The Pulse

Over the course of 20 years, writer Neil Shea explored the awe-inspiring landscape of the Arctic. He saw narwhals poking their tusks above the water, herds of caribou moving across the tundra, and majestic white wolves raising their young. He documents this fragile beauty in his new book, “Frostlines.” We talk to Shea about his adventures, and how climate change is transforming the region.

So often, our relationships take a backseat to everything else on our to-do lists — but new research shows that nurturing personal connections plays a central role in our health and well-being. On this episode, we explore the science of connection, from why it’s important, to how we can make it a priority in our lives.

Ahead of Thanksgiving, we do a deep dive into what we actually know about diet, and what we should and shouldn’t be eating. We talk with a nutrition and metabolism scientist about recent diet trends and how they affect our health, hear from several chefs about how they balance nutrition and taste, and find out how the avian flu outbreak could be affecting this year’s turkeys.

How do our dreams connect to health, and how could “dream engineering” help people get over nightmares? Researcher Michelle Carr writes about that in her new book “Nightmare Obscura: A Dream Engineer's Guide Through the Sleeping Mind.” We talk with Carr about why we dream, the benefits of lucid dreaming, and what she’s learning about our ability to “engineer” our dreams.

Chatbots don’t have feelings of their own, but they’ve been stirring plenty of emotions in us humans. On this episode, we explore how AI is making us feel, and what those feelings say about us. We hear about using ChatGPT for DIY therapy, what kinds of personalities we prefer in our chatbots, and how both the market and online culture is responding to the spike in AI-generated content.

On this Veterans Day episode, we explore the invisible wounds of war — and the different paths veterans take to heal them. We talk with a Marine Corps vet about how ceramics helped him reconnect with civilian life, a retired Navy SEAL about his experience with psychedelic-assisted therapy, and a Vietnam vet who, decades after the war, found peace in an unexpected place.

Cybercrime has been around for as long as computers have — but over the past 20 years, it's exploded into a global threat, with staggering financial, political, and even personal consequences. On this encore episode, 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.

Coca-Cola is launching a cane sugar version of its classic soda in the U.S. after President Donald Trump urged a switch from high fructose corn syrup. The effort supports the administration's “Make America Healthy Again” initiative — but many experts argue that it won’t make a difference.  On this episode, journalist Murray Carpenter discusses his new book, Sweet and Deadly: How Coca-Cola Spreads Disinformation and Makes Us Sick.

Ghosts seem far out of the realm of science. But small groups of investigators remain committed to proving — or disproving — the existence of paranormal phenomena. On this episode, we find out what motivates these investigators, and we’ll hear about a lab on the UCLA campus that studied paranormal activities.

If it feels like urgent care centers are everywhere these days — that’s because they are. Over the past decade, they’ve exploded in popularity, offering a quick and convenient alternative to long waits at the ER, and even longer waits to see your primary care provider. On this episode, we explore the rise of urgent care, from the role of private equity to its impact on patient care.