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 Promise and Future of Psychedelics Research
Interest in using psychedelics for mental health treatments has taken off in recent years — but the field was just dealt a major blow on August 9, when the Food and Drug Administration rejected a bid…
00:49:06 |
Fri 16 Aug 2024
The Big Chill and the Future of Refrigeration
We've only been able to harness the cold for our benefit for a little over 100 years, but innovations like refrigeration and air conditioning have completely transformed the way we live and eat.
A m…
00:48:57 |
Fri 09 Aug 2024
Asking for Help
Asking for help is hard. It can make us feel vulnerable, like we're sharing too much or admitting weakness. It can also stoke fears about our relationships and sense of self-worth — am I being a burd…
00:48:43 |
Fri 02 Aug 2024
Sharks — From Fear to Fascination
Before dinosaurs, before trees — even before Saturn had its rings – there were sharks. The fierce predators have been swimming in our oceans for hundreds of millions of years, standing the test of ti…
00:48:49 |
Fri 26 Jul 2024
How Money Shapes Medicine
Health care is a billion dollar industry in the U.S. — one of the biggest in the country. The business aspect of medicine is an invisible force in the doctor's office that shapes treatment decisions …
00:48:49 |
Fri 19 Jul 2024
Unearthing the Secrets of Volcanoes and Rocks
It's easy to forget that the earth below us is always changing and shifting — but sometimes, we get a dramatic demonstration of exactly that, like with the recent eruptions of a volcano in Iceland.
…
00:48:36 |
Fri 12 Jul 2024
Degrees of Freedom
On this rebroadcast of The Pulse: Freedom sounds great as an idea. Who doesn't want to be free to do what they want? But when you take a closer look, freedom becomes more complicated. What does it re…
00:49:12 |
Fri 05 Jul 2024
How Amazon Revolutionized Shopping and Changed the World
Amazon caught the wave of the early internet at a time when very few people even understood what the internet was. Launched in a garage 30 years ago, the company has grown from its humble beginnings …
00:51:49 |
Fri 28 Jun 2024
Making Faces
Imagine looking at a crowd of people, and they either all look vaguely familiar, or like complete strangers. It doesn't matter if this is a group of classmates or colleagues, or people you have never…
00:48:54 |
Fri 21 Jun 2024
The DIY Medicine Movement
DIY culture is all about empowerment — teaching yourself new skills to do things on your own, like retiling your bathroom or fixing a leaky faucet. But what happens when the DIY approach extends to s…
00:48:41 |
Fri 14 Jun 2024
The Search for Modern Masculinity
Competent. Capable. Strong. Stoic. Provider. Protector. Leader. Patriarch. These are the kinds of words that we've long associated with masculinity and manhood — but in recent decades, ideas of what …
00:55:02 |
Fri 07 Jun 2024
10th Anniversary Show: The Science Changing Our Lives
When it comes to science, it's often the flashiest stories that grab headlines — the cancer breakthroughs, the tech innovations, the discoveries of new species or distant stars. But there's also plen…
00:48:44 |
Fri 31 May 2024
How Art and Science Intersect
On this rebroadcast of The Pulse - We often think of art and science as existing in different — even opposite — spheres. One revolves around creativity and imagination; the other around observable fa…
00:48:43 |
Fri 24 May 2024
When Being 'Gifted' No Longer Feels Like a Gift
When psychologist Lewis Terman launched his decades-long study of high-IQ children in 1921, he had a specific goal in mind: to prove that "gifted" people were born leaders, and superior in just about…
00:48:31 |
Fri 17 May 2024
Lightening the Load of Motherhood
We hear all the time about the joys of motherhood — the incomparable sense of love, the magic of watching your kids discover the world, the pride and fulfillment of seeing them grow. But motherhood c…
00:48:29 |
Fri 10 May 2024
Rediscovering America's War on Bad Posture
In January 1995, the New York Times Magazine published a bombshell story with the headline: "THE GREAT IVY LEAGUE NUDE POSTURE PHOTO SCANDAL." The article revealed that, from the 1940s through the 19…
00:48:36 |
Fri 03 May 2024
Breaking the Silence on Medical Mistakes
When medical mistakes happen, patients and their families often find themselves at a loss trying to figure out exactly what went wrong. Something bad happened. And then, communication drops; there's …
00:51:08 |
Fri 26 Apr 2024
Living Greener — One Decision at a Time
Every day, we hear about countless environmental threats — from air pollution and microplastics, to deforestation and global warming. And a lot of us feel overwhelmed by the scale of these problems, …
00:56:22 |
Fri 19 Apr 2024
Bridging the Gaps for Latino Health
Over the past few decades, Latinos have become the largest racial or ethnic minority in the United States, making up nearly 20 percent of the country's population. Despite that, many Latinos feel ali…
00:48:30 |
Fri 12 Apr 2024
Boredom in the Age of Information Overload
It sneaks up on us while we're sitting in traffic, or waiting at the doctor's office, or doing our taxes — boredom, that restless feeling of dissatisfaction that arises when we harbor "the desire for…
00:51:33 |
Fri 05 Apr 2024
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