In this episode, breakdancer Nimoy Vaidya and marathon swimmer Br. Matt Wooters, SJ, meet for the first time. We walk with them from a Chicago coffee shop, and then down to the lakefront, as they discuss their passions — and dive into how they started getting out of their comfort zones.Watch Nimoy's and Br. Matt's mini-documentaries below:This Young Breakdancer Found Healing in Hip HopAn 8-Mile Swim In Lake MichiganSUBSCRIBE to our YouTube Channel for more!Connect with us on social media!InstagramTwitterFacebookPinterest Visit us at grottonetwork.com/Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

In this episode, Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, the former captain of Notre Dame’s football team and an NFL hopeful, shares his journey through grief to find hope in his faith and caring for his mental health.Grotto producers Josh Long and Kevin DeCloedt talk about what it was like filming Myron’s story, and introduce a conversation Myron had with ND strength coach Matt Balis. Then we hang out with Myron and his roommate (and fellow ND teammate) Michael Vinson as they discuss grief, the pressures of college, caring for mental health, and finding faith as a glue to hold it all together. Watch Myron’s story here: Raiders Newcomer Advocates for Mental HealthSUBSCRIBE to our YouTube Channel for more!Connect with us on social media!InstagramTwitterFacebookPinterest Visit us at grottonetwork.com/Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

We’re deep into our storytelling edition where we wonder what else is out there, and this episode of Good and Decent explores everything from the mythical to the supernatural.Video producers Josh Long and Tara Kelly were curious about local cryptids — mythical creatures like Chicago’s Mothman — and so they set out to learn what they can. When Josh travels south on vacation, he begins to feel like he can’t get away from these mysterious creatures.Our editor, Josh Noem, brings in a respectable authority — Father Aaron Michka, CSC — who is both a priest and an anthropologist. Together, they discuss paranormal phenomena and UFO sightings, beginning with Father Aaron’s own encounter with “beings of light” that visited him for a time in his youth. Video producer Kevin DeCloedt chimes in with his own personal encounter with the supernatural. Read more from Father Aaron about UFOs: https://grottonetwork.com/keep-the-faith/belief/are-ufos-real/And read the full news story about Bigfood hunters in southern Alabama that Josh Long mentions: https://www.wsfa.com/story/34533043/evergreen-big-foot-capital-of-alabama/ SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube Channel for more!Connect with us on social media!InstagramTwitterFacebookPinterest Visit us at grottonetwork.com/Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

In this episode, Good and Decent is going to the margins — to two very different places and moments in history — to find the power in embracing the most neglected in our society. Grotto host Javi Zubizarreta speaks with reporter and author Michael O’Loughlin about the history of the AIDS crisis and the Catholic Church. Michael is the host of the podcast Plague: Untold Stories of AIDS and the Catholic Church and the author of Hidden Mercy: AIDS, Catholics, and the Untold Stories of Compassion in the Face of Fear. A gay Catholic himself, O’Loughlin’s powerful work brings together unimaginable stories of empathy, heartbreak, and grace from the LGBT+ community and the Church. He and Javi discuss the power of these stories, their impact on Michael’s own life, and how Pope Francis himself reached out to recognize this work. From Michael’s apartment on the north side of Chicago, Grotto then goes to downtown Cincinnati to meet Gary Short of Foot Care for the Souls, an organization reaching out to people experiencing homelessness. Every day, Gary takes the feet of countless unhoused people into his lap and makes sure they are clean, healthy, and cared for. It’s a powerful witness of serving and loving the most marginalized.SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube Channel for more!Connect with us on social media!InstagramTwitterFacebookPinterest Visit us at grottonetwork.com/Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

In this episode, Grotto hosts Becky Rogers and Liz Colleran speak with Jacob Zumo, an artist from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Becky is Grotto’s art director and Liz is our assignment desk manager, so they’re pretty hands-on in our creative process — the conversation they share with Jacob digs into storytelling with art. Jacob says he wants to paint images that are arrestingly beautiful, and that cause people to wonder, “What’s the story behind that?”Jacob is a bridge-builder as an artist — he’s classically trained, but also does paintings for rappers and athletes. He talks about “pushing the sacred” whenever he can — he honed his craft in Florence, Italy but brings a modern take to sacred art so that people feel connected to his paintings, especially people from underrepresented communities.Watch more of Jacob’s story with this video documentary: Louisiana Artist Modernizes Sacred ArtSUBSCRIBE to our YouTube Channel for more!Connect with us on social media!InstagramTwitterFacebookPinterest Visit us at grottonetwork.com/Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

How do we set out to find a new start? Often, when we think of new beginnings, we imagine a new habit or goal that we want to establish. So we pick an objective and start incorporating it into our days. But what about those moments when the new start you need is deeper and bigger than just a new workout routine? Like, when you need to change the direction of your life? “A lot of times we think of the gym or starting a workout or running routine or reading and it’s this quick start,” says producer Josh Long in this episode. “What I like about Ian is that his new beginning is a soul-searching, long process — over the course of years.”Ian Shankster is a friend of Josh’s who had experienced a divorce and needed to start over. He wanted to see the country, but still had to pay off his student loans, so he took a job as a truck driver. Josh got to ride along with Ian on a trip — in this episode, he reflects on that journey with Ian, which took place at a moment when Grotto was in a new beginning, too. His story is one of the very first stories we told. Sara Thoms joins Josh for the conversation — she shares some insights about starting fresh from her own experience of moving across the country in the past few weeks to take a new job. Together, they reconnect with Jesse Woodworth to hear about how he decided to leave Denver for rural Indiana to take over a family farm. Transitions take time, especially if they come from a wound or a place of deep conviction. And, as Sara notes, no one is expert at navigating those transition moments — there are a lot of bumps along the way. But if we stay in touch with ourselves — journaling and prayer work for Sara — we’ll stay grounded and authentic as we make our way.Watch these videos to ride along with Ian’s in a truck cab and watch Jesse fire up a giant old combine.Capturing Beauty Along American HighwaysMoving from Denver to Indiana to Support the Family FarmSUBSCRIBE to our YouTube Channel for more!Connect with us on social media!InstagramTwitterFacebookPinterest Visit us at grottonetwork.com/Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

Fresh off of a cross-country move, Adrienne is starting a family and looking to make his house a home. It’s a struggle to find a place — and the right people — where they feel like they belong. The conversation in the newest episode of our Good and Decent podcast uses some interesting stories to explore how we find “home.”  Adrienne and Sara speak with Daniel Baker, a neighborhood carpenter who creates home furnishings without the use of any power tools. The craftsmanship he invests in his pieces connects him to his community in a deep way — he wants to be present to his neighbors “from crib to coffin.”Building Furniture & Community for the Neighborhood They also speak with Alan Graham, who founded a 27-acre community of tiny houses and homes designed to lift up off the streets the most “outcast, lost, and abandoned people” in Austin, TX: the chronically homeless.Tiny House Community Shelters Homeless SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube Channel for more!Connect with us on social media!InstagramTwitterFacebookPinterest Visit us at grottonetwork.com/Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

Many of our Grotto Stories show people finding ways to dig deep and stand strong when adversity strikes. Our first episode in this second season of Good and Decent explores one disposition that seems to keep them grounded through it all: gratitude.In this episode, host Sara Thoms is joined by guest filmmaker Kevin DeCloedt to explore the kind of gratitude that pulls us through tough times. They dig into the stories of two extraordinary people who are responding to debilitating disease with resilience and hopefulness: Trey Gray and Gillian Mocek.Kevin found Trey’s story and produced it for us. He learned that 16 years ago, Trey was diagnosed with Huntington's Disease and given 10-15 years to live. Trey feels that his work as a professional drummer has helped him fight the disease. Beating the Odds of Huntington's DiseaseGillian was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when she was 10 months old, and doctors told her parents that she might live to age 18. Today, she is 27 years old, married, and a mother. Producer Katie Rutter brings us her story: Learning to Live with Cystic Fibrosis with JoySUBSCRIBE to our YouTube Channel for more!Connect with us on social media!InstagramTwitterFacebookPinterest Visit us at grottonetwork.com/Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

In the season 1 finale of Good and Decent, Javi pitches an idea to Josh and Sara: A group of air guitarists in Boston have something in common with a cloistered monk in Kentucky. Confused but intrigued by this contrasting pair, the three hit the road for their first post-pandemic road trip...and their first time working together as a trio in person! They set out to discover what it is that connects these seemingly disparate people.Along the way, they discuss the meaning of life — is it always and only about what we produce in the world? Our work is important, surely, but isn’t there something more to life? Both our air guitar friends and Brother Paul Quenon seem to have a deep-down joy that doesn’t come from work. When something is truly use-less, having no apparent “use,” it is done for the sake of itself. Br. Paul describes that there’s a freedom in that. Both playing air guitar and praying as a monk develop a kind of interior life. What in your life is use-less? Is there anything you do for the joy of it and nothing else? Can we truly find deeper meaning in simply being and not doing?Enjoy the episode! Make sure to turn on notifications so you don't miss an episode! Please leave Good and Decent a review and rating if you get a chance!Watch the full mini-docs featured in this episode: Playing Air Guitar to Make a Better WorldInside the Life of a MonkSUBSCRIBE to our YouTube Channel!Connect with us on social media!InstagramTwitterFacebookPinterest Visit us at grottonetwork.com/Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

"Friendship is a problem,” host and producer Josh Long says in this week’s episode of Good and Decent. Lately, Josh has been feeling like his friendships have suffered — and he’s not alone. Almost one-third of young adults feel that they have no best friends. What keeps two people bonded together over the course of a life? Josh and co-host Sara Thoms turn to three Grotto stories for inspiration on the topic of friendship. In the first, a video gamer, known as Bearded Blevins, with a large following shares his experience of friendship transcending the boundaries of space and time through his Twitch platform.The second story is of Pilar Amado, a woman of color who started rock climbing with a desire to find community. Josh introduces one more (bonus!) Grotto story about inter-generational friendship — a story of three wild turkey hunters in central Michigan.In this episode, Josh and Sara invite us to take a deep dive into our own friendships: How are your friendships? What do your friends need from you, and you from them, in this season of life?Enjoy the episode! Make sure to turn on notifications, so you don't miss an episode! Please leave Good and Decent a review and rating if you get a chance!Watch the full mini-docs featured in this episode: Bearded Blevins Fortnite Stream Aims to Change the WorldRock Climbing: How to Form CommunityWild Turkey Conservation and Oak Savanna RestorationSUBSCRIBE to our YouTube Channel!Connect with us on social media!InstagramTwitterFacebookPinterest Visit us at grottonetwork.com/Subscribe to our weekly newsletter