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
Behind the Scenes — Challenges in Medicine
When you're at the doctor's office or a hospital, it's easy to get frustrated. Why is this taking so long? Why do the nurses look so tired? Why does my doctor seem distracted? Who's making sure my di…
00:53:20 |
Fri 14 Jul 2023
Inside the Minds of Thrill Seekers
Skydiving, BASE jumping, climbing the highest peaks, adventuring to remote parts of the world — pushing the boundaries of safety. For thrill-seekers, chasing the rush is what it's all about. Where lo…
00:49:20 |
Fri 07 Jul 2023
Degrees of Freedom
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 really mean to be free — and how fre…
00:49:28 |
Fri 30 Jun 2023
Buried Secrets, Buried Waste
In October of 1947, a navy reserve pilot named George Earle IV received strange orders: He was to pick up several 55-gallon barrels at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, fly out 100 miles southeast of Atlan…
00:49:28 |
Fri 23 Jun 2023
Black Health: Finding Solutions to End Disparities
Health disparities between Black and white Americans run deep in the U.S. Black people are more likely to suffer from chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, or asthma, and the…
00:49:15 |
Fri 16 Jun 2023
The Social Self
It's a simple question with lots of answers: Who are you? You might answer with your name, age, gender, or race. Or you might define yourself by your family — as a sibling, a parent, or son or daught…
00:49:07 |
Fri 09 Jun 2023
The Benefits of Knowing When to Quit
The messages we receive around quitting are usually straightforward — don't do it. It's something we hear everywhere — from greats like Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretzky, in movies and TV shows, on mo…
00:49:24 |
Fri 02 Jun 2023
How K-Beauty Revolutionized Skincare — And Became Obsessed with Perfection
When NPR host Elise Hu moved to South Korea to be an international correspondent, she ended up getting a crash course on Korean beauty and the country's billion-dollar cosmetics industry. She explain…
00:27:49 |
Tue 30 May 2023
Communicating with Animals
Humans have long been fascinated by the idea of communicating with other species — not just teaching animals to mimic human words, but truly understanding their calls or cries, and interpreting their…
00:49:11 |
Fri 26 May 2023
The Mind-Body Feedback Loop
We all know how stress — or anger, or pangs of anxiety — can affect the body. Your heart rate increases; your blood pressure rises; maybe your palms feel sweaty, or your stomach feels tight. Likewise…
00:51:18 |
Fri 19 May 2023
When Healing Happens But We Don't Know Why
More than a third of Americans use complementary and alternative medicine, ranging from acupuncture to herbalism, Ayurveda to homeopathy. But despite its growing popularity, complementary and alterna…
00:49:05 |
Fri 12 May 2023
Managing the Challenges of Motherhood
If you look around for Mother's Day gifts, you'll probably see stuff like bubble baths, spa days, yoga classes — a whole slew of things aimed at promoting "self-care" for tireless (but actually exhau…
00:49:18 |
Fri 05 May 2023
Neurotech and the Growing Battle for Our Brains
Have you ever wanted to figure out when you're the most focused? Or how your moods change throughout the day? How "fit" your brain is, or whether your insomnia is really as bad as you think? Neurotec…
00:50:26 |
Fri 28 Apr 2023
Why Rejection Hurts So Much — And How to Cope
Rejection, or even the thought of it, can strike fear into our hearts, and leave a bad taste in our mouths. It often leads to a mix of sadness, shame, anxiety, and anger — along with nagging question…
00:48:51 |
Fri 21 Apr 2023
Why We Love and Hate Exercising —And How to Do it Either Way
We all know that exercise is good for us — for both our bodies and our minds — but motivating yourself to hit the gym, take a run, or even go for a walk sometimes feels like the hardest thing in the …
00:48:43 |
Thu 13 Apr 2023
Taking the Temperature of Climate Science
We hear about the big picture of climate change almost every day — the threats it poses, the effects on our world and lives, the fight to stop it. Across the world, armies of researchers are contribu…
00:50:09 |
Fri 07 Apr 2023
Call Me — Maybe? 50 Years Since the First Cell Phone Call
On April 3, 1973, an engineer named Martin Cooper stood nervously along a busy midtown Manhattan street, about to make a phone call. It was a call that would change life as we know it: The first cell…
00:49:26 |
Fri 31 Mar 2023
Bringing Physics from Theory to Practice
Science is all about observing the world. But how do you study something you can't see, smell, or hear — like the tiniest particles all around us? How do you test a new energy source when it doesn't …
00:47:52 |
Fri 10 Mar 2023
Black Health: Finding Solutions to Disparities
Health disparities between Black and white Americans run deep in the U.S. Black people are more likely to suffer from chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, or asthma, and the…
00:48:12 |
Fri 10 Feb 2023
The Therapist in your Pocket
Finding the right therapist — or, sometimes, any therapist — can be a grueling process. Someone with the right expertise, who is still taking new clients, lives in your area, who accepts your insuran…
00:47:51 |
Fri 03 Feb 2023
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