Encounters: Where Creative and Scientific Inquiry Meet

About Encounters: Where Creative and Scientific Inquiry Meet

Gastronomy & mycology. Ocean science & sculpture. Figure drawing & reconstructive surgery. Sociology & music. Art & explores arts-driven collaborations across Stanford University’s dynamic research ecosystem with host Ellen Oh, Director of Interdisciplinary Arts Programs at Stanford Arts. Through rich conversations at the intersection of disciplines, you’ll hear how creative approaches open up bold new possibilities for research, innovation, and societal impact.

Publisher

Stanford Arts

Category

arts · science · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

15 Jul 2024

Latest episode

11 Jun 2026

Latest episodes

18 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   11 Jun 2026

   Art & Healthcare with Janani Balasubramanian & Karleen Giannitrapani

   In this episode of Art &, we speak with artist, storyteller, and Stanford alum Janani Balasubramanian and Dr. Karleen Giannitrapani, Assistant Professor of Medicine in Primary Care and Population Health at Stanford Medicine, whose research focuses on palliative care, serious illness, and supporting people through major life transitions. Together, they discuss the origins of Forever Lab, a new initiative at Stanford Medicine that brings artists, scientists, technologists, and caregivers together to address some of life's most profound transitions. Born from a chance encounter during Janani's Denning Visiting Artist residency, Forever Lab explores how artistic practice can contribute to healthcare innovation, creating new interventions, experiences, and systems that support people through moments of vulnerability. Janani and Karleen discuss building interdisciplinary collaborations, why caregiving is a creative act, and how beauty can help reshape the future of healthcare interventions. Along the way, they reflect on the value of discomfort, the power of "curating" people across disciplines, and what becomes possible when artists are invited to participate in solving society's most complex challenges. Featured Guests: Janani Balasubramanian & Dr. Karleen Giannitrapani Follow Stanford Arts on Instagram and YouTube for more stories and updates. To learn more about Forever Lab: https://www.foreverlab.org/ Credits Host: Ellen Oh Creator / Producer / Editor: Taylor Jones Sound Designer & Mix Engineer: Chase Everett Theme Song & Music: Juana Izuzquiza Executive Producers: Ellen Oh and Anne Shulock Artwork: Connie Ko

2. 

   21 May 2026

   Art & Trees with Char McCurdy & Aaron Straight

   In this episode of Art &, we catch up with designer Char McCurdy and biochemist Aaron Straight about The Giving Tree, an upcoming Stanford IntroSem being taught this fall that will start with a single tree from campus and asks students to explore what can be made from as much of it as possible. Developed through Stanford Arts Institute's Arts Catalyst Fellowship, the course incorporates design, organic materials, sustainability, and hands-on making. Char and Aaron discuss how their collaboration started from a chance conversation about furniture into an adventurous class about materials, climate change, biodiversity, risk-taking, and problem-solving. Along the way, they reflect on what happens when students and faculty learn directly from the natural world, embrace uncertainty, and develop the agency that comes from making from the abundant source of wonder standing all around us: trees! Featured Guests: Char McCurdy & Aaron Straight Follow Stanford Arts on Instagram and YouTube for more stories and updates. Credits Host: Ellen Oh Creator / Producer / Editor: Taylor Jones Sound Designer & Mix Engineer: Chase Everett Theme Song & Music: Juana Izuzquiza Executive Producers: Ellen Oh and Anne Shulock Artwork: Connie Ko

3. 

   14 May 2026

   Art & Fellowship with Erika Chong Shuch & Tiffany Steinwert

   In Episode 5 of Art &, we meet Erika Chong Shuch, a performance maker, director, choreographer, and 25-26 VPA Visiting Artist, and Tiffany Steinwert, Dean for Religious and Spiritual Life at Stanford. Their conversation centers on 1,000 Ways to Hold, Erika’s ceramics-based social practice project that brings people together to shape clay bowls while reflecting on what they have held, and what has held them. Rooted in Erika’s inquiry of intimate encounters and bringing strangers together, 1,000 Ways to Hold originated from a question about isolation and the small moments that foster meaningful connection. Across campus, the project moved through classrooms, dining halls, community centers, spiritual life spaces, Stanford Hospital, and staff communities, inviting students, faculty, staff, patients, families, and neighbors to enter a shared creative process. Erika, Tiffany, and Ellen explore how art can act as a way to usher people into deeper presence, listening, and exchange. They discuss the relationship between ritual, spirituality, and community-building, divinity as an extension of making, and how a ball of clay can create space for grief, tenderness, and profound relation. "1,000 Ways to Hold" is on view at the Anderson Collection (https://anderson.stanford.edu/exhibitions/erika-chong-shuch-1000-ways-to-hold/) at Stanford University from April 2 through August 17. Featured Guests: Erika Chong Shuch & Tiffany Steinwert Follow Stanford Arts on Instagram and YouTube for more stories and updates. Credits Host: Ellen Oh Creator / Producer / Editor: Taylor Jones Production Support: Edi Dai Sound Designer & Mix Engineer: Chase Everett Theme Song & Music: Juana Izuzquiza Executive Producers: Ellen Oh and Anne Shulock Artwork: Connie Ko

4. 

   4 Dec 2025

   Art & Plankton with Jiabao Li & Manu Prakash

   In Episode 4 of Art &, we meet Manu Prakash—a Stanford bioengineer whose lab invents frugal, open-source tools that make global science accessible—and artist/designer Jiabao Li, whose work spans technology, biology, ecology, and planetary futures. Their collaboration centers on The Long Fall, an expansive performance and installation that transforms microscopic plankton into a planetary-scale story about climate change and connection. What started as Jiabao’s sabbatical project in Manu’s lab grew out of a shared inquiry: How can art and science work together to reveal the invisible systems shaping life on Earth? Drawing from Manu’s career of ocean expeditions, the two collaborated on a piece that moves across scales, charting the descent of plankton through the deep ocean, to the global forces of oceanic warming and shifting ecosystems. Together, they shaped a narrative that is part planetary meditation, part scientific revelation, and part emotional encounter with the unseen. Manu, Jiabao, and Ellen explore how interdisciplinary collaboration can reshape how we perceive the planet—how art can resist despair, open space for hope, and invite everyday people to feel the urgency of climate change not through raw research, but through wonder and beauty. Featured Guests: Manu Prakash & Jiabao Li Follow Stanford Arts on Instagram and YouTube for more stories and updates. Credits Host: Ellen Oh Creator / Producer / Editor: Taylor Jones Production Support: Edi Dai Sound Designer & Mix Engineer: Chase Everett Theme Song & Music: Juana Izuzquiza Executive Producers: Ellen Oh and Anne Shulock Artwork: Connie Ko

5. 

   27 Nov 2025

   Art & Anatomy with Anita Mohan and Lauren Toomer

   In Episode 3 of Art &, we meet Anita Mohan — a clinical assistant professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Stanford Medicine — and Lauren Toomer, an artist and lecturer in Stanford’s Department of Art & Art History. The two reflect on their personal paths to letting art inform their professional perspectives, and how a chance meeting during a medical humanities fellowship sparked a collaboration that integrates art and medicine. During the episode, Mohan touches on how plastic surgery’s focus on form, beauty, and what makes the anatomy aesthetically pleasing made for an organic connection to similar topics in art. Toomer shares how taking an undergraduate course on art, medicine and disability opened up her mind to thinking about the world in a more holistic way. Together, they’re designing workshops that encourage medical students to slow down, observe, and see the body through an artist’s eye. Hosted by Ellen Oh, Director of Interdisciplinary Arts Programs at Stanford Arts, the Art & Podcast explores arts-driven collaborations across Stanford University’s dynamic research ecosystem through lively conversations about how creative perspectives can spark new pathways, insights, and solutions for the most pressing issues of our time. Featured Guests: Anita Mohan and Lauren Toomer Follow Stanford Arts on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/stanfordarts/) and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@stanfordarts) for more stories and updates. ________________________________ Credits Host: Ellen Oh Creator/Producer/Editor: Taylor Jones Production Support: Edi Dai Sound Designer and Mix Engineer: Chase Everett Theme song and Music: Juana Izuzquiza Executive Producers: Ellen Oh and Anne Shulock Artwork: Connie Ko

6. 

   18 Nov 2025

   Art & Gastronomy with Ramón Perisé and Vayu Hill-Maini

   In Episode 2 of Art &, we meet Ramón Perisé—chef and Head of R&D at the internationally acclaimed Basque restaurant Mugaritz, and a Doerr Visiting Artist at Stanford—alongside Vayu Hill-Maini, a Stanford bioengineering professor whose lab explores fermentation, microbial systems, and the creative edges of biology. Their collaboration marks a rare and exciting model for campus: a chef-in-residence program that merges avant-garde gastronomy with scientific research, sustainability, and design. In this conversation, Ramón and Vayu trace the roots of their partnership, which began more than a decade ago when Vayu was a student searching for ways to merge science and cooking. That early exchange shaped his path as a researcher—and now returns in the form of a residency that brings Mugaritz’s playful, provocative approach to Stanford. Together, they walk us through their newest line of inquiry: the study of Neurospora, a vivid orange fungus whose biological and culinary potential opens the door to what they call “genetic gastronomy”—designing flavor, nutrition, and sensory experience directly through microbial life. For both of them, fermentation becomes a framework for thinking: a process that connects the microscopic to the planetary, linking questions of transformation, ecology, and sustainability. They describe the cross-disciplinary ecosystem they’re building on campus—hands-on workshops at the O’Donohue Family Stanford Educational Farm, part of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, (http://sustainability.stanford.edu/) collaborative experiments in the lab, plans for a communal meal, and a forthcoming Neurospora zine—all aimed at creating new forms of exchange between chefs, scientists, farmers, students, and the public. Together, Ramón, Vayu, and Ellen explore what becomes possible when culinary practice and scientific inquiry move in tandem—how food can function as a form of cultural research, how microbes can reshape the boundaries of creativity, and how cross-disciplinary collaboration can spark new ways of thinking about sustainability. Featured Guest: Vayu Hill-Maini & Ramón Perisé Follow Stanford Arts on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/stanfordarts/) and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@stanfordarts) for more stories and updates. Credits Host: Ellen Oh Creator/Producer/Editor: Taylor Jones Production Support: Edi Dai Sound Designer and Mix Engineer: Chase Everett Theme song and Music: Juana Izuzquiza Executive Producers: Ellen Oh and Anne Shulock Artwork: Connie Ko

7. 

   13 Nov 2025

   Art & Astrophysics with Camille Utterback & Risa Wechsler

   In the Season 2 premiere of Art &, we meet Camille Utterback—an artist whose large-scale interactive installations probe how data, bodies, and perception intertwine—and Risa Wechsler, a cosmologist mapping the unseen structure of the universe and Director of Stanford’s new Center for Decoding the Universe. Their collaboration began inside Stanford’s new Computing and Data Science building, CoDa, where Camille’s artwork Fathom (https://camilleutterback.com/projects/fathom/) arcs across five stories of glass and light, and now extends into a multi-year project supported by a Humanities Seed Grant. In this conversation, Camille and Risa trace the origins of Fathom’s “astronomy panel,” which blends ancient star charts with cutting-edge dark-matter simulations from Risa’s lab. They walk us through their newest effort: building tools that help artists and students work with astronomical datasets—especially the massive nightly stream of images soon to arrive from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time. For both of them, the project is a question of scale: how do we make data that is vast, abstract, or machine-parsed feel tangible again? Together, Camille, Risa, and Ellen explore what becomes possible when art and science move in tandem—how visualizing the rhythms of the cosmos can deepen our sense of inquiry, expand how we understand information, and create new pathways for public engagement. As we look toward a future where enormous datasets shape how we see the world, their work offers a powerful model: interdisciplinary collaboration as a way to restore wonder, sharpen understanding, and invite more people into the act of discovery. Featured Guest: Camille Utterback & Risa Wechsler Follow Stanford Arts on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/stanfordarts/) and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@stanfordarts) for more stories and updates. Read more about Fathom in the Stanford Report: https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2025/04/art-installation-computing-data-science-building-camille-utterback Credits Host: Ellen Oh Creator/Producer/Editor: Taylor Jones Production Support: Edi Dai Sound Designer and Mix Engineer: Chase Everett Theme song and Music: Juana Izuzquiza Executive Producers: Ellen Oh and Anne Shulock Artwork: Connie Ko

8. 

   5 Jun 2025

   Art & Interdisciplinary Pedagogy with Hideo Mabuchi

   Quantum physicist Hideo Mabuchi discusses his journey incorporating Japanese ceramics into his research and teaching, advocating for interdisciplinarity in education with host Ellen Oh in this interview.

9. 

   4 Jun 2025

   Art & Synthetic Biology with Drew Endy & Phil Ross

   Synthetic biologist Drew Endy and artist Phil Ross discuss how fungi can revolutionize materials, sustainability, and interdisciplinary collaboration in this interview episode.

10. 

    28 May 2025

    Art & Digital Embodiment with Cyan DeVeaux & Scarlett Kim

    Immersive theater-maker Scarlett Kim and human-computer interaction researcher Cyan DeVeaux discuss how technology reshapes identity and creative expression in a conversation with Ellen Oh, exploring the intersection of virtual and physical reality in this interview.

11. 

    28 May 2025

    Art & Migration with Tomas Jimenez & Meklit Hadero

    Sociologist Tomas Jimenez and musician Meklit Hadero discuss music's role in shaping migration narratives and fostering belonging in an interview with Ellen Oh, revealing art's impact on identity and social change.

12. 

    21 May 2025

    Art & Oceanography with Mehr Kumar & Mark Baugh-Sasaki

    Marine ecologist Mehr Kumar and sculptor Mark Baugh-Sasaki come together in an unusual collaboration exploring the fragile ecosystem of the Southern Ocean. In this episode, they share how art and science can jointly imagine climate futures—and how a chance whale sighting deepened their creative connection. Transcript: HERE (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tOo1P0cjIAskau13b64RTj2xYK8gJS2yZ5XeUUtnb2I/edit?usp=sharing) Featured Guest: Mehr Kumar & Mark Baugh-Sasaki Sediment Core digital visualization: https://arts.stanford.edu/core-sample/ Follow Stanford Arts on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/stanfordarts/) and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@stanfordarts) for more stories and updates. Credits Host: Ellen Oh Creator/Producer/Editor: Taylor Jones Production support: Edi Dai Sound Designer and Mix Engineer: Chase Everett Theme song and Music: Juana Izuzquiza Executive Producers: Ellen Oh and Anne Shulock Artwork: Connie Ko. Special thanks to Deborah Cullinan. Art & is supported by the Stanford Visiting Artist Fund in honor of Roberta Bowman Denning.

13. 

    21 May 2025

    Art &: The power of interdisciplinary research and practice with Deborah Cullinan

    In the premiere of Art &, Stanford Vice President for the Arts Deborah Cullinan joins host Ellen Oh to explore why art is not just additive—but essential. From poetry’s role in her upbringing to championing creative integration across disciplines, Cullinan makes the case for art as a catalyst for innovation, healing, and institutional transformation. Transcript: HERE (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Fjo0rvxz4m8z73v8mzX4muLZ-B1M7kCFSMeieXs_vtA/edit?usp=sharing) Featured Guest: Deborah Cullinan, Stanford Vice President for the Arts Follow Stanford Arts on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/stanfordarts/) and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@stanfordarts) for more stories and updates. Credits Host: Ellen Oh Creator/Producer/Editor: Taylor Jones Production support: Edi Dai Sound Designer and Mix Engineer: Chase Everett Theme song and Music: Juana Izuzquiza Executive Producers: Ellen Oh and Anne Shulock Artwork: Connie Ko. Special thanks to Deborah Cullinan. Art & is supported by the Stanford Visiting Artist Fund in honor of Roberta Bowman Denning.

14. 

    7 Aug 2024

    "The Future of Co-Creation" with Tsachy Weissman and Natalie Gosnell

    For our final chapter of Encounters, Janani convenes with professors Tsachy Weissman and Natalie Gosnell to discuss the future possibilities of art-science collaboration. Transcript: HERE (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uK61b2ydIsf9dgzoNJbTktPMsCGkLRldotHbiTbmSjI/edit?usp=sharing) For more information on Janani Balasubramanian and the 2023 Denning Visiting Artist residency, visit our site (https://arts.stanford.edu/office-of-the-vice-president-for-the-arts/visiting-artist-fund/denning-visiting-artist-janani-balasubramanian/). Featured Guest: Tsachy Weissman (https://web.stanford.edu/~tsachy/), Natalie Gosnell (https://nataliegosnell.com) Follow Stanford Arts on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/stanfordarts/) and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@stanfordarts) for more stories and updates. Credits Host: Janani Balasubramanian Creator/Producer/Editor: Taylor Jones Production support: Edi Dai Sound Designer and Mix Engineer: Chase Everett Theme song and Music: Juana Everett Executive Producers: Ellen Oh and Anne Shulock Artwork: Connie Ko. Special thanks to Susan Clark and Tsachy Weissman. Encounters is supported by the Stanford Visiting Artist Fund in honor of Roberta Bowman Denning. Series Transcripts (https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1BkW3j2BfcTiDl5qU-VEcS420887D3M4k?usp=share_link)

15. 

    31 Jul 2024

    "Challenging Metaphors: Redefining Scientific Narratives in Astrophysics" with Susan Clark

    This conversation with Assistant Professor Susan Clark explores how violent metaphors in Astrophysics can be transformed through art-science collaborations, leading to fresh perspectives on the universe and our place within it. Transcript: HERE (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1srx42v6s7X-nmQHaPL48Onbcr07eEhrzLAEaMT4PZrE/edit?usp=sharing) For more information on Janani Balasubramanian and the 2023 Denning Visiting Artist residency, visit our site (https://arts.stanford.edu/office-of-the-vice-president-for-the-arts/visiting-artist-fund/denning-visiting-artist-janani-balasubramanian/). Featured Guest: Susan Clark (https://clarkgroup.stanford.edu) Follow Stanford Arts on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/stanfordarts/) and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@stanfordarts) for more stories and updates. Credits Host: Janani Balasubramanian Creator/Producer/Editor: Taylor Jones Production support: Edi Dai Sound Designer and Mix Engineer: Chase Everett Theme song and Music: Juana Everett Executive Producers: Ellen Oh and Anne Shulock Artwork: Connie Ko. Special thanks to Susan Clark and Tsachy Weissman. Encounters is supported by the Stanford Visiting Artist Fund in honor of Roberta Bowman Denning. Series Transcripts (https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1BkW3j2BfcTiDl5qU-VEcS420887D3M4k?usp=share_link)

16. 

    24 Jul 2024

    "Art as a Meeting Place" with Srinija Srinivasan

    In conversation with Srinija Srinivasan, we explore practice and the role of art as a divine manifestation, capable of transforming our realities and fostering deep human connections. Transcript: HERE (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DZDSZFLaF9Qa3oreQnwijWxVlM00JdLFYtqDCbgQTj0/edit?usp=sharing) For more information on Janani Balasubramanian and the 2023 Denning Visiting Artist residency, visit our site (https://arts.stanford.edu/office-of-the-vice-president-for-the-arts/visiting-artist-fund/denning-visiting-artist-janani-balasubramanian/). Featured Guest: Srinija Srinivasan Follow Stanford Arts on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/stanfordarts/) and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@stanfordarts) for more stories and updates. Credits Host: Janani Balasubramanian Creator/Producer/Editor: Taylor Jones Production support: Edi Dai Sound Designer and Mix Engineer: Chase Everett Theme song and Music: Juana Everett Executive Producers: Ellen Oh and Anne Shulock Artwork: Connie Ko. Special thanks to Susan Clark and Tsachy Weissman. Encounters is supported by the Stanford Visiting Artist Fund in honor of Roberta Bowman Denning. Series Transcripts (https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1BkW3j2BfcTiDl5qU-VEcS420887D3M4k?usp=share_link)

17. 

    17 Jul 2024

    "What is Co-Creation?" with Ellen Oh

    In conversation with Ellen Oh, Director of Interdisciplinary Artist Programs at Stanford Arts, we uncover the value of connecting artists and scientists to advance fields of research and thought. Transcript: HERE (https://docs.google.com/document/d/18mCzHlUopsJABJ2ithvci1wtARLoKSDT8yES1ePukV4/edit?usp=sharing) For more information on Janani Balasubramanian and the 2023 Denning Visiting Artist residency, visit our site (https://arts.stanford.edu/office-of-the-vice-president-for-the-arts/visiting-artist-fund/denning-visiting-artist-janani-balasubramanian/). Featured Guest: Ellen Oh (https://arts.stanford.edu/office-of-the-vice-president-for-the-arts/staff/), Director of Interdisciplinary Artist Programs. Follow Stanford Arts on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/stanfordarts/) and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@stanfordarts) for more stories and updates. Credits Host: Janani Balasubramanian Creator/Producer/Editor: Taylor Jones Production support: Edi Dai Sound designer and mix engineer: Chase Everett Theme song and music: Juana Everett. Executive Producers: Ellen Oh and Anne Shulock Artwork: Connie Ko. Special thanks to Susan Clark and Tsachy Weissman. Encounters is supported by the Stanford Visiting Artist Fund in honor of Roberta Bowman Denning. Series Transcripts (https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1BkW3j2BfcTiDl5qU-VEcS420887D3M4k?usp=share_link)

18. 

    15 Jul 2024

    Introducing "Encounters," a new limited series podcast exploring art-science collaboration from Stanford Arts

    Premiering July 17th, Encounters delves into the evolving nexus of creative and scientific inquiry at the dynamic research ecosystem of Stanford University. Hosted by Denning Visiting Artist Janani Balasubramanian.

Who has been a guest on Encounters: Where Creative and Scientific Inquiry Meet

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Hideo Mabuchi
• Drew Endy
• Phil Ross
• Scarlett Kim
• Cyan DeVeaux

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

30,255

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

4 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 48 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

53

Social presence

0

YouTube

76

Engagement

32

Contact Encounters: Where Creative and Scientific Inquiry Meet

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about Encounters: Where Creative and Scientific Inquiry Meet