
The Pulse Episode Archive
Changing the Way We Think About Chronic Pain
We explore the nature of chronic pain — what causes it, how it affects us, and the ongoing fight to stop it.
Air Date: March 24, 2023
Listen 49:31If you’re training to become a physician, your first patient is usually dead. In fact, “first patient” is what med students call th ...
Air Date: March 17, 2023
Listen 48:259/11 rescue worker chooses to have her body preserved after death
9/11 rescue worker wants the world to see the toll the work took on her body.
1 week ago
Listen 10:52How a med student’s ‘first patient’ created lasting friendships
For more than a decade, a unique gross anatomy course at Indiana University required students to get to know the family of the donated cadaver they worked on.
1 week ago
Listen 11:18Bringing Physics from Theory to Practice
Science is all about observing the world. But how do you study something you can’t see, smell, or hear — like the tiniest particles a ...
Air Date: March 10, 2023
Listen 49:19Behind the scenes of a $200 million nuclear fusion experiment
How scientists and engineers make parts for a nuclear fusion experiment at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory in New Jersey.
2 weeks ago
Listen 8:58Surrounded by Walruses: The Making of ‘Haulout’
In 2018, brother and sister filmmaking duo Evgenia Arbugaeva and Maxim Arbugaev traveled to a beach in the Siberian Arctic — an area in ...
Air Date: March 8, 2023
Listen 17:24Pests: We know them when we see them. The mice that lurk in our kitchens, the squirrels that steal our tomatoes, the mosquitoes that bite ...
Air Date: March 3, 2023
Listen 49:30How we decide which animals are pests, and why
Even for the most devoted animal lover among us, there are animals that we hate and try to avoid, or kill: rats, mice, pigeons, invasive snakes. We call these animals pests.
3 weeks ago
Listen 22:01Skin Care and the Quest for Eternal Youth
It seems like every day, new skin care products hit the market: lotions, serums, collagen boosters, light therapy, at-home lasers — pot ...
Air Date: February 24, 2023
Listen 48:58From med spas to DIY: Botox is everywhere but not without risks
For a product whose toxic origins trace back to a biological weapons lab in Maryland, Botox has helped normalize cosmetic injectables
1 month ago
Listen 12:43What’s behind the new trend of “stem cell” microneedling?
A new microneedling technique utilizes a solution based on human stem cells to increase the treatment’s effect. WHYY’s host of The Pulse, Maiken Scott, gave it a try.
1 month ago
Shame and Blame: How Stigma Impacts Health
Dealing with a serious or chronic health condition is hard enough — but what happens when that condition comes with moral judgment? Tha ...
Air Date: February 17, 2023
Listen 48:52How the myth of ‘patient zero’ was made
A labeling fluke and an international bestseller shaped our thinking about public health.
1 month ago
Listen 13:16The real pain behind vitiligo and its unequal effect on people of color
With only one FDA approved topical cream for vitiligo — finding comfort in one’s own skin comes at a cost.
2 months ago
Listen 8:13Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.