Episode Topic: The Female Body and a Culture of Life

Is the belief that women's rights conflict with the rights of the unborn a modern invention? Melissa Moschella, professor of the practice at the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame, challenges the narrative, arguing that true respect for women and their bodies is inextricably linked to the protection of pre-born life.

Featured Speakers:

• Melissa Moschella, University of Notre Dame

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: https://go.nd.edu/003a56.

This podcast is a part of the ThinkND Series titled True Genius: The Mission of Women in Church and Culture.

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Episode Topic: The Medicine of Life: Social Life and Survival in Wild Baboons

Beth Archie Ph.D., is the Nieuwland collegiate professor at the University of Notre Dame who studies the social lives of wild baboons in Kenya's Amboseli ecosystem. Her work focuses on how social relationships affect an animal's health, disease risk, and survival. Using data from the Amboseli Baboon Research Project, she shows that socially connected baboons live longer and that early-life adversity can shorten their lifespan. She also shares new findings on the role of fathers in baboon societies, revealing that a strong social relationship with a father can buffer against adversity and lead to increased survival in their daughters.

Featured Speakers:

• Beth Archie Ph.D., Nieuwland Collegiate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame.

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: https://go.nd.edu/06c9b5.

This podcast is a part of the ThinkND Series titled Our Universe Revealed.

Thanks for listening! The ThinkND Podcast is brought to you by ThinkND, the University of Notre Dame's online learning community. We connect you with videos, podcasts, articles, courses, and other resources to inspire minds and spark conversations on topics that matter to you — everything from faith and politics, to science, technology, and your career.

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Episode Topic: Muffet McGraw and Ruth Riley Hunter '01, '16 EMBA

ND Women Connect is thrilled to present a conversation between Notre Dame legends Muffet McGraw, Hall of Fame and former Notre Dame women’s basketball coach, analyst, and advocate for social justice, women’s equality, and hunger relief, and her former player Ruth Riley Hunter ’01, ’16 EMBA, NCAA and WNBA champion, Olympian, executive, mother, and humanitarian. Join as these inspiring women reflect on leadership, faith, service, and women in sports.

Featured Speakers: 

• Muffet McGraw, University of Notre Dame
• Ruth Riley Hunter '01, '16 EMBA, Miami HEAT

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: https://go.nd.edu/d2e560.

This podcast is a part of the ThinkND Series titled Inspired Conversations.

Thanks for listening! The ThinkND Podcast is brought to you by ThinkND, the University of Notre Dame's online learning community. We connect you with videos, podcasts, articles, courses, and other resources to inspire minds and spark conversations on topics that matter to you — everything from faith and politics, to science, technology, and your career.

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Episode Topic: Participation and Natural Law

What is the deep philosophical connection between divine wisdom and human moral reasoning? Professor Rudi te Velde, member of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas, unveils Aquinas’ revolutionary understanding of natural law as the eternal law profoundly imprinted on rational creatures. Learn how this concept of participation empowers human self-government, offering insight into the source of our deepest ethical principles and the nature of the good life.

Featured Speakers:

• Rudi te Velde, Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: https://go.nd.edu/48d595.

This podcast is a part of the ThinkND Series titled Aquinas at 800.

Thanks for listening! The ThinkND Podcast is brought to you by ThinkND, the University of Notre Dame's online learning community. We connect you with videos, podcasts, articles, courses, and other resources to inspire minds and spark conversations on topics that matter to you — everything from faith and politics, to science, technology, and your career.

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Episode Topic: PhotoFutures

Hear artist Sarah Sense discuss her powerful photo weaving Hinushi 10, recently added to the permanent collection of the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art through the PhotoFutures initiative. Learn how her work, rooted in the Choctaw and Chitimacha traditions, interweaves historical maps and personal landscapes to document Indigenous futures and foster a continuity of culture and family.

Featured Speakers:

• Tara Kenjockety, University of Notre Dame
• Sarah Sense, artist

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: https://go.nd.edu/05c38d.

This podcast is a part of the ThinkND Series titled Indigenous Voices.

Thanks for listening! The ThinkND Podcast is brought to you by ThinkND, the University of Notre Dame's online learning community. We connect you with videos, podcasts, articles, courses, and other resources to inspire minds and spark conversations on topics that matter to you — everything from faith and politics, to science, technology, and your career.

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Episode Topic: The Durability and Beauty of Bamboo

Explore bamboo’s role in energy efficiency, natural ventilation, and creating harmony between built environments and nature. Vo Trong Nghia, founder of VTN Architects and visiting professor of architectural design at Yale University, discusses the durability and beauty of bamboo architecture, showcasing how this sustainable material supports both structural innovation and environmental design.

Featured Speakers:

• Vo Trong Nghia, VTN Architects and Yale University

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: https://go.nd.edu/a844ed.

This podcast is a part of the ThinkND Series titled Restoring Reason, Beauty, and Trust in Architecture. 

Thanks for listening! The ThinkND Podcast is brought to you by ThinkND, the University of Notre Dame's online learning community. We connect you with videos, podcasts, articles, courses, and other resources to inspire minds and spark conversations on topics that matter to you — everything from faith and politics, to science, technology, and your career.

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Episode Topic: The Translation of Scripture (https://go.nd.edu/a61109)

In Jewish tradition, Adam is the archetypal human being; in Christianity he is the forerunner to Christ, and in Islam he is the precursor of the Prophet Muhammad.

Featured Speakers:

• Gabriel Said Reynolds, professor, University of Notre Dame
• Francesca Murphy, professor, University of Notre Dam
• Tzvi Novick, professor, University of Notre Dame
• Mun’im Sirry, professor, University of Notre Dame

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: https://go.nd.edu/1f6e52.

This podcast is a part of the ThinkND Series titled Minding Scripture. (https://go.nd.edu/dee1b4)

Thanks for listening! The ThinkND Podcast is brought to you by ThinkND, the University of Notre Dame's online learning community. We connect you with videos, podcasts, articles, courses, and other resources to inspire minds and spark conversations on topics that matter to you — everything from faith and politics, to science, technology, and your career.

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Episode Topic: Leading with Integrity and Purpose (https://go.nd.edu/87603e)

During this installment of Leadership in Public Conversation, hear about leadership from a global perspective from Claudio Orrego, Governor of the Santiago Metropolitan Region in Chile. Sharing about his experience attending Holy Cross schools growing up in Santiago, he realized at a young age that he wanted to serve. With degrees in Legal Sciences and Public Policy, his political career has spanned nearly 30 years, and he attributes both his longevity and impact to having a strong purpose. He shared the importance of serving others as a primary motivation for public service, and stressed the importance of all people to lead with hope, peace, and justice – fighting for the human rights of others.

Featured Speakers:
- Tom Schreier '84, University of Notre Dame
- Claudio Orrego, Santiago Metropolitan Region, Chile

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: https://go.nd.edu/29530a.

This podcast is a part of the ThinkND Series titled Leadership in Public Conversation. (https://go.nd.edu/9002c4)

Thanks for listening! The ThinkND Podcast is brought to you by ThinkND, the University of Notre Dame's online learning community. We connect you with videos, podcasts, articles, courses, and other resources to inspire minds and spark conversations on topics that matter to you — everything from faith and politics, to science, technology, and your career.

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Episode Topic: Through the Eyes of a Historian

Serhii Plokhy, Mykhailo S. Hrushevs’kyi Professor of Ukrainian History and Director of the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University, joins Taras Dobko, rector of Ukrainian Catholic University, in a conversation about what has changed in Ukrainians and their society in the last three years during the Russian aggression, and the ways in which hope and resilience together can be fertile ground for miracles to happen.

Featured Speakers: 

• Serhii Plokhy, Harvard University
• Taras Dobko, Ukrainian Catholic University

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: https://go.nd.edu/c74a70.

This podcast is a part of the ThinkND Series titled Revolutions of Hope. 

Thanks for listening! The ThinkND Podcast is brought to you by ThinkND, the University of Notre Dame's online learning community. We connect you with videos, podcasts, articles, courses, and other resources to inspire minds and spark conversations on topics that matter to you — everything from faith and politics, to science, technology, and your career.

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Episode Topic: Is There a Feminine Genius? 

Thirty years ago, in both Evangelium Vitae and his Letter to Women, Pope John Paul II issued a clear call for the genius of women to be “more fully expressed in the life of society as a whole, as well as in the life of the Church” (Letter to Women 10). Throughout his papacy, in fact, he emphasized women’s “prophetic character,” calling on them to be “witnesses” and “sentinels” — guardians of the sacred gift of life and the order of love (Mulieris Dignitatem 29; Homily at Lourdes 2004). “Is There a Feminine Genius?” a panel discussion with Deborah Savage, Sr. Theresa Aletheia, Abigail Favale, Sr. Ann Astell, and moderator Melissa Moschella, took place at the McGrath Institute for Church Life conference True Genius: The Mission of Women in Church and Culture at the University of Notre Dame in March 2025, developed by Abigail Favale, Ph.D., Professor of the Practice, Theology & Literature, at the McGrath Institute for Church Life.

Featured Speakers:

• Melissa Moschella, University of Notre Dame
• Sr. Theresa Aletheia Noble, Sisters of the Little Way of Beauty, Truth, and Goodness
• Sister Ann W. Astell, University of Notre Dame
• Abigail Favale, University of Notre Dame
• Deborah Savage, Ph.D., Franciscan University of Steubenville

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: https://go.nd.edu/ae947f.

This podcast is a part of the ThinkND Series titled True Genius: The Mission of Women in Church and Culture. 

Thanks for listening! The ThinkND Podcast is brought to you by ThinkND, the University of Notre Dame's online learning community. We connect you with videos, podcasts, articles, courses, and other resources to inspire minds and spark conversations on topics that matter to you — everything from faith and politics, to science, technology, and your career.

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• Join our LinkedIn community for updates, episode clips, and more.