The Future of Everything

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.
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 thefutureofeverything@stanford.edu.
Episode Reference Links:
Stanford Profile: James Gross
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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 thefutureofeverything@stanford.edu.
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 thefutureofeverything@stanford.edu.
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 thefutureofeverything@stanford.edu.
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.

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 thefutureofeverything@stanford.edu.

Episode Reference Links:

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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