The Story Collider

This week, we're presenting stories about passion for science that keeps us going, even in the face of overwhelming struggle. Part 1: When Cailin Gallinger struggles with her gender identity in college, her volunteer position in a plant lab becomes a lifeline. Part 2: In the midst of homelessness and abuse, Rose DF dreams of a life in science. Cailin Gallinger is a Master’s student in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Toronto. She studies the geophysical processes of...

This week, we're presenting stories about the difficulties of following instructions -- whether it's medical advice or a recipe. Part 1: Science writer Cassandra WIllyard is frustrated by the restrictions put on her during her pregnancy. Part 2: Comedian Joseph Scrimshaw is terrified of messing up when his new museum job requires him to bake. Cassandra Willyard is a freelance science journalist who likes long walks, international travel, and infectious diseases, the more neglected the...

This week, we're presenting stories about what happens when our expectations don't match up with reality. Part 1: Married neuroscientists Susana Martinez-Conde and Stephen Macknik are surprised by what they learn when they investigate deception at a psychic convention. Part 2: While working in the South Sudan, OB-GYN Africa Stewart must wait for an elder's permission before treating a pregnant woman gored by a bull. Susana Martinez-Conde and Stephen Macknik are award-winning...

This week, we're presenting stories from scientists who faced unusually difficult paths to science. We all know it's hard work to become a scientist. But for some folks, even getting to that point where you can pursue your science education can seem like an impossible dream. Part 1: When Evelyn Valdez-Ward discovers that she's undocumented, she fears her dreams of becoming a scientist are over. Part 2: Samuel Achilefu's experiences growing up during the Nigerian Civil War inspire his...

This week, we're presenting a special two-part bonus episode featuring the stories from our June 2018 show at Caveat in New York City, as part of the Underground Science Festival. Rather than the speeches we typically hear on this topic, our storytellers -- who are both OB-GYNs and patients -- have shared firsthand experiences that cross both generations and borders, and are crucial to our understanding of women's health. You can find Part 1 of this special episode here. Part 1: While...

This week, we're presenting a special two-part bonus episode featuring the stories from our June 2018 show in New York City, "Abortion: Stories from doctors and patients," which was part of Caveat's first annual Underground Science Festival. Rather than the speeches we typically hear on this topic, our storytellers -- who are both OB-GYNs and patients -- have shared firsthand experiences that cross both generations and borders, and are crucial to our understanding of women's health. Stay...

This week, we're presenting stories about leaving home in pursuit of science. Part 1: After being raised as a creationist, Jennifer Colbourne falls in love with evolutionary science. Jennifer Colbourne is a graduate student at York University where she is currently researching raccoon intelligence. She is interested in how animals are adapting to cities, and how to improve animal-human interactions in the urban environment. Part 2: Herman B. White leaves his hometown of Tuskegee behind...

This week, we’re presenting stories about times when we’re overwhelmed and feeling alone. Sometimes, in science, we need help. Sometimes that help is hard to find. And sometimes it comes from an unexpected place. Part 1: As a first-year teacher, Matt Baker feels overwhelmed -- especially when his principal is less than supportive. Matt Baker is a high school math teacher at The Brooklyn Latin School in Brooklyn, NY. After getting his Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering from...

This week, we're presenting stories about unconventional solutions and things that seemed like a great idea at the time! Part 1: Author Kate Greathead sets off on a cross-country drive to escape her anxiety. Part 2: After years of studying worms, Tracy Chong begins to wonder if they might hold the key to alleviating hunger. Kate Greathead is a 9-time Moth Storytelling Slam champion. Her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, and Vanity Fair, and on NPR’s Moth Radio...

This week, we're presenting stories about what happens when our own brains keep us from being fully ourselves. Part 1: When storyteller Sandi Marx begins to develop cognitive symptoms of lupus, she worries she'll lose the aspects of her personality that she values most. Part 2: Chemist Toria Stafford's untreated mental illness starts to overwhelm both her science and her personal life. Sandi Marx, a retired talent agent, has been touring the country, telling stories, for the past three...

his week, we're presenting stories about the struggle to find friends. Science can be a lonely job -- but it can also connect us to others in ways we'd never imagine. Part 1: Feeling isolated in her new job as a particle accelerator operator at Fermilab, Cindy Joe finds comfort in the friendship of her unconventional pet. Part 2: Patrick Honner starts to doubt his lifelong love of math when graduate school becomes a lonely experience. Cindy Joe is an engineering physicist working with...

This week, we're presenting stories about surprising revelations or events in science. Part 1: When he receives a call from the vet, writer Matthew Dicks is startled to learn that his dog is in surgery -- and that he agreed to it the night before. Part 2: After traveling to Madagascar for a conservation project, climatologist Simon Donner misses his ride to the field site, and must find his way there on his own. Matthew Dicks is an elementary school teacher and the internationally...

This week at The Story Collider, we're presenting two stories about confronting death. Part 1: Science communicator Anthony Morgan receives an invitation to be vacuum-sealed to the bottom of a helicopter -- for science! Part 2: As a medical student, Elorm Avakame befriends a patient who is dying from alcoholism. Anthony Morgan is the Creative Director of Science Everywhere!, an organisation devoted to adult science entertainment. The mission is to build science culture through engaging...

This week, we're presenting two stories about the science behind dating, ranging from a neuroscientist's attempts to use brain scans and personality tests to determine her compatibility with a rapper to a comedian's mishaps with a "penis-numbing spray"! Part 1: Comedian Josh Gondelman is threatened with a lawsuit after he reviews a new sexual enhancement product. Part 2: Seemingly incompatible, neuroscientist Heather Berlin and rapper Baba Brinkman try to use science to figure out if...

This week, we're presenting two stories about responsibility in science. Whether we're working in a classroom or the White House, we all have some level of responsibility for others. And sometimes we have to ask ourselves -- are we doing enough to live up to those responsibilities? Both of our stories today explore this idea. Part 1: On her first day working in the White House under President Obama, microbiologist Jo Handelsman receives some bad news. Dr. Jo Handelsman is currently the...

To close out Pride Month this week, we're sharing a special bonus episode featuring stories about coming out in science! Part 1: Science educator Charlie Cook experiments with coming out to students. Charlie Cook is a non-binary stand up comedian by night and a non-binary science educator by day. Their favourite topics include queer theory, entomology, and outer space. For more information on their work and to find out where they're performing next, visit them on Instagram...

In this week's episode, we're presenting stories about venturing into unfamiliar territory, whether it's an isolated community in Alaska or the Costa Rican island of Chira. Part 1: Journalist Arielle Duhaime-Ross finds common ground with an Alaskan community struggling with the effects of climate change. Part 2: Costa Rican ecologist Marco Quesada sees a new side of his country when he travels to Chira Island for a conservation project. Arielle Duhaime-Ross is the environment and climate...

This week, we're celebrating Father's Day by sharing stories about complicated relationships with dads. Part 1: After her father, a well-known intellectual, passes away, neurobiology PhD student Eva Higginbotham tries to live up to his academic standards. Part 2: Storyteller Nisse Greenberg travels home to care for his father after a brain injury. Eva Higginbotham is a 3rd year PhD candidate on the University of Cambridge’s ‘Developmental Mechanisms’ programme. She works with fruit flies...

This week we're sharing stories about love that stands the test of time, transcending illness, differences, and even death. In other words -- break out that box of tissues, y'all. Part 1: Writer Alison Smith reconnects with her estranged father after he develops Alzheimer's disease. Part 2: Science journalist Peter Brannen mourns the loss of his mother while studying the earth’s biggest mass extinction. Alison Smith is a writer and performer. Her writing has appeared in Granta,...

This week, we're presenting stories about coming of age. Bildungsroman, if you will. (Thank you, eleventh-grade Honors English!) These storytellers will share stories about growing up and finding their identities -- whether it's within their family, or within their own bodies. Part 1: Growing up, Moni Avello struggles to understand her younger sister, who has Asperger's syndrome. Part 2: For Morgan Givens, the onset of puberty feels like an alien invasion. Moni (Monika) Avello...