The Pulse

Being seen has consequences, some great, some scary. Scientists are stepping out of the lab and speaking up to counter what they say is a worrying anti-science sentiment in the United States. Many are wondering if they’ve failed to convincingly explain why their work is important, and that is propelling scientists into public conversation. On this episode, we explore what happens when people — and other creatures — step out into the open.

What should fuel America? Wind? Sun? Cow dung? We’re having a power struggle over that – it’s political, but it’s also about economics. Coal, natural gas, and nuclear are still the undeniable leaders, but solar, wind and hydropower are slowly catching up as renewable alternatives. We’ll track the science and innovation driving the growth of renewable power sources and the bottlenecks keeping them from grabbing a bigger share of the energy market.

What can we learn from extremes? On this episode, we’ll meet athletes who are ready to risk their lives to shed pounds quickly, med students who leave their classrooms to sleep in the freezing rain, anti-vaccine citizens marching in Washington, a bird researcher on a crusade against free-roaming house cats, a little boy so sick with food allergies that even a tiny cracker poses a threat, and a woman who’s giving up creating trash for a month – and maybe for life.

Many of us have some baggage when it comes to our health. A bad back. High blood pressure. Heart disease. Cancer. In health insurance speak: “pre-existing conditions.” Those two words keep coming up in the heated political tug of war over healthcare. How did this become such a huge issue? On this episode we look at things from the past that are shaping our present, and not just in healthcare. We’ll talk about cities built on shaky ground, a forest of old trees that’s causing quarrels among neighbors, and we’ll discover an intruder in a basement crawl space.

Vera Rubin. Zora Neale Hurston. Eugenie Clark. On this episode, we celebrate women who forged a path for generations of female scientists to come. And, we visit labs run by women and staffed by women, who are doing groundbreaking work. We’ll explore the successes of these badass ladies – and talk about the challenges and sexism they’ve faced. Plus, we meet a female video game designer fighting for more nuanced female characters, and a woman who was told she didn’t have a brain for science, but she proved everyone wrong.

Every year, thousands of people come to the U.S. from other countries. Some come as immigrants. Others come to this country under terrible circumstances — they come here seeking refuge from terror, torture, war, and famine. The Trump administration’s policies are attempting to slow the flow of immigrants and refugees coming here, and it seems like we’re all paying more attention to the experiences of people who come here to start new lives.

On this episode, we’ll meet people as they interact with the American medical system for the first time, we’ll follow doctors who care for refugees here and abroad, and we’ll find out about the lives and legal perils of climate migrants.

Farts. Flies. Maggots. Worms. Earwax. Poop. All of these things gross us out, but the science around them is really facinating! On this episode, we’ll climb down into the sewers of Pittsburgh with people who are used to wading through feces, we’ll meet a man who ate worms on purpose, and we’ll hear from scientists about some of the most puke-worthy parts of their jobs. Plus, why is it that we feel disgust in the first place? 

Get ready to be grossed out as we celebrate the joy of yuck. 

Can a copy really be as good as the real thing? We’ll explore that question on this episode. We’ll meet robotic cats that live in nursing homes that provide comfort, bite into a fake meat burger that bleeds, and travel to (fake) Mars to experience life on another planet. Plus, we find out why our recorded voices sound so weird to us with one of the most famous voices on the radio — Terry Gross. 

Let’s explore the most complex computer system on Earth: the brain. On this episode, we’ll examine this wondrous organ — what we’re learning about it, how it works, and what we can do when things go wrong. We’ll look back at the dark reputation of one of the most controversial mental health treatments, electroconvulsion therapy, dig deep into the brain to pull out blood clots of stroke victims, and even look up to the sky to try to understand how groups of animals can move as if they have one brain.

Putting your thinking caps on.