- 31 minutes 43 secondsBest of: The future of the innovation economy
About a year ago, the Future of Everything team was in New York taping a special episode on the innovation economy in front of a live audience, and today we're re-releasing it. We sat down with computer scientist Fei-Fei Li and economists Susan Athey and Neale Mahoney to dig into how AI is reshaping creativity, jobs, education, and public policy, and where it might take us next. It's a wide-ranging, energetic conversation. Whether you're thinking about how AI might reshape your own work, or you're just curious where some of the smartest people in tech and economics think this is all headed, this one's a great listen.
Have a question for Russ? Send it our way in writing or via voice memo, and it might be featured on an upcoming episode. Please introduce yourself, let us know where you're listening from, and share your question. You can send questions to [email protected].
Episode Reference Links:
- Stanford Profiles: Fei-Fei Li | Neale Mahoney | Susan Athey
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Chapters:
(00:00:00) Introduction
Russ Altman introduces this re-release of a live episode featuring Fei-Fei Li, Susan Athey, and Neale Mahoney on the future of the innovation economy.(00:00:45) Defining the Innovation Economy
How new ideas, technologies, and commercialization are reshaping economic growth.(00:02:13) AI as a General-Purpose Technology
What past technologies like electricity and personal computing can teach us about AI adoption.(00:03:23) The Bottlenecks to Adoption
Why digitization, software costs, training, and organizational change can slow the spread of new technology.(00:06:05) AI and the Labor Market
Why uncertainty about which jobs AI will disrupt makes social safety nets especially important.(00:08:04) Augmenting Human Work
Why Fei-Fei Li sees AI as a tool for enhancing human capabilities rather than simply replacing jobs.(00:11:17) Shaping Human-Centered Innovation
How innovation can be designed to complement human skills, creativity, and purpose.(00:12:21) Universities and AI Innovation
How universities can help develop human-centered technologies and lower barriers to adoption.(00:13:45) Government and the AI Transition
How public investment and policy could help workers adapt while expanding services like healthcare and childcare.(00:15:50) Rethinking Education
Why AI may force a fundamental rethink of what and how students learn.(00:17:18) Jobs, Adaptation, and Safety Nets
What history suggests about how economies adjust to technological disruption—and when policy intervention matters.(00:18:33) AI Regulation and Innovation
How policymakers might balance technological progress with appropriate guardrails.(00:21:57) Competition and Market Power
Why competition, open models, and the cost of AI access matter for innovation and economic opportunity.(00:24:57) Economic Optimism
Why confidence in the American economy has declined and what might help restore it.(00:26:40) Future In a Minute
Rapid-fire Q&A: hope for the future, education, robotics, AI accessibility, and the skills the panelists would learn next.(00:30:24) Conclusion
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25 September 2026, 2:00 pm - 25 minutes 37 secondsSpecial episode: Think Fast, Talk Smart
Hi everyone, it's your host Russ. As summer winds down and everyone heads into a new season, I wanted to share something a little different. Recently, I sat down with Matt Abrahams, host of the podcast Think Fast, Talk Smart and a lecturer at Stanford's Graduate School of Business. We traded seats and I took the guest chair while Matt interviewed me about the future of communication in the age of AI. We’re excited to re-run this episode today and whether you're writing a pitch, prepping for a tough conversation, or just curious how AI is changing the way we talk to each other, this one's a great listen.
Have a question for Russ? Send it our way in writing or via voice memo, and it might be featured on an upcoming episode. Please introduce yourself, let us know where you're listening from, and share your question. You can send questions to [email protected].
Episode Reference Links:
- Stanford Profile: Russ Altman | Matt Abrahams
- Learn more about Think Fast Talk Smart
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Chapters:
(00:00:00) Introduction
Russ Altman introduces this feed-drop episode from Think Fast, Talk Smart, where he joins Matt Abrahams to discuss communication in the age of AI.
(00:01:41) The Future of Communication
Why AI may amplify strong communication rather than replace authentic human messages.
(00:03:23) Using AI as a Communication Tool
How AI can help adjust language for different audiences, flag jargon, and improve clarity.
(00:04:00) AI as a Pre-Editor
How Russ uses large language models to critique and strengthen his writing before sharing it with colleagues.
(00:05:04) Structuring a Strong Proposal
How to align with your audience’s mission, define the problem, and clearly show the path forward.
(00:07:06) Making Complex Ideas Accessible
Why stories, analogies, and audience awareness help make technical information easier to understand.
(00:09:41) Preparing for Tough Moments
Why anticipating difficult concepts, questions, and conversations can make communication more effective.
(00:11:57) Asking Better Questions
Why specificity and strong follow-up questions can guide more meaningful conversations.
(00:12:51) Questions as Opportunities
How questions can communicate curiosity, engagement, and respect rather than criticism.
(00:15:01) Building Effective Teams
How shared goals, relationships, diversity, and clear roles support collaboration.
(00:17:55) Productive Conflict
How leaders can encourage rigorous disagreement without damaging trust.
(00:19:37) Finding People’s Passion
What hosting The Future of Everything taught Russ about understanding what motivates people.
(00:21:00) Looking to the Future
Why young people give Russ hope about what comes next.
(00:22:13) A Communicator to Admire
Why Russ credits his father with shaping his own approach to communication.
(00:23:06) Three Ingredients for Better Communication
Know your audience, be specific, and bring a sense of joy to the conversation.
(00:24:07) Conclusion
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18 September 2026, 2:00 pm - 33 minutes 48 secondsThe future of gut health
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 field’s next frontier could help alleviate chronic disease. “It really is a full-body impact that our microbes are having,” Sonnenburg tells host Russ Altman on 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 upcoming episode. Please introduce yourself, let us know where you're listening from, and share your question. You can send questions to [email protected].
Episode Reference Links:
- Stanford Profile: Justin Sonnenburg
- Learn more about the Sonnenburg Lab
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Chapters:
(00:00:00) Introduction
Russ Altman introduces guest Justin Sonnenburg, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Stanford University.
(00:03:08) Path into Microbiome Research
How Sonnenburg became interested in the friendly microbes that live in and on the body.
(00:04:26) Bacteria as Partners
What are gut bacteria and how do they function in our bodies?
(00:06:23) Full-Body Effects
How gut microbes affect metabolism, immunity, and the brain.
(00:08:27) Industrialized Microbiomes
What does it mean that the gut microbiome has been “industrialized”?
(00:12:08) Feeding the Microbiome
Why is fiber important for gut health?
(00:15:59) Fiber Response
Study results from Stanford reflecting individual responses to fiber.
(00:17:14) Fermented Foods
How foods like yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut, and kombucha can support microbiome diversity.
(00:20:36) Microbiome Therapeutics
How diet and microbial interventions could improve health.
(00:23:00) Food, Equity, and Access
Why microbiome health may require practical tools that work beyond major diet changes.
(00:24:02) Sharing Microbes
How social environments, diet, and exposure may influence the microbes people acquire.
(00:25:30) Precision Health
How the microbiome could help tune immunity, metabolism, and disease treatment.
(00:27:32) Women’s Health
Why reproductive health and women’s health are promising areas for microbiome research.
(00:28:33) Stanford Microbiome Research
How Stanford researchers are building interdisciplinary tools, tests, and therapies for microbiome science.
(00:30:36) Future In a Minute
Rapid-fire Q&A: microbiome health, daily decisions, and reversing Western disease trends.
(00:33:04) Conclusion
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11 September 2026, 2:00 pm - 31 minutes 20 secondsBest of: The future of language learning
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 learning to talk or you're simply curious about how language learning unfolds for people across languages and cultures, this one's a great listen.
Have a question for Russ? Send it our way in writing or via voice memo, and it might be featured on an upcoming episode. Please introduce yourself, let us know where you're listening from, and share your question. You can send questions to [email protected].
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- Stanford Profile: Michael Frank
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Chapters:
(00:00:00) Introduction
Russ Altman introduces this episode with Michael Frank, a professor of biology, psychology and linguistics at Stanford University.
(00:02:05) AI and Child Language Learning
How AI language learning and child language learning differ.
(00:05:23) WordBank and Big Data
How large language databases are helping researchers study child language development across cultures.
(00:08:04) Learning Across Languages
How children learn many different languages through broadly similar developmental processes.
(00:08:57) Babbling and Early Speech
How babies begin exploring the sounds and signs of their language.
(00:10:04) Multimodal Learning
How SAYCam & BabyView capture multimodal language learning
(00:13:12) Language as a Social Tool
How social cues help children break the code of language.
(00:15:12) Learning from Others
How children track uncertainty and seek help from social partners.
(00:18:05) ManyBabies
How a global research consortium studies child development across cultures and communities.
(00:20:11) Global Development Research
Why large-scale international collaboration is valuable but difficult to fund.
(00:21:36) Pragmatics
How children learn to infer meaning beyond the literal words people say.
(00:23:21) AI, Intent, and Common Sense
Why pragmatics matters for building AI systems that understand human intent.
(00:24:21) Reading to Children
Why books can support language learning through shared attention and rich social interaction.
(00:26:38) Early Language Exposure
Why it is never too early to interact with babies through language.
(00:27:53) Multilingual Children
How children can learn multiple languages with few negative consequences.
(00:30:35) Conclusion
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4 September 2026, 2:00 pm - 30 minutes 16 secondsThe future of cities
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 policymakers across the Bay Area to strengthen neighborhoods. We are clearing a path to more stable communities for everyone, Hwang tells host Russ Altman on 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 upcoming episode. Please introduce yourself, let us know where you're listening from, and share your question. You can send questions to [email protected].
Episode Reference Links:
- Stanford Profile: Jackelyn Hwang
- Learn more about Jackie's work on housing instability in Oakland
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Chapters:
(00:00:00) Introduction
Russ Altman introduces guest Jackie Hwang, a professor of sociology at Stanford University.
(00:02:53) Path into Urban Sociology
How Hwang’s experiences near Philadelphia shaped her interest in cities, inequality, and neighborhood change.
(00:04:56) The 21st-Century American City
How gentrification, immigration, crime, education, housing, and climate change are reshaping cities.
(00:08:03) Defining Gentrification
How sociologists understand gentrification as a class-based transformation of neighborhoods.
(00:10:02) Studying Gentrification
Why race, segregation, and neighborhood inequality complicate simple stories of urban renewal.
(00:11:50) Displacement and Instability
Why gentrification does not always increase moving rates, but still affects where people end up.
(00:14:48) Policy and Anti-Displacement
How Hwang’s research informs local policy, housing strategy, and homelessness prevention.
(00:18:10) Measuring Neighborhood Change
How technology can help researchers study changing neighborhoods at scale.
(00:18:55) Google Street View and Cities
How Street View opened new ways to observe gentrification and neighborhood conditions.
(00:20:36) Computer Vision for Urban Research
How AI and computer vision are being used to analyze neighborhood conditions.
(00:21:53) What Neighborhoods Reveal
How visible signs like trash, blight, vacant lots, and construction signal neighborhood change.
(00:23:10) Eye Tracking and Perception
How researchers study what people notice in neighborhoods and how those cues affect stress.
(00:24:09) Climate Change and Recovery
How disasters can widen neighborhood inequality through uneven rebuilding and abandonment.
(00:26:14) Neighborhoods and Wellbeing
How better measurements of neighborhood conditions could guide interventions for safer, more stable communities.
(00:28:00) Future In a Minute
Rapid-fire Q&A: affordable housing, neighborhood change, and better urban data.
(00:29:32) Conclusion
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28 August 2026, 2:00 pm - 30 minutes 6 secondsBest of: The future of addiction
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 question for Russ? Send it our way in writing or via voice memo, and it might be featured on an upcoming episode. Please introduce yourself, let us know where you're listening from, and share your question. You can send questions to [email protected].
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- Stanford Profile: Anna Lembke
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Chapters:
(00:00:00) Introduction
Russ Altman introduces Anna Lembke, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University.
(00:01:52) Defining Addiction
Why addiction involves compulsive use despite harm, even when the behavior seems ordinary.
(00:03:31) Romance Novels and Harm
How Lembke’s own reading habit became a case study in subtle addiction.
(00:05:49) Dopamine and the Addicted Brain
What repeated dopamine spikes do to reward pathways and withdrawal symptoms.
(00:08:34) Seeing the Problem
How naming a compulsive habit can make it visible and open the door to change.
(00:10:34) Addiction Medicine Today
How the opioid epidemic changed medical training and addiction awareness.
(00:12:48) Russ Altman’s “Addictions”
Russ details his own dopamine habits for the audience.
(00:14:37) Exercise and Hormesis
Why movement, effort, and discomfort can help restore healthier dopamine patterns.
(00:17:22) Dopamine Fasting
The self-intervention Dr. Lembke used & her potential cross-addictions.
(00:21:22) Vulnerability to Addiction
Why genetic risk, family history, and drug of choice shape addiction vulnerability.
(00:22:53) The Opioid Epidemic
How prescription opioids, heroin, and fentanyl shaped three waves of crisis.
(00:24:51) Fentanyl and Overdose Risk
Why counterfeit pills and fentanyl exposure can be lethal even for new users.
(00:26:28) Treating Opioid Addiction
Why medications like methadone and buprenorphine help restore stability.
(00:28:17) The Future of Addiction
Why Lembke sees addiction as a long-term challenge across drugs, media, and food.
(00:29:22) Conclusion
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21 August 2026, 2:00 pm - 34 minutes 7 secondsThe future of neuroimaging
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 neuroimaging on 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 upcoming episode. Please introduce yourself, let us know where you're listening from, and share your question. You can send questions to [email protected].
Episode Reference Links:
- Stanford Profile: Russ Poldrack
- Poldrack Lab website: http://poldracklab.org
- The MyConnectome project: https://www.myconnectome.org/
- Stanford Center for Open and Reproducible Science: https://datascience.stanford.edu/cores
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Chapters:
(00:00:00) Introduction
Russ Altman introduces guest Russ Poldrack, a professor of psychology and of psychiatry and behavioral science at Stanford University.
(00:03:15) Path into Neuroimaging
How Poldrack moved from cognitive psychology into functional MRI research.
(00:04:18) Functional MRI
How MRI can be used to track brain activity.
(00:06:59) Mapping Brain Activity
How tasks and behaviors are linked to patterns of brain activation.
(00:08:02) Resting Functional MRI
How resting scans revealed large-scale brain networks.
(00:09:00) Brain Networks and Behavior
How the brain controls stopping, switching, and habits.
(00:10:34) Layers of Brain Organization
Why neuroimaging studies the brain across multiple scales.
(00:13:04) Individual Brain Differences
How shared brain networks vary across individuals.
(00:13:34) Scanning Himself
Why Poldrack repeatedly scanned his own brain.
(00:15:47) Mapping One Brain Deeply
How repeated scans revealed reliable individual brain patterns.
(00:18:59) Neuroimaging and Mental Health
How brain network differences may relate to depression and OCD.
(00:21:42) Reproducibility in Brain Imaging
How larger and deeper data sets improve reliability.
(00:24:51) Analytic Variability
Why the same data can produce different conclusions.
(00:26:39) Multiverse Analysis
How testing many analyses helps identify stable findings.
(00:27:55) Open Science
How data sharing and standards improve transparency.
(00:30:29) Privacy and Brain Data
How researchers protect participants when sharing neuroimaging data.
(00:32:17) Future In a Minute
Rapid-fire Q&A: neuroimaging, reproducibility, and AI in science.
(00:33:22) Conclusion
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14 August 2026, 2:00 pm - 36 minutes 43 secondsThe future of clinical bioethics
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 doctors and nurses. Having a strong ethical community brings resilience to these challenging environments, Burgart 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 upcoming episode. Please introduce yourself, let us know where you're listening from, and share your question. You can send questions to [email protected].
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- Stanford Profile: Alyssa Burgart
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Chapters:
(00:00:00) Introduction
Russ Altman introduces guest Alyssa Burgart, a professor of anesthesiology and perioperative pain at Stanford University.
(00:03:16) Path into Bioethics & Anesthesiology
How Burgart became a bioethicist and then chose anesthesiology.
(00:05:18) What Bioethics Means
How bioethics helps connect medical decisions to values, risks, and benefits.
(00:07:03) Making Hard Decisions Manageable
How ethics consultation helps clinicians act with integrity.
(00:08:33) Ethics Consults
A detailed explanation of hospital ethics services
(00:12:23) Pediatric Ethics
Examples of Dr. Burgart’s work with children, families, and clinicians
(00:15:45) Culture, Faith, and Trust
Navigating cultural and religious differences as a bioethicist.
(00:17:57) Family Decision-Making
How ethics consultants help families and care teams honor a patient’s voice.
(00:21:55) Moral Injury
What is moral injury and how do clinicians specifically experience it?
(00:24:52) Institutional Betrayal
Why barriers like policies, laws, and denied approvals can create moral strain.
(00:26:37) Moral Distress
What is moral distress and how does it manifest itself in healthcare.
(00:28:28) Moral Residue
When clinicians experience repeated moral strain and cannot recover between incidents.
(00:29:33) Treating Moral Injury & Distress
Strategies for helping clinicians manage these parts of their work.
(00:33:54) Future In a Minute
Rapid-fire Q&A: clinical bioethics, human dignity, and moral resilience.
(00:36:15) Conclusion
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7 August 2026, 2:00 pm - 34 minutes 26 secondsBest of: The future of AI and the law
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 hours of government time — shows what's possible when the technology is applied with rigor and purpose. If you’re curious about how AI can serve both justice and good governance, this one is well worth another listen.
Have a question for Russ? Send it our way in writing or via voice memo, and it might be featured on an upcoming episode. Please introduce yourself, let us know where you're listening from, and share your question. You can send questions to [email protected].
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- Stanford Profile: Dan Ho
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Chapters:
(00:00:00) Introduction
Russ Altman introduces guest Dan Ho, a professor of law, political science, and computer science at Stanford University.
(00:02:19) Path into Legal AI
How Ho’s background shaped his interest in law, and technology.
(00:03:35) What Lawyers Do
What makes law a complex domain for AI.
(00:05:28) Legal Hallucinations
When AI performs well and when it fails.
(00:07:52) Searching Legal Records in California
How AI can help identify outdated, harmful, or legally important material.
(00:10:28) Scaling Redaction
How a model accelerated a process that overwhelmed county recorder offices.
(00:13:04) Legal Reform at Scale
How AI has supported legal reform by scanning massive bodies of law.
(00:15:02) STARA & The City of San Francisco
How AI was used to go through San Francisco’s code and clean up reporting.
(00:20:53) Outdated Obligations
How “regulatory sludge” takes the time & resources of the public service
(00:25:02) Open vs. Closed AI
The differences and associated risks of the different AI systems.
(00:30:58) Legal Chatbots
Why legal chatbots are promising but risky.
(00:33:42) Conclusion
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31 July 2026, 2:00 pm - 33 minutes 39 secondsThe future of menopause
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 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 upcoming episode. Please introduce yourself, let us know where you're listening from, and share your question. You can send questions to [email protected].
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- Stanford Profile: Karen Adams
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Chapters:
(00:00:00) Introduction
Russ Altman introduces guest Karen Adams, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Stanford University.
(00:02:11) Path into Menopause Medicine
How Adams built one of the first clinical programs focused on women over 40.
(00:04:19) Menopause and Perimenopause
What menopause is and how the hormonal transition often begins years earlier.
(00:06:19) Beyond Hot Flashes
The wide range of symptoms that can appear during perimenopause.
(00:11:09) Pregnancy Risk During Perimenopause
Why contraception can still matter until a full year without a period.
(00:11:11) Unpredictable Symptoms
Why perimenopausal symptoms can be harder to recognize than PMS.
(00:13:37) Hormone Therapy
How treatment differs during perimenopause and after menopause.
(00:22:57) The Women’s Health Initiative
What the landmark hormone therapy study showed.
(00:27:53) Sexual Health and Vaginal Estrogen
Why local estrogen can safely treat genitourinary symptoms for many women.
(00:30:36) Future In a Minute
Rapid-fire Q&A: menopause care, women’s health, and better clinical support
(00:32:58) Conclusion
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Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Website
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24 July 2026, 2:00 pm - 32 minutes 34 secondsThe future of Parkinson’s disease
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 future of Parkinson’s disease on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.
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Episode Reference Links:
- Stanford Profile: Suzanne Pfeffer
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- Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Website
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- Connect with School of Engineering >>> Twitter/X / Instagram / LinkedIn / Facebook
Chapters:
(00:00:00) Introduction
Russ Altman introduces guest Suzanne Pfeffer, a professor of biochemistry at Stanford University.
(00:03:25) Path into Parkinson’s Research
How Pfeffer’s protein work led to a life-changing work on Parkinson’s disease.
(00:05:28) Parkinson’s Primer
The various causes and the effects of the disease on the brain and body.
(00:10:26) Lewy Bodies and Dementia
How Lewy bodies, synuclein, and dementia relate to Parkinson’s disease.
(00:11:56) Molecular Trafficking
Pfeffer breaks down the effects of LRRK2 and GBA mutations in the brain.
(00:16:10) Early Disease Changes
Some of the early changes in the body and how they show up as symptomatically.
(00:20:04) Current Treatments
The limitations of symptom-focused treatments.
(00:21:46) Treating Earlier
Opportunities for slowing or reversing disease progression when detected earlier.
(00:22:32) Targeting LRRK2
Current research on disease treatment & trial challenges.
(00:27:33) The Value of Basic Science
Why curiosity-driven research can unexpectedly lead to disease breakthroughs.
(00:29:33) Future In a Minute
Rapid-fire Q&A: biomarkers, brain donation, and better Parkinson’s treatments.
(00:31:52) Conclusion
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
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17 July 2026, 2:00 pm - More Episodes? Get the App