x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

The Pulse

Go on an adventure into unexpected corners of the health and science world each week with award-winning host Maiken Scott. The Pulse takes you behind the doors of operating rooms, into the lab with some of the world"s foremost scientists, and back in time to explore life-changing innovations. The Pulse delivers stories in ways that matter to you, and answers questions you never knew you had.

science

All Episodes

50:31

Lowering Barriers to Care

The Pulse ·

2023/12/08

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 — especially for America's most vulnerable populations — and explore potential solutions. We hear

en-us

49:29

Uncovering the Inner Workings of the Oceans

The Pulse ·

2023/12/01

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 that powers our planet. On this episode, we talk with Czerski about her new book, "The Blue Machine:

en-us

50:57

How Gene Therapy is Offering Hope — Once Again

The Pulse ·

2023/11/24

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, and the challenges standing in the way. We hear stories about making these treatments more affordable

en-us

55:09

Changing Tastes

The Pulse ·

2023/11/17

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 ended up becoming a lightning rod in nutrition debates. We'll also taste a futuristic green with

en-us

33:00

Salty, Crunchy, and Addictive: A Physician's Fight...

The Pulse ·

2023/11/15

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 experience, and his extensive research on these products in his new book, "Ultra-Processed People: The Science

en-us

49:14

Getting Better at Resolving Conflicts

The Pulse ·

2023/11/10

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 researcher got involved in this effort and it turned into a real-time study on what works and what doesn't

en-us

49:33

Why Rejection Hurts So Much — And How to Cope

The Pulse ·

2023/11/03

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 cut. On this episode, we explore the experience of rejection — what it feels like, how it functions, and

en-us

53:41

How We Talk About Death

The Pulse ·

2023/10/27

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 — not to mention facing your own mortality — is a hard reality to contemplate. So how do we go about having

en-us

50:05

How UFOs Went from Fringe to Mainstream

The Pulse ·

2023/10/20

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 phenomena, as they've been rebranded — have been slowly migrating into the mainstream.Today, it's not uncommon to

en-us

49:28

Shame and Blame: How Stigma Impacts Health

The Pulse ·

2023/10/13

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 explore stigmatized health conditions — how they earn their reputations, affect the lives of patients, and

en-us

49:21

How Science is Transforming Weight Loss

The Pulse ·

2023/10/06

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 American adults are obese, and the numbers keep rising. It's been called a public health crisis, especially

en-us

49:07

Space Pioneers

The Pulse ·

2023/09/29

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 these female pioneers, along with the longer history of women's fight for inclusion in the male-dominated

en-us

52:12

Boredom in the Age of Information Overload

The Pulse ·

2023/09/22

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 constant content consumption, we're still getting bored — maybe even more so than ever. We find

en-us

41:11

Face Recognition and What it Means for our Privacy

The Pulse ·

2023/09/20

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 this software to police departments across the U.S.The tip sent Hill on a chase to find out who was

en-us

49:19

How Art and Science Intersect

The Pulse ·

2023/09/15

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 of our most celebrated works.On this episode, we explore the hidden architecture of science that often

en-us

59:37

Finding Happiness

The Pulse ·

2023/09/08

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, and researchers are trying to quantify what leads to that lasting sense of well-being.On this episode,

en-us

49:30

Helping Teens Navigate Mental Health Challenges

The Pulse ·

2023/09/01

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 feel hopeless.So what's happening - and what's to blame? On this episode: teens, their mental health,

en-us

49:20

Remote Working vs. the Office — Which is Better?

The Pulse ·

2023/08/25

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 engagement. But how does working in the office measure up when compared to working remotely? On this episode,

en-us

49:26

Bringing Physics from Theory to Practice

The Pulse ·

2023/08/18

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 investigate things. But then you have to translate those ideas into tangible, real-world experiments, which is

en-us

49:35

Will A.I. Take Your Job — or Make It Better?

The Pulse ·

2023/08/11

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 have jobs at all. What are the limits of A.I.'s abilities? How can it help us do our jobs better rather

en-us

194 results

Similar Podcasts

Classic Radio Science Fiction

solgoodmedia.com

Mission to Mars

Inception Point Ai

The 365 Days of Astronomy

365DaysOfAstronomy.org

Creek Devil

william Jevning

UFO Chronicles Podcast

Nik Hunter