The Pulse
WHYYThe 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.
Copyright 2025 WHYY - For Personal Use Only
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.
Copyright 2025 WHYY - For Personal Use Only
Why Weightlifting is Good for Your Health
We explore what comes next after surviving something extraordinary.
Is the pressure to procure organs putting patients at risk?
A look at the roots of shame, and how it affects our behavior, our choices, and our health.
How finding and listening to your body’s sleep rhythm can lead to better rest.
A look back at the cut-throat competition that led to the historic unveiling of the decoded human genome.
The science behind why revenge feels so good, how it affects our brains, and how to trade it in for forgiveness
A look at how human creativity works, and some of the unexpected ways it shapes our world
Sharks — From Fear to Fascination
What It Takes to Prove the Truth
Cybercrime and How Hackers Prey on Human Nature
Lightening the Load of Motherhood
The Life-Changing Power of Lifting Weights
50 Years Later: The Lasting Impact of the Vietnam War
Finding Strength and Beauty in Muscles
Loneliness and How to Rekindle Social Connection
The Rise of YouTube and How It's Changed Our Lives
In Search of Work-Life Balance
Biomimicry: What Nature Can Teach us about Engineering and Design
The Mystery of Consciousness
Why the Internet Knows You Better Than You Know Yourself
How the Way We Look Affects the Way We Feel
(Mis)Diagnosis: Bipolar Disorder
Ripple Effects
Pushing for Change
Meeting Your Match: Navigating the World of Modern Dating
Exposure
Finding your 'Sleep Groove'
The DIY Medicine Movement
Humans have long dreamed of communicating with other species, from plants and animals to extraterrestrials. On this episode, we explore different efforts to break down the communication barrier with other forms of life.
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What It Takes To Build The Future
Origin Stories and How We Become Who We Are
The Science Behind the Healing Power of Music
First Responders and the Toll on Their Health
Why We're All So Outraged
Parrot or Prophet: How AI is Shaping Language
When Being 'Gifted' No Longer Feels Like a Gift
Thanksgiving Disasters — And How to Avoid Them
The Threats Facing Trees — and How to Save Them
Biomimicry: What Nature Can Teach us about Engineering and Design
What Makes Our Circadian Clocks Tick
With a contested presidential election looming, we explore what's at stake for health and science, from fertility medicine to cyber security with voting machines, and efforts by scientists to protect themselves from political influence.
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Thrills & Chills: The Psychology of Fear
All the Rage
When Law Enforcement and Health Care Meet
When Every Second Counts: Advances in Cardiac Care
Navigating Autism in School
What It Takes to Treat Serious Mental Illness
The Healing Power of Music
What Teeth Tell us About Survival on Earth
The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Behavior
Virtual Worlds, Virtual Lives
The Promise and Future of Psychedelics Research
The Big Chill and the Future of Refrigeration
Asking for Help
Sharks — From Fear to Fascination
How Money Shapes Medicine
Unearthing the Secrets of Volcanoes and Rocks
Degrees of Freedom
How Amazon Revolutionized Shopping and Changed the World
Making Faces
The DIY Medicine Movement
The Search for Modern Masculinity
10th Anniversary Show: The Science Changing Our Lives
How Art and Science Intersect
When Being 'Gifted' No Longer Feels Like a Gift
Lightening the Load of Motherhood
Rediscovering America's War on Bad Posture
Breaking the Silence on Medical Mistakes
Living Greener — One Decision at a Time
Bridging the Gaps for Latino Health
Boredom in the Age of Information Overload
Chasing the Eclipse
Discovering your True Identity
The Lasting Impacts of COVID-19
The New Mental Health Landscape
Atomic Angst and the Teenage Spy
Bodies for Science
All the Rage
The Mysteries of Attraction
Setting the Medical Record Straight
Inside Facebook: A Conversation with Jeff Horwitz
Facebook at 20
When Healing Happens But We Don't Know Why
How to Live with Uncertainty
Virtual Worlds, Virtual Lives
Why We Love and Hate Exercising — And How to Do It Either Way
The Transformative Power of Awe
The Blurred Line Between Life and Death
Lowering Barriers to Care
Uncovering the Inner Workings of the Oceans
How Gene Therapy is Offering Hope — Once Again
Changing Tastes
Salty, Crunchy, and Addictive: A Physician's Fight Against Ultra-Processed Foods
Getting Better at Resolving Conflicts
Why Rejection Hurts So Much — And How to Cope
How We Talk About Death
How UFOs Went from Fringe to Mainstream
Shame and Blame: How Stigma Impacts Health
How Science is Transforming Weight Loss
Space Pioneers
Boredom in the Age of Information Overload
Face Recognition and What it Means for our Privacy
How Art and Science Intersect
Finding Happiness
Helping Teens Navigate Mental Health Challenges
Remote Working vs. the Office — Which is Better?
Bringing Physics from Theory to Practice
Will A.I. Take Your Job — or Make It Better?
Skin Care and the Quest for Eternal Youth
What's Behind Health Care Shortages?
Searching for Utopia
Behind the Scenes — Challenges in Medicine
Inside the Minds of Thrill Seekers
Degrees of Freedom
Buried Secrets, Buried Waste
Black Health: Finding Solutions to End Disparities
The Social Self
The Benefits of Knowing When to Quit
How K-Beauty Revolutionized Skincare — And Became Obsessed with Perfection
Communicating with Animals
The Mind-Body Feedback Loop
When Healing Happens But We Don't Know Why
Managing the Challenges of Motherhood
Neurotech and the Growing Battle for Our Brains
Why Rejection Hurts So Much — And How to Cope
Why We Love and Hate Exercising —And How to Do it Either Way
Taking the Temperature of Climate Science
Call Me — Maybe? 50 Years Since the First Cell Phone Call
Bringing Physics from Theory to Practice
Black Health: Finding Solutions to Disparities
The Therapist in your Pocket
Transformative Power of Awe
Changing the Way We Think About Chronic Pain
Thrills & Chills: The Psychology of Fear
From Polio to COVID — the Evolution of Intensive Care
Inside the Minds of Thrill Seekers
Finding a Way to Live With Grief
Chasing Sleep
Talking Therapy
How We Process Information
What Will it Take to Diversify Medicine?
Science of Love
Finding Focus in the Age of Distraction
October 9, 202549min 34sec
We often think of digital distractions, from TikTok to newsfeeds, as a way of giving our brains a break. But in reality, they could be doing the opposite. We talk with psychologist Marc Berman about a better way of restoring our focus — spending time in nature. We also try a dopamine fast, to see if it can really improve our attention spans.