Notre Dame Stories

At Notre Dame, Bookstore Basketball isn't just an intramural tournament—it's tradition. For more than 50 years, generations of the Notre Dame family—students, alumni, priests, seminarians, and campus ministers—have found community and connection, one game at a time.

In this episode of Notre Dame Stories, host Jenna Liberto talks with student co-president Mia Keener ‘26, Bookstore veteran Tim Frank ‘93, and members of the Congregation of Holy Cross about what makes Bookstore Basketball more than just a game.

Listen and subscribe to Notre Dame Stories, the official podcast of the University of Notre Dame, wherever you get your podcasts.

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For seven hours, Notre Dame alumna Kelsey Young ’09 sat in NASA mission control, listening as astronauts described the moon in real time from a vantage point no human had ever experienced before.

Young is NASA’s first science officer and the lunar science lead for the Artemis II mission. In this episode of Notre Dame Stories, she explains how her role is shaping the future of human space exploration and how human observation became one of the mission’s most valuable scientific tools.

She also reflects on the path that led her to NASA, her Notre Dame education, and what’s next as scientists begin analyzing data from this groundbreaking mission.

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In this episode of Notre Dame Stories, Melissa Kearney, economist and director of the Strengthening Families Research Initiative, explores the decline in marriage, the rise of single-parent households, and falling fertility rates in the United States. Drawing on decades of research, she connects these trends to economic inequality, child well-being, and public policy—making the case that strengthening families is essential to improving outcomes across society.

What does it really mean to be successful? 

Joe Holt has lived enough lives to make most résumés look boring—including time as a Jesuit priest, a stockbroker, a corporate attorney, and even an Ironman triathlete—and he’s convinced that success can’t be measured by titles, prestige, or what you can show for your work. 

In this podcast episode, Holt joins host Jenna Liberto, and together they explore why so many people feel disengaged at work, how to set goals that stretch you without burning you out, and why dreaming about the life you want should come before planning it.

Holt shares the simple tactics he uses to stay accountable, the difference between a “good” job and a “prestigious” one, and why wisdom—more than achievement—may be the measure that matters most. Along the way, he reflects on faith, stillness, and leaving room for a God of surprises.

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Notre Dame Stories is the official podcast of the University of Notre Dame, wherever you get your podcasts.

What can extreme cold teach us about the human body—and ourselves?

In this episode, Director of the Human Energetics Laboratory and anthropologist Cara Ocobock takes listeners inside her research on human adaptation, from subzero fieldwork in Finland with reindeer herders to lab studies on metabolism, cold exposure, and hunting unicorns.

She also unpacks popular cold-plunge trends, what science actually says about them, and how lessons from our ancestors can help us understand resilience, wellness, and the remarkable ways humans have survived across time.

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Questions about artificial intelligence are everywhere—shaping public debate, influencing industry, and surfacing deep uncertainties about what it means to be human. At Notre Dame, philosopher Meghan Sullivan is helping lead that conversation. In this episode, she explains the DELTA framework, a human-centered approach to AI ethics—and why the choices we make today will define how this powerful technology shapes our future.

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On a family farm in Ohio, more than a million hens produce eggs that fill grocery shelves across the Midwest. Behind the scenes, farmers like Jordan and Thomas Hertzfeld are working tirelessly to keep their flocks healthy and thriving.

Now, researchers at Notre Dame are helping them do just that—developing an “electronic nose” that can detect disease before it spreads, turning science into a lifeline for farms, food systems, and families.

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Chapters

How do you improve hurricane forecasts? By studying one of the most powerful and destructive forces on Earth up close—where the ocean meets the atmosphere.

In this episode of Notre Dame Stories, Professor David Richter explains how new drone technology is helping scientists better understand what happens inside a hurricane close to the ocean’s surface—and why this research is vital for improving forecasts. Richter also reflects on how his work connects to a deeper calling, and how he challenges students to see engineering as both a technical pursuit and a human vocation.

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00:00 Introduction

01:32 Why hurricanes are difficult to forecast

03:13 How drones are advancing hurricane research

04:57 How aerial drones are deployed over hurricanes

07:00 How aerial drones capture hurricane data

09:04 Fluid Dynamics Professor David Richter shares how his faith guides his research

10:38 Engineering and the Human Vocation

In this episode, Kathleen Kolberg, Ph.D., Associate Dean, College of Science, Office of the Dean, Assistant Director of the Center for Health Sciences Advising, shares how Notre Dame helped set the standard for NICU design and care.

We also hear from Ainee Martin '25, a recently graduated chemical engineering and pre-med student whose passion for helping others was born of her past experience with medical professionals following the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

Their stories reflect the University of Notre Dame’s interdisciplinary approach to healthcare—one that’s preparing the next generation of doctors to be a force for good in the world.

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Notre Dame is committed to educating a different kind of lawyer—one rooted in Catholic social teaching. From real-world clinics to high-stakes cases like protecting the sacred Apache Oak Flat, students are prepared to serve with both skill and conscience.

In this episode of Notre Dame Stories, G. Marcus Cole, the Joseph A. Matson Dean and Professor of Law at Notre Dame Law School, shares why protecting religious freedom—especially for minority and land-based faiths—is essential to safeguarding all human rights. He reflects on the broader impact of the Law School’s work with the Apache people and other global efforts.

Learn how Notre Dame is fighting for religious freedom in all its forms—and how future lawyers are learning to do the same.

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