The Story Collider

In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers come face to face with one of their deepest fears: the ocean.
Part 1: When the children’s TV show host Carly Ciarrocchi is assigned a scuba diving episode, she’s forced to confront a lifelong fear of the ocean.
Part 2: Growing up, Darcie Little Badger was wary of the ocean. But when she takes an oceanography class in college, she begins to question her fears.
Carly Ciarrocchi (she/her) is an Emmy-nominated host, writer, musician, and producer. A true multi-hyphenate, she has spent most of her career in children's media, making and hosting TV shows and podcasts with collaborators like Universal Kids, Disney+, Nick Jr, Nat Geo Kids, Sprout, Tinkercast, Sesame Workshop and the LEGO Foundation. She's a Moth Story Slam winner and has told tales with Stories from the Stage (PBS), Generation Women, the Artichoke, The Tell, Soup and Stories and more. She teaches clown-theatre classes at the Brooklyn Comedy Collective. In everything she does, she hopes to create the conditions for people of all ages to access their most authentic state of play. www.carlyciarrocchi.com
Darcie Little Badger is a Lipan Apache writer with a PhD in oceanography. Her critically acclaimed debut novel, Elatsoe, was featured in Time Magazine as one of the best 100 fantasy books of all time. Her second fantasy novel, A Snake Falls to Earth, received a Newbery Honor and is on the National Book Awards longlist. Her third novel, Sheine Lende, is the prequel to Elatsoe and has received six starred reviews. Darcie is married to a veterinarian named Taran.
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In this week’s Best Of episode, we present stories from people who navigated our changing relationship to technology.
Part 1: As a kid, Samy Kamkar discovers his superpower -- hacking.
Part 2: When Jordan Bush's father-in-law-to-be is diagnosed with cancer shortly before her wedding, she finds a creative way to help him attend.
Samy Kamkar is a hacker-turned-security researcher building tools to highlight security implications of everyday technologies. Exiled from computers and the Internet as a teenager by court-order for developing the fastest-spreading virus of all time, his work post-ban has been cited by the NSA, triggered hearings on Capitol Hill, and has advanced the security from the device in your pocket to the ones surveilling you from the sky.
Jordan is finishing up her dissertation in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. Her research focuses on when and where lizards fight over territories. She asks that you not confuse her obsession with lizards as a general interest in all reptiles - she does not like snakes, keep your snakes to yourself. After graduating, she has a real goal of becoming a professor at a liberal arts college, and a secret goal of becoming a science journalist and children's book author. She currently lives in Knoxville, TN with her wonderful husband, two babies, and two dogs.
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In this week’s episode, both storytellers discover just how far people will go for the ones they love.
Part 1: When Bailey Swilley’s dad goes into cardiac arrest, she watches her mom care for him and starts to reevaluate what love really looks like.
Part 2: At rock bottom, Pam Stepansky turns to her dad for support with her alcoholism.
Bailey Swilley is a writer, comedian and storyteller from Memphis, Tennessee. She is a Moth StorySLAM winner and hosts the monthly storytelling show We ❤️ a Theme at Pete’s Candy Store in Brooklyn. In 2026, she is performing a new show, A BABY FOR ME? NO THANK YOU, PLEASE!. Follow her on Instagram @heybailay for future show dates.
Pam Stepansky is a writer, stand-up comedian, and actor who splits her time between New York City and Puerto Rico. A mostly-Jewish millennial from Long Island, she blends snark, sincerity, and joie de vivre into a creative perspective that’s as dazzled as it is befuddled by the facts of life. She lives with her husband, Adam, and their spirited tuxedo cat, Gumbo.
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In this week’s episode, storytellers share stories about carbs, control, and the unexpected ways bread shapes our lives.
Part 1: When everyone in Rich Tackenberg’s family is diagnosed with celiac disease, he’s forced to confront a terrifying possibility: life without his emotional support carb.
Part 2: During the pandemic, Aditya Surendran sets out to conquer making a 36-hour baguette.
Rich Tackenberg has now lived in Los Angeles longer than he grew up in New York. He is a Managing Director in executive search, specializing in media, entertainment, and nonprofit placements. He has been married to an amazing woman for almost twenty five years and is most proud of not screwing that up. At least not yet.
Aditya Surendran is a lawyer, comedian, and storyteller. How stories explore the mundane suburbs in search of laughs and deep meaning—though deep meaning is optional. A successfully launched Kickstarter now means you can get his book, CheeseDosa: The Book! on his site and through most national retail chains.
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In this week’s episode, we’re bringing you two stories about navigating the uncertainty, hope, and heartbreak of trying to have a baby.
Part 1: After a pregnancy loss, Annie Tan channels her grief into rescuing an injured mockingbird.
Part 2: Kibby McMahon is convinced she can will her way into pregnancy, but her body refuses to follow the plan.
Annie Tan is an educator, activist, writer and storyteller from Manhattan's Chinatown. Annie’s work has been featured in Huffington Post, New Republic, PBS’ Asian Americans, RISK! and twice on The Moth Radio Hour on NPR. Annie is writing a memoir about connecting with her immigrant parents despite not sharing a common fluent language. Find more at annietan.com.
Dr. Kibby McMahon is a licensed clinical psychologist, researcher, and digital health entrepreneur who’s obsessed with the emotional complexities of relationships. She earned her BA from Columbia University and her PhD in clinical psychology from Duke University, where her NIMH-funded research focused on how regulating our own emotions helps us connect more deeply with others. She has held research and clinical roles at Duke University Medical Center, Columbia University, Weill Cornell Hospital, and the Max Planck Institute. Dr. Kibby is a family caregiver and breast cancer survivor- experiences that reshaped how she understands vulnerability, resilience, and what it means to care for others while holding yourself together. These threads came together when she co-founded KulaMind, a digital mental health company that supports loved ones of people with mental illness through evidence-based skills, coaching, and AI-powered tools. She also hosts the podcast "A Little Help for Our Friends," which explores the invisible emotional labor of loving someone who is struggling with mental health or addiction. She lives in New York with her tornado of a son, a fluff of a dog, and a partner-in-crime husband.
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