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PODCAST

The Future of Everything

Stanford Engineering

Host Russ Altman, a professor of bioengineering, genetics, and medicine at Stanford, is your guide to the latest science and engineering breakthroughs. Join Russ and his guests as they explore cutting-edge advances that are shaping the future of everything from AI to health and renewable energy. Along the way, “The Future of Everything” delves into ethical implications to give listeners a well-rounded understanding of how new technologies and discoveries will impact society. Whether you’re a

science medicine

All Episodes

00:01:11

Happy New Year From The Future of Everything

The Future of Everything ·

2025/12/31

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

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00:30:55

Best of: The future of AI coaching

The Future of Everything ·

2025/12/26

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

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00:32:30

The future of lipids in evolution

The Future of Everything ·

2025/12/19

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

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00:34:41

The future of neurodegeneration

The Future of Everything ·

2025/12/12

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

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00:34:40

The future of ribosomes

The Future of Everything ·

2025/12/05

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

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00:29:19

Best of: How to take waste out of wastewater

The Future of Everything ·

2025/11/28

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

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00:31:32

The future of digital markets

The Future of Everything ·

2025/11/21

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

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00:33:52

The future of immunotherapy

The Future of Everything ·

2025/11/14

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

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00:31:46

The future of emerging technologies

The Future of Everything ·

2025/11/07

On our 300th episode, former 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

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00:00:25

The countdown to our 300th episode

The Future of Everything ·

2025/11/05

Tune in on Friday, November 7th to listen to our 300th episode with a very special guest.Connect With Us:Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything WebsiteConnect with Russ >>> Threads / Bluesky / MastodonConnect with School of Engineering >>>Twitter/X / Instagram / LinkedIn / Facebook Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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00:29:02

Best of: The future of transparent tissue

The Future of Everything ·

2025/10/31

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

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00:33:50

The future of wound healing

The Future of Everything ·

2025/10/24

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

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00:37:39

The future of topical vaccines

The Future of Everything ·

2025/10/17

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

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00:32:46

Best of: The future of extreme climate events

The Future of Everything ·

2025/10/10

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. Have a question for Russ? Send it

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00:33:40

The future of the built environment

The Future of Everything ·

2025/10/03

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,

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00:32:07

The future of the innovation economy

The Future of Everything ·

2025/09/26

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

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00:36:11

Best of: The future of ultrafast electronics

The Future of Everything ·

2025/09/19

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

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00:37:56

The future of allergies

The Future of Everything ·

2025/09/12

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

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00:33:28

The future of bone health

The Future of Everything ·

2025/09/05

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

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00:29:25

Best of: The future of reading

The Future of Everything ·

2025/08/29

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

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