In this week’s episode, both storytellers face the challenge of evicting some very unwelcome guests.

Part 1: While housesitting for her uncle, JiJi Lee’s peaceful stay takes a chaotic turn when a squirrel breaks in.

Part 2: When a serious mold infestation takes over the university campus, Joshua Wilson is tasked with eliminating it.

JiJi Lee is a comedy writer and performer. She has contributed to The New Yorker, The New York Times, and The Onion. And her work has been published in the McSweeney's humor anthology Keep Scrolling Till You Feel Something.

Joshua Wilson is a Project Manager with over five years of successfully leading complex projects from start to finish. He splits my time between Boise and the Wood River Valley, where he co-founded a business providing skilled labor for high-end custom homes. He’s since managed facilities for Boise State and Northwest Nazarene University, where he championed multiple software integration projects to maximize business operations efficiency. He oversaw project management, capital planning, safety protocols, and team leadership. Now, in his junior year of a Computer Science degree at Boise State, he’s expanding his technical skills and actively seeking opportunities to apply his knowledge in software development, data analysis, and his unique background. Outside of work, he enjoys home improvement and automation projects, traveling, rafting, fishing, hunting, snowboarding, and mountain biking, often with his daughter.

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This week we present two classic stories about people struggling with their identity.

Part 1: When science journalist Katherine Wu interviews a scientist about a new facial recognition algorithm, the conversation turns more personal than she expected.

Part 2: Hurricane Katrina gives Mary Annaise Heglar a new perspective on both her grandfather and home state.

Katherine J. Wu is a Boston-based science journalist and storyteller whose writing has appeared in Smithsonian magazine, Scientific American, NOVA Next, and more. She's also a senior producer for The Story Collider. In 2018, she earned a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunobiology from Harvard University, where she studied how bacteria deal with stress so she could one day learn to do the same. She can spell "tacocat" backwards.

Mary Annaise Heglar is an author and communications consultant based in Birmingham, AL. Her writing has been published in Vox, The Cut, Rolling Stone, and WIRED, among other outlets. She is the author of the novel, Troubled Waters, and the children's book, The World is Ours to Cherish.

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In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers transform into someone they admire—one quite literally, the other more figuratively.

Part 1: While juggling climate science studies and a budding comedy career, Rollie Williams finds an unexpected niche impersonating his environmental hero, Al Gore.

Part 2: Scott Acton longs to follow in Hemingway’s footsteps, but when his English teacher squashes his writing dreams, he reluctantly accepts his role as “the computer guy.”

Rollie Williams is a Brooklyn-based comedian, video editor, and guy with both student debt and a Climate Science & Policy degree from Columbia University. He is the creator and host of the digital comedy series Climate Town. In the past few years, the channel has amassed 600,000 subscribers, several millions views, and a handful of awards. Rollie is also the co-creator and co-host of podcast The Climate Denier's Playbook. Formerly, Rollie performed a monthly comedy show 'An Inconvenient Talk Show' doing sketches and comedic deep dives by pairing comedians (SNL, The Daily Show, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, etc) together with climate scientists (NASA, MIT, Harvard). When he's not doing climate stuff, Rollie plays an unhealthy amount of billiards and recently achieved his dream of commentating for the World Cup of Pool in England.

Scott Acton is Professor and Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Virginia. He did his undergraduate studies at Virginia Tech and graduate studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Scott’s laboratory is called VIVA – Virginia Image and Video Analysis. They work on image analysis problems from imaging for Alzheimer’s disease to analyzing classroom videos for improving elementary math education. Scott also recently worked for the National Science Foundation as a program director for programs in signal processing and artificial intelligence. When he’s not doing research at UVA, you will find him in the mountains on his purple mountain bike.

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In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers are pushed out of their comfort zones—and challenged to see the world through someone else’s eyes.

Part 1: As someone who always likes to play it safe, psychologist Kenneth Carter sets out to understand what makes thrill-seekers tick.

Part 2: Philosophy professor Rob Reich is frustrated that so many new Stanford students are headed straight into computer science.

Dr. Kenneth Carter is the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Psychology at Oxford College of Emory University and the founding director of the Emory University Center for Public Scholarship and Engagement. He served as the interim dean of Oxford College from 2022-2023. A graduate of Oxford College and Emory University, Carter received an MA and PhD in psychology from the University of Michigan. He is the author of several textbooks including Psychopathology: Understanding Psychological Disorders (Cambridge University Press) and the forthcoming Living Psychology (SAGE Publications). He has published in both academic and lay publications, translating psychology research into engaging everyday language. His articles have been published in magazines such as Psychology Today and Women’s Health, and he has appeared on news programs such as CNN Tonight, NPR’s: ShortWave, All Things Considered, and NBC’s Today show. The psychology of thrill-seeking is the current focus of Dr. Carter’s research. He has delivered TEDx talk on thrill-seekers and is the host of Mind of a Motorhead an NBC Sports web series that examines the personalities of motorsport athletes. His most recent book is Buzz!: Inside the Minds of Thrill-Seekers, Daredevils, and Adrenaline Junkies (Cambridge University Press). When not teaching, speaking, or writing, Dr. Carter prefers reading and relaxing on the beach rather than wingsuit flying or BASE jumping.

Rob Reich, is the McGregor-Girand Professor of Social Ethics of Science and Technology, Associate Director of Stanford's Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI), Co-Director of the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (PACS), and the former Director of Stanford's Center for Ethics in Society. His scholarship in political theory engages with the work of social scientists and engineers. His current work is on ethics, policy, and technology. As a 2024-25 Scholar in Service, he will serve as Senior Advisor to the U.S. AI Safety Institute (AISI).

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In this week’s episode, we explore what pushes someone to steal, and how it feels to be the one robbed.

Part 1: With a potential cancer diagnosis looming and his health insurance about to vanish, David Crabb finds an envelope stuffed with $100 bills.

Part 2: When Zakiya Whatley bonds with another student in grad school, it feels like the start of a lifelong friendship – but turns out there's more to her new friend than she expected.

David Crabb is a writer, performer & storyteller from San Antonio, Texas, where he spent his teenage years as a gay Goth, which was just as much fun as it sounds. David is a member of the Groundlings Main Company and the host of Risk! at Lyric Hyperion in LA. He's the creator of the solo show “Bad Kid” (New York Times Critics’ Pick) and writer of the memoir “Bad Kid" (Harper Perennial). David has performed solo works in LA, Australia, Scotland, Texas & NYC and his storytelling has been featured on NPR, BuzzFeed & The Moth. You can currently hear him playing multiple weirdos on Wondery’s "This Job is History" with Chris Parnell.

Zakiya Whatley is a scientist turned storyteller who uses audio, video, and live events to bring science to life. She’s passionate about making science accessible and engaging for all kinds of audiences. She hosts two Webby-nominated podcasts—Breakthrough from Boston Children’s Hospital and Dope Labs, where science meets pop culture. Zakiya has trained scientists and researchers to share their stories effectively, helping them bridge the gap between their expertise and the broader public. Whether in front of the mic or behind the scenes shaping narratives, she believes storytelling is one of the most powerful tools for connection, understanding, and change.

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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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