The Future of Everything

The future of gut health

Sep 11, 2026 · 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 relationship work and how modern life is altering this important chemistry. He says the gut microbiome should be thought of as another organ. When it drifts out of balance, the effects ripple through our metabolism, our immune systems, and our nervous systems. Sonnenburg goes on to explain how dietary choices – like eating more fermented foods and fiber – can rebuild the microbiome, and why the f

Best of: The future of language learning

Sep 4, 2026 · 31:20

How children learn language across cultures and contexts — and what the “data gap” between kids and AI reveals about human language acquisition.

The future of cities

Aug 28, 2026 · 30:16

How urban research is revealing the forces reshaping American cities—and how better data can help create safer, more stable neighborhoods for all.

Best of: The future of addiction

Aug 21, 2026 · 30:06

How addiction reshapes the brain’s reward system — and why understanding dopamine, vulnerability, and treatment can help address everything from digital habits to the opioid crisis.

The future of neuroimaging

Aug 14, 2026 · 34:07

How neuroimaging is helping scientists understand individual differences in the brain, improve mental health research, and make brain imaging more reliable through reproducibility and open science.

The future of clinical bioethics

Aug 7, 2026 · 36:43

How clinical bioethics is shaping the future of medical decision-making, patient care, and human dignity in healthcare.

Best of: The future of AI and the law

Jul 31, 2026 · 34:26

How AI could strengthen legal reform, government efficiency, and access to justice, even as it falls short of replacing lawyers with chatbots.

The future of menopause

Jul 24, 2026 · 33:39

How women’s health care in midlife is improving through clearer science, better treatment, and long-overdue clinical attention to menopause.

The future of Parkinson’s disease

Jul 17, 2026 · 32:34

How molecular discoveries are reshaping our understanding of Parkinson’s disease and opening new possibilities for earlier detection, and targeted treatment to slow disease progression.

The future of AI and the legal field

Jul 10, 2026 · 37:44

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 Altman in this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast. Have a question for Russ? Send it our way in writing or via voice memo, and it might be featured on an upco

Best of: The future of wildfire management

Jul 3, 2026 · 32:32

The potential of society-wide action to overcome the barriers to smarter, safer wildfire solutions.

The future of storytelling for health

Jun 26, 2026 · 30:40

How storytelling can change the way we talk about health.

Best of: The future of exercise

Jun 19, 2026 · 27:57

How exercise affects the body at a molecular level—and what that could mean for the future of weight loss, diabetes, and exercise-based medicine.

The Future of Retinal Implants

Jun 12, 2026 · 34:11

How retinal implants are helping restore vision by turning light into signals the brain can understand.

The future of ultrafast materials and devices

Jun 5, 2026 · 37:16

How materials move at the atomic scale—and what that reveals about the potential for faster, lower-energy technologies in the future.

Best of: The future of computer-aided education

May 29, 2026 · 32:19

A best-of conversation on how AI and human teachers can work together to make learning more creative, personal, and effective.

The future of farming

May 22, 2026 · 33:52

A research-driven look at the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of global agriculture.

The future of fungi

May 15, 2026 · 34:15

Bioengineering meets Michelin-star creativity to explore the possibilities for fungi as food, materials, and tools for sustainability.

The future of influencers

May 8, 2026 · 37:14

The impact of social media's engagement-based ecosystems on national dialogue.

Best of: The future of the universe

May 1, 2026 · 30:06

How new data and models are changing our understanding of the universe.

The future of cell-free biotechnology

Apr 24, 2026 · 36:35

How cell-free biotechnology may redefine the production of medicines, materials, and biological systems.

The future of education

Apr 17, 2026 · 33:45

How tutoring, research, and AI may help improve learning outcomes at scale.

The future of networking technology

Apr 10, 2026 · 41:48

Why a lack of verifiable computation limits transparency, efficiency, and trust in modern cloud systems.

Best of: The future of plant chemistry

Apr 3, 2026 · 29:40

How plants can positively impact environmental and human health.

The future of learning

Mar 27, 2026 · 36:16

How learning science can improve education through stronger feedback and more effective design.

The future of fashion and dress codes

Mar 20, 2026 · 31:00

The broader cultural, identity, and social dynamics of dress codes.

The future of vaccines

Mar 13, 2026 · 33:41

The history, science, and future of vaccines in modern medicine.

Best of: The future of sleep

Mar 6, 2026 · 37:02

Practical strategies for getting a better night’s rest.

The future of coronary heart disease

Feb 27, 2026 · 36:26

Rethinking heart disease through earlier detection and intervention.

The future of eating disorders

Feb 20, 2026 · 32:50

Why eating disorders are so difficult to treat and the potential new interventions that could help.

Best of: The future of allergies

Feb 13, 2026 · 36:29

New strategies that could allow people worldwide to better manage their allergies.

The future of entrepreneurship

Feb 6, 2026 · 41:46

How policy and market structure shape entrepreneurship and long-term innovation.

The future of substance abuse in youth

Jan 30, 2026 · 34:23

Prevention efforts to help address adolescent substance use

Best of: The future of depression care

Jan 23, 2026 · 30:17

New approaches that may enable more precise diagnosis of depression and improved treatments.

The future of ADHD

Jan 16, 2026 · 32:58

How early diagnosis and treatment of ADHD can potentially shape lifelong outcomes.

The future of alcohol

Jan 9, 2026 · 32:05

Why moderate alcohol consumption may carry greater health risks than previously believed.

Best of: The future of motivation

Jan 2, 2026 · 31:28

How science is changing our understanding of goal-setting and achievement.

Happy New Year From The Future of Everything

Dec 31, 2025 · 1:11

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 information directly from expert scientists in the fields of physics, medicine, technology, computer science, law, and much more. The show, however, would not exist without you. So thank you for giving us your time and attention; it means a lot and also makes what we do possible. Happy holidays a

Best of: The future of AI coaching

Dec 26, 2025 · 30:55

The potential for AI to serve as a coach or tutor.

The future of lipids in evolution

Dec 19, 2025 · 32:30

How studying lipid membranes of ancient microbes may help to understand Earth's evolution and future.

The future of neurodegeneration

Dec 12, 2025 · 34:41

How aging affects the creation and the quality of proteins in the brain.

The future of ribosomes

Dec 5, 2025 · 34:40

Emerging research on ribosomes and their possible roles in health and disease.

Best of: How to take waste out of wastewater

Nov 28, 2025 · 29:19

The potential of wastewater to become a source of valuable materials.

The future of digital markets

Nov 21, 2025 · 31:32

The opportunities and challenges of leveraging AI to transform digital markets.

The future of immunotherapy

Nov 14, 2025 · 33:52

How the human immune system might be harnessed to fight cancers.

The future of emerging technologies

Nov 7, 2025 · 31:46

The impact advancing technologies are having on democracy and public policy.

The countdown to our 300th episode

Nov 5, 2025 · 0:25

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 Website Connect with Russ >>> Threads / Bluesky / Mastodon Connect 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.

Best of: The future of transparent tissue

Oct 31, 2025 · 29:02

How light and simple dyes might improve visibility beneath the skin.

The future of wound healing

Oct 24, 2025 · 33:50

Research on understanding the processes of healing to design better therapies.

The future of topical vaccines

Oct 17, 2025 · 37:39

The emerging science behind cream-based approaches to immunization.

Best of: The future of extreme climate events

Oct 10, 2025 · 32:46

Why extreme weather is accelerating—and what we can still do about it.

The future of the built environment

Oct 3, 2025 · 33:40

New design approaches to infrastructure, sustainability, and community wellbeing.

The future of the innovation economy

Sep 26, 2025 · 32:07

How artificial intelligence is reshaping our economy.

Best of: The future of ultrafast electronics

Sep 19, 2025 · 36:11

How attosecond X-ray technology could reshape materials science, AI, and the future of computing.

The future of allergies

Sep 12, 2025 · 37:56

New strategies that could allow millions worldwide to manage their allergies better.

The future of bone health

Sep 5, 2025 · 33:28

Emerging science that may support bone repair and protection.

Best of: The future of reading

Aug 29, 2025 · 29:25

The complex process of learning how to read.

The future of inequality

Aug 22, 2025 · 34:36

How inequality interventions may be identified with new quasi-experimental methods.

The future of cancer neuroscience

Aug 15, 2025 · 31:13

The emerging therapies targeting brain tumor–neural circuit interactions.

Best of: The future of coastal erosion

Aug 8, 2025 · 29:34

Rising seas and shifting coastlines may quietly reshape landscapes, communities, and economies.

The future of plant chemistry

Aug 1, 2025 · 31:21

How plant chemistry could help us better understand health and sustainability.

The future of parent-child bonding

Jul 25, 2025 · 33:55

The neuroscience behind the complex parenting of poisonous frogs.

Best of: How the grid is becoming more human-centric

Jul 18, 2025 · 29:07

Smarter energy use at home could support a more efficient and resilient power grid.

The future of AI and the law

Jul 11, 2025 · 35:43

Potential AI applications in legal research and reform efforts.

The future of hoarding disorder

Jul 4, 2025 · 29:36

The neuroscience, diagnosis, and emerging treatments for hoarding disorder.

Best of: The future of skin longevity

Jun 27, 2025 · 29:14

Healthy skin is about vitality, not vanity.

The future of food security

Jun 20, 2025 · 31:35

How access to nutritious food may support better health and reduce chronic disease.

The future of motivation

Jun 13, 2025 · 32:47

The science behind sustaining motivation through every stage of your goals.

Best of: Training the next generation of entrepreneurs

Jun 6, 2025 · 28:30

How we can teach skills including imagination, creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

The future of learning to read

May 30, 2025 · 38:31

How neuroscience and technology are reshaping the way we understand—and teach—reading.

The future of sleep

May 23, 2025 · 38:13

Why worrying about your sleep might be the very thing keeping you awake.

The future of geriatric care

May 16, 2025 · 34:49

Why it’s time to rethink how we care for older adults.

Best of: The future of educational technology

May 9, 2025 · 29:44

AI’s potential to support teachers and enhance learning.

The future of children’s health

May 2, 2025 · 31:47

How pollution is taking an increasing toll on children’s health.

The future of wildfire management

Apr 25, 2025 · 33:44

The potential of society-wide action to overcome the barriers to smarter, safer wildfire solutions.

The future of pediatric development and disability

Apr 18, 2025 · 31:42

How our understanding of childhood disability care is changing.

Best of: The future of female athletic health

Apr 11, 2025 · 30:25

The critical—and often overlooked—science behind female athletic health.

The future of legal representation

Apr 4, 2025 · 36:44

The potential of AI and legal alternatives to address widespread lack of civil representation.

The future of hearing loss

Mar 28, 2025 · 34:05

New understandings and approaches have put hearing restoration within reach.

The future of live performance

Mar 21, 2025 · 36:13

How today’s technologies are reshaping what performers can do on stage.

Best of: The future of culture

Mar 14, 2025 · 31:53

How understanding the invisible forces of culture can help us better navigate the world.

The future of electronic materials

Mar 7, 2025 · 35:42

New materials may soon replace silicon and copper for faster, smaller, and more efficient electronics.

The future of liquid biopsy

Feb 28, 2025 · 36:38

DNA from the bloodstream could make it possible to look for disease without surgery.

Best of: The future of bioprinting

Feb 21, 2025 · 29:03

Motivated in part by the critical need for heart transplants, a Stanford research team is working to develop 3D printing methods for human tissues and organs.

Trailer: The Future of Everything

Feb 18, 2025 · 1:18

Welcome to Stanford Engineering's The Future of Everything, the podcast that delves into groundbreaking research and innovations that are shaping the world and inventing the future. The University has a long history of doing work to positively impact the world and it's a joy to share about the people who are doing this work, what motivates them, and how their work is creating a better future for everybody. Join us every Friday for new episodes featuring insightful conversations with Stanford faculty and to discover how Stanford's research is transforming tomorrow's world. Connect With Us: Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything WebsiteConnect with Russ >>> Threads / Bluesky / MastodonConnect with School of Engineering >>> Twitter/X / Instagram / LinkedIn / Facebook Connect With Us

The future of coronary arteries

Feb 14, 2025 · 32:37

The latest advances in research for the treatment of coronary blockages.

The future of transparent tissue

Feb 7, 2025 · 30:03

A new age of medical imaging could allow doctors see deep into the body - without surgery.

Best of: The future of science education

Jan 31, 2025 · 30:44

Tools for critically evaluating science news and information.

The future of seaweed

Jan 24, 2025 · 32:40

Seaweed and kelp as potential tools to combat climate change.

The future of kidney dialysis

Jan 17, 2025 · 33:43

Alternatives to dialysis that can help humans avoid kidney failure.

The future of robotic surgery

Jan 10, 2025 · 33:32

Millimeter-scale soft robots that navigate the bloodstream.

Best of: The future of exercise

Jan 3, 2025 · 27:43

The chemical connections between diet, exercise, and human health

Best of: The future of skin longevity

Dec 27, 2024 · 29:21

Healthy skin is about vitality, not vanity.

The future of depression care

Dec 20, 2024 · 30:47

Advancements in understanding depression’s mechanisms and treatments.

The future of Alzheimer’s treatment

Dec 13, 2024 · 32:35

New approaches that target proteins associated with the disease.

The future of AI and democracy

Dec 6, 2024 · 29:42

The intersection of artificial intelligence and democracy.

Best of: The future of underwater robotics

Nov 29, 2024 · 30:15

Transforming the way humans interact with machines.

The future of AI coaching

Nov 22, 2024 · 31:15

Optimizing technology for human and societal good.

The future of extreme climate events

Nov 15, 2024 · 33:08

Understanding the effects of climate change.

The future of climate projection

Nov 8, 2024 · 29:05

New data and techniques that are reshaping climate projection.