The Story Collider

In this week’s episode, we’re getting into the weeds—literally—with two stories about how gardens and green spaces can take root in our lives in unexpected ways.Part 1: Feeling lonely after a move to New York City, Kofi Thomas finds connection, purpose, and community through a neighborhood garden.Part 2: As he fights to stay sober, Michael Hudgins throws himself into an unusual form of therapy: pulling invasive plants from a city park.Kofi Thomas is a NYC based comedian with a curiosity for the world. He is a first generation immigrant to parents from Dominica, (not the Dominican Republic). Observer, commentator and creator of the world around him. An accidental community activist.Originally from Tifton, Georgia, Michael Hudgins has called Atlanta home for the last 15 years. Michael loves to write songs, watch documentaries and spend time with his wife and son. Professionally, Michael has recently found a calling working to protect and preserve local forests through invasive plant management.See Privacy Polic

This week’s special episode—produced in partnership with Institute for Neuroscience, Neurotechnology, and Society at Georgia Tech – features two powerful stories from individuals whose lives have been shaped by brain-computer interfaces.Part 1: As his Parkinson’s symptoms worsen and medications take a toll, Brandan Mehaffie faces a life-altering decision: continue down a difficult path or undergo brain surgery to implant an electrode to stimulate deep areas of his brain.Part 2: After an accident leaves Ian Burkhart with complete tetraplegia, he grapples with losing his independence — until he’s offered a chance to participate in a groundbreaking clinical trial using muscle stimulation controlled by a brain implant to help restore movement.Brandan Mehaffie: Graduate University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy. Retired Director of Pharmacy Asset Protection Rite Aid Pharmacy. Married 25 years to wife Kelly and have two adult daughters Mae and Riley. Diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 2016 and recipient of dee

In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers share tales of well-intentioned choices gone wrong.Part 1: In fourth grade, Ro Moran is thrilled to be trusted with the class pet iguana, Iggy, for the night. But by morning, something is very wrong. Part 2: As an exchange student studying superconducting oxides, Karoline Mueller tries to save money by gold-coating a cheap crucible instead of using a solid gold one. Ro is an award-winning empanada eater with a penchant for storytelling. His credits include Prose of Pie, Tiny Tales, Story Boom, Story Collider En Español, and producing the Westchester-based 'Say Word' show. He is most remembered for his groundbreaking trio with his 14yr and 3 yr old . They’ve since broken up due to ‘creative differences’. When Ro isn’t telling tales, he is a social justice warrior for human rights non profits. Karoline is the youngest of 4 siblings. Growing up in Germany, the family interests included music, art, nature, and building things. From fairly young, there was no questi

To close out Pride Month this week, we're sharing a special best of 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 white settler on ancestral, unceded Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh territory. They are a museum science interpreter with a BFA in Original Works from Cornish College of the Arts. Part 2: Marine biologist Shayle Matsuda adapts to his new identity as a transgender man while on assignment in the Philippines. Dr. Shayle Matsuda is a Research Biologist at the John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, where he leads the Aquatic Microbial Ecology: Coral Reefs and Urban Freshwater Ecosystems research program. Shayle Matsuda's story originally aired on our podcast in November 2014. See details here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee 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 of our storytellers use a scientific lens to examine their worst relationships. Part 1: Carlos Maza uses the plague to analyze his brutal breakup. Part 2: Panagiota Vogdou refuses to see her boyfriend as toxic until a stranger on the bus tells her to go to therapy. Carlos Maza is a video journalist focusing on misinformation, media bias, and propaganda. He is the Director of Video at Media Matters for America. He has spent too much of his adult life writing about fascism and hate speech. He would much rather you tell him about you Dungeons & Dragons character. Panagiota was born in Kozani, Greece, and moved to Toronto, Canada, in 2015. She’s a Greek teacher and a flight attendant, but her true passion lies in acting—and, of course, storytelling. Though she’s based in Toronto, she’s always ready to fly anywhere to share her stories. Panagiota has performed in community theatre both in Greece and in Toronto. In 2020, she discovered her love for storytelling, and since then,

In celebration of Pride Month, we’re sharing two stories about coming out with the help of science. Part 1: After years of struggling with their gender identity, Parker Sublette finds inspiration in marine life. Part 2: Bullied as a kid for the sound of his voice, Garret Glinka begins to reclaim his confidence thanks to biology class. Parker Sublette is a comedian and speculative fiction writer living in Brooklyn, New York. She can usually be found scrambling around the city looking for any stage that will have her, or at home with her roommates and their two cats. Parker also sometimes hosts an open-mic in Bushwick, you can find her @parks_jokez on instagram. Garret Glinka: I wear two hats: one as a businessman with half a Master’s in Business, and the other as a scientist, with another half in Biotechnology and Genomics, complemented by a Bachelor’s in Biological Sciences. My background allows me to bridge the administrative and scientific worlds. Over the past six years, I’ve honed my expertise as a la

This week’s special episode—produced in partnership with Challenging Pseudoscience, at the Royal Institution, with support from the Open Society Foundation—features two storytellers who share just how easy it is to fall for scientific misinformation, and how difficult it can be to find your way back. Part 1: When Lydia Greene’s infant daughter has a troubling reaction to a routine vaccine and her concerns are dismissed by a healthcare professional, she turns to an online parenting forum for answers. Part 2: After moving to a new town and feeling isolated, Sarah Ott looks for connection through talk radio and a local church—only to find herself pulled into a world of climate denial and conspiracy thinking. Lydia Greene, nurse, wife, mother, geek, and vaccine advocate. Co-founder of Back to the Vax. Sarah Ott is a science educator and climate activist. Her work is focused on building resilience locally and nationally as we adapt to a changing climate. As the granddaughter of a Pennsylvania coal miner and form

To kick off our big 15 year anniversary celebration, we’re re-sharing two stories from the storytellers you, the fans, voted as your favorite stories. And the best part? You can see these storytellers, along with the other fan favorites, take the stage live on June 3, 2025, at Caveat in New York City during our special anniversary show and fundraiser. Learn more and grab your tickets here. Part 1: Maryam Zaringhalam's scheme to cheat her way into the smart class makes clear a huge flaw in the education system. Part 2: On the first day of grad school for her PhD, a fellow student tells Bianca Jones Marlin that she doesn't really belong there. Maryam is a molecular biologist by training who traded in her pipettes for the world of science policy and advocacy. She’s on a mission to make science more open and inclusive through her work both as a science communicator and policymaker. She’s a Senior Producer for the Story Collider in DC and previously served as the Assistant Director for Public Access and Research

Some relationships stand the test of time—others unravel. In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers explore what it means to heal, let go, and move forward. Part 1: Stuck in a monsoon on Kauai, Belinda Fu unintentionally ruins a friendship with a classmate. Part 2: Matt Storrs blames a dinosaur scientist’s theory for the end of his marriage. Belinda Fu, MD, (“theImprovDoc”) is a physician, educator, and performing artist based in Seattle. She travels the country teaching about medical improv, using the principles of improvisational theater to improve wellbeing, health, communication, and patient care. (medicalimprov.org) She is also a Clinical Associate Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Washington. Belinda performs and directs improv theatre, studies jazz voice, makes really good popcorn, takes naps in the sun, and would like to say hi to your dog. belindafu.com Matt Storrs is a comedian and storyteller based out of NYC and originally from Phoenix, AZ. Matt created a solo show based 

In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers become extremely fixated on something very specific. Part 1: After being diagnosed with breast cancer and opting for bilateral mastectomies, Jenna Dioguardi becomes beholden to her cancer to-do list. Part 2: As an 11-year-old kid, Luke Strathmann makes it his life mission to get rich off of Beanie Babies. Jenna Dioguardi is an Obie & Drama Desk-award winning performer. She made her Off-Broadway debut originating the role of #13 in Sarah DeLappe's The Wolves, and can now be seen storytelling in dimly lit venues throughout New York. Her solo show, Nipples for Christmas, is currently in development and had its debut in March. By day, Jenna works as a video producer and editor, creating the ads that target you on Instagram. She co-produced, starred in, and edited Smooch the Tucc, a web series chronicling Stanley Tucci’s Searching for Italy, and she was the co-creator and co-host of two live shows: The Best Storytelling Show (we promise) and The Mister Roger

In honor of Mother’s Day, both of our storytellers share stories about their unique relationships with their moms. Part 1: Rita Rigano always had a complicated relationship with her mother, and it becomes even more fraught when her mother’s dementia worsens. Part 2: In the midst of writing her PhD dissertation, Jordyn Rice embarks on one last road trip with her mother, who is dying of lung cancer. Rita Rigano is a NYC-based storyteller who appears locally and online. Some favorite shows include Generation Woman, New Tricks, (mostly) True Things, The Moth, The Once Upon a Time Show, and Better Said Than Done. She started storytelling with her children, presenting fairy tales with a twist at libraries and schools. She loves live theatre, live music, and swing dancing with her husband. Jordyn Rice is a postdoctoral fellow based in Vancouver, BC. She is a physical therapist and researcher dedicated to finding strategies to promote healthy aging. While she is passionate about clinical research her love of neu

In this week’s episode, Thomas Dixon and Rachel Robinson manage to build a friendship, despite not remembering the exact moments they shared. Thomas Dixon is the author of "I'm Sorry... That's Awesome!: Inventing a Solution for Memory Loss", and the inventor of ME.mory (a digital memory mobile application/service). Thomas was running when struck by a car and injured so badly that he nearly died. His episodic memory (specific details like places visited, people met, what has happened recently) has been severely compromised by his TBI. Since inventing ME.mory Thomas speaks and writes on the role of technology's benefits for episodic memory. As a world traveler he has been in twenty countries and looks forward to setting foot in many more. Rachel Robinson has lived with epilepsy for more than 20 years. To help overcome the challenges from this life-changing condition, she helps to educate those in the epilepsy community, working as a Patient Educator for a medical device company. In her spare time she enjoys bow

This week we present two stories from people who stood up against a system eager to tear them down.Part 1: After a car crash alters Emily Winn's life forever, she must relive the trauma when she testifies in a deposition. Part 2: Geneticist C. Brandon Ogbunu contemplates the role race has played in his academic career after he is confronted by the police. Dr. Emily Winn-Nuñez is a data scientist based in Brooklyn, NY where she lives with her husband and adorable pug. She received her AB in mathematics from the College of the Holy Cross, spent a year in the Visiting Students Programme at St. Edmund Hall at the University of Oxford, and earned a PhD in Applied Mathematics from Brown University. She’s still a Sox fan, still ergs at the gym, and still enjoys comedy - but she’ll also happily discuss the New York Liberty or the Love Island multiverse. C. Brandon Ogbunu is a Professor at the Santa Fe Institute, and an Assistant Professor at Yale University. His research focuses on evolutionary genetics and the ecolo

In this week’s episode, both our storytellers’ lives are altered by an unexpected mishap. Part 1: When teenage Ron Hart accidentally walks through a glass door, he lands in the ER on the worst possible day: a tornado drill. Part 2: After a car accident leaves all of her teeth bent inward, Di Cai begins to rethink her life as a scientist. Ron Hart is a television writer, a Moth GrandSlam Champion, and a recovering mascot. Di Cai is an investment professional by day, a stand up comedian at night, and a sailboat skipper (aka “captain”) if there's good wind on the Hudson River. A former Chinese TV hostess turned PhD scientist; an investor moonlights as a comedian, going by a stage name Dr Dee in the underground New York comedy clubs. Whether it's stand up or storytelling, Di has her unique perspectives as an immigrant, a woman, and a badass. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-n

In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers share tales of persistence and beating the odds in order to pursue their scientific dreams. Part 1: Determined to become an academic, Rajyashree Sen must take on a broken system to secure a spot in a PhD program in Vienna. Part 2: Josh Barber dreams of studying fish, but when his father goes to jail and his mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, he’s left to care for his nine younger siblings. Rajyashree Sen is a neuroscientist and postdoctoral researcher at Columbia University. She holds a PhD in neuroscience and molecular biology from the University of Vienna (Austria), and a masters degree in Biotechnology from the University of Hyderabad (India). As a graduate student with Dr. Barry Dickson, Dr. Sen dissected the neuronal pathways for evasive walking in fruit-flies. Her research focused on a set of neurons, dubbed the moonwalker neurons, that constitute the key pathway for backward walking in flies. Her work has been tweeted by MC Hammer. Dr. Sen is curren

Some people are meant to be together—but in this week’s episode, our storytellers discover they’re definitely not a match made in heaven.Part 1: When Mark Pitzer gets splashed with methyl cyanide, he turns to his new girlfriend in hopes of comfort. Part 2: Hoping to impress his scientist date, Adam Selbst plans the perfect outing: the Central Park Squirrel Census.Mark Pitzer, Ph.D. is a Neuroscientist at the University of Portland. For the last 25 years he has worked to better understand and treat diseases of the brain, including Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases. Currently, his lab studies how developmental influences in the womb can alter the number of dopaminergic neurons involved in reward, movement and social behavior. Mark is also an award-winning teacher who uses the findings from the fields of learning and neuroscience to invoke enduring enthusiasm, curiosity, and deep learning in his college students. Adam Selbst is an award-winning designer, writer and storyteller. He’s performed on The Moth, PB

This week, we present two stories about confronting threats -- whether it’s actual physical danger or a threat to your career.Part 1: Climate scientist Kim Cobb is exploring a cave in Borneo when rocks begin to fall.Part 2: Neurobiologist Lyl Tomlinson is startled when he's accused of stealing cocaine from his former lab.Kim Cobb is a researcher who uses corals and cave stalagmites to probe the mechanisms of past, present, and future climate change. Kim has sailed on multiple oceanographic cruises to the deep tropics and led caving expeditions to the rainforests of Borneo in support of her research. Kim has received numerous awards for her research, most notably a NSF CAREER Award in 2007, a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 2008, and the EGU Hans Oeschger Medal in 2020. She served as Lead Author for the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and as a member of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board under President Biden. As a mother to fou

In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers struggle to get the right words out. Part 1: After living with a stutter all her life, Sara Street thinks coding might be the solution to her communication problems. Part 2: Electrical engineer Anna Fox longs to share her work with her family, but struggles with how to explain it. Sara Street has lived in Idaho for seven years with her mom and dad after moving from Texas in 2019; however, her hometown is Greensboro, North Carolina. She is now pursuing her undergraduate degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering. She has been very active within the STEM community for the past four years, especially within her school. She served as the Idaho State Secretary for the Technology Student Association (TSA), a student-led STEM CTSO. In her free time, she loves to read and paint. Anna Fox is a scientist and device fabricator at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder Colorado. Besides working with superconducting integrated circuits, she is an a

In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers explore what happens when belief systems collide—and how science and empathy can help bridge the divide.Part 1: Neuroscientist Lauren Vetere is excited to see if real life will mimic science at an interfaith event.Part 2: Growing up as a devout Jew, Fred Gould’s relationship with God is shaken by existential philosophy and science.Lauren Vetere is a neuroscientist, writer, and science communicator based in NYC. She recently received her PhD in Neuroscience from Mount Sinai, where she studied how different parts of the brain communicate to make memories, and how that communication is disrupted in epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease. Outside of the lab, she works to make science accessible through writing, community outreach, and art. Lauren serves as a council member and blog writer for BraiNY, a NYC-based neuroscience outreach group. In 2023, she co-created the winning science-inspired short film for Symbiosis, a competition where scientists and filmmakers are pai

Is who we are shaped more by nature or nurture? It's a question science has grappled with for years. In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers dive into their family histories to explore how the people and experiences that came before them continue to shape who they are today.Part 1: As a teenager, Mark Pagan worries that having an old dad is affecting his social development.Part 2: Curious about his DNA, Christopher Rivas takes his father on a journey to the Dominican Republic to learn about his family history.Mark Pagán is an award-winning producer, writer, and editor for non-fiction podcasts and film. He is the creator and host of the critically acclaimed show Other Men Need Help. His work has been featured on Latino USA, Radiotopia, On the Media, 99 Percent Invisible, Code Switch, among others. His films and performances have been shown at dozens of festivals and shows worldwide including Slamdance Film Festival, Maryland Film Festival, RISK!, The Moth, and Story Collider. Mark's work has been nomi