360 | Marc Berman on the Science of Touching Grass
2026-07-06 · 90 min · episode 360 · 8 entities
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Feed author/publisher: Sean Carroll
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Feed category: Science
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concepts 6
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the Science of Touching Grass
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360 | Marc Berman on the Science of Touching Grass
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Feed author/publisher: Sean Carroll
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Feed author/publisher: Sean Carroll
Episode description as stored
Modern life has, in many ways, removed us from the environments in which our ancestors lived and adapted. Not only do we spend time looking at screens, but we spend time indoors, or outdoors but in urban spaces. How does this affect how we think and feel? Psychologist Marc Berman is a pioneer of "environmental neuroscience." In his recent book, Nature and the Mind: The Science of How Nature Improves Cognitive, Physical, and Social Well-Being , he presents evidence that spending time in nature not only puts us in a better mood, it makes us better thinkers.
Blog post with transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2026/07/06/360-marc-berman-on-the-science-of-touching-grass/
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Marc Berman received his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Michigan. He is currently Professor of Psychology and Faculty Co-Director of the Chicago Center for Computational Social Science at the University of Chicago. Among his awards is the American Psychological Association Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contributions.
Environmental Neuroscience Lab
U. Chicago web page
Google Scholar publications
Amazon author page