The Story Collider

The world has become increasingly divided, and more and more of us find ourselves navigating relationships with people whose views don’t align with our own. This mini-series explores the challenges, humor, and humanity of finding common ground—or learning to live with our differences.
In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers navigate conflicting beliefs within their own families.
Part 1: A son struggles to preserve his relationship with his mother as her devotion to a cult pushes them further apart.
This story is appearing anonymously on our podcast to protect the identity of the storyteller and their family.
Part 2: Lexa Graham’s mother has always held alternative beliefs that clash with Lexa’s deep trust in science and evidence.
Lexa Graham is an award winning scientist, educator, and comedian who specializes in science centered comedy, humour workshops for professionals, and speaking about the science of success for university students. An expert at mixing science and comedy into a fun and educational cocktail, Lexa is the creator of DNAtured Journal, a satirical academic journal on student life and science, and Dirty Science, a monthly Science Comedy show. Lexa is also a popular host, performer, and panelist for all kinds of events due to her personable nature, quick wit, and broad scientific knowledge.
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This week, we’re presenting two stories about incarceration, and its intersections with science.
Part 1: Looking to make an impact with science, Beverly Naigles and her fellow graduate students decide to teach a science class for incarcerated men at a nearby jail.
Part 2: Incarcerated for robbery at the age of 21, Khalil Cumberbatch learns about the neuroscience of brain development after his release and begins to question how the system handles younger offenders.
Beverly Naigles is a PhD student in quantitative biology at UC San Diego, originally from rural Connecticut. Her research focuses on how seemingly-identical cells can respond differently to external signals. In addition to her research, she enjoys doing science-related art and making science accessible to the general public. For fun, she likes to hike, run, swim, and bake.
Khalil Cumberbatch is a nationally recognized formerly incarcerated advocate for criminal justice and deportation policy reform. Currently, he is the director of strategic partnerships for the Council on Criminal Justice. Previously, he served as Chief Strategist at New Yorkers United for Justice and as Associate Vice President of Policy at Fortune Society. Pardoned by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2014, Khalil earned a Master's Degree in Social Work from CUNY Lehman College, where he was awarded the Urban Justice Award for his work with underserved and marginalized communities. Khalil is also a lecturer at Columbia University.
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In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers experience something that that defy scientific explanation.
Part 1: After ACL surgery leaves Valarie Walker unable to walk, she can't make it to her dying mother's bedside to say goodbye.
Part 2: When Robyn Jay learns her abusive father is in palliative care, she sees it as her chance to finally watch the beast fall.
Valarie is a published writer and award winning storyteller. Her stories have been featured on the Moth Radio Hour and the Volume Knob podcast, among others. A Moth Grand Slam winner, she is currently working on a one woman show, Love and Other Hard Truths. One woman, one mic, and a world of possibilities.
Robyn Jay is a college English professor with a passion for neurobiology and a keen interest in human behaviour. Storyteller, stage hypnotist, and former player with Montreal Improv, Robyn is on the constant lookout for novelty, adventure, and ways we can broaden our understanding of how we define ourselves.
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In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers struggle to live up to the expectations their parents set for them.
Part 1: Growing up, Kat Arney was always told by her mom that she wasn't creative—that she was destined to be a scientist instead.
Part 2: After his father's unexpected death, Kevin McNulty becomes an investment banker, convinced it's the life his dad would have wanted for him.
Kat Arney is a multi award-winning science writer, public speaker and broadcaster. Initially starting off as a scientist, she left the lab to work in science comms at Cancer Research UK, where she helped shape the charity’s public voice around cancer research. During that time she co-founded CRUK’s ground-breaking Science Blog and became a principal media spokesperson, translating cutting-edge research for journalists and the public. She is the author of three acclaimed popular science books — Herding Hemingway’s Cats, How to Code a Human and Rebel Cell — and has presented numerous radio programmes and podcasts including Ingenious and Bug in the System on BBC Radio 4, and Genetics Unzipped. Today she is the founder and Chief Creative Officer of First Create The Media - a life science communications and marketing agency that helps pioneering innovators in the life sciences find and tell their stories to the world.
Kevin is a New York-based comedian who writes and performs at the Upright Citizens Brigade. The hour long version of his solo-show, Half-Orphan, will be at the Edinburgh Fringe this summer. He previously spent nearly a decade as an investment banker and economic researcher, where he formed an unhealthy attachment to telling stories through charts.
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In honour of National Coming Out Day on October 11, we're sharing two stories about queer journeys, self-discovery, and what it means to finally become your authentic self.
Part 1: Every time Billie Sainwood is intimate with a partner, she loses consciousness—a medical mystery that makes dating difficult.
Part 2: Kelsea Best is sleepwalking through graduate school until an unexpected encounter with a postdoc at a brewery forces her to confront feelings she's spent a lifetime trying to ignore.
Billie Sainwood is a poet, performer, and trans menace living in Atlanta. Her work has been featured in Had Magazine, the Atlanta Fringe Festival, and she was recently one of Bloodletter Magazine's 2025 Trans Voices in Horror. Her poetry collections WHAT WAS EATEN WAS GIVEN and 36 VIEWS OF MY BREASTS are available from Kith Books.
Kelsea Best is an Assistant Professor at the Ohio State University where she researches topics related to climate justice and equitable climate adaptation. She is a native of Nashville, TN and has been in Columbus for almost three years. She lives with her spouse, Ash, dog, Henry, and cat, Dany. When she isn't teaching and conducting research, Kelsea enjoys horseback riding, exercising, gardening, and reading everything from murder mysteries to fairy romance novels. She is a proud queer woman and nature lover.
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