Through "SciChronicles," graduate student hosts Kayla Burgher and Risa Schnebly shift the focus from the lab coat to the individual, highlighting the humanity behind every discovery.
Before becoming a podcast host, Burgher's childhood consisted of camping trips and ocean vacations that sparked their fascination with the environment. Although Arizona's lack of an ocean led her to temporarily abandon her dream of studying the sea, her passion was reignited in her time at ASU.
It was a transformative study abroad trip during Burgher's undergraduate years that solidified her commitment to the sustainability of small-scale coastal fisheries.
"That was a life-changing experience that solidified that this is what I want to be doing," Burgher said.
During a turtle population monitoring project, Burgher was on a boat checking for turtles, and then, they heard splashing. Burgher recalls how the turtle sitting next to her was breathing deeply, and its presence left a lasting impression.
"I was listening to it breathe. And I'd never heard a sea turtle breathe before, and it just had this deep, cavernous breath," Burgher said. "Looking into its eyes, seeing it breathe. I was like, 'I have to do something with these sea turtles.'"
Schnebly's journey began with a deep connection to nature, instilled in them early on by their family. Growing up in Southern California, Schnebly was captivated by the environment, often hiking with their dad or learning about plants from their grandmother.
"I was like a little environmentalist as a kid … I yelled at my friends for throwing plastic on the ground," Schnebly said.
After studying environmental science at UC Davis, Schnebly's life took a turn when they moved to Arizona following their mother's death. At ASU, they earned their Bachelor's degree in biological sciences and began exploring environmental ethics, particularly around extinction.
"I was continuously drawn to extinction because it's very emblematic of the kinds of environmental losses that are happening in the world," Schnebly says.
In 2023, at the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference held in D.C., Burgher attended a story slam event where scientists shared their personal journeys in research.
"I had never seen that human side of science, that emotional side of science. We're all humans doing science, so there's going to be emotions in it, and so I think it was really beautiful to see that come out," Burgher said.
Burgher approached Schnebly, who has experience in science writing and storytelling feedback. They teamed up to organize ASU's first School of Life Sciences Story Slam, where faculty and students shared personal scientific journeys.
"We got to help people write stories in a way that they don't usually get to in the sciences," Schnebly said.
Amazed by the event, audience member Charles Kazilek, founding director of the long-running "Ask a Biologist" podcast and executive director in The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, approached the duo with an idea: to turn the event into a podcast.
"There were probably 100 people in the room … that's only 100 (stories), right? And the stories are so important that I just reached out to them and said, 'Hey, let's see what we can do,'" Kazilek said.
Kazilek introduced the duo to Grassroots Studio, where "Ask a Biologist" is also produced. He helped guide them through the first three episodes, showing them how to streamline the recording process and make it more relaxed for speakers. Kazilek praised the two hosts for their communication skills.
"SciChronicles" has been running for over four months and has garnered an audience across 13 countries, according to Kazilek.
"I'm particularly really proud of these storytellers because they're (sharing) really vulnerable stories," Schnebly said.
Burgher acknowledges that the most challenging part has been encouraging scientists to speak on the podcast. They said it has been uncommon to bring emotions into science since it's supposed to be an objective field.
"Since then, we've had way more interest in people coming forward, asking to share stories," Burgher said. "If they end up not wanting to share that story with the world, that's okay, and at least they were still able to learn a little bit more about themselves in the process."
The podcast has contributed to Burgher and Schnebly's career in multiple ways. For Schnebly, it allowed them to merge their background in technical writing and their passion for storytelling. Burgher noted significant improvements in their communication skills, improving their research papers and presentations.
"It's really helped my writing and my presentations professionally," Burgher said. "But then also getting to know more people in the community has been really meaningful for me."
As SciChronicles continues to amplify scientists' voices, Schnebly and Burgher hope the podcast will remain a staple at ASU or evolve into a future endeavor they carry outside the University.
Through the podcast, Burgher and Schnebly aim to challenge stereotypes and create a new narrative for science. As Schnebly put it — science is character-driven.
Edited by Sophia Ramirez, Abigail Beck and Natalia Jarrett.
Reach the reporter at mmart533@asu.edu.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on X.
MJ is a freshman studying computer science and journalism and mass communication. This is her first semester with The State Press. She has also worked on her high school newspaper.
