After celebrating the grand opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, the project’s local Architect of Record, JLG Architects, has unveiled the first season of its Bold by Nature podcast, sharing the untold stories behind the award-winning design of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library (TRPL) in Medora, ND.
The Bold by Nature podcast–airing on JLG’s website, Spotify, and YouTube–is hosted by JLG’s Principal Architect and Community Studio Leader Jennifer Burke Jackson, AIA, LEED AP, and Project Architect Zach Mathern. Jackson and Mathern have been part of the project from inception, recounting TRPL’s many challenges, collaborative partnerships, and sustainability achievements.
“We’re bringing to light the convergence of both history and innovation in the heart of North Dakota’s Badlands, as told directly by the individuals, often behind the scenes, that made this extraordinary project happen,” explained Jackson. “Roosevelt was undeniably a bold, action-oriented character, and this spirit has lived on over the past decade, in the people of North Dakota and others from across the country, all coming together – executing something that has never been done before.”
SEASON 1 OVERVIEW
Within its first three episodes, the North Dakota-founded firm shares behind-the-scenes insights, project challenges, and triumphs that define this extraordinary destination. As Jackson and Mathern lead the conversation, they introduce listeners to the project’s world-class partners, uncovering the pioneering spirit and bold civic vision that built a “living library.”
EPISODE #1: The Beautiful, Challenging Rural West: Medora, the National Park, and the Remote Geography
In Bold by Nature’s first episode, Jackson explores why Medora (pop. 160) was chosen over Roosevelt’s home state of New York, highlighting the project’s roots in Dickinson, ND, and the determined advocacy and vision of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation and North Dakota’s state leaders. She introduces listeners to TRPL’s Group Experience Manager Amy McCann, Stacey Swanson, Billings County (ND) Planning & Zoning Director, and Zach Mathern, Project Architect at JLG Architects. All played key roles as boots-on-the-ground stewards bringing the community into the project’s journey, helping ensure the Library would belong to and be shaped by the place it calls home.
“We know that this place had a lot of spiritual connections with T.R., but it was also the place where he was reborn, where he was transformed… I think that it’s so fitting for it to be here in the Badlands and not just on this butte in Medora, but between the Elkhorn Ranch and the Maltese Cross Ranch, TR’s two ranches. And it’s on the doorstep of Theodore Roosevelt National Park and it’s surrounded by the little Missouri grasslands. TR created all of these things, so it’s such a fitting place for his library.”
—Amy McCann, TRPL Group Experience Manager (Bold by Nature Episode 1, Season 1)
EPISODE #2: The Generosity of a Roof: Dissecting the systems that carry their weight
In Bold by Nature’s second episode, Jackson and Mathern team up to take listeners into one of the Library’s most ambitious features: its living, walkable earthen roof. Joined by Senior Project Architect Beau LaCroix, they share how the roof was conceived to conceal the building into the natural contours of the Badlands and direct every drop of rainfall through the layers of the roofing systems. They also reflect on what it took to cover the roof with more than 140,000 native prairie plugs, grown from seeds hand-collected over several summers. This story tells the hidden secrets within this building’s earth.
““(When standing upon the roof) You’re standing upon his legacy — and this experience really calls everyone that comes here to action.”
—Jennifer Burke Jackson, AIA, LEED AP | JLG Principal Architect & Community Studio Leader
(Bold by Nature Episode 2, Season 1)
EPISODE #3: “Over, Under, or Through — But Never Around”
In the third episode, Jackson and Mathern explore one of T.R.’s guiding beliefs: to take on life’s challenges and never avoid them. Jackson and Mathern are joined by two key leaders of the Library’s landscape architecture team, Matt McMahon and Jena Stanton, who share the rigor around the vision and the execution of the roof’s details and design. Together, they reflect on the extensive research, strong partnerships, and meticulous planning that went into building with the land, responding to the region’s climate, and making bold design decisions that contribute to the cultural and ecological story of rural North Dakota.
“This is not a normal roof and it’s definitely not a normal green roof either… in the same way that the building and the roof unfolds as you approach it, as you ascend the roof, the landscape beyond unfolds too.”
—Matt McMahon | TRPL Landscape Architect – Project Manager
(Bold by Nature Episode 3, Season 1)
IN THE WORKS
In upcoming episodes, Jackson and Mathern return to the studio to examine the expertise, innovation, and technical rigor behind TRPL’s regenerative design; efforts that have recently earned Architecture MasterPrize’s 2026 Architectural Design of the Year, Forest Stewardship Council Leadership Award – Built Environment, and the Excellence in Structural Engineering Award from the Structural Engineering Association of Illinois.
The Library is currently pursuing three concurrent, high-level certifications: Full Living Building Certification, LEED Platinum, and SITES Platinum. Jackson and Mathern will introduce the key team members advancing this ambitious work, then unpack what each certification means in practice, from material choices and energy performance to water stewardship, habitat, and ongoing site restoration.
The duo will also sit down with Chef Candace Stock, inviting her to share the ethically sourced inspiration behind the Library’s Salt+Scoria restaurant. Listeners will hear how this forager, farmer, and land steward set the table for an Indigenous food movement, from the White Earth Reservation of Minnesota to the Badlands of Medora.
Follow Bold by Nature for more conversations that explore the unknown dimensions of TRPL’s design, revealing the ideas, disciplines, and decisions that bring architecture, ecology, and cultural stewardship into the arena.
