The Pulse

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 when you look a bit deeper, both on a biological level, and in terms of people's experiences, the border where life ends and death begins starts to look less firm, leading to questions about what comes next. On this episode, we explore the blurred line bet...

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, trouble scheduling appointments, big medical bills — but also broader issues like lack of access, distrust in the medical system, and language barriers can stand in the way of patient care. On this episode, we'll take a look at barriers to health care...

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, and sunsets that kiss the blue horizon. But Earth's oceans are more than all of that; they're our planet's defining feature, its largest ecosystem, the original source of all life, and, according to physicist and oceanographer Helen Czerski, the engine...

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 — sounded like science fiction. But in recent years, several new gene therapy treatments have been FDA approved, and many others are showing promise in clinical trials. On this episode, we take a look at what's new with gene therapy, what's on the horizon,...

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 marketing, but also climate change, global supply chains, nutrition science, health concerns, and social media influencers. On this episode, we'll look at what we eat and why. We'll find out how lima beans are getting a makeover, and why seed oils ende...

Sugary cereals for breakfast, a protein bar as a snack, a microwave lasagna for lunch, and a frozen pizza for dinner sounds like a teenager's dream diet, but these are the types of foods physician Chris van Tulleken ate for four weeks. During this time, he got 80 percent of his daily calories from ultra-processed foods, to see how it would impact his health and mood. He writes about this experienc...

In March of 2022, the war in Ukraine was weighing heavily on Fabian Falch, a Norwegian tech entrepreneur. The Russian government had started to censor news stories and social media posts about the war, and Falch wondered how Russian citizens would be able to access information, let alone voice criticism. Then he had an idea: to send emails to Russians — millions of them. Eventually, a conflict res...

Rejection, or even the thought of it, can strike fear into our hearts, and leave a bad taste in our mouths. It often leads to a mix of sadness, shame, anxiety, and anger — along with nagging questions. What's wrong with me? Why did this person not like me? Why didn't I win this award? Why didn't I get the job? But it doesn't have to be that way, and there's a lot we can learn from not making the c...

For most of the big moments in life, we have rituals — proposals, weddings, births, graduations, and anniversaries. We know how to talk about them, how to celebrate them, how to honor them. But there's one moment we all face that lots of people don't know how to deal with: dying. In fact, a majority of Americans avoid end-of-life planning, even though most say it's important. Losing a loved one —...

Flying saucers, little green men, and the X-Files — for years, that's what most people associated with unidentified flying objects, or UFOs. They were the stuff of sci-fi and supermarket tabloids, conspiracy theories and punchlines. But ever since a bombshell article in The New York Times several years back documented confirmed sightings by navy pilots, UFOs — or UAPs, unidentified aerial phenomen...

Dealing with a serious or chronic health condition is hard enough — but what happens when that condition comes with moral judgment? That's the case for millions of people around the world. From obesity to lung cancer, sexually transmitted diseases to mental illness, stigmatized conditions are shrouded in shame and blame that can not only hinder treatment — but ruin lives. On this episode, we explo...

Most of us have been there — feeling our jeans get tighter, watching the numbers on the scale creep up, declaring that this time we're going to lose the weight and keep it off. For a lot of people, though, it seems like no matter what they do — how many diets they try, calories they count, or hours they spend at the gym — losing weight isn't just hard; it feels downright impossible. Two in five Am...

In 1978, NASA recruited six candidates out of thousands of applicants for a special, groundbreaking mission: to become the first American women in space. Over the next few years, the six women would endure sexism, grueling training, and unending scrutiny from the media. In her new book, "The Six: The Untold Story of America's First Women Astronauts," author Loren Grush explores the stories of thes...

It sneaks up on us while we're sitting in traffic, or waiting at the doctor's office, or doing our taxes — boredom, that restless feeling of dissatisfaction that arises when we harbor "the desire for desires," as Leo Tolstoy said. At the same time, we're living in an age of never-ending stimulation, all at our fingertips — texting, social media, 24-hour news, and streaming galore. But despite this...

In November of 2019, New York Times tech reporter Kashmir Hill got a tip that immediately had her on high alert. It was about a secretive tech company called Clearview AI, that claimed to have developed a facial recognition app that could identify people with 99 percent accuracy. The company had apparently scraped billions of images from the internet to create this tool, and was already offering t...

We often think of art and science as existing in different — even opposite — spheres. One revolves around creativity and imagination; the other around observable facts and data — and never the twain shall meet. But really, art and science aren't as far apart as we might think. For centuries, artists have drawn on the natural sciences, and the wonders of the natural world, as inspiration for some o...

We spend a lot of time thinking about happiness. Wondering if we are truly happy, and how we could get there. We try to predict what will make us happy in the future, or what might lead to misery down the road. We chase success, money, and love. We work hard or maybe move from place to place to find fulfillment. But what actually brings us contentment is often very different from what we thought,...

The teenage years can be an emotional rollercoaster. One moment everything is great, it's amazing, then suddenly life is terrible, and all is ruined. But - it seems like something else is going on right now, beyond these expected ups and downs. Statistics are rising across the board for issues like anxiety and depression, the number of kids receiving mental health treatment, or reporting that they...

Over the past few years, remote working has transformed millions of people's lives — giving them more time for family, more control over their schedules, and a better work-life balance. But now, a growing number of companies — including tech giants like Google and Meta — are making their employees return to the office, citing concerns about productivity, innovation, creativity, and employee engage...

Science is all about observing the world. But how do you study something you can't see, smell, or hear — like the tiniest particles all around us? How do you test a new energy source when it doesn't really exist yet? These are the challenges that the world of physics often faces. You can come up with theories, using modeling and calculations, and devise some kind of experiment on paper to investig...

Whether you're a student or a doctor, a plumber or a truck driver, a university lecturer or a radio reporter, artificial intelligence is changing the way we work. For some workers, A.I. is taking over tedious and time-consuming tasks, freeing them up to focus and get more done. For others, it's led to questions about what A.I. means for the future of work — or whether, in a few years, they will ha...

It seems like every day, new skin care products hit the market: lotions, serums, collagen boosters, light therapy, at-home lasers — potions and procedures designed to coax our skin into peeling and healing, plumping and renewing. Their promise: wrinkle-free faces, poreless, dewy skin, and an eternally youthful glow. But there's no one magic bullet to flawless skin. And what is this chase really ab...

If you've tried to book a doctor's appointment lately, chances are, it's been challenging. Many practices are not taking new patients, or open slots are weeks or months away. For some patients, it has meant gritting their teeth through pain and anxiety. For others — like people living in rural areas or trying to see in-demand specialists like psychiatrists or neurologists — it can feel almost impo...

For centuries, writers and philosophers have imagined what a perfect world might look like — if only we had a chance to start over, build it all from scratch. The term "utopia" comes from ancient Greek. It literally means "no place," but it's also a pun on "eutopia," meaning "good place." In other words, it's a good place that doesn't exist. But that hasn't stopped a never-ending stream of dreamer...

When you're at the doctor's office or a hospital, it's easy to get frustrated. Why is this taking so long? Why do the nurses look so tired? Why does my doctor seem distracted? Who's making sure my diagnosis is right? There are people, stories, and entire worlds that could provide answers to these questions — but as patients, we don't get to see them. So, on this episode, we'll take you behind the...