Best of Story Collider: Celebrating 15 Years

To kick off our big 15 year anniversary celebration, we’re re-sharing two stories from the storytellers you, the fans, voted as your favorite stories. And the best part? You can see these storytellers, along with the other fan favorites, take the stage live on June 3, 2025, at Caveat in New York City during our special anniversary show and fundraiser. Learn more and grab your tickets here.

Part 1: Maryam Zaringhalam's scheme to cheat her way into the smart class makes clear a huge flaw in the education system.

Part 2: On the first day of grad school for her PhD, a fellow student tells Bianca Jones Marlin that she doesn't really belong there.

Maryam is a molecular biologist by training who traded in her pipettes for the world of science policy and advocacy. She’s on a mission to make science more open and inclusive through her work both as a science communicator and policymaker. She’s a Senior Producer for the Story Collider in DC and previously served as the Assistant Director for Public Access and Research Policy at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy from 2023 to 2024. She has a cat named Tesla, named after the scientist and not the car. You can learn more about her at https://webmz.nyc.

Dr. Bianca Jones Marlin is a neuroscientist and postdoctoral researcher at Columbia University in the laboratory of Nobel Laureate Dr. Richard Axel, where she investigates transgenerational epigenetic inheritance, or how traumatic experiences in parents affect the brain structure of their offspring. She holds a PhD in neuroscience from New York University, and dual bachelor degrees from St. John’s University, in biology and adolescent education. As a graduate student, her research focused on the vital bond between parent and child, and studied the use of neurochemicals, such as the “love drug” oxytocin, as a treatment to strengthen fragile and broken parent-child relationships. Dr. Marlin’s research has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, Scientific American, and Discover Magazine’s “100 Top Stories of 2015.” Dr. Marlin aims to utilize neurobiology and the science of learning to better inform both the scientific and educational community on how positive experiences dictate brain health, academic performance, and social well being.

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