Best Stanford Engineering Podcasts (2025)

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Best of: How to take waste out of wastewater 29:19

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1d ago29:19

29:19

In October, chemical engineer Will Tarpeh was awarded a 2025 MacArthur “Genius Grant” in recognition of his pioneering work to turn wastewater into a source of valuable materials. Will envisions a future in which the concept of wastewater is obsolete, thanks to advances in recycling. A couple of years ago, we sat down to talk with him about this wo…

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"The Emergent Mind: How Intelligence Arises in People and Machines" | Jay McClelland 39:41

2d ago39:41

39:41

The AI revolution of the past few years is built on brain-inspired neural network models originally developed to study our own minds. The question is, what should we make of the fact that our own rich mental lives are built on the same foundations as the seemingly soulless chat-bots we now interact with on a daily basis? Our guest this week is Stan…

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A guide to difficult conversations, building high-trust teams, and designing a life you love | Rachel Lockett 1:45:19

5h ago1:45:19

1:45:19

Rachel Lockett is a sought-after executive coach and former HR leader at Stripe and Pinterest who now works with CEOs, founders, and tech leaders on emotional intelligence, resilience, and leadership skills. In this episode, Rachel shares powerful frameworks for coaching reports, having difficult conversations, avoiding burnout, and strengthening c…

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The future of digital markets 31:32

9d ago31:32

31:32

Gabriel Weintraub studies how digital markets evolve. In that regard, he says platforms like Amazon, Uber, and Airbnb have already disrupted multiple verticals through their use of data and digital technologies. Now, they face both the opportunity and the challenge of leveraging AI to further transform markets, while doing so in a responsible and a…

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Slack founder: Mental models for building products people love ft. Stewart Butterfield 1:30:35

24h ago1:30:35

1:30:35

Stewart Butterfield is the co-founder of Slack and Flickr, two of the most influential products in internet history. After selling Slack to Salesforce in one of tech’s biggest acquisitions, he’s been focused on family, philanthropy, and creative projects. In this rare podcast appearance, Stewart shares the product frameworks and leadership principl…

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The Godmother of AI on jobs, robots & why world models are next | Dr. Fei-Fei Li 1:19:34

14d ago1:19:34

1:19:34

Dr. Fei-Fei Li is known as the “godmother of AI.” She’s been at the center of AI’s biggest breakthroughs for over two decades. She spearheaded ImageNet, the dataset that sparked the deep-learning revolution we’re living right now, served as Google Cloud’s Chief AI Scientist, directed Stanford’s Artificial Intelligence Lab, and co-founded Stanford’s…

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The Department of War Just Shot the Accountants and Opted for Speed 30:48

14d ago30:48

30:48

The Department of War Just Shot the Accountants and Opted for Speed by Steve BlankBy Steve Blank

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The future of immunotherapy 33:52

16d ago33:52

33:52

Biochemist Lingyin Li survived breast cancer at just 30 and now works to harness the human immune system to fight cancers that have long evaded treatment. T cells, she says, are powerful cancer killers, but they can be oblivious. She and her lab colleagues have discovered a masking enzyme that squelches the immune system’s “danger signals” and are …

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“Dumbest idea I’ve heard” to $100M ARR: Inside the rise of Gamma | Grant Lee (CEO) 1:53:54

17d ago1:53:54

1:53:54

Grant Lee is the co-founder of Gamma, the AI-powered presentation tool that’s one of the hottest and most interesting AI startups in the world right now. They’re valued at over $2 billion, and they hit $100 million ARR in just over two years, with a lean team of just around 30 people. Unlike many fast-growing AI startups, Gamma has been profitable …

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Could brain implants read our thoughts? | Erin Kunz 37:05

17d ago37:05

37:05

Imagine what it’s like to lose your ability to speak. You know what you want to say, but the connection between your brain and the muscles that form words is no longer functioning. For people with conditions like ALS, or who experience a severe stroke, this is a devastating reality. Today's guest is Erin Kunz, a postdoctoral researcher in the Neura…

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"Sell the alpha, not the feature": The enterprise sales playbook for $1M to $10M ARR | Jen Abel 1:21:35

21d ago1:21:35

1:21:35

Jen Abel is GM of Enterprise at State Affairs and co-founded Jellyfish, a consultancy that helps founders learn zero-to-one enterprise sales. She’s one of the smartest people I’ve ever met on learning enterprise sales, and in this follow-up to our first chat two years ago (covering the zero to $1 million ARR founder-led sales phase), we focus on th…

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The future of emerging technologies 31:46

23d ago31:46

31:46

On our 300th episode, Stanford Hoover Institution Director and former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice talks about her return to Stanford after years in government and the impact she sees rapidly advancing technologies having on democracy and public policy. She says the future demands greater collaboration among industry, academia, and gove…

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The countdown to our 300th episode 0:25

25d ago0:25

0:25

Tune in on Friday, November 7th to listen to our 300th episode with a very special guest. Connect With Us: Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Website Connect with Russ >>> Threads / Bluesky / Mastodon Connect with School of Engineering >>>Twitter/X / Instagram / LinkedIn / Facebook Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.ads…

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It only took 20 years, but the Strategic Management Society now Believes the Lean Startup is a Strategy 14:54

26d ago14:54

14:54

I’ve always thought of myself as a practitioner. In the startups I was part of, the only “strategy” were my marketing tactics on how to make the VP of Sales the richest person in the company. After I retired, I created Customer Development and co-created the Lean Startup as a simple methodology which codified founders best practices – in a language…

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The woman behind Canva shares how she built a $42B company from nothing | Melanie Perkins 1:06:10

28d ago1:06:10

1:06:10

Melanie Perkins is CEO and co-founder of Canva, currently valued at over $42 billion, generating over $3 billion in annual revenue, with more than 240 million monthly active users and, incredibly, eight consecutive years of profitability. But the journey was far from smooth. Melanie was rejected by over 100 investors during her first fundraising ro…

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Best of: The future of transparent tissue 29:02

30d ago29:02

29:02

About a year ago, a research team at Stanford Engineering led by Guosong Hong published a paper about their work to use a common food dye to make mouse skin transparent. Their findings made a big splash and have the potential to provide a range of benefits in health care. You can imagine that if we have the ability to see what’s going on under the …

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NeuroForecasting: how brain activity can predict stock prices or viral videos | Brian Knutson 40:19

1M ago40:19

40:19

Neuroscientists have spent the past few decades tracing the network of brain systems—some deep and emotional, and others more analytical and deliberate— that work together as we make tough choices like where to invest our money as well as more everyday decisions like which videos to watch online—or, for that matter, which podcast to listen to. You …

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How Block is becoming the most AI-native enterprise in the world | Dhanji R. Prasanna 1:26:41

1M ago1:26:41

1:26:41

Dhanji R. Prasanna is the chief technology officer at Block (formerly Square), where he’s managed more than 4,000 engineers over the past two years. Under his leadership, Block has become one of the most AI-native large companies in the world. Before becoming CTO, Dhanji wrote an “AI manifesto” to CEO Jack Dorsey that sparked a company-wide transfo…

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#95 – What no one tells PhD applicants to US universities when they're preparing their applications (interviewed by Andrew Akbashev) 1:46:33

1M ago1:46:33

1:46:33

In this thorough conversation, I tell interviewer Andrew Akbashev everything I know about graduate admissions. My credentials are graduate admissions chair, associate dean for students, department chair, advisor to many successful applicants, and applicant myself. Please check out his YouTube channel here for a trove of information for young resear…

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The future of wound healing 33:50

1M ago33:50

33:50

Clinician-scientist Jill Helms is an expert on healing. Until about age 30, people heal easily, she says, but later on, not so well. Regenerative medicine suggests avenues for improvement, she promises. Her research focuses on understanding the physical and molecular processes of healing to design better therapies. One approach awakens “sleeper” st…

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Al Engineering 101 with Chip Huyen (Nvidia, Stanford, Netflix) 1:22:35

1M ago1:22:35

1:22:35

Chip Huyen is a core developer on Nvidia’s Nemo platform, a former AI researcher at Netflix, and taught machine learning at Stanford. She’s a two-time founder and the author of two widely read books on AI, including AI Engineering, which has been the most-read book on the O’Reilly platform since its launch. Unlike many AI commentators, Chip has bui…

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How to measure AI developer productivity in 2025 | Nicole Forsgren 1:07:48

1M ago1:07:48

1:07:48

Nicole Forsgren created the most widely used frameworks for measuring developer productivity—DORA and SPACE. She wrote the foundational book Accelerate and is about to release her newest book, Frictionless, a practical guide for helping teams move faster in the AI era. She’s currently Senior Director of Developer Intelligence at Google. We discuss:…

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The future of topical vaccines 37:39

1M ago37:39

37:39

Bioengineer Michael Fischbach studies alternative vaccine delivery methods, like self-administered creams with no needles, health professionals, or side effects. He teases a day when vaccines that don’t make you feel bad come in the mail in ketchup-style packets. Such innovations would greatly improve vaccine uptake, especially in developing countr…

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"Why Brains Need Friends: The Neuroscience of Social Connection" | Ben Rein 38:36

1M ago38:36

38:36

We are more isolated from one another than ever before — by our technology, by our political divides, and most of all, by our choices. This week on the show, we talk with neuroscientist Ben Rein about why this social isolation is terrible for our health — implicated in not only rising rates of mental illness, but also heart disease, dementia and mo…

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Figma’s CEO: Why AI makes design, craft, and quality the new moat for startups | Dylan Field 1:26:49

1M ago1:26:49

1:26:49

Dylan Field is co-founder and CEO of Figma, a beloved tool used by every modern product team. Founded in 2012, Figma has expanded from a single design tool to a comprehensive platform including FigJam, Slides, Dev Mode, and, most recently, Figma Make. After a $20 billion acquisition by Adobe fell through due to regulatory pushback, Dylan led the co…

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How to Sell to the Dept of War – The 2025 PEO Directory – Now with 500 more names 2:07

2M ago2:07

2:07

The October 2025 PEO Directory – Update 2.The Department of War (DoW) is one of the world’s largest organizations. If you’re a startup trying to figure out who to call on and how to navigate the system, it can be – to put it politely – challenging.By Steve Blank

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No Science, No Startups: The Innovation Engine We’re Switching Off 21:41

2M ago21:41

21:41

Tons of words have been written about the Trump Administrations war on Science in Universities. But few people have asked what, exactly, is science? How does it work? Who are the scientists? What do they do? And more importantly, why should anyone (outside of universities) care?By Steve Blank

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Inside Google's AI turnaround: The rise of AI Mode, strategy behind AI Overviews, and their vision for AI-powered search | Robby Stein (VP of Product, Google Search) 1:21:37

2M ago1:21:37

1:21:37

Robby Stein is VP of Product at Google, where he oversees the core products of Google Search—including the new AI Overviews, AI Mode, search ranking, Google Lens, and more. Previously, he led consumer products at Instagram, where he and his teams built Stories, Reels, Close Friends, and other key features now used by billions. — What you’ll learn: …

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Best of: The future of extreme climate events 32:46

2M ago32:46

32:46

As fall arrives, many regions experience dramatic weather shifts—think early frosts, storms, or unusual temperature swings. Last year, we sat down with Noah Diffenbaugh, an expert on climate change. We discussed the fact that extreme weather is becoming more frequent. Noah pointed out that there are still things we can do to mitigate the impacts of…

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First interview with Scale AI’s CEO: $14B Meta deal, what’s working in enterprise AI, and what frontier labs are building next | Jason Droege 1:24:01

2M ago1:24:01

1:24:01

Jason Droege is the CEO of Scale AI, a company that provides foundational training data to every major AI lab. He previously co-founded Scour with Travis Kalanick and built Uber Eats from idea to $20 billion in revenue. In this conversation, Jason shares lessons from getting sued for $250 billion, discovering restaurant economics by weighing sandwi…

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Engineer in the House: Congresswoman Luz Rivas' Journey 36:34

2M ago36:34

36:34

In this special episode, SHPE CEO Suzanna Valdez Wolfe sits down with Congresswoman Luz Rivas, an MIT-trained electrical engineer, non-profit founder, and the only Latina in Congress with a STEM background for an in-depth conversation about her remarkable journey. They discuss her path from the San Fernando Valley to the halls of Congress, explorin…

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How to find hidden growth opportunities in your product | Albert Cheng (Duolingo, Grammarly, Chess.com) 1:25:25

2M ago1:25:25

1:25:25

Albert Cheng has led growth at three of the world’s most successful consumer subscription companies: Duolingo, Grammarly, and Chess.com. A former Google product manager (and serious pianist!), Albert developed a unique approach to finding and scaling growth opportunities through rapid experimentation and deep user psychology. His teams run 1,000 ex…

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The future of the built environment 33:40

2M ago33:40

33:40

Rishee Jain is an engineer and an expert in the built environment – the manmade structures of modern life. The future, Jain says, will be a place where everyone has a safe, comfortable place to live and work, and the built environment adapts in real time to our needs. Jain is now exploring cool roofs that reflect heat to lower indoor temperatures a…

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From doodles to Descartes: sketching and the human cognitive toolkit | Judith Fan 40:29

2M ago40:29

40:29

Before the written word — and possibly even before speech — humans have communicated through drawing. From crude scratches in the dirt or on cave walls to the arcane symbology of the laboratory whiteboard, our instinct for conveying our thoughts visually is pretty extraordinary. We see or understand something in the world, we build an idea in our m…

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A 4-step framework for building delightful products | Nesrine Changuel (Spotify, Google, Skype) 1:24:22

2M ago1:24:22

1:24:22

Nesrine Changuel helped build Spotify, Google Chrome, and Google Meet. Her work has helped her discover the importance of emotional connection in building successful products. At Google, she served as a dedicated “delight PM,” a role specifically focused on making products more delightful. She recently published Product Delight, a book that provide…

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The future of the innovation economy 32:07

2M ago32:07

32:07

In a special Future of Everything podcast episode recorded live before a studio audience in New York, host Russ Altman talks to three authorities on the innovation economy. His guests – Fei-Fei Li, professor of computer science and co-director of the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI); Susan Athey, professor and authority on the economi…

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Why AI evals are the hottest new skill for product builders | Hamel Husain & Shreya Shankar (creators of the #1 eval course) 1:46:33

2M ago1:46:33

1:46:33

Hamel Husain and Shreya Shankar teach the world’s most popular course on AI evals and have trained over 2,000 PMs and engineers (including many teams at OpenAI and Anthropic). In this conversation, they demystify the process of developing effective evals, walk through real examples, and share practical techniques that’ll help you improve your AI pr…

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From managing people to managing AI: The leadership skills everyone needs now | Julie Zhuo (Facebook VP, Sundial CEO, The Making of a Manager author) 1:36:24

2M ago1:36:24

1:36:24

Julie Zhuo is the former VP and Head of Design at Facebook (now Meta), author of the bestselling book The Making of a Manager, and co-founder of Sundial, an AI-powered data analysis company. Also, my first-ever podcast guest over 3 years ago! In our conversation, we discuss: 1. The three core manager skills that translate directly to managing AI ag…

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Best of: The future of ultrafast electronics 36:11

2M ago36:11

36:11

About a year ago we released an episode on the future of ultrafast electronics and it quickly became one of our most popular episodes on YouTube. We’re excited to re-share it with you today. Physicist Matthias Kling walks us through his study of photons and the things science can do with ultrafast pulses of x-rays. The knowledge he’s gaining could …

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What is psychosis? Navigating an altered reality | Jacob Ballon & Shannon Pagdon 46:07

2M ago46:07

46:07

Imagine if you couldn't distinguish between dreams and reality. If you couldn't tell whether what you were seeing or hearing was really there in front of you. What if you discovered you couldn't trust your own perceptions? Psychosis is something three out of every a hundred people will experience at some point in their lifetimes. But what exactly i…

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Why experts writing AI evals is creating the fastest-growing companies in history | Brendan Foody (CEO of Mercor) 1:06:39

2M ago1:06:39

1:06:39

Brendan Foody is the CEO and co-founder of Mercor, the fastest-growing company in history to go from $1M to $500M in revenue (in just 17 months!). At 22, he is also the youngest American unicorn founder ever. Mercor works with 6 of the Magnificent 7 and all top 5 AI labs to help them hire experts to create evaluations and training data that improve…

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When Sh!t Hits the Fan – Founders in a Crisis 5:44

2M ago5:44

5:44

Great founders shine in a crisis.By Steve Blank

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The ultimate guide to AEO: How to get ChatGPT to recommend your product | Ethan Smith (Graphite) 1:11:55

3M ago1:11:55

1:11:55

Ethan Smith is the CEO of Graphite—the leading SEO growth agency—and my go-to expert on SEO. After 18 years of mastering traditional SEO, Ethan has been at the forefront of what is called AEO: answer engine optimization, or, more simply, getting your product to show up in ChatGPT/Claude/Gemini/Perplexity answers. He’s discovered that ChatGPT traffi…

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The future of allergies 37:56

3M ago37:56

37:56

Allergist Tina Sindher acknowledges that allergies may be affecting more people worldwide, influenced by a combination of factors such as environmental changes, modern lifestyles, urbanization, and evolving dietary habits. Prevention is playing catch-up, and promising new strategies include earlier food introduction than was popular only a few year…

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How To Sell to the Dept of War – The 2025 PEO Directory 9:36

3M ago9:36

9:36

How To Sell to the Dept of War – The 2025 PEO Directory by Steve BlankBy Steve Blank