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From Our Neurons to YoursAuthor: Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford University, Nicholas Weiler
This award-winning show from Stanfords Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute is a field manual for anyone who wants to understand their own brain and the new science reshaping how we learn, age, heal, and make sense of ourselves.Each episode, host Nicholas Weiler sits down with leading scientists to unpack big ideas from the frontiers of the fieldbrain-computer interfaces and AI language models; new therapies for depression, dementia, and stroke; the mysteries of perception and memory; even the debate over free will. Youll hear how basic research becomes clinical insight and how emerging tech might expand what it means to be human. If youve got a brain, take a listen. Language: en-us Genres: Health & Fitness, Life Sciences, Mental Health, Science Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
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Could brain implants read our thoughts? | Erin Kunz
Episode 8
Thursday, 13 November, 2025
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 Neural Prosthetics Translational Laboratory at Stanford, who is part of a global community of scientists working towards the vision of a brain–computer interface — or BCI — to bypass those broken circuits and restore the ability to speak to people with paralysis.We discuss how these BCIs work and the inspiring progress the tech has made in recent years, as well as the troubling question of whether a technology designed to decode what people intend to say from their brain activity could one day read out thoughts they never intended to communicate?Learn MoreStudy of promising speech-enabling interface offers hope for restoring communication (Stanford Medicine, 2025)For Some Patients, the ‘Inner Voice’ May Soon Be Audible (The New York Times, 2025)These brain implants speak your mind — even when you don't want to (NPR, 2025)A mind-reading brain implant that comes with password protection(Nature, 2025)How neural prosthetics could free minds trapped by brain injury(From Our Neurons to Yours, 2024)Brain implants, software guide speech-disabled person’s intended words to computer screen (Stanford Medicine, 2023)Software turns ‘mental handwriting’ into on-screen words, sentences (Stanford Medicine, 2021)Send us a text!Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience. We want to hear from your neurons! Email us at at neuronspodcast@stanford.edu Learn more about the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
