The spaces we inhabit are not neutral — they have measurable effects on our mental, physical, and emotional health. Architect Tye Farrow joins Erin to explore the surprising neuroscience behind how design shapes our wellbeing, and what it means to build environments that actively support the people inside them.

What if your brain's response to a beautiful space isn't aesthetic preference — it's physiology? Neurologist and neuroarchitecture pioneer Dr. Anjan Chatterjee joins Erin to explore the surprising science of how built environments activate the brain's reward system, shape our sense of belonging, and open us to connection with others.

Most of us move through the built world without noticing what it's asking of us. People with disabilities notice immediately — because so many spaces weren't designed for them at all. Designer and writer Sara Hendren joins Erin to explore how designing for the edges of human experience creates spaces that work better for everyone, and what true belonging in the built environment actually looks like.

We spend 90 percent of our lives indoors — in buildings that were largely designed without accounting for what that does to us. Science journalist Emily Anthes joins Erin to explore the growing body of research on how building design affects our physical and mental health, and what the science says about what a genuinely healthy building actually looks like.

We evolved in spaces sized to the human body — spaces where we could see across a room, hear a conversation, sense the presence of others without being overwhelmed. When architecture forgets human scale, the body notices. In this episode, Erin explores how designing at human scale creates the conditions for comfort, safety, and social connection — with a real-world example from UC San Diego.

Small changes in how a space is arranged can measurably shift how much we want to connect with the people in it. In the second half of their conversation, environmental psychologist Colin Ellard shares the surprising research on what actually makes us happy in our home environments — and what it would take to design spaces that support our social lives rather than quietly undermine them.

What can evolutionary psychology teach us about the spaces where human connection actually happens? Environmental psychologist and author Colin Ellard joins Erin in this first of two episodes to explore how our ancient social instincts shape what we need from the places we gather — and how COVID-19 revealed just how much those needs had been designed away.

Why does the design of a room affect whether people connect inside it? How do our streets, schools, workplaces, and neighborhoods shape our social lives — often without our awareness? In this introduction to Shared Space, Erin Peavey lays out the case for why architecture and design are among the most powerful and least-discussed levers we have for addressing loneliness and building social health.