The Pulse

Series produced by WHYY

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Weekly subscribable series.

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

The Pulse is 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.

For help subscribing please contact PRX at prxhelp@prx.org.


376 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
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Hurricanes. Tornadoes. Blizzards. Flooding. Over the past 20 years, we’ve seen a staggering increase in extreme weather events, resulting in millio...

  • Added: Nov 10, 2022
  • Length: 59:01
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What we eat — and how our food is produced — is always changing. Over the past few decades, we’ve seen attempts to go from industrial farming to ea...

  • Added: Nov 16, 2022
  • Length: 59:03
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The bottom of the ocean seems like an unlikely place to be teeming with life — it’s dark, freezing cold, and subject to enormous pressure. And yet,...

  • Added: Nov 22, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
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Pain is powerful — and when it becomes chronic, it can be all-consuming. It takes over our minds, saps our energy, and becomes the focus of our exi...

  • Added: Dec 01, 2022
  • Length: 59:01
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The death of a loved one can be shattering — especially when it’s unexpected. It destroys our feeling of safety, warps our sense of reality, and of...

  • Added: Dec 08, 2022
  • Length: 59:01
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Whether we’re in a forest, a park, or in the middle of a city, wildlife is always close by. Birds flying overhead, deer peeking through the branche...

  • Added: Dec 14, 2022
  • Length: 59:02
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On this rebroadcast of The Pulse, the soundscape of our lives changes depending on where we are — the murmuring of voices, birdsong in trees, the b...

  • Added: Dec 19, 2022
  • Length: 58:59
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On this rebroadcast of The Pulse, on a technical level, noise and sound are the same thing: vibrating molecules that travel in waves straight to ou...

  • Added: Dec 29, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
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It’s the start of a new year — a time when lots of people are thinking about how they can improve their lives … and themselves. We make plans to ge...

  • Added: Jan 05, 2023
  • Length: 59:01
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It’s the goosebumps you get at the crescendo of your favorite song; the stupefying wonder that comes with witnessing a birth or a death; the astoni...

  • Added: Jan 12, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
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Humans have long been fascinated by the idea of communicating with other species — not just teaching animals to mimic human words, but truly unders...

  • Added: Jan 19, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
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On this rebroadcast of the Pulse, when you hear the word fungi, chances are mushrooms come to mind: button mushrooms, maybe portobellos, or chanter...

  • Added: Jan 25, 2023
  • Length: 59:01
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Finding the right therapist — or, sometimes, any therapist — can be a grueling process. Someone with the right expertise, who is still taking new c...

  • Added: Feb 02, 2023
  • Length: 59:02
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Health disparities between Black and white Americans run deep in the U.S. Black people are more likely to suffer from chronic conditions like diabe...

  • Added: Feb 09, 2023
  • Length: 59:02
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Dealing with a serious or chronic health condition is hard enough — but what happens when that condition comes with moral judgment? That’s the case...

  • Added: Feb 16, 2023
  • Length: 59:02
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It seems like every day, new skin care products hit the market: lotions, serums, collagen boosters, light therapy, at-home lasers — potions and pro...

  • Added: Jul 31, 2023
  • Length: 58:59
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Pests: We know them when we see them. The mice that lurk in our kitchens, the squirrels that steal our tomatoes, the mosquitoes that bite us in the...

  • Added: Mar 02, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
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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? ...

  • Added: Mar 09, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
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If you’re training to become a physician, your first patient is usually dead. In fact, “first patient” is what med students call the human cadavers...

  • Added: Mar 16, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
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On this rebroadcast of the Pulse, Pain is powerful — and when it becomes chronic, it can be all-consuming. It takes over our minds, saps our energy...

  • Added: Mar 22, 2023
  • Length: 59:02