The Story Collider

This week, we're presenting stories about coming of age. Bildungsroman, if you will. (Thank you, eleventh-grade Honors English!) These storytellers will share stories about growing up and finding their identities -- whether it's within their family, or within their own bodies.

Part 1: Growing up, Moni Avello struggles to understand her younger sister, who has Asperger's syndrome.

Part 2: For Morgan Givens, the onset of puberty feels like an alien invasion. 

Moni (Monika) Avello transplanted herself from Miami, FL to Cambridge, MA 7+ years ago in the pursuit of science, and has yet to regret her northward relocation. Moni prefers her hair a quarter shaved for temperature control and generously dyed to honor the rainbow. She is willingly addicted to strong espresso, a habit she picked up in the 3rd grade. Moni loves to social dance blues, salsa, and bachata. In her free time, she experiments with her favorite bacteria Bacillus subtilis, trying to figure out how it blocks unwanted sex, because science is wonderful fun and the Ph.D. degree in Biology from MIT is a nifty bonus.

Morgan Givens is a storyteller and performer based in Washington, DC. He has performed at Story District's Top Shelf, Creative Mornings DC, Little Salon and a host of other storytelling events throughout the city and along the East Coast. He has been featured in the Washington Post, Upworthy, Buzzfeed and participated in a panel at the 2017 AFI Documentary Film Festival Forum, titled Hear Me Now: The Art of Nonfiction Podcasting. Morgan is the creator and host of the podcast Dispatches, and uses his podcast to explore the intricacies of identity, culture, and the complicated nature of human interaction.

Please note: This June, The Story Collider will be celebrating Pride Month by highlighting stories about the intersection of science and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer issues. Each of our five episodes this month will include one of these stories, and you can follow us @story_collider on Twitter and @storycollider on Instagram this month as we share highlights from our back catalog as well.

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This week, we take a journey into science-fiction to find out if aliens can master the science of empathy and zombies can bring a couple closer together.

Part 1: Chase Masterson's role on Star Trek Deep Space 9 inspires her to think about how she can help others.

Part 2: Bethany Van Delft and her fiance reckon with the zombie apocalypse.

Chase Masterson is best known for her five-year breakout role as Leeta on Star Trek DS9 & the Doctor Who Big Finishaudio spinoff, VIENNA. Seen Guest-Starring on The Flash, Chase is a fan-favorite for her roles starring opposite Bruce Campbell (SyFy'sTerminal Invasion), as well as opposite Jerry O’Connell, Tom Baker and Sylvester McCoy, and Co-Hosting with Ryan Seacrest and Scott Mantz. Feature film roles include starring in Stephen King’s Sometimes They Come Back for More, Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles, and e-One’s critically acclaimed sci-fi noir, Yesterday Was a Lie, as well as playing herself in Miramax’s Comic Book: The Movie, directed by Mark Hamill, and an early role in Robin Hood: Men in Tights, directed by Mel Brooks (SQUEEE!). During the run of DS9, TV Guide Readers’ Poll named Chase Favorite Sci-Fi Actress on TV. A devout feminist, Chase has consoled herself from being listed in AOL’s 10 Sexiest Aliens on TV, Screen Rant’s 15 Most Stunning Aliens on Star Trek and in Femme Fatales 50 Sexiest Women of the Year by creating a dizzying list of charity initiatives with ChaseClub: fundraisers for the firehouse most affected by 9/11, Caring for Babies with AIDS, Hurricane Katrina, and a long-standing relationship with Homeboy Industries, where she has mentored women and men coming out of gangs for the past 9 years. Chase is the Founder of the Pop Culture Hero Coalition, the 1st ever non-profit organization to stand against bullying, racism, misogyny, LGBTQI-bullying and cyberbullying using comics, TV and film. 

Bethany Van Delft’s “hip & grounded, laid back delivery” has earned her the honor of performing at the prestigious Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal, San Francisco Sketchfest, as well as appearances on Comedy Central, TV Guide Channel, NickMom, and 2 Dope Queens podcast. Her "series at the Women in Comedy Festival "38/7%" was a huge hit, and monthly show, Artisanal Comedy, has been named “one of the top indie nights to check out”. Her latest project, a hilariously cringeworthy storytelling show/podcast with Nick Chambers “Starstruck: Close Encounters of the Awkward Kind” is becoming a fan favorite. Unashamedly in touch with her inner nerd, Bethany has been a panelist on “You’re The Expert” and “Literary Death Match”. She hosts MOTH mainstages around the country, MOTH storyslams & Grandslams, is thrilled to have a MOTH story re-posted by SULU! (aka George Takei) and honored to have a story included in The MOTH's 2nd book "All These Wonders".

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This week, we present two stories about being different, and the ways our differences can become our strengths.

Part 1: Growing up, Amanda Gorman is determined to eliminate her speech impediment.

Part 2: An aspiring scientist brought up in a family of artists, Elisa Schaum feels like a black sheep.

Called the "next great figure of poetry in the US," 19-year-old Amanda Gorman is the first ever Youth Poet Laureate of the United States of America and a Moth GrandSLAM champion. Her first poetry book, "The One For Whom Food Is Not Enough," was published in 2015. A Harvard sophomore, she has worked as a U.N. Youth Delegate in New York City, a HERlead Fellow with girl leaders in D.C. and London, and an Ambassador for the feminist platform School of Doodle. She has been featured in the New York Times, The Boston Globe, and Teen Vogue. At 16, she founded the community project One Pen One Page, which promotes storytelling and youth activism.

An oceanographer turned evolutionary biologist, Elisa Schaum investigates what makes some phytoplankton populations better at evolving under climate change than others. She does this because phytoplankton are breathtakingly beautiful, and because they pretty much rule the world: they produce half of the oxygen that we breathe, fuel food-webs and their activities determine whether the oceans can take up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. She is just now coming to the end of a position as an associate research fellow at the University of Exeter’s Satellite Campus for Strange People (more formally known as Penryn Campus), and is about to start a junior professorship at the University of Hamburg. Her life pre-science involved a lot of music and dancing. She also likes to write fairly horrific poetry (or, preferably, read splendid poetry) in her free time. Originally from Belgium, she has lived and worked in the Netherlands, Germany, France, South Africa, Italy, New Zealand and the UK.

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This week, in honor of Mother's Day, we present two stories about science and moms!  Part 1: Marine biologist Jessica Hoey tries to keep her daughter’s belief in mermaids alive. Part 2: Jamie Brickhouse begins to notice some startling changes in his mother's behavior. Jessica Hoey is the director of reef health reporting at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. The reef forms part of her being, both in the office and in her personal life. She jumps at any chance to get her kids out on the ocean, from building forts out of drift wood on Lizard island to swimming with reef sharks.  With her overactive imagination and Peter Pan attitude she hopes her kids value coral reefs as much as she does.  Jamie Brickhouse is performing his award-winning solo show Dangerous When Wet: Booze, Sex, and My Mother based on his critically-acclaimed memoir and directed by Obie Award-winning David Drake at Capital Fringe in DC in July, Minnesota Fringe in Minneapolis in August, and San Francisco Fringe in September. For show dates, visit www.jamiebrickhouse.com and follow Jamie on Instagram and Twitter @jamiebrickhouse.

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This week, we’re presenting stories about identity, whether its an external sense of cultural identity or an internal sense of self.

Part 1: Mathematician and comic book writer Jason Rodriguez feels torn between separate cultural and professional identities.

Part 2: As a graduate student, Josh Silberg begins to question whether he's cut out for science.

Jason Rodriguez is a writer, editor, educator, and applied mathematician. Jason spends the first half of his day developing physiological models of human injury. In the evenings, Jason creates educational comic books about American history, systemic racism, and physics. On the weekends, Jason tends to visit conventions, museums, libraries, and festivals in order to talk about the unparalleled joy of comic books, and how that joy can spark a desire to learn and create in kids. Jason lives in Arlington, VA on the rare occasion when he’s home.  

Josh Silberg has researched everything from humpback whales to whale sharks to rockfish—he just couldn’t decide on one creature to study. After earning a Master’s of Resource and Environmental Management from Simon Fraser University, he joined the British Columbia-based Hakai Institute as the Science Communications Coordinator. Now, he gets to share all sorts of coastal science stories through blogs, videos, and the occasional poem. In his free time, he can be found photographing wildlife, hiking, or searching for creatures in tide pools. You can follow him on twitter @joshsilberg.

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This week, we’re presenting stories about overcoming obstacles and breaking down barriers -- whether those barriers are institutional or written into our genetic code.

Part 1: Aletha Maybank's childhood experiences with institutional racism inspire her work to combat structural barriers as a physician.

Part 2: Joselin Linder shares a unique and deadly genetic mutation with just fourteen other people in the world -- and must make a difficult choice as a result.

Aletha Maybank, MD, MPH currently serves as a Deputy Commissioner in the New York City Department of Health and is the Founding Director of the Center for Health Equity.  The Center’s mission is to bring an explicit focus to health equity in all of the Department’s work by tackling structural barriers, such as racism, ensuring meaningful community engagement, and fostering interagency coordination in neighborhoods with the highest disease burden. Prior to this role, she was an Assistant Commissioner in the NYC Health Department and served as the Director of the Brooklyn Office, a place-based approach.  Dr. Maybank also successfully launched the Office of Minority Health as its Founding Director in the Suffolk County Department of Health Services in NY from 2006-2009. Dr. Maybank serves as Vice President of the Empire State Medical Association, the NYS affiliate of the National Medical Association.  In the media and on the lecture circuit, she has appeared or been profiled on Disney Jr.’s highly successful Doc McStuffins Animated Series, ESSENCE Facebook live and their Festival’s Empowerment Stage, MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry show, and various other outlets. She has also advised on the award-winning documentary Soul Food Junkies by Byron Hurt and Black Women in Medicine by Crystal Emery. For her accomplishments, she has won numerous awards.

Joselin Linder's work has appeared in The New York Post, as well as on Morning Edition, Joe's Pub, and Life of the Law. er book, The Family Gene, comes out in paperback on June 12, 2018.

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This week, we're presenting stories about scientific ambitions and dreams -- and the ways in which they meet reality.

Part 1: Planetary geologist Sara Mazrouei misses out on a dream opportunity -- because of where she was born.

Part 2: Working in conservation, marine ecologist Madhavi Colton faces down despair as the challenges feel overwhelming.

Sara Mazrouei is a PhD candidate in planetary geology at the University of Toronto. She’s also a science communicator with a passion for sharing the wonders of the universe with the public. Sara is a big advocate for women in STEM. One day she’ll go dancing on the Moon. 

Madhavi Colton is the Program Director at the Coral Reef Alliance. She oversees an international portfolio of community-driven conservation programs that are addressing local threats to reefs, including over-fishing, poor water quality, sedimentation, and habitat destruction. Madhavi is also spearheading new scientific research into how ecosystems adapt to the effects of climate change and is applying this knowledge to develop innovative approaches to coral conservation. Her expertise lies in building partnerships between academic researchers, non-profit organizations, governments and local communities to implement durable conservation solutions. She has worked in California, Hawai‘i, the Mesoamerican region, Indonesia, Fiji and Australia. Madhavi has a Ph.D. in Marine Ecology from the University of Melbourne, Australia.

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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 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, and a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 2008. She is an Editor for Geophysical Research Letters, sits on the international CLIVAR Pacific Panel, and serves on the Advisory Council for the AAAS Leshner Institute for Public Engagement. As a mother to four, Kim is a strong advocate for women in science, and champions diversity and inclusion in all that she does. She is also devoted to the clear and frequent communication of climate change to the public through speaking engagements and social media.

Lyl Tomlinson is a Brooklyn native and a neuroscience graduate student at Stony Brook University. He is also a science communication fanatic who often asks: “Would my grandma understand this?” Using this question as a guiding principle, he won the 2014 NASA FameLab science communication competition and became the International final runner-up. In addition to making complex information understandable, he has a growing interest in science policy. Lyl meets with government representatives to advocate for science related issues and regularly develops programs to tackle problems ranging from scientific workforce issues to the Opioid Epidemic. Outside of his work and career passions, he seems to harbor an odd obsession with sprinkles and is a (not so) comic book and anime nerd.

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This week, we present two stories about communicating science, whether it's through journalism or over a fragile Skype connection. Part 1: Science journalist Judith Stone worries about causing conflict when she writes about cultural differences aboard the International Space Station. Part 2: Nurse Anna Freeman is frustrated by the limits of technology when she attempts to advise a Syrian hospital over a shaky Skype connection. Judith Stone is the author of Light Elements: Essays on Science from Gravity to Levity, a collection of her award-winning columns from Discover magazine. Her book When She Was White: The True Story of a Family Divided by Race was named one of the Washington Post’s annual top 100 books. Her work has appeared in the anthologies Mysteries of Life and the Universe: New Essays from America’s Finest Writers on Science and Life’s a Stitch: The Best of Contemporary Women’s Humor, as well as in The New York Times Magazine; Smithsonian; O, The Oprah Magazine and many other publications. She was on the founding board of The Moth, and is currently an instructor in The Moth’s community outreach program. During the Late Cretaceous Epoch, she was a member of The Second City touring company. Anna Freeman is a nurse and quality improvement specialist at Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders. She has worked in humanitarian response in ten countries over the past ten years, focusing on refugee health, infectious disease, and quality of care.  Anna is an excellent dancer, an enthusiastic fumbler in any foreign language, and one of the world’s worst surfers.

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This week, we present a story about fresh starts and new beginnings in science.

Part 1: Three years into a great faculty position, psychologist Amber Hewitt realizes her passion lies elsewhere.

Amber A. Hewitt, Ph.D. received her doctoral degree in counseling psychology from Loyola University Chicago in 2013. She also received her undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Southern California and masters’ degree in psychology from Boston University. Her predoctoral internship was completed in 2012 at the Center for Multicultural Training in Psychology at Boston Medical Center where she completed a neuropsychological assessment rotation at a center for infants and children with complicated medical conditions. She served as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology from 2013-2016 at the University of Akron. Her research program examines the gendered-racial identity development of Black adolescents, critical consciousness development, and prevention programs that foster resilience and optimal development in children and adolescents. Hewitt’s policy interests include access to mental health care, psychological development of children, infant mortality, health disparities, and psychosocial determinants of health. She’s the 2016-2017 Jacquelin Goldman Congressional Fellow, a position funded by the American Psychological Foundation. I She is currently a AAAS fellow at the National Institutes of Health and recently accepted a position as a Manager of Policy & Advocacy in the Corporate Advocacy Division at Nemours, a children's health system.

Note: This week's episode is sponsored by Audible. Go to Audible.com/collider or text COLLIDER to 500-500 for a 30-day trial and free first audiobook! 

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