@rbaltman

The future of the innovation economy Three experts spanning artificial intelligence and economics explore the implications of AI and how it could transform creativity, jobs, education, and public policy through the rapidly evolving “inno...

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-...

The future of allergies An expert in everything allergies explains why allergies may be affecting more people and why there is growing hope for new prevention and treatment strategies.

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-...

The future of bone health Better bones, better life, says this endocrinologist of her search for ways to help people maintain bone strength as they age.

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 meets medicine: How academic–industry alliances are accelerating drug discovery

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...

The future of cancer neuroscience Exploring the electrical connections between cancer and brain cells, a neurologist is bringing hope to children with brain tumors.

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-...

The future of plant chemistry Seeing plants as powerful chemical factories, a researcher works to create more robust crops and discover new medicines to promote environmental and human health.

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-...

The future of parent-child bonding Poison frogs have complex parent-offspring behaviors. A biologist explains how she safely studies the neuroscience behind it all.

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-...

The future of food security Focusing on nutritional value over quantity, one public health expert is taking on the global challenge of food insecurity by seeing food as medicine.

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-...

The future of motivation An expert in motivation explains how science is changing our understanding of goal-setting and achievement, and offers a few tricks to try when you feel stuck.

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-...

Celebration!

Celebrate of Life for Atul Butte!

The future of learning to read An expert on reading difficulties is inviting schools, teachers, and families to shape the lab’s research questions and new tools to improve results for struggling readers.

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-...

The future of sleep An authority on sleep and insomnia discusses the latest science about – and approaches to – getting a better night’s sleep.

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-...

The future of children’s health A pediatrician says many of today’s growing concerns in childhood health come down to one factor: pollution. But global solutions are within reach.

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-...

The future of wildfire management A wildfire policy expert explains how California’s ongoing fire crisis is being driven by climate change and poor urban planning. “Whole-of-society” approaches are needed, he says.

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-...

The future of legal representation A law professor delves into America's worsening civil legal crisis, where unequal representation is the norm. But, she says, hopes are high for reforms that could mean high-quality, low-cost legal adv...

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-...

The future of hearing loss Thanks to new science and new technologies, the potential to restore lost hearing is bringing a ray of hope to the billion-and-a-half people worldwide who suffer hearing loss.

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-...

The future of live performance A theater professor and stage director says that the intersection of artificial intelligence, digital media, and interactive technologies is revolutionizing what happens on the stage.

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-...

The future of electronic materials An expert on the future of materials for electronics and more says the world is on the precipice of tremendous innovation in the materials we use to make semiconductor electronics and … nearly everyth...

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-...

The future of liquid biopsy An oncologist describes a less-invasive era of disease diagnosis that does away with surgical biopsies by searching for disease DNA in the bloodstream.

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-...

The future of coronary arteries An expert in the biology of the human heart explains how bypass surgeries might someday be replaced by medicines that regrow new arteries to replace blocked ones.

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-...

The future of transparent tissue A materials engineer explains how he and colleagues have used a dye commonly found in nacho chips to make living tissue transparent. It could lead to a new age of minimally invasive medical imaging.

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-...

The future of seaweed A sustainability expert explores the potential of seaweed as a solution to the world’s greenhouse gas problem.

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-...

The future of robotic surgery A mechanical engineer discusses her recent advances in robotic surgery, including millimeter-scale robots that travel through the bloodstream to deliver treatment.

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-...

Detecting clinician implicit biases in diagnoses using proximal causal inference Clinical decisions to treat and diagnose patients are affected by implicit biases formed by racism, ableism, sexism, and other stereotypes. These biases reflect broader systemic discrimination in heal...

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

The future of depression care An authority on clinical depression explains how rapidly evolving imaging tools have created an explosion of knowledge about this ancient illness – and why psychiatry’s hopes are on the rise.

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-...

The future of Alzheimer's treatment A neurologist who studies Alzheimer’s disease says hopes are on the rise for new treatments that target tau proteins.

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-...

The future of AI coaching A computer scientist bringing AI to the classroom and the gym looks ahead to a world where AI coaches help make us smarter … and healthier.

James Landay says that AI is not only good at answering our questions, but it can also motivate us as a coach, and it can teach us as a tutor. He joined me on the podcast to talk more about how AI coaching could make us smarter and healthier. Tune in.
engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...

The future of extreme climate events An expert on climate change and its impact on human society says the evidence for it is all around us, but it’s not too late to better understand, adapt to, and mitigate climate change.

Noah Diffenbaugh, an expert on climate change, joins the Future of Everything to talk about its tangible impact on society and to discuss the solutions for mitigating climate change that are still within reach. Take a listen to our conversation below.
engineering.stanford.edu/news/future-...