Marine biologist, professor of biology, and Gustavus graduate Nadine Lysiak, ’03, on majoring in biology and history at Gustavus, researching North Atlantic right whales both in the lab and up close at sea, the Shoals Marine Laboratory in Maine, and the rewards of teaching. Click here for a transcript.

Gustavus English professor and poet Philip Bryant, Class of ’73, on his path from Chicago’s Southside to Gustavus, the impact of his undergraduate mentor, his experience as a black student on a virtually all-white small campus at the tail end of the long 1960s, the police killing of Mr. George Floyd, and poetry, including three of his own poems. Click here for a transcript.

Gustavus student Nathan Baring ’22 discusses Julianna v. United States, a groundbreaking lawsuit in which he and 20 other young people are suing the federal government for its climate-damaging policies in disregard of scientific evidence. Click here for a transcript.

Recently retired CEO of the Children’s Cancer Research Fund and Gustavus trustee John Hallberg, Class of ’79, recalls his undergraduate years and discusses his work and vision as a member of his alma mater’s Board. Click here for a transcript.

The Rev. Dr. Siri Erickson, Chaplain at Gustavus, on spirituality, religion and science, her many roles as chaplain on a liberal arts campus, and her own faith journey. Click here for a transcript.

Renowned Civil War historian James M. McPherson, Gustavus Class of ’58, reflects on his Gustavus education, his path from there to leading scholar of the war, his civil rights activism as a graduate student in Baltimore, and the searing conflict that preserved the Union and gave it, in Lincoln’s magnificent words, “a new birth of freedom.” Click here for a transcript.

Paschal Kyoore, Professor of French and Director of African Studies at Gustavus, explains the meanings and functions of proverbs and folktales in his native Ghana, and the importance of foreign language study. Featuring also Spider, Guinea Fowl, and Rabbit. Click here for a transcript.

Professor Jennifer Ackil of the Gustavus Department of Psychological Science and an expert in memory talks about remembering and misremembering, memory and trauma among children and mothers, whether women remember better than men, and why studying psychology matters. Click here for a transcript.

Distinguished historian of Scandinavia and Gustavus Professor Emeritus of History and Scandinavian Studies Byron Nordstrom on Sweden’s novel response to the novel coronavirus, the life of Swedish immigrant Swan Turnblad in Minnesota, and learning and teaching at liberal arts colleges. Click here for a transcript.

Dr. Misti Harper, Visiting Assistant Professor of History at Gustavus, discusses the role of “respectability politics” among black women in the integration of Little Rock’s Central High School, the Minnesota context of Mr. George Floyd’s murder by police in Minneapolis 63 years later, and her undergraduate course on musical legend Prince. Click here for a transcript.