Beware of Biophobia with Journalist Emily Harwitz Artwork

Biophilic Solutions: Nature Has the Answers

A podcast about the human connection to nature. Biophilia is the innate connection that human beings seek with the natural world. Every other week, hosts Monica Olsen and Jennifer Walsh sit down with thought-leaders and experts across a wide range of industries to discuss the impact that nature has on our wellbeing, why we need nature in order to thrive, and what steps we can all take to live in harmony with the natural world. They pose questions centered around finding common-sense solutions to some of society's biggest problems. Asking guests, how can we take local and global actions that nurture the living, social, and economic systems that will sustain future generations? Faced with challenges like climate change and an ongoing pandemic, reconnecting with nature has never been more imperative. We hope you’ll join the conversation around the growing biophilic movement and come along on our biophilic journey. Subscribe, follow and listen today, because nature has the answers. Learn more at biophilicsolutions.com

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Biophilic Solutions: Nature Has the Answers

Beware of Biophobia with Journalist Emily Harwitz

October 24, 2023 • Serenbe Media Network • Season 3 • Episode 64

At this point, we all know that biophilia literally means the love of nature, right? But have you ever stopped to consider its opposite, biophobia? If you’re a regular listener of this podcast, we’d be willing to bet you haven’t - and to be honest, we hadn’t either until we met today’s guest, science journalist Emily Harwitz. Emily’s recent article, ‘Beware Creeping Biophobia’ was picked up by multiple outlets like The Atlantic, The Tyee, and Haikai due to its insightful breakdown of the cycle that begins when humans become irrevocably disconnected from the natural world. Basically, disconnection leads to fear, which leads to outright rejection and even destruction.

We were thrilled to catch up with Emily to break down the cycle of biophobia, how we can convert the biophobic to the biophilic, and we also dive into the reasons why humans are drawn to collecting rare species.

Show Notes

Beware Creeping Biophobia (Haikai Magazine)
Humans Fondness for the Odd and Rare Make Us Particularly Overwhelming Predators (Haikai Magazine)
I’ll Go If You Go Podcast
Emily Harwitz Website
Emily Harwitz Instagram
Jackson Wild Summit - 2023 Media Lab Fellows

Key Words: Biophobia, Biophilia, Nature, Outdoors, Journalism, Science Journalism, Ecosystem, Environment, Wildlife, Wildlife Restoration

The Biophilic Leadership Summit is the only multi-day conference entirely focused on biophilic projects, research & principles, bringing together top industry thought-leaders in an intimate natural setting to network, build partnerships and learn from each other.

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People on this episode

Jennifer Walsh

Co-host

Monica Olsen

Co-host