The Story Collider

In honour of National Coming Out Day on October 11, we're sharing two stories about queer journeys, self-discovery, and what it means to finally become your authentic self. Part 1: Every time Billie Sainwood is intimate with a partner, she loses consciousness—a medical mystery that makes dating difficult. Part 2: Kelsea Best is sleepwalking through graduate school until an unexpected encounter wit...

Every family has secrets. But some secrets have the power to completely reshape who you think you are. In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers uncover revelations that change everything they thought they knew about themselves. Part 1: When Ryan Jones receives a DNA test from his mom for Christmas, he expects to learn a little more about his family history and heritage. Part 2: After years...

This week we present two classic stories of people struggling with what the “right” thing to do is. Part 1: Catherine Macdonald always wanted to study sharks, but her first time tagging them in the field doesn't go as planned. Part 2: When Michelle Tong visits home after her first semester of medical school, a stranger presents an ethical dilemma. Dr. Catherine Macdonald is co-founder and Director...

This week’s episode — produced in partnership with Boise State University’s “AWESOME” Center — features two stories from The AWESOME Center’s research team. Part 1: Physicist Leslie Atkins has spent her life trusting evidence over intuition. Part 2: Eric Jankowski is determined to beat his math-genius dad at the game Go. Leslie Atkins is a professor at Boise State University whose work moves acros...

While many believe striving for perfection is a fool's errand, in this week's episode both of our storytellers chase it anyway. Part 1: Weiji Ma grapples with the pressure of living up to his child prodigy reputation as he grows older. Part 2: Chia Lin's meticulously structured life is upended by a chance encounter with a swarm of bees outside her lab. Weiji Ma received his Ph. D. in Physics from...

In this week's episode, two storytellers reclaim their power—one by challenging a broken system, the other by confronting the ways trauma continues to shape her life. Part 1: Kimberly Babiarz sets out to fight human trafficking, only to discover that one of the biggest obstacles is the lack of reliable data. Part 2: After years of therapy, Denise Cai believes she's moved beyond her trauma—until he...

This week we present two stories from our archive of people who learned something about their childhood later in life. Part 1: Growing up in the fifties and sixties, Jenice Matias senses there's more to her mother's occupation than she understands. Part 2: D.B. Firstman has always known their body is different, but at the age of thirty, they make a discovery that changes everything. Jenice Matias...

While we often like to think we're in control of our own lives, both of our storytellers learn that some things remain beyond our grasp, no matter how hard we try to steer the outcome. Part 1: After years of helping others safely navigate glaciers, Monte Montepare suddenly finds himself at the mercy of one. Part 2: Jessica Lee Williamson's OCD fixates on a single question: how will she die? Monte...

In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers uncover cracks in the education system that prove harder to ignore than they expected. Part 1: While teaching a summer school math class in Texas, Justine Ang Fonte realizes that many of her students have never received even the most basic sex education. Part 2: Guilherme Lichand uncovers a flaw in Brazil’s education system that leaves thousands of...

In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers explore the challenges, opportunities, and unexpected lessons they encountered as immigrant scientists in the United States. Part 1: Michelle Lanuza has her sights set on a career designing communication systems for airplanes, yet each new opportunity comes with the same obstacle: her immigration status. Part 2: For Saba Banaian, the opportunity to...

This week, we're re-airing two classic stories about finding 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...

In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers share the unconventional paths that led them into science journalism. Part 1: Keren Landman always wanted to be a writer, but her family didn’t see it as a practical career — so instead, she went to medical school. Part 2: When Adithi Ramakrishnan gets to college, she only sees two career paths ahead of her: medical school or scientific research. Ke...

What does it actually mean to “be a man”? In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers grapple with masculinity and are forced to confront what manhood means to them. Part 1: As a teenager, Mike McFadden realizes one part of his body isn’t developing like the other boys his age. Part 2: Ricky Ortiz believed that to be a good husband, father, and provider, he could never show weakness. Mike McF...

In a perfect world, getting the health care you need wouldn’t require fighting for it. But in this week’s episode, both of our storytellers discover just how hard they have to push to get the treatment — and validation — they need and deserve. Part 1: Cooper Joslin is determined to get a hysterectomy to finally stop the debilitating symptoms of endometriosis but all the doctors won’t seem to let t...

In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers come face to face with one of their deepest fears: the ocean. Part 1: When the children’s TV show host Carly Ciarrocchi is assigned a scuba diving episode, she’s forced to confront a lifelong fear of the ocean. Part 2: Growing up, Darcie Little Badger was wary of the ocean. But when she takes an oceanography class in college, she begins to question...

In this week’s Best Of episode, we present stories from people who navigated our changing relationship to technology. Part 1: As a kid, Samy Kamkar discovers his superpower -- hacking. Part 2: When Jordan Bush's father-in-law-to-be is diagnosed with cancer shortly before her wedding, she finds a creative way to help him attend. Samy Kamkar is a hacker-turned-security researcher building tools to...

In this week’s episode, both storytellers discover just how far people will go for the ones they love. Part 1: When Bailey Swilley’s dad goes into cardiac arrest, she watches her mom care for him and starts to reevaluate what love really looks like. Part 2: At rock bottom, Pam Stepansky turns to her dad for support with her alcoholism. Bailey Swilley is a writer, comedian and storyteller from Memp...

In this week’s episode, storytellers share stories about carbs, control, and the unexpected ways bread shapes our lives. Part 1: When everyone in Rich Tackenberg’s family is diagnosed with celiac disease, he’s forced to confront a terrifying possibility: life without his emotional support carb. Part 2: During the pandemic, Aditya Surendran sets out to conquer making a 36-hour baguette. Rich Tacken...

In this week’s episode, we’re bringing you two stories about navigating the uncertainty, hope, and heartbreak of trying to have a baby. Part 1: After a pregnancy loss, Annie Tan channels her grief into rescuing an injured mockingbird. Part 2: Kibby McMahon is convinced she can will her way into pregnancy, but her body refuses to follow the plan. Annie Tan is an educator, activist, writer and story...

In this week’s Best Of episode, we present two stories of people who had to leave home to find a new home. Part 1: When Ph. D student Ali Mattu's girlfriend tells him she is moving to New York City, he has to make some tough decisions about where home is. Part 2: Arlo Pérez Esquivel struggles to define his boundaries with his father while he is pursuing his education in another country. Ali Mattu...

In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers reflect on the ways we try to hold onto the people we love. Part 1: Gwendolyn Napier is left heartbroken when harsh Atlanta weather destroys the trees planted to honor her family members. Part 2: Bimini Wright looks back on her childhood spent aboard a research boat, studying tuna alongside her larger-than-life fisherman father. Gwendolyn J. Napier...

In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers share tales about whales. Part 1: As a child, Brittany Munson dreams of growing up to be a whale trainer. Part 2: As a marine scientist focused on living creatures, Maya Santangelo is convinced that diving to explore an old whaling shipwreck in the Antarctic will be boring. Brittany Munson is a Lead Educator at the California Science Center, where s...

In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers are forced to confront the terrifying unknown and decide how to live in the shadow of what might come. Part 1: After three generations of women in her family develop Alzheimer’s disease, Mary Jo Pollack enrolls in a study that could reveal whether she’s next. Part 2: When Sabrina Samuel is diagnosed with a brain aneurysm and told to wait a year befo...

When her twenty-five year marriage unexpectedly fell apart, science writer Florence Williams (author of Heartbreak ) felt shocked and blindsided. Such heartbreak led to a new range of intense feelings and, trained as a journalist, Florence set out on a journey to understand the science of heartbreak. She tried novel forms of therapy, immersed herself in nature, and consulted cutting-edge research...

In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers build shields to protect themselves and discover what happens when those defences fail. Part 1: As a lonely teenager searching for connection, Christopher Moncayo-Torres turns to an unlikely disguise—a giant Clifford costume—in hopes of bridging the gap between himself and the world around him. Part 2: JP Flores has always been the family’s “smart k...