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Science changes lives; hear 5 stories that show how

Angela Speck, an astrophysicist at University of Missouri-Columbia, tells a story at The Story Collider even at St. Louis Public Radio in May 2017.
David Kovaluk | St. Louis Public Radio
Angela Speck, an astrophysicist at University of Missouri-Columbia, tells a story at The Story Collider even at St. Louis Public Radio in May 2017.

Like it or not, science is a part of our lives. It affects our health, our environment and our understanding of who we are and how we fit in the universe. At a time when our knowledge of how the world works is quickly expanding, climate change is altering the planet, and the state of health care hangs in the balance, it’s especially important to share stories about what science means to us personally.

In May, St. Louis Public Radio and the St. Louis Storytelling Festival hosted The Story Collider, a podcast that puts on live stage shows where scientists and non-scientists tell stories about how science has touched them. The show featured five stories loosely based on the theme of eclipses, in recognition of the upcoming total solar eclipse. Listen to them below.

St. Louis Public Radio will continue to partner with The Story Collider to produce future shows in St. Louis through science reporter Eli Chen and local comedian Zack Stovall. The next show will take place on Oct. 5 at the Ready Room in The Grove.

If you’d like to tell a story at a future Story Collider event, pitch us at stories@storycollider.org. Need help on how to make your pitch shine? Here are some tips from the podcast.

Astrophysicist Angela Speck learns the value of teaching science. 

Astronomy writer Rebecca Boyle endures a complicated trip to a telescope in Chile. 

Science reporter Eli Chen tries to use psychology to fix her troubled love life. 

Marine biologist Liz Neeley keeps getting left behind on a trip to Fiji. 

Pediatrician Ken Haller grapples with the emerging AIDS crisis during his first years as a doctor. 

Copyright 2021 St. Louis Public Radio. To see more, visit St. Louis Public Radio.

Eli Chen is the science and environment reporter at St. Louis Public Radio. She comes to St. Louis after covering the eroding Delaware coast, bat-friendly wind turbine technology, mouse love songs and various science stories for Delaware Public Media/WDDE-FM. Before that, she corralled robots and citizen scientists for the World Science Festival in New York City and spent a brief stint booking guests for Science Friday’s live events in 2013. Eli grew up in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, where a mixture of teen angst, a love for Ray Bradbury novels and the growing awareness about climate change propelled her to become the science storyteller she is today. When not working, Eli enjoys a solid bike ride, collects classic disco, watches standup comedy and is often found cuddling other people’s dogs. She has a bachelor’s in environmental sustainability and creative writing at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and has a master’s degree in journalism, with a focus on science reporting, from the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism.