The Future of Everything

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 much data AI systems need. His goal is to build better scientific models of human language acquisition and to inform how AI systems might learn in more human-like ways. Whether you’re parenting an infant or toddler who is learn...

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 neighborhoods are last and slowest to gentrify and that displaced Black residents often end up in worse neighborhoods. She recently worked with policymakers at the housing department of Oakland, California, on anti-displacement and anti-homelessness programs and is now working with poli...

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 shares what actually works in recovery, including exercise and structured abstinence. Whether you're thinking about screen habits, substance use, or just how to build healthier routines, this one's well worth another listen. Have a...

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 turn on when surprising things happen. This finding could have “very profound” outcomes in diagnosis and treatment, Poldrack tells host Russ Altman in this wide-ranging exploration of the implications and the ethics of functional neuroima...

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...

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 hour...

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 Stanfo...

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 futur...

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 A...

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...

“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 Engineer...

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...

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 brai...

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. Have a que...

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...

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...

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 Engine...

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 epi...

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 ep...

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. Have a q...