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The Story Collider

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Latest EPISODES

Story Archive by Category
Episode Archive by Date
Featured
Trying: Stories about fertility
June 5, 2026
Trying: Stories about fertility
June 5, 2026

After a pregnancy loss, Annie Tan channels her grief into rescuing an injured mockingbird, and Kibby McMahon is convinced she can will her way into pregnancy, but her body refuses to follow the plan.


June 5, 2026
Best of Story Collider: Leaving Home
May 29, 2026
Best of Story Collider: Leaving Home
May 29, 2026

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, and Arlo Pérez Esquivel struggles to define his boundaries with his father while he is pursuing his education in another country.

May 29, 2026
In Memory Of: Stories about honoring loved ones
May 22, 2026
In Memory Of: Stories about honoring loved ones
May 22, 2026

Gwendolyn Napier is left heartbroken when harsh Atlanta weather destroys the trees planted to honor her family members, and Bimini Wright looks back on her childhood spent aboard a research boat, studying tuna alongside her larger-than-life fisherman father.

May 22, 2026
Balaena: Stories about whales
May 15, 2026
Balaena: Stories about whales
May 15, 2026

As a child, Brittany Munson dreams of growing up to be a whale trainer, and 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.

May 15, 2026
Impending Doom: Stories about facing the scary unknown
May 8, 2026
Impending Doom: Stories about facing the scary unknown
May 8, 2026

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, and when Sabrina Samuel is diagnosed with a brain aneurysm and told to wait a year before surgery, she must choose between living in fear or embracing the time she has.

May 8, 2026
Outer Layer: Stories about literal and metaphorical shields
May 1, 2026
Outer Layer: Stories about literal and metaphorical shields
May 1, 2026

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, and JP Flores has always been the family’s “smart kid,” a role that becomes his armor in college—until the pressure of living up to that identity begins to crack.

May 1, 2026
Stories of Urban Climate Change: Air
April 24, 2026
Stories of Urban Climate Change: Air
April 24, 2026

After witnessing toxic fumes pouring from a nearby factory, Virginia Kilgore decides to take action, and while working in Delhi, Sai Krishna Dammalapati is baffled by how unfazed people seem by the city’s severe air pollution.

April 24, 2026
Stories of Urban Climate Change: Fire
April 17, 2026
Stories of Urban Climate Change: Fire
April 17, 2026

When wildfires erupt in Los Angeles, Tracy Drain’s work on the Europa Clipper mission is suddenly at risk, and as a child, Victoria Dinov lives through a historic wildfire that stays with her long after the ashes settle.

April 17, 2026
Stories of Urban Climate Change: Water
April 10, 2026
Stories of Urban Climate Change: Water
April 10, 2026

While researching flood risk and insurance costs in California, international student Hannah Melville-Rea is shocked by just how unprotected many people are, and Patricia Schuba is determined to stop coal and waste pollution from contaminating the groundwater in Labadie, Missouri.

April 10, 2026
Stories of Urban Climate Change: Earth
April 3, 2026
Stories of Urban Climate Change: Earth
April 3, 2026

While filming a wildlife documentary, filmmaker Mae Dorricott begins to notice just how profoundly human activity is shaping animal behaviour, and for Christy Marsden, climate change always felt like a distant threat until a patch of ice brought it sharply into focus.

April 3, 2026
Best of Story Collider: Women in Science
March 27, 2026
Best of Story Collider: Women in Science
March 27, 2026

Alison Williams' blossoming passion for chemistry is sidetracked by a professor's thoughtless comment, and climate scientist Sarah Myhre becomes embroiled in conflict after speaking out against a senior scientist's problematic statements about climate change.

March 27, 2026
Chorea: Stories about science and dance
March 20, 2026
Chorea: Stories about science and dance
March 20, 2026

Learning a modern version of her childhood Indian dances puts Sumitra Mattai’s brain and body to the test, and when people doubt that dance can empower girls to pursue STEM careers, Yamilée Toussaint sets out to prove them wrong.

March 20, 2026
Where Does It Hurt: Stories about the importance of compassion in healthcare
March 13, 2026
Where Does It Hurt: Stories about the importance of compassion in healthcare
March 13, 2026

After feeling betrayed by the very systems meant to protect her, Karen McCaffrey chooses to become the advocate for survivors she once needed herself, and in her twenties, Mary Cyn endures a string of gynecological problems, and the lack of compassion she encounters in medical settings motivates her into changing how medical students learn patient care.

March 13, 2026
Tresses: Stories about the power of hair
March 6, 2026
Tresses: Stories about the power of hair
March 6, 2026

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 she sees herself, and growing up, Ria Spencer believed “good hair” meant long hair but when a medical condition forces her to shave it all off, she’s challenged to rethink what that belief really means.

March 6, 2026
Best of Story Collider: Navigating Whiteness
February 27, 2026
Best of Story Collider: Navigating Whiteness
February 27, 2026

As a science teacher, Mamoudou N'Diaye was supposed to have all the answers, but he struggles to explain being Black in the USA, and Rhonda Key fights to be taken seriously by her white co-workers and students when she gets a job at a middle school.

February 27, 2026
Like Me: Stories about finding representation in STEM
February 20, 2026
Like Me: Stories about finding representation in STEM
February 20, 2026

Graduate student Angelique Allen doesn’t fully understand the strong connection she feels to the 2015 animated film Home, and growing up in segregated 1950s Baltimore, Ken Phillips learns early who society says he can’t be.

February 20, 2026
Anti-Love: Stories about heartbreak and break ups
February 13, 2026
Anti-Love: Stories about heartbreak and break ups
February 13, 2026

Getting dumped is the push psychologist Jiawen Huang needs to step outside his comfort zone, and while completing her PhD in neuroscience, Leslie Sibener is determined to fix her relationship.

February 13, 2026
Pay It Forward: Stories from CZI's Rare As One Project
February 6, 2026
Pay It Forward: Stories from CZI's Rare As One Project
February 6, 2026

After multiple relapses, Carlos Guerrero-Anderson takes a chance on an experimental treatment for his rare cancer, and Angie Weaver holds onto an unshakable belief that her daughter, who has a rare SCN2A disorder, will beat the odds.

February 6, 2026
Best of Story Collider: Dating by the Numbers
January 30, 2026
Best of Story Collider: Dating by the Numbers
January 30, 2026

When online dating isn't working out for him, Tristan Attwood decides to analyze the data himself, and in search of a deal, Gastor Almonte ends up with an unmanageable number of condoms.

January 30, 2026
Misinformation: Stories about the impact of false information
January 23, 2026
Misinformation: Stories about the impact of false information
January 23, 2026

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, and while living in South Africa, Fiona Tudor Price witnesses how AIDS misinformation devastates an entire nation.

January 23, 2026
Choice: Stories about struggling to make the right call
January 16, 2026
Choice: Stories about struggling to make the right call
January 16, 2026

When Misha Gajewski’s grandfather has a stroke while the rest of her family is out of town, she suddenly becomes the emergency contact, and after learning that her mother gave up on her dream of becoming a musician, Paula Croxson vows never to give up on her dream of being a scientist.

January 16, 2026
AI: Stories about artificial intelligence
January 9, 2026
AI: Stories about artificial intelligence
January 9, 2026

When AI takes over comedian Kyle Gillis’s job, he takes it personally, and while researching an AI model, engineer Omiya Hassan discovers one major problem: the amount of energy it’s consuming.

January 9, 2026
Hubris: Stories about over-confidence
January 2, 2026
Hubris: Stories about over-confidence
January 2, 2026

As a kid, JR Denson is determined to master the art of homemade french fries—but then his kitchen experiment goes up in flames, and faced with a looming Science Olympiad deadline, Adam Ruben is sure his last-minute “clock” made from a bag of water will do the trick.

January 2, 2026
Best of Story Collider: A Whole New World
December 26, 2025
Best of Story Collider: A Whole New World
December 26, 2025

Sean Bearden has never been interested in education, but when he's incarcerated at the age of 19, he finds a passion for physics, and when Victoria Manning decides to get a cochlear implant, she fears losing her identity as a deaf person.

December 26, 2025
Don't Be Dramatic: Stories about downplaying it
December 19, 2025
Don't Be Dramatic: Stories about downplaying it
December 19, 2025

When Jess Nurse feels a throbbing pain in her gut, she chalks it up to heartbreak, and when Maryam Zaringhalam’s physician mother goes in for brain surgery, everyone insists there’s nothing to worry about.

December 19, 2025
Coasting: Stories about having it easy
December 12, 2025
Coasting: Stories about having it easy
December 12, 2025

After years of academic achievement, newly minted professor Stephanie Rowley is caught off guard when every paper she submits is rejected, and growing up, Kate Schmidt always thought of herself as the “smart kid,” but that identity is shaken when she gets to university and receives her first C.

December 12, 2025
Attitude: Stories about inner strength
December 5, 2025
Attitude: Stories about inner strength
December 5, 2025

Paralyzed but undeterred, Scott Imbrie is on a mission to regain movement, and after an accident leaves them with severe burns on over a third of their body, Emily Hespeler works to find their way back to themselves.

December 5, 2025
Best of Story Collider: Animal Rescue
November 28, 2025
Best of Story Collider: Animal Rescue
November 28, 2025

While running an errand, Andrea Azarian happens upon a lost horse that needs her help, and left in charge of the farm for the first time, Gwynne Hogan panics when a goat goes into labor.

November 28, 2025
Bad News: Stories about tough conversations
November 21, 2025
Bad News: Stories about tough conversations
November 21, 2025

While doing fieldwork in the Congo, Stella Mayerhoff must track down a local researcher to deliver devastating news, and during his second year of residency, Sam Blackman is tasked with caring for a dying child whose mother’s unwavering faith clashes with his scientific approach.

November 21, 2025
In Deep: Stories about being in over your head
November 14, 2025
In Deep: Stories about being in over your head
November 14, 2025

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, and when Paul Davis and his wife struggle to get pregnant, they decide to foster a pregnant dog—and things escalate quickly.

November 14, 2025

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Thank you to our listeners, storytellers, workshop participants, sponsors, donors, and funders. We couldn't do this without you! 

We are grateful for the support of the New York State Council on the Arts, The NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, Society for Science, and The Richard Lounsbery Foundation, as well as past support from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Science Sandbox, The National Association of Science Writers, The Kavli Foundation, Lyda Hill Philanthropies, The Burroughs Wellcome Fund, and The Tiffany & Co. Foundation, which seeks to preserve the world’s most treasured landscapes and seascapes.

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