Best Berkeley Engineering Podcasts (2025)

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

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5d ago2:07

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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

6d ago21:41

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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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The Symbolism of the Flying Tigers: Peking University's Wang Dong on the American Volunteer Group and its Historical and Diplomatic Usages 38:57

22d ago38:57

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This week on Sinica, I chat with Peking University's Professor Wang Dong (王栋), an international relations scholar at the School of International Studies at Peking University, where he also serves as Deputy Director and Executive Director of the Office for Humanities and Social Sciences and the Institute for Global Cooperation and Understanding. Pro…

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Jasmine Sun on Silicon Valley through a Chinese Mirror 1:11:18

29d ago1:11:18

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This week on Sinica, co-host Tianyu Fang makes his debut on the show to join me in interviewing his Stanford classmate and talented writer Jasmine Sun, who studies the anthropology of disruption. This summer, she took a trip to China with a group of friends with different levels of China experience, from people raised in the country to total novice…

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

1M ago5:44

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Great founders shine in a crisis.By Steve Blank

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Yascha Mounk on China and Western Liberalism 1:22:03

1M ago1:22:03

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This week on the Sinica Podcast, I chat with well-known author and public intellectual Yascha Mounk about his recent fascination with China, his approach to learning about the country and learning Chinese, and his thoughts on how China fits into the current crisis of Western liberal democracy. 7:15 – Yascha’s experience of living in China and learn…

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

1M ago9:36

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

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What Did the September 3 Parade Mean? 1:43:11

1M ago1:43:11

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This week on Sinica, I speak first with retired Senior Colonel Zhou Bo, a frequent commentator on Chinese military and security affairs and a prolific writer now at the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University, and with Rana Mitter of the Harvard Kennedy School and author of Forgotten Ally, a book about World War II in …

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What Does China Want? The Authors of a New Paper Challenge the DC Consensus 1:29:32

2M ago1:29:32

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This week on Sinica, I chat with Dave Kang (USC), Zenobia Chan (Georgetown), and Jackie Wong (American University in Sharjah, UAE) about their new paper in International Security titled "What Does China Want?" The paper, which has generated quite a bit of controversy, takes a data-driven approach to examine the claim that China seeks global hegemon…

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Trump's India Tariff Tirade: A Gift to Beijing? With Evan Feigenbaum 1:03:36

2M ago1:03:36

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This week on the Sinica Podcast, I welcome back Evan Feigenbaum, Vice President for Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Evan served for many years as a State Department official, was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia and Central Asia among his numerous positions in government, and was instrumental in buil…

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The Engineering State and the Lawyerly Society: Dan Wang on his new book "Breakneck" 1:32:43

2M ago1:32:43

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This week on Sinica, I'm delighted to be joined by Dan Wang, formerly of Gavekal Dragonomics and the Paul Tsai Law Center at Yale University, now with the Hoover Institute's History Lab. Dan's new book is Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future, and it's already one of the year's most talked-about books. In this conversation, we go beyond w…

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Chinese and U.S. AI Applications in Public Administration: Lessons and Implications for Ukraine 1:18:46

2M ago1:18:46

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Artificial intelligence has been a frequent topic on Sinica in recent years — but usually through the lens of the two countries that have produced the leading models and companies: the United States and China. We’ve covered generative AI, national strategies, governance frameworks, and the geopolitical implications of AI leadership. This webinar, b…

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From lawless spaces to true liberty: rethinking AI's role in society 1:38:37

2M ago1:38:37

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Welcome back to Generally Intelligent! We’re excited to relaunch our podcast—still featuring thoughtful conversations on building AI, but now with an expanded lens on its economic, societal, political, and human impacts. Matt Boulos leads policy and safety at Imbue, where he shapes the responsible development of AI coding tools that make software c…

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Nuclear Weapons, Ukraine, and Great-Power Competition 1:12:49

2M ago1:12:49

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Join me for a conversation with four fantastic panelists about nuclear safety and security issues brought on by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and more broadly on the state of nuclear security globally during this era of dramatic change. This program was made possible by the Ukrainian Platform for Contemporary China and the Center for Sla…

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The World AI Conference in Shanghai: Two tech veterans share their impressions 1:26:01

3M ago1:26:01

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This week on Sinica, Paul Triolo of DGA Albright Stonebridge and tech investor Ryan Cunningham join to talk about their observations and insights from the World AI Conference (WAIC), held in July in Shanghai, and what it tells them about China's ambitions in the fast-moving world of artificial intelligence. Don't miss this one! 04:21 - Ryan on his …

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Chinese Cooking Demystified: Chris Thomas and Stephanie Li visit Shaxi! 1:17:54

3M ago1:17:54

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This week on Sinica: On my final two days in Shaxi in Yunnan, Chris Thomas and Stephanie Li, the hosts of the marvelous YouTube channel Chinese Cooking Demystified, joined me for some cooking and lots of chatting about food! We recorded this show together and focus our conversation on their heroic attempt at a taxonomy of different Chinese cuisines…

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Blind to Disruption – The CEOs Who Missed the Future 15:22

3M ago15:22

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How did you go bankrupt?”Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.”Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also RisesEvery disruptive technology since the fire and the wheel have forced leaders to adapt or die. This post tells the story of what happened when 4,000 companies faced a disruptive technology and why only one survived.…

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Adam Tooze Climbs the China Learning Curve 1:03:28

3M ago1:03:28

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I'm in Shaxi, a wonderful little town in the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, and I was joined here by the Columbia economic historian Adam Tooze, who shared his thoughts on what he sees happening on the ground in China. Adam's been in China for the last month and reflects on his experiences learning about the country — and even attempting the langu…

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Why Investors Don’t Care About Your Business 10:20

3M ago10:20

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I’ve been having coffee with lots of frustrated founders (my students and others) bemoaning most VCs won’t even meet with them unless they have AI in their fundraising pitch. And the AI startups they see are getting valuations that appear nonsensical. These conversations brought back a sense of Déjà vu from the Dot Com bubble (at the turn of this c…

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Exploring Engineering Ep. 10: Nuclear Engineering 11:05

3M ago11:05

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In this episode of Exploring Engineering at UC Berkeley, we dive into the powerful and often misunderstood world of Nuclear Engineering. Undergraduate students Conrad Buck and Isaac Duarte Valdez share how curiosity—and a little serendipity—led them into a field full of untapped potential. Then, hear from Professor Ellie Tubman, a fusion researcher…

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Exploring Engineering Ep. 09: Mechanical Engineering 13:29

3M ago13:29

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What does a robot-fetching chicken, baking, and diagnosing breast cancer have in common? Mechanical engineering! In this episode of Exploring Engineering at UC Berkeley, host Laura Vogt talks with Aashray Manchanda, a recent graduate of the M.E.T. program, Michael McNabb, an alum with a passion for invention, and Professor Lydia Sohn, who bridges p…

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Exploring Engineering Ep. 08: Materials Science and Engineering 17:22

3M ago17:22

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In this episode of Exploring Engineering, we dive into the dynamic and often overlooked world of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE). Faculty member Mary Scott reveals the wide range of career paths in the field—from biomaterials to aerospace and electronics—while undergraduate Ava Daniels shares how a high school summer camp led her to discove…

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Exploring Engineering Ep. 07: Industrial Engineering and Operations Research 14:44

3M ago14:44

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Welcome to Exploring Engineering at UC Berkeley! In this episode, we dive into the fascinating world of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research — better known as IEOR. Join host Laura Vogt as she talks with UC Berkeley faculty member Rhonda Righter, current student Kenny Wongchamcharoen, and alum Nanavati Low. Discover how IEOR blends math, …

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Exploring Engineering Ep. 06: Engineering science program 8:28

3M ago8:28

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What do contact lenses, Newton rings, and computer science all have in common? For Jacqueline Thibault, a fourth-year Engineering Mathematics and Statistics major at UC Berkeley, they all came together in her first internship. In this episode of Exploring Engineering, host Laura Vogt sits down with Jackie to talk about what it means to be part of t…

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Exploring Engineering Ep. 05: Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences 20:14

3M ago20:14

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What do robotics, video game mods, and chip design have in common? They’re all part of the incredibly broad and exciting world of EECS at UC Berkeley. In this episode, you’ll hear from faculty member Claire Tomlin, a MacArthur “Genius” and former chair of the EECS department, as well as undergraduates Robert Nochez, Julian Rickenbach, and Evan Sand…

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Exploring Engineering Ep. 04: Civil and Environmental Engineering 21:10

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In this episode of Exploring Engineering, host Laura Vogt guides us through the many layers of civil engineering. You’ll hear from faculty, recent grads, and alumni who’ve carved out careers in transportation, public service, and cutting-edge construction. Parson Galicia (City of Oakland), Kimberly Leung (San Francisco MTA), and Nelson Jurado (stud…

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Exploring Engineering Ep. 03: Bioengineering 15:10

3M ago15:10

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What does it mean to merge engineering with biology? In this episode of Exploring Engineering at UC Berkeley, we dive into the world of bioengineering—a field that’s as interdisciplinary as it is impactful. You'll hear from Na’im Pierce, a recent graduate with a passion for genetic engineering and neurosurgery; Professor Kevin Healy, who shares his…

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Exploring Engineering Ep. 02: Aerospace Engineering 16:26

3M ago16:26

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Ever wonder what it’s really like to study rocket science? In this episode, we dive into UC Berkeley’s newest engineering major: Aerospace Engineering. Hear from current students Evan Smart and Maxwell Stolarz, who share what inspired them to pursue aerospace and how broad and exciting the field really is. You'll also get insights from Professor Pa…

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Exploring Engineering Ep. 01: What’s Engineering? 10:34

3M ago10:34

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Welcome to Exploring Engineering at UC Berkeley—a new podcast series where we uncover what it means to be an engineer and dive into the paths that lead there. Hosted by Laura Vogt, director of student communications for Berkeley Engineering, this first episode features an inspiring conversation with Tsu-Jae King Liu, former dean of Berkeley Enginee…

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Lean Launchpad at Stanford – 2025 9:09

4M ago9:09

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We just finished the 15th<>annual Lean LaunchPad class at Stanford. The class had gotten so popular that in 2021 we started teaching it in both the winter and spring sessions.During the 2025 spring quarter the eight teams spoke to 935 potential customers, beneficiaries and regulators. Most students spent 15-20 hours a week on the class, about doubl…

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Exploring Engineering at UC Berkeley trailer 1:03

4M ago1:03

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Debuting Tuesday, July 8, Exploring Engineering at UC Berkeley is your introduction into each of the academic departments and programs that are part of UC Berkeley Engineering. For a transcript, please visit the episode page on the ESS podcast hubBy Berkeley Engineering

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Hacking for Defense @ Stanford 2025 – Lessons Learned Presentations 12:58

4M ago12:58

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We just finished our 10th annual Hacking for Defense class at Stanford.What a year.Hacking for Defense, now in 70 universities, has teams of students working to understand and help solve national security problems. At Stanford this quarter the 8 teams of 41 students collectively interviewed 1106 beneficiaries, stakeholders, requirements writers, pr…

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Carnegie's Tong Zhao on the Expansion of China's Nuclear Arsenal 1:10:21

4M ago1:10:21

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This week on Sinica, in a show taped in early June in Washington, Kaiser chats with Tong Zhao (赵通) of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a leading expert on Chinese nuclear doctrine, about why the PRC has, in recent years, significantly increased the size of its nuclear arsenal. Zhao offers a master class in the practice of strategic e…

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Teaching National Security Policy with AI 14:47

4M ago14:47

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International Policy students will be spending their careers in an AI-enabled world. We wanted our students to be prepared for it. This is why we’ve adopted and integrated AI in our Stanford national security policy class – Technology, Innovation and Great Power Competition.Here’s what we did, how the students used it, and what they (and we) learne…

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The Strange Afterlife of an American Football Story from China 45:20

4M ago45:20

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In 2014, the writer Christopher Beam published a humorous, heartwarming story in The New Republic about an unlikely team of American football enthusiasts in Chongqing who went on to defeat their archrivals in Shanghai to win a championship. The piece was optioned by Sony Pictures, and had some big names attached, but was ultimately never made — not…

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The Raider: China and the Life of Evans Carlson, with Historian Stephen Platt 1:22:06

4M ago1:22:06

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This week on Sinica, I chat with Stephen Platt, historian at UMass Amherst and author, most recently, of the book The Raider: The Untold Story of a Renegade Marine and the Birth of U.S. Special Forces in World War II. Like his previous works, Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom and Imperial Twilight, it offers a compelling narrative history of an overlo…

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Industrial Policy, "Overcapacity," and U.S.-China Trade: A Conversation with Cambridge's Jostein Hauge 1:08:02

4M ago1:08:02

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This week on Sinica, I chat with Jostein Hauge, political economist and an Assistant Professor in Development Studies at the University of Cambridge, based at the Centre of Development Studies and the Department of Politics and International Studies, and author of the book The Future of the Factory: How Megatrends are Changing Industrialization. 3:…

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Seeking the Next DeepSeek: the Chinese Generative AI Algorithm Registry, with Kendra Schaefer 1:03:57

5M ago1:03:57

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This week on Sinica, I speak with Kendra Schaefer, the partner at Trivium China who heads their tech practice. She recently published a fascinating paper looking at the Cyberspace Administration of China's comprehensive database of generative AI tools released in China, and she shares the insights and big takeaways from her research on that databas…

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Bonus Ep: Rubio's Visa Revocations, with Jeremy Goldkorn [Explicit] 49:42

5M ago49:42

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Jeremy Goldkorn joins for this largely unedited throwback to the early, sweary days of the show. We talk about the announcement made on Wednesday, 28 May 2025, on the "aggressive" revocation of Chinese student visas for students with Party "connections" or who study "critical fields." You've been warned! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/priv…

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How the United States Gave Up Being a Science Superpower 14:34

5M ago14:34

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US global dominance in science was no accident, but a product of a far-seeing partnership between public and private sectors to boost innovation and economic growth.By Steve Blank

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Ukraine, China, and the Emerging Geopolitics of Resource Security 1:28:57

5M ago1:28:57

1:28:57

A bonus episode this week. On May 22, I moderated a panel organized by Vita Golod and the UNC Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies. The focus was on the U.S.-Ukraine Mineral Security Partnership, and it features Ivan Us, Chief Consultant at the Center for Foreign Policy at the National Institute for Strategic Studies; Jim Mullinax…

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House of Huawei: Eva Dou of the Washington Post on Her New "Secret History" of Huawei 1:08:40

5M ago1:08:40

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This week on Sinica, I chat with Eva Dou, technology reporter for the Washington Post, about her terrific new book about Huawei. From its prehistory to its fight for its life under tremendous U.S. pressure, she tells its story in a way that's both deeply engaging and very evenhanded. 04:53 – Meng Wanzhou’s case and its impact on media interest in H…

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Solving the CRISPR delivery problem using a proprietary peptide-based platform 1:05:53

5M ago1:05:53

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Dana Foss and Ross Wilson are the cofounders of Editpep, a biotech startup focused on developing CRISPR-based therapeutics. They are using a proprietary peptide-based delivery platform that enables targeted delivery to specific cell types, particularly for hard-to-reach areas like the brain. While Dana Foss is the CEO, Ross Wilson is also an Assist…

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The Endless Frontier: U.S. Science and National Industrial Policy: Part 6a The Secret History of Silicon Valley 10:35

5M ago10:35

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The U.S. has spent the last 70 years making massive investments in basic and applied research. Government funding of research started in World War II driven by the needs of the military for weapon systems to defeat Germany and Japan. Post WWII the responsibility for investing in research split between agencies focused on weapons development and spa…

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NEW! China Talking Points Ep. 1: Trade Truce, J-10C Dogfight, and What Comes Next 1:04:49

5M ago1:04:49

1:04:49

The Sinica Network proudly presents a new podcast: China Talking Points, featuring Kaiser Kuo (host of the Sinica Podcast), Eric Olander (host of the China-Global South Podcast and China In Africa Podcast) and Andrew Polk, co-founder of Trivium China and host of its podcast. We'll be joined regularly by Lizzi Lee, Fellow on Chinese Economy at the A…

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China's DeepSeek Moment — a talk given April 17 2025 at Carnegie Mellon 30:45

5M ago30:45

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I had scheduled a show to record while I was in Providence last week, but it fell through and had to be rescheduled, so please give this talk I delivered at Carnegie Mellon last month a listen! Hope you enjoy. Kaiser See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.…

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How the U.S. Became A Science Superpower 15:33

5M ago15:33

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Prior to WWII the U.S was a distant second in science and engineering. By the time the war was over, U.S. science and engineering had blown past the British, and led the world for 85 years.By Steve Blank

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Broken Engagement: Veteran China reporter Bob Davis on his new collection of interviews 1:15:47

6M ago1:15:47

1:15:47

This week on Sinica, I chat with veteran Wall Street Journal reporter Bob Davis, who has covered the U.S.-China relationship for decades. He recently published a new book called Broken Engagement, which consists of interviews with U.S. policymakers who were instrumental in shaping American policy toward China from the George H.W. Bush administratio…

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An MVP is not a Cheaper Product, It’s about Smart Learning 6:05

6M ago6:05

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A minimum viable product (MVP) is not always a smaller/cheaper version of your final product. Defining the goal for a MVP can save you tons of time, money and grief.By Steve Blank

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The Elves Leave Middle Earth – Sodas Are No Longer Free 5:10

6M ago5:10

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Sometimes financial decisions that are seemingly rational on their face can precipitate mass exodus of your best engineers.By Steve Blank