspiring insights that will hopefully move us toward a future of improving outcomes for cancer patients.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altman introduces the episode, highlighting the widespread impact of cancer and the need for innovative treatment methods.

(00:00:45) Traditional Cancer Treatments

Overview of conventional cancer treatments: surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Challenges and limitations associated with existing treatments.

(00:03:30) New Approaches to Cancer Therapy

Exploration of targeted therapies utilizing biological understanding of cancer cells.

(00:05:46) Guided Chemotherapy Missiles

Introduction of guest Dr. Jennifer Cochran and her work developing ‘guided chemotherapy missiles’. Dr Cochran explains how they work and the benefits of them.

(00:09:04) Directed Evolution and Designer Proteins

Introduction to the concept of directed evolution, the process of driving evolution in a test tube to create designer proteins with specific properties.

(00:11:16) Utilizing Squirting Cucumber Seed Peptides for Chemotherapy

Dr. Cochran discusses how they transformed a peptide from the seeds of the squirting cucumber into a tumor-targeting agent, the challenges of the process and the current state of the research.

(00:14:56) Immunotherapy and Cancer Treatment

Introduction to immunotherapy and how these therapies work in our body to fight cancers

(00:16:45) Orchestrating Immune Responses: Combining Immunotherapy and Targeted Molecules

Dr. Cochran explains the collaboration between tumor targeting technology and immunotherapy and current developments.

(00:20:08) Making Immunotherapy Accessible: Challenges and Innovations

Dr. Cochran discusses the availability of immunotherapies for cancer patients and the need for broader accessibility.

(00:21:30) Interdisciplinary Collaboration and Technology Application

Exploration of interdisciplinary collaborative research, the challenges and opportunities.

(00:22:59) Translating Lab Discoveries into Treatments

Russ & Jennifer discuss the process and challenges of translating lab research from academia into actual drug development including “ the valley of death”

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Transformational research techniques shaping our understanding of how the brain works.

Guest Karl Deisseroth is a bioengineer and a psychiatrist who has developed two of the most transformational research techniques shaping our understanding of how the brain works — optogenetics, which allows neuroscientists to control brain cells with light, and CLARITY, a way to render the brain’s gray matter transparent yet retain all its intricate wiring for easier study. There is a vast chasm between neuroscience and psychiatry, Deisseroth says of the reasons he felt compelled to develop technology ahead of pursuing science. It was never a trade-off of one over the other, however. It was simply where we had to go to get better at the science, Deisseroth tells fellow bioengineer and host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Chapters:
(00:00:00) Introduction to Karl Deisseroth

Russ Altman introduces the episode and Karl Deisseroth, highlighting his roles as a professor of bioengineering and psychiatry. Explanation of Karl Deisseroth's approach to addressing challenges in neuroscience through technology development and application.

(00:03:23) Balancing Technology Development and Scientific Exploration

Discussion on the challenges of balancing technology development with scientific exploration. Karl Deisseroth's perspective on integrating technology development as a primary goal in neuroscience research.

(00:05:03) Optogenetics: Controlling Neurons with Light

Introduction to optogenetics as a method for precise control of individual cells using light. Explanation of the historical challenges in controlling neurons and the need for precise techniques.

(00:07:25) Importance of Bioengineering in Innovation

Highlighting the role of bioengineering in translating scientific ideas into practical tools. Importance of collaboration and interdisciplinary approaches in bioengineering and neuroscience.

(00:10:04) Discovering Microbial Rhodopsins and Opsins

Karl Deisseroth explains the class of proteins known as microbial rhodopsins and their genes, microbial opsins. Discussion on the historical knowledge of these proteins and their presence in biochemistry textbooks.

(00:12:50) Realizing Optogenetics in Human Brains

Karl Deisseroth discusses the practical application of optogenetics in the central nervous system of human beings. An example of a successful experiment by Karl's colleague Botond Roska, enabling a blind person to see objects.

(00:16:01) Bridging Psychiatry and Neurotechnology

Transition to discussing Karl Deisseroth's role as a practicing psychiatrist and the challenges faced in patient care. Integration of clinical experiences into scientific research and its impact on experimental design and understanding disease processes.

(00:16:54) The Intersection of Science and Medicine

Examination of the balance between clinical practice and scientific research in Karl Deisseroth's work. Importance of firsthand patient experiences in shaping research goals and addressing clinical challenges.

(00:20:25) Unraveling Brain Complexity with Optogenetics

Discussion on the complexity of the brain's parts list and challenges in categorizing cell types. Utilizing optogenetic tools to explore specific brain cell types and their functions. The intersection of clinical psychiatry, technology, and neuroscience in advancing our understanding of the brain.

(00:21:00) Integrating Optogenetics into Neuroscience

Exploration of the significance of having a detailed parts list for the brain and its impact on optogenetic research. Integrating optogenetic tools to study diverse brain functions and disorders. The evolving landscape of neuroscience research and the potential applications of optogenetics in the future.

(00:24:53) The Interconnectedness of Brain Cells

Examination of experiments recording from tens of thousands of cells while observing a thirsty mouse's behavior. Insights into the rapid and interconnected nature of the brain, lead to widespread correlations among neurons.

(00:28:05) Writing "Projections": Balancing Science and Literature

Karl Deisseroth's motivation for writing "Projections" was to share the inner worlds of psychiatric patients and communicate scientific advancements. Challenges in balancing literary creativity with scientific accuracy, capturing patients' experiences while staying grounded in truth.

(00:31:02) Receiving Feedback and Impact of "Projections"

Reflection on the reception of "Projections" and feedback received from readers, including patients with psychiatric disorders.Karl Deisseroth's satisfaction in capturing the experiences of patients and the impact of the book on diverse readers.

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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 think about how we’re educating the next generation of engineers. Russ's conversation in 2020 with Sheri Sheppard, an emeritus professor of mechanical engineering and founder of the Designing Education Lab at Stanford, sheds light on this important topic.

Professor Sheppard shares about ways that will help us educate engineers who not only are technically trained but also bring empathy into their work.

Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces the episode and the importance of engineering education in society.

(00:00:46) The Core of Engineering

Russ Altman discusses the overarching themes of engineering education: problem-solving, scientific grounding, social context, and design.

(00:02:11) The Need for Diversity in Engineering

Introduction to Professor Sheri Sheppard and her efforts in expanding engineering education. Discussion on the lack of diversity in the engineering profession and its implications. The influence of engineers on everyday life and the need for diverse perspectives in product design.

(00:06:51) Beyond Traditional Sciences

Reflecting on the historical shift from a focus on sciences to incorporating design and social sciences in engineering education.

(00:09:11) Human-Centered Engineering

Examining the importance of considering human factors, ergonomics, and cognitive aspects in engineering solutions.

(00:10:35) Student Challenges and Responses

Addressing student responses to the expanded approach in engineering education. Discussing the importance of learning to interpret qualitative data and the openness to learning in various fields.

(00:12:26) Diverse Perspectives in Engineering Education

Russ Altman discusses the expansion of engineering education beyond traditional sciences and mathematics. Professor Sheri Sheppard emphasizes the importance of empathy, ethics, and diverse perspectives in engineering problem-solving. Exploring the challenges of integrating these principles into the curriculum and industry practices.

(00:14:42) Industry Response and Cultural Change

How companies are recognizing the positive impact of diversity on innovation and bottom-line performance. Challenges faced by companies in integrating diversity into their organizational culture and recognizing it in job descriptions.

(00:17:00) Challenges Faced by Trailblazers

Professor Sheri Sheppard shares her experiences as a woman engineer in the automotive industry. Navigating the feelings of isolation and strategies for finding allies and support within organizations.

(00:18:34) Industry Perspectives and Evidence of Diversity Impact

The evidence supports the positive impact of diverse teams on innovation. Challenges faced by companies in recognizing diversity efforts and integrating them into performance evaluations.

(00:21:50) Empowering Change Agents

Strategies for individuals to become change agents within their organizations. Introduction to the concept of "Tempered Radicals" and navigating organizational change while maintaining professional integrity.

(00:25:35) Building Relationships and Gaining Respect

The challenges faced by young and female engineers in gaining respect and credibility in their roles. Encouraging students to find allies and create a supportive network in the workplace.

(00:26:58) Navigating Workplace Dynamics

Advice for students entering the workforce as potential change agents. The significance of finding allies and creating spaces for diverse voices to be heard. Developing soft skills, such as networking and communication, as essential tools for success in engineering careers.

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Discover how quantum mechanics is reshaping our understanding of time, reestablishing computational capabilities, and ensuring the security of sensitive data transmission. Guest Monika Schleier-Smith is a physicist who says that quantum principles, like entanglement, can make atoms do funny things, such as allowing two atoms to share secrets across great distances. While entanglement opens tantalizing possibilities like quantum computing, there’s still much we don’t know about quantum mechanics. She now uses lasers to “cool” atoms to near motionlessness as a starting point for controlling and proving entanglement, as she tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Chapter Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Opening Remarks
Monika Schleier Smith, a distinguished professor of physics at Stanford University, kickstarts the episode by introducing the enthralling world of quantum mechanics.
Russ Altman introduces the episode and welcomes Monika Schleier Smith to discuss quantum mechanics and entanglement. And he encourages listeners to engage with the podcast by rating and reviewing it.

(00:02:50) Quantum Mechanics Fundamentals

Monika provides insights into the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics, including the concept of quantum uncertainty.

(00:04:22) Embracing Entanglement

The episode delves into the concept of entanglement, highlighting its non-local properties and the intriguing correlations between particles.

(00:06:55) Initiating Quantum Entanglement

Monika explains the initial interactions required to establish quantum entanglement between particles. Explore the challenges in preserving entanglement and the impact of quantum measurement.

(00:10:12) Laser-Cooled Atoms in Research

Monika Schleier Smith sheds light on her lab's laser-cooled atoms research and their vital role in entanglement studies.

(00:11:39) The Doppler Effect and Slowing Atoms

Monika explains the Doppler effect and its role in slowing down atoms using laser beams. Russ Altman connects the Doppler effect to everyday experiences, like the sound of approaching vehicles.

(00:13:04) Tracking and Holding Atoms

Monika describes the next steps in their experiments, involving tracking and holding well-controlled atoms in a vacuum. Russ Altman mentions the challenges of maintaining atoms at low temperatures and in isolation.

(00:14:49) Getting Atoms to Talk

Monika explores the need for entanglement and how it involves making atoms interact. Different approaches, including using Rydberg states and optical resonators, are mentioned.

(00:16:17) Leveraging Light as a Messenger

Monika introduces the concept of using light to convey information between atoms. The discussion includes optical resonators and controlling interactions on different length scales. Russ Altman jokingly mentions the potential size of the lab.

(00:16:32) Preserving Entanglement

Monika highlights the challenge of preserving entanglement and preventing information leakage to the outside world. The importance of maintaining secrecy for entangled states is emphasized.

(00:17:34) Proving Entanglement

Monika explains the need for proving entanglement, distinguishing it from classical correlations. She mentions John Bell's contributions to the theory of proving entanglement. Russ Altman seeks clarification on classical correlations.

(00:20:13) Measuring Incompatible Observables

Monika outlines the measurement of incompatible observables as a way to prove entanglement. The discussion touches on the concept of spin for atom measurements.

(00:22:19) Quantum Computing Potential

The conversation shifts to quantum computing, where Monika discusses how quantum bits (qubits) can provide computational advantages over classical bits, paving the way for solving complex problems like drug discovery and material science.

(00:28:15) Quantum Communication Secrets

Monika sheds light on quantum communication's ability to secure data transmission by leveraging the principles of entanglement and quantum error correction.

(00:32:39) Conclusion & closing

Russ and Monika wrap up their enlightening conversation, emphasizing the ongoing pursuit of quantum knowledge and technology.

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Discover the astonishing intricacies of microbial ecosystems and their potential to improve healthcare. Guest KC Huang is many things: A bioengineer. A microbiologist. An inventor. But mostly he’s an expert on the ecology of the human gut. He and his collaborators have developed a device that can sample bacterial DNA and create a living map of the gut microbiome from mouth to … ah, well … you know. Every step of the way, he says, we play host to trillions of guests we know very little about. It’s time we got to know them, Huang tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Chapter Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ introduces the gut microbiome and its impact on health. The potential for engineering ourselves through microbiome manipulation.

(00:00:57) Overview of Gut Microbiome

Russ Altman introduces the guest, KC Huang. KC provides an overview of the gut microbiome and its impact on health and everyday life.

(00:05:21) Challenges in Studying the Gut Microbiome

KC Huang discusses the challenges in studying the gut microbiome, including the limited data and the difficulty in accessing the ecosystem.The unique interface between human cells and gut microorganisms is emphasized.

(00:07:02) Poop as a Data Source

Russ Altman humorously mentions the collection of poop for research purposes. The difficulties in studying the bowel's internal microbiome are discussed.

(00:08:53) Diversity of Gut Microorganisms

KC Huang addresses the diversity of microorganisms in the gut microbiome. The challenges of characterizing the complex ecosystem are highlighted.KC Huang corrects a common misconception about the location of the gut microbiome. The gut microbiome as an external influence on the human body is explained.

(00:10:45) The Impact of Gut Microbiome Beyond Bowel Movements

Russ Altman mentions the gut microbiome's influence on brain function, diet, exercise, and more. The far-reaching effects of the gut microbiome are introduced.KC Huang addresses the connection between the gut microbiome and brain function. The constant interaction between microorganisms and the brain is emphasized.

(00:12:22) Impact of Gut Microbiome on Sleepiness

The relationship between post-meal sleepiness and gut microbiome activity is mentioned. The gut as a source of constant growth and activity is explained.

(00:13:19) The Device for Studying the Gut Microbiome

KC Huang introduces an innovative device designed to study the gut microbiome by collecting samples at different points in the gut. The device's simplicity and capabilities for multi-dimensional analysis are highlighted.

(00:17:32) Exercise and Its Effect on Body Temperature

The role of exercise in increasing body temperature and its potential influence on the gut microbiome is explored. Possible connections between exercise, temperature, and gastrointestinal effects are mentioned.

(00:21:55 ) The Student Survey on Microbiome Therapies

KC Huang shares the results of a student survey about microbiome-based therapies, highlighting changes in perception after studying the field. The evolving excitement and uncertainty surrounding the field's future are mentioned.

(00:23:52) The Need to Embrace Ecosystem Complexity

KC Huang emphasizes the importance of embracing the complexity of the gut microbiome ecosystem. The limitations of reductionist approaches in the field are highlighted.

(00:28:20) Complexity with a Thousand Species

KC Huang explores the challenges of dealing with complex microbial ecosystems containing thousands of species. The significance of interactions between these species is discussed.

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Guest Jane Willenbring is a geoscientist who studies accelerating coastal erosion. The challenge lies not in understanding why coasts are receding today, but in determining what they looked like a thousand years ago to know how much they’ve changed — a secret revealed in coastal rocks through isotopes shaped by cosmic radiation. But measurement is only one part of the equation, she says. We must now think about erosion’s impact on humans, Willenbring tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Chapter Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Introduction by Jane Willenbring
Jane Willenbring, a distinguished expert in coastal erosion and a professor at Stanford University, joins Russ Altman to explore "The Future of Coastal Erosion."

(00:01:42) Defining Coastal Erosion

Dr. Willenbring provides an overview of coastal erosion, explaining its causes and effects on coastlines around the world. She discusses the natural processes and human influences contributing to coastal landscape erosion.

(00:04:56) Challenges of Coastal Erosion

The conversation delves into the challenges of coastal erosion, including the impacts on infrastructure, property, and communities. Dr. Willenbring highlights the complexities of addressing erosion in different geographical regions and the importance of understanding erosion rates.

(00:06:44) Erosion Rates and Predictions

Dr. Willenbring discusses the methods used to measure erosion rates and predict future coastal changes. She explains how these predictions can guide policy and planning decisions to mitigate the impacts of erosion.

(00:10:49) Impacts on the Infrastructure
Dr. Willenbring shared the impacts on the infrastructure and on the actual coast. Also shared all the different kinds of reasons to be concerned about the same.

(00:12:44) Interplay with Policy and Planning

The conversation shifts to the intersection of coastal erosion with policy and planning. Dr. Willenbring explores how episodic erosion events and long-term projections influence decision-making for infrastructure and land use.

(00:15:49) Building Bridges vs. Managed Retreat
Exploration of options for addressing coastal erosion, such as building bridges.Consideration of the downsides of building bridges and hardening infrastructure. Examination of landscape "unzipping" and its implications for erosion.

(00:18:15) Sea Level Rise and Its Coastal Impact
Delve into the ways in which sea level rise affects coastlines and the Impact of flooding and potential changes in coastal shapes. Explore the significance of wide beaches in protecting coastlines.

(00:22:33) Displacement and Human Impacts
Delve into the potential displacement caused by coastal erosion. Focus on the impact on low-income communities and indigenous villages. Reflection on the ethical considerations of policy responses.

(00:25:16) Health Implications and Infrastructure Challenges

Examining the potential health risks associated with coastal erosion.Consideration of compromised water treatment plants and their consequences.Discussion on the uncertainties and challenges of responding to erosion-related threats.

(00:26:34) Role of Vegetation in Coastal Defence

Explore the role of vegetation in protecting coastlines. Difference between invasive and native plants in coastal environments.Insights into the potential use of kelp for wave buffering.

(00:27:50) Human Activities and Cliff Stability

Examining the impact of human activities, such as irrigation, on cliff stability. Discussion on the potential consequences of excessive water use on erosion.

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Join host Russ Altman with guest Rania Awaad, M.D., a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Stanford University School of Medicine where she is the Director of the Stanford Muslim Mental Health & Islamic Psychology Lab. Delve into the intersection of mental health and spirituality, shedding light on the importance of holistic approaches for comprehensive healing. Drawing from historical wisdom, Awaad introduces the concept of Maristans, ancient healing centers that integrate physical, mental, and spiritual therapies to offer a holistic model of care.
As the conversation unfolds, listeners gain a deeper understanding of how these principles can be applied in modern healthcare, fostering patient-centric approaches that consider mind, body, and spirit. From addressing diverse faiths to collaboration between medical and spiritual practitioners, Awaad's insights pave the way for a future where holistic healing is at the forefront of medical practice.

Chapter Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Rania Awaad discusses her journey in studying the connection between Islam and mental health, including historical understandings of mental illness and treatments, such as talk therapy.

(00:03:05) Special Challenges in Studying Muslim Mental Health

Professor Awaad discusses the challenges of providing mental health care to the diverse Muslim community in the United States. The impact of immigration, intergenerational trauma, and racial diversity on mental health is highlighted. Factors like acculturation, family dynamics, and historical trauma are considered.

(00:06:50) The Intersection of Faith and Mental Health

Professor Awaad shares insights into how the Islamic faith intersects with mental health. The concept of holistic health in Islam and its implications for mental health are explained. Early Muslim scholars' references to scripture in understanding and treating mental illness are discussed.

(00:13:13) Faith and Resistance to Treatment

The conversation delves into addressing resistance to medical treatment based on religious beliefs. The concept of "spiritual bypassing" is introduced, where religious frameworks are used to explain mental health issues. Professor Awaad shares her unique approach as a dual-trained psychiatrist and theologian.

(00:14:22) Transferring Knowledge to Practitioners

Russ Altman inquires how to transfer Professor Awaad's insights and dual training to other practitioners. The role of her nonprofit, Maristan, in providing training and resources is highlighted. The development of integrated psychotherapy models and training is discussed.

(00:17:09) Common Threads in Different Faiths

The discussion explores commonalities in mental health challenges and solutions across Abrahamic faiths. The potential for sharing insights and strategies among different religious communities is emphasized.

(00:19:19) The Impact of COVID-19 on Muslim Mental Health

The challenges faced by the Muslim community during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially during Ramadan, are discussed. Professor Awaad shares findings from a global study on Muslims' mental health perceptions during the pandemic.

(00:23:00) Maristan: A Place of Healing

The nonprofit organization Maristan is introduced, and its name's historical significance is explained. The role of Maristan in integrating spirituality and mental health care is discussed, along with its goal of making mental health care more accessible to all communities. While modern languages have introduced alternative terms for hospitals, the historical terminology persists in some regions.

(00:25:10) Bringing Holistic Healing to Modern Medicine

Russ Altman discusses the concept of healing centers and the need to reintroduce holistic healing into modern medicine. Professor Awaad shares her vision of Maristans serving as a model for modern healthcare, emphasizing holistic care for the mind, body, and soul.

(00:27:21) Maristans: A Model for Holistic Healing

Russ Altman reflects on the patient's desire for holistic care and the limitations of current medical practices. Professor Awaad describes the architectural and therapeutic aspects of Maristans, highlighting their use of water fountains, greenery, acoustics, and sound therapy. The contrast between Maristans and historical asylums/prisons for the mentally ill is discussed.

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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 bad science requires young people to learn three skills, Osborne says. First is an ability to size up conflicts of interest. Second, to evaluate a source’s qualifications. And third, to more rigorously question those who go against consensus. The whole goal of science is consensus, Osborne tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Chapter Timestamps:
(00:00:00) Introduction to the Episode

Welcome to this episode featuring an insightful conversation with Jonathan Osborne about the nuances of scientific argumentation and its implications for education.

(00:2:00) The state of science education

The situation is a pretty dire, and we need to act soon to make sure that we outfit the future generations with the tools they need to navigate truth and falsehoods in science.

(00:03:01) The Importance of Science Education

The role of science education in society and the need for a new approach to science education

(00:08:31) Developmental Learning Progression in Science Education

Discussion on when young people are cognitively ready to understand the challenges of science education. The Finnish curriculum in media literacy as an example.

(00:09:31) Student Attitudes and the Fundamentals of Science Education

The importance of student attitudes towards science. The role of science education in preparing students to be citizens in a rapidly changing world.

(00:11:31) The Shortcomings of Current Science Education

Critique of the current state of science education. The need for focusing on big ideas rather than just facts.

(00:14:51) The Key Stakeholders in Changing Science Education

Discussion on who holds the keys to curricular practices. The role of boards of education, textbook writers, and faculty members in shaping science education.

(00:15:21) The Challenges of Changing Science Education

Jonathan Osborne's career reflections on trying to make changes. The resistance faced from institutional conservatism. The impact of government changes on science education

(00:17:01) The Problem with Current Curriculum

Lack of opportunities for teachers to pursue their interests. The need to cut back on performance expectations. Giving teachers more freedom and agency.

(00:18:29) Misinformation and Science Education

Concerns about misinformation in science. Tools needed to help young people vet information.

(00:19:31) The Role of Scientific Argumentation

Different forms of scientific argumentation. The importance of teaching scientific argumentation to students.

(00:22:36) The Power of Storytelling in Science

The need for more stories in science education. How stories can make science more relatable and convincing.

(00:27:21) The Urgency of Updating Science Education

The rate at which teaching standards are updated. The need for flexibility in science education standards.

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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 Raina, an assistant professor of electrical engineering. Priya is an expert in computer chip design. Whether or not you realize it, chips are everywhere and power everything from your toaster to your car. Priya discusses the slowing pace of progress in improving chip efficiency, and how she sees a future where chip makers will need to shift away from general-purpose computer chips to task-specific chips.

Chapter Time Stamps:
(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altman introduces the episode and the guest, Professor Priyanka Raina, an expert in electrical engineering.

(00:01:15) The Traditional Chip Design Paradigm

Explore the traditional chip design process and its challenges, including long development times and limitations in reusability.

(00:04:28) The Role of Specialized Chips

Understand the emergence of specialized chips and how they target specific applications for improved performance.

(00:07:56) The Promise of Core-Grain Reconfigurable Arrays (CGRAs)

Learn about core-grain reconfigurable arrays and how they bridge the gap between specialization and adaptability.

(00:10:12) Balancing Flexibility and Specialization

Discover the concept of specialized compute units within CGRAs and how they can be tailored to various applications.

(00:13:25) Agile Hardware Design

Explore the concept of agile hardware design and how it enables faster chip development iterations.

(00:16:40) Overcoming Hardware and Software Challenges

Understand the challenges of combining adaptable hardware with rapidly changing software and applications.

(00:19:02) The Role of Compilers in Chip Design

Explore the significance of compilers in translating high-level programming into efficient hardware instructions.

(00:21:30) Adapting Compilers for CGRAs

Discover how compilers are adapted to work seamlessly with core-grain reconfigurable arrays, enabling automatic updates as hardware changes.

(00:23:40) Benefits of Agile Chip Development

Learn about the potential benefits of agile chip development, including reduced time-to-market and adaptability to evolving applications.

(00:26:15) Revolutionizing Chip Development with CGRAs

Discuss how CGRAs can reshape the landscape of chip design, offering a new approach to balancing specialization and adaptability.

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

Mykel's research has impacted anyone who has been on a plane recently for any kind of travel. His research led to the creation of a program known as the Airborne Collision Avoidance System, or ACAS X , which as he explains in more detail, is a critical tool in keeping air travel safe.

Thank you for tuning in, and we hope you enjoy this episode from the archives.

Chapter Time Stamps:

(00:00:50) ACAS X Origins

Russ Altman sets the stage by revisiting a conversation from 2020 with Professor Mykel Kochenderfer, a pioneer in aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford University. They discuss Mykel's groundbreaking research leading to the creation of the Airborne Collision Avoidance System, ACAS X.

(00:03:10) Ensuring Trustworthy Autonomous Vehicles

Exploring the challenges in building trustworthy autonomous systems, Mykel discusses the complexities of imperfect sensor systems, uncertainty in predicting future trajectory, and the trade-off between safety and operational efficiency.

(00:07:20) Dynamic Programming: The Key to ACAS X

Mykel explains the role of dynamic programming in ACAS X, transforming complex computations into tractable tasks through offline modeling and a lookup table, balancing safety and efficiency.

(00:10:30) Balancing Safety and Efficiency

Russ and Mykel delve into the intricate balance between safety and operational efficiency in ACAS X, highlighting the need for AI systems to make sound decisions even in rare, low-probability scenarios.

(00:14:15) ACAS X Implementation and Use Cases

Mykel elaborates on the role of ACAS X in aviation safety, detailing its advisory nature and its integration with air traffic control systems, while addressing the potential automation in specific aircraft models.

(00:17:40) Broadening Horizons: Urban Air Mobility

Exploring the expansion of ACAS X to urban air mobility systems, Russ and Mykel discuss the challenges of modeling and validating models for a wide range of aircraft, and the importance of incorporating human expertise.

(00:21:05) Global Collaboration and AI Consensus

Mykel emphasizes the collaborative nature of ACAS X implementation, involving different stakeholders, such as the FAA, Eurocontrol, and ICAO, and the role of AI in reaching a consensus on safety objectives.

(00:23:30) The Journey Ahead

As the conversation draws to a close, Mykel reflects on the evolution of ACAS X, its future applications, and the fusion of AI and human wisdom shaping the skies of tomorrow.

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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 know diet and health care are important, it has been tough to tease out what about these places allows people to live longer and healthier lives. By examining environmentally induced changes in DNA, we may be able to more quickly and more accurately quantify what aspects of environments promote longer, healthier lives, Rehkopf tells host Russ Altman in this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Chapter Time Stamps:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altman delves into the fascinating world of longevity with Dr. David Rehkopf from Stanford University. Discover the surprising links between government policies, corporate practices, and their impact on health.

(00:02:14) The Quest for Centenarians

Explore Dr. Rehkopf's research on centenarians in Costa Rica and how these long-lived individuals offer insights into the factors influencing longevity.

(00:06:20) Unraveling the Genetics of Longevity

Learn how genetic factors play a role in determining how long we live, and how centenarians possess unique genetic signatures that may hold the key to extended lifespans.

(00:09:45) Lifestyle and Environment

Discover the impact of lifestyle choices and environmental factors on longevity. From the benefits of traditional diets to the potential effects of infectious disease exposure, the picture becomes clearer.

(00:10:55) The Role of Exercise

Dive deeper into the significance of physical activity on long-term health and how regular exercise can contribute to increased lifespan and overall well-being.

(00:11:40) Social Connections and Longevity

Explore the intricate relationship between social connections, community engagement, and the potential impact on living longer and healthier lives.

(00:13:30) Government Policies and Health

Dr. Rehkopf sheds light on the influence of government policies, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), on health outcomes. Find out how these policies can positively impact maternal health and sickness absence rates.

(00:15:20) The Power of Public Health Initiatives

Learn about the importance of public health initiatives in promoting healthy behaviours, preventing diseases, and potentially extending the human lifespan.

(00:16:05) Access to Healthcare

Explore the crucial role of accessible healthcare in longevity, and how disparities in healthcare access can affect different populations.

(00:18:30) Work-Life Balance

Delve into the concept of work-life balance and its potential impact on employee health and happiness in the long run.

(00:19:45) Corporate Wellness Programs

Learn about the various corporate wellness programs and initiatives aimed at improving employee well-being and how they might influence longevity.

(00:21:05) Hybrid Work Models and Longevity

As the world adapts to the pandemic-driven hybrid work models, Dr. Rehkopf discusses the potential long-term effects on workforce health and well-being.

(00:23:40) The Road Ahead

In this final chapter, we speculate on the future of longevity research and how understanding the intricate connections between government, corporations, and individual choices can shape a healthier and longer life for all.

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As anyone with chronic disease knows, access to health care doesn’t always equate with equitable health care outcomes, says guest Alyce Adams, an expert in innovations in health policy. Too often, care delivery breaks down along racial and socioeconomic lines. Our focus should be on better outcomes for all people, she says. Adams now develops interventions to help communities and health systems improve care delivery — and health equity — as she tells host Russ Altman in this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altman introduces the episode and welcomes Professor Alyce Adams from Stanford University to discuss how new approaches in communities and health systems are improving care delivery for traditionally underserved populations.

(00:01:29) Unraveling Health Disparities

They discuss the disparities present in healthcare, particularly among underrepresented populations, and the importance of integrating patient voices in research.

(00:02:42) Addressing Socioeconomic Factors

The role of socioeconomic factors in health disparities and how they influence access to quality care. The discussion also examines efforts to eliminate barriers and provide equitable healthcare.

(00:04:15) Cultural Competence in Medicine

The conversation shifts to the significance of cultural competence in healthcare delivery. Prof. Adams explains the need for healthcare professionals to understand and respect diverse cultural backgrounds to ensure effective patient care.

(00:07:50) Bridging the Knowledge Gap

Insights into understanding patient knowledge and disease understanding, focusing on the example of tobacco use. The efforts to integrate patient and caregiver perspectives early in the research process are discussed.

(00:09:15) Empowering Patient Decision-Making

The discussion explores strategies to empower patients in their healthcare decisions. Prof. Adams explains the importance of personalized care plans that align with patient values and priorities.

(00:11:30) Digital Health Literacy

The increasing role of digital health tools and the importance of health literacy in utilizing these technologies effectively. The challenges of ensuring equitable access to digital health resources are also addressed.

(00:15:10) Qualitative Methods in Research

Insights into qualitative research methods and their significance in understanding patient experiences and priorities. The need for collaboration with community partners to shape research questions is emphasized.

(00:17:05) The Power of Patient Stories

The conversation discusses the impact of patient narratives in healthcare research. Prof. Adams explains how patient stories provide valuable context and humanize data, leading to more comprehensive and patient-centric research outcomes.

(00:20:30) Building Patient-Centric Algorithms

The development of AI algorithms to assess patient risk and facilitate decision-making for clinicians. Prof. Adams discusses the challenges of encoding priorities in these algorithms while considering potential biases.

(00:22:12) Algorithmic Transparency

The discussion delves into the importance of algorithmic transparency and its role in building trust between patients and AI-driven healthcare systems. Prof. Adams explains the need for clear and interpretable AI models.

(00:27:45) Ethical Considerations in AI Implementation

The conversation explores ethical considerations in implementing AI technologies in healthcare. Prof. Adams discusses the potential risks and benefits and the importance of continuous evaluation and oversight.

(00:30:15) Engaging Policy Makers

The episode concludes with an optimistic view of policymakers' receptivity to research insights. Prof. Adams explains the importance of proactive engagement and communication in policy decisions.

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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, one question they will have to ask themselves is, how do I tell fact from fiction? In early 2022, my guest Johan Ugander shared his research to better understand the ways information spreads online. We’re re-running this episode today, and I hope you’ll take the time to hear a few of the strategies he recommends for preventing the spread of misinformation.

Chapter Time Stamps:

(00:00:45) Exploring the Spread of Information with Johan Ugander

Johan Ugander joins Russ Altman to discuss the intriguing dynamics behind the spread of information, drawing parallels to viral infections and shedding light on the battle between true and false news.

(00:01:14) Matching Methods and Treatment Control Analysis

Discover how matching methods and treatment control analysis play a crucial role in understanding the differences between true and false news, helping us unravel the complexities of information dissemination.

(00:02:22) The Tree Analogy: True News vs. False News

Exploring the tree analogy to understand how the spread of false news resembles that of true news, raisins intriguing questions about their results.

(00:04:14) The Battle on One Front: False News Infectiousness

Dive into the heart of the debate surrounding false news, as Johan uncovers a startling finding - false news not only spreads more but also exhibits higher infectiousness, challenging the notion of battling on multiple fronts.

(00:05:34) Epidemiological Metaphors and the Spread of Information

Johan elucidates the long-standing connection between epidemiological metaphors and information spread, revealing the fascinating interplay between social psychology and cognition in the dissemination process.

(00:08:34) Information Spreading vs Viral Infections

Distinctions between information spread and viral infections, as Johan highlights the critical role of decision-making and cognition in the former, in contrast to the particle-based interactions in the latter.

(00:10:22) The Common Basic Toolkit of Spread Processes

Discover the underlying commonalities between information spread and viral infections, as Johan emphasizes the presence of a shared basic toolkit while acknowledging the specific inquiry methods unique to each domain.

(00:12:40) Lessons for Stopping the Spread of False News

Uncover valuable insights on combatting the spread of false news, as Johan explores the power of drawing attention to accuracy, introducing frictions in information sharing, and leveraging product changes for differential control.

(00:14:25) Drawing Attention to Accuracy and Decision Consequences

Explore the psychology behind information spread and decision-making, as Johan highlights how drawing attention to content accuracy can differentially limit the propagation of false information, exemplified by Twitter's retweet validation feature.

(00:16:12) Adding Friction to Information Sharing

Learn about the significance of adding frictions to information sharing, exemplified by Twitter's prompt to prompt users to reconsider retweeting unread content, and its impact in curbing the spread of false information.

(00:18:30) The Value of Computational Auditing in Parole Systems

Shift gears as the discussion transitions to the world of parole systems, where Johan and Russ delve into the significance of computational auditing in shedding light on inconsistencies and arbitrariness within the California parole system.

(00:21:40) Analyzing Parole Grant Rates Across Commissioners

Explore the disparities in parole grant rates across different commissioners, as Johan explains the computational techniques employed to evaluate the system's fairness by shuffling commissioner assignments and examining deviations from expected outcomes.

(00:23:15) Unveiling Inconsistencies and Arbitrariness

Dive into the discoveries made through computational auditing, as Johan reveals the presence of inconsistencies and arbitrariness in the parole system, raising important questions about its fairness and potential avenues for improvement.

(00:25:16) Conclusion and Future Impact of Computational Audit

Reflect on the transformative potential of computational auditing in parole systems, as Johan and Russ discuss the broader implications of their work, including increased transparency, societal impact, and collaboration with criminal justice reform groups.

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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 back in 2021. David is an electrical engineer, and works in the field of photonics. As he shares in this conversation, there’s great potential for the field of photonics to help solve the problems posed by an increasing demand for computing power. Silicon-chip computers are starting to hit fundamental limits, and advances in the field of photonics – technology that uses light waves – may be just the help we need. David’s research offers a bright spot as we look to a future that continuously demands more computing power. Enjoy!

Chapter Notes

(00:00:00) Introduction

Join us as we delve into the world of optical computing, exploring its potential to revolutionize information processing and overcome the limitations of traditional electronic systems.

(00:00:27) Limitations of electronic systems

Gain insights into the current constraints faced by electronic systems, such as speed and energy efficiency, and discover why alternative approaches are necessary.

(00:01:42) Challenges of copper wire interconnects

Understand the challenges associated with copper wire interconnects and how optical interconnects offer a promising solution with their potential for increased speed and bandwidth.

(00:04:12) Optical interconnects explained

Dive deeper into the concept of optical interconnects, exploring the principles behind transmitting data through light and the advantages they hold over traditional copper wires.

(00:06:08) Optics in long-distance communication

Learn about the significant role optics plays in long-distance communication, from transmitting data through undersea cables to interconnecting cities with optical fiber networks.

(00:07:41) Growing demand for high-speed data transmission

Discover the growing demand for high-speed data transmission in data centers and the need for scalable solutions that can handle the increasing volume of information.

(00:09:50) Silicon photonics

Explore the cutting-edge technology of silicon photonics, which leverages existing manufacturing processes to create photonic chips, opening new possibilities for optical computing.

(00:11:08) Transparency of materials, germanium's role & integration challenges

Delve into the optical properties of materials like silicon and glass, the potential of germanium as a complementary material to silicon, and the challenges of integrating new materials into existing silicon-based manufacturing processes.

(00:13:37) Overcoming device energy limitations

Learn about the progress made in reducing the energy consumption of devices that convert electrical signals into optical signals, a crucial step in achieving efficient optical computing.

(00:15:48) Introduction to "deep optics" and future prospects

Explore the concept of "deep optics," which goes beyond interconnects to encompass the potential use of optics for processing tasks within computing systems, and discover the immense potential of deep optics to transform computing systems and pave the way for a new era of information processing.

(00:19:04) Programmable and self-configuring optical systems

Gain insights into the development of programmable and self-configuring optical systems that can adapt their behavior, optimize light streams, and open up possibilities for advanced information processing.

(00:23:36) Future prospects

Explore the immense potential of deep optics to transform computing systems and pave the way for a new era of information processing.

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Chaitan Khosla is a chemical engineer who says that the world’s most advanced drug factories are not behemoths of the industrial age, but microscopic bacteria. These tiny creatures have evolved enzymatic assembly lines that ingest raw materials and churn out valuable other molecules, like life-saving antibiotics. By engineering new microbes, we hope to create next-generation drugs, Khosla tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Chapter Show Notes:

(00:00:43) Introduction to Assembly Lines and Antibiotics

Russ welcomes Professor Khosla and introduces the intriguing world of bacterial assembly lines and their crucial role in antibiotic synthesis. He emphasizes the significance of antibiotics and their intricate molecular structures.

(00:06:19) Enzymatic Assembly Lines: The Automotive Analogy

Drawing an analogy between assembly lines in nature and automotive assembly lines, discussion highlights the remarkable efficiency and meticulous organization of bacterial assembly lines.

(00:08:17) The Scale of Antibiotic Assembly Lines

Russ Altman and Chaitan Khosla delve into the scale of antibiotic assembly lines, using erythromycin as a prime example. They explore the multitude of enzymes involved in the assembly line process.

(00:10:34) Challenges in Antibiotic Synthesis

The conversation centers around the challenges faced by human chemists in synthesizing antibiotics compared to the remarkable efficiency and complexity of bacterial assembly lines.

(00:12:00) Uncovering Nature's Engineering Marvels

Russ Altman and Chaitan Khosla discuss the awe-inspiring engineering feats found in nature's assembly lines, exploring the intricacies of their construction and their functional significance.

(00:15:15) Expanding the Search for Assembly Lines

Russ Altman and Chaitan Khosla broaden the scope of assembly line research, discussing the potential for discovering novel assembly lines in previously unexplored organisms and environments.

(00:19:00) The Mystery of Orphan Assembly Lines

Russ Altman and Chaitan Khosla explore the enigmatic world of orphan assembly lines, discussing the fascination and curiosity surrounding these assembly lines whose functions remain unknown.

(00:22:00) Decoding the Language of Genes

Russ Altman and Chaitan Khosla delve into the process of deciphering the genetic code to unravel assembly line functions. They discuss the techniques and strategies employed in this intricate decoding process.

(00:24:00) Leveraging Artificial Intelligence in Assembly Line Analysis

The hosts discuss the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning in analyzing assembly line data, showcasing the potential of these technologies to accelerate the discovery of assembly line functions.

(00:26:00) A Window into Nature's Medicine Cabinet

Russ Altman and Chaitan Khosla explore the remarkable potential of assembly lines in antibiotic discovery, unveiling how studying these assembly lines can unlock nature's vast repertoire of medicinal compounds.

(00:28:32) Novel Insights from Recent Assembly Line Discoveries

Russ Altman and Chaitan Khosla highlight the groundbreaking insights gained from recent assembly line discoveries, discussing the exciting prospects and implications of these findings.

(00:30:30) Conclusion and Show Wrap-up

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

In this episode we're re-sharing a conversation Russ had in 2021 with Joseph DeSimone, a professor of chemical engineering at Stanford University. This one is about health, and Joe tells us how 3D printing is transforming healthcare. His group is using it to make vaccine delivery easier and more effective. They're also creating implantable chemotherapy that kills tumors, while having fewer side effects for the patients.

We hope you enjoy this glimpse of how 3D printing technologies are being used in novel and unexpected ways.

Chapter show notes:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Host Russ Altman introduces the episode and welcomes Joseph DeSimone, a renowned 3D printing expert and bioengineer.

(00:01:14) Exploring the Potential of 3D Printing in Healthcare

Altman and DeSimone discuss the transformative possibilities of 3D printing in personalized medicine, prosthetics, and drug delivery.

(00:04:25) Advancements in Personalized Prosthetics

The advancements in 3D printing technology for personalized prosthetics are explored, highlighting the benefits of customized solutions for patients.

(00:07:36) Innovations in Implantable Devices

DeSimone discusses the groundbreaking use of 3D printing for creating implantable devices, such as bone replacements and joint implants, with improved functionality and longevity.

(00:09:19) Custom Prosthetics and Implants

The use of 3D printing for custom prosthetics and implants is highlighted, showcasing its potential for improving patient outcomes.

(00:11:05) Enhancing Drug Delivery through 3D Printing

DeSimone explains how 3D printing has revolutionized drug delivery systems, allowing for precise control and targeted release of medications to enhance therapeutic outcomes.

(00:13:10) Precision Drug Delivery for Cancer Treatment

DeSimone discusses the implantable devices used for targeted chemotherapy delivery, including a description of their appearance and components.

(00:15:40) Applications of localized drug delivery in various cancers are explored.

(00:20:10) Advanced Materials for Bioprinting

The use of bioprinting and the development of advanced materials for creating functional tissues and organs are discussed, highlighting their potential impact on regenerative medicine.

(00:22:15) Harnessing 3D Printing for Regenerative Medicine

The potential of 3D printing in regenerative medicine, including tissue engineering and organ transplantation, is examined, highlighting its ability to create patient-specific solutions.

(00:23:35) Ensuring Data Security and Patient Privacy

The importance of data security and patient privacy in the context of 3D printing healthcare solutions is emphasized, exploring strategies to safeguard sensitive information.

(00:25:05) Trust and Ethics in 3D Printing Healthcare

The ethical considerations and challenges surrounding 3D printing in healthcare, including regulatory frameworks and patient privacy, are discussed.

(00:27:14) Diversity and Trust in Bioengineering and Healthcare

DeSimone discusses his involvement in issues of diversity and trust within bioengineering and healthcare. The connection between values, diversity, and fostering an innovative environment is examined.

(00:28:30) The Mathematical Impact of Diversity

Altman and DeSimone discuss the tangible benefits of diverse teams in driving progress and innovative solutions. The concept of combinatorial approaches and the need for diversity in disciplines and human experiences is highlighted.

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Neuroscientist Kalanit Grill-Spector studies the physiology of human vision and says that the ways computers and people see are in some ways similar, but in other ways quite different. In fact, she says, rapid advances in computational modeling, such as deep neural networks, applied to brain data and new imaging technologies, like quantitative MRI and diffusion MRI, are revolutionizing our understanding of how the human brain sees. We’re unraveling how the brain “computes” visual information, as Grill-Spector tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Chapter Time Stamps:

(00:01:30) Episode introduction: Exploring the fascinating field of cognitive neuroscience and brain development with Kalanit Grill-Spector.

(00:02:45) Dr Grill-Spector's background and research interests: The intersection of cognitive neuroscience, psychology, and computer science.

(00:04:00) The crucial role of experience in shaping brain development: Understanding how environmental factors influence neural specialization.

(00:09:55) The development of word processing regions in the brain: Investigating the emergence and evolution of brain regions associated with reading and word recognition.

(00:11:30) The evolution of word specialization and its implications: Exploring how the brain acquires the ability to read and process words.

(00:14:20) Shift in research focus to studying brain development in infants: Exploring the critical early phases of brain development and the impact of experience on neural circuits.

(00:16:40) Pokemon, Brain Representation, and Perception: The surprising findings on the continued development of word and face processing regions. Discovering the extended period of specialization and plasticity in these brain areas.

(00:19:10) Unexpected decline in specialization for body parts, particularly hands: Examining the trade-off between different cognitive abilities as brain regions specialize.

(00:22:00) Understanding the potential impact of experience on brain organization: Examining how environmental factors shape the neural pathways and cognitive capabilities.

(00:25:00) Investigating the influence of Pokemon on brain representation and perception: Analyzing the effects of exposure to specific visual stimuli on brain organization.

(00:27:15) The unique characteristics of Pokemon stimuli: Exploring how visual features, animacy, and stimulus size affect brain responses.

(00:29:00) Specificity of brain representation for Pokemons: Uncovering whether the brain develops distinct neural pathways for Pokemon stimuli.

(00:31:45) Comparing the effects of word learning: Understanding the potential trade-offs in brain specialization.

(00:32:45) Technical challenges in studying infant's brains: Discussing the need for new tools and analysis methods to study developing brains.

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Guest Debra Kaysen is a psychologist specializing in treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who says that promising new cognitive and behavioral therapies are, quite literally, giving people “their lives back.” These therapies work without drugs to help patients manage their disease and its symptoms and, perhaps, even cure PTSD. We’re providing tools to change how they think, Kaysen tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

For interested listeners, Kaysen offers a list of PTSD resources:

Resources

Previous TFoE episode with Shaili Jain on treatments for PTSD
https://istss.org/public-resources/trauma-basics
https://istss.org/public-resources/find-a-clinician
https://adaa.org/learn-from-us/from-the-experts/blog-posts/consumer/what-youre-feeling-ptsd-what-do-help

Free apps from the VA for PTSD and other related concerns

https://www.ptsd.va.gov/appvid/mobile/
https://www.abct.org/get-help/

For a Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) trained therapist

https://cptforptsd.com/cpt-provider-roster/

Stanford’s PTSD clinic

https://med.stanford.edu/psychiatry/patient_care/ptsd.html

International resource for a Prolonged Exposure (PE) trained therapist

https://www.med.upenn.edu/ctsa/find_pe_therapist.html

Chapter Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Introduction to Trauma Therapy and Digital Mental Health

Russ Altman introduces the topic of trauma therapy and discusses the advancements in digital mental health.

(00:01:45) Support Apps for Trauma Survivors

Debra Kaysen explores the use of mobile applications as a means of support for sexual assault survivors in the immediate aftermath of trauma.

(00:03:15) Overcoming Barriers

Finding Therapists: Debra Kaysen highlights the challenges survivors face in finding therapists and the potential of apps to bridge that gap.

(00:05:10) Bridging the Gap: Challenges in Accessing Support

Debra Kaysen discusses the difficulties survivors face in accessing timely support and how apps can provide a solution.

(00:08:00) The Power of Telehealth for PTSD Treatment

Debra Kaysen emphasizes the effectiveness of telehealth in treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and its growing acceptance in the field.

(00:10:15) Equivalence of Telehealth and In-Person Therapy

Debra Kaysen shares her personal experience of providing therapy to her patients via telehealth and highlights its equivalence to in-person sessions.

(00:12:30) Exploring Asynchronous Therapy with Text Messages

Debra Kaysen delves into the use of text messages as a form of asynchronous therapy for PTSD treatment, offering flexibility and convenience.

(00:14:20) Enhancing Support: Immediate Response and Accessibility

Debra Kaysen discusses the immediate response and accessibility benefits of asynchronous therapy with text messages.

(00:16:00) Building Trust and Establishing Rapport

Debra Kaysen emphasizes the importance of building trust and establishing rapport in digital therapy settings.

(00:18:00) Honesty and Reduced Fear of Judgment

Russ Altman discusses the potential for reduced fear of judgment in digital therapy, allowing individuals to be more open and honest in their communication.

(00:20:00) Exploring Effective Therapeutic Techniques

Debra Kaysen explores various therapeutic techniques used in trauma therapy and their effectiveness in promoting healing.

(00:24:15) Long-Term Outcomes and Prevention

Debra Kaysen explores the long-term outcomes of trauma therapy, highlighting its potential to prevent symptom recurrence and equip individuals with lifelong resilience skills.

(00:26:00) Empowering Individuals: Coping Strategies

Debra Kaysen discusses empowering individuals with effective coping strategies to navigate future traumas.

(00:28:00) Sustaining Progress: Follow-up and Resilience

Debra Kaysen discusses the importance of follow-up care and how trauma therapy helps individuals develop resilience.

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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 computer science here at Stanford Engineering. The conversation is relevant today because, as we all know, AI is having a moment, and robotics is an important part of that. Karen and her lab have a goal of enabling robots to contribute in caregiving roles - think of tasks like helping medical patients get dressed each day - and they’re using physics-based simulations to do that. I hope you’ll take some time to tune into this discussion, it’s a timely and relevant one given larger societal conversations about AI. Enjoy!

Chapter Time Stamps:
(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman interviews Karen Liu, a Stanford professor in computer science, to explore the advancements in exoskeleton technology and their impact on human augmentation.

(00:01:12) Defining Exoskeletons

Karen Liu provides an overview of exoskeletons as wearable devices that enhance human capabilities and become an integral part of the wearer's body.

(00:02:30) Wearable Devices and Human Augmentation

The discussion delves into the concept of wearable devices augmenting human abilities, drawing parallels to popular culture references such as Iron Man.

(00:05:40) Incorporating Sensors and Cameras

Karen Liu explains how sensors and cameras are integrated into exoskeletons to understand the wearer's environment, enabling the exoskeleton to anticipate future actions.

(00:07:55) Parallels with Self-Driving Car Technologies

Exploring similarities with self-driving cars, the conversation highlights how exoskeletons can leverage environmental awareness to guide the wearer's movements.

(00:09:20) Modeling Human Behavior and Intentions

The discussion shifts to the modeling of human behavior and predicting user intentions to ensure exoskeleton assistance aligns with user expectations and maintains their independence.

(00:11:30) Ensuring User Safety and Comfort

The focus turns to designing exoskeletons that prioritize user safety and comfort, considering factors such as ergonomics and personalized adjustments.

(00:13:45) Real-Time Adaptive Assistance

The conversation explores the potential for exoskeletons to dynamically adapt assistance levels in real time based on the wearer's needs and changing circumstances.

(00:15:20) Balancing Assistance and User Independence

The importance of finding the right balance between providing assistance and preserving user independence is discussed, ensuring that exoskeletons empower rather than hinder.

(00:17:05) Ethical Considerations and Accessibility

The discussion touches upon ethical considerations surrounding exoskeleton technology, including accessibility, affordability, and ensuring equal opportunities for all users.

(00:18:30) Optimizing Performance and Efficiency

The conversation dives into strategies for optimizing the performance and efficiency of exoskeletons, including advancements in energy management and battery technologies.

(00:19:45) User Feedback and Iterative Design

Karen Liu highlights the significance of user feedback and iterative design processes in refining exoskeleton technology to better meet user needs and preferences.

(00:20:30) Future Possibilities and Advancements

Looking ahead, the conversation explores potential advancements in exoskeleton technology, including advancements in artificial intelligence and personalized exoskeleton designs.

(00:22:00) Collaborations and Interdisciplinary Research

The importance of interdisciplinary collaborations in advancing exoskeleton technology is discussed, emphasizing the need for expertise from various fields.

(00:23:10) Summary and Key Takeaways

Russ Altman summarizes the main points discussed throughout the episode, highlighting key takeaways for listeners to reflect upon.

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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 potential solution, if only we can eliminate the impurities. Mitch designs systems to remove toxic chemicals from wastewater to enable its reuse as a drinking water supply. It’s not easy, but it costs half as much as desalinating seawater, Mitch tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

Show Notes & Chapters: The future of Wastewater

(00:00:05) Introduction

Russ introduces the podcast and guest, William Mitch, who discusses the future of wastewater treatment.

(00:00:38) Nitrogen in Wastewater Treatment

Russ and William kick off the conversation with an insightful discussion on the issues surrounding the nitrogen cycle in wastewater treatment. They discuss the nitrogen cycle, the role of nitrogen in wastewater treatment, and the challenges of removing it from wastewater, including the current technologies being used.

(00:02:28) The Basics of Wastewater Treatment

Mitch explains the fundamental process of wastewater treatment, highlighting the initial step of removing solids and the biological process of removing organic matter.

(00:07:35) Understanding Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)

Mitch explains the concept of BOD, its importance in water treatment, and how technology has evolved to measure it.

(00:10:19) The Challenge of Nitrogen Removal

Discussion about the difficulties and processes involved in removing nitrogen from wastewater, focusing on the traditional and newer approaches.

(00:14:02) Energy Consumption in Wastewater Treatment

Mitch talks about the substantial energy demand involved in wastewater treatment, especially in the nitrogen removal process.

(00:17:32) Research on Nitrogen Removal

Mitch discusses his lab's research on a more energy-efficient process for nitrogen removal from wastewater, explaining the concept of anammox bacteria and their role in this process.

(00:20:49) Phosphate Removal and Regulation

Mitch talks about the lack of regulatory pressure for phosphorus removal from water and its potential future implications.

(00:21:30) Public Acceptance of Wastewater Treatment Technologies

Russ probes into the public acceptance of wastewater technologies, specifically potable reuse of wastewater. William discusses the changes in public attitudes towards recycled water over the past decades, the importance of public relations campaigns and community education in shaping these attitudes, and the future of potable reuse facilities.

(00:24:39) The Quality of Potable Reuse Waters vs. Conventional Water Supplies

William discusses a recent study comparing the quality of water from potable reuse plants to conventional water supplies. He reveals that the treated waters were found to be of higher quality than surface waters and comparable in quality to groundwater supplies.

(00:27:00) Chlorinated Taste in Drinking Water

Russ asks William about the common chlorinated taste in drinking water. William explains the chemical reactions that lead to this taste and why it isn't necessarily a red flag for consumers.

(00:28:00) Future of Separate Infrastructures for Potable and Non-Potable Water

They wrap up the conversation discussing the possibility and implications of having separate infrastructures for potable water and water used for other purposes. William explains the logistical challenges and why many utilities are moving towards potable reuse.

(00:29:08) Conclusion

Russ concludes the episode, thanking William for his insights into the future of wastewater, and invites listeners to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast for future episodes.

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Guest Matteo Cargnello approaches the challenge of greenhouse gases from a different perspective. He doesn’t study how harmful chemicals got in the skies, or even the consequences. Instead, Cargnello is using his skills as a chemical engineer to turn them into other benign or useful chemicals. So far, he’s turned greenhouse gases into valuable industrial chemicals, polymers, renewable fuels, and even ethanol. Useful products from greenhouse gases, that's the dream, Cargnello tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’sThe Future of Everything.

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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 being done to identify new materials for semiconductors that could lead to smaller, faster, more powerful and more energy efficient electronics. Since we recorded this episode, the CHIPS and Science Act was signed into law, creating a $280 billion dollar investment in the field over the next 10 years, and in light of the renewed commitment to this technology, we’re excited to share this conversation on the future of semiconductor materials.

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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 present-day societal problems, such as growing political polarization and social isolation borne by the pandemic. Art advances equity, improves health, and enhances well-being for all, she says. Everyone should see themselves as artists—engineers, physicians, political scientists alike. "We all want to have creative lives," Cullinan tells host Russ Altman in this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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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 stimulation, and new digital health technologies that chart subtle changes in movement are reshaping the field, leading to new understandings and new treatments for this once-untreatable disease. To modulate behavior, you first have to measure it, Bronte-Stewart tells host Russ Altman. It’s the future of movement disorders in this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Our guest, Christopher Manning, is a computational linguist. He builds computer models that understand and generate language using math. Words are the key component of human intelligence, he says, and why generative AI, like ChatGPT, has caused such a stir. We used to hope a model might produce one coherent sentence and suddenly ChatGPT is composing five-paragraph stories and doing mathematical proofs in rhyming verse, Manning tells host Russ Altman in this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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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 faculty are thinking about computer science education, an increasingly popular and impactful field of study. Earlier this week, Sahami and another of his colleagues, Chris Piech, launched the third offering of Code In Place, a free online course that offers coding education to people all over the world.

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Kathleen Eisenhardt is an expert in strategy and organizational behavior. She studies corporate decision making. She says the most creative companies are like jazz bands. Bound by a few simple rules, they are able to innovate continually. Other companies are like orchestras, tied to rigid scores and complex rules; they find it hard to improvise. If innovation is your metric, Eisenhardt says, having a few simple rules is the best path to success, as she tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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While DNA may be the blueprint of life, proteins are the workhorses, says Polly Fordyce, a bioengineer, explaining how one of her favorites, kinesin, “walks” in 8-nanometer steps transporting chemical cargo through the body. More remarkable still, Fordyce says, kinesin is just one among thousands of “incredible” proteins that make life happen, as she tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Rising temperatures and rainfall from climate change will have a surprising effect on human health, says biologist Erin Mordecai, an expert in diseases borne by mosquitoes, ticks and other living creatures. Such conditions are perfect breeding grounds for parasites that will bring deadly diseases to the U.S. and other places once thought out of reach. Hope may rest in mathematical models to guide smarter environmental policies, as Mordecai tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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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 knowing what’s making us sick. In fact, it’s telling us all the time, but only now is science tuning in to what nature has to say, explains Purvesh Khatri. The immune system is a “perfect diagnostic,” he tells host Russ Altman in this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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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 unfairness, worse health outcomes for many and a group of insurers who learn to game the system, says guest Sherri Rose, a statistician and health policy researcher who studies the causes of such inequities. Rose is using artificial intelligence to root out these bad incentives and to bring greater equity and better care to the American health system, as she tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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With the advent of wearable devices and omnipresent monitoring of heart, lungs, blood and more, scientists can now gather unprecedented amounts of personal medical data. Just ask guest Michael Snyder, referred to as “medicine’s most-measured man.” He is the author of Genomics and Personalized Medicine: What Everyone Needs to Know and has collected billions of bytes of his own biodata. Snyder says that all this data can lead to earlier diagnosis than ever before, often before symptoms appear, as he tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering's The Future of Everything podcast.

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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 who want to promote their services and to charge more for video and other data. On the other are people, like guest Barbara van Schewick, a lawyer, who champions a more democratic approach known as net neutrality. Net neutrality guarantees unfettered access for all and makes sure that we get to choose what we do online, van Schewick tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Beatriz Magaloni is a lawyer and a professor of political science who studies the challenges at the intersection of governance, poverty, and police violence in Latin America. On this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast, Magaloni tells host Russ Altman that the solution to these challenges begins with studying the root causes as explained by people living in the communities that are most impacted.

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Guest Nicholas Bloom has studied telecommuting for 20 years. Prior to the pandemic, he says, just five percent of days were “worked from home,” but the number is now closer to one in three. It looks like the hybrid workplace is here to stay. What was once thought to be a boon to employee morale has also helped companies slash real estate budgets. But, it’s not all sunshine and roses, as Bloom tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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On this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast, guest Mac Schwager talks safety in multi-robot systems, like those controlling the autonomous vehicles that will soon fill our future. Some engineers are helping robots communicate better among themselves while others are working on “emotionally aware” algorithms able to pick up on subtle cues in how others are driving to help robots make better on-the-road decisions.

Never fear, Schwager says, the future is in good hands. “Autonomous cars will reach a level of safety that surpasses that of human drivers, but it may take a little while,” he tells host Russ Altman on this episode of The Future of Everything podcast.

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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 talks of aircraft, he means a new generation of flying vehicles that could transform our very concept of transportation—like personal flying cars that take off and land vertically or commercial airliners fueled by clean-burning hydrogen.

Kroo says the rapid changes he’s seeing in the industry could lead to safer, less expensive, more efficient—and quieter—air travel. Listen in as he shares more with host Russ Altman on this episode of The Future of Everything podcast.

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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 humans are living longer, our muscles are critical to living life to the fullest and Blau is helping them keep pace by recruiting stem cells to regenerate youthful muscle in older people.

Join us on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast as Blau and host Russ Altman discuss the science of muscle regeneration.

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This episode's guest on Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast is Lawrence Wein, an expert in the science of catching criminals using DNA left behind years or even decades prior. All it takes is a snippet of the killer’s DNA and for a relative of the killer to have registered their DNA with one of the many genealogy websites in operation today. Armed with those few details, genetic detectives quickly narrow in on the suspect. They’ve used it to capture some of the most reviled, previously unidentified killers on record.

Listen in as Wein joins host Russ Altman to discuss the mathematics of forensic genetic genealogy on this episode of The Future of Everything podcast.

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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 podcast, Doug James, uses those same principles to create computer-generated sounds to match the imaginary computer-generated objects and creatures that inhabit almost every movie or game these days.

His algorithms speed the animator’s work and make the final product all-the-more believable, as James tells host Russ Altman on this episode of The Future of Everything podcast

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This episode's guest on Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast, management science and engineering professor Melissa Valentine studies a workplace phenomenon known as the flash organization. These ad hoc groups of experts are assembled online and exist only long enough to solve a particular problem—perhaps a week or few months at a time. As soon as the problem is solved, the flash org dissipates, and the participants get paid for their time and expertise. It’s a whole new way to work.

Join us for a look at the future of the gig economy on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

At the end of this episode, host Russ Altman, along with the entire production team of The Future of Everything, offer a tribute to our audio engineer, Ray Avila, who passed away in October of 2022. Ray's work was instrumental in making this podcast possible and his presence is sorely missed.

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Our guest on this episode of Stanford Engineering's The Future of Everything podcast, Elaine Treharne, is an English professor and an authority on ancient manuscripts. She's using modern tools like machine learning to unlock the secrets hidden inside these aged pages. Despite frequent predictions of the demise of physical writing, she says, books will never go away. Physical writing, she believes, is a perfectly human manifestation of our humanity—an effort by transient beings to create something eternal.

All this and more as Treharne and our host Russ Altman discuss the future of books, writing and reading on this episode of The Future of Everything.

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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 of creating robots that swim. His most recent project is OceanOneK, a 200-pound, humanoid robot with stereoscopic vision and opposable thumbs that can travel nearly a thousand meters below the surface. When the pressure was on, Khatib had to redesign everything he thought he knew about robots, he says, beginning with a new glass-like shell good to 6,000 PSI.

Listen as Khatib and host Russ Altman plumb the depths of underwater robots on this installment of The Future of Everything.

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On this episode of Stanford Engineering's The Future of Everything podcast, Stanford infectious disease expert Desiree LaBeaud talks trash, literally. She says carelessly discarded plastics can collect water, providing a perfect nursery to mosquitoes that then spread dengue, chikungunya, Zika, yellow fever and other killer diseases worldwide. Plastic trash has become a public health nightmare as LaBeaud tells host Russ Altman and listeners of The Future of Everything. Reducing it is now a critical component of life-saving disease prevention strategies.

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Civil and environmental engineer Alexandria Boehm joins Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast to discuss how a new form of epidemiology is using the tools of engineering to test wastewater to track COVID-19’s true spread. The wastewater that enters a treatment facility is really just one big biological sample, Boehm says. Testing it is far more accurate than COVID-19 case data, and it is useful for tracking other diseases in our communities, as well.

Listen in to this episode of The Future of Everything, as Boehm and host Russ Altman explore the great promise of wastewater epidemiology.

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On this episode of Stanford Engineering's The Future of Everything podcast, Stanford bioengineer Jan Liphardt talks about the challenge of getting good medical recommendations and diagnoses while guaranteeing that a patient's health secrets remain private. Computing on encrypted data is the way, he says. Tune in as health data expert Liphardt and host Russ Altman discuss the future of health privacy.

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Stanford pediatrics professor Anisha Patel tells us how engaging a local community about their health concerns can lead to impactful discoveries and interventions. She recounts how a visit to a middle school helped her team realize that simple access to drinking water was a problem in schools across the nation. Patel also shares how similar interactions during the COVID pandemic created a system of free lunches at public schools that helped ensure food security for children throughout the country. On this episode of The Future of Everything, Patel and host Russ Altman discuss the future of community health.

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To better understand the inner workings of glacier — which are often many kilometers in depth — researchers are using ice-penetrating radar, which sends radio waves through the ice, to create maps of what it looks like inside.

In this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything, Stanford radio glaciologist Dustin (Dusty) Schroeder explains how this technique works and how the data it generates can help us understand the implications of climate change here on Earth. Together with host, bioengineer Russ Altman, Schroeder also discusses how he and his team are using this technology to investigate the habitability of moons and planets in our solar system – and whether there might be life already there. Listen and subscribe here.

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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 – when neurons fire simultaneously – it can be a problem.

In fact, abnormal neural synchrony underlies many neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, and dystonia. In this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything, Stanford professor of neurosurgery Peter Tass joins host, Stanford bioengineer Russ Altman, to discuss how vibrational therapies, such as a glove that applies vibrations to an individual’s fingertips, can help patients with neurological conditions by helping the neurons break and unlearn synchronicity. Listen and subscribe here.

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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.

In this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything, Stanford physician Steven Lin, explains how AI could improve healthcare logistics, optimize patient care, and significantly lower costs by reducing the clerical burdens that cost the U.S. healthcare system billions of dollars a year and keep physicians from spending more time with their patients. Learn more with Lin and host, bioengineer and fellow physician, Russ Altman. Listen and subscribe here.

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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 the senior home. Or garbage keeps getting dumped on the sidewalk.

Now imagine if you and others in your community could document what you saw, collect those data, identify and agree on issues to prioritize, and then find feasible solutions for them?

In this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything, Stanford faculty member Abby King, professor of epidemiology and population health and of medicine, explains how this scenario is possible, starting with a mobile app called the Our Voice Discovery Tool. King and host, bioengineer Russ Altman, also discuss how this by-the-people type of citizen science can help improve the well-being and health of communities in the U.S. and around the world. Listen and subscribe here.

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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 in who gets a bank loan, what medical procedures are covered by insurance, and who gets selected for a job interview. As algorithms are used to make these decisions, how do we make sure they’re fair? And what does fairness even mean?

In this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything, computer science professor Omer Reingold explains how we can create definitions of fairness that can be incorporated into computer algorithms. Reingold and host, bioengineer Russ Altman, also discuss how flawed historic data may result in algorithms making unfair decisions and how a technique called multi-group fairness can improve health predictions for individuals. Listen and subscribe here.

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Unfortunately, not every medical procedure is 100% successful. Due to the complexity of breast cancer lumpectomies, for instance, 16–25% of surgeries fail to remove the entire tumor, requiring patients to repeat the procedure. But to improve surgery success rates, and their efficiency, physicians are now looking to technologies from a surprising source: the gaming industry.

In this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything, Bruce Daniel, a professor of radiology, explains how technologies developed by the gaming industry, such as virtual reality and body tracking, can be used to improve medicine. With host, bioengineer Russ Altman, Daniel also discusses how the potential of these technologies goes beyond surgeries, even helping patients manage anxiety before undergoing stressful diagnostic procedures like MRIs. Listen and subscribe here.

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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 tons of cargo. Despite the increase in size and capacity, commercial aircraft have actually become quieter over the past several decades, thanks to a few key design changes informed by fluid mechanics, a branch of physics that studies fluids in motion.

In this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything, Sanjiva Lele, a professor of aeronautics and astronautics and of mechanical engineering, explains how adjustments in aircraft design, landing gear, and engines can have massive consequences for the field of aeroacoustics.

Lele joins host, bioengineer Russ Altman, to also discuss how high-fidelity simulations can be used to study and improve the fluid mechanical modeling of aircraft engines, as well as wind turbines. Listen and subscribe here.

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Data shows that greater gender diversity on company leadership groups leads to improved business outcomes, says Stanford cardiologist Hannah Valantine. Likewise, she says, in medical research, where diversity boosts the development of new technologies.

In this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything, Valantine, the former inaugural chief officer for scientific workforce diversity at the National Institutes of Health, as well as a senior investigator at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, discusses why increasing the diversity of researchers and study participants is vital to medical innovation. Valantine and host, bioengineer Russ Altman, then explore the barriers that keep new medical technologies, such as a blood test to detect signs of heart transplant rejection, from being used in hospitals. Listen and subscribe here.

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In our deeply polarized society, the prospect of holding thoughtful discussions on policy issues seems impossible. But it doesn’t have to be. In this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything, James Fishkin, a professor of communication at Stanford, describes the deliberative polling model, a system of structured and moderated small group discussions that can help bring people together and bridge differences in perspective on even some of the most politically fraught issues. Together with host, bioengineer Russ Altman, Fishkin discusses how deliberative democracy has been successfully used in more than 30 countries, including Chile, Denmark, and Japan, and how it can be scaled up through technology. Listen and subscribe here.

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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 difference between video and images that are true and accurate and those that are manipulated or outright made up. In this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything, Jonathan Dotan, of Stanford’s Starling Lab for Data Integrity, and host, bioengineer Russ Altman, discuss what researchers are doing to keep ahead of advances in deep fakes and other forms of manipulated media. Dotan explains how the lab is using cryptography and blockchain technologies to verify the veracity of images and videos, and how these tools are already being used to document war crimes in Syria and Ukraine, and to secure the testimonies of genocide survivors. Listen and subscribe here.

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Physicians diagnose Alzheimer’s disease with tests that measure memory loss and behavioral change. But many years before these symptoms appear, the disease is changing the brain, leading to the buildup of misfolded proteins and brain shrinkage that cause cognitive decline. In this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything, Stanford mechanical engineer Ellen Kuhl explains how she’s using databases of brain images of both Alzheimer’s patients and healthy individuals to create computational models that show how the disease spreads through distinct parts of the brain and gradually impacts different brain functions. Kuhl and host, Stanford bioengineer Russ Altman, explore how these models have generated new insights into how Alzheimer’s affects the brain, as well as its diagnosis and its potential treatment. Listen and subscribe here.

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Humans have been trying to predict when earthquakes will happen for centuries, with little success, by developing earthquake detectors and by wondering if unusual animal behavior could be a sign of an incoming temblor. In this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything, Eric Dunham, a geophysicist at Stanford University, explains that while we’re still unable to predict when earthquakes will happen, advanced computers and new sensors on the seafloor are pushing the field of natural-hazard modelling forward and providing new information about the nature of earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes. Dunham and host, bioengineer Russ Altman, discuss how this modeling could help us understand where large earthquakes and tsunamis are likely to happen – and how it could help us prepare for these potentially devastating events. Listen and subscribe here.

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Computer chips are everywhere: your cellphone, your car, even your refrigerator. And they’re essential to enabling advances in artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, and faster and better computers -- and to solving global challenges such as climate change. The omnipresence of this foundational technology has been growing for decades, but the pandemic accelerated the digital transformation of society, significantly increasing the demand for more and better chips.

In this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything, Stanford electrical engineer Philip Wong and host, bioengineer Russ Altman, discuss why filling that need will require a greater emphasis on semiconductor research in universities, global cooperation, and increased investment in both research and development (R&D) and manufacturing. They also discuss the importance of shortening the distance between the kind of computer chip innovations happening in university labs and the fabrication of the next generation of chips, or what Wong calls “the lab-to-fab gap.” Listen and subscribe here.

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Search online and you’ll find lists of all the skills entrepreneurs should have - among them are imagination, creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship. But are entrepreneurs born with these relevant skills, or can they be taught?

In this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything, Tina Seelig, professor of the practice in the Department of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford, explains the differences between imagination, creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship, and how all four can be taught and then applied to finding solutions to big challenges. Join Seelig and host, bioengineer Russ Altman, as they discuss how to train a generation of entrepreneurs who will make positive contributions to the world. Listen and subscribe here.

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The consequences of climate change have already been devastating: wildfires, drought, coastal flooding, and increased temperatures, among them. And there are massive economic, societal, and geopolitical and security costs as well. It's no wonder that many people may feel the situation at this point is hopeless. But in this episode of the Future of Everything, Stanford’s Chris Field tells host and bioengineer Russ Altman that the world has made more progress than we might have expected a decade ago, and that we can still pave a way to a sustainable future, both by reducing emissions and by adapting to the impact of increasing temperatures through such things as technological innovation and improved infrastructure and land and resource management. Listen and subscribe here.

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The vast majority of substances are neither liquid, solid, nor gas – but an alternative form that shares characteristics of liquids and gases. Among them are gels, glasses, and colloidal suspensions, and they’re an essential part of everyday products like toothpaste, paint, hair products, and even windows. Stanford chemical engineer Roseanna Zia is an expert on the gel-like substance known as colloids.

In this episode of Stanford Engineering's The Future of Everything, Zia joins host Russ Altman to talk about the physics of these substances, and how a greater understanding of colloids can improve our understanding of cells, biological processes, and human health and disease. Listen and subscribe here.

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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 surgeons performing at the top of their game and those still honing their techniques? With the help of wearable sensors, motion tracking and video, physicians can now watch surgeons in action, quantify their movements, and determine how highly skilled physicians accomplish the unique choreography of surgery.

In this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything, Carla Pugh, a professor of surgery at Stanford, discusses what we learn when we measure physicians’ movements, and how studying the movements of skilled surgeons can shorten the learning curve for their less experienced colleagues. Dr. Pugh joins bioengineer and host Russ Altman to explore the future of surgery. Listen and subscribe here.

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Are U.S. adults happy? Sad? Depressed? One can answer these questions by calling thousands of people and surveying their psychological state, a strategy that’s both costly and time-consuming. But with the help of machine learning and artificial intelligence, you can also measure a population’s well-being by turning to social media platforms and tracking what millions of people are talking about.

In this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything, computational social scientist Johannes Eichstaedt and host, bioengineer Russ Altman, discuss how social media can be used to gauge a population’s psychological state, including how events like COVID-19 have impacted well-being. They also discuss how social media has the potential to work as an early warning system for public health crises to help cities and counties deploy resources where they’re most needed. Listen and subscribe here.

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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 have realized it, but this is AI-generated text. In the past several years, this technology has advanced beyond completing sentences in emails: It can now respond to others’ emails, and write essays, hip-hop songs, public health messages, and much more. What’s more, it can sometimes be even more effective than humans at conveying certain messages. In this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything, Jeff Hancock, a professor of communication at Stanford, explores this phenomenon and its positive and negative implications for how we communicate and how we understand our interactions with one another and the world. Learn more with Hancock and host Stanford Professor Russ Altman. Listen and subscribe here.

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The world has made remarkable gains in pediatric medicine and public health over the past several generations. The average American child of the 21st century has access to clean water and milk, fully functioning sewage systems, and antibiotics, vaccines, and other medicines. Result: Child mortality rates have declined dramatically over the past century. At the same time, a widening income gap in the United States has led to vastly different prevalence rates for health conditions between low- and high-income families, says Stanford pediatrician Lisa Chamberlain. And COVID-19, she says, has put a spotlight on many of the health challenges associated with these wealth disparities. In this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything, Chamberlain joins host Professor Russ Altman to discusses these issues, and how telehealth might help overcome some of the burgeoning challenges in pediatric health. Listen and subscribe here.

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It may not be immediately obvious, but there are huge financial, environmental and security costs associated with storing all the selfies, videos, documents and other digital assets the world is generating. One way to address this issue is by developing better compression algorithms that can represent the data more succinctly. Another is by creating new ways of storing the information itself, including, potentially, within biological molecules.

In this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything, Stanford electrical engineer Tsachy Weissman discusses with host Professor Russ Altman the challenges associated with storing our ever-growing mountains of digital data – and how they can be addressed. Listen and subscribe here.

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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 tissues no longer heal easily, and tissue loss is unavoidable due to aging, degenerative diseases such as arthritis, and cancer.

In this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything, Fan Yang and host and fellow bioengineer Russ Altman, discuss how biomaterials created in a lab can be injected into wound sites to enable tissue regeneration or rejuvenation by modulating stem cells, vasculature, or immune responses.

They also discuss the potential of exploiting such biomaterials to create 3D cancer models to facilitate discovery of novel drugs with reduced time and cost. Listen and subscribe here.

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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 systems are striving for reflect what we want for ourselves and for society? And how can scientists and engineers do a better job of increasing people’s trust in AI? Stanford computer scientist Carlos Guestrin is a leading voice on how to advance and implement a more trustworthy AI. Learn about his work in this area, and his particular interest in AI and healthcare, on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything, with host Professor Russ Altman. Listen and subscribe here.

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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 typically see multiple physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other healthcare practitioners, and come into contact with a slew of medical technologies, protocols, and billing and insurance systems.

Sara Singer, a Stanford professor of medicine, is an expert on integrated care – the development of tools, technologies, and processes designed to improve the interactions among patients, clinicians, and other providers to lower costs and improve health outcomes.

In this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything, she explains how new technology, and its improved integration into the healthcare system, can enhance practitioners’ ability to care for patients. Learn more with host Professor Russ Altman. Listen and subscribe here.

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Whether it’s autonomous vehicles or assistive technology in healthcare that can do things like help the elderly do core tasks like feeding themselves, some of the most challenging problems in the field of robotics involve how robots interact with humans, with all of our many complexities.

Drawing from fields as varied as cognitive neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral economics, Stanford computer scientist Dorsa Sadigh is exploring how to train robots to better understand humans – and how to give humans the skills to more seamlessly work with robots.

Learn more on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything, with host Professor Russ Altman. Listen and subscribe

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Among the many areas James Zou might have chosen to apply his considerable knowledge of artificial intelligence, he opted for health care. It was the most interesting, the most complex and the most impactful area of study. In short, it was the most exciting outlet for his expertise.

Since that epiphany, Zou has gone on to publish influential studies that have improved the patient experience, shaped basic research and sped the development of new drugs. Among his most important contributions, Zou says, are efforts to expose and overcome bias in the data and algorithms.

His latest project, Pathfinder, uses anonymized, real-world medical records to allow researchers to conduct synthetic clinical trials on fictional (but realistic) patients, as Zou explains in this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast with host Russ Altman. Listen and subscribe here.

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Stanford professor Johan Ugander is an expert in making sense of messy data. Lately he’s been working to tell fact from fiction online, as news stories spread on social media. He comes at the question from a unique angle, using machine learning to study the differing patterns in how both types of information spread (or don’t).

In so doing, Ugander has come to some interesting conclusions and, more important, suggests some novel strategies for preventing the spread of misinformation. False stories, he says, are more “infectious,” with wide-ranging consequences for how they spread. Strategies to slow or restrict this infectiousness range from increasing digital literacy to asking potential sharers to consider the factual accuracy of a story they are about to share.

Ugander has also started to take his research in a new direction, criminal justice, working to make sense of the complex data records that a Stanford team has collected to understand California’s parole system, as he tells listeners to this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast with host Russ Altman.

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For a profession that has existed essentially since the beginning of human civilization, few people fully appreciate the importance of construction in our everyday lives, but Martin Fischer does. To build the key infrastructure of society, he says, requires intimate understanding of human nature, the environment, the materials and the ever-evolving techniques of building things.

Fischer has grown frustrated with the present state of his profession and decided to change its trajectory using artificial intelligence and virtual reality to redefine what construction will look like in the future.

It’s an effort he hopes will unite the profession in creating more efficient, safer and more livable homes, buildings, airports, bridges and more. Fischer muses all about the future of construction in this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast with host Russ Altman. Listen and subscribe here.

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Much of what the world knows about genetic diseases is learned by comparing the DNA of people with a shared disease against the DNA of otherwise healthy people to learn where the differences lie.

This is all well and good except that, written into all that DNA, is a lot of other information that the subjects would rather keep private. And that’s where Gill Bejerano enters the scene. He’s an expert in cryptogenomics, a discipline that marries the fields of cryptography and genomics to essentially scramble the genetic code to researchers in such a way that they can still glean valuable information from it without revealing the donor’s entire genetic code.

Bejerano’s efforts have been so successful he’s now applying a similar process to medical records, as he explains to host Russ Altman and listeners of this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast. Listen and subscribe here.

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As the field of computer science has evolved over the last half century, so too has the way in which computer science is taught and to whom it is taught.

Stanford lecturer Cynthia Lee says she is encouraged by the diversity she sees as she looks out over her classroom. But that wasn’t always the case, particularly when she, a woman, was in college. Lee has since dedicated her career to changing that mindset from a fixed and rigid outlook to one that is more open and welcoming of diverse backgrounds and skills.

Change, she says, can come from the top in how classes are structured and at the foundation in undoing preconceptions about who can excel in the field. Diverse faces, myriad skills and interests, fewer lectures and more hands-on, peer-to-peer collaboration are in order, Lee tells listeners to this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast with host Russ Altman.

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In one of computer science’s more meta moments, professor Chelsea Finn created an AI algorithm to evaluate the coding projects of her students. The AI model reads and analyzes code, spot flaws and gives feedback to the students. Computers learning about learning—it’s so meta that Finn calls it “meta learning.”

Finn says the field should forgo training AI for highly specific tasks in favor of training it to look at a diversity of problems to divine the common structure among those problems. The result is AI able to see a problem it has not encountered before and call upon all that previous experience to solve it. This new-look AI can adapt to new courses, often enrolling thousands of students at a time, where individual instructor feedback would be prohibitive.

Emboldened by results in class, Finn is now applying her breadth-over-specificity approach to her other area of focus, robotics. She hopes to develop new-age robots that can adapt to unfamiliar surroundings and can do many things well, instead of a few, as she tells host Russ Altman and listeners to this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast. Listen and subscribe here.

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For experts in digital graphics and visual perception, like computer scientist Kayvon Fatahalian, the recent pandemic has been a call to arms. Fatahalian says he and others in the field felt an urgent responsibility to harness their background in computer graphics and interactive techniques to improve life for people across the globe. He says new, virtual tools have proved better than past, real ones in improving certain aspects of our everyday lives.

His job as a computer scientist is to make those experiences more successful, more of the time. His role as a teacher is a case in point. While the virtual world is not a replacement for face-to-face interaction between students and instructors, Fatahalian notes there are many aspects of the live virtual lecture experience that enable more students to participate, and participate more frequently than in a physical classroom.

Fatahalian is now busier than ever discovering where and how the virtual world excels and creating new tools to meet the evolving need, as he tells listeners to this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast with host Russ Altman. Listen and subscribe here.

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One underappreciated fact about the explosion in genetic databases, like consumer sites that provide information about ancestry and health, is that they unlock valuable insights not only into an individual’s past and future, but also for that individual’s entire family. This raises serious concerns about privacy for people who have never submitted their genetic information for analysis, yet share much the same code as one who did.

Today’s guest, Kuang Xu, is an expert in how genetic information can and should be used. He says that the DNA problem weighs heavily on privacy experts in fields ranging from law and engineering to public health and criminal justice. The fundamental question is: Can we create methods for accessing genetic data while maximizing the privacy of all involved?

The problems will only grow more intense as time and data accumulate, Xu says, unless we resolve them now, as he explains on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast with host Russ Altman. Listen and subscribe here.

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Readers of Eric Appel’s academic profile will note appointments in materials science, bioengineering and pediatrics, as well as fellowship appointments in the ChEM-H institute for human health research and the Woods Institute for the Environment. While the breadth of these appointments does not leap to mind as being particularly consistent, the connections quickly emerge for those who hear Appel talk about his research.

Appel is an expert in gels, those wiggly, jiggly materials that aren’t quite solid, but not quite liquid either. Gels’ in-betweenness is precisely what gets engineers like Appel excited about them. Appel has used gels for everything from new-age fire retardants that can proactively prevent forest fires to improved drug and vaccine delivery mechanisms for everything from diabetes to COVID-19. Hence the appointments across engineering and medicine.

Listen in with host and bioengineer Russ Altman as Appel explains to Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast why gels could be the future of science. Listen and subscribe here.

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As the world has learned through the recent pandemic, epidemiological studies can be complicated by many unanticipated factors. Lianne Kurina is an expert in the design of epidemiological studies who says that the key to greater confidence is better design.

The gold standard, she says, is the randomized controlled trial—a study that compares groups that are essentially identical by every apparent factor but one— the vaccinated vs. the unvaccinated, for instance. In the case of COVID-19 vaccinations, Kurina stresses that investigators did an exemplary job of this.

In situations where we can't use a randomized controlled trial, achieving a similar balance and specificity is far harder. Kurina says that researchers working with observational data, rather than trial data, must always be attuned to the overlooked factors—“confounders” she calls them—that can muddy the data and render a study moot.

However, Kurina notes, the better one controls the confounders in these observational studies via better design and data collection, the greater confidence we can have in the end results, as she tells listeners to this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast with host Russ Altman. Listen and subscribe here.

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For decades, the general-purpose central processing unit—the CPU—has been the workhorse of the computer industry. It could handle any task—literally—even if most of those capabilities were unnecessary.

This model was all well and good as chips grew smaller, faster and more efficient by the day, but less so as the pace of progress has slowed, says electrical engineer Priyanka Raina, an expert in chip design. Raina says that, to keep chips on their ever-improving trajectory, chip makers have shifted focus to chips that do specific tasks very well. The graphics processing unit (GPU), which handles the intense mathematics necessary for video and gaming graphics, is a perfect example.

Soon, there’ll be a faster, more efficient chip for every task, but it’ll take industry-wide cooperation to get there, as Raina tells listeners to this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast with host Russ Altman. Listen and subscribe here.

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Most people know the seismograph, those ultrasensitive instruments that record every small shift in the Earth’s crust.

But did you know that the very latest method for measuring earthquakes involves fiber optic cables that carry internet data around the world?

Stanford geophysicist Biondo Biondi says that the waves of energy sent forth by an earthquake cause fiber optic cables to stretch and contract ever so slightly. Using precise mathematical algorithms, experts like Biondi can measure earthquake intensity, making every meter of fiber optic cable a potential seismograph and dramatically increasing the data experts can gather in a day. Biondi’s sensor arrays are so sensitive they can detect sinkholes, landslides and even the rumblings of failing urban infrastructure.

These new technologies – and the secrets they might reveal – are only starting to emerge, as Biondi tells listeners in this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast with host Russ Altman. Listen and subscribe here.

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Anyone who’s ever made weekend plans based on the weather forecast knows that prediction – about anything – is a tough business. But predictive models are increasingly used to make life-changing decisions everywhere from health and finance to justice and national elections. As the consequences have grown, so has the weight of uncertainty, says today’s guest, mathematician and statistician Emmanuel Candès.

Candès knows this paradigm all too well. He is an expert in identifying flaws in today’s highly sophisticated computer models. He says the secret to better prediction rests in building models that don’t try to be right every time, but instead offer a high degree of certainty about things of real consequence.

In that regard, the old scientific maxim holds, he says. Correlation does not equal causation. The statistician’s job, therefore, is helping to sort through the noise to find the nuggets of truth in the things that really matter, as Candès tell listeners to this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast with host Russ Altman. Listen and subscribe here.

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Electronics are everywhere these days, so much so that often we don't even register that we are using them. The use of electronics will only grow over time as engineers solve societal challenges through increased connectivity, faster computation, new high-tech gadgets, and energy sustainability. Against that backdrop, electrical engineers like Stanford’s Srabanti Chowdhury have been searching for new semiconductors that can expand the application space beyond the ubiquitous silicon. Among the options she’s exploring is an old familiar friend—diamond—and a few new ones, too, like gallium nitride.

The diamonds Chowdhury works with are a far cry from the sparkly gems a jeweler might prize. These diamonds are “doped” with other elements to achieve optimal electrical performance. Meanwhile, gallium nitride has shown promise in LEDs and lasers, as well as in cutting-edge radar systems—among other applications.

While these new semiconductors have raised hopes of scaling new heights where even silicon cannot reach, much work remains if they are ever to move from lab bench to laptops and myriad other electronic devices. The payoff, however, will be smaller, faster, more powerful, more energy efficient, and more versatile electronics, as Chowdhury tells listeners to this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast with host Russ Altman. Listen and subscribe here.

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It now seems more certain than ever that the world will make the all-important transition to electric vehicles, but that shift raises important questions about global preparedness.

The world is going to need a lot of batteries to make it happen and engineers are rightly concerned about everything from the availability of raw materials to how many miles can I drive before I run out of juice?

Simona Onori is an electrical engineer by training and a professor of energy resources engineering as well as an expert in creating computer models of what that electric future will look like. For instance, she is developing mathematical battery management systems that assess the internal chemistry of a battery to predict how much life is left in it, how safe it is and, yes, how long until that next charge is needed.

Onori likens her analyses to “battery biopsies” that can help engineers and everyday drivers get more life out of their batteries. Don’t fret, our electric future is in good hands, Onori reassures listeners in this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast with host Russ Altman. Listen and subscribe here.

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Engineer Irene Lo studies markets, but not traditional marketplaces based in cash.

Instead, she studies markets for goods/resources that place a high value on social goods like diversity, fairness and equity.

Thus, Lo came to help San Francisco create an algorithm to assign kids more fairly to public schools across geographic, social, racial and economic boundaries. As it turns out, math is just the first step. The most challenging part was getting families to trust in the system, begetting a multi-year community engagement effort.

Lo is now turning her attention to other markets with social impact, like her work on the system that places medical students in residency programs across the country or one trying to make the palm oil supply chain fairer for farmers.

Listen in as Irene Lo explains the changing face of markets to host Russ Altman in this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast. Listen and subscribe here.

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Oft-heralded 3-dimensional printers can build objects ranging from simple spoons to advanced running shoes.

While those objects are usually made very slowly, the latest printing technologies portend a new era of 3D printing in real-time for use in health care.

The possibilities are endless, says Joseph DeSimone, who is an expert in translational medicine – the field of transferring promising technological breakthroughs into real-world products. He says printers he developed have led to the first FDA-approved 3D printed dentures, ultra-thin microneedles that make it easier and more effective to deliver vaccines, and even implantable chemotherapy devices that kill tumors while reducing side effects for patients.

From dentistry to oncology, the promise of 3D printed medical devices is only just emerging, as DeSimone explains in this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast with host Russ Altman. Listen and subscribe here.

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Tina Hernandez-Boussard is an expert in biomedical informatics who says a new era of understanding the real outcomes of our health care systems is on the horizon thanks to big data, artificial intelligence, and the growing availability of electronic health data. She says that the combination of these tools and data holds the promise of providing never-before-possible insights into whether health procedures truly improve patient quality of life and for which populations.

With these tools, she says, her field can peer into the “real-world” details hidden in the medical records, even going so far as to use natural language processing to analyze the freeform notes and emails to and from the provider. The examples are virtually limitless: matching health records against data from wearable devices to know when a knee patient is not getting enough physical exercise, cross-referencing prescriptions to learn whether a patient might be susceptible to adverse drug combinations, or even revealing undisclosed medical events such as past mild heart attacks.

It’s all there in the data, waiting for us to explore, as Tina Hernandez-Boussard tells bioengineer and host Russ Altman in this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast. Listen and subscribe here.

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Nate Persily is a professor at Stanford Law School and an expert in election law.

He sees the most recent presidential election as a fundamental change in the way Americans vote. For the first time ever, the majority of voters cast their ballot by mail, rather than at a polling place. It “was an earthquake,” Persily says, speaking metaphorically about the 2020 election’s profound implications for future elections.

But not all agree it was a success. Republicans and Democrats are further apart than ever in their beliefs as to whether the recent presidential election was free and fair. Addressing polarization in beliefs regarding the fairness of the election will be very difficult. Until leaders come together in a bipartisan fashion to affirm the legitimacy of an election winner, reform will not be able to do much to address this underlying problem.

Failing that, we need to bolster the institutional position of all nonpartisan election administrators who are placing the public interest over party, as Persily tells host Russ Altman in this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast. Listen and subscribe here.

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Whether by injury or disease, paralysis has afflicted humans through the ages.

Only now have science and technology converged to a point where scientists can contemplate a day when computers and the human mind can communicate directly to restore a certain degree of independence to people with debilitating spinal injuries and other physical conditions that impede or prevent movement.

Electrical engineer Krishna Shenoy is an expert in such brain-computer interfaces and has built machinery by which humans can control the movement of computer cursors with mere thoughts. Using small chips implanted in the brain itself, Shenoy “listens intelligently” to the electrical “chatter” among a hundred or so of the 100 billion neurons of the brain’s motor cortex and then translates the meaning into language a computer can understand. In this way, Shenoy has allowed a man with paralysis to “write” his thoughts at some 17 words per minute, a record more than double the previous standard.

Work remains, but the future of brain-computer interfaces is on the horizon as Krishna Shenoy tells us on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast with host Russ Altman. Listen and subscribe here.

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Sam Wineburg, a research psychologist at Stanford’s Graduate School of Education, recently conducted a nationwide study of the fact-checking skills of thousands of American high school students.

He didn’t go about it with a survey asking the kids to self-report their own behaviors. Instead, he devised a live experiment that charged the 3,000 students in the study to determine the veracity of a now-famous bit of fake news from the 2016 election. Wineburg and team were then able to follow along as students tried to find the true source of the video, which had been produced in Russia as part of a disinformation campaign.

In the end, just three students – one-tenth of one percent – arrived at the right answer. Rather than blame the kids, however, Wineburg says fault lies with the tools they are using, which have changed so dramatically in speed and scope that their fact-checking skills have had trouble keeping up.

All is not lost, he promises, but fixing the problem will require changing not just what information students consume, but the way they think about it, as Wineburg tells host Russ Altman in this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast. Listen and subscribe here.

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Many have now become familiar with the term herd immunity, an idea few outside the infectious disease community knew just a few short months ago.

It’s an elusive concept to comprehend, and harder still to achieve, but Stanford epidemiologist Dr. Julie Parsonnet says it’s important to understand just what herd immunity does – and doesn’t – mean for today’s pandemic.

Broadly speaking, herd immunity is reached when enough people have either recovered from or have been fully vaccinated against an infectious disease and there are no longer enough susceptible people in the entire population (the herd) to sustain transmission. Herd immunity doesn’t mean there won’t be cases, only that when they crop up, they will then die out. Parsonnet says this term is meant for epidemiologists to model what things will and won’t work; herd immunity is never really a public health goal in and of itself. Parsonnet also says that, in models, there are many obstacles to attaining herd immunity, including vaccine hesitancy, especially in people most likely to transmit the infection (young adults); imperfect effectiveness of the vaccine; movement of people; carriage of the virus in non-human hosts; and the continuous appearance of variants.

Importantly, Parsonnet says, herd immunity is unlikely to be permanent. Society must remain vigilant, continuously limiting the number of susceptible people to keep the herd safe. She therefore counsels deemphasizing the concept and instead bringing the diversity of communities into the conversation to achieve high levels of protection in the U.S. and globally. She says every vaccine given is a step in the direction of “normal.”

In this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast, host Russ Altman and Parsonnet also talk about her other research showing that average human body temperature is on the decline worldwide. Listen and subscribe here.

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Imagine typing words into a text editor and watching on a nearby television as a well-known celebrity speaks those words within seconds.

Computer graphics expert Maneesh Agrawala has imagined it and has created a video editing software that can do it, too. Given enough raw video, Agrawala’s application can produce polished, photorealistic video of any person saying virtually anything he types in.

While he acknowledges concerns about manufactured “deep fakes” of political leaders or others speaking words they never said, Agrawala chooses to focus on the profound upside. He envisions the television and film industries using his technology to forgo costly reshoots, for instance, or medical professionals helping people with damaged vocal cords regain their natural voices.

In the end, while ethical and legal frameworks are being developed to address deep fakes with all due seriousness they deserve, Agrawala says the benefits of the technology, and his passion for it, gets at the most basic of all human endeavors — better communication. Agrawala tells host Russ Altman all about it in this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast. Listen and subscribe here.

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Biology is not typically considered a mathematically intensive science, says Noah Rosenberg, an expert in genetics, but all that is about to change.

Math, statistics, data and computer science have coalesced into a growing interest in applying quantitative skills to this traditionally qualitative field.

The result will be better and more accurate models of life, ranging from genetic inheritance to the entirety of human society. The yield will be a greater understanding and, quite possibly, revolutionary interventions into disease, ecology, demography, and even evolution itself. The tools of mathematical biology have never been more apparent, Rosenberg says, as mathematical models of the spread of infectious disease have been central around the world in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With applications in health care, forensic genetics, and human evolution, the tools of mathematical biology are proving more relevant and more needed than ever, as Noah Rosenberg tells Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast, with host bioengineer Russ Altman.

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Slowly but surely, the highly centralized, industrial electric grid that supplies power to the vast majority of American homes and business is changing.

Our existing system of massive power plants and huge networks of high-voltage wires is giving way to a much leaner, decentralized system of small-scale power generation on a more personal, neighborhood- or residence-level scale.

In other words, we’re going from an “infrastructure-centric” model to a “human-centric” one, says grid expert Ram Rajagopal. He says that the new grid will be much smarter, more inclusive and better able to adapt to the individual needs of users, helping them to schedule power-intensive tasks, like laundry or charging of electrical vehicles, to off-peak times of the day.

Before that day can come, however, Rajagopal says we’ll need new sorts of sensors and algorithms that will provide much more data about who, how and when people are using power, as he tells listeners to Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast with host bioengineer Russ Altman. Listen and subscribe here.

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The world’s once linear — take it, treat it, use it, dispose it — model of freshwater usage is changing fast.

Despite two-thirds of Earth being covered in water, just 2.5% of it is fit for human consumption. And that share is dwindling by the day, says civil and environmental engineer and expert in water treatment and distribution systems Meagan Mauter. With a rapidly increasing population and climate change disrupting traditional weather and distribution patterns, access to freshwater is headed for, if not already amid, a worldwide crisis.

Avoiding calamity will require industrial scale desalination and other technologies that can separate precious freshwater from other less desirable substances in the water, but also a shift to a more circular model where every drop of water is treasured and reused.

Doing that, Mauter says, will demand doing away with not only inefficient practices but also the very notion of “waste” water, as she tells us in this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast with host bioengineer Russ Altman. Listen and subscribe here.

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Humankind has long harnessed the wind to its advantage. From ancient mariners to millers grinding grist, the wind has been an ally for millennia, but only now do engineers have at their disposal advanced computer simulations to better understand the details of wind flow and to optimize designs.

Catherine Gorle is one such engineer who has made it her career to design better built environments able to improve walkability, temper extreme winds, shuffle air pollution far away and dissipate heat islands arising from so much sun-beaten concrete in our cities.

Once, that work had to take place in wind tunnels, but now transpires through advanced computer simulations that both speed her work and add critical detail to her understanding of the close interrelationship between wind and human society. Join us as Catherine Gorle tells host bioengineer Russ Altman all about the future of wind on this episode Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast. Listen and subscribe here.

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As the world moves to more efficient and cleaner energy solutions, there is a growing divide between the clean-energy haves and have-nots, says Anthony Kinslow II, PhD, a lecturer in civil and environmental engineering. Too often the divide falls along racial and socio-economic lines, as minority and low-income communities do not benefit from clean energy to the degree that whiter and wealthier communities do.

The problem is founded in history and in the federal government’s askew system of financing and incentivizing clean and renewable energy systems. The money flows to certain communities and not to others, Dr. Kinslow says.

Fixing the problem won’t be easy, but solutions might begin with energy audits of minority and low-income homes and communities to better understand where the gaps are and how wide they have become, as well as greater diversity in federal appointments to energy and finance positions in government. With audits will come opportunities for low-interest loans and other financing to transition to greater efficiency, as Dr. Kinslow tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast. Listen and subscribe here.

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Electrical engineer Kunle Olukotun has built a career out of building computer chips for the world. These days his attention is focused on new-age chips that will broaden the reach of artificial intelligence to new uses and new audiences—making AI more democratic.

The future will be dominated by AI, he says, and one key to that change rests in the hardware that makes it all possible—faster, smaller, more powerful computer chips. He imagines a world filled with highly efficient, specialized chips built for specific purposes, versus the relatively inefficient but broadly applicable chips of today.

Making that vision a reality will require hardware that focuses less on computation and more on streamlining the movement of data back and forth, a function that now claims 90% of computing power, as Olukotun tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast. Listen and subscribe here.

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Julie Owono is a lawyer, executive director of Internet Sans Frontières and a fellow at the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society. She wants the world to know that the internet is the not the same for every person, everywhere. Born in Cameroon, and having grown up in Russia, she understands firsthand that every nation sets and maintains its own content standards.

Owono has dedicated her career to establishing and securing basic digital rights, but also to developing standards by which social media giants—like Facebook, Google and Twitter—can distinguish hate speech from free speech. In many ways, Owono says, the global internet is a local endeavor.

Owono tells Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast and host Russ Altman that this dynamic means local voices will be critical to fairly determining standards of speech and, by extension, to charting the future of the global internet. You can listen and subscribe here.

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Words are a window into human psychology, society, and culture, says Stanford linguist and computer scientist Dan Jurafsky. The words we choose reveal what we think, how we feel and even what our biases are. And, more and more, computers are being trained to comprehend those words, a fact easily apparent in voice-recognition apps like Siri, Alexa and Cortana.

Jurafsky says that his field, known as natural language processing (NLP), is now in the midst of a shift from simply trying to understanding the literal meaning of words to digging into the human emotions and the social meanings behind those words. In the social sciences, our great digital dialog is being analyzed to tell us who we are. And, by looking at the language of the past, language analysis promises to reveal who we once were. Meanwhile, in fields such as medicine, NLP is being used to help doctors diagnose mental illnesses, like schizophrenia, and to measure how those patients respond to treatment.

The next generation of NLP-driven applications must not only hear what we say, but understand and even reply in more human ways, as Dan Jurafsky explains in his own words to host Russ Altman in this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast. Listen and subscribe here.

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When Riitta Katila looks at old photos or movies about the space program of the 1960s, she sees one common thread among the people depicted there — homogeneity. The engineers and technicians who first put humans on the moon were, almost without exception, white and male.

While society has come a long way in the decades since, Katila, who is an expert in technology strategy and organizational learning, says there’s still a long way to go. She notes that companies need innovation not only to reach the top, but to stay there. And now more than ever, innovative companies should be hiring, promoting, and listening to a broader range of voices.

The good news is that innovation can be taught. It’s like a recipe, says Katila, who encourages entrepreneurs — even those who have already built successful companies — to seek out mentors who can help them navigate the future. More important, those same entrepreneurs need to proactively identify mentors who can empower their team members to think like innovators too, as Katila tells Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast, hosted by bioengineer Russ Altman. You can listen and subscribe here.

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As the silicon chip embarks upon its second half-century of dominance in computing and communications, the field is confronting fundamental boundaries that threaten to halt that progress in its tracks.

The transistor cannot get much better or smaller and the copper wires that connect them cannot carry much more data than they do now. But, says electrical engineer David Miller, an alternative technology that uses light instead of electricity has the potential to transmit vastly more data than present technologies. It’s known as photonics.

“A silicon chip these days looks like six Manhattan grids stacked atop one another,” Miller says of the challenge facing today’s technology. Photonics holds the promise of more powerful computing by beaming tiny packets of photons through light-bearing conduits that carry 100,000 times more data than today’s comparable wires, and it can do it using far less energy, too.

Before that day can arrive, however, Miller says photonic components need to become much smaller and less expensive to compete with the sheer scale advantages silicon enjoys, and that will require investment. But, for once, a way forward is there for the asking, as Miller tells bioengineer Russ Altman, host of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast. Listen and subscribe here.

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In recent decades, medical and biological science have advanced by leaps and bounds using technologies that allow us to peer into the brain in myriad new and insightful ways — MRI, CT, PET, EEG, etc.

However, Stanford electrical engineer Jin Hyung Lee says, we are still missing critical insights that could lead to a cure for currently incurable brain diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, epilepsy and others.

Even in diagnosis, we still rely on “diagnosis of exclusion,” where tests are used to exclude other conditions that are relatively easy to identify, such as a tumor. However, there is still no way, for instance, to directly test why one’s memory is failing or why motor functions decline and lead to tremors.

Lee’s approach is to directly identify the brain’s underlying algorithms and to enable quantitative diagnosis of its malfunctions in order to design approaches to cure brain diseases. She employs optogenetic MRI and various measurement tools at different scales, which she then uses to reconstruct the algorithms of brain function using artificial intelligence. Lee defines healthy circuitry and function, which in turn allows identification of the characteristics of dysfunction. Her approach has put Lee on the cusp of new understanding and new treatments for epilepsy, for instance, as she tells Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast, hosted by bioengineer Russ Altman. Listen and subscribe here.

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Stanford’s Mark Schnitzer says several of the more exciting recent advances in his field of applied physics have come through developing new imaging technologies that peer into the brain as never before. What’s more, Schnitzer says the insights gained have put the world closer to solving long-vexing brain diseases, like Parkinson’s and others, where the circuitry of the brain seems to be malfunctioning.

Schnitzer says that these new imaging methods are helping medical science discern the specific functions of various cells that make up the brain’s complex communications systems. No longer is the brain seen as a monolith of neurons, but instead as a complex organ made up of numerous cell types, each with its own role to play in proper function.

Best of all, medical science is starting to move toward manipulating these cells with new drugs and other treatments that could lead to a cure or effective treatment for previously untreatable diseases and chronic pain, as Schnitzer tells Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast and host, bioengineer Russ Altman. Listen and subscribe here.

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The old maxim holds that a lie spreads much faster than a truth, but it has taken the global reach and lightning speed of social media to lay it bare before the world.

One problem of the age of misinformation, says sociologist and former journalist Mutale Nkonde, a fellow at the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (PACS), is that the artificial intelligence algorithms used to profile users and disseminate information to them, whether truthful or not, are inherently biased against minority groups, because they are underrepresented in the historical data upon which the algorithms are based.

Now, Nkonde and others like her are holding social media’s feet to the fire, so to speak, to get them to root out bias from their algorithms. One approach she promotes is the Algorithmic Accountability Act, which would authorize the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to create regulations requiring companies under its jurisdiction to assess the impact of new and existing automated decision systems. Another approach she has favored is called “Strategic Silence,” which seeks to deny untruthful users and groups the media exposure that amplifies their false claims and helps them attract new adherents.

Nkonde explores the hidden biases of the age of misinformation in this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast, hosted by bioengineer Russ Altman. Listen and subscribe here.

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Stanford’s Karen Liu is a computer scientist who works in robotics. She hopes that someday machines might take on caregiving roles, like helping medical patients get dressed and undressed each day. That quest has provided her a special insight into just what a monumental challenge such seemingly simple tasks are. After all, she points out, it takes a human child several years to learn to dress themselves — imagine what it takes to teach a robot to help a person who is frail or physically compromised?

Liu is among a growing coterie of scientists who are promoting “physics-based simulations” that are speeding up the learning process for robots. That is, rather than building actual robots and refining them as they go, she’s using computer simulations to improve how robots sense the physical world around them and to make intelligent decisions under changes and perturbations in the real world, like those involved in tasks like getting dressed for the day.

To do that, a robot must understand the physical characteristics of human flesh and bone as well as the movements and underlying human intention to be able to comprehend when a garment is or is not going on as expected.

The stakes are high. The downside consequence could be physical harm to the patient, as Liu tells Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast hosted by bioengineer Russ Altman. Listen and subscribe here.

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It has been said that batteries hold the key to a sustainable future.

But so-called “clean energy” does not come without environmental costs. For instance, says Stanford geoscientist Jef Caers, the batteries in a single Tesla contain some 4.5 kilograms — about 10 pounds — of cobalt, in addition to plenty of lithium and nickel, too.

With some 300 million cars in the U.S. right now, a full transition to electric vehicles would be impossible without new resources. But, finding new deposits and getting them safely out of the ground is an expensive and environmentally fraught proposition. Half of all cobalt reserves and most of current production come from just one unregulated country, Congo. To close the gap using environmentally and labor-regulated resources, Caers says we need AI to rapidly explore countries with stricter safeguards.

To help, geoscientists like Caers are turning to data science and artificial intelligence to quickly identify new resources, to get the most out of those we already know about and to improve refining processes to leave as small an environmental footprint as possible. Their success, he says, could be key to America’s environmental future and its long-term energy independence. Learn more on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast, hosted by Stanford bioengineer Russ Altman. Listen and subscribe here.

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Evan Reed and a team of scientists recently identified a promising solid material that could replace highly flammable liquid electrolytes in lithium-ion batteries.

The trick? Reed didn’t discover the material the old-fashioned way, using trial and error to narrow down a list of candidates. Instead, he used computers to do the legwork for him. He says that until recent advances in computer science, the seemingly never-ending search for new materials was more like a quest for unicorns. Breakthrough materials must possess that rarest of combinations: precise physical characteristics with few if any downsides.

It's exacting and time-consuming work, Reed says, but computers are accelerating the pace of discovery. He now believes the future of materials science lies at the heart of a computer algorithm, as he tells listeners in this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast. Listen and subscribe here.

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Renée DiResta is research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory, a multi-disciplinary center that focuses on abuses of information technology, particularly social media. She’s an expert in the role technology platforms and their “curatorial” algorithms play in the rise and spread of misinformation and disinformation.

Fresh off an intense period keeping watch over the 2020 U.S. elections for disinformation as part of the Election Integrity Partnership, DiResta says the campaign became one of the most closely observed political dramas in American history.

She says that whether it comes from the top down or the bottom up, bad information can be spotted and beaten, but overcoming falsehoods in the future will require vigilance and a commitment to the truth. She explains more on Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast, with host Russ Altman. Listen and subscribe here.

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Once the bathwater is drained, the toilet flushed or the laundry done, few give a passing thought to the wastewater that leaves our homes. But chemical engineer Will Tarpeh might change your mind, if you give him the chance.

Tarpeh says that that water is a literal mine of valuable chemicals. Chemicals like nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium make great fertilizers. Lithium can be used in lithium ion batteries. And even pharmaceuticals could be recovered and reused. In fact, Tarpeh points out that if we could harvest all the world’s urine, it could supplant 20–30% of our nitrogen needs — and in some places can be cheaper to do than existing production and transport methods.

Waste, Tarpeh says, is just a state of mind. His “pipe dream,” he says, is to develop next-generation treatment plants on the neighborhood or even household scale able to extract the valuable chemicals in water most would rather send down the drain. Tarpeh tells bioengineer Russ Altman all about it in this the latest episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast. Listen and subscribe here.

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Bioengineer Kwabena Boahen builds highly efficient “neuromorphic” supercomputers modeled on the human brain. He hopes they will drive the artificial intelligence future. He uses an analogy when describing the goal of his work: “It’s LA versus Manhattan.”

Boahen means structurally. Today’s chips are two dimensional — flat and spread out, like LA. Tomorrow’s chips will be stacked, like the floors of the skyscrapers on a New York block. In this analogy, the humans are the electrons shuffling data back and forth. The shorter distances they have to travel to work, and the more they can accomplish before traveling home, will drive profound leaps in energy efficiency. The consequences could not be greater. Boahen says that the lean chips he imagines could prove tens-of-thousands times less expensive to operate than today’s power hogs.

To learn how it works, listen in as Kwabena Boahen describes neuromorphic computing to fellow bioengineer Russ Altman in the latest episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast. Listen and subscribe here.

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In a world where a drug takes years and billions of dollars to develop, just one in 20 candidates makes it to market. Daphne Koller is betting artificial intelligence can change that dynamic.

Twenty years ago, when she first started using artificial intelligence to venture into medicine and biology, Koller was stymied by a lack of data. There wasn’t enough of it and what there was, was often not well suited to the problems she wanted to solve. Fast-forward 20 years, however, and both the quantity and quality of data, and the tools for studying biology, have advanced so dramatically that the adjunct professor of computer science at Stanford founded a company, insitro, that uses machine learning (a subspecialty of artificial intelligence) to explore the causes and potential treatments for some very serious diseases.

She tells bioengineer Russ Altman about the lessons she’s learned along the way, and the challenges and rewards of getting diverse teams of experts from many fields to speak the same language. It’s all on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast. Listen here, and subscribe to the podcast here.

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When Stanford bioengineer Markus Covert first decided to create a computer model able to simulate the behavior of a single cell, he was held back by more than an incomplete understanding of how a cell functions, but also by a lack of computer power. His early models would take more than 10 hours to churn through a single simulation and that was when using a supercomputer capable of billions of calculations per second.

Nevertheless, in his quest toward what had been deemed "a grand challenge of the 21st century," Covert pressed on and eventually published a paper announcing his success in building a model of just one microbe: E. coli, a popular subject in biological research. The model would allow researchers to run experiments not on living bacteria in a lab, but on a simulated cell on a computer.

After all was said and done, however, the greatest takeaway for Covert was that a cell is a very, very complex thing. There were fits and starts and at least one transcendent conceptual leap — which Covert has dubbed “deep curation” — needed to make it all happen, but he found a way. As Covert points out, no model is perfect, but some are useful. And that is how usefulness, not perfection, became the goal of his work, as he tells fellow bioengineer Russ Altman in this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast. Listen here, and subscribe to the podcast here.

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COVID-19 is changing how many scientists, like Stanford sleep expert Rafael Pelayo, MD, view their field. First off, the shift to telemedicine is providing Pelayo, author of the new book How to Sleep, an unprecedented glimpse into the sleep environments of his patients. “I’m making house calls for the first time,” he says.

Second, surprisingly, some of his patients, unburdened of long commutes, say they are sleeping and dreaming more than ever. But, others are not so fortunate, reporting increased trouble sleeping and more nightmares. Pandemic-induced or not, the consequences of lost sleep are universal and readily apparent in the country’s diminished productivity, in the rates of stroke, heart attacks and car accidents, and in the pervasive irritable mood many can’t seem to escape.

To get a better night’s sleep, Pelayo says, put the screens away, consider that continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine if you snore (it could save your life, he says), and find a way to create a personal sleep environment even if you share a bed with someone you love.

Join us as Rafael Pelayo and our host, Stanford bioengineer, Russ Altman, talk sleep on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast. Listen here, and subscribe to the podcast here.

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Marietje Schaake was a Member of the European Parliament from 2009 to 2019 and now serves as the international policy director at Stanford University’s Cyber Policy Center and international policy fellow at Stanford’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. As she has watched democracy evolve in the age of instantaneous global communication and hyperconnected social media, she has grown concerned about the resilience of democracy as technology disrupts the status quo.

While the technologies—and the often-unregulated companies who created them—claim to be well-meaning, she says democracy is under attack from propagandists and bad actors using these transformative tools in troubling ways. The business models based on surveillance and advertising were never designed with preserving democracy in mind. We now find ourselves at a decisive moment for the future of elective government, she says. America and other democratic nations can expose the meddlers and their techniques or succumb to their approaches. The solutions, she says, begin at the grassroots and with the tech companies. We need real-time and independent monitoring and research to better expose manipulations and to allow for evidence-based policy making.

Join Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast for an insider’s sobering look at democracy in the digital age. Listen here, and subscribe here to the podcast.

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Andrew Huberman is a Stanford neurobiologist and ophthalmologist keenly interested in the biology of stress and ways to manage stress.

He’s developed and tested a number of stress-relieving techniques — from specific patterns of breathing to visual tools — and uses virtual reality to help humans control their stress in adaptive ways. He is also testing how people can access better sleep using stress-relief tools. Much of this work is done in collaboration with David Spiegel, MD, associate chair of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford Medicine.

Huberman studies how the nervous system takes in and processes information and uses it to drive reflexive and deliberate behavior. In that regard, humans are largely visual animals. The vast majority of the information we collect about the world comes through the eyes, and those circuits are tied directly to our most primordial “fight or flight” systems. Light, and how our brains process light energy, is closely tied to our stress mechanisms. Our most immediate reaction to stress, he notes, is for our pupils to dilate, which changes how we see the world — literally — in a way that allows us to better respond to threats. Breathing and vision can also be used to control stress.

Huberman tells us all about it in this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast, hosted by Stanford bioengineer Russ Altman. Listen and subscribe to the podcast here.

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Manu Prakash was in France when COVID-19 took hold throughout the world. There, the Stanford bioengineer, famous for “frugal science” like his $1 field microscope made of paper, witnessed the challenges a relatively well-resourced nation experienced holding back the disease. His head was soon filled with visions of the nightmare awaiting developing nations, given that a COVID-19 test in developing countries can cost as much as $400.

In a flurry, Prakash jotted down an engineering manifesto of sorts for a worldwide revolution in open-source, inexpensive healthcare solutions. As he saw it, here were three areas of greatest need — diagnostics, protective equipment and critical care.

From his lab at Stanford, Prakash, his students and partners in academia, industry and government around the world led a frenzy of invention that yielded an array of transformative products in just months. There was the electricity-free COVID-19 test based on a simple children’s flashlight. There was Pneumask, a full-face, reusable N95 protective equipment for caregivers inspired by the mask Prakash uses in one of his favorite pastimes, snorkeling. And then there was the “N95 factory in a box” Prakash and his lab developed using cotton candy machines to spin N95-quality filtration materials from waste plastics. Finally, to tackle one of the most technical challenges of all, he built a global consortium with manufacturing partners in India, Kenya and Nepal to design an open-source full-feature ICU ventilator, known as Pufferfish (Prakash has a penchant for naming products after marine life) — bringing a low-cost critical care solution to the world.

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With the emergence of touchscreen smartphones, tablets and watches, so much of our lives is spent on our devices that in many ways we are what appears on screen. This “mediatization,” as Byron Reeves, a professor of communication at Stanford University, puts it, sparked a remarkable and unprecedented study of the way we live today.

In a series of field studies, Reeves has recorded screen time of his subjects one frame every five seconds for days on end — with promises of absolute privacy, of course. He then uses artificial intelligence to decipher it all — words and images are recorded and analyzed. The portraits that emerge play out like cinema, revealing never-before-imagined insights into how people live in the screen-time world.

Reeves says the pervading sense that everyone is multitasking and that attention spans are narrowing is not just a hunch, but demonstrable in the data. Our screens are often filled with radically different content side-by-side and each bit gets consumed in rapid-fire bursts of focus, often no more than 10 to 20 seconds each.

Join us for a fascinating look at our screen-time culture on the latest episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast. Listen here.

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There was a time when all great cities were built near water. Whether for agriculture, aesthetics, energy or just plain drinking, water was a life-affirming, life-sustaining resource. But with the advent of advanced engineering in the form of dams, pumps and pipes, cities like Los Angeles thrived in places with very little fresh water. Now, global climate change is leaving many of those cities in danger of running dry.

But there is hope on the horizon, says Newsha Ajami, senior research engineer at the Woods Institute for the Environment and director of urban water policy with Stanford University’s Water in the West program. Just as engineering made it possible to store and pump fresh water great distances, the field is developing new ways to use less water, to store more of this prized resource, to repurpose used “gray water” for non-potable uses like agriculture, and to inform inventive policy approaches to conserve fresh water.

It won’t be easy, she says. California alone has over 7,000 independent water agencies that must be wrangled into a cohesive team to make it real, but recent progress has people believing once again that our parched cities can be saved. It’s all here on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast. Listen here.

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In recent years, biologists have learned that the vaginal microbiome — the make-up of the bacteria in the vagina — during pregnancy may be the best predictor of pre-term birth. It is a valuable finding that could reshape obstetrics. What is perhaps more revelatory about this emerging knowledge is that biologists have learned it from a surprising source: statistics.

Stanford’s Susan Holmes is one such statistician in the rapidly evolving science of using statistics to understand biology. Holmes is now turning her attention to improving our understanding of the remarkable human immune system to help fight cancer and other deadly diseases. She says that the statistician’s greatest contribution to biology may not necessarily reside in analyzing the myriad numbers and data points available these days, but rather in divining and explaining which patterns are replicable and which are not.

Join bioengineering Professor Russ Altman for the latest episode of Stanford Engineering’sThe Future of Everythingpodcast to discuss the fascinating and fast-evolving field of statistical biology with a leading proponent of the science, Susan Holmes. Listen here.

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Mechanical engineer Sheri Sheppard got her start in engineering working on the Corvette for General Motors and later worked for both Ford and Chrysler.

Back then, she was among a handful of women engineers in the auto industry, where she learned firsthand the risks a monolithic culture presents.

Today, Sheppard is a professor at Stanford University, where she works to encourage diversity in the student body, in the classroom and in the curriculum. She says that engineering needs to reach beyond the traditional disciplines to tap into sociology, history, ethics, psychology and even philosophy to help engineers explore the “peopleness” in the challenges they are trying to solve.

In that pursuit, she encourages women and minorities eager to transform their field to become what her colleague Deb Meyerson has dubbed “tempered radicals” — leaders who can rock the boat while remaining in the boat. The result, Sheppard tells Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast, is more empathetic engineering that benefits everyone in society.

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We’re all familiar with those algorithms on our favorite e-commerce and streaming services that recommend purchases, books or movies based on what “others like you” have enjoyed. In the industry, they are known as “recommender engines.”

Medical doctor Jonathan Chen is an assistant professor of medicine at Stanford and an expert in bioinformatics who wondered if the medical profession might benefit from similar artificial intelligence. He now creates recommender engines for doctors that comb real-world clinical data to help them make key decisions based on steps other doctors have taken with similar patients, empowering individuals with the collective experience of the many.

Chen tells Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast that such programs will soon be commonplace in exam rooms, helping doctors become better at what they already do and making medical practice a more consistent, universal experience for everyone.

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Artificial intelligence can help us design safety-critical systems for aircraft and other vehicles that are more robust to the many sources of uncertainty in the real world, says aerospace professor Mykel Kochenderfer.

Building systems that meet the exceptionally high level of safety expected of commercial air transport is challenging, but Kochenderfer says that the key is in modeling the likelihood of the full spectrum of outcomes and planning accordingly. Validating the safety of these systems is also difficult, often requiring billions of simulations. He tells Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything how AI, empowered by algorithms such as “dynamic programming,” can make autonomous systems safer.

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With a degree in photography with a concentration in mathematics and boasting high-profile jobs at two of the most influential visualoutlets in the last century, National Geographic and Instagram, Pamela Chen knows a bit about the state of modern photography and the algorithms that shape popular tastes.

Now, as the Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence and John S. Knight Journalism (HAI-JSK) Fellow at Stanford, she studies how artificial intelligence is shaping the role of photography in society: particularly the rise of memes, which she refers to as “packets of culture.” Chen says mathematics is redefining photography as much as artistic vision, altering both consumer tastes and the creative eye of photographers who want to become – or remain – relevant in a rapidly changing world.

Chen joins The Future of Everything host Russ Altman to discuss why artificial intelligence’s influence on photography is only just in its infancy and why lovers of photography still have power to shape AI as much as it shapes us. [Listen here.]

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Stanford engineering alumnus Michael O’Sullivan, now at the University of Auckland, likes to say his business is the “science of decision-making,” and that expertise paid off handsomely in his native New Zealand’s successful response to COVID-19.

O’Sullivan pivoted his knowledge of computer modeling, usually reserved for optimizing business processes, to help predict how quickly the disease might have spread through the island nation’s 5 million inhabitants, and to gauge various national response strategies. Based on expert models from a team of researchers that included O’Sullivan, New Zealand’s leadership took an aggressive approach and quelled the disease after just a month of lockdown.

O’Sullivan tells Stanford Engineering's The Future of Everything he is now turning his attention to highly detailed geographic models to better understand how COVID-19 could spread geographically if a future outbreak occurs. He is also putting his modeling to work to help analyze how response to the disease will impact the coming flu season and how the lockdown might have had negative effects on the treatment of other illnesses such as the early detection of cancer.

Michael O’Sullivan, MS ’97, PhD '01, would like to acknowledge the work of Kevin Ross, MS '01, PhD '04 (Precision Driven Health), and Pieta Brown (Orion Health), who have been instrumental in making a pipeline for the modeling work discussed in this podcast readily available to the New Zealand government.

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Megan Palmer, executive director of Biopolicy and Leadership Initiatives at Stanford, joins bioengineer Russ Altman for this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast, to discuss how we can better prepare for future virus outbreaks and how the world could ultimately become a more secure, peaceful and prosperous place as a result of the lessons learned from COVID-19.

The key to that future, she says, will be better coordination and communication among world leaders in science, security and policy, who will be charged with foreseeing and preventing the next crisis. Likewise, it will take better cooperation between humankind and the natural world.

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As she tells it, the life of immunologist Catherine Blish has not changed all that much from what it was just a couple months ago.

Her lab still studies deadly infectious diseases, but instead of myriad killers like HIV, dengue fever, influenza and the like, her team is now focused solely on the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. Only a select group of researchers in the world are qualified to work with such serious viruses, and fewer still are properly equipped with the protective gear and sophisticated ventilation systems needed to guarantee the safety in the lab.

Blish recently joined Russ Altman for this special COVID-19 edition of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast, to talk about the unique character of the virus, a few surprises she and others have unearthed in their research, and how once-competitive scientists around the world have united to find treatments and a vaccine that are critical to ending the pandemic for good.

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Seema Yasmin is a rarity in public health: a medical doctor who is also a journalist. As such, she’s seen a lot, from Ebola in West Africa to SARS and MERS, and now COVID-19, the most serious pandemic in a century.

Yasmin is currently director of research and education at the Stanford Center for Health Communication. From her years in the Epidemic Intelligence Service at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — a group widely described as “the disease detectives” — and as a reporter for The Dallas Morning News, Yasmin says that the greatest impediment to halting an outbreak is the rapid spread of bad information, and even abject disinformation, which when abetted by social media can spread faster than the disease itself. To halt the pandemic, she says medical science and public health experts — and the journalists who cover them — must become better storytellers to get ahead of bad information and to “pre-bunk” false claims that lead to bad decision-making.

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Child psychiatrist Victor Carrion has dedicated his career to studying and helping people deal with trauma, especially kids. He says that it is understandable that everyone in the family is dealing with some degree of stress due to COVID-19, and that’s okay. The key is to recognize and acknowledge the stress and deal with it head on.

In this episode of Stanford Engineering's The Future of Everything with host, bioengineer Russ Altman, Carrion explains that stress manifests differently at different ages. What works for parent may not for child. He also discusses strategies for minimizing the risk of future post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Carrion counsels trying creative outlets like art and mindfulness techniques like yoga to find what works best to beat stress in these very stressful times. Listen here.

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When humans roamed as hunters and gatherers, the ability to retain calories likely determined who lived and who died in times of famine.

Today, that evolutionary advantage may make us prone to diabetes.

Join host Russ Altman, professor of bioengineering, and guest Sanjay Basu, a foremost expert in disease prevention, for a broad-ranging discussion of what works, what doesn’t and what new approaches—including an emphasis on community gardens and healthier diets—are on the horizon as society battles this deadly disease.

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Imagine being born with just half a heart.

Alison Marsden does, pretty much every day. She is an associate professor of pediatrics specializing in cardiology and also of bioengineering. She works with children born with such dire defects.

Fortunately for those kids, Marsden is also an expert in computational modeling of cardiovascular system and developer of SimVascular, software that helps surgeons simulate surgeries on the computer without risk to living patients. The software provides researchers and surgeons a way to propose novel surgical procedures and then simulate the resulting blood flow patterns in order to better understand the potential for a successful outcome.

Join host Russ Altman and Alison Marsden for an exploration of the many ways computer simulations are making heart surgery more effective and more personal than ever before.

You can listen to the Future of Everything on iTunes, Google Podcasts, SoundCloud, Spotify, Stitcher or via Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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Jayodita Sanghvi is director of data science at Grand Rounds, a startup that connects members to high-quality health care. Grace Tang is a data scientist at LinkedIn. Both are alumnae of Stanford bioengineering.

While the connection between big data and bioengineering may not be readily apparent, Sanghvi and Tang say that the connection couldn’t be more clear or timely than right now when big data is now firmly entrenched in big business.

From applications that help diagnose and guide people to relevant care to programs that suss out bad actors on social media, the challenges of harnessing big data and the consequences of incorrect or improper use are raising important questions for those charged with making big data work. The challenges range from finding correct answers in messy or missing data to the deep ethical and privacy dilemmas inherent in the breadth and quantity of information available today.

Join host Russ Altman and big data experts Jayodita Sanghvi and Grace Tang for a deeper look into the challenges arising when big data meets big business.

You can listen to the Future of Everything on iTunes, Google Podcasts, SoundCloud, Spotify, Stitcher or via Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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Stanford materials engineer William Chueh got interested in battery design as way to battle climate change. He looked across the energy landscape and understood that a future filled with renewable solar and wind energy will require more and better batteries to even out the troughs when the sun is not shining or the wind is not blowing.

Chueh says battery design has come a long way in the last 10 years. But sating the energy needs of a future filled with countless smartphones, laptops, electric cars and wearable devices will drive a profound transition in the battery industry. Today’s $50 billion battery market will blossom to a trillion dollars in the next 15 years, he predicts.

Chueh says the grid of the future will be a network of diverse smaller-scale energy-storage options that guarantees a steady supply of electricity with no single point of failure — a model that takes its inspiration from the way the internet delivers information without fail. The result will be a more efficient and resilient grid for all, Chueh says.

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Days after COVID-19 broke out in the United States, Russ Altman and colleagues at Stanford's Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI) scrambled to organize a full-day online conference to replace the in-person meeting they were planning for spring 2020. Their topic: using AI to defeat the deadly new virus behind COVID-19 and, in particular, analyze how countries were responding; developing new ways of tracking and anticipating its spread; reshape the search for treatments and a vaccine; and, last but not least, to battling “infodemics” — the tendency for information overload to hinder scientific progress.

With thousands from around the world tuning in for the live event and 60,000-plus views of the recordings since, the conference illustrated in real terms how an entire field pivoted in a matter of weeks to address the pandemic in new and promising ways. In this episode of Stanford Engineering's The Future of Everything, guest host Howard Wolf turns the tables on Altman — a medical doctor, an expert in bioinformatics and the HAI associate director who helped lead the conference — and digs deep on AI’s response to COVID-19.

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The co-director of Stanford’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence discusses how AI can reach its potential to enhance human capabilities and enrich human lives.

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An expert in bioinformatics describes how better information and modeling can help caregivers stay a step ahead of the new virus.

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New research explores how physical pushing and pulling between cells helps them differentiate into the myriad cell types in the body.

Have you ever pondered how the cells in your hand knew to become a hand and not, say, a foot or a heart or an ear? Alex Dunn is a chemical engineer who thinks about such things a lot. He has always marveled at the way — from brain to blood to bone — the many cells that make up our bodies derive from just a single cell created when sperm meets egg. He says that process of differentiation comes down to far more than genetics or biochemistry can explain.

Dunn counts himself as among an emerging field known as “mechanobiology” that is exploring how physical forces — the tugging and nudging that goes on between cells — play a very important part in how cells differentiate and self-organize into the complex systems that make up the human body.

Dunn says there’s still a lot we don’t know about mechanobiology, but the process of observing and analyzing the behavior of invisible molecules inside a cell is not unlike trying to understand how a bakery works by peering in the window.

For a glimpse inside the inner workings of human cells and the very latest science of cell differentiation, join chemical-engineer-turned-mechanobiologist Alex Dunn for the latest episode of The Future of Everything podcast from Sirius XM with bioengineer and host Russ Altman.

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A marine scientist travels the world to understand whether and how the ocean will respond to climate change, overfishing and other challenges.

Fiorenza “Fio” Micheli grew up on the Mediterranean Sea, where she fell in love with the ocean and made it the object of her scientific career. Now a marine ecologist and co-director of Stanford’s Center for Ocean Solutions, her research spans the spectrum of marine science.

She has studied the overfishing of sharks and how their absence affects coral reef ecosystems; she has explored the influence of marine protected areas on biodiversity below the waves; she has studied the impacts of the many ways in which we use the ocean — through fishing to farming to recreation — on its ecosystems, and how to more sustainably support these crucial services. And, for lessons on how undersea life might respond to climate change, she traveled to Italy, her home country, to investigate life near undersea volcanic vents that jet carbon dioxide into the seawater like a Jacuzzi.

In all of Micheli’s varied research, she returns to a constant theme: The ocean is a magical place, worthy of awe and wonder, but it is in trouble. It is time to act before it is too late.

In the latest episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast, Micheli takes host and bioengineer Russ Altman — and listeners — on a deep dive into ocean science and global efforts to protect this valuable resource.

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A civil engineer explains how new insights gleaned from the flight of birds may one day be applied to fields as far-ranging as autonomous cars and crowd control.

Anyone who has ever observed a large flock of starlings in flight – darting and swirling as if the entire flock were one big beautiful being – cannot help but marvel and wonder at how all those birds keep from crashing into one another.

Nick Ouellette is studying the in-flight behavior of birds to draw lessons he can apply to engineering. He says that birds are not alone in their tightly coordinated patterns of movement; such behaviors can be observed at every scale of nature, from bacteria to bees to beluga whales.

Ouellette is doing sophisticated video measurements of flocks in flight to understand just how it is that birds can pull off their beautiful balletics without total chaos. He says the secret is that nature favors decentralized, bottom-up control of groups versus the top-down, leader-follower approach favored by humans.

Ouellette, a civil engineer and birdwatcher extraordinaire, discusses his research on the latest episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast with bioengineer and host Russ Altman.

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How a revealing father-daughter conversation led to a career dedicated to studying and treating severe trauma and stress-related disorders.

Shaili Jain first got interested in studying post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on an East Coast road trip listening to her father describe his experiences during the 1947 Partition of British India. As she listened to details of his trauma and losses, many revealed to her only for the first time, Jain realized she had a deep personal connection to trauma survivors that had, until now, been hidden. This realization spurred a new career, committed to specializing in PTSD and advancing the science of traumatic stress.

PTSD became Jain’s life’s work as a medical doctor and a researcher. She would eventually go on to pen a 2019 book, The Unspeakable Mind. Her book combines vividly recounted patient stories, cutting-edge neuroscience, interviews with some of the world ’s top trauma scientists and Jain’s professional expertise, and offers a textured portrait of a widely misunderstood condition.

PTSD has historically been hidden in plain sight, she says, and it is typically tough to diagnose and often goes hand in hand with anxiety, mood and substance abuse disorders. But now, she says, researchers are making great strides at understanding trauma and treating PTSD effectively.

In the latest episode of Stanford Engineering’s “The Future of Everything” podcast, Jain discusses the hopeful prognosis for traumatic stress disorders with host and bioengineer Russ Altman.

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A rapidly shifting legal debate is raging in healthcare over patient data and privacy. One legal expert says that even though regulations have lagged, a reckoning is due.

How much control should patients have over who sees their medical records? How readily should researchers share patient-level data from their clinical studies? In today’s world, should the answers to these questions depend on whether the data are “anonymized?”

These are but a few of the ethical and legal conundrums that Michelle Mello, Stanford professor of law and of health research and policy, grapples with on a daily basis. She says that rapidly evolving ways to gather and share medical data are exposing the limitations of laws that protect patient privacy.

Meanwhile, the value of sharing patient and clinical data is growing by the day. Data from multiple studies can be pooled to study subgroups or explore rare conditions that were once out of reach. It could help lower drug prices, too, or identify ways to treat patients with greater precision and efficiency. Mello says that reaping these benefits will require a national conversation about what patients are willing to trade off in terms of privacy and control over their personal health information.

Join Michelle Mello and host Russ Altman for a wide-ranging discussion of the ethical and legal challenges in healthcare on Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything.

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An expert in infectious diseases says that vaccinations are more powerful than ever, but better communication by the medical community is needed to combat misinformation.

Stanford professor Yvonne “Bonnie” Maldonado is a medical doctor and an expert in pediatric infectious diseases. She has been fighting and preventing disease her entire career. She says that vaccinations have made remarkable progress in recent years and yet, despite well-known programs that have virtually wiped out once-dreaded diseases like measles, smallpox and polio, a more insidious foe than these diseases has appeared — misinformation that sows confusion, fear and distrust of vaccines in the general public.

The result has been a worrying reappearance of some of the diseases society has worked so hard to eradicate. But the science is clear: Vaccinations save lives and carry very little to no risk for the vaccinated. Meanwhile, scientific advances are making vaccines more effective and less risky by the day.

There is no magic solution, Maldonado says, but evidence suggests that a more personalized communication approach could help by avoiding stigmatizing naysayers in favor of greater understanding and cooperation with dubious audiences. In working with the public, she says, medical providers remain the first and best line of communication with both the scientific knowledge and the public trust to deliver these life-saving messages.

In this episode of Stanford Engineering’s “The Future of Everything” podcast, Russ Altman and vaccination expert Bonnie Maldonado for a clear-eyed look at the future of vaccines.

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The geostationary satellites used for communication and weather forecasting today are very large and very expensive — and most are still functioning perfectly when they must be disposed of because they run out of fuel. In their place, Stanford astronautics professor Simone D’Amico imagines an new era of smaller, less expensive, more efficient satellites that work in tandem to accomplish things their bigger brethren never imagined. He calls it distributed space systems — formations or “swarms” of small satellites.

Distributed space systems have breakthrough applications in earth and planetary science, astronomy, and astrophysics, as well as in-orbit servicing and space infrastructure. One task D’Amico foresees for what he calls “The Swarm” is a sort of janitorial role. These “garbage trucks in space” would remove, repair or refuel the thousands of unused satellites orbiting the earth. He says The Swarm could also improve our knowledge of the Sun and its interaction with the upper layers of the atmosphere, leading to better space weather predictions or achieve other important scientific objectives — like detecting life on other planets.

Before this space age can be made real, however, D’Amico and his compatriots in astronautics must figure out how to control these distributed space systems with the required precision in safety, and help develop a new set of “galactic” rules to make space traffic sustainable in the long run.

Join host Russ Altman and astronautics professor Simone D’Amico for a look at “The Swarm” — the changing face of satellites in space — on the latest episode of The Future of Everything.

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Photonics engineers are working toward a day when fast, energy efficient computers do their mathematics using photons — packets of light — instead of electrons.

Experts estimate that computers gobble up as much as 10% of global electricity. They predict that that share will only grow as data centers expand and the internet of things brings scads of new computer-controlled devices to the world.

Jelena Vuckovic is an electrical engineer who sees a light on the horizon — quite literally. She is building computers that calculate and communicate more with photons than electrons. These “photonic” devices could cut energy consumption in half and empower exciting new technologies, like quantum computing, in the process.

Before that day can come, however, Vuckovic and other proponents of photonics — the science of using light for practical purposes — will have to design smaller devices and improve manufacturing techniques to compete with today’s ultra-small electronics. To hasten that arrival, Vuckovic is turning to artificial intelligence to develop new device designs and new materials that could usher in the age of photonics.

Join Russ Altman and engineer Jelena Vuckovic for a discussion of the power and promise of photonics on The Future of Everything.

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Computer programs that purport to help humans learn have been around almost as long as there have been computer programs, but their track record for success has been less than impressive.

Emma Brunskill, an expert on artificial intelligence and machine learning, thinks that less-than-stellar record is about to change and has dedicated her career to finding new and better ways to teach computers to teach humans. Her research creates innovative "reinforcement learning" algorithms in which computers learn through experience to get better at teaching humans. In the process, the algorithms lead people to make better, more-informed decisions that produce better outcomes in the long run.

To Brunskill this is no schoolroom affair, but an endeavor where the stakes are high. She says that better education is key to big societal challenges, like alleviating poverty. She believes that better training of new workers — or retraining of older ones — can yield better paying jobs for more people. What’s more, she’s turning her attention to other fields, namely healthcare, where better decisions can have life-or-death implications.

Join host Russ Altman and Stanford computer scientist Emma Brunskill for a deep exploration of the new age of computer-assisted learning and decision-making. You can listen to The Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, Spotify, Stitcher or via Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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A biomechanical engineer explains how new diagnostics and improved understanding of human movement are yielding great leaps forward in the treatment of motor dysfunction.

Engineer Scott Delp first got interested in the details of human movement when he was injured in a skiing accident and spent five years trying to recover.

Back then, today’s powerful diagnostic tools, like MRI, weren’t generally available, and Delp experienced many roadblocks and false starts in his recovery.

Delp turned that challenging experience into a career studying and developing new approaches to motor dysfunction that he puts to use helping people with conditions like osteoarthritis and cerebral palsy to walk, run and move more easily and without pain. His multidisciplinary team includes surgeons, neurologists, roboticists, engineers and computer scientists who use sophisticated computer models to analyze movement dysfunction and to counteract them through surgery, robotics, neurostimulation and other techniques, including the use of Botox.

Delp’s latest focus is on discovering approaches that inspire patients to see better movement as key to better health and view physical rehab not merely as necessary, but actually enjoyable.

Join host Russ Altman and expert in the biomechanics of human movement Scott Delp for a “moving” discussion about the joys and the benefits of motion here on The Future of Everything radio show from Sirius XM. You can listen to The Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, Spotify, Stitcher or via Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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Russ Altman: Today on The Future of Everything, the future of detecting DNA in your blood.

Now DNA is the building block of life. It is a relatively simple long molecule or polymer made out of four components or DNA bases which have one letter abbreviations, the famous ATCG, which stand for their chemical names. It’s like a string of beans, beads, beads, but it is long. A human genome is made of about three billion DNA bases, divided into 23 chromosomes. So if you add up the beads in each chromosome, you get about three billion. You get a genome from mom and you get one from dad. So you have two copies of the genome, mostly the same but obviously not identical, or six billion total.

Now DNA contains the blueprints for how your cells live, how they grow, how they interact with other cells, and like a computer program, it allows the cell to perform simple computations to make decisions about when and where things happen.

If this goes wrong, you can get cancer. Mutations in the DNA cause the computations and decisions to go wrong.

Other things can happen too. In the last ten years, researchers have learned that they can detect DNA in the blood. Now we knew that the cells in the blood had DNA, so that was not surprising, but what was surprising is that there is sometimes DNA from other cells in the body, often cells that have died and just released their DNA into the bloodstream. This is sometimes called cell-free DNA because it is floating in the blood and it’s not really part of a cell. Although this may seem like it’s junk, it offers evidence of lots of other processes going on in the body, processes diverse as cancer, pregnancy, stress on organs, or even death and many others.

Dr. Stephen Quake is a professor of Bioengineering, Applied Physics and Physics and Stanford University. Steve pioneered the detection of DNA in the blood and some its first applications.

Steve, what drove your interest in detecting DNA, and what was the first demonstration that this would actually be useful?

Stephen Quake: Well, my interest came actually when I became a father. My wife and I were in to see the doctor, and the doctor says you guys should think about getting amniocentesis. And it was seemed like a theoretical question and something we have time to think about. We said yeah, okay, that sounds like the right thing if recommending it.

Russ Altman: And this is a super risky procedure in many ways. A needle goes into the uterus near the baby to extract fluids.

Stephen Quake: Big needle right in the mom’s belly, right next to the fetus to try to grab a few cells, and so to do genetic testing. And we said yeah, it sounds like a good idea, thinking we schedule another appointment for it. Next thing we knew, the guy was turning around with a giant needle, plunges it right into my wife’s belly,

Russ Altman: Whoa.

Stephen Quake: Yeah, whoa, exactly. That was our response. And it’s the response of many people who undergo that certain invasive testing. And not surprisingly, there’s risk associated with doing that testing. Sometimes, you lose the baby and other health problems that might happen.

Russ Altman: How far into the pregnancy were you?

Stephen Quake: That’s typically done, I don’t know, around 14 weeks, something like that, 15 weeks, somewhere around there. And so that sensitized me to holy cow, there’s a problem here that you’re asking a diagnostic question, and there’s a lot of risk associated with it. And so I began to think are there ways to ask these genetic questions and do diagnostics without adding risk? And I eventually stumbled upon this old scientific literature about this cell-free DNA that you were mentioning, which, as it turns out, was first discovered as a phenomenon in 1948.

Russ Altman: That’s before Watson and Crick even articulated the importance of DNA for genetics.

Stephen Quake: It’s before the structure, and it’s before people knew. It’s roughly contemporary people first realized that DNA was the molecule of inheritance.

Russ Altman: Right.

Stephen Quake: Oswald Avery just that same year was working that out. So it was blood chemistry to those guys who did it. But the field stayed alive, and it was mostly people doing cancer research. And eventually, it was figured out that when you’re pregnant, some of the DNA in your blood comes from the fetus, and that was worked out in the late 1970s. And –

Russ Altman: And so this is not a large amount, I’m guessing.

Stephen Quake: It’s not much, just a few percent of what’s there, so it’s a very challenging measurement problem and the decade-long search to try to figure out how to really use that to build a diagnostic that would allow you to understand the genetics of the baby without having to risk the baby’s life. And we saw that at Stanford, and it was through the work of a really terrific graduate student in my lab when the bioengineering department was young, Christina Fan. And that has now been the first real clinical application of cell-free DNA in diagnostics, and that’s how I got into it, to answer your question.

Russ Altman: So in that initial demonstration or in your first industrial translation, what are the things that we can actually detect from the DNA of a fetus in the mom’s blood?

Stephen Quake: Well, when we published the paper on this, started getting press inquiries. When is this gonna be available in the clinic? I said, I don’t know, decades, something like that.

Russ Altman: That’s usually the answer.

Stephen Quake: It takes a long time, right. It turns out people jumped on like you wouldn’t believe. Clinical trials were launched immediately. Within three years, the first real commercial diagnostic products had been launched, and now it’s four million women a year, something like that, get the test, and the use of amniocentesis has plummeted.

Russ Altman: And so now you do this as a screening before you make the decision about the amnio. Is that the general use of it?

Stephen Quake: That was the initial indication, and it’s very quickly moving to replacing amnio completely.

Russ Altman: Completely, yeah. And what kind of things can we diagnose in the fetus these days?

Stephen Quake: So the major genetic disorders you have for live births are things like Down syndrome; that’s number one. And it’s an aneuploidy is what it’s called technically, means the extra copy of a chromosome. And there’s a few other disorders, which are extra copies of chromosomes that are also detected with this approach.

Russ Altman: Awesome. So that has had big-time market impact, and it’s changing people’s lives. I think it’s on the street now. People know you can get this blood test instead of the amnio, so it didn’t stop there. Now you had this hammer, and it worked. You hit one nail. What was the next nail you guys turned your attention to?

Stephen Quake: Well, after we published that, word got around Stanford that I was interested in non-invasive diagnostics. And I got a call one day from Hannah Valantine, who’s a cardiologist –

Russ Altman: Great cardiologist.

Stephen Quake: Yep, and she says, well Steve, we got a similar problem in heart transplants. We give people a new heart, and after the operation, we then go biopsy that new heart and rip out pieces of the tissue to make sure it’s not being rejected by the body. And we’re doing that every couple of months. And so is there a blood test that could replace that? Same sort of problem, patients were having this painful, risky procedure, and there was a question of whether it could be replaced by a simple blood test. And so we thought about that a bit, and –

Russ Altman: The key opportunity here is that the DNA and the heart that belongs to the donor is not gonna match the DNA of the person who received the heart, and, like the baby and the mom, because those are different DNAs, you have a chance of picking it up.

Stephen Quake: Yeah, the key there is that the DNA is different. A little different with the baby and the mom because we don’t use differences in their DNA. But in the case of the transplant, absolutely. The whole principle is based on there being different genomes of every cell in the heart compared to other cells in the recipient’s body. And we monitor those so-called polymorphisms, those changes.

Russ Altman: And so you went after this, and you were indeed able to show that people who were in rejection were spilling, so to speak, the heart DNA into the blood, and maybe we can avoid some of those biopsies.

Stephen Quake: Absolutely. So we did a proof of principle study with some bank samples she had, and then we wrote a grant together and were able to do a very large study on both heart and lung transplants where pretty much every transplant patient at Stanford for those two organs was enrolled in our study over a period of three years, and were able to validate it. It was amazing. One of my kids was in elementary school at the time, and there was a new family who was in the class that year. And at the end of the year, we got a note around saying that, well, there’s a family that’s in town because they were at the Ronald McDonald House. One of their kids was in the hospital and very ill, and would anyone wanna put them up for the last couple of months because their time had run out there. And so we invited them –

Russ Altman: Took them in.

Stephen Quake: to our house, yeah, and very interesting family. They were immigrants from Africa. The father had been a nurse there, had some medical training and knew that when his son was infant and very ill that needed serious help and eventually got him to Stanford where the son had had a heart transplant.

Russ Altman: Whoa.

Stephen Quake: And we were talking around the dinner table one night, and the dad says well, and we’re just so proud to be part of this study where people are trying to figure out if they can replace the biopsies. And we enrolled our son in it and drew the blood. I said that’s my study. It was amazing and felt very good about it.

Russ Altman: Of course, of course.

Stephen Quake: And now that’s available. So there’s now tens of thousands of people every year who are getting that test, and it’s saving a lot of pain and suffering for those patients.

Russ Altman: This is The Future of Everything. I’m Russ Altman. I’m speaking with Dr. Steve Quake about detecting DNA, and at this moment, detecting DNA in transplant, hoping to detect rejection. So does the test detect rejection potentially earlier than the old-fashioned biopsy approach would?

Stephen Quake: It does, and we’ve proved that, absolutely. You see rejection weeks, if not a month, earlier than the biopsy.

Russ Altman: And then presumably, that gives the docs more option for changing the immunosuppression.

Stephen Quake: Oh, absolutely because yeah, as you mention, all these patients are immunosuppressed to try to prevent rejection, and too much of that, and they’ll get an infectious disease. Too little of that, you have rejection. So they can dial up the immunosuppressants a little bit and try to avoid the rejection event, and that’s much better for the patients. Once they hit rejection, all sorts of bad things happen, and so the whole thing is trying to keep them properly suppressed.

Russ Altman: And just to flesh it out a little bit, how frequently are they getting these blood draws? Is this every six months or every three months or –

Stephen Quake: The standard of care for the invasive biopsies was every two months, and that’s where they initially matched it. But this is the sort of thing that can and should be done more frequently, and I think it’s gonna change the way people treat the patients over time.

Russ Altman: I know that there are more applications, and I’m interested to know which ones you wanna talk about, but let’s talk about one that fascinates me, which is the detection of infectious agents in the blood. Can you tell me how this technology has been used in that regard and what’s the future look like?

Stephen Quake: Yeah, so when we were doing the large transplant study, my post doc at the time, Ian De Vlaming, was looking at all the sequencing data very carefully and realized that not all of the sequence reads off the sequence that were mapping to the human genome. And he said maybe 98% of it’s mapping; there’s one or 2% that aren’t. And I said that’s great. It means we’re not having a lot of contamination and it’s all good, and he didn’t let it go with that, thank goodness. And he started looking at those things that weren’t mapping, and he realized it wasn’t contamination, and they actually were not human, and it was part of the microbiome of these individuals. So the bacteria and the viruses and funguses that live in our body also release cell-free DNA, and we were measuring that as well. And he realized that we could use that to monitor things like what happens to your microbiome when your immune system gets turned off

Russ Altman: Right, because a lot of folks —

Stephen Quake: Because a lot of patients are immunosuppressed, exactly.

Russ Altman: Right.

Stephen Quake: And then we realized ‘cause some of them are getting infectious disease, we could also see infectious disease. And so that has evolved into a new kind of infectious disease diagnostic, which is hypothesis free. You don’t have to test for a particular thing. You’re essentially testing for a thousand infections all at once, and it’s just now reached commercial development. We’re seeing the first peer-reviewed studies showing how to use it, and it’s a very exciting innovation for infectious disease.

Russ Altman: People might find this surprising so let’s just unpack this a little bit. We know that there are some bacteria that live in our gut, and we’ve always expected to see them there. Many of us have assumed that my blood should be pretty much infection free. That’s not where the bacteria and the viruses live. I guess the first question is how much of a surprise, what do you see in normal people who are not immunosuppressed, and how do we interpret this? Do we know that these are diseases? Are these pathogens causing problems, or might they be part of some ecosystem of health?

Stephen Quake: Yeah, all good questions. So a fun way to think about it is to do an order of magnitude calculation. Could we talk about calculations here?

Russ Altman: Yes, this is something that physicists do, folks.

Stephen Quake: So there’s a statistic going around by the microbiome people. You’ve got 10 times more bacterial cells in your body than you do human cells. If you take that at face value and you say well, the human genome is 1,000 times longer. You said three billion base pairs, then the typical bacterial genome, which about three million base pairs. You do the math on that, and you say by mass, all the DNA in our body is 99% human, 1% bacterial. And so if you were to mush this all up in a blender, purify the DNA out, that’s what would come out.

Russ Altman: And that matches what your post doc found.

Stephen Quake: Yes, exactly.

Russ Altman: So are these normal signs? Are these normal organisms, or are these things that we have to run to the doctor and get treated for?

Stephen Quake: The vast majority of it, the vast majority of is our normal microbiome, bugs that live with us commensally and happy, equilibrium, with us as humans.

Russ Altman: I’m guessing you saw viruses or bacteria that were either entirely novel or not appreciated as living in humans?

Stephen Quake: Absolutely, we have discovered traces of novel organisms that is an area of ongoing research in the group to try to understand what they are and where they fit into the tree of life.

Russ Altman: This is The Future of Everything. I’m Russ Altman. I’m speaking with Dr. Steve Quake, and now we’re talking about infectious disease detection.

As a doctor, I know that we have patients come into the emergency room or into the clinic with what we call FUO, fever of unknown origin. They look sick, they have a fever, it’s not normal to have a fever, and they look infected, but we can’t find an infection. And so I’m guessing that one of the key applications of this technology would be, well, what DNA are we seeing in the bloodstream, ‘cause that might point us to the infectious agent. Is that how the infectious disease community —

Stephen Quake: Absolutely, yep.

Russ Altman: — is taking this up?

Stephen Quake: Absolutely. That’s a major application. There’s a bunch of others that are really interesting. And to come back to the earlier point you raised about blood infections being a different thing, the point is that the blood is like the septic system of the body, and it’s exploring all the tissues and organs. And when cells are dying and they’re releasing their DNA, it picks it up and carries it. So even if the infection is not in the blood, you see the remnants of the infection in the blood from that cell-free DNA.

Russ Altman: Yes, and so the final area that I wanted to get into, of course, is cancer. And, in fact, you mentioned cancer in your initial comments. Where are we with the detection of cancer from cell-free DNA?

Stephen Quake: Yeah, that’s been an area of intense interest for decades. That’s the one that was primarily driving the field before the prenatal work and because tumors have different genomes than the normal body does. And so people would monitor those differences in the blood and try to understand how the disease was progressing and to try to do detection. And that’s been a little later into the clinic than the prenatal stuff, but it’s happening now. And it’s an area of intense interest. There’s a bunch of companies out there that have launched tests or about to launch tests, and it’s gonna be very important for helping monitor course of treatment, and that’s the first clinical application that’s out there.

Russ Altman: That’s what I was gonna ask. Is this about detection or about monitoring? And it sounds like the monitoring.

Stephen Quake: That’s the first one. It’s the easiest one ‘cause you’re in such a high risk group and it makes it an easier technical task.

Russ Altman: And you know the cancer, so you’ve been able to characterize what you’re expecting to find if the cancer comes back.

Stephen Quake: Correct. But the big thing to go after is early detection, and that would help a lot of people and save a lot of lives. And that’s something that is gonna be coming. Maybe it’s five years, maybe it’s sooner, but there’ll be some very valuable tools for that coming down the pike; I’m pretty confident about that.

Russ Altman: Yeah, so let’s just think about that for a moment because one of the things that I know is an issue is when these new technologies arise, they often move up the time of detection. You could get the cancer detection earlier, you get the rejection. In general, that’s a good thing. But in cancer, it’s a little tricky because there is some, if I understand the literature, there’s some indication that some cancers arise, and it’s the body’s own immune system suppresses the cancer effectively before it can grow. Have people worked out what actions you should actually take if you see a very early indication of cancer? Is it definite that we’re gonna hit the patient very hard with chemotherapy and radiation and whatnot, or might we still have to figure out what to do about that?

Stephen Quake: Yeah, that’s a really good question and important issue, and I think we’re so early on that that’s being worked out in the clinical community. But the initial thought is not that you would go right to treatment with chemotherapy but that you would reflex to other testing methods that are more expensive and more sophisticated and are not the sort of thing you use to screen people broadly but if you got a hint that something’s wrong, you’d use them, things like imaging techniques and such forth.

Russ Altman: Makes sense. This is The Future of Everything. I’m Russ Altman. More with Dr. Stephen Quake about DNA, the future of health and biology and bioengineering, next on Sirius XM Insight 121.

Welcome back to The Future of Everything. I’m Russ Altman. I’m speaking with Dr. Stephen Quake about the fabulous uses of DNA that’s floating around in our cells. Now Steve, we just went through a bunch of really killer apps, but I know that there’s yet another one, which is looking at pre-term birth. And that’s a funny one to me because it’s not immediately obvious how detecting DNA would have anything to do with a pre-term birth. So tell us that story.

Stephen Quake: Yeah, so pre-term birth ends up being number one cause of neonatal mortality and complications later in life. It’s a huge problem, and there’s been, despite decades of effort, no real progress on creating a meaningful diagnostic that tells people who’s at risk. And there’s been a lot of effort put into –

Russ Altman: So the goal would be very early, say this looks like a pregnancy that might have some pre-term problems.

Stephen Quake: Exactly. And more generally, when is the baby gonna be due? Even if it’s not early, can you predict the due date? And there’s been a lot of effort put into understanding the genetics of that, the DNA base part, that has not really had a lot of predictive power or success. And so we turned to looking at RNA, which is carries the message from the genome and tells you about not the inheritance but the state of the cell and body at any given point. And it turns out same guys who discovered cell-free DNA in 1948 also discovered cell-free RNA.

Russ Altman: They have a good year.

Stephen Quake: They did.

Russ Altman: Same year?

Stephen Quake: Same paper!

Russ Altman: Same paper!

Stephen Quake: And so we began looking at cell-free RNA as a way to measure what’s going on in the mom’s body and with the baby and the placenta at any given point in time and how are things changing and can that signal to us when the baby’s gonna be born and if the baby’s gonna be born early. And we were able, after a long effort, it took seven or eight years of work by a very large group of people, a number of collaborators here at Stanford, including David Stevenson and Gary Shaw and Yair Blumenfeld, bunch of the MFM docs.

Russ Altman: MFM is maternal fetal medicine.

Stephen Quake: Fetal medicine, thank you.

Russ Altman: It’s okay, it’s my job.

Stephen Quake: But we managed to, we managed to figure it out. And we published a paper last year showing that there’s a handful of transcripts which indicate when the mom is gonna give pre-term birth, about two months in advance of that.

Russ Altman: Wow, so these are like canaries in the coal mine.

Stephen Quake: Exactly. And we found another set of transcripts which were predict gestational age, so you can tell how old the baby is and predict when it’s gonna be born. And that turns out to be a really interesting problem as well.

Russ Altman: I was gonna say, I thought that good old-fashioned subtract nine months from the date of birth gets you a pretty, and in fact, I must say, I’m born on November 5th, and that’s important because if you go back nine months, that gets you to February 14th, Valentine’s Day. So that’s a side story.

Stephen Quake: Okay, I got a couple of stories there for you.

Russ Altman: But tell me about this.

Stephen Quake: All let me give you a couple of stories.

Russ Altman: Tell me about this.

Stephen Quake: So when we were having our first kid, the one with the amnio, right, I asked the doctor what’s the due date, tells us the due date. I said what’s the error of your measurement, your estimate? And he got very offended ‘cause he thought I was questioning his ability as a doctor.

Russ Altman: Of course, of course.

Stephen Quake: We had a very tense discussion. Finally, I manage to communicate I was asking about the uncertainty in the estimate ‘cause I wanted to know when to adjust the travel schedule to make sure I didn’t miss it. And he couldn’t tell me the uncertainty, but he told me a number that I could use to derive the uncertainty, and so I did that. Worked out to two sigma three sigma. I had three sigma baby. So the baby was premature by three and a half weeks, and it was fortunate –

Russ Altman: Oh, it was at the border of the plus minus.

Stephen Quake: Yeah, I was fortunately in town, and fortunately, she turned out fine. But this got me aware of the importance of not only pre-term birth but also understanding, trying to understand when the baby’s gonna be born and prediction of due date.

Russ Altman: Okay, so you sold me. This is actually an impactful question.

Stephen Quake: Yes, exactly.

Russ Altman: So what can you guys do?

Stephen Quake: Well, it’s early still. Our first paper was a small number of women, few dozen women, and yet it seems very promising, and we’ve now been able to reproduce it in a different cohort that we can predict pre-term birth and gestational age and, from gestational age, hopefully predict when the normal baby’s gonna be born. But it’s all now going into much larger clinical trials to validate it. It’s very much the beginning of the story, but it’s an exciting one.

Russ Altman: So, great. This is a new molecule for our discussion, this RNA molecule, also from the baby or the placenta or both and a combination of maternal and fetal factors gives you the data you need and a big data mining approach, not to overuse that, to actually draw inferences that might be very impactful both for the actual due date but, more importantly, for uh oh, we have a woman who might be having a pre-term birth, let’s do what we can, and again, the ability of doctors to intervene is probably much better if they have two-month warning.

Stephen Quake: Correct, correct.

Russ Altman: Well, so this has been an amazing ride, and I wanna turn our attention a little bit now to a separate thing but very excited that you’re involved with. A few years ago, I think three years ago, the Chan and Zuckerberg Foundation announced the creation of a big biomedical research institute with you and a colleague from UCSF, Joe DeRisi, as co-presidents, and it had a very bold mission. The mission was to, I believe, cure or manage all disease by the end of the century, something like that; you can correct me if I’m wrong.

Stephen Quake: Cure, treat, or prevent all human disease by the end of the century.

Russ Altman: Bingo. So you agreed to that charge. You’ve now been doing it for three years. Can you tell us a little bit about how it was set up and why it was set up, and is it really even possible to imagine that level of progress in the next century?

Stephen Quake: Yeah. So since we’ve been talking about becoming parents, and Mark and Priscilla began to turn their attention to philanthropy in a pretty large way when they became parents. And they wrote an open letter before their first daughter was born that launched the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and ultimately the Biohub with this idea of trying to create a better world.

Russ Altman: It’s called the Chan Zuckerberg –

Stephen Quake: Chan Zuckerberg Biohub.

Russ Altman: Biohub, mm-hmm.

Stephen Quake: And so in their children’s lifetime, so broadly in this hundred-year span, they wanted to see if they could fund scientific research that would help make the world a healthier place for their kids and everyone else, which is a lovely mission. And it sounds crazy, right?

Russ Altman: Sounds crazy.

Stephen Quake: It sounds absolutely absurd, and for awhile, I couldn’t say it even to them with a straight face.

Russ Altman: And yet a few moments ago, you said it forcefully and convincingly, so wait to go.

Stephen Quake: In, well –

Russ Altman: What turned you?

Stephen Quake: Well, you think about it for awhile, and it helps to think backwards in time and think about how far medicine has advanced in the last 100 years. And in this country, mortality has been cut in half. And the things that kill us now are very different than the things that killed us 100 years ago. Primarily, it was infectious disease then. Now it’s things like heart disease and such forth. And so we’ve eliminated entire classes of diseases, effectively, and cut mortality in half. So you can project forward another 100 years and say if we don’t do anything, we should get another factor of two. And with some really serious effort, maybe we can do better than that. It’s just very hard for people to think on century-long timescales. We’re thinking when’s our next grand proposal or something like that or when’s our next student gonna graduate, and it’s not often that we have the opportunity to think on that sort of timescale.

Russ Altman: This is The Future of Everything. I’m Russ Altman. I’m speaking with Steve Quake, now about curing, managing, treating, and what was the other verb?

Stephen Quake: Prevent.

Russ Altman: Preventing all disease. Do you take a portfolio approach? It sounds like you were talking about the causes of death 100 years ago, so you have to look at the causes of death now. And I guess you have to pick the low-hanging fruit to say how do we make progress. So how have you decided to deploy the assets of the Biohub for the next five to 10 years?

Stephen Quake: Yeah, well, a two-fold approach. One approach is to pick a couple of areas that capture a large part of the global burden of disease, and we’ve chosen two that we focus on in our internal research. One is cell biology, and a lot of diseases are a consequence of disorders of cell biology, cancer, heart disease, pulmonary disease, a number of neurological diseases. And so better understanding how cells work will lead to new therapies and treatments.

Russ Altman: Could be a platform of discoveries that will have multiple applications.

Stephen Quake: Right, exactly, and that covers a large part of the global burden, as you work out the numbers of that. The other big part is infectious disease.

Russ Altman: So it’s still a problem.

Stephen Quake: Still a problem worldwide, absolutely. There’s a bunch of open areas, malaria, HIV. There’s a bunch of other ones, TB, number of viral infections. So that’s our other big internal effort. And at the Biohub, our researchers have been hired to focus on those two areas. Now the other, all the rest, what we’ve done is we’ve partnered with the Bay Area University, to Stanford, UCSF, and Berkeley, and we fund research of nearly 100 faculty at those universities across everything else. We have an open competition. We’ve committed roughly $100 million to those faculty over the next five years, and we’ll do it again for the second five years. And we’re encouraging them to work on the riskiest, most exciting ideas, whether they’re basic science, technological, or more disease focused, to cover the span of where we think a lot of the great innovations are gonna come over the next decades.

Russ Altman: So that does sound compelling. So basically, a two-fold strategy with some top-down projects that you know are gonna be impactful, and then you spread your bets by giving money to a bunch of smart people and say just do what you think is right. And the hope is that that will lead to the next set of challenges that you guys can perhaps adopt as top-down challenges.

Stephen Quake: That’s right.

Russ Altman: So how is it going?

Stephen Quake: Well, as you mentioned, we just celebrated our third birthday three weeks ago. Joe and I have been working really hard, but it feels great. I feel like we’re at full steam, and great science is happening, and the people we’re funding are doing great work, and the future is bright.

Russ Altman: And I guess are the donors satisfied? Are the people who put up the funds, are they starting to see their fruits of their vision?

Stephen Quake: Well, you’ll have to ask them that. It’s not my place to say. But they haven’t fired us yet, and so we take that as a good sign.

Russ Altman: Thank you for listening to The Future of Everything. I’m Russ Altman. If you missed any of this episode, listen anytime on demand with the Sirius XM app.

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They make a remarkable array of chemicals to survive the world around them. One engineer is using that knowledge to help people live better.

When things aren’t going well for humans and other ambulatory creatures, they simply move on to a new location, a new life. For plants, it’s different, says chemical engineer Elizabeth Sattely, who studies the evolutionary adaptations plants make to survive.

Unable to migrate, plants must make do with the hand that’s dealt them. And sometimes that hand is not very good. The soils where they are rooted can lack nutrients or play host to pathogens. The air can be polluted or too arid.

This fact of life, however, has given rise to a remarkable breadth of evolutionary adaptations plants use to make the best of their surroundings. They produce powerful small molecules that help them get more nutrients from the soil or air. And, they partner with microbes that help them live.

Sattely hopes to better understand and, possibly, employ these adaptations for human benefit by making crops more robust to environmental challenges and by learning how the small molecules plants create impact human health. She says we might even turn plants into biofactories that produce medicines and other valuable chemicals.

Join host Russ Altman and Sattely for a deeper look at the remarkable world of plant biochemistry. You can listen to The Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, Spotify, Stitcher or via Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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In breast cancer pathology, a 2 percent chance of malignancy is the accepted threshold at which a radiologist refers the patient for further study. In reality, that threshold varies among doctors; some are more conservative, others less so. The result is either more false positives, in which a healthy patient worries unnecessarily they have cancer, or more-worrisome false negatives, in which a patient is told they are fine when they are not.

One researcher working to reduce that gap is Stanford’s Ross Shachter. He is a professor of management science and engineering and an expert in using probability to improve decision making. Though Shachter is an engineer, he applies his approaches not to operational efficiency or business management, but to the high-stakes field of mammography, where decisions often have life or death consequences.

He says that probability and decision making theory could be integrated into artificial intelligence applications that could help doctors better evaluate patient options, outcomes and preferences to improve care.

Join host Russ Altman and Ross Shachter for a look at how engineering and AI are changing the world of breast cancer diagnosis. You can listen to The Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, Spotify, Stitcher or via Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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In cancer detection, could a blood test replace a biopsy?

Once, when a cancer was suspected, the next move often involved a biopsy – literally cutting out human tissue to ascertain malignancy. But that highly invasive model is now being overshadowed by the promise of “liquid biopsies.” In these non-invasive approaches, blood, spinal fluid and other bodily liquids are drawn and tested for the presence of cancer cells, bits of DNA or other molecules that are the unmistakable markers of serious disease. Often, such non-invasive biopsies can be done before clinical symptoms appear.

Ash Alizadeh is an authority on the rapidly evolving technologies and techniques of oncology. He says that information is reshaping not only how we detect cancer but also how we treat it. The data we gather about any given cancer is being combined with knowledge about the patients themselves, leading to highly personalized approaches that did not exist just a few years ago. No two cancers, nor two patients, are exactly the same, Alizadeh says. Cancer cells grow differently in each patient and cancer treatments should be personalized accordingly.

Join host Russ Altman and Ash Alizadeh as they explore the exciting new age of cancer diagnosis and treatment on this episode of The Future of Everything. You can listen to The Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, Spotify, Stitcher or via Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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Women face many roadblocks to careers in data science and other STEM disciplines. One Stanford professor is out to change perceptions and realities for women in these fields.

It was in 2015 when Margot Gerritsen was asked to speak at a data conference with not a single other woman on the program that she knew that something had to be done to get women into the field. As then-director of the Institute for Computational and Mathematical Engineering (ICME), Gerritsen knew more than a thing or two about data science and became determined to change the male-dominated culture.

This determination led to the creation of the wildly popular “Women in Data Science Conference.” In putting the first agenda together, she was insistent that the conference be not about the problematic state of women in the field, but on the exceptional science of the attendees.

Now into its fifth iteration, with more than 100,000 participants worldwide, online and at satellite events spreading into six continents, Gerritsen and her co-directors of the conference have inspired women across the planet to enter the sciences and provided a platform for them to highlight their work. In addition to the conference, WiDS now includes a datathon, a podcast that Gerritsen hosts, and ongoing education programs. The results have been, quite literally, life changing for many.

You can listen to The Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, Spotify, Stitcher or via Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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How do new technologies and techniques for altering DNA get used? And who gets to use them?

In recent years, the development of inexpensive genetic sequencing and easy gene editing technologies has given rise to a community of non-academic, amateur researchers who like to refer to themselves, only half-jokingly, as “biohackers.”

But, says Mildred Cho, a research professor who has published frequently about bioethics, such communities are not bound by traditional “first-do-no-harm” ethical norms that professional biologists and physicians adhere to.

There is, for instance, a group of such do-it-yourself researchers pursuing a low-cost insulin substitute that is free of patent protection; they hope to bring that life-saving medicine to millions who cannot afford it. On the flip side, Cho says, there are also bio-hobbyists who like to do things “just for fun” that could present considerable danger to society.

“Would you want your neighbor recreating polio in his garage?” she asks, rhetorically, adding that these deep and challenging concerns are better addressed sooner rather than later.

Join bioethicists Mildred Cho and The Future of Everything host Russ Altman for a provocative discussion about the shifting landscape in the ethics of biological research. You can listen to The Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, Spotify, Stitcher or via Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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An expert on air quality talks about the hidden dangers inside our homes and offers some helpful tips on what you can do to reduce your exposure.

We all know about the decades-long battle to improve air quality outdoors, but Stanford environmental engineer Lynn Hildemann says that while much progress has been made in that regard, it may have caused us to look past the pollutants in our own homes.

Hildemann, who studies air pollution and its effects inside and outside the home, says that chemicals and microparticles from cooking, furniture, carpets, cleaning products and good-old household dust represent the latest air quality battleground. She says it’s such a big concern because most Americans spend some 90 percent of their lives indoors.

Hildemann offers a few small steps we can all take to improve air quality at home. Using the ventilation hood when cooking is a great first step. Opening the windows whenever possible is another. And, opting for easily cleanable hardwood floors over carpet can help, too.

You can listen to The Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, Spotify, Stitcher or via Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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A mechanical engineer explains how more and better data is helping to create new prosthetics unlike any before.

For years prosthetic limbs were merely functional devices, but recent advances in robotics and neuroscience are transforming the very meaning of the word "prosthetic."

Steve Collins is a mechanical engineer who is helping to lead that transformation to the benefit of people who've had an amputation, stroke or battlefield injury. The field has come a long way since the days of strap-on wooden legs.

Collins says that, rather than trying to merely mimic what the body does, he's working on new ways of discovering prosthetic limb designs that outperform unimpaired bodies. His team uses advanced robotic systems that record and analyze the wearer's response, continually tuning their mechanical assistance to optimize performance and make them better than ever before.

Join host Russ Altman and Steve Collins for a glimpse into the changing world of prosthetics on the latest episode The Future of Everything radio show. You can listen to The Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, Spotify, Stitcher or via Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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Russ Altman: Today, on The Future of Everything, the future of the microbiome. Now, the microbiome has gotten a lot of attention in the last few years.

Now, what is a microbiome? I guess we will learn more, but for the purposes of this discussion, it’s the full set of microbial organisms, chiefly bacteria, but maybe others, that live in different niches within our body. Our mouth, nasal cavity, skin folds, everywhere that has contact with the outside world.

The gut microbiome is one of those microbiomes and it’s the community of bacteria living in our digestive system, not necessarily related to disease, but as a normal part of our physiology. We have long known that there is a lot of bacteria in our digestive tract and we know, for example, that they help us digest our food. That’s what we were taught in medical school many decades ago when I was in medical school.

We also know that when we treat infections with antibiotics, it can alter these species because these species are sitting in your gut and they also can be very susceptible to antibiotics. So when I treat a patient for urinary tract infection or for pneumonia, not only am I killing the bacteria, hopefully, that’s causing the infection, but I’m probably altering the microbiome of that patient in ways that might lead to some symptoms. They might have some digestive issues that are associated with that antibiotic.

Now, it’s become clear that the bacteria living in our gut have much more complicated relationship with our health and with our disease. They seem to be involved in our immune system. They seem to be changing sometimes in both acute and chronic disease. The idea has even emerged that there’s a healthy microbiome, the set of bacteria that you would love to have and host in your bowel and that there might be treatments for some diseases that involve changing the microbiome to get it to be more healthy, so to speak. This has gotten probably the most publicity in the idea of fecal transplants. Yes, if you’re not familiar with that, you heard correctly. This is the idea where poop, forgive the terminology, the technical terminology, poop from healthy people is introduced into the digestive tract of people with disease in order to help them normalize their microbiome to hopefully get it back into a healthy state. So this is getting serious.

Ami Bhatt is a Professor of Medicine and Genetics at Stanford University. She has a medical specialty of hematology and studies the human microbiome, mostly in the gut, and has developed new ways to measure the presence of bacteria in the human body and ways to interpret these for health and disease.

Ami, you specialize in hematology, the study of blood and blood diseases. How does a hematologist get interested in bacteria that live in the gut?

Ami Bhatt: So, thanks a lot for having me, Russ. It’s a pleasure to be here. I actually first became interested in the bacteria viruses and fungi that live in and on us, as I think many young people did which was by watching a TV show. I remember being about, I don’t know, nine or ten years old, and I was left at home for the first time, for like ten minutes by myself or something like that, and so I turned on the TV. My younger brother and I were watching a television show about germs and, they showed these horrifying microscopic images of all of the bacteria that are squirming around everywhere. And I thought, “Wow, this is fantastic and also very gross, and we should really learn more about this.”

If you fast forward many years later, part of the reason I became interested as a hematologist and oncologist in viruses and bacteria was because I learned that viruses can cause cancers in some cases. And as you well know, there are viruses that cause well-known cancers like liver cancer. Liver cancer is caused, in some cases, by a hepatitis virus. We know that the human papilloma virus causes cervical cancer and other cancers. And I thought, “Wow, there are all of these relatively simple organisms. They don’t have many genes.” You know, a virus can’t even live by itself. It requires a human cell in these cases in order to replicate. It’s amazing that such simple organisms can alter the biology of such complex organisms like us.

That was how I ended up getting interested in bacteria viruses and fungi that live in and on us. Of course, first I learned about them as kind of bad guys but there are trillions of microorganisms that live in and on us and most of them are probably not bad guys. Many of them are probably actually quite helpful and so I’ve taken a more holistic view of what bugs mean to us.

Russ Altman: So tell me, what are we finding when we look at the microbiome? How many of these are old friends that we’ve known for years and how many surprises are there where we’re saying, “Wow, we had no idea that this bacteria species was living in us.” And then how do we figure out what they’re doing, good or bad?

Ami Bhatt: Yeah, this is an incredibly complex question in part because we don’t even know most of the microbes that live within us. Despite the fact that now, there have been tens of thousands of papers published on the gut microbiome of humans, for example, we know relatively little about who these organisms are. The classical ways of studying microorganisms was by taking them, culturing them, looking at them under the microscope.

Russ Altman: Right, give them a little sugar and they’ll grow.

Ami Bhatt: Exactly. Describing them based on what they grow on, so what they like to eat, what color they stain, what shape they are. But now what we’re understanding is organisms that look really similar under the microscope, and have very similar growth characteristics, for example, can have totally different genomes which means that they can probably do totally different things. So one of the things that we’re learning in the field is that we know relatively little about the organisms even within our own guts. And so a lot of effort has been put into trying to better enumerate who’s there and what they’re doing.

Russ Altman: I also know that these bacteria often, you can’t just grow them on sugar and salt, they actually need each other to live so it’s like a very highly interlinked environment. Is this idea of a healthy microbiome, is that an oversimplification or is it in fact true that you could look at a sample of somebody’s poop and say, “That looks pretty good,” versus, “Oh, we have a problem here.”

Ami Bhatt: You know, I think in general we’re coming to a consensus that for the gut microbiome, at least based on the individuals who’ve been studied to date, having a more diverse community is better. And so having a larger variety of different types of organisms is probably better than the alternative, which is having a handful of organisms that are present at a high abundance.

But in general, what we think we know now is that there isn’t just one healthy microbiome. There isn’t that golden poop out there that we should fecal transplant into everyone and then we’ll all look like a Kardashian and live for 250 years.

Russ Altman: I know a young man in Boston whose name will not be mentioned who’s actually made several thousand dollars donating his poop to research and to microbiome stuff for the last couple of years so he’s in the money.

Ami Bhatt: Yeah, oh yeah. It’s a great way to, you know, turn poop into cold, hard cash.

Russ Altman: Poop into cash. Okay, that was a very distracting idea. So there are many healthy microbiomes. And how can a patient or a person who’s listening, how can they figure out what the state of their microbiome is? You know, it’s interesting. I think if I talk to most laypeople or my patients or family members who aren’t in medicine and I ask them, “How’s your gut health?” Most people can actually tell you. Most people have a very good sense of how their gut is functioning based on their daily bowel movement or bowel movements, how they feel, do they feel bloated, etc. And so I would say most people who don’t have gastrointestinal symptoms, I’m talking about diarrhea, constipation, nausea, vomiting, bloating, those are people who probably have fairly healthy gut microbiomes.

Russ Altman: So that’s good news ’cause that means you can use your normal life experience to kind of self-diagnose if there’s a problem and if things are going well both literally and figuratively, then we’re okay and then there’s no need to worry. So what are the impacts…

Well, this is The Future of Everything. I’m Russ Altman, I’m speaking with Ami Bhatt about microbiomes and healthy and diseased ones.

What about when you take antibiotics? This is a huge insult to the system. Do we know what happens to the gut microbiome and does it bounce back or does it then change forever? Where are we in that knowledge?

Ami Bhatt: Absolutely. So, you know, I liken antibiotic exposure to a forest fire. You’re basically getting rid of the vast majority of life that exists in the gut microbiome. And you don’t get rid of everything because even the most broad-spectrum antibiotics that we use don’t kill off every single microorganism in our gut.

Russ Altman: And that’s also true of the forest fires where those few species come back right away.

Ami Bhatt: Absolutely, absolutely. So it’s very, very similar of a situation. Some of the best work that we have in the field focusing on how antibiotics affect the microbiome have actually come here from Stanford from a colleague named David Roman. He and his colleagues did some really transformative early work in the early 2010s on the exposures of antibiotics to the gut microbiome in healthy individuals. They took a handful of individuals, gave them antibiotics, and studied what happened to their microbiomes. What they found was that, there was definitely a simplification of the microbiomes when people were exposed to antibiotics.

Russ Altman: That loss of the diversity you were talking about.

Ami Bhatt: Exactly, that’s loss of diversity and then basically after the people stop the antibiotics assuming they were living a healthy lifestyle, which they were, they regained their diversity, mostly.

Russ Altman: So that’s good news.

Ami Bhatt: Good news. On repeated exposures to antibiotics, what people have observed is that there may be a point at which you can’t quite get back to your normal and every time you’re exposed to antibiotics, you may be readjusting to a new normal.

Russ Altman: Does the microbiome run in families? Can I assume that my wife and I, our kids are outta the house. That’s a whole different story, and I know nothing about their microbiomes. But do my wife and I have the same microbiome probably because we’re spending a lot of time together or could they be very different even in that home situation?

Ami Bhatt: Yeah, so we call the scientific jargon for this is cohabitating adults.

Russ Altman: That’s what I do with my wife.

Ami Bhatt: Yes, so you and your cohabitating adult, your lovely wife, you probably do have some shared species and strains. So research has suggested that cohabitating adults do share some strains. There has been some limited work to show exciting results that people who own pets, for example dogs, may actually even share a few strains with their pets.

Now this is really exciting because as you know, there’s this hygiene hypothesis out there and the idea that we’ve become too clean as a society that’s why we have, like, asthma and allergies and eczema that are increasing.

Russ Altman: We need more exposures as youths.

Ami Bhatt: Exactly, and we know that people who have animals when they’re young or who live on farms when they’re young actually have a decreased incidence of these diseases. So one question that has arisen is, is it because we’re actually getting microbes from these animals around us?

Russ Altman: That raises an issue that I really, I did wanna get to so I’m glad that you’ve raised this, which is, the role of the gut microbiome with the immune system. In fact, you would think they might be at battle with one another but I think it’s much more complicated and I know you’ve looked into this. So, how should I think about the relationship of my gut bacteria with the health of my immune system?

Ami Bhatt: Yeah, so we know that animals that can be reared without microbes, we call these germ-free animals.

Russ Altman: So like the bubble boy but they’re the bubble cow or the bubble.

Ami Bhatt: Yeah, bubble mouse. All kinds of bubble animals.

Russ Altman: That’s probably easier than the bubble cow.

Ami Bhatt: Yes, but you know, even bubble fish have been generated. You can generate these animals without really any measurable microbes and what we know about them, surprisingly, is that their immune systems are really messed up. That observation actually suggests that the immune system is really dependent on microbial exposures in order to mature properly. We also know, interestingly, and this is more of a correlational relationship, that the immune system develops over the first three years of life. You know, that’s why a lot of kids and babies get their immunizations or vaccinations in that early period of time. That’s actually also when the microbiome develops. So we know that the vast majority of microbiome and immune system development happens in those first three years of life. That suggests that just like having, you know, a sparring partner, someone who urges you.

Russ Altman: Keeps you sharp.

Ami Bhatt: Yeah, absolutely. I think the microbes keep the immune system sharp and I think the immune system keeps the microbes sharp.

Russ Altman: Okay, so we should be rooting for a certain amount of healthy competition between the bacteria and the immune system and it’s part of developing this robust immune system. Taking that idea and combining with your earlier comments about there’s many healthy microbiomes, you’ve made a study of the cultural and geographic diversity of the microbiome including even in places like Africa where I imagine that the lifestyle, the diet, many things are different from the West Coast of the United States. Why are you doing that work and what are we finding?

Ami Bhatt: The reason we’re doing this work which is really trying to broaden our understanding of all of the different types of healthy and diseased microbiomes that exist around the world, is that we know, unlike human genetics, like your human genome doesn’t really change over the course of your life, we know that the microbiome can change over life and that the microbiome is pretty much controlled by your lifestyle and your environment. For example, if you, Russ, were to move to Greenland and take up a diet that was entirely of fish and seals, your microbiome would change dramatically. And that suggests that the variety of lifestyle choices and environmental exposures that people have can really affect their microbiomes and they affect their microbiomes way more than their personal genetics do.

Russ Altman: So it’s the environment that is playing a huge role. Even though I’m the same Russ, after six weeks in Greenland, I’m a different microbiome Russ.

Ami Bhatt: Absolutely, absolutely. So one of the challenges in research has been that we tend to, in my opinion, overstudy kind of the same people over and over, in part ’cause they’re convenient. Honestly, if I was to do a study of a thousand people’s microbiomes, it’d be a lot easier for me to do the study here at Stanford and just to recruit, you know, the incoming freshman class.

Russ Altman: It would be very diverse. It would be both Facebook employees as well as Google employees.

Ami Bhatt: There you go, yeah. And then throw in like a little bit of Apple just for the fun.

Russ Altman: There’s your diversity.

Ami Bhatt: We know that many of these people are gonna have very, very consistent lifestyles. And so we thought that it was really important to broaden our understanding of all of the different types of microbiomes that can exist in the world, both for the purpose of better enumerating what is normal, normal can be a variety of things, but also because, not only should genetic research be done all over the world, we wanna make sure that genetic researchers are being encouraged all over the world. We started this collaboration with a really impressive consortium called the H3 Africa Genomics Consortium. They do a lot of human genetic work and as you know, life originated in Africa, there’s a huge amount of human genetic diversity there and we, being kind of a one-trick pony said, “Hey, we should collect poop and we’ll sequence it and we’ll learn about the microbiomes of these individuals.” Thankfully we have collaborators who are game for that and we’ve been studying the microbiomes of individuals in urban township settings and rural areas and trying to understand how they’re similar and different to each other and similar and different to us.

Russ Altman: This is The Future of Everything. I’m Russ Altman, I’m speaking with Dr. Ami Bhatt about the microbiomes in Africa and fascinating because of the diversity and the history of Africa, it is possible that there will be more diversity of the microbiomes in Africa than there is in the rest of the world or certainly it will be more diverse than what we’re seeing in local areas as you described. And I also totally buy your argument that if there are gonna be in the future treatments of the microbiome, we really need to understand the range of normal so that we don’t start treating people in Africa with microbiomes that are irrelevant or even damaging.

So let me ask that, we hear a lot about when people migrate from one place to another, after a certain amount of time they start getting the diseases of the local milieu. So, you know, we hear about people from China who come to the U.S. They have a certain diet and lifestyle in China, and after a couple of generations, they start getting the same heart disease that has been plaguing all of the U.S. Could there be a microbiome connection to this? Is it that changing your geography is not just the lifestyle and the McDonald’s and dietary considerations, but that you’re also now being exposed to microbiomes that might change your disease risk?

Ami Bhatt: I absolutely believe so. One of the things that we don’t know is whether or not a healthy adult can actually acquire new microbes easily from the environment, but certainly the idea that changing someone’s lifestyle can change their microbiome is well established. There have been migration studies where immigrants have been studied over the course of time. I absolutely think this is related to disease.

One of the things I’m really fascinated about is this observation that my parents, for example. My parents came over from India to the United States for school. They were born and raised in India. They could eat all of the delicious street food that is there. But when we used to go back to visit when I was a kid, my parents would say, “Absolutely no street food for you,” and absolutely no street food for them, because we would get terrible diarrhea, to be honest. Why is that so? My parents have been exposed to that.

Russ Altman: They’ve grown up on it.

Ami Bhatt: Yeah, they’ve grown up on it. Presumably their immune systems have gotten used to it, so why could they suddenly not eat these foods anymore? And I really do think part of it might be that their microbiomes had shifted over time.

Russ Altman: Fantastic. This is The Future of Everything, I’m Russ Altman. More with guest Dr. Ami Bhatt about the microbiome and its significance for both health and disease, next on Sirius XM Insight 121.

Welcome back to The Future of Everything, I’m Russ Altman. I’m speaking with Ami Bhatt about the microbiome. And in the last segment we had a great discussion about health and disease and immune system. People like to manipulate their microbiome and there’s been a lot of popular press about yogurts and probiotics. Is that all real? How should people think about the opportunities for manipulating or improving their bowel health by ingesting foods that modify it?

Ami Bhatt: I think it’s natural for us to wanna improve our bowel health. I think almost every one of us has done this. By the time we’re an adult, we know that there are certain foods we don’t tolerate, certain foods that actually work out better for us. I think many people learn, for example, in their 20s and their 30s that they don’t tolerate lactose anymore, for example.

Russ Altman: Right, so milk is out.

Ami Bhatt: Milk is out. And probiotics are an interesting opportunity for us to try and change that microbiome.

Russ Altman: Can you tell me what is the definition of a probiotic? Because I think there’s even confusion about that. It sounds great. Pro, biotic, I mean what could be wrong with it?

Ami Bhatt: Yeah, it’s a fantastic thing, but, it is actually a moving target, also. So, the idea of a probiotic is it’s live microbial therapy. Right? It’s a compound, not a compound, but organisms that you can ingest or put on you if they’re skin probiotics.

Russ Altman: Oh, so there are skin probiotics?

Ami Bhatt: There are skin probiotics now, too. So you can ingest or put these things on you and that they will somehow improve your health. They can come in a variety of “flavors.” On one extreme, while fecal microbiota transplantation is not technically considered a probiotic, it is one of the most complex live microbial therapies we can administer.

Russ Altman: Yeah, it’s a definitely cousin idea because you’re introducing bacteria on purpose to help.

Ami Bhatt: Exactly. Most probiotics come in either pill form, so you can go to, often like the natural foods store and you’ll find an area where they have a bunch of bottles that are labeled with different complicated Latin and Greek names. Those are probiotics. Alternatively you can have things like foods that actually contain live bacteria or sometimes fungi.

Russ Altman: On purpose.

Ami Bhatt: On purpose. Turns out, this has actually been an important part of cooking for millennia. Bread, for example, is obviously fermented by yeast. In the classical way, it was not just fermented by yeast but also by bacteria that are present in the air and on the grains of wheat.

Russ Altman: I believe that’s part of the sourdough magic is that it’s not just the yeast but a complex. My son teaches me about the complex bacteria required for high-quality sourdough.

Ami Bhatt: Absolutely, so we consume bacteria in these ways. Of course, when we bake bread, the bacteria die but there are things like yogurt. Yogurt is made by actually culturing milk with bacteria, and we can buy live active culture food.

Russ Altman: Now, will yogurt automatically come with bacteria or is it a special type of yogurt that would have bacteria? ’Cause I know that people often think, “I love my yogurt, it’s giving me good probiotics.” I don’t know if that’s true.

Ami Bhatt: The majority of commercial yogurts that are available, the bacteria have been killed. So if you want to go to the store and buy a live active culture yogurt, meaning a yogurt that still has living organisms in it, you’ve gotta look for that. They usually say, “live active culture,” and if you turn the container around to the back, you can actually see the names of the organisms that are included.

Russ Altman: The list of Latin names. Lactobacillus and things like that.

Ami Bhatt: Exactly, exactly. Also if you make it at home, of course, you would also be live active culture. So there are other types of foods that are live active culture. Sauerkraut, kimchi, in fact, almost every culture has some sort of fermented food that’s an important part of their culture and their cuisine.

Russ Altman: Yes, we’re overloading the word culture. Every culture has their favorite bacterial culture. Here’s the big question. Is there evidence for health benefit?

Ami Bhatt: This is really where it gets kind of tricky. It gets tricky because there have been some big studies done on pills, like probiotic pills, used in the medical setting to do things, specific things, like, prevent antibiotic associated diarrhea. For example, many of our listeners have probably gone to the doctor, gotten an antibiotic for a bacterial infection, and have been told by either their doctor or friend, "Hey, eat some yogurt while you’re having this." In that concept there is, we know that antibiotic is killing a lot of the bacteria in your gut, maybe some of these bacteria from the yogurt will fill in the gaps, and prevent you from having the diarrhea that’s associated with having low diversity microbiomes.

Russ Altman: And does that indeed happen?

Ami Bhatt: You know, so, there are studies that say it does, there are studies that say it doesn’t. And I think really, the jury is out. It’s a really complicated topic. As a physician, I would say, there is really limited evidence for the utility of probiotics in the health setting, and in disease management.

Russ Altman: So as a physician, it kind of falls into the, well, I don’t think it’s doing any harm, so I’m not gonna tell you not to do it, but I wouldn’t bet the farm that it’s gonna solve the problem.

Ami Bhatt: Absolutely. And I would say in some extreme circumstances of health, like, you know, for example, there have been studies showing that, immunotherapy, which is a type of treatment that’s used to treat cancer patients, immunotherapy may depend on what the microbiome contains. We know that there may actually be risks associated with taking probiotics when you’re on an immunotherapy agent.

Russ Altman: So that’s a big deal, because now we’re talking about risks. Can you tell me a little bit more about that?

Ami Bhatt: Yeah.

Russ Altman: Sounds like it’s new.

Ami Bhatt: It’s really new. I think none of these data are published yet. But at conferences, at scientific conferences, people have been talking about observations that cancer patients on immunotherapy who are taking probiotics, may actually respond worse than those who are not. Which really begs the question of, you know, could we potentially be doing harm by giving people probiotics.

Russ Altman: So that’s something we’ll have to keep a close eye on. And I’m sure that oncologists will pay close attention, because they don’t wanna undermine their treatments by saying, “Oh, it can hurt,” when in fact, maybe it can hurt. So that’s an important one.

Ami Bhatt: Absolutely.

Russ Altman: This is The Future of Everything. I’m Russ Altman, I’m speaking with Dr. Ami Bhatt, about the microbiome. And I wanted to move to the issue of the microbiome over time and in aging, folks, which we all are. I think you made a reference to this, that it doesn’t stay the same. What do we know about the process of aging? And is there things that elderly people should be thinking about in terms of their microbiome? I was struck when you were talking about the immune system, you were very convincing that people have a good sense of how their bowel is doing when you ask them. I’m not sure people have a good sense of their immune system when you ask them in the same way, maybe they do. So it’s all confounded together in my mind as the aging process, the immune system, what do we know about that? And what should people be thinking about as they age?

Ami Bhatt: Yeah, so it’s interesting, there’s been a lot of focus on the microbiome and the immune system in early life, lots of studies on those first three years. And what we think is that, for the adult period, people to tend to be pretty stable in both of those things until later on in life, and our group and others are actually starting to study, the microbiome of aging individuals. From animal studies, it’s actually been demonstrated in the African killifish fish model.

Russ Altman: Killifish?

Ami Bhatt: Killifish. Yeah. These are really cool, short lived fish. They’re actually the, I believe the shortest live vertebrate animals.

Russ Altman: So what are we talking?

Ami Bhatt: Months.

Russ Altman: Months of life.

Ami Bhatt: Months of life.

Russ Altman: So they really have to go for it.

Ami Bhatt: Yeah, they gotta go big, go big and then they have to go home. So, an interesting study was done, where they took poop from young fish, and then transplanted it into old fish. And they actually find that the old fish can swim faster when they have young poop in them.

Russ Altman: Am so glad you’ve mentioned this, ’cause I’ve heard about these kind of studies, and also like old mice giving their poop to young mice, and vice versa. So yeah, so what’s going on there?

Ami Bhatt: You know, it suggests that there is something within the gut microbiome of these young individuals that can actually alter the biology of these animals, older animals, either through their immune system.

Russ Altman: They are swimming faster. Swimming faster. The older fish. So now we just have to figure out what would that mean for a human, and when do I ask for my young colleague’s, well, I don’t even wanna say it. How do we approach this issue? And do we think that there’s a real hope now for therapies? I mean, are people now thinking about a future, where in addition to the pills that you’re getting from your doctor, they’ll be interventions to try to spruce up your microbiome?

Ami Bhatt: Yeah, I think that there is a great opportunity here. In part because we know that there is this association between the alteration of the microbiome and diminishment of the immune system. I think in the future, although there are no data to support this yet, that older individuals will get things like, microbial therapies or fiber cocktails that will help keep their microbiome healthy, and maybe prevent them from getting things like shingles, you know, a reactivation of a viral infection, maybe that’s related to our gut microbiome, who knows?

Russ Altman: And you’ve made a really important point here, it’s not just introduction of the bacteria, but you need them to be happy, so to speak, and to live. And so you mentioned fiber, because that might be one of the substrates upon which these bacteria live, in order to stay in your bowel after they’ve been introduced.

Ami Bhatt: Absolutely. We can’t just put them there, we’ve got to feed them as well. And so, since fiber is what a lot of these healthy microbes eat, then we’ve got to feed them.

Russ Altman: So when we think about high fiber diets, part of the reason we’re recommending this to patients is not just for the bulk and to help them the musculature of their bowel, it’s also to have a good relationship with the underlying microbiome.

Ami Bhatt: Absolutely.

Russ Altman: Thank you for listening to The Future of Everything. I’m Russ Solomon. If you missed any of this episode, listen anytime on demand with the Sirius XM app.

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Once the core American curriculum meant reading, writing and arithmetic, but Stanford professor Mehran Sahami says we might soon have to add a fourth skill to that list, “coding.”

Sahami thinks deeply about such matters. He’s the leading force behind recent changes in Stanford’s computer science curriculum. He notes that it may not be surprising that more students are choosing to major in computer science than ever before, but what might turn heads is the changing face and intellectual landscape of the field. With concerted effort, more women and minorities, and even students from traditional liberal arts and sciences backgrounds, are venturing into computer science.

Sahami says coding has become more than just videogames, social media and smartphone apps. The field is an intellectual endeavor taking on the biggest issues of our day. And in pursuit of tackling big issues, computer professionals also need to be aware of ethical issues that arise, such as the implications of data-driven decision making, respect for personal privacy, the long-term impacts of artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, and the role of large platforms like Google, Facebook and Apple on free speech issues.

Sahami says that computers and algorithms are now part of the fabric of everyday life and how the future plays out will depend upon realizing more cultural and gender diversity in computer science classrooms and encouraging multidisciplinary thinking throughout computer science.

Join host Russ Altman and expert in computer science education Mehran Sahami for an inspiring journey through the computer science curriculum of tomorrow. You can listen to The Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, Spotify, Stitcher or via Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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Russ Altman: Today, on The Future of Everything the future of Silicon Valley. Periodically, in human history every now and then there is an unusual mix of opportunity, capital, talent, technology in a geographical region that concentrates this and creates perhaps an unusual period of creativity, invention and sometimes great impact on a global scale. Far beyond, what you might expect from that local geography.

I like to think about the Italian Art Renaissance in the 15th and 16th century, focused in Florence. So, removed from Rome, the seat of Italian power and the church power. The Medici family and others provided capital. There was a network of business connections there was a good supply of marble, and paint supplies. And, things were advancing, and then a few masters Giotto, da Vinci, Michelangelo emerged from this pool of kind of opportunity as masters. They integrated the lessons from the past, they added their own vision and there was this revolution in art that seemed to advance from static 2-D depictions, mostly of bible scenes to dynamic three-dimensional art that many people, even today are captivated by. Books have been written about Florence.

Why then? Why there? We’re not gonna do that today. But I love that it is related to the Bubonic plague. And the fact that one-third of European people died from this terrible disease. But that took pressure off the farmers who could then produce extra food. Yadda yadda yadda.

Now, we have the growth of Silicon Valley. Now, I don’t wanna push this too hard. This was not an art, and it’s not clearly about art, or about cultural things. But there was digital technologies and there’s a somewhat parallel story.

Removed from the seats of power in Washington D.C and New York. The power and influence. There was this West Coast place which actually even 50 years ago was mostly fruit farms. But companies arose, Hewlett Packard, Intel. There was this University, Stanford University. Disclaimer: I’m an employee of Stanford University that provided a growing technological work force in both engineering and science. These masters weren’t artists — far from it. Although, well we could discuss that. But they were industrialists. You had Hewlett and Packard, you had the Gordon Moore, and the Intel founders. Steve Jobs and then of course Jerry Yang from Yahoo!, Sergey Brin, Larry Page. And recently now we know about the founders of Facebook, Uber, Twitter, etc. A remarkable concentration of talent, opportunity, technology. Creating a singularity, you could argue that in this area that was just a fruit farming area.

So, Silicon Valley perhaps has helped usher in an era of AI, machine learning and the gig economy. Now, as I said I don’t want to oversell this analogy and let’s also remember what happened to Florence. It did not maintain its preeminence in art. Wars and important changing trade patterns reduced the available capital, reduced it as the center of the world in many ways. The reformation changed the religious dynamics. The Catholic church had various reactions against humanism. The pendulum and perhaps the luck of Florence ran out. And Florence became once again a local geographic region. It’s great to visit, it’s great to eat there but it is not really particularly, the center of anything right now.

What does the future hold for Silicon Valley?

John Markoff is a fellow, former fellow at the Stanford Center for Advanced Study and Behavioral Sciences. He’s a current fellow and research affiliate at the Human-centered Artificial Intelligence Institute at Stanford. He has been a science writer at the New York Times for more than 20, 30 years. He’s covered the general computer industry, Silicon Valley in particular during this time that I just described of great innovation and disruption both in good and bad ways.

John, you have written that Silicon Valley may be over optimistic, both at the rate of expected future progress, and also the benefits that that progress will bring to society. Perhaps it’s peddling some things. How do you see this manifesting? And is it a byproduct of hyperbolic marketing, purely? Or does it indicate potentially the beginning of the end for this period of Silicon Valley flourishing innovation.

John Markoff: Boy, I love your analogy to Florence. Because I think about that a lot and I think about it particularly in the context of fragility. How fragile is the Valley. Nothing lasts forever. Clearly the arc of technological innovation in the last couple of centuries has been from east to west. There’s always the implication that it may continue to go west perhaps to China. You know, the question of where Silicon Valley came from is a really interesting one as well — you brought that up — what’s new, I mean I always thought there’s a lot of serendipity. I mean Shockley came here —

Russ Altman: Right.

John Markoff: — famously because his mother was here. What if his mother had been in Iowa?

Russ Altman: Exactly.

John Markoff: And then there’s this wonderful thing that David Brock who’s the staff historian at Computer History Museum recently discovered, Shockley didn’t come here to build the transistor. He created a transistor company, but when he left Bell labs in the early 50s he was super — there was an automation phase. It’s kind of an interesting thing considering where we are today.

Russ Altman: Yes, yes.

John Markoff: An automation fad, and he came here to build a robot. He got money from Beckman, who was his investor. And it devolved down, first, into a company whose first intent was to build a company to build a robot eye. Because he wanted to build an automated factory. So, Silicon Valley’s roots are actually in robotics and AI. Which I think is not known, largely.

Russ Altman: No, that is not generally appreciated.

John Markoff: And it’s just a wonderful sort of — it devolved down into transistor company and then of course the traders left and they went to Fairchild.

Russ Altman: Right, right.

John Markoff: And all of that happened. But then — so, I guess you know when I was a reporter in 2006 I was spending a lot of time in Europe. And it looked like innovation in mobile software was moving to Europe. Nokia, and Sion were there.

Russ Altman: Yes.

John Markoff: And I had this sense, that the ball was moving overseas in that direction. And then the iPhone happened. In 2007, the mobile platform came to the Valley.

Russ Altman: You’re right, we all had Nokia phones in 2005, 2006.

John Markoff: At some point. That’s right.

Russ Altman: And it was like where the heck is Nokia. Why don’t I see signs on it when I drive down 101.

John Markoff: Yeah. Absolutely.

Russ Altman: It was not a thing from Silicon Valley.

John Markoff: So, the way I think about it, there are a couple things. It’s really interesting to me to think about where the next IT platform might come from. Will it come from Silicon Valley? It’s not guaranteed. I mean, there’s lots of speculation it might be augmented reality, it might be speech. There clearly will be something after, if you walk down the street in San Francisco half the population is looking at the palm of their hand.

Russ Altman: Yes.

John Markoff: That can’t be the end of user interface. There has to be something after that. So what’ll it be?

John Markoff: The sooner — the other thing I have to say is the visionaries are almost always wrong. It’ll surprise us. It’ll come out of left field. It might come from China.

Russ Altman: So what about this idea, where does it, where does this idea come from that the marketing from Silicon Valley in terms of the pace of progress has been a little bit misleading and perhaps the data doesn’t support —

John Markoff: Yeah.

Russ Altman: The looking back at how fast things have been and how fast they’re going to be.

John Markoff: I can’t tell you in my career how many press releases I’ve gotten that have the word “revolution” in them.

Russ Altman: Yeah.

John Markoff: And in fact I think the reality of Silicon Valley is there have been a couple of big ideas. Personal computing, networks, ubiquitous computing, and then there’s been a lot of great engineering. This is an engineering center. But big ideas that actually break paradigms only come along, every once in a while. We had a free ride for 50 years on Moore’s law. What I would argue is because not only did things get exponentially faster, but cost fell exponentially as well. And that drove the creation of new markets at regular intervals. It was kind of a free ride.

Russ Altman: Very interesting.

John Markoff: Computing, went through these different stages, mobile phones in a sense happened because of cost and other related factors. Not because of brilliant innovation often.

Russ Altman: This is The Future of Everything. I’m Russ Altman, I’m speaking with John Markoff about innovation in the last couple of decades.

How much of it, I guess, how much of it was designed and deserves credit, so let’s — and, how much of it was free luck and a free ride. So let’s dig a little bit deeper. So Moore’s law, in what sense — First of all for those who are not familiar Moore’s law is the general idea that computing every 18 months, computing power roughly doubles. In a remarkable turn of events for the last 20 or 30 years, that actually has been true. There is a profound concern now that engineers will not be able to maintain that. And that that will lead to putting the brakes on a lot of things. I guess what you mean by we’ve, they’ve been lucky and been getting a free ride is that they didn’t have to worry about being particularly clever in their software or even in their hardware because they could count on Moore’s law giving them vastly greater computer power very soon.

John Markoff: Yeah.

Russ Altman: But what is the world like when that flattens out?

John Markoff: Well —

Russ Altman: Is that the concern?

John Markoff: Yeah. That’s the concern, so basically the cost of Silicon stopped falling at an exponential rate around 2015 because we’d hit that wall we all knew was coming. And that’s not to say it’s over; there may be some way around or some new acceleration. But for the moment things have slowed down dramatically. So we’re in this new era.

And I had this wonderful moment about two and half years ago it was actually Engineering School Industrial Partners Program here. Everybody was wringing their hands about how we’d hit the wall. I ran into this Harvard computer architect and he was just wild with enthusiasm. Because he said “Now it’s our turn.”

Russ Altman: Interesting.

John Markoff: You’ll make, and that’s in fact what we’ve seen. What we’ve seen is new architectural designs most of them in terms of chips that do AI kinds of algorithms better but that’s where the innovation has been. So, that is — we’re not saying that innovation is over but it’s not in the lock step acceleration model of Moore’s law. It’s based on human ingenuity.

Russ Altman: And this could be one of the changes that opens up the world and allows other places, other institutional structures to kind of take over in the innovation leadership.

John Markoff: Absolutely, for example lets hypothetically, everything in AI is now about big data. So that argues that those with most data win. Google, Amazon, Apple, China.

Russ Altman: Yes.

John Markoff: As in a nation-state. But what if there is an algorithmic that break through that works off of small data. That changes the entire playing field.

Russ Altman: Right.

John Markoff: So it could — there’s interesting stuff happening in AI approaches that may not be based on the current state of the art neuro-nets and deep learning.

Russ Altman: Fantastic. So okay, so you’ve written a lot about, you know I love — I love that you’re a journalist. I should say as a disclaimer to anybody listening I am not a journalist. My mother sometimes calls, My mother is only person I know, for sure listens to this show. Hi mom, I know you’re listening. She’ll call me every now again and said “You let that guy off the hook. You’re a bad journalist.” And I had to say mom, I’m an enthusiast. I’m not a journalist.

But as a journalist, I love you’re trained to look at situations and kinda cut the B.S. from what’s really happening. And you’ve looked for example at AI and jobs. What’s your impression, there are a lot technologists saying Well, don’t worry about this, we’re gonna everybody will adapt. And they’re forging ahead.

John Markoff: Yeah.

Russ Altman: When you look at it from your journalistic trained eye, what do you see as the reality?

John Markoff: Okay. Couple of things. I had to come around to that view. I was part of that, in fact I helped create that current sort of period of anxiety that we’re in about jobs and technology. I began writing about the impact of AI and white collar around 2010, 2011. And I was in that camp. Then I had an important sort of interaction with Danny Kahneman, who is the behavioral economist.

Russ Altman: Very famous.

John Markoff: I was on this rant about how automation would come to China and It would lead to disruption because of the loss of jobs. And he stopped me and he said you don’t get it. He said, in China they’ll be lucky if the robots come just in time. And I said what do you mean? He walked me through the demography of modern China. I began looking around the world. And all of sudden I realized that the most important things happening in the world today are demography not technology.

Russ Altman: Ah.

John Markoff: All over the world except for Africa and the Middle East, the world is aging at a rapid rate. And he’s really right. The issue is care and dependency. So I changed the question I asked as a journalist. I used to ask when will there be self driving cars? Not anymore. I ask when will there be an robot that can safely give a shower to an aging human? And nobody has a good answer.

Russ Altman: This is The Future of Everything. I’m Russ Altman, I’m speaking with John Markoff who just changed the question. This is great. So, demography is driving technology is kinda the core concept that you just alluded to.

John Markoff: Yeah.

Russ Altman: Does that change our level of optimism? Should we now think, well, self-driving cars and AI for care of elderly? I think what you implied is not only should we be rooting for that we need for it to come soon or we for example might not have the work force to —

John Markoff: That’s right

Russ Altman: — to take care of our parents and ourselves in the next 20 to 30 years.

John Markoff: Absolutely. I mean Rod Brooks, who’s a pioneering roboticist, says with a bit of humor, that self-driving cars will be the first elder care robots. Which actually may be true. And if you think about that, if self-driving cars did show up, they could give people who are sort of bound to home new mobility. And that would be a very great thing.

Russ Altman: I Just had a very good friend say that their parents are driving and they don’t think they’re safe, and how people all over, certainly all over the country and probably all over the world, are trying to decide how do you have these tough conversations about many issues —

John Markoff: Yeah.

Russ Altman: — where there is a very important and difficult loss of autonomy associated with aging. You want to obviously support the elderly in a caring, loving way. But, they can be a danger to themselves and to others.

John Markoff: Yeah.

Russ Altman: And this is not a solved problem. And its only getting worse.

John Markoff: The world is gonna look so different in a half century. Already, more people in the world as a whole are older than 65 , than under five. By the middle of the century the number of people over 80 globally will double and will go up seven fold by the end of the century. That’s the most important factor in the world.

Russ Altman: So as you look at this, do you now worry so now I’m flipping my perspective a little bit. Do you worry that with this challenge to Moore’s law and the difficulty in getting that next doubling every 18 months that this is happening at kind of a perfect storm of just when we need Moore’s law the most, because were not, we do not have robots to help take care of my parents.

John Markoff: Exactly.

Russ Altman: Or to drive them around. I need them to exist soon. And now at the same time were having some technological resets. Is this a potential crisis?

John Markoff: Well, I think that the — there is a crisis, I think, in elder care. We do have to think about that as a society. The other question about markets and sort of the work force. The work force is not gonna change as fast as some people worry because of this slowing down. How many job categories, census job categories, have gone away in the last three decades? One. Elevator operators. The kind of rapid change. In 1995 when Jeremy Rifkin wrote the End of Work, the American economy grew more than it ever had grown in history in the next decade.

Russ Altman: Right.

John Markoff: The whole thing about jobs going away here we are in a full employment economy. We’ve had a half century of the micro-processor and a decade of deep learning. So something else is going on. It’s a more, and I think what the deal is, it’s very easy to point to jobs that might go away. It’s much more difficult to look at jobs that might be created. We have a very difficult time understanding what the future is gonna look like.

Russ Altman: I hate to be Mr. Renaissance, but I have spent time in Florence. And in fact the thing I was saying about the Bubonic plague. The farmers said we’re in big trouble now because there’s nobody to eat our food but they did not suffer because this middle class emerged of merchants, and people who created jobs and industries and guilds that didn’t even exist a hundred years before. There was plenty of economic churn to support these folks. It’s an exactly the example that you’re referring to. Actually amazingly good things in many ways happened when you had some free time.

So I’ve often wondered is the AI, robotic revolution if it ever happens. Is that actually gonna free up people to do things that we’ve had on our to-do list for a long time, that really society needs.

Fantastic. We should now talk about the work force. You referred to that a little bit. What is the challenge in training young people for the future that is hard to predict?

John Markoff: Boy, let’s see if there are good examples. You know, the nature of education has changing in interesting ways. Sebastian Thrun and others at Stanford predicted that were gonna have this new kind of education and universities would go away. Universities don’t appear—

Russ Altman: The MOOC, the massive —

John Markoff: That’s right, online classroom. And MOOCs exist now, and universities are still thriving. The visionaries are always wrong.

Russ Altman: We don’t know.

John Markoff: Yeah.

Russ Altman: This is The Future of Everything. I’m Russ Altman, more with John Markoff about the future of technology and computing, next on SiriusXM insight 121.

Welcome back to The Future of Everything. I’m Russ Altman, I’m speaking with John Markoff, about technology, history of technology and computation and the future of technology and computation. John, you’re currently working on a biography about Stewart Brands, who was associated with the he was a Stanford graduate student and he’s associated with the Whole Earth Catalog. I think you believe this to be a critical, kind of historical moment in time. So tell us about the Whole Earth Catalog, Stewart Brands, and why we should care.

John Markoff: Yeah, okay. First of all, Stewart was a Stanford student. He studied biology here in the 1950’s. He’s associated with a couple of very important events, that were instrumental in creating what I think of as a California perspective or world view, ideology. One of them was the Whole Earth Catalog. Before that there was something called the Trips Festival. Which was the most visible and most successful of these things that Ken Kesey organized called the acid tests.

Russ Altman: Ken Kesey was a famous LSD guy.

John Markoff: He participated in these experiments in Menlo park. They were financed by the CIA. Then the drug kinda leaked out into the surrounding community. And people like Stewart began experimenting with it. Some formally, and some recreationally. My generation experienced LSD as a recreational drug. But it was part of a cultural shift. And the Trips Festival which happened in January of 1966 in San Francisco at the Longshoremen’s Hall. It was organized by Stewart was important because it was the moment that the 10,000 hippies in the Bay area realized that there were 10,000 hippies. It created a community. There was a direct line to Haight-Ashbury and to the counter culture. It also led directly —

Russ Altman: Into the summer of 1968.

John Markoff: Summer of love, that’s right. All of that grew out of that moment, in a very direct sense. They hired to help organize it, this guy who had been a publicist for the Mime Troupe by the name of Bill Graham.

Russ Altman: Pretty famous guy.

John Markoff: He became famous, Bill Graham at that moment realized that there was money in music and the day after the Trips Festival he went out and leased the Filmore. So it led also directly to the San Francisco music scene. So it was the spark. So dial the clock forward a couple of years—

Russ Altman: What, just one quick question. What did they do at the Trips Festival? Was it a discussion, was it music?

John Markoff: It was all — it was several things. Stewart showed this multi-media slide show he’d produced called “America Needs Indians.” Which was important in the creation of the American environmental movement of the 1970’s. He showed that for the last time. But then a couple of rock groups like Big Brother before Janice, the Grateful Dead, not the Warlocks, let’s see who else played — three different rock groups played. And it was really the sort of the moment that you know the rock, the San Francisco rock concerts —

Russ Altman: By any chance was it Jefferson Airplane?

John Markoff: No, Jefferson Airplane wasn’t there they played before at the Family Dog —

Russ Altman: Okay they were a favorite of mine.

John Markoff: Favorite of mine too. As a matter of fact, I used them to title a book that I wrote. Yeah, so all that sort of happened the culture sort of emerged. But by that time, Stewart who was the bridge between the beat culture, which had been in North Beach in the 50’s and early 60’s and hippe culture. He was done with that. He moved down the peninsula he came down here to help organize an education conference festival that never really happened. And after that failure, this is sort of Silicon Valley cultural thing about fail fast. He had a mentor his name was Dick Raymond, who had something called the Portola Institute was just up the road here in Menlo park and Stewart got this idea, and it was largely because his friends were going off to communes. That he would create a catalog, perhaps a little bit like the Sears robot catalog.

Russ Altman: Which was a dominant thing in the 60’s and 70’s.

John Markoff: That’s right there was no Google.

Russ Altman: I remember spending hours in the Sears catalog.

John Markoff: That’s right. And there was no Google. How could you find interesting things? So he came up with this notion of a catalog of tools. And his idea was a truck store, that he would drive around to the communes. And he would sell them stuff they need. Well, he did that about two times and then he realized that communes had no money. So that wasn’t gonna work. So he pivoted, in a classic kind of Silicon Valley way

Russ Altman: This is great.

John Markoff: And he created this catalog that went from 1,000 copies in the fall of 1968, to winning the national book award in 1972. It really became the bible of my generation. And I can’t tell you how many people I’ve run into, that said you know I saw something in the catalog, and my life took a right hand turn, or a left hand turn. That it really changed people’s lives.

Russ Altman: This is The Future of Everything. I’m Russ Altman. I’m speaking with John Markoff about the Whole Earth Catalog. Okay so tell us more. How did it impact the world? Does it connect at all to the Silicon Valley that then emerged?

John Markoff: Okay, it’s super complicated. And I’m now writing Stewart’s biography, I’m trying to —

Russ Altman: Take your time because we have at least four minutes.

John Markoff: So in 1962, Stewart’s had just gotten out of the army and he was visiting the computer center at Stanford. And he saw something that really stuck with him. He saw these two kids sitting in front of a graphical computer display. Remember they didn’t exist at that point.

Russ Altman: This is very experimental.

John Markoff: Having what he thought of as an out of body experience and what they were doing is they were playing a game called Space War. Which was the first video game. That had been invented by at MIT and had been imported to Stanford and I would argue that that was the first inkling of a something called “cyber space.” Stewart saw it first. And he kept that in the back of his mind. In 1972 he shut down the Whole Earth Catalog, and he was sort of becoming a journalist. He wrote this really important article for Rolling Stone which dealt with the two laboratories on both sides of Stanford campus. One was the Stanford Artificial Intelligence laboratory and the other was Xerox Park, which had just opened. And that was the first window, that people like me had that there was this thing called the internet coming and there was this thing called personal computing coming. Stewart saw it first. And he alerted the world to it. So he was sort of playing the role of a journalist at that point. But you sort of dial the world even farther forward and he set up this thing called The Well in 1985 in Sausalito, and there too, it’s complicated. Because there was this explosion of what do you call it sort of digital utopianism. And he was part of that digital utopian movement.

Russ Altman: So he bought in.

John Markoff: Absolutely.

Russ Altman: So he moved from the counter culture, beats, hippies he came literally south 20 miles started seeing computers, starting thinking about the future and that is a direct connection then. And does that spirit? Maybe you’ve written this, and I apologize. I’ve read that the Whole Earth Catalog embodied a spirit that is still traceable to current Silicon Valley utopianism.

John Markoff: Yeah.

Russ Altman: Is that an overstatement?

John Markoff: It is a debated statement. There are two recent books this is where Stewart becomes kinda Rashomon. Franklin Foer’s “World Without Mind” — so there’s a Zeitgeist shift that’s happened. In 2016 Silicon Valley went from being able to do no wrong, to being able to do no right.

Russ Altman: It was an amazing turnaround.

John Markoff: Just turned. And the two books that best sort of capture this are Foer’s book. And he goes right back to Stewart and sort of — Stewart is patient zero. I think he gets it wrong.

Russ Altman: Okay that might’ve been what I —

John Markoff: And then there’s Johnathan Taplan’s book. It’s called “Move Fast and Break Things.” Very similar book, but he has a more sophisticated understanding of what happened. He goes back to the digital utopians and Stewart was one of them. But there was a second wave and those are the digital libertarians. And it went from utopianism to libertarianism and I think that’s the sort of arch. Stewart started as sort of sympathetic with Ayn Rand but he ended up in the middle of the 1970’s working in Jerry Brown’s administration — first administration. And he came away with this sense of the value of good government. So it’s just wrong to think of Stewart as a complete libertarian.

Russ Altman: I see.

John Markoff: That’s not what he is.

Russ Altman: So there’s another trail that says were gonna build this utopia. And you guys are preventing us from doing it. We are now libertarians because we want to be able to just build it.

John Markoff: Yeah.

Russ Altman: He wasn’t necessarily part of that strand —

John Markoff: No.

Russ Altman: But responsible, maybe, I don’t wanna overstate it, responsible use of — what would be the word — stewardship of this technology in an advancing —

John Markoff: He was very optimistic but Stewart was always someone who saw nuance and paradox. He is seen as the person who said information wants to be free. That’s not what he said. At the first hackers conference —

Russ Altman: Aha.

John Markoff: What he said was, information wants to be free and information wants to be very expensive. That’s Stewart. Understanding the nuance —

Russ Altman: That’s interesting because that information wants to be free you can trace directly to statements of the Google founders and the Facebook founders. That’s one of their mantras.

John Markoff: Yeah.

Russ Altman: And as we know, they have not always been led well by that mantra. And they’ve gotten themselves into very sticky, thorny situations because you need to moderate that with other considerations.

John Markoff: And Stewart is an optimist. He was particularly an optimist about technology having an important role and impact on the world. There’s this arc — the first sentence of Whole Earth Catalogs was “We are as gods, and we might as well get good at it.”

Russ Altman: Wow.

John Markoff: So 20 years ago with Danny Hillis, who’s this computer scientist, he set up this organization called the Long Now foundation to build a clock. A mechanical clock to run for 10,000 years as a demonstration of long-term thinking. It’s almost finished. Jeff Bezos picked up the tab, it exists. It’s in Texas.

Russ Altman: So were building it. Is it a pendulum?

John Markoff: It is not a pendulum — is it a pendulum? Let me think. Is it a pendulum? Yes. It’s a pendulum.

Russ Altman: It’s a physical device. It’s not like an atomic clock. We’re not counting cesium vibrations.

John Markoff: No, it will run from air flow and being wound by people for millennia. We hope. But Stewart now has got this de-extinction group called Revive and Restore. Which is sort of him trying to sort of deliver on that original vision of we are as gods. This notion of sort of humans and technology. And they’re trying to bring back the woolly mammoth. Or more importantly —

Russ Altman: These are like the seed banks and the DNA banking so that we can track species that are either extinct or going extinct.

John Markoff: Or modifying species like Coral to make them more resilient in endangered niches in the environment.

Russ Altman: It’ll be a great book. It’s coming out I’m sure as soon as you can finish it.

Thank you for listening to The Future of Everything. I’m Russ Altman, if you missed any of this episode listen any time on demand with the SiriusXM app.

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Biomedical data scientist Sylvia Plevritis is an expert in computational modeling of cancer risk and treatment options hidden in the remarkable quantity of data available today. Rarely is a tumor made up of a single mutation, she says, but more commonly of a mix of different mutations. Such heterogenous tumors may require complex combinations of drugs to produce the most effective treatments. That’s where computers can help.

Using mathematical simulations, Plevritis is helping patients and their doctors understand the genetic makeup of a given cancer for the purpose of identifying drug combinations that stand a better chance of success. Some of the models Plevritis works with can be run in an hour or less and yet return invaluable guidance that can save a patient’s life.

Plevritis says these computational approaches can even help those without cancer understand their inherent genetic risks to assess whether and when additional screening or risk-reducing interventions are warranted.

Join host Russ Altman and biomedical data scientist Sylvia Plevritis as they dive into the promising intersection of computers and cancer care. You can listen to The Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, Spotify, Stitcher or via Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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Computers are everywhere and humans are engaging with them in nearly everything they do. Knowing this, the question becomes: How do we design a world around us so that technology makes life better, not worse? James Landay, an expert in human-computer interaction, says the key to thoughtfully integrating humans with digital technology is to put people first.

This perspective draws on a philosophy known as human-centered or user-centered design. Within this approach, the first priority is to understand the problem vexing a particular population by observing, interviewing, and working with that population. Only once the problem is clear does the development of a solution begin. Typically, engineers and technologists have done the opposite. They’ve worked to develop the coolest technology they can think of, and then once it’s ready look around for a way to use it.

With human needs at the forefront, Landay’s research focuses on finding ways to use artificial intelligence technology to augment human performance. His current projects range from leveraging technology to encourage positive behavior change, to enabling kids to stay engaged in their education, to helping professionals stay healthy while feeling more connected to their co-workers and workplace.

Tune in to this episode of The Future of Everything to hear more about how Landay draws on user-centered design to develop technology that supports human needs. You can listen to The Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, Spotify, Stitcher or via Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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Political scientist Jeremy Weinstein has worked at both the White House and the United Nations. In both jobs, he encountered the ethical and policy concerns that new technologies can present to policymakers. As one example, he points to the fierce debate between Apple and national security experts over end-to-end encryption and the challenges investigators faced in accessing data on the iPhones of the perpetrators of a terrorist attack in San Bernardino in 2015.

He wants universities, like Stanford, to educate a new breed of engineer that he refers to as a “civic-minded technologist.” These engineers would consider ways in which technological advances could serve the public good, while also thinking critically about the impacts of new technologies on society.

In this spirit, Weinstein and two Stanford colleagues, Rob Reich and Mehran Sahami, have begun teaching a new course on the ethics and policy of technology to a large number of undergraduate CS majors. He says it’s critical that these nascent technologists learn from the start to think about the larger implications of their work – even before they write a single line of code. This is because code itself is not value neutral, and technologists must be able to recognize what values are being encoded in the programs they write as well as the competing values that might be traded off. This kind of preparation, he says, will help us as a society to more effectively realize the benefits and minimize the potential harms inherent in new technologies.

In his own research, Weinstein is applying his unique perspective to challenges of global poverty and human migration, where, he says, advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning are changing our understanding of two of society’s fundamental problems.

Join host Russ Altman and political scientist Jeremy Weinstein for an in-depth look at the ethical and political implications of technology. You can listen to The Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, Spotify, Stitcher or via Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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Once avoidance was the only answer, but a leading allergist says that advances in desensitizing allergies are challenging common convention.

Food allergy expert Kari Nadeau, MD, PhD, says that as many as one in ten adults in the U.S. has a food allergy, many without knowing it. With consequences that range from mild to serious (including lethal anaphylaxis), it is imperative that medical scientists become better adept at spotting food allergies and ultimately at helping patients cope with allergies.

Nadeau notes that while a cure remains elusive, it’s a "moonshot issue" worthy of pursuit. She has seen positive results with incremental desensitization therapies that build a patient's tolerance for foods that cause allergic reactions. In addition, new gene therapies are just emerging that are offering a glimmer of promise for those whose diets and lifestyles have been impacted by food allergies.

Join host Russ Altman — once allergic to seafood but now able to indulge in lobster thanks to desensitization therapy — and allergist Kari Nadeau for a look ahead at the hopeful future for people with severe food allergies. You can listen to The Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, Spotify, Stitcher or via Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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Can we reap the benefits of artificial intelligence while also protecting our personal information?

From scheduling appointments to setting the thermostat to ordering pizza, virtual assistants are growing more commonplace by the day. Stanford professor Monica Lam says they will only become more entrenched as their capabilities grow and their voice-recognition skills become more accurate.

Such developments are welcomed by many who rely upon Alexa and Siri and other virtual assistants. But it is also troubling to those, like Lam, who worry that privacy concerns and lack of competition put too much power in the hands of a few companies. Lam is an advocate for a more open approach.

“If there is no open competition, then you are kind of stuck with whatever these platforms provide for you,” she tells host Russ Altman in the latest episode of The Future of Everything radio show from Sirius XM.

Lam thinks a lot about the future of privacy. She says we can have both the AI and privacy at the same time, but first she’d like more options in the marketplace and for those who dominate the market to be less insular than they are today. What’s needed is an “infrastructure of privacy” that returns control of data to the rightful owners: the users who created it in the first place. The key to that, she says, is choice.

Tune in to this episode of The Future of Everything to hear more about how Lam’s open-source effort to develop and share virtual assistant technology is keeping user privacy at the forefront. You can listen to The Future of Everything on iTunes, Google Podcasts, SoundCloud, Spotify, Stitcher or via Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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In-depth statistical analyses show time and again that subtle, unconscious bias is pervasive in the American justice system. The bigger question, however, is what to do about it?

Sharad Goel is an expert in computational social science – that is, using computers and data to examine and address policy issues. He says unconscious bias is subtle but entrenched in American life, and nowhere are the consequences more concerning than in criminal justice.

Goel has analyzed hundreds of millions of crime records to show, for instance, that black drivers are pulled over more than white drivers and that judges demand bail too often. He says the data suggest that up to 30 percent more people could be released on their own recognizance without adversely affecting crime rates.

Goel is developing risk assessment tools to assist in high-stakes decision making. He cautions, however, that algorithms are an aid, not a panacea. They should be used to inform decision making and to help decision makers to make fairer choices, but not to actually make the decisions.

Listen in as host Russ Altman and expert in social data science Sharad Goel discuss bias and transparency in the criminal justice system. You can listen to The Future of Everything on iTunes, Google Podcasts, SoundCloud, Spotify, Stitcher or via Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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When Stanford’s Paul Yock was a young interventional cardiologist, he was frustrated by the complex, two-person process required to deliver life-saving stents. So, he invented a better way. His Rapid Exchange stenting and balloon angioplasty system, one of several inventions Yock is known for internationally, can be managed by just a single operator, making procedures like stent placement faster and safer. Yock is a man of many talents. He is a doctor, a professor of bioengineering and of mechanical engineering, and an innovator who combines these many interests to solve problems in healthcare.

He says that the aha moments work beautifully when they come, but they are too often based in luck. For the rest of us, there is a better and more consistent path to transformative medical tools he calls the biodesign process. It starts, first, with a deep understanding of the medical need. The next step is brainstorming and iteration, preferably by non-hierarchical, multidisciplinary teams of doctors, engineers and business people. Diversity of insights and expertise leads to better inventions, Yock says.

Join host Russ Altman and physician-inventor Paul Yock for an exploration of innovation as a process that can be learned and repeated. You can listen to the Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, SoundCloud and Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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Margaret Brandeau may carry a business card that reads Professor of Management Science and Engineering, but her expertise is in using complex systems models to solve challenges in public health policy. For instance, she recently created a sophisticated computer model of the national opioid crisis, which led her to the stark –and surprising – conclusion that it may take a short-term rise in deaths to ultimately reduce them.

She didn’t come to that conclusion lightly, but made no less than 10 models of drug-user behaviors to analyze interventions. Nonetheless, each model led her to the same basic conclusions. First, policies are needed that lead to cutbacks in the number of prescriptions of opioids for pain management. Second, fewer prescriptions of opioids for pain management will cause some individuals to turn to more-deadly heroin. Third, because of this unintended consequence, it is essential to also scale up treatment for opioid-addicted individuals. But her fourth finding was the most sobering of all: No one of these policies will suffice; they must all be combined if we are to curb the opioid epidemic – and the epidemic is not likely to abate significantly anytime soon.

Mathematical modeling is an art, Brandeau says, but it’s a powerful art that is only going to grow in influence. Her advice for those looking to solve big problems – from reducing sodium intake to battling the return of measles – is to start out simple. Know what question you want to answer and create a model that captures just the most salient elements of the problem. Things will flow from there.

Join host Russ Altman and mathematical modeling expert Margaret Brandeau for a deep look at the many ways algorithms are changing our understanding of and approaches to the challenges of public health. You can listen to the Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, SoundCloud and Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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By last count, there are 5,000 genetic diseases in the human body.

A few are merely annoying, but far more are devastating and without cure. In the last decade, much popular attention has been focused on the potential for stem cells and gene therapies to cure these once-intractable diseases. While the promise is clear, Tony Oro cautions patience.

Oro is a dermatologist and associate director of the Center for Definitive and Curative Medicine at Stanford. He is a leading expert in the scientific and ethical dilemmas such therapies raise. He and many others say cures are close at hand, but there is still much to be determined before these therapies can be pronounced both effective and safe.

Join host Russ Altman and medical ethicist Tony Oro for an inspiring but cautionary look at the promise of stem cell and gene therapies. You can listen to the Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, SoundCloud and Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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Brain cancers are known to be elusive and clever killers, but Michelle Monje, associate professor of neurology and neurological sciences, is helping to find new treatments through a better understanding of how healthy brain cells develop and how cancers often hijack those very same processes in order to grow themselves.

Monje says that the last decade has seen tremendous progress in our understanding of how cancers thrive and in the development of new drugs and therapies to kill the killers. Unfortunately, many chemotherapy drugs powerful enough to kill cancers also cause lasting impairment of the patient’s cognitive abilities, a condition known among doctors and patients as “chemobrain.”

Monje is on the hunt for more effective and safer treatments for brain cancer. One exciting development, she says, is a quickly evolving field known as immunotherapy, which harnesses the body’s own immune system to recognize and to kill cancers. She’s also exploring a new drug that can help specific brain cells, known as glia, counteract the harmful effects of chemobrain.

Join host Russ Altman and brain cancer expert Michelle Monje for an inspiring look at new and safer treatments for brain cancer. You can listen to the Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, SoundCloud and Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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The current process for diagnosing autism requires no less than 10 hours of intensive doctor-to-patient observation.

It is expensive and time-consuming, says autism expert Dennis Wall, an associate professor of pediatrics and of biomedical data science at Stanford. Wall is developing new ways to tackle the problem.

He says advances in machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence focused on training computers to perform important medical tasks, stand to shake up the field. He’s developing computer models that can spot autism by watching just a few minutes of video of a child at play in their natural home environment.

With these technologies, diagnosis happens in as little as four minutes. In addition, Wall says, scoring can be done by non-experts, rather than highly trained psychiatrists, lowering the costs further. He thinks such AI models could reduce bottlenecks and get kids with autism into treatment sooner, a key to maximizing the treatment’s effect.

Beyond diagnosis, Wall says that digital technologies together with AI are also changing therapeutics. For example, he’s developing augmented reality applications, one for Google Glass, that can help autistic kids better recognize and learn emotional cues – anger, joy, sadness – in the faces of others, a particular challenge for those with autism. Another that goes beyond the wearable form factor to even more ubiquitous technologies – your phone – is an app that can teach social skills through fun but poignant AI-enabled games, such as charades, where imitation advances the child’s social skills as the AI engine tracks progress automatically.

Join host Russ Altman and autism expert Dennis Wall for a peek into the rapidly changing world of autism diagnosis and treatment. You can listen to the Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, SoundCloud and Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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Mechanical engineer Xiaolin Zheng really likes to burn things, but she is more like a modern-day Prometheus than a pyromaniac. She uses combustion to create minute nanoparticles of various metal oxides that have many practical and valuable uses in today’s world.

For instance, she has created nanoparticles that can turn water into hydrogen peroxide using only energy from the sun. Hydrogen peroxide is a powerful disinfectant that kills microbes and removes other pollutants from water. Zheng imagines creating inexpensive, portable, solar-powered water purifiers to help the two to three billion people in the world who lack access to plentiful potable water.

Join host Russ Altman and Xiaolin Zheng for a fascinating look at the benefits of combustion. You can listen to the Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, SoundCloud and Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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In safety engineering, ergonomic differences between men and women are important. Conventional seat belts do not fit pregnant women properly and motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of fetal death related to maternal trauma. Analyses of sex differences have led to the development of pregnant crash test dummies that enhance safety in automobile testing and design.

In medicine, osteoporosis has been conceptualized primarily as a women's disease, yet after a certain age men account for nearly a third of osteoporosis-related hip fractures. Tragically, when men break their hips, they tend to die. We don't know why. Analyzing the interaction between sex and gender in osteoporosis has led to new diagnostics for men, and the search for better treatments is underway.

In these and many other cases, historian Londa Schiebinger points out that if we don't consider sex or gender analysis, past bias may be perpetuated into the future, even when governments, universities and companies have implemented policies to foster equality.

The big question now, she says, is: How can humans automate processes that also contribute to creating a fair and equal society? Schiebinger highlights examples of efforts where computer scientists are working to create mathematically rigorous definitions of fairness in order to develop and optimize algorithms that guarantee fairness. There is much work to be done, but as Scheibinger sees it, there is a big opportunity for these algorithms as well as the robotic systems they will enable to challenge and eventually reconfigure gender norms.

Join host Russ Altman and historian of science Londa Schiebinger for a closer look at how to employ methods of sex and gender analysis as a resource to create new knowledge and stimulate novel design. You can listen to the Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, SoundCloud and Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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Stanford radiation oncologist, Billy Loo, says that a new generation of radiation therapy technology called PHASER will be so fast that it can even compensate for the patient moving during treatment.

High-energy X-rays will be fired so quickly, like a flash photograph, that motion is frozen and radiation can be more precisely focused on tumors. His research team is also finding that such ultra-fast “FLASH” radiation kills cancer cells through new biological mechanisms while causing less damage to healthy tissues.

Loo says that while radiation benefits two-thirds of U.S. patients, half of patients with cancer around the world lack access to these curative technologies. To address issues of access, the Stanford Radiation Oncology and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory team is designing PHASER to be a mobile unit that will fit in a standard cargo shipping container and can be powered by solar energy.

Join host Russ Altman and radiation oncologist Billy Loo for a discussion of advances in radiation therapy that are giving new optimism to cancer patients and others. You can listen to the Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, SoundCloud and Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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Carlos Bustamante is an expert in genomics—the study of genetic variation and its effects on the living world. He says genomics holds tremendous promise but, so far, virtually all sequenced DNA comes from European blood lines and this presents a problem.

Without greater diversity in the genomic data that is collected, he notes that we cannot fully reap the benefits of this knowledge, particularly in areas such as healthcare.

"Genomics is the new oil," Bustamante says, of the opportunities that lie ahead. It's being used for everything from studying rare diseases to developing more effective drugs. Before its potential can be fully realized,however, genomics will have to address its diversity problem. The more genetic variants that are represented in the genomic data collected, the better equipped we'll be to understand and improve human health.

Join host Russ Altman and geneticist Carlos Bustamante for a peek into the wonders of genomics.

You can listen to the Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, SoundCloud and Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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Why do well-off public schools often demand that parents supplement school programs with personal contributions? Why do many rare diseases receive the lion’s share of donor attention and money? Is basic science being driven by the whims of big donors?

These are questions that keep Stanford political philosopher Rob Reich up at night. Reich says that philanthropy is at an ethical crossroads in which the heart often leads the head in determining which causes get showered with money while other, perhaps more deserving, ones go without.

Join host Russ Altman and Rob Reich for a look at the promise and peril of philanthropy and what can be done to make it serve rather than subvert democracy.

You can listen to the Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, SoundCloud and Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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Of the many nations that have implemented some measure of digital democracy, none perhaps has had more success than Estonia. Toomas Ilves, a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution, would know: He served as president of the Baltic state for two terms. Ilves says that all Estonians have verifiable digital identities and they use them to vote, sign legal documents, order prescription medication, file taxes and more online.

Estonian digitization began with schools and banking in the 1990s. Online voting followed in the early 2000s. Today, a third of Estonians vote online. Faith in the system is high, Ilves says. The country has a single voter registry and voters can confirm – and even change – their votes right up to the deadline. Estonia’s latest effort is a comprehensive genome project that will fuel a new era of personalized medicine.

Join host Russ Altman and former Estonian President Toomas Ilves for a broad conversation about the challenges and the promise of digital democracy.

You can listen to the Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, SoundCloud and Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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In hospitals across the world, the unmet need for end-of-life palliative care threatens to overwhelm the few doctors who are equipped to adequately provide counseling that can help patients die on their own terms. There are just too many patients and too few doctors.

Stanford’s Nigam Shah, an expert in medical informatics, says that such scenarios may soon become a thing of the past. Artificial intelligence, founded on tens-of-thousands of data points gathered from millions of patients, is flipping such age-old scripts to change how and with whom care conversations happen. It is but one example of the many ways AI is reshaping medicine, but these major advances are not without ethical concerns, Shah says.

Join host Russ Altman and Nigam Shah for in-depth look at the growing influence of “data-driven medicine.”

You can listen to the Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, SoundCloud and Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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The worlds of academic economics and ride sharing are not so far removed – just ask Stanford labor economist Paul Oyer. When Oyer wanted to study the gig economy, he didn’t do it from afar; he became an Uber driver.

Oyer says lessons from the gig economy hold deep lessons for the job market for more traditional jobs. Uber’s surge pricing, for instance, is more than a payment structure – it entices Uber drivers to work odd hours or at times of peak demand. He says Uber is constantly reworking its payment structure to ensure that the company and its drivers’ interests are aligned to reduce workforce turnover.

You can listen to the Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, SoundCloud and Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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It’s nothing we haven’t already heard – the news you read is being shaped by the ubiquitous presence of social media. So-called “fake news” spread by bots and social media may continue to influence American elections and, ultimately, democracy.

Alex Stamos, the former chief security officer at Facebook and an adjunct professor with Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, explained at a recent live taping of “The Future of Everything” that the emergence of social media has made everyone a potential publisher. “We will never go back to the era in which a small number of people control the flow of information,” Stamos says.

While social media can be credited with democratizing the dissemination of information, these platforms have also become a hotbed of false and misleading content spread by domestic and foreign actors. Solving the “fake news” problem is extremely difficult, Stamos explains. “It turns out that regulating social media actually means asking social media companies to regulate people’s freedom of speech.” The danger here, Stamos emphasizes, is that this regulation will be done in a way that benefits the short-term interests of a company and does not uphold basic human rights.

You can listen to the Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, SoundCloud and Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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The next job search you conduct will likely be shaped by artificial intelligence. In the age of LinkedIn and Monster.com, job hunters can count on their resumes being screened by non-human intelligence. So what does this mean for the future of hiring?

At a recent live taping of the Stanford School of Engineering podcast “The Future of Everything,” Adina Sterling, an assistant professor of organizational behavior at Stanford Graduate School of Business who studies labor markets, said that roughly three-quarters of the job applications received by major companies will be touched in some way by artificial intelligence. Because these hiring bots look for very specific criteria, qualified applicants may be screened out early in the process if their resumes don’t contain “the right buzzwords to get through the filters. It’s just as likely today as it was 20 years ago that a diamond in the rough will be overlooked,” she said.

While the use of artificial intelligence allows for gains in efficiency for both job seekers and potential employees, there is the danger that AI algorithms will embody and perpetuate existing bias. Sterling noted that she has been encouraged to see that companies are moving with a lot of caution in the area of AI and hiring. There is a recognition that machines can’t do this work on their own and that, at a minimum, a supervised AI hiring process is necessary.

You can listen to the Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, SoundCloud and Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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Earthquakes come in species, says Greg Beroza, professor of geophysics at Stanford and an expert in seismology.

There are, of course, the well-known sudden shocks, but there are also “slow earthquakes” that transpire imperceptibly in contrast to the obvious temblors, but which can measure 7 on the Richter Scale or more — a major quake by any standard.

Beroza knows about slow and other species of earthquakes because of a recent explosion in the availability of seismic data recorded by an expansive network of sensors throughout California and elsewhere around the world. One hundred times each second, 24 hours a day, every day, each of these sensors records seismic data. What they reveal is reshaping our understanding of earthquakes. The goal, he says, is not necessarily to predict earthquakes — an ideal that may never be achieved — but simply to understand them better. Beroza says that data can help prepare us for “The Big One.” Join host Russ Altman and earthquake expert Greg Beroza for a deeper look at the evolving and expanding science of seismology.

You can listen to the Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, SoundCloud and Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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Like clockwork, every time a large natural disaster hits and wipes out billions in built infrastructure, public officials, developers and private citizens cry, “never again.”

And every time, equally like clockwork, very little gets done, says Stanford civil engineer Anne Kiremidjian, one of the world’s foremost authorities on constructing buildings that can withstand major natural disasters.

She says there are technologies available that could move us toward stronger, safer buildings, but a lack of political and economic will is holding us back. What’s needed, Kiremidjian says, is the culture of resilience that has helped certain major metropolitan areas bounce back from disaster stronger than ever. That spirit is lacking in other cities and the result is months or even years of recovery. Join host Russ Altman and civil engineer Anne Kiremidjian for a look inside cities that are built to last.

You can listen to the Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, SoundCloud and Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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While Alzheimer’s disease has cut short too many lives and devastated more families than can be counted, its root causes and effective treatments have eluded researchers for decades.

But, says Stanford bioengineer Annelise Barron, new science indicates that many Alzheimer’s cases are coincident with viral or bacterial infections in the brain, pointing to possible new approaches to treatment or prevention.

Barron says that one human protein in particular, LL-37 — which she refers to as a “Ninja protein” that protects against infections — can bind with and detoxify A-beta, the protein that forms the harmful plaques in the brain that are the hallmark of Alzheimer’s. Inducing LL-37 could be a way to prevent Alzheimer's.

Join host Russ Altman and Alzheimer’s sleuth Annelise Barron for a hopeful look at the latest science of Alzheimer’s disease.

You can listen to the Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, SoundCloud and Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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While climate change is likely to bring rising sea levels, more frequent and stronger storms, as well as vanishing glaciers and coral reefs, experts say there are other lurking impacts that could have a more lasting effect on human behavior and health.

Marshall Burke is a professor of Earth System Science and a fellow at Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies who says that recent research shows rising global temperatures will lead to more wars, higher crime rates and greater infant mortality.

On a positive note, he points out that such predictions are starting to seep into cost-benefit calculations and that present-day mitigation could be felt sooner and more deeply than presently thought. Burke says that, in the new math of climate change, the benefits of investment vastly exceed the costs, but we must act soon.

Join host Russ Altman and climate change expert Marshall Burke for a broader look inside the unanticipated effects of climate change and what we can do today to prevent them from becoming reality.

You can listen to the Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, SoundCloud and Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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Riana Pfefferkorn is a digital security expert and Cryptography Fellow at the Stanford Center for Internet and Society. She says that we are living in the “Golden Age of Surveillance,” in which the growing ubiquity of data-rich smart devices has produced a fundamental tension between the rights of users to protect their personal data and the needs of law enforcement to investigate or prevent serious crimes.

She says draft legislation in Australia could have major privacy and security implications across the globe, including in the United States. If passed, the bill would require tech companies that do business in Australia to design their devices (such as smartphones) and communications services (such as encrypted messaging apps) to include digital backdoors allowing law enforcement to access data. The bill is raising concerns among privacy and computer security experts who argue that, in the wrong hands, such backdoors could lead to troubling breeches of personal privacy and data security.

Join host Russ Altman and guest privacy expert Riana Pfefferkorn for a glimpse into the future of digital privacy.

You can listen to the Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, SoundCloud and Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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Professor David Magnus, director of the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics, says that artificial intelligence and machine learning are reshaping the landscape of medical care, but the underlying algorithms and the overarching challenges of how to employ the data are begetting new and vexing ethical questions.

Magnus explains that concerns begin with who designs, builds and pays for the algorithms and whether the ultimate goal of AI is better outcomes for patients, or better bottom lines for providers. The ethical dilemmas only grow from there as experts consider what data is incorporated, how it is gathered and what short cuts medical decision makers might take when interpreting the lessons AI reveals.

The good news, Magnus says, is that medical AI offers many profound positive benefits, but to realize them successfully the profession must grapple now with the ethical dilemmas in order to avoid pitfalls.

Join host Russ Altman and guest bioethicist David Magnus for a sobering look at the future of artificial intelligence in medicine.

You can listen to the Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, SoundCloud and Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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While well-known mapping apps have transformed the daily commute through better information, Stanford electrical engineer Balaji Prabhakar is exploring ways to digitally incentivize people to improve their driving habits.

He calls it “nudging,” and says that small shifts in commute times — just 20 minutes earlier or later — can make a considerable impact on the day’s congestion in highly trafficked urban areas, like San Francisco.

A few years ago, Prabhakar made headlines with a Stanford-only study that used small monetary incentives backed by larger lottery-like rewards to reduce peak-hour commuting on campus. He later undertook a similar but much larger effort in Singapore to promote off-peak train travel. In four years, participation in Singapore grew from 20,000 to 400,000 users.

Join host Russ Altman and guest Balaji Prabhakar for a look at the very latest ways science is improving the daily grind for millions of commuters across the world.

You can listen to the Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, SoundCloud and Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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Am I saving enough for retirement? Will I outlive my money? Can I count on Social Security?

These are but a few of the nagging questions most every American grapples with when contemplating retirement.

Gopi Shah Goda of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) says that the migration from once ubiquitous and relatively secure pension programs to today’s self-directed retirement plans are producing anxiety and indecision in retirement planning precisely at the worst time, and it could spell a coming crisis. Throw in a teetering Social Security system and it’s no wonder so many Americans do not know when — or if — they will ever truly retire.

Join host Russ Altman and economic policy expert Gopi Shah Goda for a look at the true state of U.S. retirement planning.

You can listen to the Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, SoundCloud and Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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While cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ethereum gather the lion’s share of headlines, few know that these “killer apps” are just the first generation of products based on a relatively new ledger-like technology called blockchain.

Founder of the Center for Blockchain Research at Stanford, Dan Boneh says that blockchain is generating a swell of excitement among coders and computer scientists not witnessed since the earliest days of the internet. While the true killer apps are still to come, Boneh says it is never too early to contemplate what blockchain is, where things might be headed and what the consequences might be on a personal, financial and societal level.

From cryptokitties to mining bitcoin, host Russ Altman and guest cybersecurity expert Dan Boneh explore the state of blockchain as we know it.

You can listen to the Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, SoundCloud and Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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Over the last three-quarters of a century, global corporations have lost sight of their broader role in society and now are focused almost exclusively on serving their shareholders.

That reality has had dire consequences for the workers of the world who are, quite literally, dying for a job, says guest Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor of organizational behavior at Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Pfeffer says the workplace is the fifth leading cause of death and that as many as 1 million people worldwide die each year from overwork. The biggest culprits are long hours and micromanagement that leave workers both exhausted and unsatisfied.

Pfeffer insists that breaking the deadly cycle rests in encouraging companies to be as good at stewarding human capital as they are at financial capital. It all begins by getting a better handle on the problem through more research. Because, Pfeffer says, you can’t improve what you don’t measure.

You can listen to the Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, SoundCloud and Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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Sarah Billington began her career in civil engineering studying concrete, a remarkable material that has literally shaped the world as we know it.

Concrete is one of the most-consumed materials on Earth — second only to water, but this one material alone is also responsible for 6 percent of carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere.

That cold realization and a dispiriting morning meeting spent in a bunkerlike concrete-walled room led Billington to alter her research focus. She now studies how we can construct buildings designed to enhance human health and well-being. As a part of their research for the Stanford Catalyst for Collaborative Solutions, Billington and James Landay are co-leading efforts to better understand how buildings could be central contributors to our sense of fulfillment in life. From artistic, behavior-nudging digital displays to spaces that inspire a sense of belonging and creativity, tune in as host Russ Altman and Sarah Billington discuss a new and more holistic approach to building design.

You can listen to the Future of Everything on Sirius XM Insight Channel 121, iTunes, SoundCloud and Stanford Engineering Magazine.

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Populism can be a powerful force in a democratic society.

But according to Anna Grzymala-Busse, a Stanford professor of political science and senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, once in power populists often implement authoritarian policies that threaten the very foundations of democracy itself.

Grzymala-Busse says that the antidote to authoritarianism is to defend democratic norms, to speak out and to vote. She discusses the issue in this episode of The Future of Everything radio show with host Russ Altman.

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Beginning in the 1980s, medical doctors started treating pain with increasing amounts of opioid medications.

That shift was driven in part by an effort by the profession to be more humane to those in serious pain, but also by misinformation and aggressive marketing by the pharmaceutical industry, which wrongly convinced doctors that their drugs were both safe and not addictive.

According to Anna Lembke, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, those changes wrought the current opioid crisis in which millions are addicted to heroin-like medications and many more are dead from overdoses caused by unregulated, immensely powerful street drugs.

Lembke tells Altman their profession is slowly reckoning with a long-simmering problem of their own making by questioning the indiscriminate prescription of opioids and by championing new approaches to dealing with addiction, including more behavioral dependencies like those to sex and gambling.

A prescription for addiction is on the table in the latest episode of The Future of Everything radio show with host Russ Altman.

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From Bitcoin theft to the embarrassing revelations in the Sony Pictures hacking to the recent assault on the U.S. election, the threats of international cyberattack are growing in both number and consequence.

As our technology steadily becomes more cloud based, these threats will only grow and could be soon be directed at fundamental institutions we all trust and rely upon, including the electrical grid and our financial systems.

Our guest in this episode of The Future of Everything radio show is Andrew Grotto, the William J. Perry International Security Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute (FSI) and a reserach fellow at the Hoover Institution, both at Stanford. Grotto was senior director for cybersecurity policy in both the Obama and Trump administrations. He says that successfully counteracting these looming threats is among the most serious and challenging issues of the present day. Grotto cautions that it is not just a technical challenge anymore, but a matter of national security that will require American resilience, leadership and a return to the basic norms of civil discourse.

Join Russ Altman and Andrew Grotto for a clear-eyed look at the challenges of cybersecurity in the era of cloud computing. Listen here on the latest episode of The Future of Everything radio show.

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When Stanford’s Martha Crenshaw, senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and an expert on terrorism, is asked if she thinks terrorism is evolving, growing more widespread, violent and shocking by the year, she has one response: It’s complicated.

She says that many of those trends are true, but they are driven both by the intense motivation of the terrorists and by their ability to broadcast images and messages across the world in a flash. This ability to communicate, she says, is both a tool to shock opponents and to recruit adherents. When combined, the result is a more-violent violence.

The obvious question soon follows: How can we fight terrorism? Crenshaw says that it is unlikely that terrorism will ever end, but one path to reducing its influence lies in resolving many of the civil struggles that make it a compelling option for so many organizations throughout the world.

Join host Russ Altman and terrorism expert Martha Crenshaw for a wide-ranging look at terrorism today, on The Future of Everything radio show from Stanford School of Engineering.

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It may not be widely known, but before he launched Apple, Steve Jobs lived for a year on a commune.

The fact that he became one of the wealthiest capitalists in America, however, should not surprise anyone who knows anything about the antecedents of Silicon Valley, says Stanford’s Fred Turner, professor of communication and history.

The truth is that there is a strong countercultural thread running through the fabric of today’s digital world. From “phreaking” scams of the long-distance telephone system to the Whole Earth Catalog, those who sought to disrupt society often found comfort in computers. For proof, one need only consider the Utopian ideals that led to the ascendancy of the internet itself — universal, free and limitless. Seen in that light, Facebook is about as communal as it comes. Nonetheless, while all that freedom has made many people very rich, very fast, it has not come without a cost to our social consciousness and our social fabric, says Turner.

In this episode of The Future of Everything radio show, Russ Altman and Fred Turner look at the somewhat surprising communal roots of today’s social, digital world. Tune in, if you dig.

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Can an expectant mother’s exposure to air pollutants or even extreme temperatures impact her unborn child’s earning potential 30 years later?

Can paid family leave improve workforce attachment for new mothers?

According to Maya Rossin-Slater, economist and an assistant professor of health research and policy at Stanford School of Medicine, the answer to these and other questions is “yes.” She says that research on these topics can provide policy makers with more comprehensive information on the costs and benefits in their decision-making, which is especially important for policies that have disproportionate effects on the less affluent.

Rossin-Slater says, for instance, that just 14% of Americans have access to paid family leave from their employers and the numbers grow starker the further down the economic ladder a new parent happens to be. The consequences are hurting not just future generations of Americans, but also American businesses, she says.

On this episode of The Future of Everything, host Russ Altman and Rossin-Slater discuss the many ways public policy decisions can affect families and America’s poor.

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From Oculus Rift to Samsung VR, the era of virtual reality is right around the corner, if not already upon us.

But what are the psychological impacts of VR and what are the best uses of this much-hyped technology — the “killer apps,” as they say?

Jeremy Bailenson is a professor of communication at Stanford and author of the new book, Experience on Demand. He has been studying virtual reality and its effects on humans since 1999. Back then, his dream was to create virtual office spaces that might absolve people of the need to commute every day. These days, he studies how to make virtual reality even realer and which uses are closest to becoming the indispensable apps that could turn VR from a curiosity to a must-have in every home and office.

From exploring the subtleties of virtual donuts to the most effective ways to teach, Bailenson says the best uses of VR may not be those that leap immediately to mind. Join The Future of Everything host Russ Altman and Bailenson for a grand tour of the very latest in virtual reality.

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As the global population approaches 10 billion and the effects of climate change continue to alter familiar agricultural patterns, the world is already witnessing a transformation in how and where it gets its food.

Even diets are changing as people move away from traditional animal proteins, like beef and pork, to fish and vegetable sources.

Stanford’s Roz Naylor, the director of the Center on Food Security and the Environment, says those shifts could lead to a world that looks a lot different than today. For instance, Naylor says that aquaculture, better known as fish farming, is now the fastest growing sector of the global food industry. And, thanks to changes in the industry, rapidly growing Africa stands to become a hotspot for agricultural entrepreneurs.

On this episode of “The Future of Everything” radio show, Naylor discusses these and the many other ways in which the business of feeding the world is changing right before our eyes.

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Much has been made of the use of personal data gathered from social media and other channels to target voters during the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, but what reasonable expectations should we have in age of ubiquitous and “free” connectivity?

That question is the research focus of Stanford’s Michal Kosinski, a professor of organizational behavior in the Graduate School of Business. Kosinski has a doctorate in psychology and applies his interests to study how algorithms leverage our electronic footprints — our digital posts, photos, likes, purchases, travels, searches and so forth — to predict, or even manipulate, how we will behave. He says that, given 200 of your ‘likes’ on Facebook, a computer algorithm is better at predicting how you will behave than your spouse.

While Kosinski says that 99% of such data analytics are used in good and positive ways, the remaining 1% is causing a lot of handwringing around the world. In this episode of “The Future of Everything” radio show, host Russ Altman and Michal Kosinski for a deep discussion of life is like in what Kosinski refers to as the “post-privacy world.”

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It’s been said that sewers were one of the major advances in human history and the Clean Water Act of 1972 was one of the most successful environmental laws ever enacted in this country.

Despite it all, America’s current waste treatment infrastructure is aging rapidly and poorly equipped for the needs of the 21st century and beyond. Such is the estimation of Stanford civil and environmental engineer, Craig Criddle, one of today’s leading thinkers about what words "waste treatment" means to society today.

He says our waste management system is messy, expensive and grossly inefficient energy-wise. On this episode of Stanford Engineering's Future of Everything radio show and podcast, Criddle and host Russ Altman explore how engineers are working on new approaches that see ‘waste’ not as waste at all, but rather as a raw material that can produce more energy than it consumes and create cleaner water for agriculture and other non-potable applications.

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The bacteria of the human digestive system have been likened to tiny factories that ingest raw materials — food — and processing them into finished products — nutrients — that our bodies can absorb and use.

In fact, many of the complex carbohydrates and proteins critical for life cannot be absorbed unless first digested by bacteria. Yes, we may all be stardust, but not, it seems, before we are microbial excrement.

Scientists refer to this complex community as the “gut biome,” a stew of hundreds, perhaps thousands of species of bacteria that live in the human gastrointestinal tract. Like many communities, not all inhabitants are there for good. Sometimes, things go awry. Understanding what happens then, and how to correct things when they do, is the life work of Stanford’s Michael Fischbach, associate professor of bioengineering.

Fischbach says that many afflictions, from Crohn’s to cardiovascular disease, may be caused by dysfunction or imbalances in our microbial communities. The solutions, ranging from the severe, such as scorched-earth antibiotics that kill everything in sight, to the creative, such as fecal transplants from healthy guts to ill, are reshaping our understanding of life and medicine.

Join Fischbach and host Russ Altman, professor of bioengineering, as they delve into the gut biome on this episode of Stanford Engineering's Future of Everything radio show.

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While billions scroll their merry ways through Facebook and Twitter each day, behind the scenes are legions of reviewers scanning photos and video to prevent graphic content from making the newsfeeds of unsuspecting users.

Elsewhere, the faceless armies of the gig economy are making movies, building homes, driving Uber and working piecemeal to caption innumerable images for people too busy to do it for themselves.

Welcome to the future of crowdsourcing. While the collective actions of those on the frontlines of crowdsourcing save millions of others from drudgery and from psychological trauma, the ascension of automation is raising questions that human society has never had to deal with before. These are the “wicked problems” — questions in which success cannot be determined with certainty or where multiple, mutually exclusive goals must be delicately balanced to create an optimal outcome.

These are questions that Stanford's Michael Bernstein, an assistant professor of computer science and an expert on Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), grapples with on a daily basis. What is the optimal organizational structure for such crowdsourcing communities? What are the ethical implications of the gig economy? And, who are the right people to answer these questions?

On The Future of Everything radio show, host Russ Altman and Bernstein discuss those question and explore what our increasingly automated future will look like.

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One of the tradeoffs of modern medicine is that technology that allows physicians to save more lives also drives them closer than ever to the frontlines so they can administer care as quickly as possible.

They do so at great personal risk, says Stanford pediatrician Paul Wise.

Wise began his career caring for children during Guatemala’s brutal decades-long civil war and recently returned from service during the siege of Mosul, which forced out ISIS but took a tremendous toll on Iraq’s second-largest city.

His latest project is using custom apps to gather malnutrition data in rural Guatemala to bring care to the most-needy kids and to drive policy changes at the national level within that nation's Ministry of Health.

In the Future of Everything radio show, Wise and host Russ Altman explore the challenges of wartime pediatrics.

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Heart attacks, burns, strokes, disease and just plain-old aging can devastate human tissues.

But, emboldened by new understandings about the building blocks of life, engineers are applying their unique skill sets to creating replacement parts for the body.

It sounds like magic, says host and bioengineer Russ Altman, but it’s anything but. From synthetic mortars holding the biobricks of life together to new heart muscle, brain matter and skin tissue, bioengineering is on the precipice of a new age.

In this episode of The Future of Everything podcast and radio show, Altman and Sarah Heilshorn, associate professor of materials science, discuss the technical and ethical challenges of engineering new human tissues.

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As the digital world grows, the sheer amount of video and audio in our lives has become overwhelming.

It is easy to shoot and record, but few have the patience to endure the tedium of editing all that content into cogent stories. But, says Maneesh Agrawala, Forest Baskett professor of computer science, all that is about to change.

Agrawala is director of the Brown Center for Media Innovation at Stanford and says that advances in software and in artificial intelligence are making the editing of sound and images more like editing words with a word processor. Soon, the drudgery of the rough cut will be relegated to the past, empowering the storytellers to tell more, and better, stories.

In this episode of The Future of Everything radio show and podcast, Russ Altman and Agrawala talk about the coming age of multimedia editing.

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For years, cancer treatment was confined to three flawed strategies. You could cut it out with a scalpel, you could burn it out with radiation, or you could kill it with chemicals. “Today, we are amid a renaissance in cancer treatment,” says Stanford bioengineer Jennifer Cochran. “We are creating designer proteins and using them to deliver drugs or to harness the immune system to help stop this killer dead in its tracks.”

On this episode of The Future of Everything radio show, Cochran and host, fellow bioengineer Russ Altman, explore the very latest in the science of cancer treatment.

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Manu Prakash is a bioengineer, a physicist and an inventor, who has developed a $1.50 foldable microscope and the 20-cent “paperfuge” that are democratizing biosciences in parts of the world where resources are scarce and electricity is nonexistent.

Prakash’s passion flows from his deep love and understanding for how physics operates in the microscopic realm, in which bacteria, parasites and viruses thrive.

In this episode of The Future of Everything, he joins fellow bioengineer Russ Altman for an expansive discussion of the passions and the payoffs of the physics of our biological world from how certain biological systems self-assemble to the way inanimate droplets of water on a glass slide communicate with one another.

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From weaponized anthrax to killer strains of bird flu, we often hear only the worst of the worst when it comes to the microbes who share our world.

The truth, however, is far from horrific. Bacteria do far more good for us than bad, and most viruses are harmless.

In this episode, host Russ Altman, professor of bioengineering, talks to infectious disease expert David Relman about his studies of one very specific microbiome—the mouths of dolphins—which have revealed many types of bacteria previously unknown to science.

Relman offers a sobering (and encouraging) assessment of risks and benefits of getting to know the microbial world. The discussion that touches on everything from biosecurity to microceuticals to do-it-yourself fecal transplants.

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As a founding member and former chair of the Department of Bioengineering, possibly no one has enjoyed a better purview on the recent remarkable advances in biotechnology than Stanford's Russ Altman.

From genome editing to synthetic biology to cloning, the ethical challenges of the field are almost as great as the therapeutic upsides, and advances often outpace our ability to contend with the ethical aftermath.

Listen in as host Russ Altman and policy expert and bioengineer Megan Palmer, of the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford, discuss the challenges that arise when biotechnology is used to solve one problem, but creates others in the process.

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The vast distances and extreme conditions of outer space make the prospects for remote control of exploratory vehicles extremely challenging, if not impossible. Stanford professor of aeronautics and astronautics, Marco Pavone, says the solution is to apply what we’ve learned about autonomous vehicles here on Earth to the mysterious reaches of space.

From vehicles that hop to swarms of robots to Gecko-inspired grippers, Pavone and host Russ Altman explore how autonomy is shaping the future of space exploration.

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On the eve of the 200th anniversary of the first publication of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, medical doctor and bioengineer Russ Altman and Stanford anesthesiologist Audrey Shafer reflect on the enduring relevance of the book many call the first science fiction novel.

From artificial intelligence to stem cells, climate change to organ transplantation, Frankenstein’s monster seems more relevant than ever before as a mirror on the moral and ethical implications of modern science and its creations. Learn more on this episode of the Future of Everything radio show.

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Living in quake-prone California, Russ Altman is no stranger to the impending threat of natural disaster, but watching a devastating hurricane season in full force, he's wondered whether there’s anything society can do to better prepare for — or even lessen— the impact of severe storms.

Geophysicist and engineer Jenny Suckale says that, while there is much we do not know about the future, there are ways we can work with — and not against — nature to defend ourselves from disaster. All it takes, she says, is a better Plan B.

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As a bioengineer, Russ Altman has long marveled at intersection of biology and engineering that is modern robotics. Recently, he found himself wondering: what’s the next big thing in this intriguing field?

Mechanical engineer Allison Okamura says that robots that incorporate the sense of touch — either to understand the world around them or to provide better feedback to humans — are stretching boundaries in a variety of areas, including in operating rooms and disaster zones.

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If you’ve ever flown coast to coast or around the world, perhaps you wonder, as “Future of Everything” host Russ Altman did recently, whether engineers know how to design small drones for purposes like delivering goods and/or performing services in urban airspaces.

But as Stanford mechanical engineer David Lentink explains, the physics of flight change unfavorably when aircraft get small. That's why his lab studies nature’s aviators: small birds, including some migratory species that weigh less than a cell phone. Their tiny frames pack enough energy to fly from Alaska to New Zealand, nonstop. Learn more about his research on the Future of Everything radio show.

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From his perch at Stanford, nestled in the heart of Silicon Valley, Russ Altman wonders whether the silicon-based electronics of which we Earthlings are so proud have the right stuff to help us explore the extreme environments of space?

Not really, says Debbie Senesky. She works at the intersection of aerospace and electrical engineering to develop new semiconductor materials that can survive the heat of Venus, where the surface temperatures are enough to melt lead. Learn more about her research on the Future of Everything radio show.

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In the Future of Everything radio show, Stanford’s Russ Altman and Euan Ashley discuss wearable technology, data and the extraordinary challenges when diagnoses elude physicians and their patients.

Ashley is a professor of medicine (cardiovascular) and by courtesy, of pathology at the Stanford University Medical Center. Listen to more episodes of the Future of Everything with host, bioengineering professor Russ Altman.

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In the Future of Everything radio show, Kwabena Boahen discusses the evolution of computers and how the next big step forward will be to design chips that behave more like the human brain.

Boahen is a professor of bioengineering and electrical engineering, exploring in his lab how these chips can interface with drones or with the human brain. “It's really early days,” he says.

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Getting lost seems to be a thing of the past, thanks to the ubiquity of Global Positioning System.

Our phones and devices simply tell us where to go — and how long it will take to get there. But what are the risks? In the Future of Everything radio show, aeronautics and astronautics professor Per Enge discusses the accuracy of the system, how to keep the signals safe, and how systems will continue to improve. Listen to more episodes of the Future of Everything with host, bioengineering professor Russ Altman.

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In the Future of Everything radio show, Amy Zegart explains just how worried we need to be about cyber threats.

Among the threats: the security of our nation and the safety of our children. “The cyber threat landscape is changing at the speed of cyber,” she says. “And our responses are changing at the speed of government. So there's a velocity problem.”

Zegart, co-director of Stanford’s Center for International Security and Cooperation and Professor of Political Science (by courtesy), is also the Davies Family Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and directs the Cyber Policy Program.

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Getting a good night’s rest can be a struggle for many. Yet good “sleep hygiene” is critical to normal brain function and remaining healthy. Listen to bioengineering professor Russ Altman discuss the importance of rest with Emmanuel Mignot, the Craig Reynolds Professor of Sleep Medicine at Stanford School of Medicine. He discusses the phenomenon of narcolepsy in humans and dogs and some of its “bizarre symptoms,” how to get more rest and how sleep disorders impact our lives in ways we might not even recognize.

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What’s most likely to go viral? Where do online trolls come from? How do recommendation engines work? What do fitness apps tell us about the world?

In the Future of Everything radio show, Jure Leskovec, Stanford associate professor of computer science and Pinterest chief scientist discusses the power of social media.

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In the Future of Everything radio show, Pamela J. Hinds, professor of management science & engineering, discusses how multinational companies can get the most from a work force operating across borders and time zones.

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In the Future of Everything radio show, Stanford’s Russ Altman and John Dabiri discuss renewable energy and technologies that are inspired by nature.

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In the Future of Everything radio show, bioengineer Russ Altman and food entrepreneur Pat Brown discuss the creation of a better meat.

Brown, a Stanford professor of biochemistry, emeritus, devoted years to formulating meat from plant products that tastes and feels just like the real thing. Here’s how.

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Jennifer Dionne, an associate professor of materials science and engineering, talks about improving solar cells, creating invisibility, and how light could be used for less invasive medical procedures and cancer detection.

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The Future of Everything with Russ Altman: "Adding to the Senses with guest David Eagleman" David Eagleman, an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, discusses sensory addition through wearable technology. Originally aired on June 3, 2017, on SiriusXM. Recorded at Stanford Video.

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On the Future of Everything radio show, bioengineering professor Drew Endy discusses what's next for the bio-economy.

The question, he says, is, how do we get smarter at designing living systems? And the opportunity? “To focus attention on the fundamental tools by which people tinker and observe how biology is working.”

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At a live taping of The Future of Everything, a SiriusXM radio program hosted by Stanford bioengineering professor Russ Altman, two Stanford engineering professors discussed their contributions to two of the tech world’s most cutting edges: artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles.

Computer scientist Fei-Fei Li and mechanical engineer Chris Gerdes spoke about their work pushing the boundaries of what machines can do, and the many ways that our lives will be impacted by interactions with technology in the very near future – if not today.

Li outlined some of the major advances that have pushed AI research forward in the years since she entered the field in 2000, a period in which data collection and computing power flourished and “started to converge in a way that most people didn’t expect.” After touching on her seminal work in automated image classification, Li moved on to some of her current projects “using AI to play the guardian angel role in health care.” For instance, she’s working on how sensors installed in senior living facilities can balance care with independence, and track living behaviors such as motion patterns, social activity, nutrition intake and sleep patterns – all of which could help early detection of things like dementia. “This is why I call it a guardian angel. It’s quiet, it’s continuous, it doesn’t interrupt your life, but it’s there for you and providing the help when needed.”

As a leader in the field of self-driving cars, Gerdes said he’s confident that we can soon give cars the skills of the very best human drivers, and maybe even better than that. The bigger issues, he said, have more to do with designing public policies for self-driving cars and asking questions like whether we program automated vehicles to do what humans do or what the law says. And we can’t afford to put these questions off. “The proliferation of this technology will be much faster than people realize,” Gerdes said. “The real risk is how do we make sure that it’s accessible, affordable, sustainable transportation for everyone.”

Li and Gerdes agreed that the question is less whether artificial intelligence and smart machines will happen, but rather what we need to do to responsibly prepare for them. “With the speed of technology improving, the age of humans and machines coworking and coexisting together has begun,” Li said. “And this is more reason to invest in more basic science research, from technology to laws to moral philosophy and ethics to really give us guidance in terms of how humans can coexist with machines.”

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In the Future of Everything radio show, Stanford bioengineers Russ Altman and Christina Smolke discuss advances in our ability to create medications and the implications it could have for billions of people worldwide in the not-too-distant future.

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In the Future of Everything radio show, Oussama Khatib, a computer scientist and director of the Stanford Robotics Lab, discusses a future in which robots and humans work together to solve some of the most difficult challenges facing humanity.

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In the Future of Everything radio show, Stanford bioengineer Russ Altman and chemist Carolyn Bertozzi discuss the biology of sugars on human cells and their role in potentially revolutionary cancer treatments. She also discusses cutting-edge new ways to detect HIV, type 1 diabetes, and other diseases early.

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Forget WebMD, a new technology will soon make it possible to bring a diagnosis lab into your bathroom.

On the Future of Everything radio show, Stanford's Russ Altman and electrical engineering professor Audrey Bowden discuss patient empowerment and the future of medical diagnostics.

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From sports injuries to bicycle accidents, we're hearing a lot about concussions. On the Future of Everything radio show, Russ Altman talks to bioengineer David Camarillo about head injuries, how to measure neurological damage, and what we can do protect our brains.

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The Future of Everything with Russ Altman: "Bendable Electronics with Zhenan Bao" Stanford Chemical Engineering Professor Zhenan Bao discusses innovations in bendable electronics, and how they will be used in the next generation of cell phones and even help amputees regain their sense of touch.

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In the Future of Everything radio show, Stanford bioengineer Russ Altman discusses the future of journalism, fake news, and how to become an informed media consumer with Janine Zacharia, a Stanford lecturer in journalism.

Zacharia was Jerusalem Bureau Chief and Middle East Correspondent for the Washington Post from December 2009 through April 2011, and previously chief diplomatic correspondent for Bloomberg News.

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In this episode of The Future of Everything, bioengineering professor Russ Altman talks with electrical engineer Andrea Goldsmith about the high-powered wireless networks we must build for widespread autonomous vehicles, smart garbage pick-up, and battery recharging.

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We’re entering a different world when it comes to procreating. In this episode of the Future of Everything radio show, Stanford Bioengineering Professor Russ Altman talks with Stanford Law Professor Hank Greely, author of The End of Sex and the Future of Human Reproduction, about the medical, legal and ethical implications of giving parents greater control over the baby-making process.

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Keeping our private information away from hackers and spies is a growing concern for many Americans.

In the Future of Everything radio show, Stanford bioengineering Professor Russ Altman discusses how to keep our data safe with Jennifer Granick, Director of Civil Liberties at the Stanford Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School.

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In the not too distant future, our ability to measure very tiny things will change the way we fight diseases ranging from cancer to the common cold.

In the Future of Everything radio show, Stanford bioengineering Professor Russ Altman discusses how we will arrive at that point with Marc Salit, an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Bioengineering, who leads the Genome-Scale Measurements Group at the US National Institute of Standards and Technology.

The Future of Everything presented by Stanford Engineering: Recent Episodes

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