Science journalist Nicholas St. Fleur spends two years preparing for what is to be an epic solar eclipse and chemical engineer Jason Raines finds himself leading the underdog team in a high school underwater robotics competition.

When Rachel Gross winds up with a chronic vaginal infection she refuses to believe her new favorite IUD is the culprit and Bryan Berlin discovers a mysterious bump on his butt but is too self-conscious to get it checked out.

Coral reef conservationist Emily Darling is at loss when a journalist asks her if she still has hope for coral reefs and James Gordon readies himself for another one of his daughter’s heart surgeries.

While Nadia Osman is growing up, her father is determined to get her to pursue a career in STEM and Josh Silberg finds a new appreciation for his dad’s embarrassing antics when he’s forced to be an aquarium mascot.

Comedian Josh Gondelman is terrified when he gets a call that his father doesn’t remember there’s an ongoing pandemic, growing up Ken Ono dreams of being anything but a mathematician, and as a teenager, Eric Jankowski is inspired when he meets his science heroes.

Sabrina Imbler encounters strange blobs in the ocean and becomes obsessed with figuring out what they are and while visiting a new eye doctor, Derek Traub wonders if his Duane Syndrome and uneven vision are somehow connected.

After being bullied for his sexuality as a kid, Scott Taylor hesitates to bring his full self to his identity as a scientist and Kamryn Parker’s high school history teacher unwittingly influences her scientific journey.

Curtis Chou becomes dogmatic in his quest to correct a person’s incorrect fact on the internet and Richard Cardillo is determined to uncover a priest’s secret to keeping a thriving cactus collection.

In anticipation of our upcoming Proton Prom, this week we’re re-airing the first Story Collider stories from two of the storytellers who will be performing at the event.