The Future of Everything

Hi everyone, we had big news out of Stanford this week: Karl Deisseroth has won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries leading to optogenetics, a technique that makes it possible to switch individual nerve cells on or off in the living brain. To celebrate, we're re-releasing a live conversation Russ had with Karl a few years ago. He's both a bioengineer and a practicing psychiatrist, and he tells me how he built a way to control brain cells with light, why the odds were stacked against it, and how it could open the door to better treatments for psychiatric disorders. We also talk about his book Projections and what it takes to turn a long-shot idea into a tool that changes neuroscience. Congratulations, Karl, on an honor so well deserved. Whether this is your first listen or your second, it's one worth hearing.

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Episode Reference Links:

• Stanford Profile: Karl Deisseroth
• Learn more about Karl's Nobel Prize win
• Learn more about Optogenetics
• Reactions to Karl's Nobel Win    

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Chapters:
(00:00:00) Introduction
Russ Altman introduces Karl Deisseroth, a professor of bioengineering, psychiatry, and behavioral sciences at Stanford University.
(00:04:49) Technology and Discovery
Why Deisseroth sees technology development and basic neuroscience as inseparable.
(00:06:36) What Is Optogenetics?
How light can be used to precisely turn specific cells in the brain on or off. 
(00:08:27) Turning an Idea into a Tool
The process that led to optogenetics
(00:10:57) Microbial Opsins
How light-sensitive proteins from microorganisms became the foundation for controlling neurons with light.
(00:14:11) Optogenetics in Humans
How optogenetics has already been used to restore limited vision, and what that suggests for future therapies.
(00:17:37) Psychiatry and the Lab
How Deisseroth’s work with patients shapes the scientific questions his lab pursues.
(00:21:48) The Most Pressing Questions in Neuroscience Today
Why identifying the brain’s many cell types became a central goal of the BRAIN Initiative. 
(00:24:28) Correlation vs. Causality
Why understanding which neurons actually drive behavior requires more than simply observing brain activity. 
(00:26:52) Controlling Brain Networks
How researchers are beginning to study and manipulate multiple brain regions with precise timing. 
(00:28:19) The Need for Neuroscience Theory
Why better technology creates a growing need for theories that can guide which neural circuits to study.
(00:29:38) Writing Projections
Why Deisseroth wrote about the inner worlds of psychiatric patients alongside the science of the brain. 
(00:32:59) Capturing Patients’ Inner Worlds
How feedback from people with psychiatric disorders shaped Deisseroth’s view of the book’s impact. 
(00:34:26) Conclusion
 

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Clinical psychologist James Gross is fascinated by what emotions are, and he champions emotional literacy – a deeper understanding of what makes each of us tick. In his research, Gross explores his “favorite topic,” emotion regulation, through the cognitive strategy of reappraisal to shift how we perceive and deal with unhelpful emotions. He talks about the Synergistic Mindsets intervention he co-developed, which is helping Gen Zers reframe their stress and regulate emotions. Emotions aren’t inherently bad, but we must separate the helpful from the harmful, Gross tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction
Russ Altman introduces guest James Gross, a professor of psychology and philosophy at Stanford University, and the science of understanding and regulating emotions.

(00:03:50) Why Study Emotions?
How Gross became interested in emotions and their role in shaping human behavior. 

(00:04:22) What Is an Emotion?
How scientists define emotions as coordinated responses to situations that matter to us.

(00:06:00) Affect and Emotion
How affect differs from emotion, and why emotions may require more complex cognitive processing. 

(00:07:59) Emotional Clarity
How recognizing what we feel and where those feelings come from can help us understand our emotions. 

(00:09:53) Emotion Regulation
Why regulating emotions is less about suppressing them and more about deciding when they are helpful. 

(00:12:25) Strategies for Regulation
How different approaches to emotion regulation work—and why some are more effective than others. 

(00:13:30) How Emotions Are Generated
How situations, attention, expectations, and goals combine to produce emotional responses. 

(00:15:25) Reappraisal
How changing the way we interpret a situation can change the emotions it produces. 

(00:17:25) AI and Emotional Support
How large language models could potentially support people in reframing difficult experiences. 

(00:18:09) Emotions in Everyday Life
How emotion regulation research can support parents, teachers, patients, and healthcare providers.

(00:20:53) Young People and Mental Health
How emotional clarity and regulation may help explain and address challenges facing younger generations.

(00:24:40) Understanding the Sources of Stress
Why social media, isolation, economic pressures, and other factors can shape young people’s emotional lives. 

(00:26:15) Synergistic Mindsets
How changing beliefs about challenges and stress can produce healthier emotional and physiological responses. 

(00:29:30) What Makes You Tick?
How a Stanford course helps students examine the forces shaping their behavior, emotions, and decisions. 

(00:31:34) Emotional Intelligence
Why Gross sees value in emotion regulation while questioning whether “EQ” is scientifically established as a single intelligence. 

(00:32:57) Future In a Minute
Rapid-fire Q&A: emotions, passion, & affective science.

(00:35:10) Conclusion

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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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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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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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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.

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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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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.

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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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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.

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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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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.

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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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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.

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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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