The Pulse

We not only love trees for their beauty — we need them for our survival. But around the world, some trees, and even entire forests, are facing numerous existential threats. On this episode, we explore why we need trees, the dangers they face, and new efforts to help them survive and thrive. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

How does nature make durable materials like corals and seashells without a heat or a kiln? How do peacock feathers get their beautiful colors? Scientists are trying to understand these processes and to replicate them for sustainable human products and design. The field of biomimicry is growing. We'll explore its origins and hear about some of the latest innovations. Learn more about sponsor messag...

Circadian rhythms affect more than our sleep — they can shape all aspects of our health, and are in turn shaped by the rhythms of our lives. We explore the intricate mechanics of our internal clocks, and how they affect our health. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

With a contested presidential election looming, we explore what's at stake for health and science, from fertility medicine to cyber security with voting machines, and efforts by scientists to protect themselves from political influence. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

It's that time of year when we celebrate something we usually hate: fear. We visit haunted houses and corn mazes or binge-watch the scariest horror movies. In its most primitive form, fear is about survival — so we can face or escape serious threats. In other settings — where there's no danger — fear can feel exhilarating or fun. On this episode, we explore our complicated relationship with fear....

Your face flushes hot, maybe your fists clench, your heartbeat speeds up and your blood pressure rises. It's rage and it can go from zero to red-hot in seconds. It's normal to feel angry when you or somebody else has been wronged, mistreated, or hurt. But even justified rage can become destructive. How do we handle these fiery emotions when they erupt? Learn more about sponsor message choices: pod...

Police generally aren't trained to deal with mental health crises — and yet they constantly find themselves called to intervene in these challenging situations, sometimes leading to disastrous results. On this episode, we explore efforts to change how law enforcement and health care work together. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

Every second counts when it comes to treating patients in cardiac arrest — which is why researchers and health care professionals are working constantly to find faster and better ways of delivering care. We hear about some of the latest advancements, from a new generation of networked AEDs to high- and low-tech innovations in treating heart disease. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcas...

What's the best educational setting for my child to learn and grow? It's a question many parents contemplate, but it's an especially difficult question for parents of autistic kids. We explore the often unseen challenges these kids face at school, the battles parents face advocating for change, and what experts say could actually make a difference. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcast...

We explore what it takes to recover from serious mental illness, with stories about how a patient's decades-long relationship with his psychiatrist helped him overcome severe depression, how a new crisis response program balances safety with providing help to those experiencing mental health emergencies, and how Patrick Kennedy went from politician to mental health advocate. Learn more about spons...

You've heard that music is the language of the soul — but could it also be a treatment for the body? On this episode, we explore some of the latest science on the healing power of our favorite tunes, from how they affect our brains, to why they improve our workouts, to the promise they show in treating illnesses like epilepsy and Parkinson's. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoice...

Zoologist Bill Schutt argues that teeth were pivotal to the success of vertebrate animals, they're power tools for survival. His latest book is "Bite: An Incisive History of Teeth, from Hagfish to Humans." On this podcast extra, Schutt explains why teeth are key to understanding evolution; the controversy over fluoride in water; and why people once thought decay was caused by tooth worms. Learn mo...

There are countless hidden forces that affect how we behave, the choices that we make, and the general shape of our lives. On this episode, we take a deep dive into some of those forces. We hear stories about mirroring and how it affects our interactions, whether implicit bias trainings actually work, and how hierarchies influence productivity. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoi...

On this encore episode of The Pulse - We're in a major technological revolution where artificial intelligence, gaming, and virtual reality are allowing us to create and enter totally new spaces and have new experiences. But as these worlds grow bigger, more intense, and more consuming, they're also raising questions about what this new future will look like. Learn more about sponsor message choice...

Interest in using psychedelics for mental health treatments has taken off in recent years — but the field was just dealt a major blow on August 9, when the Food and Drug Administration rejected a bid by Lykos Therapeutics to approve the first-ever MDMA treatment for PTSD. The agency said it needed more research to show that the drug was safe and effective. The decision means that an active researc...

We've only been able to harness the cold for our benefit for a little over 100 years, but innovations like refrigeration and air conditioning have completely transformed the way we live and eat. A massive cold chain makes it possible to buy salmon from Alaska, grapes from Chile, and cheese from Italy; to have sushi in Kansas and ice cream in the summer. Air conditioning allows us to function and t...

Asking for help is hard. It can make us feel vulnerable, like we're sharing too much or admitting weakness. It can also stoke fears about our relationships and sense of self-worth — am I being a burden? Will they resent me later? What if they say no? And yet, the ability to ask for help is an important life skill that not only helps us survive, but can make us feel loved, supported and connected....

Before dinosaurs, before trees — even before Saturn had its rings – there were sharks. The fierce predators have been swimming in our oceans for hundreds of millions of years, standing the test of time as they survived all five of Earth's mass extinction events. Now, though, many of them face unprecedented threats, from overfishing to climate change. But there's a movement underway to protect shar...

Health care is a billion dollar industry in the U.S. — one of the biggest in the country. The business aspect of medicine is an invisible force in the doctor's office that shapes treatment decisions and care. As patients, financial worries can affect whether we go to the doctor in the first place, make us suspicious of expensive procedures, or even cause us to turn down necessary care. And patient...

It's easy to forget that the earth below us is always changing and shifting — but sometimes, we get a dramatic demonstration of exactly that, like with the recent eruptions of a volcano in Iceland. Volcanoes can devastate and destroy, but they're also an integral part of our planet's history and even evolution. And the same goes for the rocks beneath our feet — they're ancient artifacts, historica...

On this rebroadcast of The Pulse: Freedom sounds great as an idea. Who doesn't want to be free to do what they want? But when you take a closer look, freedom becomes more complicated. What does it really mean to be free — and how free can we be? On this encore episode, we'll look at freedom from different perspectives. We'll talk with a neuroscientist who says we evolved to have free will — even t...

Amazon caught the wave of the early internet at a time when very few people even understood what the internet was. Launched in a garage 30 years ago, the company has grown from its humble beginnings to a global powerhouse that has expanded into all kinds of sectors, everything from cloud computing to health care. Founder Jeff Bezos wanted Amazon to become a daily habit for consumers — and for many...

Imagine looking at a crowd of people, and they either all look vaguely familiar, or like complete strangers. It doesn't matter if this is a group of classmates or colleagues, or people you have never met before. That's a daily experience for people who have a condition called face blindness — who can't recognize people based on their faces. Face recognition takes up a lot of real estate in our bra...

DIY culture is all about empowerment — teaching yourself new skills to do things on your own, like retiling your bathroom or fixing a leaky faucet. But what happens when the DIY approach extends to something as complicated and potentially dangerous as medicine? On this episode, we take a look at the growing number of patients who are taking health care into their own hands — experimenting with DIY...

Competent. Capable. Strong. Stoic. Provider. Protector. Leader. Patriarch. These are the kinds of words that we've long associated with masculinity and manhood — but in recent decades, ideas of what it means to be a man have undergone drastic changes. As women have gained ground in education and careers, politics and culture, the role of men has shifted. They're no longer automatically assumed to...