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Theory and Practice

by GV (Google Ventures)

Season 4 will explore one of humanity's most rapidly advancing and impactful changes: what does it mean to be human in the age of AI when computers and robots are accomplishing more human functions? How will AI with human-level skills influence us and enhance the world around us? How will we change AI, and how will it change us? Theory and Practice opens the doors to the cutting edge of biology and computer science through conversations with leaders in the field. The podcast is hosted by Anthony Philippakis (a cardiologist, genomicist, and Venture Partner at GV) and Alex Wiltschko (neuroscientist, AI researcher, CEO of Osmo, and Entrepreneur in Residence at GV).

From the show's RSS feed, refreshed Apr 7, 2026. Source feed.

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Episodes

  1. S4E8: Dave Munichiello on Investing in AI’s Future

    Throughout the fourth season of Theory and Practice, we explored emerging human-like artificial intelligence and robots. We asked if we could learn as much about ourselves as we do about the machines we use. The series has covered safety guardrails for AI, empathic AI communication, communication...

  2. S4E7: Google DeepMind’s Clément Farabet on AI Reasoning

    In this season of Theory and Practice, we explore newly emerging human-like artificial intelligence and robots — and how we can learn as much about ourselves, as humans, as we do about the machines we use. As we near the end of Season 4, we explore whether decision-making and judgment are still…

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  3. S4E6: MIT’s James DiCarlo on Reverse-Engineering Human Sight with AI

    Season 4 of our Theory and Practice podcast investigates the powerful new world of AI applications and what it means to be human in the age of human-like artificial intelligence. Episode 6 explores what happens when AI is explicitly used to understand humans. In this episode, we're joined by…

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  4. S4E5: Mapping the World of Smell to Broaden Diagnostics in Healthcare

    On Season 4 of Theory and Practice, Anthony Philippakis and Alex Wiltschko explore newly emerging human-like artificial intelligence and robots — and how we can learn as much about ourselves, as humans, as we do about the machines we use. The series has delved into many aspects of AI, from safety...

  5. S4E4: Moravec’s Paradox and the Evolution of Surgical Robotics

    In Season 4 of the Theory and Practice podcast, we’ve been investigating the powerful new world of AI applications. We’ve explored how to build safety guardrails into AI-driven healthcare, what the future holds for empathetic AI communication, and how humans can control computers with…

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  6. S4E3: Computational Neuroscientist Dr. Thomas Reardon on Communication between Minds and Machines

    On Season 4 of Theory and Practice, Anthony Philippakis and Alex Wiltschko explore newly emerging human-like artificial intelligence and robots — and how we can learn as much about ourselves, as humans, as we do about the machines we use. The series will delve into many aspects of AI: from...

  7. S4E2: Google DeepMind’s Dr. Claire Cui on The Next Frontier for Large Language Models

    On Season 4 of the Theory and Practice podcast, GV’s Anthony Philippakis and Osmo’s Alex Wiltschko explore being human in the age of AI. Guests this season dive into areas including AI communication, robotic surgery, and decision-making. Episode 2 explores how machine learning evolved to where it...

  8. S4E1: Being Human in the Age of AI: How to Responsibly Introduce AI into Healthcare

    On Season 4 of the Theory and Practice podcast, hosts Anthony Philippakis and Alex Wiltschko explore the many aspects of what it means to be human in the new era of artificial intelligence: from communication to robotic surgery and decision-making. In episode 1, Dr. Greg Corrado, Distinguished...

  9. S3E7: Calico’s Cynthia Kenyon on The Science of Aging

    For millennia, humans have believed that aging is inevitable. Yet thirty years ago, the work of Professor Cynthia Kenyon and her colleagues showed that a single gene mutation in a worm doubled its lifespan and postponed the diseases of aging. Recent work on the naked mole rat, a mammal like us…

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  10. S3E6: Geoffrey Hinton on the Exploration of Thought

    What is a thought? Some may think that question is quite abstract, but it has huge implications for science and computer design. If we cannot define a human thought, how can we know if a computer can think? Only then can true Artificial Intelligence be achieved. This week we speak to the…

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  11. S3E5: The Future of Psychiatry with Professor Karl Deisseroth

    Psychiatry is changing and will be unrecognizable in the next 10-20 years, given our new understanding about the role of brain circuits in the generation of emotions and behavior. This week we talk to Professor Karl Deisseroth, D.H. Chen Professor of Bioengineering and of Psychiatry and…

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  12. S3E4: An Exploration of Protein Folding with Professor David Baker

    Using machine learning to predict how a protein folds helps solve a riddle in biology. But it is just the start. These algorithms open up new opportunities to explore the physiological processes that have eluded research, adapt and create proteins for therapeutic purposes, and even power...

  13. S3E3: The Future of Cancer Medicine with Dr. Jay Bradner, President of Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research

    In the last 20 years or so, many new cancer treatments have emerged that provide greater precision and targeting of cancer cells. Today, we have a better understanding of the genetic components of cancer. Through novel technology and cutting-edge science, we’re now able to understand how the...

  14. S3E2: Breaking Barriers in Gene Editing with Harvard Professor David Liu

    Gene editing is the process by which alterations are made to DNA. There are three major challenges: make precise edits at a chosen site, make edits that do not result in subsequent mutations, and have an editing process flexible enough to address the mutations which cause human disease. This week...

  15. S3E1: The "Dark Genome" with Dr. Rosana Kapeller-Lieberman

    For the third season of Theory and Practice, we wanted to ask: what lies ahead for the intersection of life sciences and data sciences in the next ten years? In this episode, we explore the vastness of the "dark genome" and why "junk DNA" has been overlooked for so many decades. Our guest is Dr....

  16. S2E10: Bonus: The Patient's Perspective with Julia Vitarello

    We first shared Julia's daughter's story a few weeks ago in our interview with Dr Timothy Yu about the first "N of 1" drug trial. Tim recounted the journey in developing her treatment, and the intellectual and operational challenges that he faced in order to find a therapy and get it approved....

  17. S2E9: Genentech’s Aviv Regev on the Promise of Single Cell Genomics

    It's rare to meet a true visionary, someone who sees where the world can go before anyone else sees it. And it's even rarer to meet someone who not only recognizes the opportunity, but also has the conviction and energy to make it a reality. For us, the person who most exemplifies these...

  18. S2E8: Dr. Amy Abernethy on Closing the Gap Between Clinical Practice and Clinical Research

    Physicians make very big decisions in people's lives. Whether or not to put in a heart valve, whether to do a stent or surgery, what chemotherapy to dose. We often make these big decisions with very little data for decision support. This has to change. As we discuss in this episode, the future of...

  19. S2E7: Dr. David Altshuler on Translating the Human Genome Project Into Benefits for Human Health

    David Altshuler is Executive Vice President, Global Research and Chief Scientific Officer at Vertex Pharmaceuticals. I first met David when I was a medical student, and I spent my last year of my MD-PhD working in his lab at Massachusetts General Hospital. At the time, a new type of DNA sequencer...

  20. S2E6: Dr. Tim Yu on Running the First “N of 1” Drug Trial

    Every so often, someone comes up with a new idea that is truly visionary. The first time you see it, you may not immediately appreciate how transformational it might become. As an attending physician in Boston Children's Hospital's Division of Genetics and Genomics, Tim was caring for a young...

  21. S2E5: Dr. Krishna Yeshwant on Exploring the Intersection of Technology and Life Sciences

    Krishna Yeshwant is Managing Partner at GV, and a practicing physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Krishna embodies this mix of being both an intellectual and a business person. Most of his investments are at the intersection of life sciences and data sciences, like Flatiron…

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  22. S2E4: Dr. Caroline Uhler on Harnessing the Power of Machine Learning to Drive New Discoveries in Biology

    Theory and Practice speaks with Dr. Caroline Uhler, currently the Henry L. and Grace Doherty associate professor in EECS (Electrical Engineering & Computer Science) and IDSS (Institute for Data, Systems and Society) at MIT, and associate member of the Broad Institute where she is co-director of…

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  23. S2E3: Dr. Jennifer Listgarten on Solving Biological Questions with Creative Machine Learning

    This week on Theory and Practice, we speak with Jennifer Listgarten, a professor in UC Berkeley's Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences department and the Center for Computational Biology. Before Jennifer joined UC Berkeley she spent ten years at Microsoft, working in the New England...

  24. S2E2: Sir Rory Collins on the Power of Math and Biomedical Data to Solve Today’s Health Problems

    We speak with Professor Sir Rory Collins, Head of Nuffield Department of Population Health at Oxford University and BHF (British Heart Foundation) Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology. Professor Collins is also Principal Investigator and Chief Executive of the UK Biobank. Theory and Practice is…

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  25. S2E1: A Conversation with the Broad Institute's Anne Carpenter

    On this season of Theory and Practice we explore one of the art of being a great biologist – marrying a problem to a solution, choosing the right biological question, and pairing it with the right technology. Dr. Anne Carpenter is the inventor of CellProfiler and designed a method for coloring…

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  26. S1E11: Alexis Borisy, Finale Doshi-Velez, Pardis Sabeti

    The hosts interview a panel of distinguished guests, including life sciences entrepreneur and investor Alexis Borisy, Finale Doshi-Velez of Harvard University's John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Pardis Sabeti of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.

  27. S1E10: Zach Weinberg, Flatiron Health

    Zach Weinberg is the co-founder, president, and COO of Flatiron Health. He discusses his entrepreneurial journey and Flatiron Health's approach to accelerating cancer care and improving patient outcomes.

  28. S1E9: Cori Bargmann, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

    Cori Bargmann is the head of science at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. She is also the head of the Lulu and Anthony Wang Laboratory of Neural Circuits and Behavior and the Torsten N. Wiesel Professor at The Rockefeller University in New York. She joins the podcast to discuss advancing science on…

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  29. S1E8: Daphne Koller, insitro

    Professor Daphne Koller is the CEO and founder of insitro. She joins the podcast to discuss how machine learning and biology can advance drug discovery and patient care.

  30. S1E7: David Sontag, MIT

    David Sontag, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, explores how artificial intelligence can transform medicine, and discusses the importance of fairness in machine learning. Episode notes on research attribution: Steven Horng Yoni Halpern Rahul Krishnan…

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  31. S1E6: Eric Lander, Broad Institute

    Eric Lander, president and founding director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, joins the show to discuss human genetics and computational biology.

  32. S1E5: Greg Corrado, Google

    Greg Corrado, senior research scientist with Google AI, examines the impact of artificial intelligence and machine learning on medicine and delves into the future of biological neuroscience.

  33. S1E4: Sir Peter Donnelly, Genomics Plc

    In this episode, Sir Peter Donnelly, CEO of Genomics Plc and Professor of Statistical Science at the University of Oxford, explores the relationship between genetic variation and complex human diseases and talks about his career at the intersection of statistics and genetics.

  34. S1E3: Eric Schmidt

    Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt talks about the foundations of computer science, reflects on the role of data in healthcare, and discusses his views on the intersection of technology and life sciences as the next frontier.

  35. S1E2: Jessica Mega, Verily

    Jessica Mega, Chief Medical Officer at Verily, discusses her career path, the intersection of data science and healthcare, and how medical tools can augment positive health outcomes.

  36. S1E1: Barbara Englehardt, Princeton University

    In this episode, Princeton University’s Barbara Englehardt reveals what she’s working on in epigenetics and exploratory data analysis, and examines the theoretical foundations for machine learning and how they are applied in practice. Barbara is currently on leave from Princeton University and is…

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About this show

Season 4 will explore one of humanity's most rapidly advancing and impactful changes: what does it mean to be human in the age of AI when computers and robots are accomplishing more human functions? How will AI with human-level skills influence us and enhance the world around us? How will we change AI, and how will it change us?

Theory and Practice opens the doors to the cutting edge of biology and computer science through conversations with leaders in the field. The podcast is hosted by Anthony Philippakis (a cardiologist, genomicist, and Venture Partner at GV) and Alex Wiltschko (neuroscientist, AI researcher, CEO of Osmo, and Entrepreneur in Residence at GV).

Hosted by

GV (Google Ventures)

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Frequently asked questions

How many episodes does Theory and Practice have?

Theory and Practice has 36 episodes on PodParley. The most recent episode was published on September 20, 2023.

What is Theory and Practice about?

Season 4 will explore one of humanity's most rapidly advancing and impactful changes: what does it mean to be human in the age of AI when computers and robots are accomplishing more human functions? How will AI with human-level skills influence us and enhance the world around us? How will we change...

How often does Theory and Practice release new episodes?

Theory and Practice publishes monthly, based on its 36 episodes since October 2019.

Who hosts Theory and Practice?

Theory and Practice is created and hosted by GV (Google Ventures).
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