The Story Collider

Oxygen sustains almost every living thing on the planet and the air we breathe is meant to be invisible. But industrialization has changed that. In many cities around the world, the air is no longer clean. Polluted air affects our health, contributes to rising global temperatures, and harms ecosystems in ways we are only beginning to fully understand. In this week’s episode, both of our storytelle...

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....

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 resea...

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 th...

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 sta...

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...

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 de...

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...

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...

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 Ma...

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...

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 Co...

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 2...

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...

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 Pri...

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...

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 W...

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”...

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 U...

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 graduat...

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...

Attitude is everything—and this week’s storytellers prove it. Even when life throws challenges their way, they show how perspective and perseverance can make all the difference. Part 1: Paralyzed but undeterred, Scott Imbrie is on a mission to regain movement. Part 2: After an accident leaves them with severe burns on over a third of their body, Emily Hespeler works to find their way back to thems...

This week we present two classic stories from people who got called into action to save an animal they didn’t know they’d be called to save. Part 1: While running an errand, Andrea Azarian happens upon a lost horse that needs her help. Part 2: Left in charge of the farm for the first time, Gwynne Hogan panics when a goat goes into labor. Andrea Azarian has an undergraduate degree in Public Admini...

In this week’s episode, both storytellers must navigate heartbreaking dilemmas as they try to figure out how to convey crushing news. Part 1: While doing fieldwork in the Congo, Stella Mayerhoff must track down a local researcher to deliver devastating news. Part 2: During his second year of residency, Sam Blackman is tasked with caring for a dying child whose mother’s unwavering faith clashes wit...

In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers bite off a bit more than they can chew. Part 1: Fresh out of college and in what seems like her dream job, drug and alcohol coach Rhana Hashemi quickly realizes she has no idea how to connect with the high school students she’s supposed to help. Part 2: When Paul Davis and his wife struggle to get pregnant, they decide to foster a pregnant dog—and t...