Notre Dame Stories

ConnSelmer is the last major manufacturer of band instruments in the United States. They were looking for ways to innovate to keep their operations in-country. That's when they received a boost from iNDustry Labs, Notre Dame's platform for collaboration between the University and local manufacturers.

The Class of 2022 valedictorian Devin Diggs joins us to talk about his Notre Dame story, and what's in store after commencement. Among other activities, Diggs worked in Dr. Jessica Payne's Sleep, Stress and Memory Lab. Find out more about the lab at samlab.nd.edu. This episode is the last of the season. We'll share a couple of special episodes over the summer, and then resume our normal schedule when the new academic year begins in the fall. Thanks for listening!

On March 23rd, Ukrainian Metropolitan-Archbishop Borys Gudziak was announced as the keynote speaker at Notre Dame's 177th commencement ceremony. Ten days earlier, Archbishop Gudziak sat down for an interview for the Henri Nouwen Now and Then podcast, produced by the Henri Nouwen Society. Henri Nouwen was a Dutch-born Catholic priest who taught psychology at Notre Dame for a time. The society that bears his name is dedicated to advancing Nouwen's spiritual vision. In this podcast episode, which originally aired on March 13, host and Nouwen Society executive director Karen Pascal, speaks with Archbishop Gudziak about his background and his perspective on the ongoing war in Ukraine. To hear the full episode, visit: https://henrinouwen.org/listen/borys-gudziak/. Our sincere thanks to the Henri Nouwen Society for sharing this episode with us. To read more about the Archbishop's selection as commencement speaker, visit https://news.nd.edu/news/ukrainian-archbishop-borys-gudziak-to-deliver-notre-dames-2022-commencement-address/.

After 3 weeks, the war in Ukraine is only becoming costlier, and deadlier for both the militaries fighting, and the civilians caught in the middle. We spoke with Mary Ellen O'Connell, the Robert and Marion Short Professor of Law, about the international legal framework that could help bring the war to a close, and deal with its aftermath. Learn more about Mary Ellen O'Connell: https://news.nd.edu/our-experts/mary-ellen-o-connell/

The rollout of 5G seemed to be going along smoothly until it wasn't. So why did the airline industry ask for a pause in some areas? And, should we expect other disruptions in the future? For answers, we turned to Nick Laneman, co-director of the Notre Dame Wireless Institute. Learn more abut the Institute's work at wireless.nd.edu.

The Winter Olympics are here, and while they provide hours of incredible viewing for sports fans, they also offer insights into life and society. To explore the Olympics in this light, we turn to Cara Ocobock, assistant professor of anthropology. In a wide-ranging discussion, Prof. Ocobock explains what makes the Olympics so appealing, but also what needs to happen to achieve greater equality for male and female athletes. Finally, Ocobock talks about what happens to the body in extreme temperatures, citing insights from her research working with reindeer herders in northern Finland. Learn more about Ocobock and her research at https://anthropology.nd.edu/people/faculty/cara-ocobock/.

One of the biggest stories in the last half of 2021 was the supply chain. It seems everyone was impacted by shortages or delays in getting a product from a manufacturer to a consumer. Well now that we've turned the page into 2022, where do we stand? To find out, we spoke with Kaitlin Wowak, associate professor of IT, analytics, and operations in the Mendoza College of Business. Learn more about Kaitlin's work at mendoza.nd.edu/mendoza-directory/profile/katie-wowak/.

The Gospel of St. Matthew records a peculiar event: a star marking the place of Jesus' birth. As the story goes, this phenomenon inspired "magi" from the East to journey to find the Christ child. But is there a way to know what the Christmas Star really was? Using various multi-disciplinary threads of information, astrophysicist Grant Mathews has developed a theory to explain what the Christmas Star may have been. He walks us through the research in this re-play of an episode from Season 1 of Notre Dame Stories.

What do you do when the officers that are supposed to protect and serve the public are the ones torturing their suspects? Not in a third-world country, but in the city of Chicago. If you're a civil rights attorney, you stand up and defend the rights of those being abused -- regardless of whether the fight takes three decades, the tortured have been jailed as long as you've been alive, or you're a recent Notre Dame Law School graduate drawn to the effort. The final episode of the Proving Innocence series focuses on Jackie Wilson, who was wrongfully imprisoned for 36 years after his brother killed two Chicago police officers in 1982. Wilson and others were beaten, suffocated and shocked in a systematic torture scandal that was hidden for decades until it was exposed by civil rights crusaders who are inspiring the next generation. Wilson spoke to the Notre Dame Exoneration Justice Clinic in September. Listen to all the episodes in the series here: https://go.nd.edu/ProvingInnocencePodcast

Tour guides have been answering questions about it for years. There's a large gold crown in a case, situated by the elevators in Notre Dame's Main Building (aka, the "Golden Dome"). A plaque inside the case offers some explanation, but there's much more to know. Turns out, this crown may not be the most famous piece of royal headwear the University has received. Our story is about two crowns, one crime, and one unsolved mystery.

It's one of the biggest news stories of the month: social media and the spread of misinformation. While Facebook garnered much attention over the past several weeks, the problem of misinformation goes back far longer and is far broader than many people realize. In this episode, we chat with Tim Weninger, Frank M. Friemann Associate Prof. of Engineering. His work in this area goes back to the dawn of ISIS in the Middle East and continues today through the development of a suite of forensics tools to help fight coordinated misinformation campaigns. Read more about Weninger's work at: https://fightingfor.nd.edu/2018/fighting-the-spread-of-misinformation/

Ronnie and Alex Mansour chose Notre Dame over a traditional music conservatory because the University's music program allowed them the flexibility to do it, as Sinatra would say, their way. In this episode, Brendan O'Shaughnessy tells the story of the siblings who charted their own creative path at the University. Read more: nd.edu/stories/musical-mansours/

In this episode of the Notre Dame Stories podcast, Fr. Malloy offers his reflection on the events of 9/11 and what followed for the campus community and himself.

Iris Seabolt was convicted of felony murder in 2004 and sentenced to 45 years in prison. Prosecutors did not accuse her of killing restaurant owner A.J. Williams, but claim she was the female lure in an intended robbery that ended in murder. The police presented no physical evidence at all in her trial. Instead, a series of witnesses claimed they heard Seabolt admit her guilt. Seabolt lost hope, so she took a plea deal. All those witnesses have since recanted, saying they were coerced into lying by a corrupt and disgraced police officer. In episode five, Seabolt team leader Mary Rofaeil guides us through the case as the students race to exonerate Seabolt before her prison term ends next year.

In the fourth installment of the Proving Innocence series, the students take on the case of Leon Tyson. He was convicted of murder, but the Notre Dame Exoneration Justice Clinic believes he may be innocent. The case took a turn when the students place a call to the mother of a man who was also there the night of the crime.

In the final episode of the season, we sit down with Madeline Owen, the valedictorian of the class of 2021. Madeline discusses her Notre Dame journey, and what it meant to finish that journey here, on campus. Read more about Madeline at: https://news.nd.edu/news/madeline-owen-named-valedictorian-alexis-waldschmidt-selected-salutatorian/. Notre Dame Stories podcasts will break for the summer. Some special episodes may be on the way, but our regular schedule won't resume until the new academic year. Thanks for listening.

In this episode, we look at the history of St. Joseph's Farm, a place where religious brothers cultivated land to provide fuel for the University. Today, the farm is being used to produce another kind of fuel: solar power.

We're changing things up a bit and featuring another podcast from the University of Notre Dame. Many of our listeners are probably familiar with it: It's called With a Side of Knowledge. Host Ted Fox interviews scholars from all over the disciplinary spectrum for some of the most interesting conversations in academia. In this episode, Ted interviews C. Fred Higgs, vice provost for academic affairs at Rice University. Read more about With a Side of Knowledge at withasideofpod.nd.edu. Notre Dame Stories will be back in May for two more episodes to close out the season for the academic year. Thanks for listening.

The American Rescue Plan—the latest pandemic stimulus—was signed into law earlier this month and it was billed as a means to slash poverty. We discuss that proposition with Jim Sullivan, economist and co-founder of the Wilson-Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities.

For the better part of a year, the mail has been increasingly slow…and COVID is only partly to blame. To find out what’s behind this we spoke with James O’Rourke, professor of management in the Mendoza College of Business and an expert on corporate communications and reputation. O'Rourke has studied the cost structure and business of the United States Postal Service for more than a decade.

As most of the country awaits their turn in line to receive a coronavirus vaccine, some have questions about its safety, how it was developed, and what it means for life…after the vaccination. Today we talk with Dr. Mark Mulligan '80, an infectious disease expert and head of NYU’s Langone Vaccine Center. Dr. Mulligan has worked on vaccine trials for decades, including most recently, the vaccine for COVID-19.

For most of us these days, “office hours” take place…almost anywhere but the office. The dining room, bedroom, basement…they’ve all become the places we work, not just where we live. The pandemic has profoundly altered the work-life balance of Americans, and new research is uncovering how we’re dealing with this shift. We spoke with Abi Ocobock, who studies family sociology, about the research and some early findings. Read more: https://news.nd.edu/news/mom-guilt-work-hours-rise-in-pandemic-parenting-but-so-does-quality-family-time/

Andy Royer confessed in 2003 to strangling a 94-year-old woman who lived in his apartment building in Elkhart, Indiana. But Royer, who has mental challenges that make him seem childlike despite his huge size, then asked if he could just go home. Confessions are convincing to juries. Most people are surprised to learn that they are sometimes given by the innocent. Royer was convicted and given a sentence of 55 years. After three earlier attempts failed, the Notre Dame Exoneration Justice Clinic in April won his release after 16 years – the first of what law students and faculty leaders hope are a string of successful petitions. In Episode Three, we hear about Royer’s legal troubles from his mother, himself and his attorney. But our main guide is former Notre Dame law student Paula Ortiz Cardona, who worked on his case during her three years on campus.

In Episode Two, we hear the story of Keith Cooper’s 20-year odyssey to clear his name of a crime he didn’t commit in a town he hardly knew. Cooper tells the story in his words, starting with his arrest in 1997 based on a description of a crime by someone tall, thin and black. Mistaken witness identifications led to a speedy bench-trial conviction and a 40-year sentence. New scientific evidence weakened the case against Cooper, and in 2006 he chose to give up his claim to innocence so he could help his struggling family. It took another 11 years of struggle to win the first pardon based on actual innocence in Indiana history.

Episode One traces the origins of the Notre Dame Exoneration Justice Clinic’s rapid growth over the last four years. It began as a student volunteer club in 2016 with some awareness and advocacy events. The students launched into action after a visit from Keith Cooper, the only person in Indiana history to receive a governor’s pardon based on actual innocence, and his attorney, Elliot Slosar. They focused their legal assistance on Slosar’s cases in Elkhart, Indiana, a city about a half hour from Notre Dame’s campus. After recruiting faculty member Jimmy Gurulé, their efforts turned into a class and this year into the University’s sixth legal clinic. Club founder and first president Tia Paulette guides listeners through this evolution.

Thousands of people across the country are penned in prisons for crimes they didn’t commit. Want proof? More than 2,700 prisoners have been legally exonerated over the last 30 years, largely through the innocence work of crusading lawyers and legal students. Notre Dame law students, inspired by meeting a nearby example of this tragedy, pushed to get involved in overturning wrongful convictions. With guidance from Chicago attorney Elliot Slosar and faculty member Jimmy Gurulé, the Notre Dame Justice Exoneration Clinic is now on the case. Our series, Proving Innocence, takes you inside this legal effort through a handful of individual stories.

In one of our most popular episodes, Notre Dame astrophysicist Grant Mathews unpacks his research into what the Christmas Star may have been. Read more at: https://www.nd.edu/stories/royal-beauty-bright/.

As the real estate market rebounds, more people are thinking about what makes a perfect home. Architecture professor Marianne Cusato is one an industry leader in the home building industry. She’s been named one of the top women in real estate by Fortune Magazine, to list just one of her many accolades. She earned international acclaim for the Katrina cottage, an attractive, well-built home that could be deployed in case of emergency. In her book, The Just Right Home, Cusato suggests criteria for home buying and community that is at times contrarian to some of today’s popular home buying trends. Read more about Marianne Cusato at https://womenlead2020.nd.edu/marianne-cusato/. Learn more about the School of Architecture at architecture.nd.edu.

As the national conversation about race and policing took shape over the summer, questions began surfacing about how police departments would respond. At Notre Dame, they were already working on an answer. Guests: Keri Kei Shibata, Chief, Notre Dame Police Department Mike Seamon, Vice President for Campus Safety and University Operations Matty Aubourg '21, Black Student Association of Notre Dame Notre Dame BSA Statement: https://bsa932.wixsite.com/notredamebsa/upcoming-events NDPD Statement on Equity in Policing: https://police.nd.edu/equity-in-policing/

As the University prepares to confer degrees on the Class of 2020, we speak with the class valedictorian, Brady Stiller, about this unique moment in Notre Dame history.

In this episode, we examine two connections shown in dramatic ways during the COVID-19 pandemic. First, the connection between humankind and the planet: We speak with a climate scientist on how the economic shut down is impacting the planet, and how coronavirus could be a template for the fight against climate change. Then, we explore the connection between doctor and patient, and how the science of compassion is on full display. Guests: Jason McLachlan, associate professor of biological sciences Dominic Vachon; John G. Sheedy, M.D., Director of the Ruth M. Hillebrand Center for Compassionate Care "When Irish Eyes are Smiling" arranged by David Tran

As campus shuts down amid the COVID-19 pandemic, we speak with Paolo Mazzara ’23, an undergrad who is spending quarantine aiding Italian healthcare workers. For more on the University’s response to COVID-19, visit coronavirus.nd.edu.

Introducing Office Hours, a new series from Notre Dame Stories. We’re visiting scholars in their workspaces to discuss their research...and whatever else we happen to find there. In the first episode we drop in on political science professor Christina Wolbrecht. She’s co-authored a book titled, “A Century of Votes for Women,” which looks at how women have used their right to vote in the hundred years since the 19th Amendment was passed. Read more about the book at: https://christinawolbrecht.com/a-century-of-votes-for-women/. Learn more about Christina Wolbrecht at: https://politicalscience.nd.edu/people/christina-wolbrecht/

In the final episode of this four-part series, we explore Tantur using two interpretations of a commonly used metaphor for the place: an oasis. Many people describe the Tantur grounds in terms of its tranquility, beauty and peace. That is certainly true. But the literal definition of an oasis is “a fertile spot.” We’ll explain how Notre Dame at Tantur has become a place where seeds are planted and meet a Tantur “alumna” who views her time there as a pivot point in her career. And, we’ll explore what the University is planning to do to plant more seeds over the next 50 years. Listen to the rest of the series now at https://stories.nd.edu/series/podcast/tantur-hill-in-the-holy-land/. To learn more about Notre Dame's presence in and around Jerusalem, visit https://www.nd.edu/stories/tantur/.

St. Jerome, who famously translated the Bible into Latin working from the same cave system in which Jesus was born, said: “Five gospels record the life of Jesus. Four you will find in books and the one you will find in the land they call Holy. Read the fifth gospel and the world of the four will open to you.” In the third episode of this four-part series, we visit St. Jerome’s study in Bethlehem with a group of Notre Dame students in the Holy Land for a summer study program. Their time in Bethlehem, Jerusalem and other key sites in Israel was a transformative experience, and not just in religious terms. “People come here to see the holy sites,” observed University of Notre Dame at Tantur academic director Hannah Hemphill, “but while they see the old stones, they fail to see the living stones, the people who are living in the land today.” As Notre Dame students explore Israel and the West Bank, they’re exposed to different narratives about the current conflict in the region, and are forced to square the reality they’ve heard back home with the one they’re seeing firsthand. Listen to the rest of the series now at https://stories.nd.edu/series/podcast/tantur-hill-in-the-holy-land/. To learn more about Notre Dame's presence in and around Jerusalem, visit https://www.nd.edu/stories/tantur/.

In the second episode of this four-part series, we explore what may be under the surface of the University of Notre Dame at Tantur. Abraham (Avi) Winitzer, Notre Dame professor of theology, leads a group of students in the first-ever official archaeological survey on the grounds. Then, Winitzer’s class joins students from all over the world at Tel Azekah, in the Judean hill country. Azekah is most famous for anchoring the theater of one of the greatest stories ever told: the battle of David vs. Goliath. We hear from Notre Dame students, and scholars from Tel Aviv University, on what the past can tell us about the present ... and we encounter a truly bizarre scene in which a tour guide bursts onto the site to give us his own rendition of the David vs. Goliath story. Listen to the rest of the series now at https://stories.nd.edu/series/podcast/tantur-hill-in-the-holy-land/. To learn more about Notre Dame's presence in and around Jerusalem, visit https://www.nd.edu/stories/tantur/.

The Gospel account of St. Matthew includes a peculiar episode: Magi or wise men who followed a star to the place of Jesus’ birth. Grant Mathews, a Notre Dame astrophysicist, details the astronomical phenomenon he believes led them to Bethlehem. To learn more, visit https://www.nd.edu/stories/royal-beauty-bright/. (Re-edited version of the episode that aired Nov. 30, 2018.)

In the first episode of this four-part series, we trace the origins of Notre Dame’s presence in Jerusalem back to the events of the late 1950s in the Catholic Church. The Second Vatican Council inspired a warming of relations between various Christian traditions, a movement memorialized by Pope Paul VI, who famously embraced Orthodox Patriarch Athenagoras on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem in 1964, ending centuries of excommunication between East and West. On the momentum of that embrace, the pope would turn to his friend in Catholic higher education, Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C., to take on an ambitious and unprecedented project: the establishment of a center for intra-Christian scholarship and dialogue in Jerusalem. The task was no small feat to begin with, and many unforeseen obstacles only added to its daunting nature. Not the least of these unexpected turns was the Six-Day War, which literally changed the country in which the institute would be located. Eventually, in 1972, the Tantur Ecumenical Institute was inaugurated at a spot between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The dream of ecumenical scholarship was born on 36 acres of land that sit amid some of the holiest sites in Abrahamic religion. Listen to the rest of the series now at https://stories.nd.edu/series/podcast/tantur-hill-in-the-holy-land/. To learn more about Notre Dame's presence in and around Jerusalem, visit https://www.nd.edu/stories/tantur/.

Tantur founder Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C., once said, “Jerusalem is a place that really catches you in the heart.” And it’s Fr. Ted’s words that we hear first as we introduce the series. But the experience in and around Jerusalem is about more than a pilgrimage to honor the past. The University is engaging the region to build a better future. This is Tantur: Hill in the Holy Land. Subscribe to Tantur: Hill in the Holy Land wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode we meet a business student who is helping the NBA understand a new rule change... And, one of the most iconic landmarks on campus gets an upgrade.

Three years after the University announced the creation of the IDEA Center, we discuss how Notre Dame faculty and students are bridging the gap from innovation to impact. Also, how the University ceased coal use at its power plant, a year ahead of schedule. Links: IDEA Center: https://ideacenter.nd.edu/ Fighting to Help Others Walk Again: https://fightingfor.nd.edu/2019/fighting-to-help-others-walk-again/ University Sustainability Strategy: https://green.nd.edu/assets/211749/sustainability_strategy.pdf

A look at ideas that are addressing major food-related problems: A potential breakthrough on peanut allergies. Learn more about how Basar Bilgicer, associate professor of engineering, is fighting to cure food allergies at https://fightingfor.nd.edu/2016/fighting-to-cure-food-allergies/. And, what Notre Dame is doing to help kids get the nutrition they need, so they can focus in school. Read more about the program at https://www.nd.edu/stories/fueling-success/.

What your social circle can tell you about your health, and what centuries-old travel guides can tell us about a city.

In this episode, a look at preparing for the future in two very different economic circumstances: In the US, how AI and advanced technology could disrupt the workforce; in the Amazon basin, how indigenous people are bolstering production of a common food staple. Faculty guest: Ray Offenheiser, distinguished professor of the practice and director, Notre Dame Initiative for Global Development. Learn more about the Future of Work Conference at: https://www.futureofworkatnotredame.com/

A Notre Dame psychologist explains how breastfeeding can mitigate the impacts of intimate partner violence, or IPV. And, we return to the Eternal City, for a look at the layered experiences that make Notre Dame, in Rome. Faculty guest: Laura Miller-Graff, the William J. Shaw Center for Children and Families Assistant Professor of Psychology and Peace Studies. Read more about her work at https://news.nd.edu/news/breastfeeding-can-erase-effects-of-prenatal-violence-for-newborns/.

We chat with Notre Dame geologist and moon expert Clive Neal, who is part of a team that will examine previously sealed lunar samples obtained during the Apollo missions. Note: Clive refers several times to "regolith," which is the powdery, dusty material on the lunar surface. Learn more about Clive's work at https://news.nd.edu/our-experts/neal-clive/. In addition, we look at the School of Architecture's Rome Studies Program, as it marks its 50th Anniversary in the Eternal City. Read more about the program at ntrda.me/FormandFunction.

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, we're re-releasing our story on the Notre Dame-St. Mary's Irish Dance Team and their 2016 All-Ireland competition championship. Slainte!

As the situation deteriorates in Venezuela, we chat with Latin American expert Michael Coppedge of the Keough School of Global Affairs, who explains how we got here, and what to expect next. And, as millions of people celebrate their Irish heritage this month, we look back at a student club’s championship foray into Irish Dance.

In this episode, we chat with Kasey Buckles, a Notre Dame economist who studies the family. Her research follows trends in the fertility rate, and yields clues about what that may mean for the US economy. Read more about Buckles' work at https://news.nd.edu/news/study-points-to-fertility-as-a-leading-economic-indicator/. And, we bring you the story of Notre Dame students getting real-world experience as police officers through the county's cyber crimes unit.

In this episode we chat with Pinar Zorlutuna, a professor in aerospace and mechanical engineering, who is using tissue engineering to extend the viability of hearts in a transplant scenario. You can read more about her work at https://fightingfor.nd.edu/2018/fighting-for-the-human-heart/. In addition, we catch up with Sophia Bevacqua, an alumna who is working in art restoration at the Vatican Museums. Her story was featured in the piece, "Cultural maintenance": https://www.nd.edu/stories/cultural-maintenance/.

A Notre Dame researcher discusses the relationship between the built environment and our habits, especially our eating habits. And, as hundreds seek a path to asylum in Italy through a unique private-public partnership, the University is tracking how this method of resettlement is working, and can it be replicated elsewhere.