How To Feel: The Science And Meaning Of Touch

Sonali Kolhatkar speaks with Sushma Subramanian about the science and the meaning of touch.

When the coronavirus pandemic was first declared scientists advised us to maintain six feet of distance with people outside our households to control the transmission of respiratory particles. As “social distancing” became the norm, many Americans living alone were suddenly cut off from being able to touch another human being. The sense of touch is arguably the most important human sense and it is the timely topic of a new book called How to Feel.

Sushma Subramanian, assistant professor of journalism at the University of Mary Washington. Her writing has appeared in Slate, The Atlantic, New York, and Discover, among others. She is the author of How to Feel: The Science and Meaning of Touch.

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