The Pulse

By WHYY

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Listen to full episodes of WHYY's health, science and innovation program, The Pulse.

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Hair and our Health

01.23.2020

Hair can be our crowning glory, a big part of our identity, and a tool for self-expression. We shave it, style it, cut it, dye it — and sometimes, hope for it to come back. We obsess over its texture ...

The Pulse episodes:

01.23.2020 Hair and our Health Hair can be our crowning glory, a big part of our identity, and a tool for self-expression. We shave it, style it, cut it, dye it — and sometimes, hope for it to come back. We obsess over its texture ...
01.17.2020 New Problems In the decades after the Civil War, the nation was changing rapidly. Cities were industrializing, the railroad was expanding, business was booming in many places — people were busy! Life in the fast lane seemed to have an impact, giving ...
01.10.2020 Psychedelics and Therapy After a decades-long hiatus, researchers are taking a fresh look at the potential of psychedelics in therapy. Could substances like ketamine, MDMA, psilocybin, and LSD help people with depression or PTSD? What are the risks? We explore the recent explosion ...
01.03.2020 Vision 2020 The New Year is often a time for a fresh start. We reflect on our past habits, and resolve to do better — eat healthier, work harder, or work less, and spend more time on the things that really matter. ...
12.27.2019 Why We Exercise Running, biking, weightlifting, swimming — for lots of people, working out is an important part of life. It’s about our health — mental and physical — strength, weight control, discipline and let’s face it: vanity. On this episode, we explore ...
12.20.2019 The Future of Trees Humans have a close relationship with trees. We plant and cultivate them for food and shelter. Trees offer protection from the rays of the sun. We relax and seem to breathe more deeply in their presence. And of course, we ...
12.13.2019 Why We Play You know what they say — all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. And science seems to confirm that statement, with findings that play is as important for adults’ emotional health as it is for children’s development. ...
12.06.2019 The Hidden Lives of Dentists Being a dentist can be a lonely job. Your patients don’t want to be there — and even if they did, it’s not like they can talk with their mouths open. Most dentists are solo practitioners, and many feel isolated. ...
11.29.2019 The Changing Roles of Nurses The roles of nurses have changed and expanded a lot in recent decades. Nurses are highly specialized, they have branched out into new areas of medicine. Still, nurses remain on the front lines of patient care. They communicate with doctors, ...
11.22.2019 Science and Thanksgiving Thanksgiving usually means we’re going big — way over the top. Twice as much turkey as we could possibly eat; more side dishes than the table can hold; and, of course, so much pie. We travel great distances to see ...
11.15.2019 The Science of Policing Police forces in democratic societies are supposed to safeguard the rights of citizens, and protect their lives and well-being. We think of their role in terms of laws, rules, and regulations — but ultimately, so much of what they do ...
11.08.2019 Beyond Measure We look at things that are hard to measure and the different approaches that we take to get those measurements correct.
11.01.2019 It’s About Time December 30, 2011 never happened in Samoa. The island nation in the South Pacific skipped this day, to move ahead into a different time zone. We change our clocks to start and stop daylight saving time. We travel across time ...
10.25.2019 Between Life and Death Often we think of life and death as opposite sides of a coin — categories as final as they are discrete. But in an age when machines can keep hearts pumping and lungs breathing, the line between life and death ...
10.18.2019 Shifting Gears Cars have played a fundamental role in changing our modern lives — where we live, where we work, the shape of our communities, and how we spend our money and free time. But along with new opportunities, cars have also ...
10.11.2019 Challenging the Norm Every culture, workplace, group, and family has its norms — its standards, the way things are done. Norms govern everything from relationships to driving to making coffee. But how does something become the norm? On this episode, we explore how ...
10.04.2019 Fake vs. Real — And When It Matters There was a time when seeing was believing — but that’s changing, thanks to new technology that’s elevating fakery to a whole new level. In an ever-growing world of synthesized realities, how do we tell what’s real from what’s fake? ...
09.27.2019 Who Do You Think You Are? Scientist. Farmer. Feminist. Leader. Alpha male. Veteran. African-American. Hindu. Identity isn’t just about who we think we are — it’s about how others perceive us, and how we move through the world. It’s determined by our families and culture; our ...
09.13.2019 Gut Feeling You know when you get butterflies in your stomach? Or your gut clenches with fear? Or the way a gory movie can fill you with nausea? Those feelings exist because of a special connection between our heads and our tummies ...
09.06.2019 The Anatomy of Sadness Sadness seemingly comes out of nowhere sometimes: a song, a photo, a movie scene, a memory, and there it is. Your heart seems heavy. Tears well up in your eyes. What is happening in the brain when we feel sad? ...
08.30.2019 Science At Work It’s Labor Day, which means we’re celebrating the hard-working people who keep the engines of productivity humming. On this episode, we’ll explore how science and technology are changing work and workplaces, and what we are learning about the pitfalls of ...
08.23.2019 Man-Made Worlds It was supposed to be a paradise. A parcel of wilderness, reminiscent of the past, where birds and large grazers would find refuge. Conservationists fought hard to create this sanctuary, but things didn’t go as planned. Soon, animals were dying, ...
08.09.2019 How Buildings Impact Our Lives From bungalows to skyscrapers, farmhouses to condos, brownstones to corner shops, buildings define the spaces of our lives. They are our homes, our workplaces, and our settings for fun, commerce, and government. And the way they’re built can shape the ...
08.02.2019 The Ocean and Us Our planet’s surface is 71% water — with five vast oceans that span a range of temperatures and shades of blue. Humans have long loved and feared these oceans. They sustain us and other animals, help regulate our climate, and ...
07.26.2019 Comeback Everyone loves a good comeback story — but they don’t just apply to athletes and washed-up actors. Revivals can happen for ideas, places — even entire species. On this episode of The Pulse, we explore how and why comebacks happen ...
07.19.2019 The Other Side of the Moon In honor of Apollo 11’s 50th anniversary, we’ve been talking a lot about getting to the moon, and the science of understanding its origins. This episode is more of a tribute to the moon itself, and our relationship with this ...
07.12.2019 Destination Moon On July 20th, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the moon. It was an astounding achievement — a feat of science and technology, born from the will and effort of thousands. But it ...
07.05.2019 What We Call Things and Why It Matters How we talk about an issue has ramifications that go far beyond the words. Names, descriptions, and terms lay the foundation for how we think about an issue, how we deal with a problem — or whether we see something ...
06.21.2019 The Science of Everyday Objects From penicillin to the moon landing, we have science to thank for humanity’s greatest achievements. But science has also helped advance things we consider common and ordinary. From bicycles to toilets, our everyday objects hold tales of dogged pursuit, and ...
06.14.2019 How Did We Miss That? You’re developing a new, revolutionary product. You have all the science figured out, it works like a charm. Problem is, nobody wants — or needs — your product. How do things like this happen? On this episode, we look into ...
05.31.2019 Opting Out There’s a comfort to the mainstream way of doing things — it offers standard solutions to standard problems. But sometimes existing systems don’t work or aren’t accessible, and we’re forced to carve out our own paths. On this episode, we ...
05.24.2019 Cats and Dogs, their Health and Ours For a lot of Americans, cats and dogs are more than just pets — they’re our fur babies. We’re willing to do whatever it takes to keep them happy and healthy. But sometimes — whatever it takes — gets complicated ...
05.10.2019 The Skinny on Skin When’s the last time you saw a get-well card for psoriasis or eczema? Skin’s our biggest organ — and does lots of hard work keeping us healthy — but still, it doesn’t get much respect. Skin regulates our temperature, protects ...
04.26.2019 Marijuana Now Marijuana is starting to feel like the new normal. In less than 25 years, it’s gone from illicit drug to accepted medical treatment in more than half the country — plus cannabis is now legal recreationally in 10 states. It’s ...
04.19.2019 Shades of Green As Kermit the Frog once said — it’s not easy being green. Amid challenges like pollution, deforestation and climate change, engaging with environmental problems can feel like an overwhelming task. To mark Earth Day, we explore some of the ways, ...
04.12.2019 Failing Better In science — and in life — failure is both a stumbling block and a building block. We regard failure as the enemy of success — but really, it’s just part of the process. Mistakes and missteps, blunders and slips ...
04.05.2019 Becoming a Mother “Motherhood will change your life.” It may sound like a greeting card sentiment — but it’s also a statement of fact. Pregnancy changes the way bodies function and look. It affects women’s hormones and weight — even their brain chemistry. ...
03.29.2019 How We Eat Chow. Nibbles. Grub. Food — we relate to it in a lot of different ways. It can serve as nourishment, as pleasure, as fuel for our bodies, or the glue that holds communities together. But food can also make us ...
03.22.2019 Sex and Health At its best, sex isn’t just fun — it’s good for our health. It can relieve stress, enhance our mood — even offer a bit of a workout! But sex can also be painful, both physically and emotionally; it can ...
03.08.2019 When Disaster Strikes Earthquakes, storms, fires, disease — they sweep into our communities, often unexpectedly. They don’t happen often, but when they do, emergencies can destroy lives. On this episode of The Pulse, we explore how the healthcare system — and the rest ...
03.01.2019 Why do we need the wild? Being in nature is restorative; the wild can feed your soul. But, for hundreds of years, we pushed west across the country, trampling and displacing wildlife along the way. Later, lots of people woke up to the effects of urban ...
02.21.2019 The Impact of Isolation Humans are social animals, equipped with brains hard-wired to connect with those around us. We rely on relationships for safety and survival, as well as love and fulfillment. And when we’re deprived of those connections, we suffer — both psychologically ...
02.15.2019 Math Attack Math is a discipline of logic, but for lots of us, it may as well be magic: a force as powerful as it is unattainable. The “math anxious” among us get tripped up by simple calculations — lost in equations ...
02.08.2019 Live, Play, Learn — What Keeps Kids Healthy What matters to a child’s health? Sure, some things are embedded in our genetics. But from the moment we’re born, there are a million different experiences, factors, and choices that contribute — from our neighborhoods and homes, to screen time ...
02.01.2019 Separate: Black Health in America Segregation in housing and education has had reverberations on health care and health outcomes for African-Americans. In this episode, we explore the legacy of that separation. We meet some of the people who helped integrate hospitals as the Civil Rights ...
01.25.2019 In Science We Trust From anti-vaxxers to climate change deniers and even flat-Earthers, there’s a lot of mistrust in science. But how did we get here in the first place? How did we lose public trust in science and medicine — and is there ...
01.18.2019 The Inner Workings of Hospitals Hospitals can be bewildering places. They operate according to their own special logic, which can make them feel a bit like a well-oiled machine — and a bit like organized chaos. As patients, we’re dropped in and pushed through a ...
01.04.2019 Feeling Your Age They call it the golden years, but there’s a reason many of us dread old age — it can mean losing our health, our independence, our memories, and loved ones. But getting old doesn’t mean what it used to. Thanks ...
12.28.2018 Sports and Health We think of sports as part of a healthy lifestyle — a chance to move our muscles, work up a sweat, release endorphins. Often that’s true… other times, not so much. In this show, The Pulse explores how sports affect ...
12.14.2018 Understanding Violence On this episode of The Pulse, we examine violence — what sparks it, how it spreads, and where it can lead. We’ll learn about the spectrum of violence, from everyday blowups to terrorist acts. The hour includes stories about the ...

Older episodes

The Pulse

What's The Pulse about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

The Pulse episodes:

Hair and our Health

New Problems

Psychedelics and Therapy

Vision 2020

Why We Exercise

The Future of Trees

Why We Play

The Hidden Lives of Dentists

The Changing Roles of Nurses

Science and Thanksgiving

The Science of Policing

Beyond Measure

It’s About Time

Between Life and Death

Shifting Gears

Challenging the Norm

Fake vs. Real — And When It Matters

Who Do You Think You Are?

Gut Feeling

The Anatomy of Sadness

Science At Work

Man-Made Worlds

How Buildings Impact Our Lives

The Ocean and Us

Comeback

The Other Side of the Moon

Destination Moon

What We Call Things and Why It Matters

The Science of Everyday Objects

How Did We Miss That?

Opting Out

Cats and Dogs, their Health and Ours

The Skinny on Skin

Marijuana Now

Shades of Green

Failing Better

Becoming a Mother

How We Eat

Sex and Health

When Disaster Strikes

Why do we need the wild?

The Impact of Isolation

Math Attack

Live, Play, Learn — What Keeps Kids Healthy

Separate: Black Health in America

In Science We Trust

The Inner Workings of Hospitals

Feeling Your Age

Sports and Health

Understanding Violence

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