December 2023

Cover Story

As If You Had a Choice

From your DNA to what you ate this morning, a lifetime of factors is determining your every move. None of those elements, says Robert Sapolsky, is free will.

Features

Policing for the People

Song of the Scientist

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Essays
Essays

Buzz Skilled

The key to winning on this show: instant reflexes.

by Deborah Claymon

All Right Now
All Right Now

The Accidental Artist

What happens when a graphic designer starts tinkering at the kitchen table.

by Tracie White

All Right Now

The Ticker - December 2023

Stanford people in the news and on the move.

All Right Now

Memories of a Mentor

Dianne Feinstein’s staffers and interns on leadership, loyalty, and service.

by Christine Foster

All Right Now

Meet Tamish Pulappadi

The unassuming guitar hero down the hall.

by Tracie White

All Right Now

‘This Is Why I Love My Job’

Stanford’s new provost on faculty orientation, free speech, and the fun factor.

by Kathy Zonana

All Right Now

Coaching Girls on the Gridiron

Former Stanford QB John Paye brings pro plays to California’s newest high school sport.

by Kelli Anderson

All Right Now

Football and the Farm

A new book chronicles the ups and downs of 115 seasons.

by Sam Scott

All Right Now

Nice to Beat You

Goodbye, West Coast rivalries. Hello, whole new ball game.

by Ivan Maisel

All Right Now

They Played. They Learned. They Connected.

Reunion Homecoming drew 8,284 Cardinal guests. We asked for their six-word updates.

Columns
Columns

Excellence and Trust

by Richard Saller

Columns

You Were Always Going to Read This Column

But will it compel you to respond?

by Kathy Zonana

Departments
Departments

Dialogue — December 2023
Departments

Book Review: The Paradox of Survival

New and Notable

by Nestor Walters

Departments

Biblio File: What to Read Now — December 2023

New releases that inspire us.

Farewells
Farewells

Health Care Economist Who Founded His Field

Victor R. Fuchs

by John Roemer

Farewells

He Taught AI the Facts of Life

Douglas Bruce Lenat, PhD ’76

by Kali Shiloh

Farewells

Leading Agricultural Economist Kept a Farmer’s Perspective

Walter P. Falcon

by Tracie White

Farewells

Obituaries — December 2023