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Take in a slice of Americana with critically acclaimed host Ira Glass on "This American Life." Each week he picks a theme, then gives his writers and performers the freedom to weave real stories from real people around that theme.

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The Pulse

The Pulse Episode Archive

Save Download Preview Hacker using laptop. Hacking the Internet.
The Pulse
Science

Cybercrime and How Hackers Prey on Human Nature

We hear about the virus that ushered in the age of social engineering attacks, the history of cybercrime, and what led one man to become a hacker.

Air Date: October 31, 2025

Listen 55:24
Coca-Cola introduces a cane sugar version of its classic soda after a push from President Trump, part of the “Make America Healthy Again” initiative. But debates on sugar in Coke is decades old. (AP Photo/Ric Feld, File)
The Pulse
Health

Coca-Cola and a Secret Research Operation Meant to Exonerate Sugar

Coca-Cola’s rise to global brand domination, and how the company influenced our habits and perceptions along the way.

Air Date: October 28, 2025

Listen 28:52
Man behind the glass
The Pulse
Science

Searching for Ghosts: The Quest to Prove the Paranormal

From ghosts to ESP, a look at paranormal phenomena and the investigators who chase them.

Air Date: October 24, 2025

Listen 50:04
Over the past decade or two, the number of urgent care centers in the U.S. have doubled — in part, because they fill a void in the health care market, offering fast and convenient care to patients who would otherwise face long wait times at the ER, and longer wait times to see a primary care physician.  (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)
The Pulse
Health

Inside the Boom of Urgent Care: How It’s Changing American Medicine

We take a look at the rapid rise of urgent care, what’s fueling it, and how it’s affecting patients

Air Date: October 17, 2025

Listen 48:55
David Fajgenbaum
The Pulse

How David Fajgenbaum Found His Own Treatment & Launched Every Cure

What if treatments or even cures for devastating rare diseases already existed — and were just waiting to be discovered? On this podcas ...

Air Date: October 14, 2025

Listen 23:03
Taking breaks from work is essential to maintaining focus — but what you do on those breaks can make a big difference in how restorative they are. In his research, environmental neuroscientist Marc Berman has found that spending time in nature is one of the best ways of improving attention, cognitive function, and behavior. (Bigstock/Mihailo K)
The Pulse
Science

Finding Focus in the Age of Distraction

Why “touching grass” is actually good advice when it comes to taking a break and restoring focus.

Air Date: October 10, 2025

Listen 50:33
The brilliantly colored golden toad — found only in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve in the Tilarán Mountains of Costa Rica — was last spotted in 1989 and then never seen again. (Martha Crump)
The Pulse
Science

The Search for the Golden Toad and Other Adventures in the Wild

Tales of adventure in search of lost and elusive species, from the golden toad to India’s wild elephants.

Air Date: October 3, 2025

Listen 50:33
Weight scale with a measuring tape. Bathroom Scale with a measur
The Pulse
Science

Lessons on Weight Loss from ‘The Biggest Loser’

What The Biggest Loser taught us about metabolism, shedding pounds — and what it takes to keep weight off.

Air Date: September 26, 2025

Listen 59:02
Two trees, one living and one dead facing each other
The Pulse
Health

Different Patients, Different Outcomes

A look at some of the recently discovered factors that shape health, disease, and survival.

Air Date: September 19, 2025

Listen 59:02
Muscle drawing
The Pulse
Health

The Science and Beauty of Muscles

A celebration of muscles — from their beauty and biology, to the history of how weightlifting went mainstream.

Air Date: September 12, 2025

Listen 50:04
Pamela Anderson and Liam Neeson are just one of several celebrity odd couples that have kept the internet buzzing this summer. They're pictured here at the New York premiere of
The Pulse
Science

Podcast Extra: Odd Couples and the Science of Attraction

An exploration of the mysteries of attraction and the science of optimizing online dating.

Air Date: September 9, 2025

Listen 37:17
Map of Mars
The Pulse
Science

Mars Mania: How America Became Obsessed with Mars

Tracing the history of our obsession with Mars, from modern efforts to colonize to belief in a Martian civilization.

Air Date: September 5, 2025

Listen 50:03
Constant pressure to be more productive — especially at work — can cause declining performance and even burnout. That's led some thinkers in the field to push for an updated idea of what true productivity should look like. (Bigstock/Prostock-studio)
The Pulse
Science

Why It’s Time to Rethink Productivity

It’s something we’ve all said to ourselves at some time or other: “I just have to get through this week” — as if next week will ...

Air Date: August 29, 2025

Listen 50:03
education, elementary school, learning, technology and people concept - close up of school kids with tablet pc computers having fun and playing on break in classroom
The Pulse
Science

Back to School in a Rapidly Changing World

How the AI revolution and the long shadow of COVID are transforming education.

Air Date: August 22, 2025

Listen 50:00
Dr. Stephen Thacker, right, of the U.S. Center for Disease Control, interviews Thomas Payne in Chambersburg Hospital in Pennsylvania, Aug. 4, 1976. Payne was one of the Legionnaires who became ill after attending a state convention in Philadelphia.  (AP Photo/Pool)
The Pulse
Health

How Scientists Discovered Legionnaires’ Disease

In the summer of 1976, when 2,000 people came to Philadelphia for a national convention of the American Legion, a strange illness gripped ...

Air Date: August 18, 2025

Listen 26:32
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