Shine Bright Like the Firmament

In this episode, Madeline chats with Kellan Weston, a postdoctoral fellow (at the time of the recording) doing translation neuroscience and scientific officer at Combined Brain. During their conversation, they discuss translational neuroscience, what Combined Brain does and her role in its work, the role her sister’s genetic disorder played in getting into her field, gain of function variance, her...

In this special episode, Madeline continues chatting again with her friend Ben Stapleton and new guest Fr. Gabriel Mosher, OP about Empire of Silence, book 1 of the Suneater series by Christopher Ruocchio. During their conversation, the three discuss pick up where they left off in the previous episode with the second half of Empire of Silence and the questions the book tackles. See the previous  e...

🎉 🎉 🎉 It's been FOUR years since the start of this podcast! 🎉 🎉 🎉 In this special tangent and anniversary episode, Madeline celebrates by chatting again with her friend Ben Stapleton, an electrical engineer for a utility company, and new guest Fr. Gabriel Mosher, OP. During their conversation, the three discuss how each of the three came to the Suneater series by Christopher Ruocchio, F...

In this episode, Madeline chats with her friend Jess Fetterman, a historian with a bachelor’s degree in agriculture. During their conversation, they discuss a brief history of how agriculture became sciencey, her family’s connections to farming, an influential high school research experience, living history, some basics on the Quakers and the college she went to, her unique college experiences, ma...

In this episode, Madeline chats again with Bill Patenaude, a retired mechanical engineer who used to work for the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. During their conversation, they discuss talk about his sci-fi novel and its sequel, the inspiration for the novel, why he chose a near-future sci-fi setting, the importance of feedback on creative endeavors, the incarnational aspect...

In this episode, Madeline chats with Evan Rowland, a CAD and consumer electronics mechanical engineer. During their conversation, they discuss everyone’s own unique weirdness, engineering ethics, his time at Colorado School of Mines, his time in the oil and gas industry, CAD and change management, free will and the nature of God, subcreation and childlikeness, his discernment of the diaconate, ser...

In this episode, Madeline chats with her friend Gabe Fuselier, an internal medicine hospitalist at a Catholic hospital. During their conversation, they discuss an explanation of what internal medicine is, how he got into medicine and his specialty, professional prestige and the need for rest, his formative experiences in becoming a doctor, the balancing customer service with getting people to make...

In this episode, Madeline chats with Donan Scholl, creator of the upcoming sci-fi tabletop game Watchpoint--the game that inspired Madeline's favorite novel Markmaker. During their conversation, they discuss the video games that inspired the world, St. Carlo Acutis and video games, the Watchpoint world and lore, and how it inspired Markmaker, and so much more. During the course of their conve...

In this episode, Madeline chats with her friend Alex Cass, a senior software engineer at a financial company. During their conversation, they discuss his conversion from being a Southern Baptist, the importance of the Eucharist and worship, the importance of doctrine, how he got into computer-related things, the importance of understanding technology, the kinds of things he does at work,  and so m...

🎉 🎉 🎉 It's the 100th episode of this podcast! 🎉 🎉 🎉 In this episode, Madeline chats again with biologist Dan Kuebler to celebrate the release of his new book, Darwin and Doctrine. During their conversation, they discuss what inspired him to write his book, understanding how to interpret scripture, the parallelness of salvation history and evolution, how order begets order, what he learn...

In this episode, Madeline chats with Matt Rubio, a test engineer. During their conversation, they discuss his experience being a charismatic Catholic, the perceived divide between traditional and charismatic Catholicism, a brief history of the Catholic Charismatic renewal, the use of the charismatic gifts, what it’s like living in a charismatic community, what inspired his love of computer enginee...

In this episode, Madeline chats with her friend Mary Woods, author of the sci-fantasy novel Markmaker . During their conversation, they discuss her bookish inspiration, the roleplaying game that gave Markmaker its setting, the mission of her publisher Chrism Press, insights into the traditional publishing process, a look into the journey with the planned sequel thus far, and so much more. During t...

In this episode, Madeline chats with her friend Ben Fetterman, a chemical laboratory technician. During their conversation, they discuss his conversion from evangelical Mennonite to Byzantine Catholic, a brief history of Mennonites and the Amish, his college journey at Penn State, why he joined an Eastern Sui iris church, praying the liturgy, priesthood in the Eastern Catholic churches, and so muc...

In this episode, Madeline chats with her friend J.C. Hall, a PhD student in moral theology/ethics at Catholic University of America with a specialization in bioethics. During their conversation, they discuss his biochemical engineering degree at University of California at Davis, some background of UC Davis and agriculture, their Eucharistic Congress experience and liturgical diversity, his master...

In this episode, Madeline chats with Fr. Jim McCormack, a priest of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception and a former electrical engineer. During their conversation, they discuss the history and charism of the Marian Fathers, the connection between the Immaculate Conception, Divine Mercy, and prayers for those in purgatory, the historical context of his childhood, studying electrical en...

In this episode, Madeline chats with Bill Jacobs and Kat Hoenke, both ecologists and conservationists. During their conversation, they discuss the St. Kateri Conservation Center, the connections of the Seven Deadly Sins to environmental issues, ecology and relationships, how Bill and Kat got acquainted, the importance of planting native plants, rewilding, creation becoming the creator, saints who...

In this episode, Madeline chats with Erin Brady, the director of the Culp Planetarium and Physics Lab Manager at High Point University. During their conversation, they discuss how summer just flies by, being able to balance different priorities, how her physics for Video Games class altered her educational course, the importance of community, how she combined her research and art together, her sum...

In this episode, Madeline chats with Khoi Huynh, a third year medical student. During their conversation, they discuss some sports banter, growing up in Southeast Asia, how they were introduced, the existential crisis that made him take his faith seriously, the importance of having faith community at work, living forever, psychology and palliative care, the problem of suffering, our call to radica...

In this episode, Madeline chats with Edmund Lazzari, a professor in the Catholic Studies department at Duquesne University. During their conversation, they discuss the kinds of questions that science and theology ask, the value of a liberal arts education, the Inkwells and Anvils writing community, what it means to be interdisciplinary, the importance of knowing something’s purpose/function, his t...

In this episode, Madeline chats with her friend Sara Schultz, the director of the planetarium at Minnesota State University-Moorhead. During their conversation, they discuss her undergrad at Minnesota State University-Moorhead, her masters at University of South Carolina, her PhD at the University of Wyoming, what she does on the planetarium side of her job, what it’s like getting to work with stu...

In this episode, Madeline chats with her friend Liz Norman, 2nd year PhD student at Purdue University in the Department of Earth, Atmosphere, and Planetary Sciences. During their conversation, they discuss her physics undergrad at North Carolina State, being a student athlete especially with a hard major, how COVID affected her eligibility as an athlete, her gravitational waves NASA internship, he...

In this episode, Madeline chats with Fr. Alexander Millar, a priest of the Diocese of Peoria who was (at the time of recording) one of the chaplains of St. John's Catholic Newman Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and is currently studying for a licentiate in sacred theology at Boston College with a specialization in medical ethics. During their conversation, they discuss h...

In this episode, Madeline chats with Peter Schmidt, a professional comedian, streamer, and amateur coder. During their conversation, they discuss how Madeline found out about Game of Favorites, the inspiration for the show, basics of coding, behind the scenes of his show, his time with the Legionnaires of Christ, the universal call to holiness, his gap between religious life and college, the perks...

In this episode, Madeline chats with Joseph A'Hearn, an astronomer, physicist, and data scientist. During their conversation, they discuss the example of his parents, minor seminary, his seminary formation, Legionaries of Christ, his lifelong interest in astronomy, reintegrating his faith life into his life after discerning out, getting his PhD, eclipses, the three body problem, outer solar s...

In this episode, Madeline chats with her friend Marita, a senior research assistant in a medical research lab. During their conversation, they discuss her undergrad at a small liberal arts college, learning languages and traveling, how they serendipitously met in person, the Galileo affair and the importance of humility in science, striving for excellence, the universality of the Church, and so mu...