New Issue: Orbital Catastrophe Ahead? Read Now

How Nature Helps Body and Soul

Journalist and author Florence Williams talks about her book The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier and More Creative.

The confluence of the Colorado and Little Colorado Rivers.

Join Our Community of Science Lovers!

This is Scientific American’s Science Talk, posted on June 27, 2020. I’m Steve Mirsky. On this episode:

[WILLIAMS CLIP]

That’s Florence Wiliams. She’s a journalist and the author of the 2017 book The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier and More Creative. America’s professor and author emeritus of nature, Edward O. Wilson, said about the book, “The Nature Fix is a beautifully written, thoroughly enjoyable exposition of a major principle of human life now supported by evidence in biology, psychology, and medicine.”


On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.


We’ll also listen to a segment sponsored by the Kavli Prize, with a new laureate in neuroscience, David Julius, who was honored for his research into the molecular basis of the perception of pain—and how it might lead to new ways to control pain.

But first, Florence Williams. I called her at home in Washington, D.C.

[WILLIAMS 1]

More with Florence Williams coming up. But first, let’s go now from nature to the nature of pain and its treatment, with a segment sponsored by the Kavli Prize.

[KAVLI JULIUS SEGMENT]

Now more with Florence Williams, author of the Nature Fix.

[WILLIAMS 2]

That’s it for this episode. Get your science news at our website, www.ScientificAmerican.com, where all of our coronavirus coverage is out from behind the paywall, available free.

And follow us on Twitter, where you’ll get a tweet whenever a new item hits the Web site. Our twitter name is @sciam. For Scientific American’s Science Talk, I’m Steve Mirsky. Thanks for clicking on us.

Subscribe to Support Independent Journalism

Great science journalism requires human expertise, time, effort and creativity. And it costs money. That’s why I and the journalists here at Scientific American hope you’ll join our community.

When you subscribe, you are supporting staff and freelance journalists who are passionate about telling science stories that are true, important and compelling. Our editors and reporters are often experts in their fields, which means they understand the nuances of big discoveries and can untangle the breakthroughs from the hype. With a subscription, you are also supporting rigorous fact-checking to ensure the words we publish are precise and accurate. And you’re supporting original illustrations, graphics and photos that bring you closer to an advanced laboratory, an ice sheet in Antarctica or a space mission in orbit. You’re helping us craft other types of high-quality journalism as well: Our newsletters are carefully written, edited and curated by staffers you have or will come to know and love. Our Science Quickly podcast is based on original reporting, collaboration with editors and scientists and exacting production.

Subscriptions keep this engine running so we can continue to deliver thoughtful, rigorous and independent science journalism to you. In an era of viral misinformation, this work is crucial. If you value what we do, I hope you’ll consider joining us as a subscriber

Thank you,

Jeanna Bryner, Editor in Chief, Scientific American

Subscribe