How has the pandemic impacted workers around the country? What does a robust version of the common good look like? And what does a return to "normal" look like? We explore these questions and more in today's episode with Dan Graff, Ph.D., Director of the Higgins Labor Program. COVID-19 has impacted everyone's work, but that work has been impacted in many different and distinct ways. Dan shares his views on how this pandemic could influence the workforce for years to come.

How do we protect and serve those who are most vulnerable in our society right now? Who are the most vulnerable members? Our panel of experts ranging from the fields of medicine, labor, global health, and theology tackle these questions and more as they relate to the common good in light of the current global pandemic. The good news is there can be a hopeful opportunity in this era to learn where the systemic vulnerabilities in our society exist and transform structures and institutions...

Many of us feel out of place given the restrictions required to combat a global pandemic. The idea of resilience begs the question can you not only cope in adverse circumstances but also flourish? Resilience enables us to not simply get by but rather experience growth during difficult times. Our guest, Clemens Sedmak, examines the lives of incarcerated persons, victims of hostage, and cancer survivors to describe how to flourish under adverse circumstances and how we can apply this during...

Hope is a topic of added relevance in today's climate as we navigate the despair that accompanies a global pandemic. Annie Maguire, a senior at St. Mary's College, joins us to share her capstone on hope and the insights she has gained from her community-based research. She describes the critical nature that relationships play in framing hope, that hope is not something that takes place in isolation, it's something that you share and can serve as a counter virus to despair during challenging...

We’re joined by Ruben Garcia, Director of Annunciation House in El Paso, Texas whose mission is to accompany the migrant, homeless, and economically vulnerable peoples of the border. Ruben describes the ever-evolving situation at the border and the reality that migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers face as they flee their home country. He shares that hospitality is also a fundamental work of justice, when you offer the true work of hospitality you offer it even when it might be at risk to...

"Any talk of incarceration, any talk of any social issue really, is woefully incomplete unless we talk about race." In this episode we dive into racial injustice and Nick shares how Center programming such as the Realities of Race seminar, the Inside-Out course, and the Act Justly seminar have shaped his understanding of this. Nick shares how studying historical and current events led to feelings of anger and fueled his passion for working towards racial justice.

Jemar Tisby, Notre Dame alum and author of the book The Color of Compromise: The Truth About the American Church's Complicity in Racism, joins us to discuss how the American church has helped create and maintain racist ideas and practices. Jemar offers concrete solutions for improved race relations and a racially inclusive church. His book is a call from a place of love and desire to fight for a more racially unified church that no longer compromises what the Bible teaches about human dignity...

What are the causes of criminal behavior? How are people and communities affected by incarceration? How can we make our criminal justice system as good as it can be for all stakeholders? Susan Sharpe teaches a course that explores questions such as these and more using the Inside-Out model in which students from a college campus take a course with incarcerated people inside a prison. She explores the need to step back from policies, laws, and systems and examine what real justice actually...

"It's people that matter, people are the basis of community, neighborhood, society, Church and state…God shows himself through people." Terese Schomogyi shares the reflections she gained in the Urban Plunge seminar her freshmen year at Notre Dame. From there she engaged deeper in a pedagogy of service-learning and participated in six subsequent Social Concerns Seminars. She shares her passion for nature, environmental justice, and the insights she gleaned from accompanying people at the...

How do you educate young journalists to actively listen to people, try to understand them, accompany them, and be with them in difficult situations? Richard Jones and Victoria St. Martin are teaching Notre Dame students that being a professional journalist and someone who is compassionate do not need to be mutually exclusive. Together they teach the course Covering America, a conceptual and skills-based immersion into the world of national reporting, one of the most complex forms of journalism.

Where am I supposed to be and where will I be most transformed? Jonathan challenges us with this question in today's episode. Jonathan serves as Senior Pastor at Canaan Community Church in the West Englewood neighborhood of Chicago, IL and as an educator, speaker, artist, & activist. As a firm believer in investing in your local community he has a deep desire to impress this virtue on the students and young people. We discuss his recent book "Church Forsaken: Practicing Presence in...

Listening to those closest to the challenges and the beauty of the Appalachian region is critical to the success of a diversified and stable local economy. Brandon Dennison, CEO of Coalfield Development, understands this better than most. Born and raised in Southern West Virginia coal country he founded Coalfield Development as a non-profit that incubates social enterprises like a sustainable construction company, a furniture shop, a solar installation company, and a sustainable agriculture...

What does neuroscience and behavior have to do with community-engaged work? According to our guest, Nancy Michael, everything. Neuroscience and the understanding of how the environment impacts brain development and behavior is a missing link that makes many of the social issues we see in our community make sense. Nancy shared that persistence in communication, the demonstration of trustworthiness, and being invested in community outcomes are crucial to this type of university-community...

In order to solve the most significant complex problems of the world it requires that universities recognize that the answers do not reside in institutions but rather in working in a community of experts and listening to the voices of the people in the community. Ira Harkavy, Ph.D., Associate Vice President at the Netter Center for Community Partnerships at the University of Pennsylvania, has helped to develop academic community-based courses that involve creating university assisted...

Finding community in college can be difficult, but it can be especially difficult when you feel like you don't belong. Shelene shares the struggles she faced her first few years at Notre Dame finding a sense of belonging, especially in the Black community as the daughter of immigrant parents from St. Croix and Cameroon. Shelene unpacked these experiences in her McNeill Fellows capstone and has since been convicted to recognize the human dignity of every person and authentically care for others.

Preserving hope in the face of racism has been elusive for Native Americans due to trauma from government policies of genocide, annihilation, termination, and relocation -- yet this is precisely the message that Fr. Maurice Henry Sands brings to Native American communities across the country. Fr. Sands is the Executive Director of the Black and Indian Mission Office, a priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit, and a member of the Ojibway, Ottawa and Potawatomi tribes, who are known together as...

Justice is often characterized as a project, something we go out in the world to do and check a box--but justice needs to first be about the kind of people we are rather than the actions we do. Adam Gustine, Assistant Director of Social Concerns Seminars, joins us on the podcast to discuss his book, "Becoming a Just Church, Cultivating Communities of God's Shalom." Adam defines shalom as "wholeness, when nothing is missing and nothing is broken," and the work of the Church is be an extension...

What do medical clinics in Haiti, payday loans, and an after school dance program have in common? The Catholic social tradition Minor through the CSC. Each of our three guests participated in the CST Minor during their time at Notre Dame and share the focus of their capstone project, how they integrated their work into their major, and the impact of viewing the world and their studies through a CST lens had on them. This is the last episode of season 1 make sure to subscribe so that you don't...

Roslyn Joseph is a senior at Notre Dame, and a science-business major and poverty studies minor. Roslyn shares her desire to take the things she was learning in an academic setting and see how they applied in the real world. During an Urban Plunge she encountered a man who shared his experience of trying to get dental care and how his decaying teeth affected both his confidence and ability to speak to people. From there she started looking for community-based solutions to problems like these.

Prathm Juneja studies political science and computer science, and is a recipient of a Truman scholarship. Prathm realized he had an interest in empowering young voices in politics and got involved with ND Votes. He shares how technology and politics intersect to empower marginalized voices and has worked on Pete Buttigieg's mayoral campaign and interned in his Office of Innovation developing a 311 bot to increase minority voice in local government. He currently works on Buttigieg's...

Sarah shares the impactful experience she had working at the border in El Paso, Texas at Annunciation House, a house of hospitality for migrants. She shares the transformative growth experience she had that summer, handling the operations of Annunciation House. She also discusses the hardship migrants face in holding facilities and the lack of recourse in the face of glaring injustices. "It showed me that the systems that I take for granted that will work for me, just don't work for a lot of...

Charley Clark is a professor of economics from St. John's University. We sat down to discuss what CST can bring to economics and poverty research. Charley shares how humans thrive in communion with others and that this isn't just linked to individual fulfillment but that it's also the key to a prosperous economy. He shares that he's optimistic about efforts towards eradicating poverty and that the Catholic Church has been a leader by demanding that the poor in developing countries have a seat...

Cardinal Bo S.D.B. is the Archbishop of Yangon, Myanmar. He shared what it was like to grow up under a military regime in a poor village. He has been outspoken about a controversial China-funded dam project in Myanmar stating that superpowers like China are exploiting the poor. We discussed the growth of the Catholic population and how the nation was influenced by the visit of Pope Francis in 2017. He strongly emphasizes that justice is at the heart of the gospel, and that it is not an option...

Lisa Sowle Cahill is a theological ethicist who joined us at our recent CST Conference. We discussed her work in the field of ethics covering sex & gender, war & peace, and most recently bioethics and the effects of climate change. She shared that the ethical problems related to climate change are important for testing the framework of CST and offered a critique of the Pope's use of feminine terms in Laudato Sí. We also discussed Flint's water contamination and how race and poverty...

Dr. James Gingerich is a family medicine doctor in Goshen, IN and is passionate about community development and building bridges across cultures. The Maple City Health Care Center fulfills the triple aim of being high quality, low cost, and high patient satisfaction, they are leading the state and in some cases the nation on all of these measures. But James says the vision is to create a space where people engage with each other, come out of isolation and fragmentation and into shared space...