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.


373 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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 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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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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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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On this rebroadcast of the Pulse - There are 19 million veterans in the U.S. who have served in the armed forces. For many, the military gave them ...

  • Added: Nov 01, 2022
  • Length: 59:02
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It’s that time of year when we celebrate something we usually hate: fear. We visit haunted houses and corn mazes, or binge-watch the scariest horro...

  • Added: Oct 27, 2022
  • Length: 59:01
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There’s a lot to love about grasslands — the sound of the wind blowing through them, the way the colors change with the seasons, how the sun lights...

  • Added: Oct 20, 2022
  • Length: 59:01
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In the early days of the pandemic, life on the streets changed. Traffic was clear, and the roads felt nearly deserted. Bumper-to-bumper commutes ga...

  • Added: Oct 13, 2022
  • Length: 59:00
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When Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) first emerged on the national stage, it was hailed as a ray of hope. It was an intensive, interactive therapy ...

  • Added: Oct 06, 2022
  • Length: 59:02
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A smile, clean socks, a sandwich, a wound care kit, a heartfelt “how are you feeling today?” All of these things can be part of a public health app...

  • Added: Sep 29, 2022
  • Length: 59:01
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During World War I, thousands of soldiers suffered catastrophic facial injuries. If these soldiers survived their injuries, they were often shunned...

  • Added: Sep 26, 2022
  • Length: 59:01