Telling a person's story is not unlike being a biologist, says Jay Allison. "You go out in the world and encounter actual life and you collect it...and you bring it back and you study it and then you figure out how to present it," he says. Allison, an independent journalist who produces the Moth Radio Hour and founded Transom.org, shares his Brief but Spectacular on finding stories.

There's a cascade of dire problems that can occur even if you're only in jail for one day, says attorney Robin Steinberg. The CEO of The Bail Project -- a national organization that pays bail for tens of thousands of low-income Americans at risk of pretrial detention -- gives her Brief But Spectacular take on disrupting the money bail system and turning the tide on U.S. mass incarceration.

For today's high school students, perfect records are valued more than authentic exploration, says Abby Falik. But the founder of the nonprofit Global Citizen Year sees firsthand the benefit of taking kids out of their comfort zone by giving them a gap year in an international setting. Falk offers her Brief but Spectacular take on preparing a new generation of leaders.

Author Jonny Sun amassed a loyal Twitter following through his honesty, humor and irreverent candor. His latest book, "Everyone’s a Aliebn When U a Alien Too," features the distinctive “intentional clumsiness” for which he is known. We turn to Sun for his Brief but Spectacular take on the upside of online anonymity.