The Pulse

By WHYYScience Health & Fitness

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The Pulse episodes

May 29, 2020The Science of Staying Cool
Imagine for a moment a world without air conditioners, refrigerators, fans, or even ice. We take them for granted — but keeping cool is a lot more complicated than you might think. As we roll into what’s predicted to be one of the hotter summers in recent memory, The Pulse explores the science of keeping cool. We hear stories about battling heat islands, designing cooler buildings, and cooling down our bodies and our minds.
Also heard on this week’s episode:
Irina Zhorov reports on what creates “heat islands” in cities, and how deadly heat waves inspired a new way of cooling houses down.
We talk with Ajla Aksamija, an associate professor of architecture at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, about how high-performance buildings are starting to replace air conditioning.
Most of us think of sweat as a nuisance — but it’s a key part of our bodies’ internal cooling system and essential to our survival. Pulse producer Lindsay Lazarski explains why we sweat, and what happens when you can’t.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) heat isn’t just a temperature — it’s an indication of health. Reporter Liz Tung investigates the TCM concept of “internal heat,” to find out what it is and how quelling it might help one patient overcome her chronic intestinal problems.
Despite ongoing quarantine orders, warmer weather is drawing crowds to beaches and parks. Jodie Guest, a professor of epidemiology at Emory University, explains how to stay safe.
Poet, birder and wildlife biologist J. Drew Lanham talks about the importance of green spaces for all, and explains how being in nature is helping him keep his spirits up during this time.
49 min
May 15, 2020Science Interrupted: The Impact of Coronavirus
Around the globe, COVID-19 has frozen economies, closed schools, stores, and restaurants, and even canceled the Olympics. Millions of people are stuck at home, trying their best to keep their work going from a distance. So what does all this mean for scientific research? On this episode, we explore how the pandemic is transforming the lives and work of scientists, both now and in the future. We hear stories about the impact on field research — and what that means for the next generation of scientists; one lab’s mission to rescue valuable research mice; and areas that have been thrust into overdrive, including a high-stakes drug trial seeking a cure.
Also heard on this week’s episode:
Reporter Irina Zhorov pulls back the curtain on the high-stakes drug trials digging into a hyped — and hated — potential treatment, hydroxychloroquine.
Stephen Tang, the CEO of OraSure Technologies, discusses their work developing a rapid COVID-19 antigen test.
We talk with MIT’s Martin Culpepper and Drexel University’s Genevieve Dion about their universities’ efforts to help in the fight against COVID-19.
We hear from scientists around the world who talk about how the coronavirus has affected their research. Jacinta Beehner describes what it’s like to pack up a field station in a hurry.
49 min
May 08, 2020Buzz Off, Mosquitoes
Most of us dread mosquito season — but on some level, you’ve got to admire these pesky bloodsuckers. Over the millennia, they’ve spread around the world — finding ways to survive even the coldest winters, mate while flying through the air, breed pretty much anywhere, and hunt their prey with relentless precision. In the meantime, viruses have evolved to use mosquitoes as a free ride to millions of hosts. That, of course, is a major reason to fear mosquitoes — they’re not just annoying, they’re dangerous, serving as the vectors for deadly plagues past and present. Scientists and communities have been striving to figure out how we can reduce their numbers. On this episode, we explore why mosquitoes are so hard to control, and why the fight to control them sometimes becomes its own war, tearing communities apart.
Also heard on this week’s episode:
Cornell University entomologist Laura Harrington explains why mosquitoes feed on humans, how viruses capitalize on that relationship, and what mosquito research looks like in the lab.
50 min
May 01, 2020Outbreaks and Epidemics: The Role of Public Health
You know you’ve made it when you get parodied on Saturday Night Live … by none other than Brad Pitt. And you really know you’ve made it when Pitt breaks character to thank you for your service. That was an honor recently bestowed upon Anthony Fauci, America’s bespectacled top infectious disease physician, who’s achieved rock star levels of fame in recent weeks. Usually, though, public health officials have much lower profiles. They’re behind-the-scenes thinkers and doers, who help keep their communities healthy with initiatives like traffic safety, vaccinations, and fluoridated water. In the best of times, we don’t even know they’re there — but during disease outbreaks, their work kicks into high gear.
So how did this field get its start? And what can we learn from past crises, starting with the yellow fever outbreak of 1793, through the AIDS epidemic, into the present? In this episode, we hear stories about the origins of public health; how the 1918 flu pandemic shaped the modern bathroom; and how schools and public health became a power couple.
Also heard on this week’s episode:
We explore the very beginnings of public health in America by telling the story of the yellow fever epidemic of 1793, which ravaged the young nation’s capital.
What lessons can we learn from America’s last major epidemic — HIV/AIDS? We ask Carlos Del Rio, a professor of medicine and global health at Emory University, about how public health approaches shaped the HIV epidemic, and vice versa.
Public health expert Alison Buttenheim from the University of Pennsylvania explains why the core of her job is to make it seem like nothing’s happened.
We listen to The Crossing, a professional chamber choir in Philadelphia, performing “Protect Yourself from Infection” — a new piece that was commissioned by the Mütter Museum for its 2019 exhibit “Spit Spreads Death,” a commemoration of the Spanish Flu pandemic. The music was composed by David Lang, and the lyrics are word-for-word transcriptions of advice from a U.S. government health manual from 1918.
During the coronavirus outbreak, we’re constantly hearing about the importance of washing our hands and keeping surfaces clean. A little more than 100 years ago, this same concern over cleanliness emerged during the 1918 flu pandemic. Architect David Feldman joins us to discuss how this past pandemic helped to shape our homes — especially the bathroom.
49 min
April 24, 2020How to Stop an Invasion
It feels like we’ve been invaded by an invisible enemy — so scary we don’t even want to go to the grocery store. Inside of hospitals, patients and health care workers are fighting this invasion by wearing layers of protective gear. As a country, we’re dealing with it through social distancing and increased testing … And, it feels a bit like war. All of this got us thinking about the idea of invasion. What happens when you face an outside threat, that’s trying to come in?
On this episode, we’ll explore this idea through different lenses. We’ll hear stories about coronavirus invading our bodies. Then, we dig into invasive species, and the pushback against the language we use to describe them. And lastly, we get to invasion on a personal level — inside of our minds, and our homes.
Also heard on this week’s episode:
Climate change has already started pushing wildlife into new territories — leading to widespread concern over the threat posed by “invasive species.” Susan Phillips reports on how some scientists are rethinking this threat, including whether we should consider it a threat at all.
Last year Alex Wolfe and his girlfriend made a big decision: They were finally moving in together. Things were going smooth at first, until they realized they were not alone.
Are security cameras making us safer at home — or just more paranoid? Reporter Grant Hill tells the story of how a prank planted a seed of suspicion in his family’s home, and talks with psychologist Pamela Rutledge about why and what we’re hardwired to fear.
Microbiologist Carolina Lopez offers a primer on our immune systems’ amazing ability to defend against attacks. She also explains all the ways our bodies are — and aren’t — prepared to fight off coronavirus.
Can you stop a virus from invading? We talk with Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, about what we can do better to halt the spread of the coronavirus in our communities.
Disease outbreaks can make people suspicious of others or more likely to cast blame. Public health historian Michael Yudell walks us through some past examples of when racism, discrimination, and fear bubbled up to the surface during times of crisis.
49 min
April 17, 2020This is Your Brain During a Pandemic
Optimizing our brains has become an obsession of the modern world. We meditate, take supplements, read books on productivity — all in the name of sharpening our minds, and boosting cognitive function. But at a time when we’re most in need of our A game, a lot of us are finding ourselves seriously derailed. The pandemic has disrupted our lives, work, and schedules; thrust us into a fog of anxiety and uncertainty; and in some cases, stretched us impossibly thin between the pressures of work and family. On this episode, we explore how we can reclaim our best brains. We hear stories about innovating under pressure, accepting boredom as a cognitive reset, and reaching the creative flow state.
Also heard on this week’s episode:
We talk with Randall Munroe — the prolific author behind webcomic XKCD — about using science and math for whimsical (and totally impractical) problem solving. For instance: building an above-ground pool out of Gruyere cheese.
Doctors use brain stimulation to treat conditions ranging from anxiety and depression, to chronic pain. But now, people are also doing this at home, with brain-zapping devices they can buy online. Does that work, and is it a good idea? We hear from Roy Hamilton, a neurologist and director of the University of Pennsylvania’s brainSTIM Center (Brain Stimulation, Translation, Innovation, and Modulation Center).
49 min
April 10, 2020Finding Resilience During a Pandemic
What does it take to get through a global pandemic? How do you keep going, keep working, get up every day and hope for the best? Around the world, people are discovering the answer through their own sense of resilience — the resources within ourselves and our communities that brace us against outside pressures, allowing us to bend, and not break. On this episode, we explore what resilience means, with stories about people facing down sometimes impossible situations, and finding a way to adapt, recover, and eventually bounce back. We hear about an Olympic athlete who is dealing with the historic postponement of Tokyo 2020, an ER nurse in New York City treating patients with COVID-19, and we’ll find out why kids may emerge stronger on the other side of this pandemic.
Also heard on this week’s episode:
David Fajgenbaum was in medical school when he was diagnosed with Castleman disease — a rare and deadly illness with no known cure. We hear about Fajgenbaum’s extraordinary fight to not only survive, but find a possible cure. Since we reported that story, Fajgenbaum has begun to work on finding a possible treatment for the cytokine storms that occur with both Castleman and COVID-19. You can read more about David Fajgenbaum’s journey in his book: “Chasing My Cure: A Doctor’s Race to Turn Hope Into Action.”
Michael Ungar — a therapist, social work professor, and director of the Resilience Research Centre at Dalhousie University — explains how community and social structure play into our shared resilience.
An average day in the emergency room is never easy, and during a pandemic, the stakes are even higher — with more patients needing critical care. ER nurse and audio producer Kate O’Connell shares what it’s like working on the front lines of the coronavirus outbreak in the Transom series “Pandemic ER: Notes From A Nurse In Queens.” We also hear from Donna Nickitas, dean and professor of nursing at Rutgers University-Camden, on what nurses can do to get through this tough time.
Primary care practices play an important role as a first line of defense with our health in general, but the pandemic could threaten their survival. Dan Gorenstein, host of the podcast Tradeoffs, explains why these providers are facing tough choices to keep their doors open.
During this pandemic, many friends and colleagues have turned to Aisha Ahmad, assistant professor of political science at the University of Toronto, to share her experiences adapting to and surviving war zones and disease outbreaks around the world. She’s writing a series of essays for The Chronicle of Higher Education and recorded her advice for us.
How are kids dealing with all of this — not going to school, not seeing their friends, and their parents being all kinds of stressed out? We check in with Kim Wheeler Poitevien, a clinical social worker in Philadelphia, on the resiliency of children.
50 min
April 03, 2020Mental Health in Times of Crisis
The COVID-19 outbreak is creating increased demand for mental health services — lots of people are feeling anxious, or are getting depressed. At the same time, traditional mental health services have been disrupted. In-person sessions are not possible at the moment, nor are group sessions. How are providers and their clients adjusting? We take a look at mental health services and what people are doing to stay well during these difficult times. We also hear stories of families affected by serious mental health issues, and why they say the system fails too many people.
Also heard on this week’s episode:
Dawn Brown, director of community engagement for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), discusses her organization’s guide for dealing with the fallout of COVID-19.
We talk with Jonathan Singer, a professor of social work at Loyola University, about how the COVID-19 pandemic is pushing our mental health system to offer services online.
Psychiatrist and documentarian Kenneth Paul Rosenberg talks about his recent film and book, “Bedlam: An Intimate Journey into America’s Mental Health Crisis,” which traces the failure of the U.S. mental health system.
When you’re faced with a mental health crisis, who do you call? Internist and regular Pulse contributor Neda Frayha explains why primary care physicians might be the first and only access point for some people with mental health issues.
Karriem Salaam, an adolescent and child psychiatrist at Friends Hospital in Philadelphia, discusses how people with previous trauma or mental health issues are coping during this global crisis.
Author Melody Moezzi shares how poetry is helping her through difficult times. Her new book is “The Rumi Prescription.”
Psychologist Scott Haas discusses how reframing our general take on this crisis could help us deal with this situation.
48 min
March 27, 2020Why We Need Friends — Especially Now
We rely on our friends for all kinds of things — companionship, laughter, and right now — support in times of crisis. But it’s only recently that scientists have started investigating how friendship works, and why it matters to our health and well-being. On this episode, we explore the anatomy of this unique bond, with stories about what happens when friendship turns romantic, the painful experience of bestie breakups, and how friendships can form between unlikely animal pairings.
Also heard on this week’s episode:
Science journalist Lydia Denworth discusses why friendship is essential to our health and to our survival. She is the author of “Friendship: The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life’s Fundamental Bond.”
Dakota Fisher-Vance and Cara Scharf were both diagnosed with cancer in their early 20s. They talk to us about how being young adults with cancer brought them together, and why having a shared illness has made their bond stronger. They are the co-founders of Young Adult Cancer Connection.
Do friendship apps actually work? Reporter Buffy Gorrilla takes us on a journey as she navigates different apps while looking for friendship in Australia.
Some animals form something akin to what we think of as friendship. It’s usually animals that live in “stable, bonded social groups,” like primates or whales. But sometimes, friendships happen with animals that aren’t usually candidates for that kind of relationship. Liz Tung reports on an unlikely friendship between two bears at the Philadelphia Zoo.
We also created a mixtape of all of our favorite songs about friends. Check it out on Spotify or press play below.
50 min
March 20, 2020Slowing the Spread of COVID-19
Communities around the world are scrambling to slow the spread of COVID-19: closing businesses and schools, canceling gatherings, and limiting social interactions. Some countries and cities have even gone on almost total lockdown. On this episode, we hear about different measures to stop the virus, and how they’re affecting people. We hear about the impact of medical quarantine, how more aggressive testing could slow the spread, and why some ER doctors think they’re not doing enough to keep the virus in check. We also get an update on COVID-19 vaccine research.
Also heard on this week’s episode:
We are asking people all around the country to start sending us little time capsules of their lives as the coronavirus spreads. If you can record yourself on your smartphone and tell us how your life is changing, please be in touch with host Maiken Scott, [email protected]
Regular Pulse contributor and ER doctor Avir Vitra tells us about how medical professionals are dealing with the COVID-19 spread, and whether the medical system is prepared for this kind of pandemic.
Sheri Fink, a New York Times correspondent and executive producer of the Netflix series, “Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak,” explains why testing is so crucial for both public health officials and anyone who thinks they may have been exposed to the virus. Fink, who won Pulitzer Prizes for her investigation into a New Orleans hospital in the days after Hurricane Katrina and for her reporting during the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, also offers advice on how to stay safe and sane during the pandemic.
Reporter Cris Barrish takes us to one of the country’s first drive-through testing sites, and talks to patients who suspect they may have been infected.
49 min

About The Pulse

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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…