The Pulse
Go on an adventure into unexpected corners of the health and science world each week with award-winning host Maiken Scott. The Pulse takes you behind the doors of operating rooms, into the lab with some of the world's foremost scientists, and back in time to explore life-changing innovations. The Pulse delivers stories in ways that matter to you, and answers questions you never knew you had.
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 48 minutes
- Episodes
- 151
- Years Active
- 2021 - 2025
The Life-Changing Power of Lifting Weights
For a long time, weightlifting was relegated to the realm of muscle heads — but today, it's popular among people of all ages and fitness levels. On this episode, we explore the history of weightlifti…
00:51:39 |
Thu 01 May 2025
50 Years Later: The Lasting Impact of the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War changed the world — and the lives of millions of people, who remain scarred by the traumas they experienced. On this episode, we mark the 50th anniversary of the war's end with storie…
00:49:03 |
Thu 24 Apr 2025
Finding Strength and Beauty in Muscles
As the doors of the Vatican were opening, Bonnie Tsui sprinted through the galleries to the Sistine Chapel. She wanted to experience Michelangelo's frescoes alone for 10 minutes. She laid on the floo…
00:34:57 |
Wed 23 Apr 2025
Loneliness and How to Rekindle Social Connection
Over the past few years, public health experts have been sounding the alarm over a growing and potentially deadly epidemic: loneliness. On this episode, we explore how and why loneliness is so detrim…
00:50:00 |
Thu 17 Apr 2025
The Rise of YouTube and How It's Changed Our Lives
On this episode, we mark the 20th anniversary of YouTube with an exploration of how the video-streaming platform has transformed everything from global pop culture, to social movements, to how we see…
00:48:34 |
Thu 10 Apr 2025
In Search of Work-Life Balance
Our jobs can provide us with a sense of identity, connection, and meaning — but they can also feel like a never-ending to-do list that gets in the way of actually living. On this episode, we explore …
00:48:43 |
Thu 03 Apr 2025
Biomimicry: What Nature Can Teach us about Engineering and Design
How does nature make durable materials like corals and seashells without a heat or a kiln? How do peacock feathers get their beautiful colors? Scientists are trying to understand these processes and …
00:48:51 |
Thu 27 Mar 2025
The Mystery of Consciousness
This month marks the 20th anniversary of Terri Schiavo's death. She was diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state after cardiac arrest, but family members argued fiercely over her level of …
00:48:55 |
Thu 20 Mar 2025
Why the Internet Knows You Better Than You Know Yourself
We all have digital footprints — unique trails of data based on our online activities that corporations use to predict our behavior and influence our choices. Sometimes, it can be helpful; other time…
00:48:06 |
Thu 13 Mar 2025
How the Way We Look Affects the Way We Feel
When we don't like how we look, or are hypercritical about our appearance, it can really do a number on our mental health. On this episode, we explore the connection between how we look and how we fe…
00:48:59 |
Thu 06 Mar 2025
(Mis)Diagnosis: Bipolar Disorder
For more than 15 years, bipolar disorder defined Abigail Kafka's life. Abigail was heavily medicated, unable to work, or have a social life. Then a therapy session introduced a startling question: Wh…
00:48:41 |
Thu 27 Feb 2025
Ripple Effects
We trace the ripple effects of both scientific breakthroughs and public health disasters — understanding the long-term consequences of decisions and events — ranging from peanut allergies, to the inv…
00:55:43 |
Thu 20 Feb 2025
Pushing for Change
Whether we're talking about something as small as our work habits, or as big as public health policy, change can be tough. It requires energy, courage and persistence, that, a lot of the time, can fe…
00:48:52 |
Thu 13 Feb 2025
Meeting Your Match: Navigating the World of Modern Dating
Ahead of Valentine's Day, we explore the modern world of dating — and why so many people are frustrated with it. We talk with a behavioral scientist and dating coach Logan Ury about best practices fo…
00:54:43 |
Thu 06 Feb 2025
Exposure
Every day, our bodies come in contact with all kinds of potentially harmful things that we can't always see or smell — but which can have real consequences for our environment and health. On this epi…
00:48:37 |
Fri 31 Jan 2025
Finding your 'Sleep Groove'
In college, Olivia Walch was a self-described "sleep deprivation cowboy." She would go days with only 3 to 4 hours of sleep and then binge sleep at other times. But soon, it all caught up with her. N…
00:38:57 |
Thu 30 Jan 2025
The DIY Medicine Movement
DIY culture is all about teaching yourself new skills to do things on your own. But what happens when the DIY approach extends to something as complicated as medicine?We hear about a man who develope…
00:48:44 |
Thu 23 Jan 2025
Beyond Human Conversation
Humans have long dreamed of communicating with other species, from plants and animals to extraterrestrials. On this episode, we explore different efforts to break down the communication barrier with …
00:52:09 |
Thu 16 Jan 2025
What It Takes To Build The Future
We often think of the future as some unknowable horizon, fueled by sudden discoveries and inventions — but in reality, the future is constantly being created, pushed forward little by little by an ar…
00:49:07 |
Thu 09 Jan 2025
Origin Stories and How We Become Who We Are
Great origin stories aren't only for superheroes or villains in movies and comic books, lots of fascinating tales shed light on how places or people got their start. Origin stories connect us to the …
00:49:05 |
Wed 01 Jan 2025
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