The Story Collider

While completing a community service requirement in high school, comedian Wyatt Cenac puts a drunk driving simulation to the test. Wyatt Cenac is a comedian and a former correspondent on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” He has also released multiple standup specials, most recently on Netflix, and appeared on film and TV. He regularly hosts a standup evening in Brooklyn called “Night Train with W...

Neuroscientist Paula Croxson is determined to finish her first open-water swimming race -- despite the dangers. Paula Croxson is a neuroscientist at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where she researches the brain mechanisms and chemicals that are responsible for memory. She's particularly interested in complex, autobiographical life memories. Paula is from the UK and before coming to New York she r...

After his grandfather passes away, Ben Lillie learns the surprising truth about his life -- from Wikipedia. Ben is a high-energy particle physicist who left the ivory tower for the wilds of New York's theater district. He is co-founder and artistic director of The Story Collider, where he’s lead the production of over 200 events in ten cities, and the five-year (and ongoing) production of the Stor...

In grade school, Elana Lancaster gets into trouble when he questions his student teacher's science. Elana Lancaster is a health educator and storyteller who lives in Brooklyn. He's a Moth Slam winner, and co-hosts and co-produces the monthly show Take Two Storytelling. When he's not talking about himself onstage, he can often be found teaching and writing about LGBT health, working with medical pr...

Skylar Bayer's dreams of a career in scientific scuba diving are put in jeopardy when her heart begins acting strangely. Skylar Bayer is a PhD candidate studying the secret sex lives of scallops in the great state of Maine. Due to a mishap involving a fisherman, buckets of gonads, and an unlocked Chevy, she once lost all her research samples, but gained a segment on The Colbert Report. She has als...

Aaron Wolfe seeks meaning through labor at a kibbutz dairy farm -- and finds himself tackling some rather unexpected tasks. Aaron Wolfe is a moth grandslam winning storyteller, writer, filmmaker, and obsessive fan of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. He is the screenwriter of the Academy Awards Shortlisted “Record/Play” and yet still somehow hasn’t won his friend's Oscars Pool. He has, however, tau...

When comedian Jo Firestone goes to college, she starts to worry she has an STD -- even though she's never had sex. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

While she's 26 weeks pregnant, OB-GYN MaryAnn Wilbur treats a woman who is also 26 weeks pregnant -- and about to go into labor. MaryAnn Wilbur is currently an editorial fellow at the New England Journal of Medicine and a practicing OB/Gyn at the Dimock Center and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She graduated with a combined MD/MPH from Boston University in 2011 and completed residency train...

As a student, Henry Duffy jumps at a chance to do research...on the second most remote island in the world. Henry Duffy is a conservationist with a particular interest in the marine environment and a background in tropical marine ecology and fisheries management. He has been marooned on one of the world’s most remote islands for three months in the name of scientific research, and aims to convince...

Nathan Boll was an excellent physics student -- up until the day he suddenly dropped out. Nathan Boll is a Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellow with the National Academy of Sciences and a Space Policy Graduate Fellow in the Elliot School of International Affairs at George Washington University. He has a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Montana Western and an M.S. in Sp...

Newborn and premature baby specialist Nitin Ron learns a surprising lesson from one of his young patients. Nitin Ron is a neonatologist (baby doctor) and loves high altitude trekking and mountaineering. He is an associate professor of pediatrics at New York Methodist Hospital, and loves to use innovative methods to teach medical students. He is leading a research project in the Himalayas, includin...

In high school, Emily Mullin dreams of becoming a broadcast journalist -- until her voice mysteriously begins to disappear. Emily Mullin is a freelance science writer interested in telling stories that explore the intersection of health and humanity. She is a regular contributor at Forbes, and her reporting frequently appears in The Washington Post. She has also written for publications like The A...

Jeff Sparr finds an unexpected purpose after his life is torn apart... by a case of jock itch. PeaceLove co-founder Jeff Sparr is a man on an audacious mission -- a mission to make mental illness cool. Not cool to have, but cool to support. A family man, mental health advocate, teacher and self-taught artist, Jeff is above all a survivor, battling Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) much of his li...

Neuroscientist Amanda Duffy gets some surprising news about her brain when she volunteers to be a control in an MRI study. Amanda Marie Duffy is a graduate student at Brown University pursuing her Ph. D. in Neuroscience. Her research is focused on understanding mechanisms that underlie ALS disease progression and therapeutic intervention with the use of molecular, cellular, and behavioral techniqu...

In high school, David Russell joins a hospital apprentice program in order to get close to his crush. David Russell is a librarian, bookseller and storyteller who is thankful to live in Georgia after spending 28 years in the Buffalo area. He hosts Stories On The Square on the fourth Sunday of every month at Kavarna. He has also performed at Naked City, Carapace, Write Club Atlanta, Titans of Talki...

As a PhD student, Rochelle Williams faces barriers to a career in engineering. Rochelle Williams is a Louisiana girl, Spelman woman, and lover of all things football. No stranger to implicit and institutional biases, she is an advocate for women of color in STEM and the relevancy of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. She has a B.S. in physics from Spelman College and both her M.Engr. in...

Steve Crabtree gets an unusual start to his career: watching paint dry. Steve Crabtree left school aged 15 in 1985 and started work as a painter & decorator in Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Limited in Barrow in Furness, where he painted nuclear submarines. Steve left the shipyard in 1992, went to Art College and after leaving college – and teaching music technology for a short time - st...

Brion Randolph's journey to becoming a doctor begins with a box full of kittens. Dr. Brion Randolph is currently the Chief of Medical Oncology at Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) in Newnan, Georgia. He joined CTCA as a medical oncologist and hematologist when the hospital opened in August 2012 and is now Chief of Medical Oncology. He also serves as Medical Director of Hematologic Oncolog...

While working as a census taker in 2010, Dawn Fraser is taken by surprise when her partner asks her for a favor. Dawn J. Fraser is a storyteller, educator and and nationally acclaimed speaker based out of New York City. She is the Host of the live show and upcoming podcast ‘Barbershop Stories’, which features storytellers performing true tales in barbershops and salons. Dawn has created programs f...

As a young chemist working for the state crime lab, Bill Harwood is unexpectedly called to a crime scene. Lt. Bill Harwood is the director of the Maine State Police Crime Laboratory. He has over 26 years of experience in forensics and law enforcement. Lt. Harwood began his career as a forensic chemist at the Crime Laboratory in 1989 after graduating from the University of Maine at Orono with degre...

A chance conversation gives Nneze Akwiwu a chance to study in the United States. Nneze Akwiwu is currently a senior Biology major at Spelman College. She thinks of herself as a bubbly, outgoing and very family oriented individual. She has plans of becoming the first female president of Nigeria. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/p...

After reading about scientific theories of humor, comedian Chris Duffy decides to see if those principles can make his act better. Chris Duffy is a NYC-based comedian who performs across the country. His shows have been featured in The New York Times, Boston Globe, Washington Post, and in The Onion A.V. Club. Chris is the creator and host ofYou're the Expert, a live show, podcast, and public radio...

A young neuroscientist seeks control through an eating disorder. Kia is a recent graduate of Wellesley College, where she majored in neuroscience and mathematics. For two years after graduation she worked as the lab manager for a neuroscience lab at Brown University in Providence, RI. For the past six months she has been traveling and working on organic farms in New Zealand with her girlfriend. Sh...

Growing up on a cattle ranch, Amanda Stockton dreams of searching for life elsewhere in the universe. Dr. Amanda Stockton is an assistant professor in the Chemistry and Biochemistry department at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Her work walks the line between engineering and science to develop instrumentation capable of looking for organic molecules elsewhere in the solar system. These molecu...

To study a dangerous disease, Dan Daneshvar asks families to consider donating their loved one's brains. Dan Daneshvar received an S.B. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Brain and Cognitive Sciences with Concentrations in Cognitive Neuroscience and Poetry. He joined the CTE Center at Boston University School of Medicine in January 2009, where he studies the effects of repetitive he...