With a Side of Knowledge
Produced at the University of Notre Dame, With a Side of Knowledge started out as the show that invited scholars, makers, and professionals to brunch for 30-minute, informal conversations about their work—until season 4, when the pandemic prompted us to record everything remotely. Now, with season 5, we’re excited to be able to bring back in-person interviews while still taking advantage of the flexibility afforded by our remote setup. Guests include members of the Notre Dame faculty, visitors who have come to campus to do anything from give a lecture or performance to participate in a fellowship program, and other interes...
Bonus · Wed, December 08, 2021
Thank You
Episode Transcript From the University of Notre Dame, this is With a Side of Knowledge. I’m your host, Ted Fox. I’ve been saying that for 4+ seasons and more than 65 episodes now, and that’s not counting bonus episodes and some other fun stuff we’ve gotten to do. And because we’ve spent all that time together, I wanted to let you know some things are changing. I’m moving to a new position at Notre Dame, and while I initially thought it might make sense to try and move the show with me, I’ve come to realize that wouldn’t quite work. Thank you to Cidni Sanders, the University’s executive director of academic communications, for allowing me to think through this and being open to even considering it in the first place. Cidni and I haven’t worked together long, but she has been beyond generous with me. The good news, at least if you’ve enjoyed listening over the years, is that the show isn’t going away. All the episodes we’ve released will stay in our feed and on our website at withasideofpod.nd.edu while my colleagues in the Office of the Provost consider what the next chapter of this endeavor might look like. So, as we bring this era of With a Side of Knowledge to a close, I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge a few people. I want to thank Pat Gibbons, who gave me the freedom and support to create this podcast, as well as all my friends in the provost’s office who have listened to me talk about it—and believe me, it’s been ad nauseum—these last few years. I want to thank all of our guests, who have provided us with so many amazing conversations and thoughtful insights along with a healthy dose of laughter. And I especially want to thank all of you, the listeners, for hitting play. None of us has enough time in our days, and the fact that you’ve chosen to spend some of it here is something that I will always be grateful for. Making this podcast really has been a privilege—it’s one of my favorite things I’ve done in over 17 years of working at this University—so I hope you’ll stick around and see what comes next. Thanks again.
S5 E5 · Thu, November 18, 2021
On ‘One Week in America’—Patrick Parr, Author
We started out as the show that invited scholars, makers, and professionals to brunch for informal conversations about their work—but last season, we needed to record remotely. This year we’re excited to be able to bring back in-person interviews while still taking advantage of the flexibility afforded by our remote setup. Patrick Parr is the author of two books of nonfiction, both with Chicago Review Press. His first, The Seminarian: Martin Luther King Jr. Comes of Age , was published in 2018 and described by The Wall Street Journal as “original, much-needed and even stirring.” Patrick joined host Ted Fox via Zoom to talk about book No. 2, which was released earlier this year. Titled One Week in America: The 1968 Notre Dame Literary Festival and a Changing Nation , its appeal to us, a podcast produced at the university, was immediate. But Patrick doesn’t just chronicle what took place on the Notre Dame campus from Sunday, March 31, through Saturday, April 6, 1968, a story that features an almost unimaginably star-studded lineup of literary and political figures—brought to campus by a group of students, no less—and that included a red-carpet movie premiere in the most unlikely of venues. No, the book doesn’t stop there because the festival didn’t exist in a vacuum, and during this particular week in America, that truth became evident in ways prominent and painful. Patrick’s own story of how he came to research the 1968 Notre Dame Literary Festival starts where a lot of good writing does: with a question that comes to you in the middle of the night. LINKS Patrick’s Book: One Week in America: The 1968 Notre Dame Literary Festival and a Changing Nation Notre Dame Magazine Story: Echoes: Sophomore Literary Festival Episode Transcript
S5 E4 · Thu, October 28, 2021
On Foreign Policy and Seeing the Big Picture—Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, Northwestern University
We started out as the show that invited scholars, makers, and professionals to brunch for informal conversations about their work—but last season, we needed to record remotely. This year we’re excited to be able to bring back in-person interviews while still taking advantage of the flexibility afforded by our remote setup. Elizabeth Shakman Hurd is a professor of political science and religious studies and the Crown Chair in Middle East Studies at Northwestern University, where she co-directs the Global Religion and Politics Research Group. The author or co-editor of six books, she specializes in religion in U.S. foreign and immigration policy, the global politics of secularism and religious freedom, religion and the American border, and relations between the U.S., Europe, Turkey, and Iran. Elizabeth visited campus as part of a series of policy discussions marking the 20th anniversary of September 11th presented by Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs and Ansari Institute for Global Engagement With Religion. Her keynote, the second event in the three-part series, focused on what she calls the “religion-heavy” foreign policy of the United States’ War on Terror. With a patio outside Notre Dame’s Morris Inn as our backdrop, Elizabeth talked with us about some of the issues she addressed in her presentation at the Keough School and why she believes the government should rethink the emphasis it places on religion when acting on the world stage. Her recommendations there draw from testimony she gave to the House Foreign Affairs Committee earlier this year and, it’s worth noting, do not suggest that religion is unimportant, either. But before we got to where we are now, we started with a little bit of history. LINKS Elizabeth’s New Book: Theologies of American Exceptionalism Episode Transcript
S5 E3 · Thu, October 14, 2021
On Museum and Library Discovery—Mikala Narlock and Erika Hosselkus, Notre Dame
We started out as the show that invited scholars, makers, and professionals to brunch for informal conversations about their work—but last season, we needed to record remotely. This year we’re excited to be able to bring back in-person interviews while still taking advantage of the flexibility afforded by our remote setup. This episode is a little different from what we usually do, in that the focus isn’t one person’s work but rather a new tool designed to enhance knowledge access for everyone. It’s called Marble, and it’s a collaboration between Notre Dame’s Hesburgh Libraries and Snite Museum of Art developed with a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Marble is an online portal that lets users all over the world view and learn about materials from the Snite Museum, Rare Books & Special Collections, and the University Archives in a way that is so cool it made us want to do a show literally about a website. And to cover everything that makes Marble special, we tried something else different: Not one but two interviews, with two people who have played distinct roles in its creation. First you’ll hear from Mikala Narlock, digital collections librarian at the Hesburgh Libraries, who analyzed how content would be uploaded to Marble. Mikala and host Ted Fox talked on a windy day outside the library about the user experience—the types of artifacts available in the platform, what shows up on your screen when you run a search, why this is different than what existed before, and importantly, how anyone can use it, regardless of whether they have an affiliation with Notre Dame. After Mikala, it’s Erika Hosselkus, a special collections curator and Latin American studies librarian at the Hesburgh Libraries who led the content team for the Marble project. Erika and Ted met up in Rare Books and Special Collections at the library, where they talked about how the materials Marble gives people access to can inform teaching, research, and just our collective consciousness, not to mention how digital discovery can actually serve as an important gateway to the physical collections themselves. LINKS Marble website: marble.nd.edu Episode Transcript
S5 E2 · Thu, September 30, 2021
On Medicine, Vietnam, and War Stories—Mike Collins, M.D. and Author
We started out as the show that invited scholars, makers, and professionals to brunch for informal conversations about their work—but last season, we needed to record remotely. This year we’re excited to be able to bring back in-person interviews while still taking advantage of the flexibility afforded by our remote setup. Mike Collins graduated from Notre Dame in 1971 and spent several years working as a truck driver, cab driver, construction laborer, dockworker, and freelance journalist before pursuing medicine. After receiving his M.D. from Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, he spent five years in residency at the Mayo Clinic, ultimately serving as chief resident in orthopedic surgery and embarking on a surgical career that has spanned several decades. Mike has written two memoirs about his journey as a physician: Hot Lights, Cold Steel , recounting his time as a surgical resident, and Blue Collar, Blue Scrubs , about his days as a laborer trying to get into medical school. Since the publication of Hot Lights, Cold Steel in 2005, he has lectured around the country, and the books are on the required or recommended reading list for many medical schools and pre-medical programs. We had the chance to talk to Mike about his latest book, a novel titled All Bleeding Stops . It’s the story of Dr. Matthew Barrett, who is sent to Vietnam as a combat surgeon shortly after completing his residency. While fiction is a departure from Mike’s previous books, he draws heavily on his experience in the operating room to unfold a story that he hopes will bring attention, both within the medical community and beyond, to the very real mental health issues encountered by physicians routinely asked to navigate the line between life and death. Setting the story amidst the impossible circumstances that faced those serving in Vietnam makes that point in a particularly affecting way. LINKS Mike’s Novel: All Bleeding Stops Episode Transcript
Trailer · Fri, September 17, 2021
Season 5 Trailer
This is a trailer for season 5 of With a Side of Knowledge—which we’re publishing a day after said season launched. That’s how the pros do it, right? -- FULL EPISODE TEXT Hey, my name’s Ted Fox, and I’m the host of With a Side of Knowledge, a podcast produced at the University of Notre Dame. We started out as the show that invited scholars, makers, and professionals to brunch for 30-minute, informal conversations about their work—until season 4, when the pandemic prompted us to record everything remotely. Now, with season 5, we’re excited to be able to bring back in-person interviews while still taking advantage of the flexibility afforded by our remote setup. Guests include members of the Notre Dame faculty, visitors who have come to campus to do anything from give a lecture or performance to participate in a fellowship program, and other interesting people we’ve plain cold-emailed and asked to come on the show. New episodes are released every other Thursday. Our website is withasideofpod.nd.edu , and you can find us on Twitter and Instagram. In both spots, we are @withasideofpod. Thank you for listening. Hopefully this will be the first of many times.
S5 E1 · Thu, September 16, 2021
On Baseball and Critiquing Things You Love—Katherine Walden, Notre Dame
We started out as the show that invited scholars, makers, and professionals to brunch for informal conversations about their work—but last season, we needed to record remotely. This year we’re excited to be able to bring back in-person interviews while still taking advantage of the flexibility afforded by our remote setup. But whether we’re literally sitting down with a guest or talking with them virtually from that trusty old walk-in closet, we hope you’ll find that you’re glad you stopped by. To start season 5, host Ted Fox grabbed a cup of coffee and headed to the courtyard outside Notre Dame’s Hesburgh Library, right beneath the famous “Word of Life” mural on the building’s south side. More popularly known as Touchdown Jesus, the mural is a fitting backdrop for a conversation about sports, which is what Katherine Walden and Ted met to talk about—albeit baseball rather than football. Katherine is an assistant teaching professor of American studies at Notre Dame and an affiliated faculty member of the Notre Dame Technology Ethics Center. Her research employs data analysis, visualization, and interactive digital mapping to illustrate the scale and scope of Minor League Baseball labor, as well as the historical forces and labor structures that shape Minor League players’ working conditions. Why Minor League Baseball? After all, the vast majority of baseball fans’ attention gets devoted to the likes of the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox, and the other 27 clubs that make up Major League Baseball. But as Katherine points out, 90 percent of professional baseball players are actually Minor Leaguers, who for the most part grind out their days in relative anonymity. Her work has grown out of asking: What happens if we put that 90 percent at the center? The answers give all of us who love our national pastime a lot to think about. LINKS Sporting News Article: Even after overdue salary bump, baseball's minor leaguers still paid far below NBA, NHL counterparts Katherine on The Uncertain Hour (podcast) Episode Transcript
S4 E16 · Thu, April 29, 2021
On Fashion History and the Human Story—Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell, Author
Before the pandemic, we were the show that invited scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for informal conversations about their work, and we look forward to being that show again one day. But for now, we’re recording remotely to maintain physical distancing. It’s still a pretty fantastic job. This is our season 4 finale, and we’re taking a look back—not at the history of this podcast, but at the history of fashion, and our guide is a great one. Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell is an award-winning fashion historian, curator, and journalist and a 2020–21 National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholar. Her work has appeared in The Atlantic , The Washington Post , Politico , and The Wall Street Journal , and she is the author of three books, including Worn on This Day: The Clothes That Made History , which had its origins as a Twitter account and was published in 2019 by Running Press. While we had a lot of questions for her about Worn on This Day —how she found an article of clothing tied to every day of the year, what kind of history this approach allowed her to write, why she picked what she did for the September 11th entry—we also talked about the distinctive role fashion plays in the human story. We asked Kimberly about her NEH project, as well, and learned a little bit about American fashion designer Chester Weinberg, whom she’s hoping to reintroduce to a large audience. And then there was her most recent book, The Way We Wed: A Global History of Wedding Fashion , a sequel of sorts to Worn on This Day . Fun fact there: The white wedding dress? Not as traditional as you might think. LINKS Kimberly’s Books: Worn on This Day: The Clothes That Made History and The Way We Wed: A Global History of Wedding Fashion Worn on This Day Twitter: @WornOnThisDay Episode Transcript
S4 E15 · Thu, April 15, 2021
On 3D Printing and the Rise of Industry 4.0—C. Fred Higgs III, Rice University
Before the pandemic, we were the show that invited scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for informal conversations about their work, and we look forward to being that show again one day. But for now, we’re recording remotely to maintain physical distancing. It’s still a pretty fantastic job. Fred Higgs is John and Ann Doerr Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Rice University, where he is also vice provost for academic affairs and director of the Rice Center for Engineering Leadership. A past winner of a National Science Foundation CAREER Young Investigator Award and a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Fred is the founder and director of the Particle Flow and Tribology Lab at Rice. We would try to define what tribology is, but Ted, our host, kind of got it wrong in the interview, and there’s no need to embarrass ourselves twice. The good news is Fred is awesome at explaining things in terms even a non-engineer can understand. Back in March, we had the opportunity to watch him give an Edison Lecture hosted by Notre Dame’s College of Engineering—and held virtually, of course—about some of the research they do in his lab in the area of additive manufacturing, or 3D printing. Here he and Ted talked about how 3D printing actually works, some real-world applications that illustrate why you’d do it in the first place, and whether we’ll ever be able to print three-dimensional objects as easily as we use a Xerox machine. Before that, though, they spent some time on the rise of intelligent machines and the ensuing paradigm shift for engineers looking to bring products to market. It’s a great example of why Fred and others see ethics as a core component of engineering education. LINKS Fred’s Research: Particle Flow & Tribology Lab at Rice University Episode Transcript
S4 E14 · Thu, April 01, 2021
On “The State of Science” (Part 2)—Holden Thorp, Science Family of Journals
Before the pandemic, we were the show that invited scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for informal conversations about their work, and we look forward to being that show again one day. But for now, we’re recording remotely to maintain physical distancing. It’s still a pretty fantastic job. For the second episode in a row, we’re turning things over to a guest host for a conversation with Holden Thorp, editor-in-chief of the Science family of journals. Talking with Holden this time is Suman Datta, who is Stinson Professor of Nanotechnology in Notre Dame’s Department of Electrical Engineering and the director of ASCENT, a microelectronics research center funded by the Semiconductor Research Corporation and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Holden and Suman spoke as part of a recent online series at Notre Dame called The State of Science . This is a condensed version of their conversation, which was recorded on March 1 and focused on the future of scientific collaboration. Holden brings a distinct perspective to this topic. Even before taking on his current position as editor-in-chief of the six journals published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, including the magazine Science itself, he was an intellectual leader, having served as provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at Washington University in St. Louis and as the chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is currently Rita Levi-Montalcini Distinguished University Professor at WashU, holding appointments in both chemistry and medicine. Holden and Suman talked about everything from the need for academic collaboration that crosses disciplinary boundaries and the very real barriers to achieving it to the way geopolitical tensions hinder knowledge discovery. We started with Suman asking about the generational questions now facing the scientific community. LINK Listen to Our First Episode with Holden: On “The State of Science” (Part 1) Episode Transcript
S4 E13 · Thu, March 18, 2021
On “The State of Science” (Part 1)—Holden Thorp, Science Family of Journals
Before the pandemic, we were the show that invited scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for informal conversations about their work, and we look forward to being that show again one day. But for now, we’re recording remotely to maintain physical distancing. It’s still a pretty fantastic job. This is a special episode of the show because for the first time ever, Ted, our normal host, isn’t hosting. He’d ask that you keep your applause to yourself. It’s a conversation between Holden Thorp, editor-in-chief of the Science family of journals, and Marie Lynn Miranda, a professor of applied and computational mathematics and statistics at Notre Dame, the University’s Charles and Jill Fischer Provost—and as we’re sure she tells people all the time, a former guest on this podcast. Holden and Marie Lynn spoke as part of a recent online series at Notre Dame called The State of Science . This is a condensed version of that conversation, which was recorded on Feb. 22 and focused on “Building the COVID-19 Knowledge Base in Real Time.” Holden is a great person to talk with about this. Serving as the editor-in-chief of the “ Science family of journals” means he leads the six journals published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, including the magazine Science , the premier global science weekly. In addition to his role at the journals, he is Rita Levi-Montalcini Distinguished University Professor at Washington University in St. Louis, holding appointments in both chemistry and medicine. He previously served as Washington University’s provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs and as the chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, his alma mater. Holden is also a big jazz fan. And even with a topic as big as the pandemic and the scientific community’s response to discuss, Marie Lynn still managed to sneak in a question about jazz records. If you enjoy their conversation—and we’re confident you will—you can watch even more at provost.nd.edu/state-of-science . LINKS Science Editorial: “The moment to see the poor” Holden ’s Intro to Jazz: Spotify Playlist Episode Transcript
S4 E12 · Thu, March 04, 2021
On Infrastructure and Engineering Change—Trish Culligan, Notre Dame
Before the pandemic, we were the show that invited scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for informal conversations about their work, and we look forward to being that show again one day. But for now, we’re recording remotely to maintain physical distancing. It’s still a pretty fantastic job. Trish Culligan is Matthew H. McCloskey Dean of the College of Engineering at Notre Dame and a professor in the University’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences. Before joining the Notre Dame faculty this past August, she was chair and Carleton Professor of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at Columbia University. Internationally recognized for her expertise in water resources and environmental engineering, Trish is currently co-directing a research network sponsored by the National Science Foundation that is developing new models for urban infrastructure to make cities cleaner, healthier, and more enjoyable places to live. She talked with us about that work and the potential of decentralized infrastructure to make a difference in both the developed and developing worlds, albeit for very different reasons. We also covered where the term “civil engineering” comes from, the importance of engineers being able to play a role in informing public policy, and how successful engineering practice isn’t all concrete, steel, and technical detail—no matter how much she may love talking about those things. We started by asking Trish for her thoughts on a random engineering quote we found on the Internet. Her willingness to engage with our attempt at a creative interview opening let us know right away we were in for a good conversation. LINK Episode Transcript
S4 E11 · Thu, February 18, 2021
On TV Cooking Competitions and Croquembouches—Sinaí Vespie, Chef
Before the pandemic, we were the show that invited scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for informal conversations about their work, and we look forward to being that show again one day. But for now, we’re recording remotely to maintain physical distancing. It’s still a pretty fantastic job. Sinaí Vespie is executive pastry chef for Campus Dining at Notre Dame—although dessert fans around the country know her as the winner of season 6 of the Halloween Baking Championship , which aired this past fall on Food Network. And if you’re thinking it’s pretty cool for a university to have the winner of a reality cooking competition on its culinary team, then you have a lot in common with the makers of this podcast. Sinaí began her career as a junior sous chef at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort. She then moved to the Sweet Treats Cakery in Tampa before serving as pastry chef at the Tampa Marriott Waterside. She joined us from just outside her kitchen at Notre Dame, which is the closest we’ve gotten to brunch in a long, long time. We used this opportunity to ask her about both the particulars of the Halloween Baking Championship —from the cursed croquembouche to the spooky challenge themes, including when she had to figure out how to depict a prank on a floating cake—as well as the demands of competing on a TV cooking show more generally. As you’d suspect, that took on some entirely new dimensions during the pandemic. Finally, if you check the episode notes, you’ll see why Sinaí warned us of the perils of letting your son manage your Instagram. LINKS From Sinaí’s Instagram: The Faces of Chef Si Episode Transcript
S4 E10 · Wed, February 03, 2021
On Good Science and Ignoring the Noise—Timothy Caulfield, University of Alberta
Before the pandemic, we were the show that invited scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for informal conversations about their work, and we look forward to being that show again one day. But for now, we’re recording remotely to maintain physical distancing. It’s still a pretty fantastic job. Timothy Caulfield is a faculty member at the University of Alberta, where he is a Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy, a professor in the Faculty of Law and the School of Public Health, and research director of the university’s Health Law Institute. Timothy has published more than 350 academic articles on topics such as research ethics, public representations of science, and public health policy. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, he is also the host and co-producer of the award-winning documentary TV series A User's Guide to Cheating Death and the author of two bestselling books, including Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?: When Celebrity Culture and Science Clash . Timothy joined host Ted Fox and Notre Dame student Lynnette Wukie, our intern during the University’s Winter Session, to talk about his latest book, Your Day, Your Way: The Fact and Fiction Behind Your Daily Decisions . It takes on questions like: Is there a scientific reason not to drink so much coffee? And: Is the coworker proselytizing about the benefits of their standing desk going a little overboard? Related: This episode may or may not have been produced entirely at a standing desk. The conversation also covered what Timothy describes as three social paradoxes complicating what would otherwise be routine decisions; implications of our chaotic information environment, particularly during the pandemic; and the natural uncertainty that comes with doing good science. LINKS: Timothy’s New Book: Your Day, Your Way: The Fact and Fiction Behind Your Daily Decisions Episode Transcript
S4 E9 · Thu, January 21, 2021
On Mosquito-Borne Diseases and Spatial Repellents—Nicole Achee, Notre Dame
Before the pandemic, we were the show that invited scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for informal conversations about their work, and we look forward to being that show again one day. But for now, we’re recording remotely to maintain physical distancing. It’s still a pretty fantastic job. Nicole Achee is a research professor of biological sciences at Notre Dame with a joint appointment in the University’s Eck Institute for Global Health. A medical entomologist, she works in the area of infectious and vector-borne diseases. Much of her research focuses on mosquitoes, various species of which are vectors, or transmitters, of illnesses like malaria, dengue, and Zika. In 2014, a project led by Nicole and Neil Lobo, also a biologist at Notre Dame, received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to test the efficacy of what are known as spatial repellents. While the idea underlying spatial repellents is an old one, they could represent an exciting new product class for mosquito control in public health, as they operate in a different manner than existing interventions like spraying and bed nets. Supported by the Gates Foundation grant—at the time, the second-largest research award in Notre Dame history—and industry partner SC Johnson, Nicole and Neil’s team conducted two large-scale, multiyear clinical trials evaluating spatial repellents, including one in Peru that she says is the first to conclusively show a spatial repellent can protect humans against the types of mosquitoes that transmit dengue and Zika. Nicole and host Ted Fox started their conversation with some basics about mosquitoes and the impact of mosquito-borne diseases worldwide. She then explained what exactly spatial repellents are and what they do, the specifics of the clinical trials, and next steps on the path toward earning a World Health Organization recommendation for the use of spatial repellents for mosquito-borne disease control—a goal that is one step closer after the recent results in Peru. LINK Episode Transcript
Bonus · Fri, December 18, 2020
Happy Author Days: Royal Novelists Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan
We like to try and do something special around the holidays. In 2019, we counted down our Top 5 most-played episodes of the year. But we thought we’d try something a little different for 2020. If you’re a regular listener of the show, you’ve probably figured out we like to read. A lot. So this time, we’re revisiting five of our favorite interviews we’ve done with authors in the three-and-a-half seasons of making this podcast. We call it “Happy Author Days.” This one is our conversation with Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan, aka The Fug Girls, titled “On Royal Novels and Writing Partners” and first published September 24th, 2020. We hope you enjoy it and have the chance to make time for some great reading this holiday season. LINKS Heather and Jessica’s Two Royal Novels: The Royal We and The Heir Affair Original Episode Transcript
Bonus · Thu, December 17, 2020
Happy Author Days: PEN/Faulkner Winner Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
We like to try and do something special around the holidays. In 2019, we counted down our Top 5 most-played episodes of the year. But we thought we’d try something a little different for 2020. If you’re a regular listener of the show, you’ve probably figured out we like to read. A lot. So this time, we’re revisiting five of our favorite interviews we’ve done with authors in the three-and-a-half seasons of making this podcast. We call it “Happy Author Days.” This one is our conversation with PEN/Faulkner winner Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi, titled “On Exile, Literature, and Feeling Small Before the Page” and first published on August 1st, 2019. We hope you enjoy the episode and come back for the final installment in the series tomorrow. LINKS Azareen’s PEN/Faulkner-Winning Novel: Call Me Zebra Original Episode Transcript
Bonus · Wed, December 16, 2020
Happy Author Days: Pulitzer Winner Marilynne Robinson
We like to try and do something special around the holidays. In 2019, we counted down our Top 5 most-played episodes of the year. But we thought we’d try something a little different for 2020. If you’re a regular listener of the show, you’ve probably figured out we like to read. A lot. So this time, we’re revisiting five of our favorite interviews we’ve done with authors in the three-and-a-half seasons of making this podcast. We call it “Happy Author Days.” This one is our conversation with Pulitzer winner Marilynne Robinson, titled “On Writing and Saying Something True” and first published on October 18, 2018. We hope you enjoy the episode and come back for the next installment in the series tomorrow. LINK Marilynne's Pulitzer-Winning Novel: Gilead Original Episode Transcript
Bonus · Tue, December 15, 2020
Happy Author Days: Spy Novelist Lauren Wilkinson
We like to try and do something special around the holidays. In 2019, we counted down our Top 5 most-played episodes of the year. But we thought we’d try something a little different for 2020. If you’re a regular listener of the show, you’ve probably figured out we like to read. A lot. So this time, we’re revisiting five of our favorite interviews we’ve done with authors in the three-and-a-half seasons of making this podcast. We call it “Happy Author Days.” This one is our conversation with spy novelist Lauren Wilkinson, titled “On ‘American Spy’ and Finding It on the Page” and first published on October 8th, 2020. We hope you enjoy the episode and come back for the next installment in the series tomorrow. LINKS Lauren’s Novel: American Spy Original Episode Transcript
Bonus · Mon, December 14, 2020
Happy Author Days: Ali Biographer Jonathan Eig
We like to try and do something special around the holidays. In 2019, we counted down our Top 5 most-played episodes of the year. But we thought we’d try something a little different for 2020. If you’re a regular listener of the show, you’ve probably figured out we like to read. A lot. So this time, we’re revisiting five of our favorite interviews we’ve done with authors in the three-and-a-half seasons of making this podcast. We call it “Happy Author Days.” This one is our conversation with Muhammad Ali biographer Jonathan Eig, titled “On Muhammad Ali and a Knockout Biography” and first published on March, 19, 2020. We hope you enjoy the episode and come back for the next installment in the series tomorrow. LINK Jonathan’s Biography of Muhammad Ali: Ali: A Life Original Episode Transcript
Bonus · Thu, December 10, 2020
What Makes Me Happy: Social Media Manager Liz Harter on *NSYNC (and Others)
We typically host scholars, makers, and professionals for informal conversations about their work—formerly over brunch, currently over Zoom. But for these bonus mini-episodes, we change things up a bit, asking Notre Dame researchers and staff to talk about something that both makes them happy and has no direct connection to what they do at the university. In other words, if you thought a podcast with a waffle for a logo couldn’t get even more casual, you’d be wrong. Here, Liz Harter , Notre Dame’s social media manager, shares the genesis of her enduring love for *NSYNC and other early 2000s pop music, and how, in a quirky twist of fate, that proved to be an asset professionally. And as a bonus on top of a bonus, Liz has curated a Spotify playlist of eight of her must-have pop hits just for us. It includes four *NSYNC tracks for reasons you’ll understand shortly. LINK Spotify Playlist: Liz’s Pop Picks Episode Transcript
S4 E8 · Tue, November 24, 2020
On Masterpieces and Mysteries—Jennifer Dasal, ArtCurious
Before the pandemic, we were the show that invited scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for informal conversations about their work, and we look forward to being that show again one day. But for now, we’re recording remotely to maintain physical distancing. It’s still a pretty fantastic job. Jennifer Dasal is curator of modern and contemporary art at the North Carolina Museum of Art. After graduating from the University of California, Davis, she earned an M.A. in art history from Notre Dame and worked as assistant to the curator of Western art at Notre Dame’s Snite Museum. So this episode was something of a homecoming—just without the actual coming back to campus. Jennifer is the author of the book ArtCurious: Stories of the Unexpected, Slightly Odd, and Strangely Wonderful in Art History , published earlier this year by Penguin Books. ArtCurious the book was inspired by ArtCurious the podcast, a show she launched more than four years ago and has written, produced, and hosted ever since. In this podcast, Jennifer introduced us to several of the fascinating stories she unwinds in the book, ranging from the CIA’s connection to Abstract Expressionism and everything you thought you knew about Norman Rockwell to the mystery of the Mona Lisa ’s twin sister. There was also the matter of whether we know who actually created what some in the art world consider the most influential piece of the 20th century—which, oh by the way, happens to be an upside-down urinal. And as descriptive as that last sentence sounds, talking about visual art in an audio medium isn’t usually so simple. That makes what Jennifer does on episodes of ArtCurious all the more impressive, and why we made sure to ask her about the podcast, as well. LINKS Jennifer’s Book: ArtCurious: Stories of the Unexpected, Slightly Odd, and Strangely Wonderful in Art History Jennifer’s Podcast: ArtCurious Episode Transcript
S4 E7 · Thu, November 12, 2020
On Personal Data, Hyper-Targeting, and Privacy—Kirsten Martin, Notre Dame
Before the pandemic, we were the show that invited scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for informal conversations about their work, and we look forward to being that show again one day. But for now, we’re recording remotely to maintain physical distancing. It’s still a pretty fantastic job. Kirsten Martin is a faculty member in Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business and a faculty affiliate of the Notre Dame Technology Ethics Center. Recognized nationally for her expertise in privacy, technology, and corporate responsibility, she joined the University this fall and holds the William P. and Hazel B. White Center Chair of Technology Ethics. Kirsten’s research, including studies of online privacy and the ethics of data aggregation, has been funded by the National Science Foundation, and she serves as the technology and business ethics editor for the Journal of Business Ethics . Earlier this year, Columbia University Press published her co-authored book The Power of AND: Responsible Business Without Trade-Offs . Kirsten and host Ted Fox started their conversation with what does and does not tend to bother people about their data being gathered through websites and apps—and how most of us don’t realize the extent to which that’s happening. They spent some time on her research on location data in particular. From there, they talked about things we, as consumers, can do to at least mitigate the spread of our personal data, and why she’s skeptical of any argument from industry that contends governmental regulation would be too costly. They wrapped up with a question inspired by her new book—namely: When it comes to business, who is a business in business for? LINKS Kirsten’s TEDx Talk: “It’s Not Their Story to Tell: Why Companies Should Respect Privacy Online” Kirsten’s Coauthored Book: The Power of AND: Responsible Business Without Trade-Offs Episode Transcript
Bonus · Tue, October 27, 2020
From the Archives: Costa, Schmuhl, and a Whole Bunch of Politics (Double Episode)
We’re going to go out on a limb and assume that you’ve heard Election Day is next week. It’s kind of hard to miss. And while we don’t have a new election-themed episode for you, we did release two interviews earlier this year that we thought would be worth combining into one supersized pod now—not only because they’re still timely, but also because the guests have an interesting connection to one another. So here, we’re starting out with the episode “On Reporting and Politics,” which came out on June 11th and features Robert Costa of The Washington Post and Washington Week . In the course of listening to it, you’ll get a preview of sorts of episode two with author and retired Notre Dame professor Bob Schmuhl, Robert’s mentor, who talked to us “On the Presidency and Possibility” for an episode that was released January 30th. Whether you’re listening to these conversations for the first time or checking them out again, we think you’ll enjoy them just as much as we do. Robert Costa Episode Notes and Transcript Bob Schmuhl Episode Notes and Transcript
S4 E6 · Thu, October 22, 2020
On Misinformation and Truth Sandwiches—Lisa Fazio, Vanderbilt University
Before the pandemic, we were the show that invited scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for informal conversations about their work, and we look forward to being that show again one day. But for now, we’re recording remotely to maintain physical distancing. It’s still a pretty fantastic job. Lisa Fazio is an assistant professor of psychology and human development at Vanderbilt University. She and her team in the Building Knowledge Lab study how children and adults learn new information, true and false, and how to correct errors in people’s knowledge. Lisa’s research has applications in both the educational environment of the classroom and out in the world, including when it comes to how our brains process the inexhaustible stream of headlines, stories, videos, memes, likes, shares, and whatever else the Internet serves up to us at all hours of the day and night. Lisa and host Ted Fox framed their conversation around a study she and one of her colleagues at Vanderbilt published in the September 2020 issue of the journal Psychological Science . It’s a paper that builds on previous work by her and many others related to how the number of times we hear a statement repeated impacts whether we think it’s true … even if it’s not. In addition to implications for how we consume information on social media and elsewhere, this illusory truth effect has a through line to Lisa’s research in education. And as she explains, all of us—no matter our age or our beliefs—must navigate the same internal mechanism that associates repetition with truth. Whether this inclination serves us well or causes problems depends on the circumstances. But when it is problematic, such as in the case of misinformation, Lisa suggests a counter strategy that befits this, a podcast founded on the idea of brunch. It’s called: The truth sandwich. LINKS Preprint Version of Psychological Science Paper: “The Effect of Repetition on Truth Judgments Across Development” Episode Transcript
S4 E5 · Thu, October 08, 2020
On ‘American Spy’ and Finding It on the Page—Lauren Wilkinson, Author
Before the pandemic, we were the show that invited scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for informal conversations about their work, and we look forward to being that show again one day. But for now, we’re recording remotely to maintain physical distancing. It’s still a pretty fantastic job. Lauren Wilkinson is the author of the novel American Spy , which was published by Random House in 2019 and subsequently named one of the best books of the year by The New York Times Book Review , Time , NPR, Entertainment Weekly , Esquire , and BuzzFeed, among others. Including it on his summer reading list, former President Barack Obama described it as “a whole lot more than just a spy thriller, wrapping together the ties of family, of love, and of country.” In addition to penning a critically acclaimed novel, Lauren has taught writing at Columbia University and the Fashion Institute of Technology and was a 2013 Center for Fiction Emerging Writers Fellow. Her writing has appeared in publications like Granta , The Believer , New York magazine, and The New York Times , and she also writes for television. During this conversation, Lauren and host Ted Fox talked about some of the big themes in American Spy , including how we understand the term “American,” as well as the seven-year process she went through to write the book. That story involves a surprising connection between her novel and one of those by one of our past guests, Pulitzer-winner Marilynne Robinson. Lastly, and on a completely unrelated note, at the very end of the interview, you might catch Lauren’s subtle nod to the New York City diner of Seinfeld fame that is Ted’s go-to background on Zoom. We guess you could say we believe that, if you can’t go to coffee, you bring the iconic TV sitcom coffee shop to you. LINKS Lauren’s novel: American Spy Episode transcript With a Side of Knowledge episode 2.1 with Marilynne Robinson: “On Writing and Saying Something True”
S4 E4 · Thu, September 24, 2020
On Royal Novels and Writing Partners—Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan, Authors
Before the pandemic, we were the show that invited scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for informal conversations about their work, and we look forward to being that show again one day. But for now, we’re recording remotely to maintain physical distancing. It’s still a pretty fantastic job. Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan are the authors of four novels, most recently The Heir Affair , which was published this summer by Grand Central and is the sequel to their bestseller, The Royal We . Much like the two of them, the books are witty and hilarious, following the lives of a fictitious, modern-day British royal family from the perspective of a young American woman who falls in love with the heir to the throne while both are studying at Oxford. And it’s fitting that Heather—a 1999 Notre Dame grad, by the way—and Jessica should write about royals because they are something akin to internet royalty themselves. They are the creators of Go Fug Yourself, the iconic website that bears witness to “fantastically ugly” celebrity fashion. Their work has also appeared in publications ranging from New York magazine to Vanity Fair , The New York Times , The Washington Post , Cosmopolitan , W magazine, and Glamour . Heather and Jessica talked to host Ted Fox about their new book and how they work together as a writing team as well as what makes for successful characters and the challenges of writing a sequel. The three made some time at the end to discuss the do’s and don’ts of covering celebrity fashion, too. As for where they started, Ted had the opportunity to see just how well Heather and Jessica know each other’s writing. LINKS Heather and Jessica’s two royal novels: The Royal We and The Heir Affair Heather and Jessica’s website: gofugyourself.com Episode Transcript
S4 E3 · Thu, September 10, 2020
On HQ Trivia, the Attention Economy, and Our Digital Selves—Alyssa Bereznak, The Ringer
Before the pandemic, we were the show that invited scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for informal conversations about their work, and we look forward to being that show again one day. But for now, we’re recording remotely to maintain physical distancing. It’s still a pretty fantastic job. Alyssa Bereznak is a staff writer for theringer.com . She covers tech and culture, with a focus on media, celebrity, and how the internet is changing our lives. All these interests came together in a podcast she recently hosted and reported for The Ringer about a trivia app for your smartphone that aimed to do nothing less than change the future of television. As you’d probably guess, it didn’t quite get there. Alyssa’s podcast, “Boom/Bust: The Rise and Fall of HQ Trivia,” tells that story while delving into the workings of our attention economy across eight compelling and insightful episodes. She and host Ted Fox started their conversation with HQ Trivia, its meteoric rise to daily must-watch status for millions of people, and what was on the other side of that peak. That then led to them discussing the experience of making a podcast during the pandemic and other elements of our current media and internet landscape, including what happens at The Ringer when one of the biggest musicians in the world announces out of nowhere she has a new album coming that day at midnight. And we promise you, Alyssa’s tweet-length review of Taylor Swift’s folklore is not one to be missed. LINKS Alyssa’s Podcast: “Boom/Bust: The Rise and Fall of HQ Trivia” Alyssa’s Writing for The Ringer Episode Transcript
S4 E2 · Thu, August 27, 2020
On Crosswords and ‘Wordplay’—Deb Amlen, The New York Times
Before the pandemic, we were the show that invited scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for informal conversations about their work, and we look forward to being that show again one day. But for now, we’re recording remotely to maintain physical distancing. It’s still a pretty fantastic job. Deb Amlen is the head writer and senior editor of “Wordplay,” the crossword column of The New York Times , where she’ll teach you how to be a better solver while also making you laugh. She’s particularly well-suited to this work. The author of the humor book It's Not PMS, It's You! , Deb got her start in crosswords making puzzles for The New York Times , The Washington Post , and other newspapers. She’s also been a senior columnist for Yahoo! Tech, where she wrote the humor column “Buzzology,” and was on the original constructing team that made crosswords for The Onion’s A.V. Club. We connected for this episode because Deb was gracious enough to take some time for host Ted Fox, one of those ill-fated souls who loves solving—or more accurately, attempting to solve— The New York Times crossword puzzle most days of the week. Their conversation wound its way from puzzles as a form of creative expression and even a metaphor for handling the challenges of life to more practical matters like how crosswords are constructed and strategies for getting better at them. And on that getting better note, let us just say: Beware the rebus. LINKS The New York Times “Wordplay” Section Crossword Puzzle Collaboration Directory (Facebook Group) Episode Transcript
S4 E1 · Thu, August 13, 2020
On Research, Universities, and the Love of Dogs—Marie Lynn Miranda, Notre Dame
Before the pandemic, we were the show that invited scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for informal conversations about their work, and we look forward to being that show again one day. But for now, we’re recording remotely to maintain physical distancing. It's still a pretty fantastic job. If you’ve listened to any of our first 50 or so episodes, you may have heard host Ted Fox say at the end that “With a Side of Knowledge is a production of the Office of the Provost” here at Notre Dame. You also may have wondered: What exactly is a provost? If so, it’s your lucky day. The provost is the University’s chief academic officer. And we’ve chosen this episode, our season four premiere, to tell you that because you’re about to hear from Notre Dame’s new provost, Marie Lynn Miranda. Marie Lynn succeeded Tom Burish on July 1, but she spent the several months before her official start date getting to know her new university and helping Notre Dame navigate the myriad challenges presented by the coronavirus. Like so many here and elsewhere, a lot of Marie Lynn’s time these days continues to be devoted to how to best meet these challenges. But as she noted in the course of our conversation, she doesn’t want the demands of the moment to keep Notre Dame from also attending to its broader mission as a university. We thought about this interview in much the same way, wanting to give you a chance to get to know Marie Lynn Miranda the award-winning teacher, the founder of the Children’s Environmental Health Initiative, and most definitely the person, in addition to the chief academic officer at Notre Dame. That meant talking to her about not only what she could take from being provost at Rice University during Hurricane Harvey and apply to leading during a pandemic, but also about why she loves her dogs so much. We covered her ongoing and active research in public health—including an Indiana COVID-19 registry you can find linked below—as well as the time she quoted A League of Their Own to her son’s Little League team. We also discussed institutional diversity and inclusion … and how she still trades emails with Coach K at Duke. As for her Notre Dame story, that actually started some 60 years ago. LINKS Research Study: Indiana COVID-19 Registry Episode Transcript
Bonus · Mon, June 29, 2020
What Makes Me Happy: Journalists Richard Jones and Victoria St. Martin on Prince
We typically invite scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for an informal conversation about their work, and then we turn those brunches into a podcast. But for these bonus mini-episodes, we change things up a bit, asking Notre Dame researchers to talk about something that both makes them happy and has no direct connection to their academic pursuits. In other words, if you thought a podcast recorded over brunch couldn’t get even more casual, you’d be wrong. Here, Richard Jones , Walter H. Annenberg-Edmund P. Joyce Director of Notre Dame’s Gallivan Program in Journalism, Ethics, and Democracy, and Victoria St. Martin , distinguished visiting journalist with the Gallivan Program and the print publications coordinator with Notre Dame Student Media, join host Ted Fox via Zoom to discuss a musician whose art dared us to love each other for exactly who we are: Prince. LINK: Richard and Victoria’s previous appearance on the podcast: “On Real News and Purple Rain” (ep. 1.4)
S3 E21 · Thu, June 11, 2020
On Reporting and Politics—Robert Costa, The Washington Post and Washington Week
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: We invite scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for an informal conversation about their work, and then we turn those brunches into a podcast. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. For this, our season 3 finale, we’re turning the virtual interview chair around on Notre Dame alum Robert Costa, national political reporter for The Washington Post and the moderator and managing editor of Washington Week on PBS. While Robert’s work is the news, he and host Ted Fox talked more about the craft of journalism generally—and political journalism specifically—than everything going on in our country and our world in 2020. We figure you have much better outlets for content like that, such as Robert’s own reporting and that of the journalists from diverse organizations and backgrounds he talks to on Washington Week . That said, the health disparities magnified by the coronavirus and the recent examples of police brutality are just the latest reminders of how much we need the work and perspectives of African-American journalists in particular. So while it’s not directly related to this episode, we wanted to use this spot to recommend you follow Richard Jones and Victoria St. Martin, formerly of The New York Times and The Washington Post , respectively, and currently shaping the next generation of journalists through their work with students at Notre Dame. We’ve put links to both of their Twitters in the notes below. And speaking of episode notes, there’s also a video of the late Tim Russert there that you’re going to hear Robert talk about. It’s one of many great stories he shared on pursuing a career as a reporter in the nation’s capital during a time of rapid change in the news industry, a journey that for him has included succeeding the legendary Gwen Ifill at PBS. He also used the provost office at Notre Dame to illustrate how anonymous sourcing works. You know, in case we ever really need to get anything off our chests. Take good care, and we’ll be talking to you again soon. Because sources close to the podcast tell us there might be some bonus episodes on the way this summer. LINKS Richard Jones’ Twitter: @richard_g_jones Victoria St. Martin’s Twitter: @VStMartin Robert Costa’s Twitter: @costareports Video Excerpts of Tim Russert’s Red Smith Lecture: “When Politicians Meet the Press” Full Transcript of Russert Lecture
S3 E20 · Thu, May 28, 2020
On AI and Why We Need Humans (and Tiger King)—Mutale Nkonde, AI for the People
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: We invite scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for an informal conversation about their work, and then we turn those brunches into a podcast. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. An expert on race and technology, Mutale Nkonde is the founding CEO of AI for the People, a nonprofit creative agency. She is currently a fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University and at Stanford University’s Digital Civil Society Lab. She has also been a fellow at the research institute Data & Society, and her work has been covered by MIT Technology Review , WIRED , and PBS NewsHour , among others. Mutale and host Ted Fox were supposed to get brunch back in mid-March, when she was scheduled to be a panelist at a conference hosted by the Notre Dame Technology Ethics Center, a new center at the University that supports multi- and interdisciplinary research on questions related to the impact of technology on humanity. However, like pretty much everything else these last couple of months, that event had to be cancelled. Fortunately, Mutale was still up for doing the podcast remotely, so she and Ted traded waffles for Zoom and had a conversation about artificial intelligence that started out by digging into what AI, machine learning, and deep learning even are. They then talked about the ways this seemingly dispassionate tech can exhibit very real bias—not to mention its implications for privacy and the future of work in the age of COVID-19—as well as her work on Capitol Hill and at Harvard. As for the three minutes they spent on Netflix’s Tiger King ? Even that wound its way back to algorithms. LINK Episode Transcript
Bonus · Fri, May 22, 2020
What Makes Me Happy: Philosopher Meghan Sullivan on LEGO
We typically invite scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for an informal conversation about their work, and then we turn those brunches into a podcast. But for these bonus mini-episodes, we change things up a bit, asking Notre Dame researchers to talk about something that both makes them happy and has no direct connection to their academic pursuits. In other words, if you thought a podcast recorded over brunch couldn’t get even more casual, you’d be wrong. Here, Meghan Sullivan, professor of philosophy and director of the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study, joins host Ted Fox via Zoom to discuss a passion she’s had since childhood, one that played a memorable role as she earned tenure: Building with LEGO.
S3 E19 · Thu, May 14, 2020
On DeLoreans, Autonomous Systems, and the Drive to be Awesome—Jon Goh, Stanford University
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: We invite scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for an informal conversation about their work, and then we turn those brunches into a podcast. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Last year, Jon Goh earned his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Stanford. While completing a doctoral degree is a monumental accomplishment by any standard, one requiring an awe-inspiring amount of dedication and hard work, it’s not the kind of thing a podcast at a university more than 2,000 miles away would typically hear about. But then we saw the video. In it, a DeLorean—the ’80s car made iconic by the movie Back to the Future —accelerated, turned, drifted, and literally burned rubber through a highly complicated race course … and it did it all by itself. Right away, we knew we had to try to talk to Jon, the guy who had shared the video and whose research at the Stanford Dynamic Design Lab was integral to building this incredible car, particularly the piece that programmed it to expertly wind its way through the course that only the most advanced drift racers would dare tackle. Several Twitter direct messages later, there he and host Ted Fox were chatting over Zoom about everything that went into turning a standard DeLorean into this DeLorean as well as the future of autonomous vehicles and why on Earth you’d do all of this in the first place. You know, beyond the fact that it’s just super cool. LINK See the DeLorean in Action: Story and Video From Stanford
S3 E18 · Thu, April 30, 2020
On Education, Parenting, and Improving Outcomes—Jenni Heissel, Naval Postgraduate School
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: We invite scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for an informal conversation about their work, and then we turn those brunches into a podcast. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Jenni Heissel is an assistant professor in the Graduate School of Defense Management at the Naval Postgraduate School. Her research at the intersection of economics, public policy, and psychology has been covered by The Atlantic , The New York Times , NPR, the Brookings Evidence Speaks series, and a number of other outlets. She just received a large grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to study the Department of Defense’s parental support policies. A 2007 graduate of Notre Dame, Jenni holds a master of public policy degree from Duke and a Ph.D. in human development and social policy from Northwestern. Her interdisciplinary expertise has driven her to pursue some really interesting and highly applicable research not only in the area of parenting but also education, including on in-person versus online instruction and what impact, if any, school start times have on students’ academic performance. In addition, she and host Ted Fox discussed a paper she has forthcoming in The Journal of Human Resources focused on how the siblings of teen moms are affected by the arrival of the baby, a dynamic that hasn’t been closely studied to this point. As you would expect these days, the conversation was a virtual one, and that was thanks to Jenni’s husband seeing a tweet we sent looking for guests, and then her taking the time to reach out. We’re thrilled that she did.
Bonus · Thu, April 23, 2020
What Makes Me Happy: Economist Kasey Buckles on the (Red) Sox
We typically invite scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for an informal conversation about their work, and then we turn those brunches into a podcast. But for these bonus mini-episodes, we change things up a bit, asking Notre Dame researchers to talk about something that both makes them happy and has no direct connection to their academic pursuits. In other words, if you thought a podcast recorded over brunch couldn’t get even more casual, you’d be wrong. Here, Kasey Buckles, Brian and Jeannelle Brady Associate Professor of Economics at Notre Dame, joins host Ted Fox via Zoom to discuss the greatest baseball team in the history of the universe: The Boston Red Sox.
S3 E17 · Thu, April 16, 2020
On Reindeer Herders and Powerlifting—Cara Ocobock, Notre Dame
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: We invite scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for an informal conversation about their work, and then we turn those brunches into a podcast. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Cara Ocobock is an assistant professor of anthropology at Notre Dame. A biological anthropologist, she is the director of the Human Energetics Laboratory and explores the physiological and behavioral mechanisms necessary to cope with and adapt to extreme climate and physical activity. Her research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Geographic Foundation, and the American-Scandinavian Foundation. Last fall was Cara’s first semester at Notre Dame, and we didn’t wait long before asking her to do one of our Research Uncorked live shows at Ironhand Wine Bar in South Bend. She and host Ted Fox got together again in March to record this episode, starting with the work that’s taken her to the Arctic Circle to study the characteristics of a population whose experience in the extreme cold could hold valuable lessons for all of us. It also may involve Santa Claus’s hometown. From there, Cara and Ted talked about potential insights into the adaptations of a past cold-climate population, the Neanderthals, before changing gears to discuss her research at the intersection of anthropology and sports, which has grown out of a challenging personal journey as a powerlifter. Yes, she really is as cool as she sounds.
Bonus · Wed, April 08, 2020
What Makes Me Happy: Biology Ph.D. Candidate Katie O’Reilly on Midwest Pizza
We typically invite scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for an informal conversation about their work, and then we turn those brunches into a podcast. But for these bonus mini-episodes, we’re changing things up a bit, asking Notre Dame researchers to talk about something that both makes them happy and has no direct connection to their academic pursuits. In other words, if you thought a podcast recorded over brunch couldn’t get even more casual, you’d be wrong. Here, Katie O’Reilly, a sixth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Stream and Wetland Ecology Lab at Notre Dame, joins host Ted Fox to discuss a subject near and dear to both of them: Midwest pizza.
S3 E16 · Thu, April 02, 2020
On the Smithsonian and Sneaking in the Sidedoor—Lizzie Peabody and Justin O’Neill, Smithsonian Institution
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: We invite scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for an informal conversation about their work, and then we turn those brunches into a podcast. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Lizzie Peabody and Justin O’Neill are the host and producer, respectively, of Sidedoor, a podcast from the Smithsonian Institution. Justin also happens to be a Notre Dame alum. But that’s not the reason we invited them to come on this show. In fact, we didn’t even know about Justin’s ND connection when we asked. No, we reached out to them because we listened to and loved their episode titled “The Worst Video Game Ever?” and immediately decided these were podcasters we had to talk to if we could. Lizzie and Justin were kind enough to take us up on the offer, and thanks to the magic of Zoom, host Ted Fox got to ask them himself why Atari’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was such an epic fail of a video game. They also talked about Sidedoor’s field trip episode—which offers a great reminder that when we say “the Smithsonian,” we’re not just talking about one museum—as well as the surprising history of the spacesuits that allowed Neil Armstrong to take that “one giant leap for mankind.” Lizzie and Justin even turned the questions on Ted at one point. Here’s to hoping he did our anteater friend at the Potawatomi Zoo proud.
S3 E15 · Thu, March 19, 2020
On Muhammad Ali and a Knockout Biography—Jonathan Eig, Author
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: We invite scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for an informal conversation about their work, and then we turn those brunches into a podcast. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Jonathan Eig is the author of five books, including biographies of Lou Gehrig, Jackie Robinson, and most recently, Muhammad Ali. All three of them were New York Times bestsellers, and Ken Burns—yes, that Ken Burns—has described Jonathan as a “master storyteller.” He and host Ted Fox met up at a diner called Stella’s, one of Jonathan’s favorite spots in Chicago, to talk about Ali: A Life , which Jonathan published with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2017. In addition to winning the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing, the book was named biography of the year by the British newspaper The Times , one of the 10 best non-fiction books of the year by The Wall Street Journal , and one of The New York Times’ notable books of the year. It was also a finalist for an NAACP Image Award and received a whole host of other honors too numerous to list. If nothing else, just know that Joyce Carol Oates—yes, that Joyce Carol Oates—called it “an epic of a biography.” Jonathan and Ted covered both Ali the boxer and Ali the icon, discussing everything from his trash-talking and what made him such a great fighter to his relationship with the Nation of Islam and what he’s meant in and to the broader culture since bursting onto the scene in the 1960s. They also spent some time on the process of researching and writing the book, including the painful parts, as well as what Jonathan asked Muhammad Ali when he finally got the chance. LINK: Jonathan’s Biography of Muhammad Ali: Ali: A Life
S3 E14 · Thu, February 27, 2020
On Work, Money, and the Rise of Female Entrepreneurship—Kerry Hannon, Author
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: We invite scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for an informal conversation about their work, and then we turn those brunches into a podcast. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Kerry Hannon is a leading authority and strategist on career transitions, entrepreneurship, personal finance, and retirement. The author of 13 books—and soon to be 14—she is currently an expert columnist and regular contributor to The New York Times , MarketWatch , and Forbes . Kerry visited campus earlier this month as a guest of Notre Dame’s Inspired Leadership Initiative, a program that offers accomplished individuals who have completed traditional careers a one-year experience designed to further their impact on society and the world. Here, she and host Ted Fox discussed how to think about work at different ages and stages of a career, from people who are just starting out to those 50 and over. The latter were the focus of her 13th book, Never Too Old to Get Rich: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Starting a Business Mid-Life , which was published by Wiley in 2019 and was a No. 1 bestseller on Amazon. They also talked about both the rising success of female entrepreneurs and the particular challenges women in the workforce still encounter as well as what a lot of us get wrong when it comes to money and loved ones. One takeaway there: Don’t cheat in those family games of Monopoly. LINKS: Episode Transcript Kerry’s latest book: Never Too Old to Get Rich: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Starting a Business Mid-Life
S3 E13 · Thu, February 13, 2020
On the Rhodes Scholarship and Making Yourself Useful—Prathm Juneja, Notre Dame
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: We invite scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for an informal conversation about their work, and then we turn those brunches into a podcast. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. This past November, Prathm Juneja was named to the American Rhodes Scholar Class of 2020, becoming the 20th Rhodes Scholar in Notre Dame history. He talked with host Ted Fox in December—a few weeks after the Rhodes announcement and a week or so before he graduated. Graduating in December isn’t especially common at Notre Dame, and in Prathm’s case, it was because he completed the five-year Reilly Dual Degree Program in Arts and Letters and Engineering in four-and-a-half years. A political science and computer science major, he was also a member of the University’s Glynn Family Honors Program and a College of Arts and Letters Dean’s Fellow. Shreya Kumar, a faculty member in Notre Dame’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering who wrote one of Prathm’s Rhodes recommendation letters, described him this way: “I have worked with many students who build impressive solutions to common problems, but I have hardly met anyone more dedicated than Prathm to fairness, accessibility and transparency in democracy. He will do great things for this world.” With an introduction like that, Prathm has every reason to be proud. Yet the way he talks about himself is self-effacing and humble, whether he’s recounting the moment he found out he was a Rhodes Scholar, the research behind his senior thesis on voter registration, or the lesson he learned from his parents. As you’ll hear, we couldn’t even get him to brag about receiving a congratulatory phone call from a candidate for president. LINKS Notre Dame News Story: Notre Dame’s Prathm Juneja named Rhodes Scholar Some Fun With Probability (listen to the episode first): Math Guy: The Birthday Problem
S3 E12 · Thu, January 30, 2020
On the Presidency and Possibility—Bob Schmuhl, Notre Dame
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: We invite scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for an informal conversation about their work, and then we turn those brunches into a podcast. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Bob Schmuhl, now a professor emeritus at Notre Dame, joined the university’s faculty in 1980. He was the founding director of Notre Dame’s Gallivan Program in Journalism, Ethics, and Democracy and was later named the inaugural Walter H. Annenberg-Edmund P. Joyce Professor of American Studies and Journalism. His areas of expertise include the modern American presidency and the relationship between American politics and the media. Bob is the author or editor of some 15 books, the most recent of which prompted the conversation here. In The Glory and the Burden: The American Presidency from FDR to Trump , published in 2019 by the University of Notre Dame Press, he examines the institution that is the presidency rather than focusing on the individual occupants of the White House. He and host Ted Fox discussed potential reforms to how Americans elect the president, including the idea of regional primaries, as well as the path to the present state of our politics and the sense of possibility Bob believes the presidency should represent. LINK Bob’s latest book: The Glory and the Burden: The American Presidency from FDR to Trump
S3 E11 · Thu, January 16, 2020
On the EU, Allies, and the State of European Democracy—Janne Matláry, University of Oslo
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: We invite scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for an informal conversation about their work, and then we turn those brunches into a podcast. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Janne Matláry is a professor of international politics in the Department of Political Science at the University of Oslo and the Norwegian Defence University College. A specialist in European foreign and defense policy as well as international security, she was Norway’s deputy foreign minister from 1997–2000, the first Catholic woman to hold a high government post in Norway since the Protestant Reformation. She has also served on the board of trustees of the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights and is a life member of the Pontifical Academy of Science. Janne was in residence at Notre Dame’s Institute for Advanced Study as a director’s fellow for several weeks this past fall. She and host Ted Fox began their conversation drawing on one of her most recent books— Hard Power in Hard Times: Can Europe Act Strategically? , published in 2018 by Palgrave Macmillan—with Janne providing a general sense of the model on which the European Union has been built. From there, they talked about the differences between modern and postmodern states, the external and internal challenges facing European democracies today, and the U.S.-EU relationship, particularly with respect to NATO.
Bonus · Fri, December 20, 2019
Top 5 Most-Played Episodes of 2019: No. 1
It’s the end of the year, and we’re counting down our Top 5 most-played episodes of 2019, which spanned parts of our second and (in-progress) third seasons. Starting Monday, Dec. 16, and continuing each day through Friday, we’ll be putting one of our most popular episodes of the past 12 months back into your feed for your listening pleasure. Maybe you missed it the first time around. Maybe you just want to hear it again and don’t feel like searching through your app. Or maybe you’re reading this and thinking, “Nah, I’m good” before clicking delete. You too, dad? Anyway, this is it: No. 1, “On Cryptocurrency, Facebook’s Libra, and Data Security,” featuring Mike Chapple of Notre Dame and originally released August 29th. Enjoy.
Bonus · Thu, December 19, 2019
Top 5 Most-Played Episodes of 2019: No. 2
It’s the end of the year, and we’re counting down our Top 5 most-played episodes of 2019, which spanned parts of our second and (in-progress) third seasons. Starting Monday, Dec. 16, and continuing each day through Friday, we’ll be putting one of our most popular episodes of the past 12 months back into your feed for your listening pleasure. Maybe you missed it the first time around. Maybe you just want to hear it again and don’t feel like searching through your app. Or maybe you’re reading this and thinking, “Nah, I’m good” before clicking delete. Whatever, mom. Dad’s still listening. Anyway, this is No. 2, “On Math, Origami, and How No Discipline is an Island,” featuring Clare Kim and originally released May 16th. At the time we recorded, Clare was a doctoral candidate at MIT; she is now a postdoctoral fellow at Washington University in St. Louis. Enjoy.
Bonus · Wed, December 18, 2019
Top 5 Most-Played Episodes of 2019: No. 3
It’s the end of the year, and we’re counting down our Top 5 most-played episodes of 2019, which spanned parts of our second and (in-progress) third seasons. Starting Monday, Dec. 16, and continuing each day through Friday, we’ll be putting one of our most popular episodes of the past 12 months back into your feed for your listening pleasure. Maybe you missed it the first time around. Maybe you just want to hear it again and don’t feel like searching through your app. Or maybe you’re reading this and thinking, “Nah, I’m good” before clicking delete. Mom, seriously. That hurts our feelings. Anyway, this is No. 3, “On Enron, Business, and Cover Stories,” featuring Bethany McLean of Vanity Fair and originally released April 18th. Enjoy. LINKS Bethany’s Book on Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room Bethany’s Podcast: Making a Killing
Bonus · Tue, December 17, 2019
Top 5 Most-Played Episodes of 2019: No. 4
It’s the end of the year, and we’re counting down our Top 5 most-played episodes of 2019, which spanned parts of our second and (in-progress) third seasons. Starting Monday, Dec. 16, and continuing each day through Friday, we’ll be putting one of our most popular episodes of the past 12 months back into your feed for your listening pleasure. Maybe you missed it the first time around. Maybe you just want to hear it again and don’t feel like searching through your app. Or maybe you’re reading this and thinking, “Nah, I’m good” before clicking delete. We’re looking at you, mom. Anyway, this is No. 4, “On American Jesuits, Catholicism, and Higher Education” featuring John McGreevy of Notre Dame and originally released September 26th. Enjoy. LINK John’s Book: American Jesuits and the World: How an Embattled Religious Order Made Modern Catholicism Global
Bonus · Mon, December 16, 2019
Top 5 Most-Played Episodes of 2019: No. 5
It’s the end of the year, and we’re counting down our Top 5 most-played episodes of 2019, which spanned parts of our second and (in-progress) third seasons. Starting Monday, Dec. 16, and continuing each day through Friday, we’ll be putting one of our most popular episodes of the past 12 months back into your feed for your listening pleasure. Maybe you missed it the first time around. Maybe you just want to hear it again and don’t feel like searching through your app. Or maybe you’re reading this and thinking, “Nah, I’m good” before clicking delete. Whatever. Our moms are still listening. Anyway, this is No. 5, “On ‘How Charts Lie’ and Increasing Graphicacy,” featuring Alberto Cairo of the University of Miami and originally released October 10th. Enjoy. LINKS Alberto’s Book: How Charts Lie Alberto’s Piece from Scientific American: Graphics That Seem Clear Can Easily Be Misread
S3 E10 · Thu, December 05, 2019
On Democracy and Difficult Questions—Chris Beem, Penn State University
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: We invite scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for an informal conversation about their work, and then we turn those brunches into a podcast. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. For our last episode of 2019, we had the chance to welcome a Notre Dame alum back to campus. His name is Chris Beem, and he is the managing director of the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State University. Chris is the author or co-editor of five books, most recently Democratic Humility: Reinhold Niebuhr, Neuroscience, and America's Political Crisis , which was published by Lexington Books. Currently at work on a book about democratic virtues, he is also a co-host of the McCourtney Institute’s Democracy Works podcast. His conversation with host Ted Fox did eventually find its way to podcasting, but on the way there they talked about things like the nature of democracy—not to mention human beings themselves—as well as the role of ethics in a democratic society. They also discussed the one thing everyone listening to this episode could do to help make our democracy better. Chris’ answer to that question provided some good food for thought heading into 2020. Finally, to close out the episode (and the year), we said a special thank you to our Twitter peeps. LINKS: Chris’ Book: Democratic Humility McCourtney Institute's Podcast: Democracy Works
S3 E9 · Thu, November 21, 2019
On Movies (and Golden Tickets)—Shea Serrano, The Ringer
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: We invite scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for an informal conversation about their work, and then we turn those brunches into a podcast. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Shea Serrano is a staff writer for the sports and pop culture website The Ringer and the author of three New York Times bestsellers, including Basketball (And Other Things) and The Rap Year Book . The most recent of the three, Movies (And Other Things) , published by Twelve, came out just last month. So as you might imagine, Shea is in pretty high demand at the moment. And while he didn’t have a visit to Notre Dame planned, that didn’t stop us from jumping at the chance to invite him to come on the show to talk about the new book and things like righting wrongs at the Oscars, Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker, and how kids in ’80s movies always seemed to be riding things. How this interview came to be is a good story in and of itself, and that’s where Shea and host Ted Fox started their phone conversation, swapping the background noise of brunch for the occasional clicking of a turn signal and other sounds of a man on the move. LINK Shea’s new book: Movies (And Other Things)
S3 E8 · Thu, November 07, 2019
On ‘A Dangerous Idea’ and Documentary Filmmaking—Stephanie Welch, Director
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: We invite scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for an informal conversation about their work, and then we turn those brunches into a podcast. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Stephanie Welch is the director of the documentary A Dangerous Idea: Eugenics, Genetics, and the American Dream . In September, she visited Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center and the nearby Vickers Theatre in Three Oaks, Mich., for screenings and discussion of the film. In addition to directing, Stephanie was a writer and producer on A Dangerous Idea , which exposes the false claims at the heart of biological determinism—the belief that we are not all created equal, that some groups and individuals are born inherently superior to others and therefore more deserving of fundamental rights. The film goes on to show how popular misunderstanding of both gene science and the concept of genes has been and can be manipulated to advance truly sinister motives. Stephanie and host Ted Fox talked about the film, the experience of being an independent filmmaker, and the reception to A Dangerous Idea, whose accolades include winning best documentary at the Santa Fe Film Festival and best feature film at the Ogeechee International History Film Festival. LINK Film website: A Dangerous Idea: Eugenics, Genetics, and the American Dream
S3 E7 · Thu, October 24, 2019
On Lions and Tigers and ... Okapi?—Josh Sisk, Potawatomi Zoo
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: We invite scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for an informal conversation about their work, and then we turn those brunches into a podcast. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. And this episode is unlike any of the first 30 or so that we’ve done. No food was eaten—at least not by either of the humans—and no coffee was consumed. There was no table, and we didn’t even sit down. No, we traded in the trappings of brunch for a trip to the Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend. Just a four-mile drive from the Notre Dame campus, it is home to a collection of animals and conservation programs that you might not expect to find on 23 acres in northern Indiana. Potawatomi has been continuously accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) since 1987 and received its most recent five-year accreditation this fall. To put that in perspective, less than 10 percent of wildlife exhibitors licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture meet the more comprehensive AZA standards. Josh Sisk, the Potawatomi Zoo’s executive director, took host Ted Fox for a walking tour on a drizzly August morning. Their stops included visiting two kings of the jungle, four tiger sisters, and the closest living relative of the giraffe. It was all part of a broader conversation about how the zoo is working to protect endangered and other at-risk species while educating the next generation of conservationists. LINK Potawatomi Zoo: potawatomizoo.org
S3 E6 · Thu, October 10, 2019
On ‘How Charts Lie’ and Increasing Graphicacy—Alberto Cairo, University of Miami
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: We invite scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for an informal conversation about their work, and then we turn those brunches into a podcast. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Alberto Cairo is an associate professor and the Knight Chair in Visual Journalism at the University of Miami’s School of Communication. The former director for infographics and multimedia at Editora Globo, the magazine division of the biggest media group in Brazil, he has been described by Microsoft as having “spent his entire career in the vanguard of visual journalism.” In September, Alberto visited Notre Dame’s online master’s program in data science and delivered a public lecture as part of the College of Science’s John A. Lynch Lecture Series. He is the author of three books, including How Charts Lie , which is being published by W.W. Norton & Company literally next week. Well, next week from when we’re releasing this episode. So, just to be safe: The book comes out—or if you’re listening to this in the future, came out—Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019. And here, Alberto and host Ted Fox talk all about it, from the five different categories of lies charts can tell us to why calling the book How Charts Lie is a provocation, an invitation to think about how we read and misread them—not a rejection of their usefulness and importance. Because one thing becomes clear when talking to Alberto: He likes charts. So much so that he’s devoted an entire book to helping us get better at how we use them. LINKS Alberto’s Book: How Charts Lie Alberto’s Piece from Scientific American: Graphics That Seem Clear Can Easily Be Misread
S3 E5 · Thu, September 26, 2019
On American Jesuits, Catholicism, and Higher Education—John McGreevy, Notre Dame
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: We invite scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for an informal conversation about their work, and then we turn those brunches into a podcast. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. John McGreevy is the Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History at Notre Dame and served as dean of the University’s College of Arts and Letters from 2008–2018. Specializing in modern political and religious history, he is the author of three books and has received major fellowships from the Mellon Foundation and the American Council of Learned Societies, among others. John joined host Ted Fox to talk about the most recent of those three books, American Jesuits and the World: How an Embattled Religious Order Made Modern Catholicism Global , which was published by Princeton University Press. American Jesuits and the World focuses on the period after the nation’s founding, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, when John says the Jesuits were viewed, often disparagingly, as “the most Catholic of all Catholics.” It was against this backdrop that they authored an American story with just as many layers as you would expect. LINK John’s Book: American Jesuits and the World: How an Embattled Religious Order Made Modern Catholicism Global
S3 E4 · Thu, September 12, 2019
On Podcast Brunch Club and the Appeal of Audio—Adela Mizrachi, Podcast Brunch Club
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: We invite scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for an informal conversation about their work, and then we turn those brunches into a podcast. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Like us, Adela Mizrachi works in communications at a university, but that’s not the reason we asked her to come on the show. At least not the main one. See, Adela is also the founder of something called Podcast Brunch Club, which interested us because … well, for the exact reason you’d expect. So we, a podcast that records over brunch, invited her out to brunch, to talk about Podcast Brunch Club, the Podcast Brunch Club podcast, and trends in podcasting as a whole. Did we mention podcasts? Or brunch? And fun story: Since we recorded this interview, one of our very own listeners, Joseph Caudle, has started a Podcast Brunch Club chapter right here in South Bend. There are currently more than 60 such chapters around the world. LINKS Podcast Brunch Club website: podcastbrunchclub.com Forbes Q&A with Adela: Is The Podcast Club The New Book Club?
S3 E3 · Thu, August 29, 2019
On Cryptocurrency, Facebook’s Libra, and Data Security—Mike Chapple, Notre Dame
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: We invite scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for an informal conversation about their work, and then we turn those brunches into a podcast. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Mike Chapple is academic director of Notre Dame’s Master of Science in Business Analytics program and an associate teaching professor of IT, analytics, and operations at the University’s Mendoza College of Business. In addition to business analytics, his areas of expertise include cybersecurity, cloud computing, IT compliance, and data privacy. Prior to joining the Mendoza faculty, Mike served for six years as senior director for IT service delivery at Notre Dame. He came to the University in 2005 from the Brand Institute, a Miami-based marketing consultancy, where he was executive vice president and chief information officer. A Notre Dame alum, he also spent four years in the information security research group at the National Security Agency and served as an active-duty intelligence officer in the United States Air Force. He and host Ted Fox got together this summer to talk about cryptocurrency, including one called Libra, which was announced this June by a group led by Facebook. Since we talked with Mike, the proposal for Libra has garnered increased scrutiny from governmental regulators around the world—on top of what was some healthy skepticism to begin with. But in the course of our conversation with him, he noted that while he’s unsure whether Facebook will be successful in developing a mainstream cryptocurrency, he expects some group will be in the not-too-distant future. For that reason—not to mention the layperson’s guide to cryptocurrency, blockchain, and Bitcoin that he shared—this discussion is as topical as ever, as are his thoughts on how to address broader issues related to data security and privacy. Hint: Social Security Numbers are a problem.
S3 E2 · Thu, August 15, 2019
On Incredible Women and a Story Too Good to Pass Up—Ann Little, Colorado State University
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: We invite scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for an informal conversation about their work, and then we turn those brunches into a podcast. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Ann Little is a professor of history at Colorado State University who specializes in the history of women, gender, and sexuality, with a focus on early North America. She is the author of two books, most recently The Many Captivities of Esther Wheelwright . Published by Yale University Press, it won the 2018 Albert B. Corey Prize, awarded jointly by the American Historical Association and the Canadian Historical Association for the best book dealing with the history of Canadian-American relations or the history of both countries. Born in 1696 in New England, Esther Wheelwright was captured by Wabanaki Indians when she was seven and raised by them until age 12, when she was enrolled in a French-Canadian Catholic convent. Wheelwright would eventually become the only foreign-born mother superior in the convent’s history. Ann and host Ted Fox talked about the circumstances that would’ve given rise to an experience like Wheelwright’s, how the convent helped her carve the space to author a life that was truly unique, and why her relative anonymity today belies her prominence in colonial America.
S3 E1 · Thu, August 01, 2019
On Exile, Literature, and Feeling Small Before the Page—Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi, Author
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: We invite scholars, makers, and professionals out to brunch for an informal conversation about their work, and then we turn those brunches into a podcast. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. For our season 3 premiere, we talked with author Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi, an associate professor of English at Notre Dame and the winner of the 2019 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, the largest peer-juried prize for novels and short stories in the United States. Azareen was recognized for her second novel, Call Me Zebra , published last year by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The book also won the John Gardner Fiction Book Award and was named a Best Book by a number of media outlets, including Entertainment Weekly and Harper’s Bazaar . Azareen was previously the recipient of a Whiting Writers’ Award and honored as one of the National Book Foundation’s “5 Under 35” in 2015. Host Ted Fox started out by asking her to read from Call Me Zebra , after which they talked about the book, the complicated journey of its unforgettable protagonist, and whether there’s any such thing as original writing.
S2 E17 · Thu, May 30, 2019
On Football Rankings and Measuring Efficiency—Brian Fremeau, FEI
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: A university campus is a destination for all kinds of interesting people, so why not invite some of these folks out to brunch, where we’ll have an informal conversation about their work, and then we’ll turn those brunches into a podcast? It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Brian Fremeau is the creator of the eponymously named Fremeau Efficiency Index, or FEI, a college football rating system based on opponent-adjusted possession efficiency. (Don’t worry—we start out by unpacking what that means.) Since diving into the world of football analytics back in the early 2000s, Brian has contributed work to Football Outsiders, Blue & Gold Illustrated, The Athletic, espn.com, and ESPN The Magazine. In this episode, our season two finale, Brian breaks down things like how we can more precisely measure a college football team’s strength of schedule, the nature of the red zone, and what, technically, constitutes garbage time. He and host Ted Fox also happen to be old friends, and if you like sports, math and statistics, and/or simply hearing someone thoughtfully dig into widely held assumptions, we think you’ll enjoy listening to Brian just as much as Ted always has. LINKS Brian’s College Football Website: bcftoys.com Episode Transcript
S2 E16 · Thu, May 16, 2019
On Math, Origami, and How No Discipline is an Island—Clare Kim, MIT
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: A university campus is a destination for all kinds of interesting people, so why not invite some of these folks out to brunch, where we’ll have an informal conversation about their work, and then we’ll turn those brunches into a podcast? It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Clare Kim is a doctoral candidate in the Program in History, Anthropology, and Science, Technology, and Society at MIT. She spent the 2018–19 academic year in residence at the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study as a graduate student fellow and, when she and host Ted Fox talked, was nearing completion of her dissertation. Clare’s work traces the trajectory of mathematical thinking—and just as importantly, our mainstream thinking about mathematics—in the United States over the last 100-plus years. Although her dissertation is structured chronologically, she refers to her research as a cultural analysis and history, one that uncovers a surprising degree of back and forth between math, as a discipline, and more humanistic pursuits, something that continues to this day. While she’s at it, she also tells a pretty good story about a lawsuit involving origami.
S2 E15 · Thu, May 02, 2019
On Lowering Barriers and Double Rainbows—Charles Adler, Cofounder of Kickstarter
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: A university campus is a destination for all kinds of interesting people, so why not invite some of these folks out to brunch, where we’ll have an informal conversation about their work, and then we’ll turn those brunches into a podcast? It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Ten years ago, the world was introduced to Kickstarter, the crowdfunding platform that, in the company’s own words, “helps artists, musicians, filmmakers, designers, and other creators find the resources and support they need to make their ideas a reality.” Kickstarter was founded by Perry Chen, Yancey Strickler, and Charles Adler, and it was Charles who recently visited Notre Dame as part of the Mendoza College of Business’s Ten Years Hence Speaker Series. In addition to making him feel awkward by reading back one of his tweets, host Ted Fox asked Charles about the founding of Kickstarter and his experience there as head of design. They then covered how designing the site’s rewards system was and was not like a scene from The Social Network , his influences as a designer, and whether or not he considers himself a “disruptor.” Charles also talked about his memory of watching the first two Kickstarters to hit a million dollars—and a much smaller campaign whose final product brought him to tears 30,000 feet in the air.
S2 E14 · Thu, April 18, 2019
On Enron, Business, and Cover Stories—Bethany McLean, Vanity Fair
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: A university campus is a destination for all kinds of interesting people, so why not invite some of these folks out to brunch, where we’ll have an informal conversation about their work, and then we’ll turn those brunches into a podcast? It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. A contributing editor at Vanity Fair , Bethany McLean was previously a reporter at Fortune , where, in 2000, she received a tip suggesting she look into energy-trading giant Enron. Her subsequent investigative work would lead to a coauthored bestseller that became the definitive account of one of the largest business scandals of our time. She has also coauthored a bestselling book about the financial crisis and written two mini-books published by Columbia Global Reports. Bethany and host Ted Fox started their conversation with her experience covering the Enron story and other instances of, in her words, “business gone wrong” before moving onto the new podcast she’s developing, our disrupted media environment and the appeal of audio content within it, and that time she wrote a celebrity profile for the cover of Vanity Fair .
Bonus · Sun, April 07, 2019
BONUS EPISODE: A Bold Proposal for the U.S.-Mexico Border—Luciano Castillo, Purdue University
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: A university campus is a destination for all kinds of interesting people, so why not invite some of these folks out to brunch, where we’ll have an informal conversation about their work, and then we’ll turn those brunches into a podcast? It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. For this special bonus episode, host Ted Fox changed things up a bit. Rather than interviewing someone on the Notre Dame campus, he made the two-hour drive to Purdue University, where he talked with Luciano Castillo, Purdue’s Kenninger Professor of Renewable Energy and Power Systems. Castillo is leading a consortium of some 30 scientists, researchers, and engineers—including two from Notre Dame—that has proposed an extensive energy- and water-producing industrial corridor along the United States-Mexico border. That proposal was the subject of his and Fox’s conversation over breakfast sandwiches in the cafe at the Purdue Research Park.
S2 E12 · Thu, April 04, 2019
On Energy and Not Throwing Spaghetti Against the Wall—Rachel Kyte, SEforALL
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: A university campus is a destination for all kinds of interesting people, so why not invite some of these folks out to brunch, where we’ll have an informal conversation about their work, and then we’ll turn those brunches into a podcast? It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Rachel Kyte is chief executive officer of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), special representative of the UN secretary-general for Sustainable Energy for All, and co-chair of UN-Energy. Rachel visited Notre Dame in March to deliver the keynote address at ND Energy’s second annual research symposium. Host Ted Fox started out by asking her about the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and they went on to talk about the global movement for affordable, clean energy in the context of both developing countries and the United States. And while they were at it, Rachel shared an outstanding podcast recommendation. Also, their conversation was recorded as a live show with an audience, so for this episode, anyway, we’re trading the clink of cutlery for a round of applause—which we can assure you was all for her.
S2 E11 · Thu, March 21, 2019
On Publishing and the Love of Books —Jessica Sinsheimer, Literary Agent
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: A university campus is a destination for all kinds of interesting people, so why not invite some of these folks out to brunch, where we’ll have an informal conversation about their work, and then we’ll turn those brunches into a podcast? It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. This is the second of two episodes we recorded while in Brooklyn for On Air Fest 2019. And here, we ventured beyond the festival to meet up with literary agent Jessica Sinsheimer, who made time to chat with us before heading out to another jam-packed day in the capital of the publishing world. Jessica is an associate at the Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency, which means she’s an outstanding person to talk to whether you’re looking for a book recommendation or want to ask: What is a literary agent, exactly? She and host Ted Fox also covered everything from her fortuitous freshman-year roommate assignment to the professional experiences that led her to create the Manuscript Wishlist website and the Manuscript Academy, two popular tools that connect writers, agents, and editors with the goal of increasing both transparency and access in the publishing industry.
S2 E10 · Thu, March 07, 2019
On Science Podcasting and What Didn’t Happen to the Dinosaurs—Elah Feder and Annie Minoff, Undiscovered
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: A university campus is a destination for all kinds of interesting people, so why not invite some of these folks out to brunch, where we’ll have an informal conversation about their work, and then we’ll turn those brunches into a podcast? It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. With apologies to Jack Kerouac, this is the first of two “on the road” episodes we recorded in Brooklyn, New York, while attending On Air Fest 2019. It features two of our favorite podcasters, Elah Feder and Annie Minoff, who co-host and produce Undiscovered, the podcast from WNYC’s iconic radio show Science Friday. Through the hums and hisses of a Brooklyn coffee shop, Elah and Annie talked with host Ted Fox about how they look for stories that haven’t been told, the importance of good communication between the scientific community and the rest of us, and the paleontologist at the center of one of their most memorable episodes—who also might be the one person you’d want at your side in the event of the zombie apocalypse.
S2 E9 · Thu, February 21, 2019
On Heroes and Humanity’s Greatest Invention—John Banville, Author
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: A university campus is a destination for all kinds of interesting people, so why not invite some of these folks out to brunch, where we’ll have an informal conversation about their work, and then we’ll turn those brunches into a podcast? It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. The author of some two dozen novels under both his own name and an alliterative pseudonym, John Banville is best known for his book The Sea , which won the 2005 Man Booker Prize. His work has also been recognized with the Prince of Asturias Award for Literature, the Irish PEN Award for Outstanding Achievement in Irish Literature, and the Franz Kafka Prize, among numerous other honors. He and host Ted Fox sat down to brunch last November during John’s time as a short-term visitor at Notre Dame’s Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies. Their conversation started with a reading from The Sea , and they then talked about everything from the writing process and what makes a hero to the bet John’s accountant placed on him when he was a longshot to win the Booker Prize. Along the way, he just happened to share what he believes to be the greatest invention in the history of humankind.
S2 E8 · Thu, February 07, 2019
On Evolution and Defining Creativity—Agustín Fuentes, Notre Dame
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: A university campus is a destination for all kinds of interesting people, so why not invite some of these folks out to brunch, where we’ll have an informal conversation about their work, and then we’ll turn those brunches into a podcast? It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Agustín Fuentes is the Rev. Edmund P. Joyce, C.S.C., Professor of Anthropology and chair of the Department of Anthropology at Notre Dame. He has published more than 150 peer-reviewed articles and chapters and authored or edited 20 books as well as a three-volume encyclopedia. He and host Ted Fox focused in large part on one of his most recent books, The Creative Spark: How Imagination Made Humans Exceptional , published by Dutton Books in 2017. Covering millions of years of human history in a 33-minute brunch, Fuentes unpacked myths about the differences between men and women, about what race is and isn’t, and about whether we’re inherently violent creatures—all the while showing why he says humans’ incredible capacity for creativity is the defining element in our evolutionary journey.
S2 E7 · Thu, January 24, 2019
On Hercules, Healthcare, and Our Common Finitude—Dan Hinshaw, University of Michigan
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: A university campus is a destination for all kinds of interesting people, so why not invite some of these folks out to brunch, where we’ll have an informal conversation about their work, and then we’ll turn those brunches into a podcast? It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Dan Hinshaw is a professor emeritus of surgery at the University of Michigan and a consultant in palliative medicine at the University of Michigan Geriatrics Center. The author or coauthor of some 80 papers in peer-reviewed journals and publications, he spent the fall 2018 semester in residence at Notre Dame’s Institute for Advanced Study. Here Dan discusses the project he undertook there, examining how thoughtful engagement with the reality that none of us will live forever has the potential to help us find meaning in our own lives as well as transform the way we see each other, the aging process, and the delivery of healthcare. And did we mention he's really good with metaphors?
S2 E6 · Thu, January 10, 2019
On Social Media and One in a Trillion Success—Vamsi Kanuri, Notre Dame
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: A university campus is a destination for all kinds of interesting people, so why not invite some of these folks out to brunch, where we’ll have an informal conversation about their work, and then we’ll turn those brunches into a podcast? It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Vamsi Kanuri is an assistant professor of marketing in Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business. His areas of expertise include marketing analytics, digital marketing, and decision-support models, with one of his most recent studies—undertaken with two colleagues from Texas A&M University and published in the Journal of Marketing —developing a more scientific approach for posting content to social media. He and host Ted Fox talked about this research and the ways it can help social media managers sort through what can literally be a trillion options for sharing their stories. They also discussed how we, as a society, might promote more civil and responsible discourse on social media, where consumers, advertisers, and the platforms themselves regularly have conflicting interests.
S2 E5 · Thu, December 13, 2018
On Protests, Abraham Lincoln, and Tupac—Lisa Mueller, Macalester College
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: A university campus is a destination for all kinds of interesting people, so why not invite some of these folks out to brunch, where we’ll have an informal conversation about their work, and then we’ll turn those brunches into a podcast? It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Lisa Mueller is an assistant professor of political science at Macalester College who is spending the 2018–19 academic year as a residential fellow at Notre Dame’s Institute for Advanced Study. Several months after Cambridge University Press published her book Political Protest in Contemporary Africa , she talked to host Ted Fox about what protests in different parts of the world—including the U.S.—have in common, and what makes protests in sub-Saharan Africa different. They also discussed how social scientists go about studying something as dynamic as a protest as well as her current project, which aims to answer whether the degree of cohesiveness among the protesters within a movement has any impact on their ultimate effectiveness.
S2 E4 · Thu, November 29, 2018
On Shakespeare and Your Magical Self—Madeleine Hyland, Actors From The London Stage
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: A university campus is a destination for all kinds of interesting people, so why not invite some of these folks out to brunch, where we’ll have an informal conversation about their work, and then we’ll turn those brunches into a podcast? It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Madeleine Hyland is an actress, singer, and writer who has appeared in numerous theatre productions across the UK. She visited campus with Actors From The London Stage, one of the oldest touring Shakespeare theatre companies in the world. In their recent production of Hamlet , Madeleine played Hamlet as well as two other parts, and here she talks with host Ted Fox about the experience of inhabiting multiple characters in the same show. They also cover the magical transformation that takes place when the Bard’s words come to life off the page, her favorite Shakespearean roles, the differences between acting for the stage and for the screen, and her band, The Amazing Devil. LINK Episode Transcript
S2 E3 · Thu, November 15, 2018
On Photography and When Lightning Strikes—Matt Cashore, Notre Dame
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: A university campus is a destination for all kinds of interesting people, so why not invite some of these folks out to brunch, where we’ll have an informal conversation about their work, and then we’ll turn those brunches into a podcast? It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. At Notre Dame, the name “Matt Cashore” is synonymous with photography. His 20-plus years visually chronicling the University, its faculty, and its students have produced scores of unforgettable images captured both on and near campus and around the world. In this episode, Matt talks about his experiences at Notre Dame—including how he got a now classic shot of the Golden Dome beneath a sky full of lightning—as well as photography more generally and his three tips for taking great photos. Which later become five. Until he and host Ted Fox add a sixth. Did we mention Matt and Ted go back a ways?
S2 E2 · Thu, November 01, 2018
On Good Stories and Coming Along for the Science—Sam Kean, Science Writer
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: A university campus is a destination for all kinds of interesting people, so why not invite some of these folks out to brunch, where we’ll have an informal conversation about their work, and then we’ll turn those brunches into a podcast? It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. A New York Times bestselling author, Sam Kean has written four books on science—books with titles like The Disappearing Spoon and The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons . So as you might guess, he’s someone who appreciates a good story just as much as an interesting discovery. Here, he and host Ted Fox talk all kinds of science, from ill-fated efforts to control the weather and early research on DNA to the bum rap that mercury gets and everyone’s favorite precious metal … aluminum?
S2 E1 · Thu, October 18, 2018
On Writing and Saying Something True—Marilynne Robinson, Author
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: A university campus is a destination for all kinds of interesting people, so why not invite some of these folks out to brunch, where we’ll have an informal conversation about their work, and then we’ll turn those brunches into a podcast? It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. For our season two premiere, host Ted Fox sits down with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marilynne Robinson, a professor emerita at the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Their conversation begins with Marilynne reading from her second novel, Gilead , the Pulitzer winner. From there, they talk about Gilead , broader ideas of faith and meaning, the writing process, and “the obligation to try to say something true.”
S1 E8 · Thu, September 06, 2018
On Henry David Thoreau of Concord, Mass.—Laura Dassow Walls, Notre Dame
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: A university campus is a destination for all kinds of interesting people, so why not invite some of these folks out to brunch, where we’ll have an informal conversation about their work, and then we’ll turn those brunches into a podcast? It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Here in the show's season one finale, Laura Dassow Walls, William P. and Hazel B. White Professor of English at Notre Dame, discusses her book Henry David Thoreau: A Life, which was published in 2017 by The University of Chicago Press and earlier this year won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for biography. In the course of their conversation, Laura and host Ted Fox explore the many sides of Thoreau: writer, abolitionist, leader in the Transcendental religious movement, and so on. Just as importantly, though, it becomes clear there is one thing that he was not: the Walden Pond hermit of our imaginations.
S1 E7 · Thu, August 23, 2018
On (TV) Comedies and Not Messing With the Magic—Michael Swanson, NBCUniversal
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: A university campus is a destination for all kinds of interesting people, so why not invite some of these folks out to brunch, where we’ll have an informal conversation about their work, and then we’ll turn those brunches into a podcast? It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Except this time, host Ted Fox and his guest do something a little different: a live show during the University's annual Reunion weekend. An Emmy award-winning movie producer, Michael Swanson is also a television studio executive, serving as a vice president of production at NBCUniversal. He has been involved behind the scenes on some of the most acclaimed comedies in recent years—shows like Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and The Good Place. In this episode, he takes us inside the table reads he remembers most, the studio production system that moves a show from the initial pitch to air, and the evolving TV landscape of broadcast networks and streaming services.
S1 E6 · Thu, August 09, 2018
On Big Data and Our Technological Future—Hendrik Hamann, IBM Research
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: A university campus is a destination for all kinds of interesting people, so why not invite some of these folks out to brunch, where we’ll have an informal conversation about their work, and then we’ll turn those brunches into a podcast? It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. An IBM Master Inventor, Hendrik Hamann holds approximately 100 patents and is currently helping to lead IBM’s worldwide activities in Internet of Things research. He and host Ted Fox start with a primer on what terms like "Internet of Things" actually mean and then discuss the technology rapidly transforming our day-to-day lives as well as the processes by which it is created and managed.
S1 E5 · Thu, July 26, 2018
On Hamilton and Making the Thing(s)—Patrick Vassel, Hamilton
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: A university campus is a destination for all kinds of interesting people, so why not invite some of these folks out to brunch, where we’ll have an informal conversation about their work, and then we’ll turn those brunches into a podcast? It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Patrick Vassel is associate and supervising director for Hamilton. Here, he joins host Ted Fox to talk about the making of the smash-hit Broadway musical, including creator Lin-Manuel Miranda’s songwriting, the early days of the production, and everything that goes into keeping this cultural phenomenon the show it was intended to be.
S1 E4 · Thu, July 12, 2018
On Real News and Purple Rain—Richard Jones (Notre Dame) and Victoria St. Martin (WNIT)
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: A university campus is a destination for all kinds of interesting people, so why not invite some of these folks out to brunch, where we’ll have an informal conversation about their work, and then we’ll turn those brunches into a podcast? It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Here, Notre Dame's Richard Jones, formerly of The New York Times, and WNIT's Victoria St. Martin, an alumna of The Washington Post, join host Ted Fox to discuss, among other things, the challenges of being a journalist in 2018, fake news, and Prince.
S1 E3 · Thu, June 28, 2018
On Probability, Multiverses, and Yogi Berra—Harvey Brown, University of Oxford
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: A university campus is a destination for all kinds of interesting people, so why not invite some of these folks out to brunch, where we’ll have an informal conversation about their work, and then we’ll turn those brunches into a podcast? It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. In this episode, host Ted Fox chats with Harvey Brown, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy of Physics at Oxford, who explained how trying to define probability—which at first might sound simple—is actually part of the broader complexity of quantum mechanics. But don't worry: No prior knowledge of quantum mechanics is required. Otherwise Ted would've been in real trouble.
S1 E2 · Thu, June 14, 2018
On Climate and Common Sense—Sally Benson, Stanford University
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: A university campus is a destination for all kinds of interesting people, so why not invite some of these folks out to brunch, where we’ll have an informal conversation about their work, and then we’ll turn those brunches into a podcast? It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. In episode two, host Ted Fox talks with Sally Benson, the co-director of Stanford University’s Precourt Institute for Energy, about how much common ground there is to be found among the scientific community, industry, and all the rest of us when it comes to addressing the challenges posed by our changing climate.
S1 E1 · Thu, May 31, 2018
On Sleep and Saber-Toothed Tigers—Jessica Payne, Notre Dame
The idea behind this show is pretty simple: A university campus is a destination for all kinds of interesting people, so why not invite some of these folks out to brunch, where we’ll have an informal conversation about their work, and then we’ll turn those brunches into a podcast? It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. In episode one, host Ted Fox talks with Notre Dame's Jessica Payne, a psychologist who directs the ND Sleep, Stress, and Memory Lab through the University’s Department of Psychology. They cover everything from the science of the power nap to our evolving understanding of the relationship between sleep, stress, anxiety, and depression.
Bonus · Sun, May 06, 2018
Preview Episode
"With a Side of Knowledge" is a new podcast produced at the University of Notre Dame. It features interviews with really interesting people from both Notre Dame and elsewhere conducted over brunch—or, if we're really in a pinch, coffee. (It's a tough job, but someday has to do it.) In this two-minute preview episode, host Ted Fox outlines what you can expect when the show launches May 31.
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