The ThinkND Podcast

Episode Topic: The Jewishness of the New Testament

How can a deepened knowledge of Judaism nourish the theological imagination of Christians? Why are anti-Jewish readings of the New Testament just bad readings of the text? We welcome a distinguished New Testament scholar, Amy-Jill Levine, who is the world expert on the Jewishness of the New Testament, to tackle these engaging questions.

Featured Speakers:

-Amy-Jill Levine, Vanderbilt University 

 Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: https://go.nd.edu/ba5518.

Th...

Episode Topic: Fr. Ted Said: Cultivating Hope

In his inaugural address, University President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., called us to be “sustainers of hope and builders of bridges.” But in a world where optimism often feels in short supply, where do we find the inspiration to keep nurturing the good? Plant those seeds through a revitalizing experience where you can pause, exhale, and allow your spirit to blossom. Come hear this calling echo in powerful, personal stories from Notre Dame alumni and faculty who are living examples of what it means to cultivate hope—just l...

Episode Topic: ND Perspectives: Guardians of AI Innovation

Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant concept; it is actively reshaping how we live, work, and connect right now—whether your daily life is high tech, low tech, or completely unplugged. But as this technology accelerates, who is ensuring it ultimately serves humanity? Claim your front-row seat to the future and unpack complex issues like data privacy, massive marketplace recalibrations, human autonomy and ethics. Bring your most pressing questions to this panel of faculty and alumni experts for discussion and audience Q&A. You will leave with renewed cl...

Episode Topic: The Nature and Causes of Wealth

What are the fundamental mechanics behind global prosperity? Navigate the intellectual landscape of 1776 to witness how revolutionary ideas birthed modern economics.

Featured Speakers:

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: https://go.nd.edu/065168.

This podcast is a part of the ThinkND Series titled 1776: The Ideas that Made the Modern World.

Thanks for listening! The ThinkND Podcast is brought to you by ThinkND, the University...

Episode Topic: Magnifica Humanitas: Human Dignity in the Age of AI 

 Join the de Nicola Center for a conversation with University of Notre Dame experts on the import of Pope Leo XIV’s highly anticipated first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas: On the Protection of Human Dignity in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.”

Featured Speakers:

Episode Topic: Haunting as Inheritance

How does language haunt the displaced? Join Noor Naga, author of If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English, and Hannah Lillith Assadi, author of Sonora, as they explore “linguistic slippage” and the “untranslatability of the self.” From post-revolutionary Cairo to the Arizona desert, discover how spectral forces beneath the English language shape modern identity. Listen in for an essential interrogation of life in the “in-between” spaces.

Featured Speakers:

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Episode Topic: Hope in the Headlines? 

In an era of state-sponsored disinformation, media serves as both a kinetic weapon and a vessel for national healing. Join us for a high-level dialogue on Ukraine’s struggle to decolonize its information space, offering a critical case study in neutralizing transnational authoritarian narratives and building systemic democratic resilience in a post-truth world.

Featured Speakers:

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Episode Topic: The Theological Imagination

Is our imagination merely a retreat into fiction, or is it the very mechanism by which we perceive the truth? Join Judith Wolfe as she explores how we navigate the world’s unseen depths. Discover how faith and art unveil the “wholes” of reality, transforming our vision through the theological imagination.

Featured Speakers:

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning...

Episode Topic: Behind the Folds: The Mathematics of Origami 

Origami combines art and science to transform a flat sheet of paper into a 3-dimensional sculpture. This presentation includes group demonstrations of different origami pieces and learning about some of the mathematical applications of origami. Kyle Schwieterman, teaching professor in department of mathematical sciences at Indiana University South Bend, reveals a different side of mathematics while making paper art.

Featured Speakers:

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's o...

Episode Topic: The Legacy of Natural Rights

How can we best understand self-governance and see a path forward for a free and flourishing society? Sift through the foundational ideas of the American project as you weigh the enduring power of natural rights. Navigate complex legal histories to grasp how ancient wisdom shapes our modern liberties.

Featured Speakers:

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: https://go.nd.edu/3f79fc.

This...

Episode Topic: Architecture and the European City 

Modernist “dissolution” has atomized the urban fabric. Architect Christoph Mäckler proposes a return to the traditional European block. Through his “wing house” research, Mäckler demonstrates how high-density urbanism reduces infrastructure by 40% while creating 10,000-square-meter internal parks, restoring beauty and efficiency to modern living.

Featured Speakers:

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: https://go.nd.edu/5e294e.

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

Episode Topic: Obstacles to Moral Action

Explore how Thomas Aquinas transforms 13th-century ethics into a blueprint for modern life. Join elite scholars as they bridge the gap between ancient habits and contemporary character development, revealing how our first moral choices and the “architecture of consent” continue to shape our journey toward virtue and human flourishing.

Featured Speakers:

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

Episode Topic: Generative Computing

Move beyond experimental chatbots and toward a robust IT stack capable of supporting autonomous agents. Sriram Raghavan, VP of AI Research at IBM, dismantles AI hype to reveal the “Generative Computing” paradigm. Learn why 95% of AI pilots fail and how a principles-based approach—leveraging small, fit-for-purpose models and rigorous governance—can transform enterprise uncertainty into secure, scalable, and efficient agentic applications.

Featured Speakers:

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: https://go.nd.edu/308d51.

This p...

Episode Topic: Federalism and the Decline of Natural Rights 

How have our foundational American ideals transformed across the centuries? Stand at a crossroads of constitutional history, where ancient natural rights meet modern legal power. Delve deeply into the shifting landscape of American rights to find a newfound clarity about today's legal debates. 

Featured Speakers:

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: https://go.nd.edu/4f17c5.

This podcast is a part of the ThinkND Series titled 1776: Th...

Episode Topic: Native American Perspectives on Human Dignity 

Grasp the profound essence of human connection as indigenous leaders challenge existing paradigms. Shifting our focus to lived indigenous wisdom allows us to move past mere academic theory and into a space where knowledge is a living, relational force. When we listen to the voices of those whose dignity has been historically contested by the very institutions hosting the dialogue, the impact is not merely intellectual; it becomes a profound, restorative encounter that challenges our baseline assumptions about how we relate to one another and the earth. 

Fe...

Episode Topic: Natural Rights at the Founding

How can the origins of American liberty help us chart the complex distinction between inherent human capacities and governmental regulations? Refine your perspective on the social compact, shifting your view of rights from mere judicial trumps to essential components of a self-governing society.

Featured Speakers:

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: https://go.nd.edu/79d0b2.

This podcast is a part of the ThinkND Series titled 1776: The Ideas...

Episode Topic: 10 Lessons for Building Government and Research Partnerships That Matter

Bridge the gap between social service leadership and rigorous scientific research to move people out of poverty permanently. Join Notre Dame’s LEO and JPAL North America for a discussion on building high-impact partnerships. Learn how data-driven collaboration transforms lives and empowers government leaders to create lasting, equitable impact. 

Featured Speakers:

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning com...

Episode Topic: The Computer Science Domain in the AI Revolution

What is the essential final step in a world where technology can generate endless data but still lacks wisdom? Listen in to a conversation about the fundamental evolution of computer science with Computer Science and Engineering assistant teaching professor William Theisen '18, '22 M.S., '24 Ph.D.

Featured Speakers:

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: https://go.nd.edu/7c5243.

This...

Episode Topic: On Love, Loss, and Ancestral Lands

Listen in to a conversation between Whiskey Tender author Deborah Jackson Taffa in conversation with Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi, novelist, non-fiction author, and Dorothy G. Griffin College Professor of English at the University of Notre Dame, that brings you to the vibrant landscapes of the American Southwest where memory, law, and spirit converge. 

Featured Speakers:

 Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online le...

Episode Topic: Poets & Art with Adela Najarro

Poet Adela Najarro was in residence with Letras Latinas and the Raclin Murphy Museum Art in March 2026 for the second event of “Poets & Art: Ekphrasis at the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art,” a multi-year partnership between the Museum and the Institute for Latino Studies. Enjoy a reading of her poems and an exploration of poetry and the visual arts in conversation with one another.

Featured Speakers:

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: http...

Episode Topic: The Declaration and the Civil War 

How can Abraham Lincoln’s moral evolution through the bloody crucible of the Civil War help illuminate its profound intersection of political philosophy and historical crisis? Witness how the Civil War transformed the Declaration of Independence from a static document into a living promise.

Featured Speakers:

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: https://go.nd.edu/bc82f3.

This podcast is a part of the...

Episode Topic: Hope on the Ground 

In the crucible of total war, how does a nation protect its soul? Join leading scholars as they deconstruct Ukraine’s “pedagogy of freedom.” From “immunizing” students against disinformation to the “optimal hope” of civil society, discover how active academic solidarity and symbolic recognition forge a resilient mental shield for the future. 

Featured Speakers:

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform...

Episode Topic: Art and the Museum as Instruments of Hope

As part of the Sesquicentennial Celebration of the University of Notre Dame Art Museum, join us for an inspiring conversation exploring the intersections of the arts, faith, history, and education, and the role of the museum in contemporary life.

Featured Speakers:

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

Episode Topic: When Does Life Begin?

When does a human person begin? Explore the profound intersection of philosophy and biology with Professor Jason T. Eberl. In this compelling lecture, Eberl critiques modern dualism and champions a Thomistic hylomorphic perspective, arguing for ensoulment at conception.

Featured Speakers:

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: https://go.nd.edu/ce0be5.

This podcast is a part of the ThinkND Series titled Faith and Philosophy. 

Thanks f...

Episode Topic: Equality, Slavery and the Founding

How can we grapple with the profound tensions of the American experiment in today's world? Confront the harrowing paradox of liberty and bondage as the Union expands. Navigate the intellectual struggle between popular sovereignty and natural rights during the rise of the cotton gin. Reclaim the moral clarity necessary for self-government in this vital historical inquiry.

Featured Speakers:

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

Episode Topic: Becoming a Catholic Writer

From a “medieval” Sicilian-Mexican childhood in Los Angeles to the halls of Harvard, acclaimed poet Dana Gioia explores the tension between faith and secular meritocracy. Discover why the former Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts advocates for the “vocation of the quitter” in this profound reflection on beauty, poetry, and the Catholic imagination.

Featured Speakers:

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning communit...

Episode Topic: The Secret Social Life of Bacteria 

Have you ever wondered how bacteria communicate, cooperate, and even compete in ways that impact our health, environment, and beyond? More than just making us sick, bacteria form alliances, wage wars, and orchestrate remarkable feats on a scale so small, yet so influential. In this talk Maggie Fink '24 Ph.D., will unravel some of the microbial mysteries that shape our lives, and help us gain a new appreciation for the invisible hidden dramas unfolding all around us.

Featured Speakers:

- Maggie Fink '24 Ph.D...

Episode Topic: AI Ethics by Design

Gain a strategic edge in the evolving AI landscape. Join Vatican AI consultant Father Paulo Benanti and CMU machine learning expert Professor Arti Singh for a high-level dialogue on innovation and human dignity. This fireside chat bridges ethics and engineering, offering essential insights for leaders committed to building responsible, human-centric technology.

Featured Speakers:

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: https://go.nd.edu/45e27f. 

Episode Topic: How Anglo-Saxons and Celts Remade the World in 1776 

Brad Birzer '90, Russell Amos Kirk Chair in American Studies and Professor of History at Hillsdale College, reveals the confluence of ideas in 1776 between America and Scotland. Explore the intersection of rights and traditions as found in the Declaration of Independence and in the works of Adam Smith to synthesize the enduring legacies of 1776 into a necessary historical grounding for the modern citizen.

Featured Speakers:

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online l...

Episode Topic: The Ideas That Made the Modern World 

Explore the revolutionary convergence of 1776, where liberty and prosperity intertwined, as you interrogate the profound legacy of the Declaration of Independence alongside Adam Smith’s economic breakthroughs in The Wealth of Nations.

Featured Speakers:

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: https://go.nd.edu/956aa7.

This podcast is a part of the ThinkND Series titled 1776: The Ideas That Made...

Episode Topic: Qur'an Criticism  

What importance do developments in critical scholarship on the Qur’an have for the life of faith? How have Muslims traditionally understood the Qur’an? What were the nineteenth- and twentieth-century beginnings of Western critical scholarship on the Qur’an, and what are its motivating questions today? Where do Western critical scholarship and traditional reading of the Qur’an converge? Do the findings of Western critical scholarship fundamentally challenge traditional Muslim understandings of the Qur’an, and how, more generally, does critical study of the Qur’an affect Muslims’ lives of faith?

Featured Spea...

Episode Topic: Yarning with Indigenous Traditions 

In an era of compounding global crises, our speakers offer a strategic intervention: a move beyond the transactional toward the relational. This dialogue interrogates the “myth of progress,” dismantles the currency of academic perfection, and retrieves custodial responsibility through the protocols of “Embassy.” Dr. Tyson Yunkaporta, Dr. Ashlee Bird, and Dr. Sousan Abadian examine how Indigenous wisdom provides essential checks on the malignant narcissism driving modern global disconnection and institutional failure.

Featured Speakers:

Episode Topic: Finding Your Vocation 

Listen in to a conversation with Karen Swallow Prior, author of You Have a Calling: Finding Your Vocation in the Good, True, and Beautiful, about the difference between passion and calling, and how to find meaning in your work.

 Featured Speakers:

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: https://go.nd.edu/8a3d3c.

This podcast is a part of the ThinkND Series titled Virtues & Vocations. 

Tha...

Episode Topic: Justice For All

How can we create a more inclusive world where every individual feels seen, heard, and at home? See how Justice Mary Yu '93 J.D. champions equality as the first Asian, Latina, and LGBTQ+ jurist on the Washington State Supreme Court, offering a roadmap to vanquish doubt through the power of authenticity and her call to always "stay visible."

Featured Speakers:

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform...

Episode Topic: The Declaration of Independence, Social Compact Theory & Principles of the American Revolution 

Transform your perspective on citizenship by examining the Declaration of Independence as a living promise as you secure a profound understanding of why self-governance remains the American promise’s vital, essential gateway.

 Featured Speakers:

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: https://go.nd.edu/f3cff1.

This podcast is a part of the ThinkND Series titled 1776: The Ideas that...

Episode Topic: The Pantheon 

Step into a metaphysical instrument of imperial apotheosis where light acts as a divine participant. Richard Etlin decodes this cosmological “Sphinx,” revealing how Hadrian used solar precision to validate Rome’s prophetic destiny. Discover the intersection of architectural transcendence and imperial propaganda. We invite you to step into the light and watch the full recording.

Featured Speakers:

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: https://go.nd.edu/aaf1e4.

This podcast...

Episode Topic: Religious Epistemology 

How can the humblest among us invert traditional hierarchies by sensing truth through deep faith? Lessons on the Eucharist deepen our sense of God living within us while trusting God’s word secures belief in His power. Hear the call to reflect on these ideas to see your own journey to God from a fresh perspective.

Featured Speakers:

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online lear...

Episode Topic: Past, Present & Future

Chart the Balfour-Hesburgh Scholars Program’s beginnings, how it has evolved over forty years, and what the future might look like for students, academically, socially, and personally as they learn to lead with purpose.

Featured Speakers:

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform, ThinkND: https://go.nd.edu/0403e6.

This podcast is a part of the ThinkND Series titled Dialogues Acros...

Episode Topic: AI and the Classrooms of the Future

Navigate the evolving generational divide in our classrooms. Join Fr. Nate Wills, C.S.C., Ph.D. ’99, ’03 M.Ed., ’05 M.Div., as he explores the intersection of Catholic tradition and generative AI. Discover how to preserve the “productive struggle” of learning while leveraging technology for teacher empowerment. Explore why human flourishing remains our ultimate educational goal.

Featured Speakers:

Read this episode's recap over on the University...

Episode Topic: Sustainable Hope

 Marking the 80th anniversary of the UN Charter, this panel explores the shift from an “ideology of destruction” to decentralized green infrastructure. Discover how environmental law and energy innovation are securing Ukraine’s sovereignty and the future of international accountability.

Featured Speakers:

Read this episode's recap over on the University of Notre Dame's open online learning community platform...