Watch the original episode on YouTube.
Today’s Pulse rundown
Mount Olympus
Transcript: What if you could hike to the ancient throne of the gods? Greek officials are lobbying for Mount Olympus to be included on the Unesco list of world heritage sites. The World Heritage Committee is discussing the nomination at its forty-eighth session in Busan, South Korea. The mountain rises two thousand nine hundred and eighteen metres above the sea and was described by Homer as the seat of the immortals. Officials hope the designation will bring extra funds to improve fire protection measures and clear walking paths. If you could visit any mythical landmark, where would you go?
Mangrove Photography
Transcript: What if a single photograph could help save an entire forest? The Mangrove Photography Awards just announced the winners of its twelfth annual competition. The contest received over five thousand entries from eighty-seven countries. The winning image by Gaurav Patil shows a fishing net tangled around a mangrove root in Maharashtra, India. Between five hundred thousand and one million tons of fishing gear enter the oceans each year. These ghost nets can entangle animals, choke coral reefs, and break down into microplastics that damage mangrove ecosystems. Next time you take a picture of nature, remember it might inspire someone to protect it!
Rapamycin
Transcript: Imagine if a single dose of medicine could change how the brain communicates! Scientists at UCLA Health found that one dose of a drug called rapamycin temporarily improved autism-like symptoms in adult mice. The changes happened in about two hours. The drug works in part by reducing activity in the mTOR pathway. It reversed abnormal patterns of gene expression in excitatory neurons, which stimulate activity in brain networks. This rapidly restored a healthier balance in neuronal excitability. While it is not a practical treatment for humans, it helps researchers understand brain adaptability. How else could studying mice help doctors understand the human brain?
Work Experience
Transcript: What if spending one week at a zoo completely changed your future? Three fifteen-year-old students in the UK shared how work experience placements helped them figure out their career goals. A student named Kelsey spent a week at Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire. She helped design enrichment activities for a tiger and presented ideas to the public. She said the experience made her realize why school matters. Experts at the Social Mobility Foundation warn that access to these opportunities remains unequal for students without professional networks. If you could shadow any professional for a week, who would you choose?
Open AI Models
Transcript: What does it mean when an AI model is called open or closed? A PBS NewsHour explainer says those labels are not about an AI's personality. They describe whether information about how a model works is public and changeable, or kept private by its developer. In open-source software, people can run, study, modify, and share code. For AI, things get trickier. Some companies release model weights, the encoded knowledge learned during training, while keeping other pieces private. Some developers say truly open AI should also include training data. Would you trust a tool more if you could inspect how it works?
Florida Pot
Transcript: What if you dug in the dirt and found a perfectly preserved piece of history? Archaeology students at the University of Florida discovered a fully intact clay pot that is roughly four hundred years old. They found it at the former Mission San Francisco de Potano. The site was a large village inhabited by the Potano Indigenous community before the Spanish government established a Catholic mission there in 1606. Researchers have recovered over seven thousand items since 2006. Archaeologists are wondering why this perfect pot was purposefully put into a pit. What everyday object would you bury for future archaeologists to find?
Food Trucks
Transcript: Have you ever wondered where your favorite food truck actually comes from? For the past fifteen years, a business called California Food Trucks in Long Beach has been building custom mobile kitchens from scratch. Owner Martin Ramirez and his team transform vans and commercial trucks into functioning restaurants. They handle everything from plumbing to welding and electrical work. Ramirez even steers clients away from using generators, preferring to install solar-powered batteries that he can troubleshoot from his desk. He has built massive forty-foot catering trucks for clients like Google. If you designed your own food truck, what kind of meals would you serve?
Ghost Rider
Transcript: Are you ready to see a famous actor transform into a flaming, skeletal biker? Marvel Studios executive Kevin Feige announced at San Diego Comic Con that Ryan Gosling will star as Ghost Rider in a new standalone movie. The film will be directed by Shawn Levy and is slated to release in 2028. Gosling will be the second actor to play the Spirit of Vengeance in a film, following Nicolas Cage who starred in two Sony movies. In the comics, the character rides a motorcycle, wields fiery chain whips, and has super-strength. Which Marvel superhero do you think has the coolest origin story?
Hayley Williams
Transcript: What if your favorite singer brought a whole team of surprise guests on stage? Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams surprised fans during her headlining set at the 2026 Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island on Friday. During her sixteen-song setlist, Williams brought out several famous musicians. She performed the 2014 debut single from Bleachers with Jack Antonoff, and sang a duet of the 2007 Rilo Kiley song Silver Lining with Jenny Lewis. She even played a song live accompanied by Lucy Dacus from Boygenius! If you could invite any two musicians to perform together, who would you pick?
Primark
Transcript: Have you noticed your favorite cheap clothing store is suddenly dropping its prices? The fashion retailer Primark announced on Monday it is lowering prices on hundreds of clothing items in the UK, including jeans and jumpers. Retail analyst Natalie Berg says Primark is making the cuts to compete with Chinese online marketplaces like Shein and Temu. These online retailers can undercut traditional stores because they do not pay for physical locations, their packages are exempt from import duties, and they use an efficient operating model that leaves little unsold stock. Do you prefer shopping for clothes in a physical store or ordering them online?