The Story Collider is thrilled to be teaming up with Writing Class Radio and The Center for Ecosystem Science and Society at Northern Arizona University for a special show on September 28, 2023.

Join us at Kitt Recital Hall in Flagstaff, AZ for an evening of true, personal stories about science.

Hosted by The Story Collider’s Jitesh Jaggi and Writing Class Radio’s Allison Langer.

Stories by:

Andrea Askowitz is the author of the memoir My Miserable, Lonely, Lesbian Pregnancy. She's written for The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, Glamour, and Salon. She's the co-host and co-producer of the podcast Writing Class Radio

Keven Griffin a scientist-in-progress who loves to spend time outside, snuggle their little dog, and go to sleep by 9 PM (also known as field scientist midnight).

Nick Link is a second year PhD student at Northern Arizona University and part of the Center for Ecosystem Science and Society. His research broadly focuses on wildfires - and how we can apply our scientific understanding of the ecosystem to protect communities across Alaska and the Yukon.

Emma Lathrop grew up in the mountain west with a strong connection to the ecology around her. She was acutely aware of a changing climate, having been evacuated multiple times from her childhood home as wildfires threatened her town. After earning her bachelor’s degree at Montana State University, Emma spent three years working at a national laboratory on a project aimed at improving Arctic processes in global climate models. Her work often took her to Nome, Alaska and she fell in love with the isolation and beauty of the northern latitudes, a place experiencing change more rapidly than the Southwest where she grew up. Driven by a desire to protect the remote and delicate tundra landscapes of the Arctic, Emma began a PhD program and now studies the impact of frozen Arctic soil on the global carbon cycle at Northern Arizona University.

Jasmine Anenberg is a current PhD student in the School of Forestry at Northern Arizona University. She originally hails from San Jose, California but has lived all over the west and is happy to now call Flagstaff home. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Geography and Minor in Botany in 2014 from San Francisco State University, and has worked across many sectors from urban gardening nonprofits to coffee shops to ecological restoration with federal agencies. Her research interests include plant and soil ecology, biological soil crust restoration, and dryland ecosystems. When she is not doing science, Jasmine enjoys rock climbing, hanging with her dog, and volunteer DJing on community radio.

Bruce Hungate conducts research on microbial ecology of global change from the cell to the planet. His research examines the imprint of the diversity of life on the cycling of elements, how ecosystems respond to and shape environmental change, and microbial ecology of the biosphere, from soils to hot springs to humans. Bruce is Director of the Center for Ecosystem Science and Society at Northern Arizona University, where he holds the Frances B McAllister Chair in Community, Culture, and the Environment, and is Regents Professor of Biological Sciences. He is an Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellow, Fellow of the Ecological Society of America, Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences, and member of the American Academy of Microbiology. Bruce plays classical piano and writes narrative non-fiction at the intersection of science, the environment, family, and people. He hopes to share ideas about ecology and to find humor, connection, and solutions in the face of global environmental change.

Darby Bergl was raised in the beautiful San Juan Mountains of Durango, Colorado. At a young age, she established an affinity for natural environments by taking part in activities such as rafting and skiing in the arid and mountainous ecosystems that surrounded her. Her admiration of the natural world led to her involvement in the restoration of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, the curation of coastal macroalgae, the investigation of plant-pollinator interactions, and to a comprehensive understanding of plant pathogens and their ecological implications. Her interest in ecology ultimately led her to pursue her doctoral studies. She now studies the dynamics of soil carbon cycling and ecosystem-atmosphere exchanges of CO2 in temperate deciduous forests across New England.

Jane Marks is a Biology Professor at Northern Arizona University. She loves rivers, lakes and algae and has figured out a way to make a living with her head under water. Jane is learning the art of story telling and has realized that math and science are much easier than creating a story arc. She has two adorable adult children. In her free time, she likes to walk her dog, Flora, and make fun of her husband, Bruce.

This event is part of The Flagstaff Festival of Science.

The Flagstaff Festival of Science is a free 10-day event that promotes awareness and enthusiasm for science in northern Arizona.