@rbaltman

Microbiologist Justin Sonnenburg studies the trillions of bacteria living in our gut. We spoke about why he thinks of the gut microbiome as another organ, and how eating more fiber and fermented foods can help rebuild it. Listen below. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

A few years ago, Karl Deisseroth joined me on stage for a live episode. This week, he won the Nobel Prize. We’re re-releasing our conversation on how he learned to control brain cells with light, plus a few photos from that day. Congrats, Karl! open.spotify.com/episode/0xxk...

Anesthesiologist and bioethicist Alyssa Burgart works on Stanford's clinical ethics consult service, helping doctors and families navigate the hardest decisions in medicine. She tells us that a strong ethical community creates resilience. Listen below. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Biochemist Suzanne Pfeffer studies Parkinson's disease, focusing on mutated proteins linked to disease risk to understand what's going on in the brain. We spoke about her discovery that certain drugs could reverse disease progression. Listen below. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Law professor Julian Nyarko uses large language models to explore AI’s biases and impressive legal skills. In this episode, he says, “AI is good at law,” the challenge now is to use it most effectively. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Physicist Daniel Palanker built a retinal implant that allows blind patients to read and write again. He’s working on a version sharp enough to recognize faces. We spoke about how the implant turns light into electricity to help restore sight. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Food security researcher David Lobell is using satellite imagery to study farms around the world. We spoke about how smarter farming can increase yields, cut costs, and improve nutrition for a hungry planet. Listen below to learn more. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Former chef turned bioengineer, Vayu Hill-Maini told me that fungi are nature’s biological recycling machines. In this episode, we talked about his work using fungi, CRISPR, and creativity to develop new foods and medicines. Listen below for more. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Communications professor Angèle Christin researches social media, influencers, and our attention economy. We spoke about how fixing online discourse means fixing the business model that incentivizes capturing attention over keeping people informed. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Mike Jewett is a bioengineer harnessing the power of cell-free biotechnology. In this episode, we explore his work using cells’ molecular machinery to produce valuable proteins, medicines, diagnostics, and other chemicals. Listen below to learn more. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Keith Winstein is a computer scientist who studies how computers communicate. He joined the podcast to share with me why networks need “computational truths” to improve transparency and accountability in cloud computing. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Legal expert Richard Ford joined me on this episode to discuss how social rules shape personal style. From historical dress codes to modern workplace norms, fashion has long communicated power, identity, and status. Listen below. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

If you look back at history, the evidence is clear: the use of vaccines has contributed to declining death rates from viruses. Epidemiologist Bonnie Maldonado joined the podcast to emphasize that vaccines are safe, effective, and essential. Listen below. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Cardiologist Mike McConnell joined me on this episode to talk about how AI is transforming our approach to the detection and treatment of coronary artery disease. These non-invasive tools could expand prevention and personalize therapy. Listen below. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Chuck Eesley studies entrepreneurship across different contexts. In this episode, we discussed how open technology trade and investments create larger markets for American innovations, strengthen collaboration, and drive progress for all. Listen below. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Developmental psychologist Bonnie Halpern-Felsher joined me to discuss youth substance abuse. She explained that young people often prioritize social benefits over long-term health risks, and prevention efforts must meet them where they are. Listen below. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Yair Bannett is an expert in ADHD in preschool-age children. He joined me on this week’s episode to discuss how early detection and non-drug interventions can help doctors and patients in the long run. Tune into our conversation below. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Physician and scientist, Randall Stafford, studies the physical, emotional, and social consequences of alcohol use. He joined me to talk about alcohol’s true health impacts. Listen to our conversation below. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Biochemist Lingyin Li works to harness the human immune system to fight cancers. She spoke to me about how her lab’s work in immunotherapy is unmasking cancer cells and developing new drugs to fight them. Listen to our conversation below. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice joined me to discuss how AI and emerging technologies are shaping public policy, and why the future demands greater collaboration between government and academia. Listen to our special 300th episode. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Bioengineer Michael Fischbach studies new ways to deliver vaccines. He joined me on the podcast to talk about a future where self-administered vaccines arrive via mail and increase global vaccine access. Listen to our conversation below. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Rishee Jain joined me to discuss the built environment, or the man-made structures around us. He sees a future where homes, offices, and schools adapt in real time to our needs. Humans shape infrastructure, but we now need to understand how it shapes us. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Fei-Fei Li, Susan Athey, and Neale Mahoney joined me in New York for a special live episode to discuss the future of the innovation economy. These panelists are experts on everything from AI to economics, and they shared how AI is reshaping our economy. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Tina Sindher is an allergist studying prevention and treatment for the growing number of people affected by allergies. From early food introduction to immunotherapies, she shared with me how her lab is exploring new strategies for allergy management. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Joy Wu studies how bones weaken with age, and she shared with me what can be done to keep them strong. From exercise to new medicines, her lab is working on ways to prevent fractures and preserve independence. Listen to our conversation here. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

AI is revolutionizing drug discovery and opening doors to novel treatments. I spoke with Jim Weatherall about how @AstraZeneca and @Stanford University School of Medicine are collaborating to blend the strengths of industry and academia. Tune in: www.science.org/content/webi...

Michelle Monje studies the connection between cancer and the nervous system, particularly in aggressive brain cancer that often strikes in childhood. She spoke to me about a new immunotherapy that shows promise, with a patient cancer-free 4 years later. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Plants are more than food, they’re chemical factories. In this episode, Beth Sattely spoke with me about how plant chemistry can help us grow resilient crops, discover new medicines, and build a more sustainable future. Tune into our conversation. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Lauren O’Connell studies poisonous frogs and the neuroscience behind their complex parenting biology. She joined me on this episode to chat about the neural mechanisms of social bonding and what we can learn from the parent-offspring bonds of frogs. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Carolyn Rodriguez studies hoarding disorder and joined me to discuss treatments for this condition. She reminds us that we all have attachments to our things and that empathy and patience are key to supporting our loved ones. Listen to our episode below. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Lisa Goldman Rosas is rethinking the way we tackle food insecurity by treating food as medicine. She spoke to me about “Recipe4Health”, a program that issues produce prescriptions and offers health coaching to improve diet and well-being. Listen below. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

On the latest episode of The Future of Everything, Szu-Chi Huang describes the science of motivation—how to best sustain enthusiasm in life, work, and business. She also shares a few tricks for when you feel stuck in pursuing your goals. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Jason Yeatman, an expert in reading challenges, is working to align scientific inquiry with the practical needs of students, parents, and educators. Jason joined to talk through ROAR, his lab’s gamified, web-based dyslexia screening tool. Tune in below. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

There’s a science behind getting a better night’s sleep, and Jamie Zeitzer is an expert on why good sleep is a struggle for so many of us. From consistent routines to less stimulation at bedtime, he talked through strategies to help. Listen below. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Pollution is taking an increasing toll on children’s health. I spoke with environmental health expert Lisa Patel, who shared practical ways individuals and communities can take actions to drive global and local change. Take a listen below. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

California has an ongoing wildfire crisis, driven by climate change and poor urban planning. I spoke with wildfire policy expert, Michael Wara, about what’s raising our risk and the solutions we can pursue to mitigate future damage. Listen below. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

In most civil cases, unequal representation is the norm. Professor Nora Freeman Engstrom says the system is flawed and reform is overdue. She joined me on the podcast to discuss new ideas for making legal help more affordable and accessible. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

There are 1.5 billion people who suffer hearing loss and Tina Stankovic is developing ways to help. She joined the Future of Everything to discuss how regenerative medicine puts the once-impossible dream of hearing restoration within reach. Listen here: engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

AI, gaming, and interactive tech are reshaping theater. Professor Michael Rau explains how digital media is transforming performance and audience experience. Technology is a part of our lives, and now is a part of the stage. Tune in below. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Eric Pop, an expert on materials, discusses how advanced semiconductors and the AI-driven design of materials will shape the future of electronics. Tune in below. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Oncologist Ash Alizadeh joins the podcast to explain how liquid biopsies could one day replace surgical procedures by detecting disease DNA in blood. This is the future of disease diagnosis. Listen to our episode below. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Kristy Red-Horse, a biologist, joins me to talk about how molecules like CXCL12 could regrow arteries, offering a less invasive way to treat heart blockages. Tune into our conversation about how medicine could one day replace bypass surgery. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Guosong Hong specializes in getting materials to do remarkable things. His lab has found a way to make living tissue transparent, and this work has the potential to transform how we diagnose and treat disease. Tune into our conversation. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Kristen Davis, an expert in ocean physics and climate sustainability, explores the potential to use seaweed as a tool to fight climate change. Can kelp help remove carbon from our atmosphere? The science is still evolving. Tune into our conversation. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Renee Zhao, professor of mechanical engineering, discusses her millimeter-scale “millibots” that travel through the bloodstream to deliver treatment. Tune into our conversation about the latest advances in robotic surgery. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Implicit biases can affect the quality of patient care, but how can we detect these biases in a healthcare system? We created a novel causal inference method to measure biases in clinical decisions in large medical datasets, full version can be found here: arxiv.org/abs/2501.16399

Leanne Williams, a professor of psychiatry, reminds us that depression is not a flaw—it’s a serious illness with symptoms that have a profound impact on daily life. Advances like functional MRI bring hope for a better understanding of depression. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

Michael Greicius, an Alzheimer’s expert says hopes are rising for treatments targeting tau proteins in the brain. While effective therapies remain elusive, he shares that staying active, eating well, and managing circulation can reduce risk. Listen below. engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...