Stanford Radio

Stanford Legal with Pam Karlan & Joe Bankman:

"The Mueller Report and Indictments. What Have we Learned? With guest David Sklansky"

Professor David Sklansky, a former federal prosecutor, discusses what we know about the investigation, what we have learned from the report, and what may come next.

Originally aired on SiriusXM on April 27, 2019.

The Future of Everything with Russ Altman:

"Margaret Brandeau: Math and computers help reshape health policy"

Margaret Brandeau may carry a business card that reads Professor of Management Science and Engineering, but her expertise is in using complex systems models to solve challenges in public health policy. For instance, she recently created a sophisticated computer model of the national opioid crisis, which led her to the stark –and surprising – conclusion that it may take a short-term rise in deaths to ultimately reduce them.

She didn’t come to that conclusion lightly, but made no less than 10 models of drug-user behaviors to analyze interventions. Nonetheless, each model led her to the same basic conclusions. First, policies are needed that lead to cutbacks in the number of prescriptions of opioids for pain management. Second, fewer prescriptions of opioids for pain management will cause some individuals to turn to more-deadly heroin. Third, because of this unintended consequence, it is essential to also scale up treatment for opioid-addicted individuals. But her fourth finding was the most sobering of all: No one of these policies will suffice; they must all be combined if we are to curb the opioid epidemic – and the epidemic is not likely to abate significantly anytime soon.

Mathematical modeling is an art, Brandeau says, but it’s a powerful art that is only going to grow in influence. Her advice for those looking to solve big problems – from reducing sodium intake to battling the return of measles – is to start out simple. Know what question you want to answer and create a model that captures just the most salient elements of the problem. Things will flow from there.

Originally aired on SiriusXM on April 20, 2019.

Recorded at Stanford Video.

Stanford Pathfinders with Howard Wolf:

"The Right Way To Choose A College with guest Denise Pope"

Does the brand name of the college you attend actually matter? Denise Pope says no. The key is engagement in and outside of the classroom.

Originally aired on SiriusXM on April 20, 2019.

Recorded at Stanford Video.

The Future of Everything with Russ Altman:

"Paul Yock: Innovation in medical technology"

When Stanford’s Paul Yock was a young interventional cardiologist, he was frustrated by the complex, two-person process required to deliver life-saving stents. So, he invented a better way. His Rapid Exchange stenting and balloon angioplasty system, one of several inventions Yock is known for internationally, can be managed by just a single operator, making procedures like stent placement faster and safer. Yock is a man of many talents. He is a doctor, a professor of bioengineering and of mechanical engineering, and an innovator who combines these many interests to solve problems in healthcare.

He says that the aha moments work beautifully when they come, but they are too often based in luck. For the rest of us, there is a better and more consistent path to transformative medical tools he calls the biodesign process. It starts, first, with a deep understanding of the medical need. The next step is brainstorming and iteration, preferably by non-hierarchical, multidisciplinary teams of doctors, engineers and business people. Diversity of insights and expertise leads to better inventions, Yock says.

Originally aired on SiriusXM on April 20, 2019.

Recorded at Stanford Video.

School's In with Dan Schwartz and Denise Pope:

"Children and AI"

Stanford Graduate School of Education Dean Dan Schwartz (School's In co-host) speaks about the role of artificial intelligence in our everyday lives and it's impact on child learning and education.

Originally aired on SiriusXM on April 13, 2019.

Recorded at Stanford Video.

Stanford Legal with Pam Karlan & Joe Bankman:

"How Safe is Your Online Information? with guest Jennifer King"

Why and when do people choose to hand over their personal information in exchange for online services? Jennifer King, of Stanford’s Center for Internet and Society, discusses power dynamics and privacy.

Originally aired on SiriusXM on April 13, 2019.

Recorded at Stanford Video.

School's In with Dan Schwartz and Denise Pope:

"The Science of Sleep with guest Rafael Pelayo"

Rafael Pelayo is a sleep specialist at the Stanford Center for Sleep Sciences and Medicine. He discusses why sleep is so important and what it does for the brain.

Originally aired on SiriusXM on April 13, 2019.

Recorded at Stanford Video.

Stanford Legal with Pam Karlan & Joe Bankman:

"Race, Class, and College Admissions with guest Rick Banks"

Law Professor Rick Banks, author of the forthcoming book Meritocracy in an Age of Inequality, discusses college admissions, race, and class in the wake of the college admissions scandal and Harvard bias case.

Originally aired on SiriusXM on April 13, 2019.

Recorded at Stanford Video.

The Future of Everything with Russ Altman:

"Tony Oro: Stem cell therapies for incurable diseases"

A new class of gatekeeper physicians is helping make scientific and ethical sense of stem cell and gene therapies that offer hope to many patients who once had none.

By last count, there are 5,000 genetic diseases in the human body.

A few are merely annoying, but far more are devastating and without cure. In the last decade, much popular attention has been focused on the potential for stem cells and gene therapies to cure these once-intractable diseases. While the promise is clear, Tony Oro cautions patience.

Oro is a dermatologist and associate director of the Center for Definitive and Curative Medicine at Stanford. He is a leading expert in the scientific and ethical dilemmas such therapies raise. He and many others say cures are close at hand, but there is still much to be determined before these therapies can be pronounced both effective and safe.

Originally aired on SiriusXM on April 6, 2019.

Recorded at Stanford Video.

Stanford Pathfinders with Howard Wolf:

"Talking Major League Baseball with guest David Flemming"

David Flemming, sportscaster and play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco Giants talks about his illustrious career in Major League Baseball and broadcast sports.

Originally aired on SiriusXM on April 6, 2019

Recorded at Stanford Video.