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The Future of Everything

The Future of Everything

Stanford Engineering 380 Episodes Jul 3, 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 wildfire management Jul 3, 2026 00:32:32 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,
The future of storytelling for health Jun 26, 2026 00:30:40 “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 engagi
Best of: The future of exercise Jun 19, 2026 00:27:57 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,
The Future of Retinal Implants Jun 12, 2026 00:34:11 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 pa
The future of ultrafast materials and devices Jun 5, 2026 00:37:16 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
Best of: The future of computer-aided education May 29, 2026 00:32:19 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 ho
The future of farming May 22, 2026 00:33:52 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. Lobel
The future of fungi May 15, 2026 00:34:15 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” t
The future of influencers May 8, 2026 00:37:14 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 dire
Best of: The future of the universe May 1, 2026 00:30:06 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
The future of cell-free biotechnology Apr 24, 2026 00:36:35 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 pr
The future of education Apr 17, 2026 00:33:45 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

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