New York City

Torrey Grant teaches wine appreciation at Syracuse University and lectures nationwide on wine through history, culture & storytelling. He is Wine Director for Leonetta, Jack & Charlie's & The Derby Club in NYC, and a freelance wine PR consultant. Husband, father & wine lover.

@Sommprof

Dr. Joseph Howlett is a staff reporter at Scientific American, where he writes about the latest breakthroughs in math and physics. Before becoming a journalist, he spent a decade as a particle physicist at Columbia and Stanford Universities, searching for answers to the universe’s biggest mysteries.

Astrophysicist, folklorist, author, actor, host… Dr. Moiya does it all, but she’s happiest when she’s helping people better understand the universe and our place in it. Check out her podcast Pale Blue Pod and her books THE MILKY WAY and MOTHERS OF INVENTION.

Alex Stamson is a lecturer, philosopher, and PhD candidate at UConn. Blending feminism and social epistemology, she is developing a theory of how we understand identity and how our social environments impact how we ‘get’ ourselves and others. Her secondary research is on popular fiction and representation.

Isabella Tecson is an adjunct English & film criticism professor at Queens College and CCNY. A script doctor, film historian, and playwright, she is known for her autobiographical plays, writing about dating as an immigrant, and writing music. MFA CCNY. BFA The New School.

https://isabellatecson.wordpress.com/

Professor Pascal Wallisch serves as a Clinical Professor of Data Science, Psychology & Neural Science at NYU. As NYU's most decorated educator, he has received the Distinguished Teaching Award, 2 Golden Dozen Awards, & many other honors. In his spare time, he writes books and lectures in bars.

https://grokipedia.com/page/wallisch

Dr. Jay White is an astrophysicist and Founding Director of the Talcott Mountain Research Institute. His career spans scientific research, teaching, academic leadership and STEM initiatives on six continents. He explores our place in the universe through public engagement, travel, cooking, and jazz.

Gina Antoniello is an award-winning NYU sports business professor and former Golden State Warriors & Brooklyn Nets executive. Now an investor, board leader & scholar-activist, she builds ventures and drives reform through social impact initiatives.

@G_antoniello

Dr. Andrea Jones-Rooy is a political & data scientist who empowers audiences to improve the world through data. Formerly a professor at NYU, she is now a keynote speaker, research scientist, comedian, and podcast host focusing on how we can use quantitative methods to address complex topics.

JR Pepper is an art historian, photographer, author, and digital imaging specialist known for exploring death, folklore, and visual culture. She is an adjunct professor at Brooklyn College, a cemetery tour guide at Green-Wood Cemetery, and a published author.

Dr. Ilk Yasha is an anti-disciplinary educator & independent curator. He serves as Director of the Studio Museum Institute at the Studio Museum and Adjunct Assistant Professor at NYU, supporting emerging and mid-career arts/museum leaders, especially those from historically marginalized communities.

Dr. Mark Popinchalk is an astronomer, professor, and science comedian. He has worked at the American Museum of Natural History for over a decade, teaches "History of the Universe" at NYU, and is the creator and host of the comedy talkshow "Science Tonight!"

Dr. Tom Rizzuto is a professor, musician, writer, and speaker. His work focuses on music and societal change. His most recent TEDxTalk was named an Editor's Pick by TED.com. Tom has spoken internationally and on television and composed the soundtrack to the hit podcast "Dean's Killer Joke."

Dr. Julian R. Silverman is an Assistant Professor at The Fashion Institute of Technology. He earned his PhD in chemistry from the CUNY Graduate Center. His research focuses on converting waste into soft materials and supports the next generation of safe and sustainable consumer products.

Dr. Jake Tuber is an organizational psychologist, award-winning executive coach, and Managing Principal of Ticonderoga Advisory. He is also a top-rated psychology professor at CCNY and a former stand-up and improv comedian. His first book, The Deliberate Manager, premieres in February.

Lindsey Cormack is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Stevens Institute of Technology, the creator of DCinbox, and host of Government That Doesn't Suck. She is the author of How to Raise a Citizen and Congress and US Veterans: From the GI Bill to the VA Crisis.

@HowToRaiseACitizen

Dr. Mirhom is a psychiatrist and Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia. As Chief Wellbeing Officer at Athletes for Hope and a Forbes contributor, he works at the intersection of mental health, faith, resilience, and high-performance wellbeing with athletes across the NBA, NFL, and Olympians.

Dhananjay Jagannathan is a philosopher, essayist, & Associate Professor of Philosophy at Hunter College, CUNY. He is the author of Aristotle's Practical Epistemology (OUP, 2025), and his upcoming book, Culture as Conversation, exploring cultural identity and appropriation, will be released in 2027.

https://culturedopinion.substack.com/

Dr. Alec Goldstein is a child & school psychologist and professor of clinical psychology at Rutgers University. He specializes in children with severe behavioral disorders and high suicidality/homicidality. He spends his free time working with school districts to support special education programs.

Torrey Grant teaches wine appreciation at Syracuse University and lectures nationwide on wine through history, culture & storytelling. He is Wine Director for Leonetta, Jack & Charlie's & The Derby Club in NYC, and a freelance wine PR consultant. Husband, father & wine lover.

@Sommprof

Dr. Jack Kelnhofer has been teaching literature from more than two decades. He is an award winning author and faculty member as well as a former punk rock musician. His most recent book, "Shakespeare 366" hits shelves in November.

Astrophysicist, folklorist, author, actor, host… Dr. Moiya does it all, but she’s happiest when she’s helping people better understand the universe and our place in it. Check out her podcast Pale Blue Pod and her books THE MILKY WAY and MOTHERS OF INVENTION.

Daniel M Rynerson is a Professor of Psychology at Montclair State University concentrating in Cognitive Science & Behavioral Neuroscience. His 'Self Perpetual' workshop series merges Psychology, Neuroscience & Eastern Philosophy showing how thoughts influence the biochemistry of the brain and body.

Alex Stamson is a lecturer, philosopher, and PhD candidate at UConn. Blending feminism and social epistemology, she is developing a theory of how we understand identity and how our social environments impact how we ‘get’ ourselves and others. Her secondary research is on popular fiction and representation.

Professor Pascal Wallisch serves as a Clinical Professor of Data Science, Psychology & Neural Science at NYU. As NYU's most decorated educator, he has received the Distinguished Teaching Award, 2 Golden Dozen Awards, & many other honors. In his spare time, he writes books and lectures in bars.

https://grokipedia.com/page/wallisch

JR Pepper is an art historian, photographer, author, and digital imaging specialist known for exploring death, folklore, and visual culture. She is an adjunct professor at Brooklyn College, a cemetery tour guide at Green-Wood Cemetery, and a published author.

Dr. Mark Popinchalk is an astronomer, professor, and science comedian. He has worked at the American Museum of Natural History for over a decade, teaches "History of the Universe" at NYU, and is the creator and host of the comedy talkshow "Science Tonight!"

Dr. Tom Rizzuto is a professor, musician, writer, and speaker. His work focuses on music and societal change. His most recent TEDxTalk was named an Editor's Pick by TED.com. Tom has spoken internationally and on television and composed the soundtrack to the hit podcast "Dean's Killer Joke."

Dr. Julian R. Silverman is an Assistant Professor at The Fashion Institute of Technology. He earned his PhD in chemistry from the CUNY Graduate Center. His research focuses on converting waste into soft materials and supports the next generation of safe and sustainable consumer products.

Bette Sloane is a 20-year educator with degrees in Photography, Mathematics Ed, and Curriculum & Teaching from Columbia University. She's received national awards for integrating art and math, has traveled to 50+ countries, and was named a 2025 NYS Master Teacher by Gov. Hochul.

Eliot Stein is a senior journalist at the BBC and the author of Custodians of Wonder: Ancient Customs, Profound Traditions, and the Last People Keeping Them Alive. His work has appeared in The New York Times, National Geographic, WIRED, and elsewhere.

Thomas Germain is a technology journalist at the BBC, writing Keeping Tabs and hosting The Interface podcast. He exposes how tech firms manipulate users via AI. His reporting sparked an FTC lawsuit reshaping health privacy law and led Meta to delete facial recognition data for 1B+ people.

https://tomgermain.com/

Dr. Andrea Jones-Rooy is a political & data scientist who empowers audiences to improve the world through data. Formerly a professor at NYU, she is now a keynote speaker, research scientist, comedian, and podcast host focusing on how we can use quantitative methods to address complex topics.

Brant MacDuff is a wildlife conservation strategist & economist, and a conservation & taxidermy historian. His book The Shotgun Conservationist and work is focused on bringing wildlife conservation strategies to broad audiences. He works with conservation organizations on public facing projects.

Niall Whiteford is an Irish postdoctoral fellow at the American Museum of Natural History’s Department of Astrophysics. As an exoplanet storm chaser, his work focuses on employing the James Webb Space Telescope to probe the weather on gas giant worlds beyond our solar shores.