Serenbe Stories

Biophilia is hard to spell and hard to pronounce, but is easy to understand and makes all the sense in the world once you know it's meaning.

Biophilia is the innate connection humans have with nature and all living things, and this deep affiliation is rooted in our biology. The theme of our fourth season is "Building a Biophilic Movement" and the wisdom behind the radical common sense solutions we can all find in nature.

One year ago, we released our first season as a meaningful way to tell the story of Serenbe's Founder Steve Nygren. Today it has become a must listen for those seeking stories about having an impact and building a better life for you, your family and your neighbors.

Over the course of twelve weeks, join us as we explore biophilia, what it is, why it's important and who are the leaders doing the work to grow this essential movement. We will dive into wellness, regenerative agriculture, public education, climate advocacy, equity and environmentalism, we'll ask what makes a biophilic city and more.

The fourth season of Serenbe Stories returns on October 5. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere else you enjoy podcasts.

The new book, Start In Your Own Backyard, is out and available for ordering. 

Step off the treadmill of life and book a stay at the Inn at Serenbe. Use code Serenbe Stories when you book online or over the phone and receive 10% off your stay!

Learn more about Serenbe and see our Events Calendar. Order your copy of Start In Your Own Backyard: Transforming Where You Live with Radical Common Sense by Serenbe founder Steve Nygren. 

Danny Seo is known for his national magazine and Emmy awarding winning TV show both named "Naturally, Danny Seo". Danny believes life should be naturally delicious, naturally beautiful and naturally easy, all presented with style and sustainability. Today we talk about his start as an Earth Day activist at 12 years old, how he became known as the sustainable Martha Stewart, when a postcard got him onto the Oprah show and using donated paper as a negotiating tool. We hope you enjoy this final episode of Season 3 of Serenbe Stories.

Mentioned In The Episode 

Earth 2000 - The non-profit organization Danny started when he was 12 years old. By 18, he’d transformed it into the country’s largest teenage activist charity.

Earth Day

Generation React: Activism for Beginners - Danny’s first book

Mohawk Paper - Gave Danny their product for free so he could start his namesake magazine Naturally, Danny Seo

Naturally, Danny Seo House at Serenbe

Naturally, Danny Seo Magazine

Naturally, Danny Seo TV Show

Simmons Natural Care by Danny Seo - Danny’s mattress collection with Atlanta-based Simmons Mattress Company. He first visited Serenbe in the early 2000s to do video and photo promotions for this line. 

Alternative-Lifestyle Guru Danny Seo, Doing Very Well By Doing Good - The Washington Post article dubbed Danny “the green Martha Stewart”

The new book, Start In Your Own Backyard, is out and available for ordering. 

Step off the treadmill of life and book a stay at the Inn at Serenbe. Use code Serenbe Stories when you book online or over the phone and receive 10% off your stay!

Learn more about Serenbe and see our Events Calendar. Order your copy of Start In Your Own Backyard: Transforming Where You Live with Radical Common Sense by Serenbe founder Steve Nygren. 

Today's episode of Serenbe Stories features Daren Wang, Founder of the Decatur Book Festival, which one of the largest festivals in the country.  In this episode he shares how his love of music brought him to Atlanta, how he started the Decatur Book Festival, the artist residency selection process, and his vision for the future of the arts. He and Steve Nygren even make plans to put those dreams in motion! We hope you enjoy this episode of Serenbe Stories.

Mentioned In The Episode

The Hidden Light of Northern Fires

Verb Literary Magazine

The new book, Start In Your Own Backyard, is out and available for ordering. 

Step off the treadmill of life and book a stay at the Inn at Serenbe. Use code Serenbe Stories when you book online or over the phone and receive 10% off your stay!

Learn more about Serenbe and see our Events Calendar. Order your copy of Start In Your Own Backyard: Transforming Where You Live with Radical Common Sense by Serenbe founder Steve Nygren. 

This season we've talked with journalists, thought leaders, and influencers who've visited Serenbe, about how their lives and the industries they report on have changed in the wake of coronavirus. Today's guest is Charles Bethea, a journalist and staff write for The New Yorker who has been covering the pandemic and whose latest articles feature the first weekend of protests in Atlanta and Georgia's primary election. We talk with Charles about what stories he's working on, how his editors choose stories and how he remains objective throughout the reporting process.

Mentioned In The Episode

A Coronavirus Turf War In Klickitat County, Washington

Fair Fight - The organization created by Stacey Abrams that works to ensure fair elections in Georgia

Outside Magazine

Sally Bethea - Charles’ mother is the founding director of Chattahoochee Riverkeeper

Shrinking Newspapers and the Costs of Environmental Reporting in Coal Country

Survivor: How Nancy Writebol beat Ebola - Profile by Charles for Atlanta Magazine

The Polar Explorer Colin O’Brady and the Problem with “Firsts”

The new book, Start In Your Own Backyard, is out and available for ordering. 

Step off the treadmill of life and book a stay at the Inn at Serenbe. Use code Serenbe Stories when you book online or over the phone and receive 10% off your stay!

Learn more about Serenbe and see our Events Calendar. Order your copy of Start In Your Own Backyard: Transforming Where You Live with Radical Common Sense by Serenbe founder Steve Nygren. 

Today we're talking with Ford Fry, Chef and Restauranteur, whose many Atlanta restaurants have been favorites of ours for years. As he continues to open new concepts across the country, we talk with him about his love of creating dining experiences, how he's kept his businesses going during the pandemic, and his vision of the future of food and dining out from his perspective as an eternal Optimist.

Mentioned In The Episode

Attack of the Killer Tomato Festival

Bob Amick

Ford Fry Restaurants - See all of Ford’s concepts.

Georgia Organics

Guntar Seegar

The Hill Saint Louis

New England Culinary Institute - Where Ford Fry studied the culinary arts.

Smith Hanes Designs - Smith Hanes has designed many of Ford’s restaurants in addition to The Optimist, linked here.

The new book, Start In Your Own Backyard, is out and available for ordering. 

Step off the treadmill of life and book a stay at the Inn at Serenbe. Use code Serenbe Stories when you book online or over the phone and receive 10% off your stay!

Learn more about Serenbe and see our Events Calendar. Order your copy of Start In Your Own Backyard: Transforming Where You Live with Radical Common Sense by Serenbe founder Steve Nygren. 

Today we're talking with freelance journalist Katie Kelly Bell, who has been writing about food, wine, and travel for the last 15 years. While the pandemic has changed how she's able to cover destinations, she describes herself as a pragmatic optimist who envisions travel coming back little by little over the coming months. In this episode, we talk about HOW we'll be able to travel, rediscovering your own back yard this summer, and the 3 S's of what people will want WHEN travel opportunities do come back.

Mentioned In The Episode

Belmond Trains

Dr. Kate Mihevc Edwards - Precision Performance & Physical Therapy

Gil Kulers - Sommelier/Bev Manager at the Piedmont Driving Club

Jordan Winery as an example of destinations pivoting to accommodate social distancing

The Perfect Wellness Getaway Is Just Outside Of Atlanta - Article Katie Kelly Bell wrote for Forbes on Serenbe in 2018

The new book, Start In Your Own Backyard, is out and available for ordering. 

Step off the treadmill of life and book a stay at the Inn at Serenbe. Use code Serenbe Stories when you book online or over the phone and receive 10% off your stay!

Learn more about Serenbe and see our Events Calendar. Order your copy of Start In Your Own Backyard: Transforming Where You Live with Radical Common Sense by Serenbe founder Steve Nygren. 

Today we're talking with Terry Lin, the co-founder of Outer. The first DTC fully recyclable outdoor furniture line based out of California. We first interviewed Terry in Fall 2019, as the company's outdoor furniture line was ramping up for an appearance on Shark Tank. We talked about recycling, innovation, and how he came to create a company that exemplifies both, alongside sustainability.

After the COVID pandemic set in, we reached out to hear how Outer was faring in this economic climate. In the 2nd part of the episode, Terry shares how a renewed appreciation for spending time outside and at home has increased interest in their product, and despite the hurdles all business are facing right now, he's hopeful that Outer furniture will continue trending up.

Enjoy this episode, and make sure to stick around for both parts!

Mentioned In The Episode

Outer 

Recycling Codes

Rhode Island School of Design

Serenbe’s Outer Showroom

Shark Tank episode featuring Terry Lin and Jiake Liu

The new book, Start In Your Own Backyard, is out and available for ordering. 

Step off the treadmill of life and book a stay at the Inn at Serenbe. Use code Serenbe Stories when you book online or over the phone and receive 10% off your stay!

Learn more about Serenbe and see our Events Calendar. Order your copy of Start In Your Own Backyard: Transforming Where You Live with Radical Common Sense by Serenbe founder Steve Nygren. 

Today we are talking with journalist Gisela Williams, who's written for The New York Times, Elle Décor, The Financial Times, and Vogue among others. In her own words, she's always been interested in people who pursue humanitarian projects and make the effort everyday to be a better human. In her most recent article for Bloomberg Businessweek she writes about the people who are building for the future of community and features Steve Nygren and Serenbe.

We discuss the article and why she thinks it's important to cover this topic for the more skeptical reader and a business audience who would be investing time and resources into these forward thinking eco enclaves we call biophilic communities.

Mentioned In The Episode

Joanna Frank and the Center for Active Design

Foundation for Intentional Communities

Green School

John & Elora Hardy’s Green Village

New York Times article “Limited-Run Restaurants” - Gisela wrote this article about a European trend in 2006, then called “temporary restaurants.” These would soon gain popularity in the United States and are known now as “pop-ups.”

Regen Villages

The new book, Start In Your Own Backyard, is out and available for ordering. 

Step off the treadmill of life and book a stay at the Inn at Serenbe. Use code Serenbe Stories when you book online or over the phone and receive 10% off your stay!

Learn more about Serenbe and see our Events Calendar. Order your copy of Start In Your Own Backyard: Transforming Where You Live with Radical Common Sense by Serenbe founder Steve Nygren. 

In today's 2-part interview, our very good friend, comedian and podcaster Pete Dominick talks poignantly about big life changes and finding his way after losing his dream job. We recorded that conversation last Fall and he graciously agreed to chat with us again this April to talk further now that the world is going through some big "life" changes and we're all trying to find our way.

We hope you will find comfort, common ground, and definitely a chuckle or two with Pete. So stick around for parts 1 and 2 of today's episode.

Mentioned In The Episode

Children & Nature Network - A global movement that grew from Richard Louv’s book Last Child In The Woods. They are working to increase equitable access to nature so that children - and natural places - can thrive. They do this by investing in leadership and communities through sharing evidence-based resources, scaling innovative solutions and driving policy change.

The Joe Rogan Show - Pete was a guest on The Joe Rogan Experience in November 2019.

Losing My Job Saved My Marriage - Pete’s post written for Wake-Up Call with Katie Couric.

Pleasant Peasant - Steve Nygren opened the Pleasant Peasant in the ‘70s in Atlanta, which grew into dozens of restaurants throughout the Southeast. 

Stand Up! Garden Club - Pete’s gardening Facebook group.

Stand UP! With Pete Dominick - What started as a daily live radio show is now Pete’s daily podcast.

Vernon Stouffer - Founder of the Stouffer’s Corporation and Steve’s boss before he left to open the Pleasant Peasant.

Walk With Walsh - Jennifer Walsh leads mindful walks through Central Park. She teamed up with Mother Dirt to do a series of walks through Serenbe’s preserved nature trails, and Pete was one of her guests.

The new book, Start In Your Own Backyard, is out and available for ordering. 

Step off the treadmill of life and book a stay at the Inn at Serenbe. Use code Serenbe Stories when you book online or over the phone and receive 10% off your stay!

Learn more about Serenbe and see our Events Calendar. Order your copy of Start In Your Own Backyard: Transforming Where You Live with Radical Common Sense by Serenbe founder Steve Nygren. 

In Carrie Battan's recent Outside Magazine article, she says she came to Serenbe to see if it truly offered respite from, as she wrote, "the exhausting effects of {her} fast-paced, digital, urban life." In this episode of Serenbe Stories, we talk with her about her visit to Serenbe in Fall 2019, her Outside article, and how her life has changed since the coronavirus has forced people away from public spaces and leaving her life in Brooklyn NY. We also talk about the positive effects on the environment and she wonders if more communities will begin to live life the way Serenbe does.

Mentioned In The Episode

Jeff Tkach and 7 “Silver Linings” - The New Hope Network held a webinar in April 2020 on the State of Natural and Future of Organic, in which Nick McCoy Caleb out seven “silver linings” to the crisis. They are:

1. Increased focus on wellness
2. Moving away from individualism and toward new investments in public goods and services (especially health)
3. Expansion of online communities
4. Domestic self-sufficiency and reducing or eliminated the need for imports
5. Land conservation
6. Post-crisis boom in seeking relief from stress, pleasure, and communities
7. Increase in community at all levels from micro to macro

Poets’ Walk - Named in honor of Washington Irving and other literary figures said to have walked the grounds, Poets’ Walk is one of the most popular places to take a stroll in the Hudson Valley.

America’s Biggest Cities Were Already Losing Their Allure. What Happens Next? - The New York Times

The new book, Start In Your Own Backyard, is out and available for ordering. 

Step off the treadmill of life and book a stay at the Inn at Serenbe. Use code Serenbe Stories when you book online or over the phone and receive 10% off your stay!

Learn more about Serenbe and see our Events Calendar. Order your copy of Start In Your Own Backyard: Transforming Where You Live with Radical Common Sense by Serenbe founder Steve Nygren.