Cool Stanford Podcasts

From technology to democracy to brain science, you’ll find a wealth of podcasts at Stanford that are good listening. Get informed insight and a glimpse at cutting-edge research from experts across Stanford University and from the guests they interview. "if/then," launched from the Graduate School of Business, is the newest podcast in 2024.

Century Lives Podcast - The Century Lives podcast is produced by Stanford's Center on Longevity and explores the discrepancies in life expectancies across American Communities. In the first season, we asked how COVID-19 was changing the way we live and how that impacts our longevity. Then we moved on to the world of education, work, and healthcare to see how our future as a population of centenarians has already started.

Democracy IRL -  Fostering and maintaining democracy, development and the rule of law is the great challenge of our time. Join Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law and our host, political scientist Francis Fukuyama, for a series of conversations with thought leaders and academics alike that touch on the ways in which democracy and development are being challenged today by authoritarian resurgence, misinformation, the perils of a changing climate, and more.

ETL - Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders: A candid exploration of the entrepreneurial journey where informed leaders share personal stories of the secrets and setbacks behind real success. From the Stanford School of Engineering and Stanford Engineering Entrepreneurship Center.

From Our Neurons to Yours - We criss-cross scientific disciplines to bring listeners to the frontiers of brain science. Leading scientists to help us understand the three pounds of matter within our skulls and how new discoveries, treatments and technologies are transforming our relationship with the brain. From Stanford’s Wu-Tsai Neurosciences Institute.

Good Fellows: A weekly Hoover Institution broadcast, features senior fellows John Cochrane, Niall Ferguson, and H.R. McMaster discussing the social, economic, and geostrategic ramifications of this changed world.

Huberman Lab: Called "the hottest podcast in science" Huberman Lab discusses neuroscience: how our brain and its connections with the organs of our body control our perceptions, our behaviors, and our health. Professor Andrew Huberman at Stanford School of Medicine also discuss existing and emerging tools for measuring and changing how our nervous system works.

Human-Centered - Interviews with renowned fellows from the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences over the years, as well as conversations about cross-disciplinary social science research undertaken by current fellows of the Center, known as CASBS, and its project/program affiliates.

If/Then - Aims to answer some of the most complex questions today’s leaders face. Season One, launched in 2024, features 13 Stanford GSB professors discussing their research. Topics include: Integrating AI into a business, how remote work affects creativity, power dynamics in the workplace, and what Uber drivers (and Taylor Swift tickets) can teach us about economics.

Imagine A World - In a world marked by discord and short attention spans, the Knight-Hennessy Scholars community stands apart in its desire to seek deep conversations spanning disciplines and backgrounds. It was conceived by KH scholars as a way to hear directly from a wide variety of individuals about the questions they are wrestling with and their dreams for building a better future.

Philosophy Talk - Known as "the program that questions everything -- except your intelligence,” Philosophy Talk challenges listeners to question their assumptions and to think about things in new ways. This nationally syndicated public radio program and podcast hosted by Stanford professors Josh Landy and Ray Briggs. 

Podcasts: Case Studies, Reimagined -  The Stanford Graduate School of Business brings case studies to life. Available to the general public, they are used as supplements to class materials.

Reasonable Disagreements - Hoover Institution fellows Richard Epstein and Adam White discuss major legal and policy issues and debate points of disagreement between their libertarian and conservative perspectives.

School's In - This award-winning podcast explores issues in education through its hosts: Graduate School of Education Dean Dan Schwartz and GSE senior lecturer Denise Pope. Examples of topics include homelessness and learning, the psychology of belonging and making a large class feel small.

Scrubcast - A podcast exploring clinical, translational, and health services research from Stanford University's Department of Surgery through conversations with the authors. Each episode focuses on a recently published paper by one of our faculty and/or trainees. Listen to the stories behind the data and be the first to hear what our PIs are working on next! 

Stanford Legal - Law touches most aspects of life. Here to help make sense of it, is a podcast and radio show Stanford Legal. Co-hosted by Stanford Law professors Joe Bankman, a tax law expert and clinical psychologist, and Richard Thompson Ford, an expert on civil rights and anti-discrimination law, the show brings together attorneys, scholars, and experts in a range of fields from across Stanford and the country to discuss timely legal issues of the day.

Stanford Medcast - An educational podcast ideal for the clinician on the go. Interviews featuring SoM faculty and other experts; hot topics in medicine, education and healthcare. Produced by Stanford Center for Continuing Medical Education

Stanford MS&E Stories and Voices - Interviews with students of the Department of Management Science & Engineering. What brought them to MS&E? What was their experience like in the program, and where will they go after graduation?

Stanford Psychology Podcast - The Stanford Psychology Podcast invites leading psychologists to talk about what’s on their mind lately. Every week, an episode will bring you new findings from psychological science and how they can be applied to everyday life.

The Future of Everything - Host and bioengineering professor Russ Altman explores how technology, science and medicine are shaping our lives. From stretchable electronics to ecological surveillance, foldable microscopes and video editing with artificial intelligence, Altman asks his guests to discuss their role in creating the future — of everything. From the Stanford School of Engineering. 

The Minor Consult - Are good leaders born, or are they made? Can the skills and qualities of leadership be taught? Throughout his career, Stanford School of Medicine Dean Lloyd Minor has been fascinated by these questions – and in this new podcast series, he convenes top minds from many fields to find the answers. The Minor Consult explores the events that have forged today’s greatest leaders and discuss what it means to lead, especially in times of upheaval and uncertainty.  

The South Asian Studies at Stanford Podcast -  Also known as SASSpod, it features conversations between the Center for South Asia at Stanford and guests who have a connection to Stanford as faculty, staff, students, alumni, or partners.

The Storytelling Project's Off the Page - Off the Page is a podcast of stories, essays, and poetry from the Stanford University writing community, produced by the Stanford Storytelling Project in collaboration with the Stanford Creative Writing Program.

The Storytelling Project's State of the Human - State of the Human shares stories that deepen our understanding of single, common human experiences—belonging, giving, lying, forgiveness—all drawn from the experiences and research of the Stanford community.

Think Fast, Talk Smart - Join Matt Abrahams, lecturer in strategic communication, as he sits down with experts from across campus to discuss public speaking anxiety, speaking off the cuff, nailing a Q&A, and more. From the Stanford Graduate School of Business. 

View From the Top - This podcast features recorded live interviews from the dean’s speaker series of the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Prominent leaders from around the world join MBA students for a conversation on effective leadership, core values, and lessons learned throughout their careers.

Women in Data Science Podcast - Leading women in data science share their work, advice, and lessons learned along the way. Hear how data science is being applied and having impact across domains— from healthcare to finance to climate change and more. Hosted by Professor Emerita Margot Gerritsen from Stanford University and Chisoo Lyons, Chief Program Director of Women in Data Science Worldwide.

World Class - Each episode, Michael McFaul, director of the Freeman Spogli Institute, talks with world-renowned scholars at FSI about the critical issues the world is facing: Russia, China, nuclear security, democracy, cybersecurity, climate change, and more.