The Pulse

Pain is powerful — and when it becomes chronic, it can be all-consuming. It takes over our minds, saps our energy, and becomes the focus of our existence. And yet, pain is also invisible. We can try to describe it — stabbing, nagging, dull, achy; we can rate it on a number scale from one to 10, or point to a smiley or frowny face to define it, but it's not something we can ever fully communicate. Our pain is ours — to feel, to bear, to live with. Millions of Americans live with chronic pain, and yet it can be a profoundly lonely experience. The individual nature of pain, the mysterious way it often sneaks into our lives, without a definitive source, can make it hard to deal with — and even harder to treat. On this episode, we explore the nature of chronic pain — what causes it, how it affects us, and the ongoing fight to stop it. We talk with physician Haider Warraich, who wants to change the way medicine thinks about pain, people who've spent years trying to treat their pain, and a reporter who's tracking the newest developments in pain medicine.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

It's that time of year when we celebrate something we usually hate: fear. We visit haunted houses and corn mazes or binge-watch the scariest horror movies. But our relationship with fear is complicated. In its most primitive form, fear is about survival — it raises our heart rates, redirects our blood flow, makes us faster and fiercer, all so we can face — or escape — serious threats. In other settings — where there's no real danger — fear can feel exhilarating, fun, and exciting. It can serve as a form of entertainment, or even help us focus and perform better. On this episode, we look at fear and how it overlaps with other emotions. We hear stories about why we love scary movies, overcoming paralyzing stage fright, and what happened to one man who completely lost his sense of fear.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The modern ICU, or Intensive Care Unit, was born out of a time of crisis. It was 1952, and polio was raging in many places — especially the city of Copenhagen. Patients poured into the hospitals, many of them gasping for air, turning blue, and eventually dying. Then a brilliant doctor tried a radically different approach — pumping air directly into patients' lungs. It was an idea that would require intensive manpower, but save many lives. And it led to the birth of a new kind of medicine: intensive care. Seventy years later, ICUs sit at the cutting edge of modern medicine. They're the destination for the sickest patients — including those who're hovering at death's door — and home to some of medicine's most profound interventions. ICUs can be a place of pain and healing, of comfort and dying, a laboratory for innovation, or a sanctuary for grieving families. On this episode, we take a look at intensive care — its roots, what it's like to work there, and how the coronavirus pandemic has changed it.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Skydiving, BASE jumping, climbing the highest peaks, adventuring to remote parts of the world — pushing the boundaries of safety. For thrill-seekers, chasing the rush is what it's all about. Where lots of us would break into a cold sweat, they experience something different: calm, focus, even moments of sublime awe. So what is it that makes thrill-seekers different? On this episode, we investigate what fuels their desire for adventure, and ask when the pursuit of kicks becomes dangerous and disruptive. We hear stories about storm chasers, rocket builders, and hikers. We also talk to a psychologist who avoids thrills in his personal life, but is deeply invested in understanding why other people love it.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The death of a loved one can be shattering — especially when it's unexpected. It destroys our feeling of safety, warps our sense of reality, and often leaves us feeling lost ... unsure if we'll ever come out on the other side. It's an experience just about everyone goes through at some point in their lives, and yet it can feel profoundly lonely. There's no linear logic or prescribed progression; grief advances stubbornly at its own pace. The wounds can feel both fresh and ancient, stifling and endless, like it's a connection to our loved ones — and a wall that we can never break through. And yet, every day, people do survive their grief — they live with it and through it, and emerge on the other side. On this episode, we hear stories of grief and healing. A mother whose son was murdered at the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012 describes how her grief has changed over the past decade. We will also explore what researchers have learned about grief in the wake of the pandemic — what some have called a "shadow pandemic" of loss. And we'll meet a researcher who is trying to compile the best information to help people who are dealing with grief.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Sleep — we all need it, but most people aren't getting enough of it. Ideally, we spend about a third of our lives asleep. When we're well rested, we feel like we can take on the world. But when we're not, we find ourselves exhausted, cranky, moody, forgetful ... and our overall health takes a hit. Clearly, sleep is important. The question is — why? What happens when we sleep? What makes it such an important part of our survival? And what's stopping us from getting our best rest? On this episode, we look at the anatomy of sleep — why it matters, how we get our best sleep, and what happens when we don't. We hear stories about what happened to one physician when long COVID brought her sleeplessness to a crisis level, why one physical therapist says we're all sleeping wrong, and a look inside our sleeping brains.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The process of therapy can sometimes seem a bit opaque. What exactly happens in therapy? How does it work? And which approach is right for which issues? On this episode, we get inside the heads of therapists to find out how they ply their craft, and what it takes to really feel better. We hear stories about what happened when a city took a bold step toward providing free, virtual mental health services to its residents. Also: what happens when politics and therapy collide; how Freud's brainchild — psychoanalysis — is still relevant; and what it's like to grow up as the child of two shrinks.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The human brain has an incredible capacity for processing information, from sensory data, to casual conversations, to everything we hear and read — in fractions of seconds. Not only that, our brains make sense of it all, allowing us to learn, work, form relationships, and navigate the world. On this episode, we take a closer look at how this all works — and why it sometimes doesn't. We hear stories about listening instead of reading — and test the limits of speed listening; we'll find out why reading comprehension tests in schools may be misguided; and why some people who think they're hard of hearing might actually have a different issue going on.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Who becomes a physician in this country — and who never gets that chance? It's a question a lot of medical schools are grappling with, as groups like Black people and Latinos remain especially underrepresented among students. What would it take to attract and retain a more diverse group of students? On this episode, we hear stories about people's path to med school, and the challenges they face along the way. We learn about a major push to increase diversity that happened in the 90s — and what happened to it; why some are rallying to do away with a tough entry exam applicants have to take; and the challenges of being the only person of color in your class.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

What is love? Is it that warm and fuzzy feeling, that crazed obsession, that deep sentiment of trust and good will? It's all of those things, but where and how does love happen in our bodies? On this episode, we put love under the microscope (and into a brain scanner) to understand where this emotion begins, and where it takes us. We talk with neurologists and psychologists to get a better understanding of the feeling that can turn us into heroes, fools — or both.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy