As someone who always likes to play it safe, psychologist Kenneth Carter sets out to understand what makes thrill-seekers tick, and philosophy professor Rob Reich is frustrated that so many new Stanford students are headed straight into computer science.
Read MoreSticky Fingers: Stories about theft
With a potential cancer diagnosis looming and his health insurance about to vanish, David Crabb finds an envelope stuffed with $100 bills, and 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.
Read MoreThen Comes A Baby?: Stories about the choice to have children
When a piece of her IUD breaks off, Bailey Swilley’s spirals about her choice never to have children, and Christel Bartelse takes an unconventional approach to figure out if she wants to be a mother or not.
Read MoreBest of Story Collider: Acceptance
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, and when Guizella Rocabado leaves her home in Bolivia to pursue her education in the United States, her plan hits an unexpected snag.
Read MoreGreen Thumb: Stories about gardening
Feeling lonely after a move to New York City, Kofi Thomas finds connection, purpose, and community through a neighborhood garden, and As he fights to stay sober, Michael Hudgins throws himself into an unusual form of therapy: pulling invasive plants from a city park.
Read MoreWired Lives: Stories about brain-computer interfaces
As his Parkinson’s symptoms worsen and medications take a toll, Brandan Mehaffie faces a life-altering decision: continue down a difficult path or undergo brain surgery to implant an electrode to stimulate deep areas of his brain, and after an accident leaves Ian Burkhart with complete tetraplegia, he grapples with losing his independence — until he’s offered a chance to participate in a groundbreaking clinical trial using muscle stimulation controlled by a brain implant to help restore movement.
Read MoreMishaps: Stories about unintended mistakes
In fourth grade, Ro Moran is thrilled to be trusted with the class pet iguana, Iggy, for the night. But by morning, something is very wrong, and as an exchange student studying superconducting oxides, Karoline Mueller tries to save money by gold-coating a cheap crucible instead of using a solid gold one.
Read MoreBest of Story Collider: Pride
Science educator Charlie Cook experiments with coming out to students, and marine biologist Shayle Matsuda adapts to his new identity as a transgender man while on assignment in the Philippines.
Read MoreRed Flag: Stories about toxic relationships
Carlos Maza uses the plague to analyze his brutal breakup, and Panagiota Vogdou refuses to see her boyfriend as toxic until a stranger on the bus tells her to go to therapy.
Read MoreComing Out: Stories about sharing one's identity
After years of struggling with their gender identity, Parker Sublette finds inspiration in marine life, and bullied as a kid for the sound of his voice, Garret Glinka begins to reclaim his confidence thanks to biology class.
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