Episode 2: Florence Williams: The Science of Awe

Florence Williams is a contributing editor for Outside magazine and the New York Times bestselling author of Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey (2022) and The Nature Fix (2017). For the unfamiliar, these books ask questions like: Why do the emotional effects of heartbreak manifest physically? and; how can exposure to nature make: us healthier, not only physically but mentally, emotionally, and socially too?

In this episode, Florence joins Roberta from her home in Washington, D.C. to discuss these questions, the difficult life changes that underpin them and how, to get us all outside, she claimed Oscar Wilde’s famously generous definition of nature: “Nature is where the birds fly around uncooked.”

Episode Credits:

• A Bend in the Road is written, hosted and produced by Roberta Panjwani and created by Roberta Panjwani and Diane Sims
• Consulting for this episode done by Diane Sims
• Our Assistant Producer is me, Elias Rosner
• Our Technical Directors and Audio Engineers are Charles Gallo and Elias Rosner
• Our Editor is Elias Rosner
• Our Digital Media producer is Sabrina Garcia
• Logo and Website created by Parker Gaidimas
• Original Music is written and performed by Diane Sims
• Special thanks to our guest, Florence Williams. For more information about Florence Williams’ books, podcasts, retreats and more, please visit florencewilliams.com
• Sound effects used include "Footsteps, Dry Leaves, G.wav" by InspectorJ (www.jshaw.co.uk) of Freesound.org