The Story Collider

This April, The Story Collider presents a special series on urban climate change.
Through eight true, personal stories about science, we explore how the forces shaping our planet — earth, water, fire, and air — show up in the places most of us actually live: our cities.
From flooded streets and wildfire smoke to shifting ground and the air we breathe, these are the moments when climate change stops feeling distant — and becomes deeply personal.
Eight stories. Four elements. One planet in crisis.
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In this week’s episode, both storytellers explore the surprising connections between dance and science.
Part 1: Learning a modern version of her childhood Indian dances puts Sumitra Mattai’s brain and body to the test.
Part 2: When people doubt that dance can empower girls to pursue STEM careers, Yamilée Toussaint sets out to prove them wrong.
Sumitra Mattai is a writer, storyteller and textile designer. She holds a BFA in Textile Design from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School. Her essays have been published in Huffington Post, Scary Mommy, and Lit Magazine, among others. She lives in Harlem with her family.
Yamilée Toussaint is the Founder & CEO of STEM From Dance, which empowers girls with the skills, experiences, and confidence to pursue careers in STEM through the transformative power of dance. Combining her background in engineering, education, and a lifelong passion for dance, she started the program in 2012 to inspire girls of color to pursue STEM careers. Yamilée holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and a M.S. in Teaching from Pace University. She has earned numerous accolades, including the MIT MLK Leadership Award, Teach For America's Social Innovation Award, AnitaB.org's Educational Innovation Award, Falling Walls Foundation Science Engagement Breakthrough of the Year, and a 2024 Top 5 CNN Hero.
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In this week’s episode, both storytellers share stories that illustrate why empathy, kindness, and humanity are essential to healthcare.
Part 1: After feeling betrayed by the very systems meant to protect her, Karen McCaffrey chooses to become the advocate for survivors she once needed herself.
This story does include mentions of sexual assault and rape. In case you’d find them helpful, now or at any point in the future, we have some resources available on our website.
Part 2: In her twenties, Mary Cyn endures a string of gynecological problems, and the lack of compassion she encounters in medical settings motivates her into changing how medical students learn patient care.
A native New Yorker, Karen McCaffrey has a BA in Economics from SUNY Oneonta and an MBA in Finance from St. John’s University. She spent her early career managing billion-dollar institutional portfolios for TIAA and later directed global treasury operations at Columbia University. She then left the world of finance to help survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. This last mission is the investment she treasures most.
Mary Cyn is a burlesque performer, storyteller, writer, and visual artist who lives in New York City. She would like to thank her vagina for financing these things.
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Hair might seem trivial, but for many of us it carries history, identity, and meaning far beyond keratin. In this week’s episode, both of our storytellers explore the unexpected power their hair holds.
Part 1: Being half Navajo and half white, Carissa Sherman turns to genetics to better understand her identity. As she questions where she belongs, her hair becomes a quiet but powerful marker of how she sees herself.
Part 2: Growing up, Ria Spencer believed “good hair” meant long hair but when a medical condition forces her to shave it all off, she’s challenged to rethink what that belief really means.
Carissa Sherman is Diné (Navajo) and from Arizona. She’s a rising 5th year PhD Candidate in the Human Medical Genetics and Genomics program at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Carissa is a member of Dr. Katrina Claw’s Lab. Her current work has involved community-based participatory research gathering perspectives of genetics research as well as examining population-level pharmacogenetic variation. Her research interests include examining ethical, legal, social and cultural implications of genetic research and learning potential ways to advance inclusivity and equity in public health medicine. She is interested in science policy and/or academia. Carissa and her husband like to craft, draw, go to renaissance fairs, and have two cats; she loves horror movies!
Ria Spencer is an aspiring world traveler and wannabe foodie who’s spent years belting classic rock and sweet soul music for marginally sober audiences with her band Girls on Top. She’s also delighted to be a grown-ass woman who’s lived long enough to have some stories to tell. Ria produced and hosted Where Are They Now: The GenX Years in the New York Frigid Festival and has also appeared in the No Name Comedy/Variety Show, RISK!, Better Said Than Done, Dead Rock Stars and The Volume Knob.
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This week we present two stories from Black people who were dealing with the ramifications of our racist systems.
Part 1: As a science teacher, Mamoudou N'Diaye was supposed to have all the answers, but he struggles to explain being Black in the USA.
Part 2: Rhonda Key fights to be taken seriously by her white co-workers and students when she gets a job at a middle school.
Mamoudou N'Diaye is a Mauritanian American comic, writer, filmmaker, activist, DJ, and former teacher. N'Diaye has been a correspondent for digital media companies Mic and Seeker, a creative comedy consultant for social justice nonprofits Color of Change, Hip Hop Caucus, The Center for Cultural Power, and The Center for Media and Social Impact, and a winner of 2019's Yes And Laughter Lab for his pilot, Franklin. He has written and appeared in the Comedy Central Original They Follow, written for Refinery29's After After Party, and is in post-production for the webseries Bodegaverse with Karen Sepulveda. N'Diaye is developing By Us, For Us, a late-night sketch/talk show centering Black voices, for Color for Change and Flyovers, a half-hour dramedy about being Black in the rural Midwest. N’Diaye holds a degree in cognitive behavioral neuroscience from the College of Wooster.
Rhonda M. Key has served as a teacher and administrator in suburban, rural, and urban school districts throughout her career. Currently, she serves as Assistant Superintendent of Jennings School District. Under her purview as the former Principal/Director of Secondary Education-Community Partnerships, Jennings Senior High School achieved 100% graduation and job placements for the past three years. In 2014, Dr. Key was named one of Five Women to Make a Difference in the Decatur/Macon County area of Illinois. In March 2019 she was named Principal of the Year by the St. Louis Association of Secondary School Principals. Dr. Key is also the co-owner and founder of Key/Ming Educational Design LLC, educational consultant and co-author of articles regarding Urban Education. Dr. Key earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Lincoln University, and she completed her educational specialist and doctorate from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
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