The Pulse

When twin brothers Trevor and Kyle Ritland were children, their father — a biologist — would tell them stories about a mythical creature that lived high in the misty mountains of Costa Rica: the golden toad. The toad was elusive, he told them — but for a few weeks every spring, hundreds of them would emerge from the shadows to mate, lighting up the dense forest like brilliant spots of fire. Until...

At the best of times, alcohol makes us feel great — relaxed and gregarious, warm and fuzzy, happy and confident. But at the worst of times, it can morph into a serious problem, damaging our relationships, our health, and our lives as a whole. On this encore episode, we explore our relationship with alcohol. Why we consume it, how it affects us, and when it’s time to quit. We talk with surgeon and...

Two hundred and fifty years ago, Philadelphia was not just the center of political revolution, but a hub of scientific discovery. For America’s founders, science was more than a pastime — it was a way of understanding the world and the natural laws that shaped it. On this episode, we explore how science and innovation helped give birth to a new nation. We visit the American Philosophical Society i...

On this episode, we explore the lingering effects of medical crises, both physical and emotional, and what true healing really means. We hear about one doctor’s journey to reconnecting with her body — and her pain — after nearly dying, what researchers are learning about medical trauma, and how a traumatic brain injury transformed the lives and marriage of a couple. As a physician, Rana Awdish’s g...

We often talk about the biological and emotional transformation of motherhood, but what happens to men’s brains when they become fathers? On this episode, host Maiken Scott chats with psychologist and researcher Darby Saxbe to explore her new book, “Dad Brain: The New Science of Fatherhood and How It Shapes Men’s Lives.” While the "dad bod" is a common trope, Saxbe’s research reveals that the chan...

Music can transport us to a different time and place — but how does that happen? We explore how music affects our brains — from its ability to tap into our memories and imaginations, to “musical daydreaming” and how it helps us understand both the world and ourselves. We also discuss the therapeutic power of music. We talk with Elizabeth Margulis, director of the Music Cognition Lab at Princeton U...

On this episode, we look at the intersection of health, medicine, and the law. We explore how the upcoming rescheduling of marijuana may impact research on the drug, hear the story of a doctor who faced manslaughter charges in the 1970s for providing an abortion, and learn about legislation that some states are using to try and keep private equity out of medicine. Near the end of 2025, President D...

Think about the last time you were really happy — where were you? What were you doing? Who were you with? And, most importantly, how can you recreate that feeling? Happiness can feel like lightning in a bottle — beautiful in the moment, but hard to find and harder yet to sustain. So what is it that makes for a happy life? And how do we engineer our lives for greater contentment, fulfillment, and j...

On this episode, we explore the world of color — from how we perceive it, to our efforts to describe and differentiate its many shades. We talk with a lexicographer about efforts to standardize synthetic colors, and how we describe them, and investigate how we know that the colors we see are the same as the ones everyone else sees. The Pulse host Maiken Scott adds some pops of color to her all-bla...

When disaster strikes and the chips are down, who makes it out alive? On this episode, we explore what it takes to survive a crisis. We hear the incredible story of a 17-year-old girl, who after surviving a plane crash, faced a harrowing journey though the Amazon to safety, why some people experience hallucinations when facing death, and how we’re wired to behave in emergencies. On Christmas morni...

How do you sum up the experience of motherhood, and all of the changes it brings, both big and small? It’s a transformation that affects everything — hormones, body image, relationships, feelings, money, career — even the answers to larger, existential questions like, “Who am I in this world, and what is my role?” On this episode, we explore the impact of motherhood. We talk with a psychologist ab...

For decades, psychedelics like LSD, psilocybin, and MDMA were regarded as dangerous drugs of abuse — but that’s started changing as research increasingly reveals their ability to help treat serious mental health issues. On this episode, we listen back to past conversations about the science behind these drugs’ therapeutic potential, along with powerful stories of healing. When Marcus Capone retire...

Forty years ago, news was only beginning to emerge that an accident had occurred — one that could put millions of people at risk. A reactor at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, then part of the Soviet Union, had exploded, releasing a plume of radioactive gases and particles into the atmosphere and spreading some of the most hazardous radionuclides known to humanity. We look back at what caused this d...

Science writer Michaeleen Doucleff was sitting on a beautiful beach with her daughter, but she couldn’t relax. She kept reaching for her phone, checking it over and over. She was frustrated but couldn’t stop. Why was she doing this? In her new book, “Dopamine Kids: A Science-Based Plan to Rewire Your Child's Brain and Take Back Your Family in the Age of Screens and Ultraprocessed Foods,” Doucleff...

Politicians are eyeing Greenland as an important strategic location, perfectly situated between Europe and North America. President Donald Trump has said he remains highly interested in acquiring or controlling Greenland as a national security and economic asset. But for a lot of researchers, Greenland is a beautiful and fragile place that holds important clues to the Earth’s past and future. So w...

The number of urgent care centers in the U.S. has doubled over the past decade, and it isn’t hard to see why — they fill a void in the market. Urgent care offers quick and convenient access to medical care when patients can’t get an appointment to see their primary care doctor, but their issue doesn’t seem to warrant an ER visit. But the rapid rise of urgent care has come with some growing pains —...

Have you ever looked in the toilet bowl and wondered, ‘Is that normal?’ Well, you’re not alone — and according to neurogastroenterologist Trisha Pasricha, it’s time to talk about poop.  Pasricha says understanding what’s normal about your bowel movements isn’t just a silly or squeamish conversation, but one that can be lifesaving. Digestive issues affect millions of Americans, yet many of them are...

We often think of perfectionism as a virtue; a kind of shorthand for high standards, a solid work ethic, and attention to detail. But in reality, perfectionism can be a paralyzing force — like sand wedged in the gears of our minds. It slows us down, makes us question our choices, and traps us in an endless cycle of tweaking and re-tweaking, unable to move on to the next task. It can even have cons...

From Kevlar to windshield wipers, pulsars to dark matter and radioactivity, women are responsible for countless scientific discoveries and inventions that changed the world — and yet, many of them remain overlooked, forgotten, or ignored. On this episode, we shine a light on some of these women and hear about the detective work required to unearth their lives and legacies; chasing clues, rifling t...

Over 60 million Americans — or one in four adults — currently serve as family caregivers for partners, parents, or other loved ones with illness or disability. But despite how common this experience is, it can often feel extremely isolating for the caregiver. In between daily tasks like wound care, medications, and bathing, or navigating health care and insurance — many caregivers find themselves...

The signs are all there — the perfectly packed gym bag is collecting dust in your closet, the kitchen pantry has quietly been refilled with junk food, and your early morning alarms are losing their battle with the snooze button. The goals you set at the beginning of the year seem more and more unattainable. It may feel like you don’t have enough determination — enough resolve — but productivity ex...

When Alexander Graham Bell made the first-ever phone call on March 10, 1876, he never could have dreamed how the telephone would evolve — not to mention the many ways it would end up changing the way we live, work, and communicate. This week, on the 150th anniversary of that first call, we take a look back at the history of the phone, and how it transformed America. We hear about the dramatic race...

Do animals feel love, anger, or empathy? Researchers have long dismissed such ideas as anthropomorphism, arguing that attributing human emotions to animals was unscientific. But as we learn more about animal sentience, that’s starting to change — and, in the process, we’re learning more than ever about the complex inner lives of animals, including why we may be more alike than we once thought. On...

When someone wrongs us, getting revenge can feel like the only right move — the only way for us to balance the scales, to set the world right again. But the consequences can be disastrous, especially when payback becomes an all-consuming obsession. On this encore episode, we talk with lawyer-turned-researcher James Kimmel about his book, “The Science of Revenge: Understanding the World’s Deadliest...

Artificial Intelligence is already guiding surgeons in operating rooms; it’s used to read image scans or take notes during your doctor’s visit. And the pace of AI integration is only getting faster. So what will health care look like in the next 10 to 20 years? Will we consult with an AI-powered doctor before we see our primary care physician or a specialist? Will it give more patients access to c...