The Pulse

Series produced by WHYY

Series image

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.


371 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Piece image
It’s been four years since COVID-19 struck, transforming our modern world in ways we’d never seen before — and we’re still processing the aftershoc...

  • Added: Mar 15, 2024
  • Length: 59:01
Piece image
Know the signs of depression, recognize symptoms of anxiety, pay attention to your friend’s changing moods! There’s been a push to raise mental hea...

  • Added: Mar 06, 2024
  • Length: 59:02
Piece image
In 1944, a brilliant, young Harvard physics student named Ted Hall was recruited to work on the super-secret mission that had already assembled the...

  • Added: Feb 28, 2024
  • Length: 59:02
Piece image
On this rebroadcast of The Pulse - If you’re training to become a physician, your first patient is usually dead. In fact, “first patient” is what m...

  • Added: Feb 21, 2024
  • Length: 59:02
Piece image
You can feel it coming on — your face flushes hot, maybe your fists clench, your heartbeat speeds up and your blood pressure rises. It's rage — and...

  • Added: Feb 14, 2024
  • Length: 59:02
Piece image
It can show up as a spark or a lightning bolt; a glance or a touch; an easy rapport or butterflies in your stomach. Attraction — it’s a feeling we ...

  • Added: Feb 07, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
Piece image
Medical records are an important part of health care. They create a history of past issues, test results, and medications. They paint a picture of ...

  • Added: Jan 31, 2024
  • Length: 59:01
Piece image
Twenty years ago, a group of college sophomores created a website that would end up changing the world — fundamentally altering how we connect with...

  • Added: Jan 24, 2024
  • Length: 59:02
Piece image
On this rebroadcast of The Pulse - More than a third of Americans use complementary and alternative medicine, ranging from acupuncture to herbalism...

  • Added: Jan 17, 2024
  • Length: 59:02
Piece image
Humans crave certainty — in science and politics, in our lives and our leaders, in our decisions and our futures. We find comfort in knowing the fa...

  • Added: Jan 10, 2024
  • Length: 59:00
Piece image
We’re in a major technological revolution where artificial intelligence, gaming, and virtual reality allow us to create and enter totally new space...

  • Added: Jan 03, 2024
  • Length: 59:02
Piece image
On this rebroadcast of The Pulse - We all know that exercise is good for us — for both our bodies and our minds — but motivating yourself to hit th...

  • Added: Dec 27, 2023
  • Length: 59:02
Piece image
On this rebroadcast of The Pulse - It’s the goosebumps you get at the crescendo of your favorite song; the stupefying wonder that comes with witnes...

  • Added: Dec 20, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
Piece image
We think of life and death as clear cut — you’re alive or you’re not; your heart’s beating or it isn’t; your brain functions or it doesn’t. But whe...

  • Added: Dec 13, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
Piece image
Lots of things can get in the way of taking care of your health, catching medical issues early on, and getting treatment. Navigating insurance woes...

  • Added: Dec 07, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
Piece image
What comes to mind when you think of the ocean? Maybe a day at the beach — swimming in the waves, snorkeling through coral reefs, fishing, surfing,...

  • Added: Nov 29, 2023
  • Length: 59:02
Piece image
For decades, the idea that you could attack genetic illnesses right at the root — that you could modify people’s genes to treat or cure disease — s...

  • Added: Nov 22, 2023
  • Length: 59:02
Piece image
What we make for dinner, grab as a snack, or have for breakfast changes all the time — and there are some major forces at play: consumer tastes and...

  • Added: Nov 15, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
Piece image
In March of 2022, the war in Ukraine was weighing heavily on Fabian Falch, a Norwegian tech entrepreneur. The Russian government had started to cen...

  • Added: Nov 08, 2023
  • Length: 59:02
Piece image
On this rebroadcast of The Pulse - We live in a world of endless opportunity — hundreds of dating options, dozens of jobs to apply to, the ability ...

  • Added: Oct 31, 2023
  • Length: 59:02