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The Future of Everything

The Future of Everything

Stanford Engineering 380 Episodes Oct 9, 2026

Host Russ Altman, a professor at Stanford, explores cutting-edge science and engineering breakthroughs. Each episode features conversations with experts on topics like AI, health, and renewable energy. The podcast also examines the ethical implications of new technologies, providing a balanced perspective on how they will impact society.

Episodes

Best of: The future of neuroscience
Best of: The future of neuroscience Oct 9, 2026 00:35:03 Hi everyone, we had big news out of Stanford this week: Karl Deisseroth has won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries leading to optogenetics, a technique that makes it possible to switch individual nerve cells on or off in the living brain. To celebrate, we're re-releasing a live conversation Russ had with Karl a few years ago. He's both a bioengineer and a practicing psy
The future of emotions
The future of emotions Oct 2, 2026 00:36:20 Clinical psychologist James Gross is fascinated by what emotions are, and he champions emotional literacy – a deeper understanding of what makes each of us tick. In his research, Gross explores his “favorite topic,” emotion regulation, through the cognitive strategy of reappraisal to shift how we perceive and deal with unhelpful emotions. He talks about the Synergistic Mindsets intervention he co-
Best of: The future of the innovation economy
Best of: The future of the innovation economy Sep 25, 2026 00:31:43 About a year ago, the Future of Everything team was in New York taping a special episode on the innovation economy in front of a live audience, and today we're re-releasing it. We sat down with computer scientist Fei-Fei Li and economists Susan Athey and Neale Mahoney to dig into how AI is reshaping creativity, jobs, education, and public policy, and where it might take us next. It's a wide-rangin
Special episode: Think Fast, Talk Smart
Special episode: Think Fast, Talk Smart Sep 18, 2026 00:25:37 Hi everyone, it's your host Russ. As summer winds down and everyone heads into a new season, I wanted to share something a little different. Recently, I sat down with Matt Abrahams, host of the podcast Think Fast, Talk Smart and a lecturer at Stanford's Graduate School of Business. We traded seats and I took the guest chair while Matt interviewed me about the future of communication in the age of
The future of gut health
The future of gut health Sep 11, 2026 00:33:48 Microbiologist Justin Sonnenburg wants you to know that you – and all humans, really – are not alone. Inside each of us live uncountable bacteria without whom we could not survive. Nowhere is this symbiosis more vital, Sonnenburg says, than in the digestive tract – the gut – where trillions of bacterial collaborators help digest the foods that nourish us. Sonnenburg studies what makes this complex
Best of: The future of language learning
Best of: The future of language learning Sep 4, 2026 00:31:20 As kids head back to school this month, we're re-releasing a conversation with cognitive scientist Michael Frank on the future of language learning. Michael studies the similarities and differences in how children and AI systems learn language. He’s working to understand what accounts for the “data gap” between how efficiently children learn language from relatively little input, compared to how m
The future of cities
The future of cities Aug 28, 2026 00:30:16 Jackelyn Hwang is an expert on the social dynamics of cities. In one line of research, she combines AI and Google Street View to measure quality-of-life factors – such as trash, blight, new construction, and the pace of recovery from climate disasters – to analyze gentrification, racial equity, and overall resident well-being. Her work has shown, for instance, that predominantly Black neighborhood
Best of: The future of addiction
Best of: The future of addiction Aug 21, 2026 00:30:06 Today, we're re-releasing my conversation with psychiatrist Anna Lembke on the future of addiction. Whether its substances, screens, or work itself, addiction in some form touches nearly all of our lives either directly or through someone we care about. Anna breaks down the dopamine mechanisms behind addiction of all kinds, from opioids to social media to, in her own case, romance novels, and shar
The future of neuroimaging
The future of neuroimaging Aug 14, 2026 00:34:07 Psychologist Russ Poldrack is a mind reader of sorts, but not in the traditional sense of the word. Instead, he makes movies of blood flow in the brain using functional MRI to draw insights into the function of specific regions of the brain to decipher how they control behavior. In one example, Poldrack has shown how people with obsessive-compulsive disorder have enhanced “salience networks” that
The future of clinical bioethics
The future of clinical bioethics Aug 7, 2026 00:36:43 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
Best of: The future of AI and the law
Best of: The future of AI and the law Jul 31, 2026 00:34:26 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
The future of menopause
The future of menopause Jul 24, 2026 00:33:39 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

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