The Pulse Folgen

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, we explore the future of remote work, and hear about the latest research on which settings and models are best. When does it pay off to bring workers back, and when is working remotely more fruitful? We hear stories about how digital nomads are reshaping what work looks like — and the places they live; how working from home affects productivity; and how workplace psychologists say office design could lure employees back to the workplace.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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 often incredibly challenging. On this episode, we peek behind the curtain of multimillion-dollar physics experiments that are changing the way we understand our world — and hear about some of the big challenges they face. We dig into the origins of the James Webb Space Telescope, talk with xkcd cartoonist Randall Munroe about some of his more outlandish — and complicated — physics calculations, and hear from accelerator physicist Suzie Sheehy about the physics experiments that changed the world.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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 than simply replacing us? What checks and balances do we need to control its development? And are there any jobs that will not be affected? On this episode, we explore how A.I. is transforming the way we work — for good and for bad. We hear stories about the future of robot plumbers, the push to integrate A.I. into medical education, how physicians are responding to its increasing presence in medicine, and the dystopian threat of neurotechnology.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy