What if the spaces you move through every day are quietly shaping your mood, your relationships—and even your sense of agency and hope? In this episode, Leigh sits down with renowned designer Elizabeth MacPherson-Hearn to explore the powerful idea that there is no such thing as a neutral space. Together, they unpack how the environments we inhabit influence how grounded, connected, and open we feel—especially in a time marked by division and uncertainty.

Through the lens of biophilia, Elizabeth offers both a deeper understanding and practical ways to transform any space—home, office, or community—into a place that restores calm, dignity, and human connection. In a world where so many feel unmoored, anxious, or disconnected, this conversation brings us back to something both ancient and accessible: our relationship to place.

Elizabeth defines biophilia as our innate, cellular-level need to connect with nature—and explains how it shows up in three powerful ways:

• Direct connection (light, water, nature itself)
• Indirect connection (materials, patterns, textures inspired by nature)
• Spatial design (how spaces create safety, curiosity, and calm through elements like “prospect and refuge”)

Together, Leigh and Elizabeth explore how these principles aren’t just aesthetic—they’re deeply human. They influence our nervous systems, our ability to think clearly, and even our capacity to connect with one another. At a time when many of us spend 85–95% of our lives indoors, the question becomes: What if our spaces could actively support our wellbeing instead of depleting it?

Elizabeth shares stories from her work designing schools and public spaces—including how thoughtful design can transform how children learn, engage, and feel in their bodies. She also reflects on how even small choices—light, materials, patterns—can dramatically shift our experience of a space. Most importantly, this episode isn’t about perfect design or privilege. It’s about awareness and agency. Because as Elizabeth reminds us: When you walk into a space and it feels good—there’s a reason.

In This Episode, We Explore:

• Why there is no such thing as a neutral space
• The science and psychology behind biophilia
• How design impacts stress, focus, and emotional wellbeing
• The concept of “prospect and refuge”—and why you always want the booth
• How patterns in nature (like fractals) calm the brain
• Why modern life has disconnected us—and how to gently reconnect
• Practical ways to bring grounding, beauty, and calm into your everyday spaces

A Few Questions to Carry With You:

• What spaces in your life make you feel most like yourself?
• Where do you feel calm, open, or connected—and why?
• What small shift could you make to bring more light, texture, or nature into your day?

Why This Conversation Matters

At its core, this episode is about reclaiming a sense of agency in uncertain times. When the world feels loud, divided, or overwhelming, place becomes a quiet but powerful ally.

By tending to the spaces around us, we begin to steady ourselves within. And from that place—we’re better able to engage, connect, and lead with intention.

About Elizabeth MacPherson-Hearn

As a leader at the internationally acclaimed architecture firm Mithun, Elizabeth translates visionary thinking into grounded, human-centered spaces. She brings a keen awareness of sensory experience and how people move through daily life, seamlessly blending interior design with architecture to create environments that feel intuitive and connected from the moment you enter. Her deep knowledge of sustainable materials allows her to design spaces that create long-term value across both public and private sectors.

A strong listener with a background rooted in physiology, Elizabeth designs places that people don’t just use—but feel. Her work is guided by a deep understanding of biophilia—the innate, sensory connection between humans and the natural world—which she lectures on nationally.

In this timely episode of The Space In Between, host Leigh Morgan sits down with John Wood Jr. — a national leader in the American depolarization movement, former GOP candidate for Congress and an inspiring voice for principled bridge-building — to explore one of the most pressing tensions of our time: how to hold strong convictions without becoming self-righteous or contributing to deeper division. John's personal story as the son of a conservative, white southernor and a liberal, black mom from LA is a testament to how differences can mold character, insight, understanding, and acceptance.

At a moment when many of us feel morally awake — and highly motivated to ‘do good’ while also navigating a culture shaped by low trust, shifting of democratic norms, and polarization—this conversation asks some complicated and difficult questions:

• how do we pursue justice and accountability without reinforcing the very brokenness we are trying to address? and
• how can we embody love and do so at a time of so much unneeded suffering?

This episode is a salve for the soul and offers practice insights on how to create a more perfect union at home, at work, and across the country.

Check out The Space In Between website for detailed show notes at https://spaceinbetweenpodcast.com/how-not-to-harden-in-hard-times-with-john-wood-jr/. And if you love the show - leave a review and pass this link along!

Anger is having a moment. You feel it. I feel it.

Everyone seems to be carrying around a lit match… just waiting for something to burn.

But here’s the uncomfortable question: What if the biggest problem isn’t anger itself… but how we’re using it?

In this solo episode, I take on something most of us don’t want to admit: That the same anger we believe is justified… can quietly turn into something else entirely.

Something sharper.

More self-righteous.

More dehumanizing.

And once it crosses that line, i starts feeding the very thing we say we’re against: injustice.

I also wrestle with my own anger in real time—offering a raw, honest look at what it actually takes to navigate this tension when it’s deeply personal.

Check out all the Space In Between website for detailed show notes at www.spaceinbetween.com. Please leave a review, share this episode and enjoy!

In this timely episode of The Space In Between, host Leigh Morgan sits down with Deb Roy, director of the MIT Center for Constructive Communication, to explore how the modern information ecosystem is reshaping democracy, trust, and our relationships with one another. At a time when misinformation, algorithmic amplification, and fragmented media environments are fueling polarization, Deb offers a powerful framework for understanding what he calls our information architecture—the invisible systems that determine what we see, what we believe, and how shared meaning either forms or breaks down.

But this conversation goes deeper than technology or media systems. It is ultimately about our humanness—the ways we see, hear, and relate to one another. Deb’s work reminds us that when information systems distort reality, they also weaken the relational fabric that allows diverse societies to function. As a world-leading researcher, Deb brings rigorous insight into how information systems shape civic life. Drawing on both modern research and what he calls “ancient wisdoms,” he reminds us that renewing democracy may begin with something profoundly simple: re-invigorating relational connection through listening, storytelling, and shared human experience.

Please leave a review and share the episode - the podcast is growing leaps and bounds thanks to supporters like you!

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When Dr. Susan Blumenthal spearheaded a bold effort to move imaging technology from missiles to mammograms, she didn’t just advance innovation—she showed what’s possible when conviction meets creativity and unlikely coalitions.

In this conversation, Leigh sits down with the former U.S. Assistant Surgeon General and global public health leader to explore her decades of bipartisan service across both Democratic and Republican administrations, the deeply personal story that drew her into women’s health advocacy, and what it really takes to build progress across political and institutional divides.

Dr. Blumenthal makes a powerful case that women’s health and women’s empowerment are directly tied to the strength of families, communities, and nations. She also shares practical wisdom for staying grounded in your values when progress feels slow, misinformation spreads quickly, and polarization runs high.

This inspiring episode is about leadership in turbulent times, the courage to look around corners, staying persistent when the path ahead isn’t clear, and how storytelling and lived experience can help all of us build bridges—no matter our role.

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In this episode of The Space In Between, host Leigh Morgan and Dr. Vardit Ravitsky (President and CEO of The Hastings Center for Bioethics) explore what moral courage in practice actually looks like when the choices are thorny, the facts are contested, and the consequences are deeply human. Leigh and Dr. Ravitsky explore how bioethics helps us navigate today’s most charged issues—vaccines and public health, abortion and women’s lives, AI and genomics—without sliding into either performative “dialogue” or hardened certainty. You’ll hear why Dr. Ravitsky insists that “good ethics starts with good facts,” how her team designs inclusive conversations without legitimizing misinformation or dehumanization, and why trust-building relationships are the real engine of progress. If you’re hungry for grounded wisdom on how to stay humane, clear-eyed, and connected in unsettled times—this conversation will both steady you and challenge you.

Check out show notes at www.spaceinbetweenpodcast.com.

Please send feedback, leave a review and pass the podcast along to your friends and family.

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What happens when the story of “more is always better” stops working—economically, socially, and spiritually? In this episode of The Space In Between, Leigh Morgan sits down with wellbeing economist and global influencer Gaya Herrington to explore why a 'growth-at-all-costs' mindset and economic system is colliding with real-world limits, and what a healthier paradigm could look like—one centered on human and ecological wellbeing, not just GDP. Leigh and Gaya discuss how to actually do this at a time of polarization and polycrisis in the US and abroad. Together, they unpack how leaders - and indeed, everyone - can hold complexity without despair, build agency in unsettled times, and bridge divides by talking about what people actually long for: stability, dignity, belonging, and a future that feels livable. Gaya's insights will inspire and help all of us identify ways to center wellbeing in all aspects of our lives.

👉🏼 The Space In Between is growing! Please leave a review, share with a friend, and check out our website www,spaceinbetween.com. For inquiries about working with Leigh, check out www.imaginal-leadership.com.

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In this episode of The Space In Between, host Leigh Morgan sits down with Stephiney Foley—West Point graduate, Army officer, tech leader, proud immigrant and founder and CEO of YuziCare—to explore service-driven leadership, motherhood as a catalyst for systems change, and how we build real connection across political difference in polarized times. Together, they unpack what leadership looks like under pressure, why mission matters, and how small daily acts of care can restore agency and rebuild trust—at home, at work, and in the wider civic fabric. They also dive into Stephiney's lessons from the Presidential Leadership Scholars program and why care and love can indeed become common ground in today's low-trust era.

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