The Pulse Specials

Series produced by WHYY

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Host Maiken Scott leads this one-hour, weekly tour of the people and places at the heart of health and science.

It’s a show for curious people who ask: "Yeah, why is that?" Often surprising and always captivating, The Pulse makes science and discovery personal. Produced at WHYY in Philadelphia, the show features scientists, doctors, innovators and storytelling from across the country.

For information about The Pulse please contact Steve Martin at steve@sfmconsulting.com or call 703.715.0827.


103 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
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Steaks are delicious. Bacon is tasty. Americans eat a ton of meat, and consumption is on the rise. People worry that eating too much meat can hurt ...

  • Added: Jun 14, 2017
  • Length: 50:29
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What’s in your backyard, in your water, in your food? The Pulse hunts for the hidden poisons in the environment and finds them everywhere — even in...

  • Added: Jun 12, 2017
  • Length: 50:29
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Money drives decisions in health and science. It’s part of the equation in drug development and dictates which medicines end up on the pharmacy she...

Bought by Spokane Public Radio


  • Added: May 17, 2017
  • Length: 50:29
  • Purchases: 1
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Giving birth, Giving support. Being there. Being exhausted. To mark Mother’s Day, “The Pulse” reflects on some of the ways humans — and other speci...

Bought by KUFM - Montana Public Radio, KTSW 89.9, WBEZ, KRPS, Boise State Public Radio and more


  • Added: May 05, 2017
  • Length: 50:29
  • Purchases: 10
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Being seen has consequences, some great, some scary. Scientists are stepping out of the lab and speaking up to counter what they say is a worrying ...

Bought by KUOW


  • Added: Apr 28, 2017
  • Length: 50:30
  • Purchases: 1
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Now for our feature presentation: we're going to explore the science of movie magic as seen on the big screen and behind the scenes. We'll take you...

Bought by Troy Public Radio, KRCU Public Radio, and CI Dolphin Radio


  • Added: Apr 21, 2017
  • Length: 50:28
  • Purchases: 3
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What should fuel America? Coal, natural gas, and nuclear are still the undeniable leaders, but sun, wind and water are catching up as clean, renewa...

Bought by KTSW 89.9, WCAI / WNAN Cape & Islands, Mass., WITF, Nevada Public Radio, New Hampshire Public Radio and more


  • Added: Apr 14, 2017
  • Length: 50:29
  • Purchases: 17
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Rare illness. Dangerous weight loss. Staunch activism. Remote places. ‘Out there’ scientific ideas. The Pulse explores extremes and what we can lea...

Bought by WCAI / WNAN Cape & Islands, Mass.


  • Added: Apr 07, 2017
  • Length: 50:39
  • Purchases: 1
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Many of us have some baggage when it comes to our health. A bad back. High blood pressure. Heart disease. Cancer. In health insurance speak: "pre-e...

  • Added: Mar 31, 2017
  • Length: 50:39
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The Pulse visits with the boss ladies who are doing groundbreaking work in fields like chemistry, biology, astrophysics. Many of them changed the g...

Bought by Public Radio for All, WGCU, WFAE, Boise State Public Radio, WCAI / WNAN Cape & Islands, Mass. and more


  • Added: Mar 24, 2017
  • Length: 50:39
  • Purchases: 8
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Every year, thousands of people come to the U.S. from other countries. Some come as immigrants. Others come to this country under terrible circumst...

Bought by South Dakota Public Broadcasting - Radio and Boise State Public Radio


  • Added: Mar 22, 2017
  • Length: 50:40
  • Purchases: 2
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On this episode,we’ll explore why we feel disgust, and what we can learn when we take a closer look at repulsive things…how fly spit messes up crim...

Bought by KTRT RADIO INC, South Dakota Public Broadcasting - Radio, and WFAE


  • Added: Mar 10, 2017
  • Length: 50:39
  • Purchases: 3
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Say "aaaaaah," because on this episode of The Pulse, we’re exploring your mouth. We attend a tongue tie snipping and a wisdom tooth extraction, and...

Bought by Troy Public Radio


  • Added: Mar 07, 2017
  • Length: 50:39
  • Purchases: 1
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Can a copy ever be as good as the original? This week on The Pulse: The science of making fake-outs, duplicates and replicas. (Don’t miss the cameo...

  • Added: Feb 24, 2017
  • Length: 50:39
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The Pulse peeks into that supercomputer inside of our heads. The brain is an unassuming mass of gray and tan tissue--once it’s splayed out on an au...

Bought by WCAI / WNAN Cape & Islands, Mass.


  • Added: Feb 17, 2017
  • Length: 51:08
  • Purchases: 1
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On this edition of The Pulse we examine questions that come up as scientists explore the amazing promise of genetics. Tinkering with genes is serio...

Bought by WYAP, Troy Public Radio, and Prairie Public


  • Added: Feb 06, 2017
  • Length: 51:08
  • Purchases: 3
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When you’re facing a tough decision sometimes all the choices are lousy and still you have to pick one. On this episode The Pulse explores that tig...

Bought by KMXT, Prairie Public, and KHNS


  • Added: Jan 30, 2017
  • Length: 51:08
  • Purchases: 3
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Exploring issues facing the incoming Trump administration.

Bought by WRGY, Troy Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio, XRAY.fm, Northeast Indiana Public Radio and more


  • Added: Jan 19, 2017
  • Length: 51:08
  • Purchases: 9
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This week The Pulse explores assumptions about jobs, people and some hard to know deep-sea creatures.

Bought by RadioFreePalmer, Troy Public Radio, and KMXT


  • Added: Jan 16, 2017
  • Length: 50:39
  • Purchases: 3
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This week on The Pulse, we’re paying attention and trying to interpret clues from medicine, science and nature.

Bought by Troy Public Radio, KMXT, and KHNS


  • Added: Jan 09, 2017
  • Length: 50:39
  • Purchases: 3