Moth Radio Hour 202

Geneticist Paul Nurse, a Nobel Laureate, learns the shocking truth about his origins; a nine-alarm blaze in Boston's Chinatown teaches a daughter about her father's wisdom; and a cop makes an erroneous ID on a stakeout. Hosted by The Moth's Artistic Director, Catherine Burns.

This episode of The Moth Radio Hour features the following storytellers:

Paul Nurse

Paul tells us his story at our Matter: Stories of Atoms & Eves in collaboration with the World Science Festival at The Players Club in June 2009.

Paul Nurse is a Nobel Laureate and the President of Rockefeller University, where he also continues to do research in cell biology. He is the former Chief Executive of Cancer Research, UK. In 1999 he was knighted in Great Britain for his contributions to cancer research. At the end of 2010 he becomes President of the Royal Society in London.

Ellie Lee

Ellie models the childhood coat that her father designed for her.

"I actually agreed to tell a story at The Moth as an attempt to overcome my terrible stage fright. I wanted to tell a story that honored my dad. After all, if failed miserably on stage, at least I would do it nobly! Being a part of The Moth was a very moving experience for me, to be able to share such a personal story with a warm and supportive audience. Afterwards, I shared the videotaped performance with my parents, and they wept... and then I wept, of course. My parents aren't very emotional people, so that was a very special moment to have together."

Ellie Lee is a director and producer of documentary, fiction, and animated films. Her 35mm animated documentary, Repetition Compulsion, and fiction short, Dog Days, screened in over a hundred film festivals worldwide, including the Berlin Film Festival. She has received numerous fellowships and awards, including an Emerging Artist/Media Arts Fellowship from the Rockefeller/Ford Foundations, and has been nominated four times for National Emmy Awards. She served as a producer for the PBS series, Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?, which won the 2009 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for excellence in broadcast journalism.

Steve Osborne

Steve and his bomb-sniffing dog Jingles.

Artistic Director Catherine Burns interviews Steve about his storytelling experience with The Moth.

Steve Osborne was a New York City police officer for twenty years and retired as a Lieutenant assigned to the Detective Bureau. He has traveled around the United States telling his gritty and compelling tales from the street and even performed in Scotland at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He also works as a writer and script consultant on television and movie projects.

Tom Weiser

Tom demonstrates the posture "Golden Pheasant Stands on One Leg" at a t'ai chi camp in Milanville, PA.

"It's been quite heart-warming to hear people's responses to the story. It's been a way to connect with other people, to understand that I'm not alone in my struggle to make sense of my life choices."

Tom Weiser lives in Boulder, Colorado where he practices and teaches tai chi, Alexander Technique, meditation and improvisational singing. Tom is currently pursuing a Master's Degree in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism at Naropa University and lives in Marpa House, a former frat turned Buddhist Residence, where he has learned to practice mindfulness of the fact that other people aren't doing their chores. Tom's essays have been featured on NPR and in Newsweek. He is a featured performer on the CDs The Moth Audience Favorites Vol 1 and The Moth: Innocents Abroad.