Stanford Radio

Stanford education Professor Ramon Martinez spoke about how families--in particular English language learners--can incorporate learning into their daily home activities. Originally aired on SiriusXM on August 29, 2020.

The Future of Everything with Russ Altman: E123 | Manu Prakash: How to beat a pandemic on a budget A prolific inventor of low-cost, high-impact healthcare devices recently set his sights on COVID-19. Manu Prakash was in France when COVID-19 took hold throughout the world. There, the Stanford bioengineer, famous for “frugal science” like his $1 field microscope made of paper, witnessed the challenges a relatively well-resourced nation experienced holding back the disease. His head was soon filled with visions of the nightmare awaiting developing nations, given that a COVID-19 test in developing countries can cost as much as $400. In a flurry, Prakash jotted down an engineering manifesto of sorts for a worldwide revolution in open-source, inexpensive healthcare solutions. As he saw it, here were three areas of greatest need — diagnostics, protective equipment and critical care. From his lab at Stanford, Prakash, his students and partners in academia, industry and government around the world led a frenzy of

Professor Tom Dee, Stanford Graduate School of Education on the summer slide and keeping learning happening when out of school. Originally aired on SiriusXM on August 22, 2020.

With Covid-19 still spreading in the U.S., and November fast approaching, more Americans are looking to mail-in voting. How can the presidential election be held safely? Voting law expert Nate Persily and law student Chelsey Davidson join Pam and Joe to discuss challenges for voting this year and possible solutions. Originally aired on SiriusXM on August 15, 2020.

In the heat of war, the legality of the U.S. bombing of Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagsaki in August, 1945 wasn’t questioned. But the devastation of those nuclear bombs, with hundreds of thousands of mostly civilians dead, spurred the international community to look for ways to prevent it from ever happening again. But today, 75 years later, the nuclear threat is more real than ever. In this episode, international law expert Allen Weiner joins Pam and Joe to discuss the law of war and the threat of nuclear weapons after Hiroshima. Originally aired on SiriusXM on August 15, 2020.

Dr. Yvonne 'Bonnie' Maldonado, Professor of Pediatrics and Infectious Diseases, Stanford on what parents and guardians should know before sending their kids back to school during the COVID pandemic. Originally aired on SiriusXM on August 15, 2020.

Full title: Dr. George Rutherford, Director of The Prevention & Public Health Group at UCSF, with the Latest on COVID-19. Doctors at UCSF are studying all aspects of COVID-19 from attempts to contain it, testing, contact tracing and how to reopen schools. Originally aired on SiriusXM on August 15, 2020.

The coronavirus pandemic is forcing us to make difficult choices about school, work, personal health, and mental well-being. How do we make good decisions? Political scientist Rob Reich, who teaches courses on ethics, walks us through a framework. Originally aired on SiriusXM on August 15, 2020.

The Future of Everything with Russ Altman Byron Reeves: What our screens tell us about us A professor of communication recorded long stretches of screen time in the lives of his test subjects and turned to artificial intelligence to paint a remarkable portrait of modern life. With the emergence of touchscreen smartphones, tablets and watches, so much of our lives is spent on our devices that in many ways we are what appears on screen. This “mediatization,” as Byron Reeves, a professor of communication at Stanford University, puts it, sparked a remarkable and unprecedented study of the way we live today. In a series of field studies, Reeves has recorded screen time of his subjects one frame every five seconds for days on end — with promises of absolute privacy, of course. He then uses artificial intelligence to decipher it all — words and images are recorded and analyzed. The portraits that emerge play out like cinema, revealing never-before-imagined insights into how people live in the screen-time world.

The Future of Everything with Russ Altman: Newsha Ajami: How engineers restored hope for our water supplies There was a time when all great cities were built near water. Whether for agriculture, aesthetics, energy or just plain drinking, water was a life-affirming, life-sustaining resource. But with the advent of advanced engineering in the form of dams, pumps and pipes, cities like Los Angeles thrived in places with very little fresh water. Now, global climate change is leaving many of those cities in danger of running dry. But there is hope on the horizon, says Newsha Ajami, senior research engineer at the Woods Institute for the Environment and director of urban water policy with Stanford University’s Water in the West program. Just as engineering made it possible to store and pump fresh water great distances, the field is developing new ways to use less water, to store more of this prized resource, to repurpose used “gray water” for non-potable uses like agriculture, and to inform inventive policy appro

Full title: Eric Abrams, Chief Inclusion Officer at Stanford Graduate School of Education, Discusses Diversity and Belonging on College Campuses Promoting diversity and inclusion using effective approaches that foster open intercultural communication. Originally aired on SiriusXM on August 8, 2020. Originally aired on SiriusXM on August 8, 2020.

The Future of Everything with Russ Altman: Susan Holmes: How statistics are reshaping our understanding of biology A leading statistician discusses her discipline’s growing influence on biology and why she thinks the most important skill for the biostatistician may be communication, not analysis. In recent years, biologists have learned that the vaginal microbiome — the make-up of the bacteria in the vagina — during pregnancy may be the best predictor of pre-term birth. It is a valuable finding that could reshape obstetrics. What is perhaps more revelatory about this emerging knowledge is that biologists have learned it from a surprising source: statistics. Stanford’s Susan Holmes is one such statistician in the rapidly evolving science of using statistics to understand biology. Holmes is now turning her attention to improving our understanding of the remarkable human immune system to help fight cancer and other deadly diseases. She says that the statistician’s greatest contribution to biology may not nec

Full title: Religious Liberty at the Supreme Court: Education Aid, Medical Coverage, and Employment Discrimination Protections with guest Michael McConnell Description: The Supreme Court recently decided several important First Amendment cases—ones that asked big questions about the rights of religious intuitions to receive federal aid for education, to be held to federal employment discrimination protections, and to cover all employee medical expenses. Join constitutional law expert Michael McConnell for a discussion about religious liberty in the U.S. and these SCOTUS decisions. Originally aired on SiriusXM on July 25, 2020.

Some residents of Tulsa, Oklahoma may be surprised to discover that they live on Native American land. What does that mean legally—for tribal people and others? Join Professor Greg Ablavsky, an expert on American legal history including issues of sovereignty, territory, and property in the early American West, for a discussion of the Supreme Court’s recent decision McGirt v. Oklahoma and important legal issues of Native American lands and governance. Originally aired on SiriusXM on July 25, 2020.

As Covid-19 resurges across the country, it is hitting prisons hard and courts are more backed up than ever. Is the American criminal justice system, already stressed, now at a breaking point? Join Stanford criminal justice expert Robert Weisberg for a discussion of prisons, the courts, and criminal justice during a pandemic. Originally aired on SiriusXM on July 18, 2020.

Join health law expert Professor David Studdert for a discussion of his extensive study of handgun ownership and suicides in California. David will also weigh in on the politicization of the Center for Disease Control particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. Originally aired on SiriusXM on July 18, 2020.

The Future of Everything with Russ Altman: Sheri Sheppard: How do we educate a new kind of engineer? Mechanical engineer Sheri Sheppard got her start in engineering working on the Corvette for General Motors and later worked for both Ford and Chrysler. Back then, she was among a handful of women engineers in the auto industry, where she learned firsthand the risks a monolithic culture presents. Today, Sheppard is a professor at Stanford University, where she works to encourage diversity in the student body, in the classroom and in the curriculum. She says that engineering needs to reach beyond the traditional disciplines to tap into sociology, history, ethics, psychology and even philosophy to help engineers explore the “peopleness” in the challenges they are trying to solve. In that pursuit, she encourages women and minorities eager to transform their field to become what her colleague Deb Meyerson has dubbed “tempered radicals” — leaders who can rock the boat while remaining in the boat. The result, She

The Future of Everything with Russ Altman: Jonathan Chen: Can algorithms make doctors better? An expert in bioinformatics says that empowering clinicians with artificial intelligence that combs medical data will deliver better health care than either could do alone. We’re all familiar with those algorithms on our favorite e-commerce and streaming services that recommend purchases, books or movies based on what “others like you” have enjoyed. In the industry, they are known as “recommender engines.” Medical doctor Jonathan Chen is an assistant professor of medicine at Stanford and an expert in bioinformatics who wondered if the medical profession might benefit from similar artificial intelligence. He now creates recommender engines for doctors that comb real-world clinical data to help them make key decisions based on steps other doctors have taken with similar patients, empowering individuals with the collective experience of the many. Chen tells Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast tha

Michael Tubbs, Stanford Alum, on creating change as the youngest and first African-American Mayor of Stockton, CA. Michael Tubbs on leading bold policy and economic changes to transform a struggling city. Originally aired on SiriusXM on July 11, 2020.

Adrian Miller, an American culinary historian, lawyer and public policy advisor shares his views about race, religion and ethnic reconciliation. He says social change begins when people listen to one another. Adrian Miller previously served as a special assistant to President Bill Clinton with his Initiative for One America, the first free-standing White House office to address opportunity gaps that exist for minorities in America. Originally aired on SiriusXM on July 4, 2020.