Leading Matters

Jonathan Berger discusses the pervasive, often obsessive connection between music and human behavior. Looking at the associations with music and salient life events, he explores the features, curses, and possible benefits of music that arise. (May 7, 2011)

Tom Byers and Tina Seelig demonstrate how they encourage their students to take life lessons from entrepreneurship even if their students are from a seemingly unrelated field. (May 7, 2011)

Abbas Milani believes that Iran's nuclear program will have incredible effects on the democratic aspirations of the population of Iran and the rest of the Middle East. (May 7, 2011)

Professor of Bioengineering Russ Altman discusses personalized medicine and his new discoveries in the field. He presents his research in applying computing technology to basic molecular biological problems of relevance to medicine. (May 7, 2011)

Jenna Davis and Jeff Koseff lead a discussion in which they detail the current state of the world's freshwater sources. Growing needs and increasing variability in resources are driving research to determine how we can ensure an adequate water is available. (May 7, 2011)

Eric Hanushek and Michael Kirst discuss educational reforms in the United States and specifically in California and how they believe these reforms can be improved in the future. (May 7, 2011)

David Kennedy talks about the development of the American West as a region as well as the issues that need to be solved in order to create a successful future, specifically water management. (May 7, 2011)

Social psychologist and marketer Jennifer Aaker gives a presentation which draws on psychological insights on happiness, storytelling principles, and design thinking methodology to reveal why some ideas and brands take off quickly. (May 7, 2011)

Irv Weissman gives a presentation on the current state of stem cell research and technology, describing the current uses for them and how they will affect medical techniques in the future. (January 22, 2011)

(January 22, 2011) Jeff Koseff and Buzz Thompson give a presentation about the state of the world's water supply. They describe how economic development and population growth are increasing the demand for water and detail measures that may become necessary to ensure that water is available to all.

Claude Goldenberg and Susan O'Hara discuss the challenges of teaching english language learners in the public school system and what is begin done to improve the process. (January 22, 2011)

Hank Greely gives a presentation on the revolution of neuroscience and what we know about the brain today. He focuses on the legal and ethical consequences that will arise in the future. (November 13, 2010)

(November 13, 2010) Deborah Stipek discusses the efforts that have been made over the last few years to reform the public education system in America. She shows why education will need to be so much different in the future.

Professor Priya Satia explores the parallels between the British occupation of Iraq after World War I and the current American occupation. (November 13, 2010)

Jonathan Berger discusses music as an aspect of human behavior and how it can be used to trigger memories and emotions. He also examines how music and memory correlate during the aging process. (November 13, 2010)

Professor Larry Diamond talks about the growing field of information and communication technology and how the results of this growth will impact the development of countries around the world. (November 13, 2010)

Russ Altman, Helen Blau, and Channing Robertson discuss the development of novel medical technology that allows doctors to better diagnose patients and improve treatment methods. (November 13, 2010)

Gary Segura discusses the good, the bad, and the just-plain-ugly events of the 2010 midterm elections, highlighting results that are surprising, provide windows into our political future, or are simply silly. (November 13, 2010)

Gretchen Daily and Pamela Matson describe why we need to conserve our natural resources and protect our environment. They detail the need for government action and what kind of legislation could help protect our world. (November 13, 2010)

Bill Newsome and Carla Shatz shine light on how brain circuits change with experience and learning during critical periods of development. They will also explore how the complex neural circuits in the adult brain carry out computations. (September 25, 2010)

Simon Jackson paints an educated picture of the electoral landscape, looking at political patterns from history, recent poll data, the U.S. economy right now, President Obama's term thus far, and current political cycles. (September 25, 2010)

Deborah Stipek addresses concerning statistics comparing U.S. achievement levels to that of other nations. She also takes an in-depth look at the root of these shortcomings, highlighting the benefits and flaws of President Obama's plans. (September 25, 2010)

Amir Eshel gives his opinions on the activity in the Arab-Israeli conflict. He includes background information as well as ideas of where the conflict is headed. He uses many outside stories along with many of his own experiences as examples. (September 25, 2010)

Jack Rakove gives a detailed history of the historic event that we now know as the Boston Tea Party. He gives historical background and explains the events leading up to and the implications stemming from the political event. (September 25, 2010)

Jim Sweeney discusses his ideas on how America and the world can work to become more energy efficient. He believes that this will not only come directly from using energy more efficiently, but also by increasing economic efficiency. (September 25, 2010)

Tom Byers and Tina Seelig share many techniques used by entrepreneurs of today. They not only discuss the technicalities of running a business, but also touch on the innovative and out of the box kind of thinking necessary to be successful. (September 25, 2010)

Michael Shanks, Chris Gerdes, Clifford Nass, and Sebastian Thrun -- all leading inventors and researchers at Stanford's new Center for Automotive Research at Stanford (CARS) -- investigate the topic of current, present, and future automobilles. (May 22, 2010)

Dr. Abraham Verghese, a professor at Stanford University, discusses how doctoring has changed in the technological age, yet how some aspects of medicine -- some rituals -- are vital and unchanged since antiquity. (May 22, 2010)

The presenters discuss how Stanford is leading the way in inventing and developing novel diagnostic and medical surveillance capabilities; techniques for disease control, mitigation and eradication; and tools for ensuring health and well-being. (May 22, 2010)

Dr. Pope discusses her research on the parent, student and teacher "traps" that occur in and out of school over issues such as homework, grades and the culture of competition. She reviews strategies to promote healthier home and school environments. (May 22, 2010)

Peggy Phelan, Stanford Ann O'Day Maples Professor in the Arts, discusses the elements of performance and self-fashioning in social networking sites. (May 22, 2010)

Professor Frank Flynn explores alternative "psychological levers" that can help engender employee motivation--tools that truly motivate employees without excessive spending. (May 22, 2010)

Roger Blandford and Patricia Burchat explore the evidence for dark matter and dark energy, and the experiments being developed to investigate their fundamental nature. (May 22, 2010)

Gretchen Daily and Buzz Thompson discuss the advances being made on three key fronts regarding the global environment: the science of mapping and valuing nature the new policies and finance mechanisms being implemented worldwide. (May 22, 2010)

Joshua Cohen and Terry Winograd discuss the impact that mobile technology has had on the developing world. Furthermore, they explore how to foster creative ideas that hold the greatest promise regarding applications in economic development. (May 22, 2010)

David Kelley, George Kembel, Perry Klebahn, and Diego Rodriguez, four leading innovators from the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford, explore the process behind innovative outcomes to complex problems. (May 22, 2010)

Henry J. Elam, Jr., Olive H. Palmer Professor in the Humanities and senior associate vice provost for undergraduate education at Stanford, discusses the evolution of the American musical as a reflection of American culture. (April 13, 2010)

Professor Garber, analyzes key provisions of the reform legislation and discusses its strengths and weaknesses, especially its provisions to limit expenditure growth. (April 17, 2010)

Margo Gerritsen, Stanford Associate Professor of Energy Resources, considers the reasonability of providing energy in an environmentally and economically sustainable manner. (April 17, 2010)

Kathleen Sullivan, Stanford Professor of Law, discusses recent rulings by the US Supreme court and asks if these decisions strike the right balance between respecting and restraining the work of the other executive branches. (April 17, 2010)

Stephen Krasner, the Graham H. Stuart Professor of International Relations, senior fellow and deputy director at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. (April 13, 2010)

Our understanding of the brain and nervous system is an incredible challenge and an opportunity where Stanford is uniquely poised to play a lead role. Bill Newsome and Krishnia Shenoy shead light on the nature vs. nurture debate and treating paralyzed patients. (March 6, 2010)