Episodes

How do the places we inhabit shape our sense of meaning, connection, and well-being? In this episode, Monica sits down with architect, author, and placemaker Dr. Phill Tabb for a wide-ranging conversation on the relationship between place, spirituality, and human flourishing. Together, they explore…

In this episode, we explore a question that feels more urgent than ever: what if healing ourselves and healing the planet are deeply interconnected? Monica is joined by author Lindsay Branham, whose book Heartwood: The Wisdom...

On this episode of Biophilic Solutions , Monica Olsen is joined by wildlife conservationist and author Beth Pratt alongside special guest co-host Tim Beatley for a conversation about urban wildlife, national parks, and the fu...

Cancer Alley, an 85-mile stretch along the Mississippi River in Louisiana, has become shorthand for one of the most urgent environmental justice crises in the United States. Lined with more than a hundred petrochemical plants...

Climate change can feel overwhelming, especially for those already deeply attuned to the natural world. Alongside that awareness often comes anxiety, grief, and a lingering question: how do we move from overwhelm to action? I...

As we welcome a new season of Biophilic Solutions , we’re also sharing a bittersweet farewell to our wonderful co-host, Jennifer Walsh. From the very beginning, Jennifer has brought a thoughtful, grounded perspective to nearl...

Is it important to understand the cultural context of a place? And how can landscape architects help us feel more connected to the natural world? This week, we’re revisiting our most popular episode ever, a thoughtful, wide-r...

Today, we’re revisiting a favorite from the Biophilic Solutions archive: a thoughtful conversation on beauty, the brain, and our relationship to nature with Anjan Chatterjee. In this episode, we explore whether our aesthetic ...

We’re excited to bring back a favorite conversation from 2021 with the incomparable Florence Williams. Florence is, of course, the acclaimed author of The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative ...

As we gear up to launch another season of incredible guest interviews we’re revisiting a few of our most beloved episodes, starting with the fabulous Doug Tallamy. Over the course of his career, Doug has become a leading voic...

In a world where many of us feel increasingly disconnected from the Earth and from one another, author Lyanda Lynn Haupt offers us a way back. Through her blend of science, nature, and spiritual insight, she invites us to slo...

What does it mean to truly love the natural world? And what happens when we start listening deeply to it? In this episode, we sit down with author and activist Maria Rodale to explore the themes in her latest book, Love, Natu...

We think a lot about how people make us feel, but what about the places we spend our time in? In this episode, we explore how architecture and design influence our physical and mental well-being, from hospitals and workplaces...

In a time of deep political division and environmental crisis, what would it look like to design a democracy that’s truly in harmony with the natural world? In this episode, we revisit a powerful 2022 conversation with David ...

Modern life often leaves us on the treadmill of constant striving, chasing markers of success that don’t necessarily bring fulfillment. But what happens when you step off that treadmill and reimagine what’s possible? Our gues...

Regenerative agriculture isn’t new. To quote today’s guest, it’s an “exciting old thing.” Yet in the modern world, this ancient, innate wisdom often feels forgotten, and the consequences show up in our food system, in our hea...

When was the last time you really experienced nighttime? In our modern world of glowing screens, bright porch lights, and 24/7 brightness, true darkness has become rare. Yet nighttime holds a mystery and magic all its own, in...

This week on Biophilic Solutions , we’re bringing you something a little different (yet very close to home). While Serenbe isn’t the main focus of this podcast, it is where Monica lives and works, and it’s one of the most vib...

This week, we’re joined by Amy Martin, host of the Peabody Award-winning podcast Threshold , for a conversation that spans everything from the hidden harms of noise pollution and ecological grief to imagining a future free fr...

What if we told you that simple, meaningful action starting today can help protect the world’s oceans? In this hopeful and eye-opening episode, Monica sits down with Katie Day, Senior Manager of Science and Policy at the Surfrider Foundation, to talk about the practical steps we can all take to saf…

Over the past few years, we've had the privilege of sitting down with visionaries, scientists, designers, farmers, poets, and policymakers. Each conversation has expanded our perspective, encouraging us to see the world through a broader, greener lens. For our 100th episode, we’re hitting pause to …

Today, we’re diving into one of the most urgent and complex challenges of our time: how to truly and equitably mitigate climate change, starting in the heart of the Amazon rainforest. This conversation spans a web of critical...

Time and again, we've examined how the challenges we face – poverty, inequality, environmental degradation, and more – are deeply intertwined. Understandably, it can start to feel pretty overwhelming. But here’s the encouragi...

Let’s face it. Our waste habits are, well, pretty wasteful. Every single day, more than 27,000 trees are cut down just to make toilet paper. Meanwhile, the average disposable diaper takes over 500 years to decompose in a land...