In this episode, Madeline chats with Cole Ciervo, a propulsion engineer for Ursa Major Technologies. During their conversation, they discuss IU-Purdue banter, insights into Purdue Engineering, first year engineering classes, the importance of working on a team, the importance of safety checks and clarifying jargon, why he got a master’s, his journey from Methodist to Catholic, what it was like being confirmed during the pandemic, and so much more. During the course of their conversation, they ma...
Jul 16, 2025•59 min•Season 1Ep. 84
In this episode, Madeline chats again with her friend Thomas Salerno, a freelance writer, editor, and fellow podcaster with a background in paleontology and anthropology to celebrate the release of his new book, The Riddle of The Tongue Stones. During their conversation, they discuss his work on other podcasts, his love of Bl. Nicholas Steno, and overview of Bl. Nicholas Steno’s life, the writing process, Bl. Carlo Acutis, handling critique, collaborating across mediums and so much more! During ...
Jul 02, 2025•55 min•Season 1Ep. 83
In this episode, Madeline chats with Connor Thompson, a chemical engineer in training at a company in the Pacific Northwest. During their conversation, they discuss some I&A lore, his different science phases as a kid, his high school science experience, undergrad at Montana State, engineering exams, what a professional engineer is, science and natural philosophy, and so much more. Feel free to like, subscribe, and share the episode! Follow us on Instagram! @sbltfpodcast Don't forget to go o...
Jun 18, 2025•1 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 82
🎉 🎉 🎉 It's been THREE years since the start of this podcast! 🎉 🎉 🎉 In this special anniversary episode, Madeline shares an interview of herself that originally aired on The Work of Thy Hands podcast with fellow creative Allison Ramirez. In this interview, she and Allison talk about science, creativity, faith, and the intersection of them all! If you are interested in listening to more of Allison's podcast, check out her podcast here (she's even interviewed two past SBLTF guests so far: Tho...
Jun 04, 2025•31 min•Season 1Ep. 81
In this episode, Madeline chats with Kyle Shepard, an engineering PhD student at Purdue University. During their conversation, they discuss his childhood in Oklahoma, Internet research rabbit holes, critical thinking, his undergrad and Master’s at Oklahoma State, PhD work at Purdue, being a lifelong learner, embracing being a dork, koinania, savoring classic works of literature, St. Francis de Sales, martyrs, being friends with people how are different ages than you, and so much more. During the...
May 21, 2025•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 80
In this episode, Madeline chats with Tyler Kropp, a software engineer for a consulting company. During their conversation, they discuss how he went to Purdue for computer science, his first forays into computers and programming, AP exams, how he ended up at Purdue, knowing your limits, what college computer science classes are like, insights into remote work, the importance of learning the faith in a way you understand, the necessity of beauty, getting involved in your parish community, and so m...
May 07, 2025•48 min•Season 1Ep. 79
In this episode, Madeline chats with her friend Katy Downing, the planetarium and programming director at the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center. During their conversation, they discuss what got her interested in astronomy, connections between their advisors, her REU, what she does in her role on the day to day, constellation oral traditions, what goes into planetarium content creating, how science is interdisciplinary, bird migration and light pollution, different methods of praying, and so ...
Apr 23, 2025•52 min•Season 1Ep. 78
In this episode, Madeline chats with Matt Kavanaugh, an agricultural meteorology graduate student at Iowa State University. During their conversation, they discuss his early fascination with meteorology, how he ended up at Valparaiso University for his undergrad, the classes he’s had to take, nowcasting, landscaping, the connection between meteorology and environmental science, having good science communication, going to conferences, what Valpo Catholic is like, how you can give of your time tal...
Apr 09, 2025•58 min•Season 1Ep. 77
In this episode, Madeline chats with her friend Jess McKendry, a student support professional at an Australian university with a background in freelance IT. During their conversation, they discuss big families, linguistics and conlangs, digital literacy, using technology for good, casual observational astronomy, a brief history of Australia, religion in Australian schools, showing love in times of divisiveness, using technology for good, how what we consume shapes us, and so much more! During th...
Mar 26, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 76
In this episode, Madeline chats with Fr. Jhobany Orduz-Duarte, a Viatorian priest (who at the time of recording was a deacon) from Colombia who is a former soldier, civil engineer, and professor. During their conversation, they discuss how he and Madeline met, English as a second language, what the Viatorians are about, his family’s coffee background, how the murder of his sister affected him, the Sixth Commandment as presented in the New Testament, the ends not justifying the means, God coming ...
Mar 12, 2025•1 hr 34 min•Season 1Ep. 75
In this episode, Madeline chats with James Ronan, a British paleontologist. During their conversation, they discuss his undergrad degree in geography, his masters in paleobiology from the University of Bristol, his work with CAFOD, what higher education looks like in his country, the sorts of things you learn about as a paleontologist, his field work in Montana, how science can lend credence to certain aspects, his fascination with hadrosaurs, being Catholic in England, advocating in an inviting...
Feb 26, 2025•54 min•Season 1Ep. 74
In this episode, Madeline chats with her friend Fernanda Psihas, a particle physicist with a background in AI and also a professor at Franciscan University. During their conversation, they discuss her growing up in Mexico City, her ministry where she speaks at local parishes about science and faith, her fascination with English, the post-Christian age in the West and Latin America, her undergrad education at a Jesuit university in Mexico, the intercession of St. Jude on Fernanda’s grad school ac...
Feb 12, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 73
In this special birthday episode, Madeline celebrates turning 27 by reading her second published short story, Spooky Action at A Closeness. It is in an anthology of Christmas ghost stories called There'll Be Scary Ghost Stories . The anthology is edited by Inkwells and Anvils, a Catholic writing community she spends much of her time in when not podcasting. If you enjoyed Madeline's Christmas ghost story, she highly recommends reading the other ghost stories in the anthology, which you can buy he...
Jan 29, 2025•26 min•Season 1Ep. 72
In this episode, Madeline chats with Fr. Zach Glick, a priest of the Diocese of Gary and a military chaplain in the Air Force. During their conversation, they discuss the podcast he co-hosted with as a seminarian, his mechanical engineering degree at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Air Force ROTC, why he chose Rose-Hulman, coming back to and owning his faith in college, the power of personal invitations, what a come-and-see retreat is like, St. Francis of Assisi, why he chose to become a di...
Jan 15, 2025•56 min•Season 1Ep. 71
In this episode, Madeline chats with Bob Smith, a blind computer programmer. During their conversation, they discuss the connection between coding and mechanical things, his degree in sociology from UIUC, community college, how he got into college, how he became blind, the accommodations that allow him to do his job, his love of COBOL, the story of him almost drowning, things that have inspired his faith, and so much more! During the course of their conversation, they make many references which ...
Jan 01, 2025•43 min•Season 1Ep. 70
In this episode, Madeline chats with her friend Adria Kamm, who has a background in biological anthropology. During their conversation, they discuss her unique education, sports, how she got interested in science and fascinated with death, what anthropology is, her own journey with mental health, her time in community college, biological anthropology, her reversion, respect for the dead, the importance of community and faith learning resources, and so much more! During the course of their conver...
Dec 18, 2024•52 min•Season 1Ep. 69
In this episode, Madeline chats again with her friend Melissa Ring, a recent graduate of Valparaiso University with a degree combining geography and meteorology. During their conversation, they discuss the event that made her love weather, how she ended up at VU, what you learn as a meterology major, what happens when science doesn’t love you back, the interdisciplinary nature of geography, storm chasing, growing up in a mixed faith household, how she came to embrace her faith, and so much more!...
Dec 04, 2024•1 hr 27 min•Season 1Ep. 68
In this episode, Madeline chats with Fr. Joseph Shenosky, a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia with a degree in mechanical engineering. During their conversation, they discuss his time at Penn State University, spending a few years in the industry and learning important life skills, his discernment process, his love of Mary, the importance of having supportive bosses, the influence of his college Newman Center, why he became a diocesan priest, his time in seminary, the importance of getti...
Nov 20, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 67
In this episode, Madeline chats with Dan Kuebler, a professor of biology at the Franciscan University and the vice president of the Society of Catholic Scientists. During their conversation, they discuss his undergrad at Catholic University of America, the importance of great mentors, how he discovered he loved teaching, PhD at Berkley, how he came into his faith at University of California at Berkley, getting to know the church through her documents, how science and faith keep each other from g...
Nov 06, 2024•55 min•Season 1Ep. 66
In this episode, Madeline chats with Steve Barr; an author, a professor emeritus of theoretical physics at the University of Delaware, and the founding president of the Society of Catholic Scientists. During their conversation, they discuss the isolation religious scientists sometimes feel in academic historically, the great Catholic scientists, his own faith journey, the role model of his father, letting your ideas germinate for a good amount of time, and so much more! During the course of thei...
Oct 23, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 65
In this episode, Madeline chats with her friend Hannah Bernstein, a landscape architecture student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. During their conversation, they discuss the Pacific Northwest and Spain, UIUC’s Newman Center, what landscape architecture is, how our expertise gets embedded in us, living at a residential Newman Center, American accents, her study abroad and research trip, Dominican cloister gardens, going beyond the surface level, the King of Itineraries, and so...
Oct 09, 2024•54 min•Season 1Ep. 64
In this episode, Madeline chats with her friend Caroline George, a quality process engineer in manufacturing. During their conversation, they discuss what a quality process engineer does, her undergrad at Auburn, how she ended up in Pennsylvania, her internship at Honeywell, her reversion, discovering the TLM, being challenged, praying for others, fasting, the TLM, the validity of all Catholic liturgical rites, knowing why things are the way they are, evangelization in the work environment, and ...
Sep 25, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 63
In this episode, Madeline chats with her friend Maddie Smith, a wife, mom, and former pharmacy technician. During their conversation, they discuss what a pharmacy technician does, the importance of patience and customer service, the golden rule, becoming who God sees us as, how she met her husband Slater, her conversion, the importance of confession, her advice for fellow survivors of sexual assault, the difference vengeance and justice, and so much more! Content Warning: There are occasional me...
Sep 11, 2024•47 min•Season 1Ep. 62
In this episode, Madeline chats with her friend Matt Nelson, a high school math and science teacher at Cardinal Ritter High School in Indianapolis. During their conversation, they discuss the prep that goes into teaching, his original degree in marketing, his unconventional path to education, music and math, what Indiana’s transition to teaching program is like, his advice for future teachers, how he got involved in teaching Earth and space sciences, incorporating science and faith in the classr...
Aug 28, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 61
In this episode, Madeline chats with Paul Rimmer, a professor at the University of Cambridge studying the origins of life. During their conversation, they discuss eclipses and the April 2024 eclipse, Colorado, his time at University of Colorado at Denver, changing your trajectory, learning lessons, his atheist phase, Madeline’s trip to Switzerland, an impactful REU and symbolic logic professor and Byzantine Catholic priest, imperfection, good role models for marriage, his work in atmospheric che...
Aug 14, 2024•58 min•Season 1Ep. 60
In this special tangent episode, Madeline chats again with her friend Ben Stapleton, an electrical engineer for a utility company. During their conversation, they expand on the literature tangent of their previous episode by discussing their respective favorite sci-fi novels: Markmaker by Mary Jessica Woods and A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. They discuss the plots of the two novels, their respective reactions, and much more! Content Warning: This episode includes spoilers for b...
Jul 31, 2024•1 hr 34 min•Season 1Ep. 59
In this episode, Madeline chats with Pat Schloss, a microbiologist/biology professor at University of Michigan who studies the microbiome. During their conversation, they discuss data science, his postdoc at University of Wisconsin-Madison, undergrad and grad school at Cornell in agricultural and biological engineering, farm life, his large family and how having families should be normalized, the opportunity to be a role model and being good steward of the power you’re given, his three year apos...
Jul 17, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 58
In this episode, Madeline chats with her friend Rob Singler, a mechanical engineer. During their conversation, they discuss the funny story about how Rob got on Madeline’s radar, putting people in boxes, a link between engineering and creative writing, his undergrad at Kentucky, the importance of great friends, famous Catholics, what his general work life is like, Spencer Clavin, quantum physics, college culture vs. church culture, confession, the shackles of shame, the importance of having frie...
Jul 03, 2024•58 min•Season 1Ep. 57
In this episode, Madeline chats with her friend Briana Sobecks, a 2nd year chemical engineering PhD student at Stanford. During their conversation, they discuss her research, how her high school and family ignited her fascination with biology and engineering, undergrad in chemical engineering at UIUC, taking ownership of your faith, choir, grad school Catholic groups, philosophy, and so much more! Feel free to like, subscribe, and share the episode! Follow us on Instagram! @sbltfpodcast Don't fo...
Jun 19, 2024•46 min•Season 1Ep. 56
🎉 🎉 🎉 It's been TWO years since the start of this podcast! 🎉 🎉 🎉 In this special anniversary episode, Madeline chats with her friend Gregory Woods, a Byzantine Catholic composer and writer and the mind behind the podcast's new intro music! During their conversation, they discuss how he got into composing, what goes into composing, how the intro music was created, paradoxes, counter point and music theory, the importance of being able to share your work with others, how beauty will save the...
Jun 05, 2024•47 min•Season 1Ep. 55
