The Future of Everything

Computer scientist Keith Winstein is an expert in how computers communicate. Computer networks create what he calls shared fictions – abstract realities, like a website or a Zoom call, that exist only because the computers on either end agree to act as if they are real. Unfortunately, today’s networks lack a shared notion of a “computation,” which hurts market efficiency in cloud computing and frustrates efforts to hold tech companies accountable for the results of their algorithms. As computational power becomes concentrated in a smaller number of companies, Winstein advocates for a shared language of “computational truths,” defining computations precisely so results are reproducible and auditable. His research group hopes this will lead to greater transparency and accountability in the cloud and, ultimately, to greater confidence in the computations that companies do every day on our behalf. The truth matters, Winstein tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Stanford Profile: Keith Winstein

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Keith Winstein, a professor of computer science and electrical engineering at Stanford University

(00:02:56) Why Choose Networking

The appeal of the shared digital “fictions” created by connected computers.

(00:04:22) The Internet’s Impact

The broader societal implications of networking technologies.

(00:05:35) Computational Truth

The concept of tracking how data is produced and verified.

(00:09:18) Misaligned Cloud Computing

How “pay for effort” models create inefficiencies in cloud systems.

(00:13:51) Determining Computational Truth

The need for verifiable computation that produces consistent results.

(00:18:19) Computations & Accountability

How identifying computations could improve trust in systems.

(00:20:56) Collaborating Online

Why latency challenges make online performance collaboration difficult.

(00:24:38) Real-Time Performance Systems

Creating a custom system for musicians to perform together online.

(00:28:00) Latency vs. Bandwidth

Why faster internet speeds don’t necessarily reduce delay.

(00:30:43) Eliminating Latency

How buffering layers in software create unnecessary delay.

(00:32:41) Balancing Audio Quality & Delay

The different trade-offs for musicians, actors, and audiences.

(00:34:20) Rethinking Computer Science Education

The need to bring playfulness and interactivity back into learning.

(00:35:46) The Xylophone-Based Class

Teaching computation through real-time sound and music.

(00:38:34) Future In a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: optimism, truth in computing, and innovation.

(00:41:01) Conclusion

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April is Earth Month, and in appreciation of the plant life all around us, we’re re-running a conversation we had with Beth Sattely last year on the future of plant chemistry. Beth reminds us that plants are more than food or pretty things to look at — they have the potential to help us fight climate change or even cancer. We hope you’ll take another listen and join us in learning more about how plants can positively impact environmental and human health.

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: Elizabeth Sattely

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Beth Sattely, a professor of chemical engineering at Stanford University.

(00:01:28) Path to Plant Metabolism

How chemistry and gardening led to a career in plant science.

(00:02:12) Environmental & Human Health

Using plants to improve both the planet and people’s well-being.

(00:03:11) Engineering Climate-Resilient Crops

Making crops more sustainable and nutritious amid global change.

(00:04:16) Old vs. New Crop Engineering

Comparing traditional breeding with modern molecular tools.

(00:06:22) Industry & Long-Term Food Security

The gap between short-term market goals and long-term environmental needs.

(00:07:31) Tomato Chemistry

Tomatoes reveal how plants produce protective molecules under stress.

(00:10:44) Plant “Vaccines” & Immune Signaling

How plants communicate threats internally and mount chemical defenses.

(00:12:32) Citrus Greening & Limonoids

The potential role of limonoid research on citrus greening.

(00:15:17) Plants Making Medicine

How plants like Yew trees naturally produce cancer drugs like Taxol.

(00:19:37) Diet as Preventative Medicine

Identifying plant molecules to understand their preventative health effects.

(00:22:54) Food Allergies & Plant Chemistry

Why the immune system tolerates some foods and rejects others.

(00:25:00) Understanding Tolerance in Immunity

Possibility of reintroducing tolerance through partial molecular exposure.

(00:26:20) Engineering Healthier Plants

Potential for designing plants to enhance micronutrient content.

(00:27:58) Training the Next Generation

Beth celebrates her students’ role in shaping a sustainable future.

(00:28:57) Conclusion

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Candace Thille is an authority in learning science, educational technology, and AI-enabled learning environments. She is closing the two-way gap between the science of learning research and the hands-on practice of instruction to help students learn better. Timely and targeted feedback with the opportunity to apply that feedback is critical to learning, Thille says, and this is an area where AI supporting humans excels. She imagines a day in the not-too-distant future when human educators and AI-enabled assistants unite to help students learn faster and better than ever before. Learning is not a spectator sport, and AI can help us engage with learners – and educators – in new ways, Thille 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: Candace Thille

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Candace Thille, a professor of education at Stanford University.

(00:03:16) Path into Learning Science

How Candace became interested in improving how people learn.

(00:03:47) The Science of Learning

An overview of the field and why it’s still developing.

(00:04:42) Training Educators

How learning science is applied in teacher education.

(00:05:17) The Research to Practice Gap

Why insights from classrooms rarely feed back into research.

(00:06:43) Technology Supporting Teachers

Using AI and other technological tools to enhance teaching.

(00:09:00) The Open Learning Initiative (OLI)

The origins of one of the first large-scale digital learning systems.

(00:11:08) Learning with OLI

How feedback and structured practice improved student outcomes.

(00:13:14) Building OLI Across Disciplines

The collaboration between researchers, instructors, and engineers.

(00:14:36) The Accelerated Learning Study

Evidence that students can learn faster without sacrificing outcomes.

(00:18:02) Learning Science at Amazon

Applying learning science research to workplace education.

(00:22:29) Research as a Feedback Loop

Why teaching practice should continuously inform research.

(00:24:49) The Importance of Infrastructure

Using captured learning data to improve instruction at scale.

(00:25:37) Predictive AI for Learning Science

The applications of older AI models in learning science research.

(00:28:22) Generative AI as a Learning Interface

How generative AI can make education more accessible.

(00:31:01) The Myth of Learning Styles

The misconception that most people have different learning styles.

(00:33:30) Future In a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: new tools, data infrastructure, and supporting learners.

(00:35:24) Conclusion

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Legal expert Richard Ford studies the intersection of dress codes and the law. Clothing and hairstyles communicate power, identity, and social status, he says. Legal restrictions on dress stretch at least to the Middle Ages when “sumptuary laws” stipulated what one could wear by rank. Today, written rules have given way to unwritten codes that are in many ways more powerful culturally. Fashion is not trivial, he says, and no less worthy of study than high art or music. Clothing shapes everything, Ford 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: Richard Thompson Ford | Stanford Law School

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Rich Ford, a professor of law at Stanford University.

(00:02:21) From Law to Fashion

Rich Ford explains the legal roots of dress code disputes.

(00:03:42) The Origins of Dress Codes

Sumptuary laws and how clothing signaled social hierarchy.

(00:05:06) Formal vs. Informal Dress Codes

The shift from written laws to social norms and cultural expectations.

(00:06:28) Teenagers & Self-Expression

How people push boundaries within strict dress codes.

(00:08:01) Masculine Renunciation

Why men abandoned flashy fashion in the 1700s.

(00:09:42) The Feminization of Fashion

The gender shift in clothing and style expectations.

(00:10:57) Controlling Dress Codes

The effectiveness and consequences of imposed dress standards.

(00:12:44) Hair, Identity, & Regulation

The cultural and legal significance of hairstyles in dress codes.

(00:14:40) Civil Rights & Clothing

How dress became a tool for dignity and resistance.

(00:18:29) Dressing for Respect

How lived experience shaped Rich’s interest in fashion

(00:20:40) Reverse Snobbery

Why dressing casually can function as a marker of social standing

(00:22:28) Gender Inequality in Fashion

How clothing has historically limited women.

(00:24:46) The “Midtown Uniform”

How informal norms create uniformity even in the absence of rules.

(00:26:03) Uniforms & Social Equality

The benefits and limitations of uniforms in educational settings

(00:27:44) The Future of Dress Codes

Why fashion won’t disappear but is becoming more casual.

(00:28:49) Future In a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: young people, time, and studying tailoring.

(00:30:10) Conclusion

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Epidemiologist Yvonne “Bonnie” Maldonado is an expert in vaccine research and public health. Look back centuries, and the story is always the same, she says: Death rates from viruses have plummeted, especially in children and the elderly. And yet, millions of children die each year from vaccine-preventable diseases. Vaccines need a return of public confidence, and that starts with better messaging and greater support of nongovernmental messengers like herself. The bottom line is that vaccines are safe, she says. Vaccines work and we have saved many lives because of them, Maldonado reminds 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: Yvonne Maldonado

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Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest Yvonne “Bonnie” Maldonado, a professor of pediatrics, epidemiology and population health at Stanford University.

(00:03:01) Career in Vaccines

Bonnie shares what led to her career in vaccine research.

(00:04:53) How Vaccines Work

How vaccines train the immune system to recognize and fight pathogens.

(00:06:46) Why Vaccine Responses Vary

The variability in immune responses and breakthrough infections.

(00:09:22) Risk vs. Benefit in Vaccines

How researchers evaluate side effects versus disease severity.

(00:11:53) How Viruses Evolve

The evolutionary dynamics that shape viral behavior.

(00:13:59) Vaccine Boosters

Why some vaccines last for life while others require multiple doses.

(00:17:14) Herd Immunity

How community protection works and why vaccination rates matter.

(00:21:22) Vaccine Controversy

The controversy surrounding vaccines and what led to it.

(00:24:27) Global Vaccine Hesitancy

How declining trust and past outbreaks influence vaccination globally.

(00:27:07) The Future of Vaccines

Why vaccines are essential and how outbreaks shape public response.

(00:29:08) Preparing for Future Pandemics

How healthcare systems prepare for new threats after COVID-19.

(00:30:43) Future In a Minute

Rapid-fire Q&A: hope, public trust, and the future of health.

(00:32:54) Conclusion

Connect With Us:
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