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The Study Podcast from The Study ND. The Study is a virtual room for thought, questions, and conversation with scholars, writers, and artists about whatever they are studying or working...
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The Study Podcast from The Study ND. The Study is a virtual room for thought, questions, and conversation with scholars, writers, and artists about whatever they are studying or working on.
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Episodes & Posts
Episodes
Posts
17 SEP 2026 · Sasha Sagan joins Tayo in the Study today in advance of her appearance in North Dakota for an upcoming Brave Conversations events. What is the basis of our beliefs? Outside of a particular religious tradition, how can we mark the passages and shared experiences in our lives? How might the truths and wonders science reveals serve as the basis for communal, familial, and individual rituals and worthy moments of celebration? What's at stake in saying we don't know? What if this earthly world is the only one there is?
Sasha Sagan is a native of Ithaca, New York and a graduate of NYU. She has worked as a television producer, filmmaker, writer, and speaker in the U.S. and abroad. Her essays and interviews on death, history, and ritual through a secular lens have appeared in The Cut, O, the Oprah Magazine, Literary Hub, Atmos and beyond. She is a contributing editor for the British fashion magazine Violet Book. Sasha regularly speaks on ways science can inform our celebrations and how we mark the passage of time, inspired in part by the work of her parents, Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan. Sasha is the author of For Small Creatures Such As We: Rituals for Finding Meaning in Our Unlikely World, an exploration of the marvels of nature, as revealed by science, which require no faith in order to be believed. The book is an exercise in skepticism without cynicism, told through memoir and social history. Kirkus Reviews called it “Profound, elegantly written ruminations on the exquisite splendors of life.” She lives in Boston, Massachusetts with her husband and daughter. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram https://twitter.com/sashasagan?lang=en. Thanks to my guest and to you, listener and fellow student, for joining me in The Study. Before you go, we'd love to welcome you into the wider work of The Study. Head to https://www.thestudynd.org/ for free and low cost online classes, lectures, living history performances, study clubs and other ways to curate your own study practice on your terms. Join us when you can and bring a friend!
1 SEP 2026 · In this episode of The Study Podcast, Ari King and Tayo Basquiat discuss their reading of the short story “The Garden of Forking Paths” by author Jorge Luis Borges as well as some of the larger themes and impact of Borges’ work. Is life or our experience of reality more like a maze or a labyrinth, one clear path or forking paths? What does Borges have to say about the commonly held notion that each person’s life is pre-written or fated or has a clear purpose that must be discerned and followed? How does a deep reading of Borges open up possibilities for understanding our experience and what do we do with the resistance we may feel in response to the difficulties and challenges in trying to understand an author’s work?
Ari King is a research-based artist located in Detroit, Michigan. He holds a Philosophy degree from Columbia University and spent the 2024-25 academic year as an artists' fellow at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He has been equally intrigued and confused by Borges for almost a decade. Thanks to my guest and to you, listener and fellow student, for joining me in The Study. Before you go, we'd love to welcome you into the wider work of The Study. Head to https://www.thestudynd.org/ for free and low cost online classes, lectures, living history performances, study clubs and other ways to curate your own study practice on your terms. Join us when you can and bring a friend!
20 AUG 2026 · In this episode of The Study Podcast, Bill Macauley shares his experience and insights from both his career teaching writing and his mindfulness practice. What happens when the work of writing shifts conceptual from product to process, or, as Bill puts it, from a noun to a verb? What are practices from mindfulness that can help writers do what they want to do? How might mindfulness increase a person's agency and develop their own voice? We also talk about the challenges of first year writing classes for undergraduates as well as those presented by the temptation to just have A.I. do all the writing for them. Enjoy!
William J. (Bill) Macauley, Jr. is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of English at the University of Nevada, Reno. He has been teaching since 1987 and directed writing centers and programs for nearly 30 years. Along with these roles, Bill has done significant work in writing-related assessment across institutions, disciplines, curricula, and courses. Bill’s research and scholarship continue to focus on access, empowerment, writing with purpose, and individualized expression while he continues to question academic fairness, access, and cultural openness. These interests have recently resulted in two co-edited collections on TAships in Writing Studies. He argues that disciplinarily-diverse and discursively-curious cultures of Writing Across the Curriculum and writing centers are particularly well-suited to inclusion and opportunity. For the past seven years, Bill has also been offering small-group workshops in writing and meditation/mindfulness across the country. Bill started his career relying on writing centers to build his pedagogy and teaching practices. Those essential lessons and groundings continue to inform all of his work. Thanks to my guest and to you, listener and fellow student, for joining me in The Study. Before you go, we'd love to welcome you into the wider work of The Study. Head to https://www.thestudynd.org/ for free and low cost online classes, lectures, living history performances, study clubs and other ways to curate your own study practice on your terms. Join us when you can and bring a friend!
4 AUG 2026 · In this episode of The Study Podcast, Tayo welcomes Chip Hauss to discuss how we all can be engaged in the work of building peace where we live--in our relationships, workplace, neighborhood, communities. What is peace? What does it mean to practice peace-building? Is peace even possible? What are some practical steps we can take to change our approach to difficult relationships and conflict?
Charles “Chip” Hauss is currently Senior Fellow for Innovation and emeritus member of the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP) where his main job is to help lead the Peacebuilding Starts at Home initiative. He is also a Visiting Scholar at George Mason University’s Carter School for Peace and Resolution and an active member of the Rotary e-Club of Global Peacebuilders.
Peacebuilding Starts at Home is his nineteenth book and pulls together everything he has learned as a peacebuilder and political scientist, educator and actvist, author and community builder.
https://peacebuildingstartsathome.us/ Thanks to my guest and to you, listener and fellow student, for joining me in The Study. Before you go, we'd love to welcome you into the wider work of The Study. Head to https://www.thestudynd.org/ for free and low cost online classes, lectures, living history performances, study clubs and other ways to curate your own study practice on your terms. Join us when you can and bring a friend!
23 JUL 2026 · In this episode of The Study Podcast, Serge Danielson-Francois offers some thoughts and questions on the idea of justice, work that he’s pursuing through close readings of philosophers Emmanuel Levinas and Plato but also as a teacher at the upper school of Academy of of the Sacred Heart in Michigan. What are the hallmarks of a just community? How do we overcome the wounds of past injustices and risk further wounding? What do we do about the rather human impulse to run, to escape justice’s demands?
Serge Danielson-Francois teaches humanities, history, government and debate at Academy of the Sacred Heart. He is an avid country music fan and takes every opportunity to relate a lesson to a song. He is an inveterate Madisonian unwilling to sacrifice the common good for any illusory or expedient factional gain. He is convinced that the most important thing that he teaches is proper confidence: students should know what they know and be eager to fill in the gaps for all that remains unknown. Serge considers the theological projects of Bernard Lonergan, Yves Congar, and Gabriel Marcel to be constant guiding stars on his journey to know, love, and serve God. He has been teaching for as long as he has been married, 32 joyous years and counting. Thanks to my guest and to you, listener and fellow student, for joining me in The Study. Before you go, we'd love to welcome you into the wider work of The Study. Head to https://www.thestudynd.org/ for free and low cost online classes, lectures, living history performances, study clubs and other ways to curate your own study practice on your terms. Join us when you can and bring a friend!
7 JUL 2026 · Joining Tayo in The Study is Colleen Shogan for a discussion of the National Archives, as she was the 11th archivist of the United States, and her current project called "In Pursuit" with an organization called More Perfect. How does a person get that job, Archivist of the United States? What kinds of records are kept at the NARA? How can the public make use of the archives? And then Colleen fields questions on her new project which is editor of a collection of essays for America's 250th celebration, essays that ask what we can learn from our nation's past presidents and first ladies that can help us in this ongoing experiment of American democracy.
Here's a link to the Substack where the essays are being published: https://inpursuit.substack.com/
Dr. Colleen Shogan served as the 11th Archivist of the United States, the first woman in American history to lead the National Archives and Records Administration. Prior to becoming Archivist, Colleen was Senior Vice President at the White House Historical Association, worked in the United States Senate, and served as a senior executive at the Library of Congress and its Congressional Research Service. She is the 2024 recipient of the American Political Science Association’s Hubert Humphrey Award for outstanding public service.
Colleen is a Senior Advisor at More Perfect, where she leads “In Pursuit,” a nationwide civics project for 2026. She is Senior Fellow in Civics Education at Stand Together and an Adjunct Professor of Government at Georgetown University. She also serves on the Board of the U.S. Capitol Historical Society. Thanks to my guest and to you, listener and fellow student, for joining me in The Study. Before you go, we'd love to welcome you into the wider work of The Study. Head to https://www.thestudynd.org/ for free and low cost online classes, lectures, living history performances, study clubs and other ways to curate your own study practice on your terms. Join us when you can and bring a friend!
18 JUN 2026 · The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, ND opens July 4, 2026, and in this episode of The Study Podcast we talk with Marcie Woehl, manager of public programming and education at the library. Marcie shares her own educational story, her vision for the creating innovative and experiential educational opportunities at the library, and the kind of public intellectualism she is hoping to foster through these programs. This isn't your standard presidential library--listen in to discover how this library can be part of your own lifelong learning.
Marcie Woehl is the Manager of Public Programming and Education at TRPL. She brings extensive experience in higher education, public programming, and digital storytelling alongside a strong record of designing innovative learning experiences, leading cross-functional teams, and building strong community partnerships. Before joining the TRPL team, Marcie taught writing and research at the University of Rochester and served as the project supervisor of the internationally recognized William Blake Archive, overseeing the acquisition, preparation, and publication of hundreds of objects to the digital collection. A North Dakota native, Marcie completed her undergraduate degrees at Bismarck State College and the University of North Dakota before pursuing her Ph.D. in English at the University of Rochester. She is excited to return west with her partner, Brenden, and in her free time, she enjoys listening to podcasts, visiting museums and historic sites, and pursuing her lifelong goal of learning to play the banjo. Thanks to my guest and to you, listener and fellow student, for joining me in The Study. Before you go, we'd love to welcome you into the wider work of The Study. Head to https://www.thestudynd.org/ for free and low cost online classes, lectures, living history performances, study clubs and other ways to curate your own study practice on your terms. Join us when you can and bring a friend!
2 JUN 2026 · Commander William C. Spears visits The Study to talk about his book Stoicism as a Warrior Philosophy. What makes Stoic philosophy such a good fit for those serving in the military? How might this philosophy help someone discern their duty and to reconcile the demands of many different roles or duties in their life? What would be the key philosophical message he'd offer to those just starting their military career? Please enjoy this rich and inspirational conversation!
Commander William C. Spears is an active military professional with a distinguished career in the United States Navy. Formerly an enlisted sailor, he is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, the Naval Postgraduate School, the Air Command and Staff College, and the Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy. His service includes duty in nuclear-powered submarines across a variety of classes and mission profiles, including assignments as the Weapons Officer of a fast-attack submarine and the Executive Officer of a Trident missile submarine. He resides wherever the Navy requires him and is married with three children. Thanks to my guest and to you, listener and fellow student, for joining me in The Study. Before you go, we'd love to welcome you into the wider work of The Study. Head to https://www.thestudynd.org/ for free and low cost online classes, lectures, living history performances, study clubs and other ways to curate your own study practice on your terms. Join us when you can and bring a friend!
21 MAY 2026 · Today's guest in The Study is Rebecca Clarren, author of the book The Cost of Free Land. Rebecca helps us think about the stories we tell and don't tell in history, how histories push and pull against one another, and how one finds the courage to face the truth. She fields questions about reparations, the Land Back movement, and immigration, allowing her journey in this book to speak to our current context and how we might find a new way to live together in this land.
Rebecca Clarren has been writing about the American West for more than twenty-five years as a novel, reporter and poet. Her book The Cost of Free Land: Jews, Lakota and an American Inheritance (2023, Viking/Penguin) has won many awards and honors including being named a One Book for both North and South Dakota. She lives in Portland, Ore. with her family.
For more, see
http://www.rebecca-clarren.com/
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/647961/the-cost-of-free-land-by-rebecca-clarren/ Thanks to my guest and to you, listener and fellow student, for joining me in The Study. Before you go, we'd love to welcome you into the wider work of The Study. Head to https://www.thestudynd.org/ for free and low cost online classes, lectures, living history performances, study clubs and other ways to curate your own study practice on your terms. Join us when you can and bring a friend!
5 MAY 2026 · In this episode of The Study Podcast, author Kent Krueger discusses his use of the mystery/crime genre as a framework for exploring deeper human questions about justice, spirituality, morality, relationship, loss, and change; his commitment to creating a vivid sense of place for readers and to craft stories that are true to real life, that can help readers navigate and understand their own experiences as well as expanding their understanding of others. Kent also discusses various aspects of craft, the importance for him of the novels he’s written beyond the Cork O’Connor series, and the complexities of fiction and cultural representation. Finally, from his many years as a teacher of creative writing, he ends with some advice and encouragement for writers.
Raised in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon, William Kent Krueger briefly attended Stanford University—before being kicked out for radical activities. After that, he logged timber, worked construction, tried his hand at freelance journalism, and eventually ended up researching child development at the University of Minnesota. He’s been married for more than fifty years to a marvelous woman who is a retired attorney. He makes his home in St. Paul, a city he dearly loves.Krueger writes a mystery series set in the north woods of Minnesota. His protagonist is Cork O’Connor, the former sheriff of Tamarack County and a man of mixed heritage—part Irish and part Ojibwe. His work has received a number of awards, including the Minnesota Book Award, the Loft-McKnight Fiction Award, the Anthony Award, the Barry Award, the Dilys Award, and the Friends of American Writers Prize. His last thirteen novels were all New York Times bestsellers. Ordinary Grace, his stand-alone novel published in 2013, received the Edgar Award, given by the Mystery Writers of America in recognition for the best novel published in that year. The companion novel, This Tender Land, was published in September 2019 and spent nearly six months on the New York Times bestseller list. His most recent stand-alone, The River We Remember, published in 2023, was featured on many best-of-the-year lists, as well as receiving an Edgar Award nomination for Best Novel.
More at hhttps://williamkentkrueger.com/media-kit/ Thanks to my guest and to you, listener and fellow student, for joining me in The Study. Before you go, we'd love to welcome you into the wider work of The Study. Head to https://www.thestudynd.org/ for free and low cost online classes, lectures, living history performances, study clubs and other ways to curate your own study practice on your terms. Join us when you can and bring a friend!
The Study Podcast from The Study ND. The Study is a virtual room for thought, questions, and conversation with scholars, writers, and artists about whatever they are studying or working...
show more
The Study Podcast from The Study ND. The Study is a virtual room for thought, questions, and conversation with scholars, writers, and artists about whatever they are studying or working on.
show less
Information
| Author | The Study Podcast |
| Organization | The Study ND |
| Categories | Society & Culture , Education , Arts |
| Website | thestudynd.org |
| tayo@thestudynd.org |
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