Biophilic Solutions: Nature Has the Answers
Have you ever noticed how DNA’s spiraling structure mirrors the shape of seashells and flowers? How our circulatory system branches like tree roots? Nature doesn’t just surround us—we are nature. Our bodies, minds, and societies are woven into its rhythms, yet in today’s modern world, we’ve severed that bond, and the consequences ripple through our environment, politics, culture, and even spirituality.
Every other week, hosts Monica Olsen and Jennifer Walsh explore the profound connections between planetary health and human well-being. Through conversations with leading experts, they uncover how nature influences everything—from the way we design our cities to the way we govern, heal, and find meaning in our lives. As we face climate change, biodiversity loss, and deep societal shifts, rediscovering our place in the natural world isn’t just necessary—it’s transformative.
Join us on this biophilic journey. Follow and listen today, because nature holds the answers.
Episodes
120 episodes
Charting Our Path Forward with Dr. Katharine Wilkinson
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?In this episod...
The Lost Art of Being Human
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 nearly every con...
Solutions Rewind | Alfie Vick on Native Plants, Wildness, and Ecological Responsibility
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-ranging conve...
Solutions Rewind | Beauty, Biophilia, & Your Brain with Dr. Anjan Chatterjee
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 preferences are cul...
Solutions Rewind | Why Nature Makes Us Happier with Florence Williams
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, a book th...
Solutions Rewind | Doug Tallamy on Native Plants, Keystone Species, and Ecosystem Restoration
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 voice helping peo...
Where Science and Spirit Meet with Lyanda Lynn Haupt
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 slow down, pay attenti...
Maria Rodale on Love, Magic, and Listening to Her Garden
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, Nature, Magic:...
Nature, Coherence, and Constructing Health with Tye Farrow
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 to the sp...
Solutions Rewind: David Orr on Saving Democracy—and the Planet
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 Orr, P...
Nature, Transformation, and Radical Common Sense with Steve Nygren
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 guest this week, ...
Regenerative Agriculture and the Heart of the World with Kelsey Timmerman
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 health, and in the cli...
The Magic and Mystery of Nighttime with Leigh Ann Henion
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, inviting us to slow d...
Journal of Biophilic Design: How to Design a Biophilic Community
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 vibra...
What the Earth Is Telling Us with Threshold’s Amy Martin
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 from the loom...
Small Steps, Big Waves: How You Can Help Protect Our Oceans with Katie Day
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 Foundat...
Nature Has The Answers: Lessons Learned After 100 Biophilic Conversations
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, green...
Rooted in Wisdom: Indigenous Voices and the Amazon Rainforest with Dr. Tracey Osborne
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 themes: climate fi...
The Future Is Local: Rebuilding Economies and Healing the Earth with Helena Norberg-Hodge
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 encouraging part: the soluti...
Miki Agrawal on Motherhood, Nature-Inspired Business, and Mushrooms That Eat Plastic
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 landfill, all while lea...
What Nature Teaches Us About Belonging with Radha Agrawal
On today’s episode, we’re delving into the growing epidemic of loneliness, examining its root causes, far-reaching impacts, and what it will take to rebuild our social fabric. For this important and timely conversation, we were thrilled to be j...
A Wild New Way To Work with Megan Leatherman
For many people, work simply isn’t working anymore. Wages have stagnated while the cost of living continues to rise. Endless hours in front of a screen leave us burnt out. More often than not, the labor we do feels disconnected from any real pu...
Designing Landscapes of the Future with Superbloom
Today, we’re exploring the landscapes of the future with Stacy Passmore and Diane Lipovsky, co-founders of the award-winning landscape architecture studio, Superbloom. Stacy and Diane are redefining the role of landscape architecture by designi...
Douglas Rushkoff on Reclaiming Our Humanity with Nature & Collaboration
We’re living in an era largely defined by consumerism, social media addiction, climate change, and political unrest. Given all of that, it’s really no surprise that many of us feel overwhelmed, burned out, and disconnected.That’s why, to...
Seasonal Wisdom: Learning from Nature’s Cycles
This week, we’re sitting down with Rebecca Magee to discuss the importance of seasonal living, the need to honor periods of rest, and how reconnecting with nature can lead to a more thoughtful and invigorating way of life. Rebecca i...
