The Story Collider

Wildfires have become more frequent and more destructive in recent years, increasingly threatening communities on the edges of — and sometimes within — our cities. What was once considered a distant risk is now a reality for millions of people living in urban areas.In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers share their experiences with wildfires and the ways those encounters impacted them.Part 1: When wildfires erupt in Los Angeles, Tracy Drain’s work on the Europa Clipper mission is suddenly at risk. Part 2: As a child, Victoria Dinov lives through a historic wildfire that stays with her long after the ashes settle. Tracy Drain is a systems engineer who has helped to develop, test and operate a variety of robotic spacecraft over the past 25 years. A life-long learner, she loves encouraging people to nurture their curiosity and explore the wonders that surround us. She serves on the planning committee for the National Academy of Science’s Science and Entertainment Exchange and the advisory board for the

Water covers roughly 70 per cent of the Earth’s surface and is essential for human survival. But it can also unleash devastating consequences.In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers share tales about water — from flooding to polluted groundwater. Through their stories, we explore how water shapes our cities, our safety, and our sense of security in a changing climate.Part 1: While researching flood risk and insurance costs in California, international student Hannah Melville-Rea is shocked by just how unprotected many people are. Part 2: Patricia Schuba is determined to stop coal and waste pollution from contaminating the groundwater in Labadie, Missouri. Hannah Melville-Rea is a PhD candidate and Knight-Hennessy Scholar at Stanford University, pursuing an interdisciplinary degree in Environment and Resources. Her research focuses on flood risk and examines how infrastructure decisions shape insurance costs and household vulnerability. She works closely with local agencies to translate research into

Climate change doesn’t happen in the abstract. It happens where we live, work, and raise our families.In this special Story Collider series, each episode explores a different element of urban climate change — from fire and air to water and earth — through powerful, true stories from the people experiencing it firsthand.In this episode, our storytellers turn their attention to earth, exploring the ways humans shape the land around us — and how a changing environment shapes us in return.Part 1: While filming a wildlife documentary, filmmaker Mae Dorricott begins to notice just how profoundly human activity is shaping animal behaviour. Part 2: For Christy Marsden, climate change always felt like a distant threat until a patch of ice brought it sharply into focus.Hailing from Lancashire in the north west of England, Mae - is an underwater researcher for natural history documentaries and is currently based in Bristol. From a young age she was blessed with the privilege to visit her mother’s home of Malaysia where

This week, in honor of Women's History Month, we're presenting two stories from our archive about women in science and the unique challenges they face. Part 1: Alison Williams' blossoming passion for chemistry is sidetracked by a professor's thoughtless comment. Part 2: Climate scientist Sarah Myhre becomes embroiled in conflict after speaking out against a senior scientist's problematic statements about climate change. Alison Williams is the Associate Provost for Diversity and Intercultural Education at Denison University. She received her Ph.D. in biophysical chemistry from the University of Rochester where she was a NSF graduate fellow and winner of the graduate student teaching award.  Prior to becoming an administrator first at Oberlin and now at Denison, she was a chemistry faculty member for 25 years, teaching at Swarthmore, Wesleyan, Princeton and Barnard College of Columbia University.  Her research focused using spectroscopy to determine the role of ions in shaping the physical proper

This April, The Story Collider presents a special series on urban climate change.Through eight true, personal stories about science, we explore how the forces shaping our planet — earth, water, fire, and air — show up in the places most of us actually live: our cities.From flooded streets and wildfire smoke to shifting ground and the air we breathe, these are the moments when climate change stops feeling distant — and becomes deeply personal.Eight stories. Four elements. One planet in crisis.Subscribe now and follow along all month long.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this week’s episode, both storytellers explore the surprising connections between dance and science.Part 1: Learning a modern version of her childhood Indian dances puts Sumitra Mattai’s brain and body to the test. Part 2: When people doubt that dance can empower girls to pursue STEM careers, Yamilée Toussaint sets out to prove them wrong. Sumitra Mattai is a writer, storyteller and textile designer. She holds a BFA in Textile Design from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School. Her essays have been published in Huffington Post, Scary Mommy, and Lit Magazine, among others. She lives in Harlem with her family. Yamilée Toussaint is the Founder & CEO of STEM From Dance, which empowers girls with the skills, experiences, and confidence to pursue careers in STEM through the transformative power of dance. Combining her background in engineering, education, and a lifelong passion for dance, she started the program in 2012 to inspire girls of color to pursue ST

In this week’s episode, both storytellers share stories that illustrate why empathy, kindness, and humanity are essential to healthcare.Part 1: After feeling betrayed by the very systems meant to protect her, Karen McCaffrey chooses to become the advocate for survivors she once needed herself.This story does include mentions of sexual assault and rape. In case you’d find them helpful, now or at any point in the future, we have some resources available on our website.Part 2: In her twenties, Mary Cyn endures a string of gynecological problems, and the lack of compassion she encounters in medical settings motivates her into changing how medical students learn patient care.A native New Yorker, Karen McCaffrey has a BA in Economics from SUNY Oneonta and an MBA in Finance from St. John’s University. She spent her early career managing billion-dollar institutional portfolios for TIAA and later directed global treasury operations at Columbia University. She then left the world of finance to help survivors of domesti

Hair might seem trivial, but for many of us it carries history, identity, and meaning far beyond keratin. In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers explore the unexpected power their hair holds.Part 1: Being half Navajo and half white, Carissa Sherman turns to genetics to better understand her identity. As she questions where she belongs, her hair becomes a quiet but powerful marker of how she sees herself.Part 2: Growing up, Ria Spencer believed “good hair” meant long hair but when a medical condition forces her to shave it all off, she’s challenged to rethink what that belief really means.Carissa Sherman is Diné (Navajo) and from Arizona. She’s a rising 5th year PhD Candidate in the Human Medical Genetics and Genomics program at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Carissa is a member of Dr. Katrina Claw’s Lab. Her current work has involved community-based participatory research gathering perspectives of genetics research as well as examining population-level pharmacogenetic variation.

This week we present two stories from Black people who were dealing with the ramifications of our racist systems.Part 1: As a science teacher, Mamoudou N'Diaye was supposed to have all the answers, but he struggles to explain being Black in the USA. Part 2: Rhonda Key fights to be taken seriously by her white co-workers and students when she gets a job at a middle school. Mamoudou N'Diaye is a Mauritanian American comic, writer, filmmaker, activist, DJ, and former teacher. N'Diaye has been a correspondent for digital media companies Mic and Seeker, a creative comedy consultant for social justice nonprofits Color of Change, Hip Hop Caucus, The Center for Cultural Power, and The Center for Media and Social Impact, and a winner of 2019's Yes And Laughter Lab for his pilot, Franklin. He has written and appeared in the Comedy Central Original They Follow, written for Refinery29's After After Party, and is in post-production for the webseries Bodegaverse with Karen Sepulveda. N'Diaye is developing By Us, For Us, a

Science can feel isolating when you don’t see yourself reflected around you. This episode brings together two stories about the search for representation, connection, and belonging in STEM.Part 1: Graduate student Angelique Allen doesn’t fully understand the strong connection she feels to the 2015 animated film Home. Part 2: Growing up in segregated 1950s Baltimore, Ken Phillips learns early who society says he can’t be. Angelique Allen is a graduate student at the University of Oregon, the founder of Dreams of a Scientist, and an aspiring dirtbag. She spends most of her time thinking about science, with a focus on researching octopus brains and creating art that helps integrate science into society. She spends the rest of her time sleeping in the back of her car, climbing rocks, and doing anything she possibly can to see a sea slug (including but not limited to SCUBA diving, snorkeling, and tidepooling). To follow along her scientific journey (and see what her elderly cat is up to) check her out o

Valentine’s Day may be all about couples, but this week’s episode celebrates heartbreak, breakups, and proudly being single as a Pringle.Part 1: Getting dumped is the push psychologist Jiawen Huang needs to step outside his comfort zone.Part 2: While completing her PhD in neuroscience, Leslie Sibener is determined to fix her relationship. Jiawen Huang obtained his PhD in Psychology from Columbia University, where he studied how prior knowledge provides a scaffold for prediction and memory. He grew up in China, and did his undergrad at University College London where he scanned people watching movies in fMRI scanner. In his free time, he can be found dancing salsa, practicing Spanish, and whittling wood carvings, all of which he started doing this past year.Leslie Sibener is a neuroscientist and science communicator based in New York City. She received degrees in Neuroscience and Creative Writing from Johns Hopkins University, and her PhD at Columbia University where she studied movement and motor learnin

Both of this week’s stories come from Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s Rare As One Project grantees, who share their deeply personal experiences with rare diseases and illustrate how research is so essential in the search for better treatments and cures. (For more stories like these, you can also check out our previous episode The Story Collider produced with Rare As One in 2019, 2021, 2023, and 2024, as well as our Rare Disease playlist.)Part 1: After multiple relapses, Carlos Guerrero-Anderson takes a chance on an experimental treatment for his rare cancer. Part 2: Angie Weaver holds onto an unshakable belief that her daughter, who has a rare SCN2A disorder, will beat the odds. Carlos Guerrero-Anderson is an executive leader and patient advocate committed to amplifying the voices of Hairy Cell Leukemia and rare disease communities. Diagnosed with a rare blood cancer at age 25, Carlos transformed his personal journey into a lifelong mission to advance equity and create inclusive spaces for patients and families

This week we present two classic stories from people who found an intersection between numbers and their sex life.Part 1: When online dating isn't working out for him, Tristan Attwood decides to analyze the data himself.Part 2: In search of a deal, Gastor Almonte ends up with an unmanageable number of condoms.Tristan Attwood is a recovering analyst working for the airline industry. Originally from the Portland, Oregon, area, Tristan relocated to DC more than a decade ago after serving as a field organizer for a Senate campaign. Having been "unschooled" as a child, Tristan attended Linfield College in Oregon in the early 2000s but did not technically receive a high school diploma until getting his GED from the District of Columbia in 2015. He spends his free time renovating his house, playing dungeons and dragons, and apologizing for the airline industry. He resides in the DC area with his wife, Jessica, and son Roland Tiberius.Gastor Almonte is a stand-up comedian and storyteller from Brooklyn, NY. He's

In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers confront the real-world consequences of misinformation—and how it can spread faster than the truth.Part 1: Growing up, Modesta Abugu knows firsthand the challenges rural African farmers face. But when she discovers that misinformation is making things worse, she sets out to change the narrative. Part 2: While living in South Africa, Fiona Tudor Price witnesses how AIDS misinformation devastates an entire nation. Modesta N. Abugu recently obtained her Ph.D. in the Department of Horticultural Science at North Carolina State University, where she conducted research to identify genetic tools that can be used to improve flavor in sweetpotato, guiding the development of high-quality varieties. As a National Science Foundation interdisciplinary research fellow at the Genetic Engineering and Society Center, NCSU, she examined the scientific, policy, and public-engagement dimensions of agricultural biotechnology within integrated food, energy, and water systems to help

In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers find themselves reckoning with the choices they’ve made—discovering how a single decision, whether made years ago or in the chaos of a crisis, can shape who we become and the responsibilities we carry.Part 1: When Misha Gajewski’s grandfather has a stroke while the rest of her family is out of town, she suddenly becomes the emergency contact.Part 2: After learning that her mother gave up on her dream of becoming a musician, Paula Croxson vows never to give up on her dream of being a scientist.Misha Gajewski is the artistic director and host of The Story Collider podcast. She is also a freelance journalist, educator, and copywriter. Her work has appeared on Vice, Forbes, blogTO, CTV News, and BBC, among others. She’s the co-found of the world’s first 24-hour True Storytelling Festival and a proud cat mom. She has also written scripts for the award-winning YouTube channel SciShow. Dr. Paula Croxson is a neuroscientist, award-winning science communicator and sto

In this week’s episode, both our storytellers come face to face with the growing power—and pitfalls—of artificial intelligence.Part 1: When AI takes over comedian Kyle Gillis’s job, he takes it personally. Part 2: While researching an AI model, engineer Omiya Hassan discovers one major problem: the amount of energy it’s consuming. Kyle Gillis is a Brooklyn-based comedian, musician, and Guinness World Record holder from Atlanta, GA. His stand-up highlights the contradictions of modern life—work that feels meaningless, a culture obsessed with productivity, and the absurd ways people cope with both. His act blends grounded emotional honesty with controlled chaos. Dr. Omiya Hassan, born and raised in Dhaka, Bangladesh, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Boise State University. She is also the principal investigator and director of her research lab, "LPiNS: Low-Power Integrated Circuits and Embedded Systems," where her team's primary research focuses on solving th

In this week’s episode, like Icarus, both our storytellers fly a little too close to the sun—and learn the hard way that confidence doesn’t always equal competence.Part 1: As a kid, JR Denson is determined to master the art of homemade french fries—but then his kitchen experiment goes up in flames. Part 2: Faced with a looming Science Olympiad deadline, Adam Ruben is sure his last-minute “clock” made from a bag of water will do the trick.JR Denson --a Washington, DC native-- is a full-time college educator and a part time emergency medical technician (EMT). He has become increasingly involved in the DMV's storytelling scene ever since accidentally falling into right before the pandemic. JR has performed for both local and national storytelling organizations such as The Perfect Liar's Club, the Stone Soup Storytelling Festival, and NPR’s The Moth. Adam Ruben is a writer, comedian, and molecular biologist in Washington, DC. He writes the monthly humor column “Experimental Error” in the AAAS journal Science

In this week’s “Best Of” episode, we present two stories of people having to navigate a new world.Part 1: Sean Bearden has never been interested in education, but when he's incarcerated at the age of 19, he finds a passion for physics. Part 2: When Victoria Manning decides to get a cochlear implant, she fears losing her identity as a deaf person. Sean Bearden is a Ph. D. candidate in Physics at UC San Diego, researching the application and development of memcomputing systems, a novel computing paradigm. Identifying as a nontraditional student, Sean went from dropping out of high school to receiving the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship. To alleviate the stress that is inevitably coupled with graduate research, he enjoys training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at the P5 Academy in San Diego. Visit seanbearden.com to learn more. Deaf from the age of four Victoria was raised in a family who instilled a high value on educational achievement and a strong sense of s

In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers look back on moments that might have deserved a little more drama than they got at the time.Part 1: When Jess Nurse feels a throbbing pain in her gut, she chalks it up to heartbreak. Part 2: When Maryam Zaringhalam’s physician mother goes in for brain surgery, everyone insists there’s nothing to worry about.Jess Nurse is a Boston born, NYU graduate and Los Angeles transplant. Her writing career began at the tender age of eight when she wrote a play about a horse, hosted a play reading and no one came. Devastating. She's still working through it. An actor as well, she has guest starred on several TV shows (Quantum Leap, The Resident, Danger Force) and regularly pops up on the commercials of those shows. Very meta. Very multiverse. Jess wants to thank her superhero friends, her Mom and Dad, her sisters Lizzy and Becky and her sweet niece Feather who is already cuter than the cutest Pixar baby. For more of her face and funnies: @jessisnotanurse.  Maryam Zarin

In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers reckon with what happens when success doesn’t come so easily anymore.Part 1: After years of academic achievement, newly minted professor Stephanie Rowley is caught off guard when every paper she submits is rejected. Part 2: Growing up, Kate Schmidt always thought of herself as the “smart kid,” but that identity is shaken when she gets to university and receives her first C.Stephanie J. Rowley is the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Education and dean of the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Virginia. Before returning to UVA, where she earned a Ph.D. in developmental psychology, she was provost and dean at Teachers College, Columbia University. Rowley has won numerous awards for her research, teaching, service, and mentorship. Among her most valued awards have been those received for her outstanding mentoring of students. She currently lives in Charlottesville, Virginia with her husband, Larry, whom she met when they were grad