The Story Collider

By: Story Collider Inc.
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  • Summary

  • Whether we wear a lab coat or haven't seen a test tube since grade school, science is shaping all of our lives. And that means we all have science stories to tell. Every year, we host dozens of live shows all over the country, featuring all kinds of storytellers - researchers, doctors, and engineers of course, but also patients, poets, comedians, cops, and more. Some of our stories are heartbreaking, others are hilarious, but they're all true and all very personal. Welcome to The Story Collider!
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Episodes
  • Quest for Friendship: Stories about finding pals

    Quest for Friendship: Stories about finding pals
    Oct 4 2024
    It’s not always easy to make friends, but in this week’s episode, both of our storytellers take us on heartwarming and sometimes unexpected journeys to find true friendship and meaningful connections. Part 1: Eva Chebishev gets voted “Most Organized” in first grade and struggles to fit in with her peers. Part 2: Morgan Roberts is worried about how people will see her if she enters a high school math competition. Eva Chebishev (she/her) is a microbiology PhD candidate in the lab of Dr. Ana Fernandez-Sesma at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS). Her research focuses on the immune response to Dengue virus (DENV) with hopes of creating a safe, effective vaccine that is protective against all four serotypes of DENV. When she finally finishes this PhD, she aims to combine her enthusiasm for science communication and public outreach with her life-long passion for musical theatre. To this end, she recently had the incredible opportunity to perform in the limited, Off-Broadway run of “Lifeline” an original musical which tells the story of Alexander Fleming’s discovery of Penicillin and the ongoing, rising global public health threat of antimicrobial resistance. She was also an attendee of ComSciCon-Flagship-2024, a science communication conference for graduate students, and has guest starred on the podcast “Mattsplaining” by Matthew Storrs. Outside of the lab, she performs in, directs, and produces “The Sinai Story Project”, a student-run showcase of original stories from the ISMMS student body. Finally, she is a diversity and disability advocate for equal opportunities in science and would like to thank The Story Collider for this opportunity and her Story Collider Workshop instructors for helping her find and craft her story. Morgan Roberts is a Mechanical Engineering major in her junior year at Boise State University. She is currently pursuing aerospace engineering and has had wonderful opportunities interning for various aerospace companies in the US and is hopeful to get more! She loves playing volleyball, reading, spending time with friends and family, and working in the machine shop on campus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    28 mins
  • Best of Story Collider: Trials by Fire

    Best of Story Collider: Trials by Fire
    Sep 27 2024
    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 passion for science. Evelyn Valdez-Ward is an undocumented, Latina, scientist and PhD student at the University of California, Irvine. For her thesis, she studies the impact of California's drought on the ways that plants and their soil microbes (fungi and bacteria in the soil) communicate and interact with one another. In addition to doing research, she's extremely passionate about advocating for undocumented students in STEM. She recently published her story "I'm an undocumented scientist fighting for my Dream" in Science, and was invited to speak at the March for Science rally in DC to advocate for Dreamers in STEM. She has been awarded a UCI's Dynamic Womxn's Award for Outstanding Social Justice Activist, and the Svetlana Bersahdsky Graduate Student Award for her lobbying and advocacy efforts. She plans to continue lobbying and fighting for her undocumented community after graduating, and work in science policy, where she can continue to advocate for both science and minorities in STEM. Originally from Nigeria, Samuel Achilefu is the Michel M. Ter-Pogossian Professor of Radiology at Washington University School of Medicine. He also holds joint appointments as a Professor in Medicine, Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, and Biomedical Engineering and serves as the Chief of the Optical Radiology Laboratory (ORL), Director of the Molecular Imaging Center, Director of the Center for Multiple Myeloma Nanotherapy, and a co-leader of the Oncologic Imaging Program of the Siteman Cancer Center. His lab harnesses the power of light to develop methods for understanding, diagnosing and treating human diseases and is made up of biologists, chemists, engineers, medical scientists and physicists. He enjoys biking, playing tennis, and travelling. Samuel lives with his wife and they have two college-aged children. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    33 mins
  • For The Love of Science: Stories about passion

    For The Love of Science: Stories about passion
    Sep 20 2024
    In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers have a passion for science that can’t be suppressed. Part 1: As a zoo volunteer, Lisa Yeager adores sharing her love of the wild, but one zoo patron is ruining that for her. Part 2: Anna yearns to be a scientist, but her strict mormon family doesn’t want her to become one. Lisa Yeager started her career as an environmental educator and bookstore manager in Anchorage, AK. She shifted to build a career in project management after earning her MBA at the University of Washington. She currently works as a Program Manager for Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center where she works to bring innovation and transformational change to business practices and collaboration. Lisa built her life in Seattle after attending UW because where else are you within a day of ocean, sound, volcano, shrub-steppe, lakes and two mountain ranges? With 10+ years as an informal education volunteer at Woodland Park Zoo, she is exploring ways to translate her business background and a recent second master’s in biology to support climate change education and advocacy. She serves on the governing council for the National Network for Ocean and Climate Change Interpretation, and received a Cee-Change fellowship and grant funding from the North American Association of Environmental Education. She is a previous board member of the International Applied Improvisation Network. She is the co-founder of Yes and Nature Collaborative (climateconversations.net), which combines scientific data, communication theory, and improvisational theater techniques to help people have more effective conversations about climate change and nature. Anna is a naturalist and aquatic entomologist. Going to school in Utah gave her the opportunity for a backyard mountain classroom. She got to learn about migration patterns of mule deer, moose, elk, and pronghorn through GPS collaring initiatives led by the Department of Natural Resources. Her coursework helped her learn how to identify all the plants and animals native to the desert, valley, and mountainous regions of Utah. Monitoring the restoration of a canyon after wildfires, flash floods, and debris flows bolstered her knowledge of the resilience of native flora and fauna to historical natural disaster regimes. She found purpose, love, and life in those experiences. Now Anna gets to connect to the parks and people within NYC, as well as challenge herself through a doctoral program studying the evolutionary history of stoneflies. These insects are fundamental to maintaining the health and balance of freshwater ecosystems, but many populations around the globe are experiencing substantial declines due to human interference and climate change. *For privacy reasons, Anna’s last name has been withheld. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    30 mins
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