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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.
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The Pulse

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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.

Most Recent Episodes

The Benefits of Knowing When to Quit

The messages we receive around quitting are usually straightforward — don't do it. It's something we hear everywhere — from greats like Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretzky, in movies and TV shows, on motivational posters and in children's books: Go the distance. Never give up. Quitters never win, and winners never quit. But what if giving up really is the best option? What if we're miserable, or burned out, or realize our goals have changed? When should we stick it out — and when should we walk away? On this episode, we explore those questions with writer Julia Keller, who examines the science — and potential benefits — of throwing in the towel in her new book, "Quitting: A Life Strategy: The Myth of Perseverance and How the New Science of Giving Up Can Set You Free." We also hear stories about one woman's reckoning with the effects of long COVID on her life, and what prompted a young 20-something to give up everything for a life on the road.

The Benefits of Knowing When to Quit

Listen · 49:24
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How K-Beauty Revolutionized Skincare — And Became Obsessed with Perfection

When NPR host Elise Hu moved to South Korea to be an international correspondent, she ended up getting a crash course on Korean beauty and the country's billion-dollar cosmetics industry. She explains the rise of the industry, its appeal, and the high standards it sets for appearance. On this episode, a conversation with Elise Hu about her new book, "Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty capital."

How K-Beauty Revolutionized Skincare — And Became Obsessed with Perfection

Listen · 27:49
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Communicating with Animals

Humans have long been fascinated by the idea of communicating with other species — not just teaching animals to mimic human words, but truly understanding their calls or cries, and interpreting their meaning. In recent years, new technologies and research are getting us closer to that point. So what are scientists learning about the way animals' minds work — what they think about, care about, and want us to understand? On this episode, we explore animal communication — from their ability to speak our language, to our ability to understand theirs. We hear stories about what viral videos of "talking" dogs and cats are teaching scientists, the hidden meanings behind whale songs and dolphin whistles, and how machine learning is decoding the oinks and squeals of pigs.

Communicating with Animals

Listen · 49:11
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The Mind-Body Feedback Loop

We all know how stress — or anger, or pangs of anxiety — can affect the body. Your heart rate increases; your blood pressure rises; maybe your palms feel sweaty, or your stomach feels tight. Likewise, our bodies have a profound impact on our minds. When we experience pleasure, happy chemicals flood our brains, keeping us calm and relaxed. Chronic pain, on the other hand, can cause anxiety, depression — even problems with memory and focus. The mind and body form a powerful feedback loop — with each triggering processes in the other. But in medicine, there is still a firm line separating physical symptoms from thoughts and emotions, a barrier between physical and mental health. Increasingly, though, researchers are challenging that disconnect, and new treatments are exploring surprising ways in which the body helps heal the mind, and vice versa. On this episode, we explore the mind-body connection. We'll hear stories about how meditation is being used to treat long COVID, the burgeoning field of cardiac psychology, and harnessing our fight-or-flight response to treat PTSD.

The Mind-Body Feedback Loop

Listen · 51:18
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When Healing Happens But We Don't Know Why

More than a third of Americans use complementary and alternative medicine, ranging from acupuncture to herbalism, Ayurveda to homeopathy. But despite its growing popularity, complementary and alternative medicine remains, for the most part, outside the Western medical mainstream — regarded by some as fringe, and by others as straight-up quackery. Despite that, many researchers and supporters have been trying to gain a deeper understanding of medical practices from around the world, and to incorporate them into our health care system. And that's led to more questions: Which practices work, and for what conditions? How do they work? And how do we measure and standardize treatments when they're removed from their cultural contexts? On this episode, we step outside the boundaries of Western medicine to explore those questions. We hear stories about a mysterious Vodou treatment, the struggle to bring acupuncture into the medical mainstream, and answers to Western skeptics.

When Healing Happens But We Don't Know Why

Listen · 49:05
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Managing the Challenges of Motherhood

If you look around for Mother's Day gifts, you'll probably see stuff like bubble baths, spa days, yoga classes — a whole slew of things aimed at promoting "self-care" for tireless (but actually exhausted) moms. But for a lot of overwhelmed mothers, self-care becomes just another box to tick — another item on an endless to-do list that never gets finished. The demands of modern motherhood can be overwhelming: Moms are expected to do it all and do it perfectly — even if that means compromising their own well-being. On this episode, we talk about the challenges of motherhood, and how moms can find the space and time to take care of themselves. We talk with a perinatal psychiatrist about the contradictory demands of motherhood, and why bubble baths aren't the answer; hear about an initiative to help mothers dealing with postpartum depression; and learn about the unexpected ways that motherhood changes the brain.

Managing the Challenges of Motherhood

Listen · 49:18
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Neurotech and the Growing Battle for Our Brains

Have you ever wanted to figure out when you're the most focused? Or how your moods change throughout the day? How "fit" your brain is, or whether your insomnia is really as bad as you think? Neurotech devices promise to deliver insights. These are cutting-edge gadgets that pick up on the electrochemical signals inside of our brains, and are connected to algorithms that analyze and interpret that data. Brain technology offers all kinds of exciting possibilities — from treating conditions like epilepsy or depression, to simply maximizing our brain health. But medical ethicists are already raising the alarm about potential dangers — for example, how are employers using this tech to monitor their employees? What happens when their brain metrics don't meet standards? On this episode, we dive into some of these thorny questions with leading scholars and researchers in the field of neurotechnology.

Neurotech and the Growing Battle for Our Brains

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Why Rejection Hurts So Much — And How to Cope

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 the lessons we can draw from it. We'll hear from a fear and anxiety researcher about the evolutionary roots of anxiety — and why asking someone out on a date can feel like a life-or-death situation. Then we'll explore a common experience among people with ADHD, known as rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD), and hear how one future physician dealt with the worst rejection of her life.

Why Rejection Hurts So Much — And How to Cope

Listen · 48:51
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Why We Love and Hate Exercising —And How to Do it Either Way

We all know that exercise is good for us — for both our bodies and our minds — but motivating yourself to hit the gym, take a run, or even go for a walk sometimes feels like the hardest thing in the world. There are constant rebuttals that arise in our minds: We're too busy. We're too tired. We need a break — we'll start next week. At the same time, we're bombarded by messages from people who are all about fitness — influencers with seemingly perfect bodies and a healthy glow, who convince us that we too can get into shape. It's a habit that many of us try to cultivate — yet often seem to hit a wall. On this episode, we look at the science of fitness, the evolution of cultural messages surrounding exercise, and how we can overcome inertia to start fitting it into our lives. We'll hear about how exercise affects our mood and overall health, different approaches to getting in shape, the real-life struggle of becoming an Instagram fitness influencer, and one couch potato's reluctant journey to getting active.

Why We Love and Hate Exercising —And How to Do it Either Way

Listen · 48:43
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Taking the Temperature of Climate Science

We hear about the big picture of climate change almost every day — the threats it poses, the effects on our world and lives, the fight to stop it. Across the world, armies of researchers are contributing pieces to that big picture narrative every day. They often travel long distances and brave the elements to collect information, one small data point at a time. How do Antarctic penguins fare when warming temperatures bring changing conditions to a part of the continent? How do we really know what Earth's climate was like in the past, and how it compares to today? What's it like to spend months living on an old oil drilling ship, in search of tiny ancient fossils? On this episode, we go behind the headlines to spend time with scientists on the front lines of climate research. We'll hear how they're collecting data, what they're learning, and what keeps them motivated. We hear about climate change almost every day — the threats it poses, the fight to stop it. On this episode, we spend time with scientists on the front lines of climate research.

Taking the Temperature of Climate Science

Listen · 50:09
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