This week’s episode dives into one of the most personal decisions many women face: whether or not to have children.

Part 1: When a piece of her IUD breaks off, Bailey Swilley’s spirals about her choice never to have children.

Part 2:  Christel Bartelse takes an unconventional approach to figure out if she wants to be a mother or not.

Bailey Swilley is a writer and comedian based in Brooklyn. In August 2024, she took two storytelling shows to the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and most recently, she won her first StorySLAM at The Moth. Since 2021, she’s hosted the monthly storytelling hour, We Love a Theme, in Brooklyn.

Christel Bartelse is an Actor/Comedic Performer, Storyteller, Clown, Writer, and Educator. She got her start in comedy and improv with the Physical Comedy Duo "The Burnt Marshmallows (Canadian Comedy Award Nominees). She has created and written six award winning Solo Shows "Chaotica", "ONEymoon", "Significant Me", "All KIDDIng Aside", "The Surprise" and "Encore" and has toured them all across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. Most recently she wrote "A Woman of my Age" which she continues to develop. She can be seen on stages all over Toronto with her comedy, character work, and storytelling. She was the Co-Producer and Co-Host of the hit Storytelling Show "But That's Another Story" for over five years. She now produces and hosts, "Age Ain't Nothing but a Number" at the Burdock, Bi-Monthly, which features veteran comedians/storytellers sharing material on the theme of Age. She also teaches numerous workshops in improv, physical comedy, solo creation and storytelling around the city and is proud faculty member of Humber College, Toronto Film School, and George Brown College.

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This week, we’re presenting stories about the struggle to find acceptance — whether it’s at Space Camp or in the United States of America.

Part 1: Computer scientist LaShana Lewis’s childhood dream of attending Space Camp starts to feel far away — until she gets the Christmas surprise of a lifetime.

Part 2: When Guizella Rocabado leaves her home in Bolivia to pursue her education in the United States, her plan hits an unexpected snag.

LaShana Lewis grew up in East St. Louis, Illinois, where a love of the night sky led her to the Saint Louis Science Center as a longtime volunteer, and later a docent presenting talks on astronomy and aeronautics. She studied computational mathematics at Michigan Technological University, earned a HarvardX honor certificate in computer science, and attended NASA Space Camp. Now based in Los Angeles, LaShana serves on the board of STEAM Superheroes, a nonprofit inspired by Star Trek actress Nichelle Nichols’ legacy, and leads L. M. Lewis Consulting, bringing over 20 years of experience in tech, strategy, and inclusive leadership.

Dr. Guizella Rocabado is an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Her research focuses on chemistry education. She is mainly interested in uncovering the narratives of success of students from all backgrounds. Bringing diversity to STEM fields is a great focus of her work. Her current projects involve the development and testing of instruments for use with diverse populations to investigate the role of the affective domain in undergraduate STEM learning and persistence. In her spare time she loves to travel, try new foods and meet new people.

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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.

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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 deep brain stimulation surgery in 2022. I am a huge sports buff and gym rat. I enjoy spending time with and cooking for family and friends.

Ian is a C5 complete tetraplegic from a diving accident in 2010. He is the founder and president of the BCI Pioneers Coalition and the North American Spinal Cord Injury Consortium President. After participating in a few clinical trials, he understood the need for engagement of individuals with lived experience from the start. Ian was the first person in the world to restore movement to a paralyzed limb using a BCI neuroprosthetic. He is also the Executive Director of the Ian Burkhart Foundation, which raises funds for medical equipment for other individuals living with paralysis. His research focuses on amplifying the lived experience of people with disabilities. 

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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 question in her mind but she would study music and teach private music lessons. Her plan got smashed in the audition process and she was not accepted into a conservatory program. It took her some time to recover from this huge disappointment. In a relatively random way, she stumbled on the book, Urban Systems in Crisis, by a biochemist and network thinker and was fascinated by this new way of solving problems. She was reminded of fun chemistry demonstrations and enrolled at the Saarland University in Chemistry. Despite low confidence in her English, Karoline pursued a semester abroad and came to the Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston. Delighted by the amazingly supportive mentorship at the center, she decided to return for her Ph.D. in Chemistry. She has been working there as researcher and student mentor ever since. Karoline’s passion for science outreach grew over the years and now she takes great pleasure in organizing presentations and demonstrations of superconductivity.

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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.

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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, she’s been sharing her stories onstage at shows like Replay Storytelling, The Story Collider, Tales Told Live, and But That’s Another Story in Toronto—as well as Confabulation in Montreal.

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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 laboratory professional in both corporate and academic settings, helping operate and set up five laboratories domestically/internationally. I’ve been a technician, team leader, supervisor, and lab manager. As a member of the queer community, I bring kindness, authenticity, vulnerability, and positive influence to my leadership style. Now at Columbia University’s Neuroscience Institute, I manage two labs, lead the Gender and Inclusion Mentoring Program, and coordinate the Lab Liaison Group, ensuring communication across the institute’s departments and other lab managers. When I’m not dissecting Drosophila in New York City, or out to eat with Jersey City friends, I retreat to my family’s farm in central New Jersey. There you’ll find me tending to our goats and chickens, inspecting the crops, or racing dirt bikes with my three-year-old nephew, Jay. My life is a dynamic blend of science, leadership, community, and family, each enriching the other in unexpected ways.

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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 former doubter of the science of climate change, she uses her personal story to shine a light on the path away from science denial and toward a life based in evidence.

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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 Policy at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy from 2023 to 2024. She has a cat named Tesla, named after the scientist and not the car. You can learn more about her at https://webmz.nyc.

Dr. Bianca Jones Marlin is a neuroscientist and postdoctoral researcher at Columbia University in the laboratory of Nobel Laureate Dr. Richard Axel, where she investigates transgenerational epigenetic inheritance, or how traumatic experiences in parents affect the brain structure of their offspring. She holds a PhD in neuroscience from New York University, and dual bachelor degrees from St. John’s University, in biology and adolescent education. As a graduate student, her research focused on the vital bond between parent and child, and studied the use of neurochemicals, such as the “love drug” oxytocin, as a treatment to strengthen fragile and broken parent-child relationships. Dr. Marlin’s research has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, Scientific American, and Discover Magazine’s “100 Top Stories of 2015.” Dr. Marlin aims to utilize neurobiology and the science of learning to better inform both the scientific and educational community on how positive experiences dictate brain health, academic performance, and social well being.

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