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Did you know that technically, the name ‘dinosaur’ is a rebrand? The original name was a lot more… wrinkly. In this episode we discuss how to name fossils and bring up the funniest fossil names we could find.  CW: Cursing. Discussion of European colonization and Native Americans. Many references to genitalia.

Asteroids, volcanoes, and sex lakes – in this episode we discuss the varied and sometimes hilarious hypotheses of why animals have gone extinct. CW: Extinctions/animal death, toxic shock syndrome, menstruation, serial killers, suicide in reference to having to do geochronology. Referring to non-avian dinosaurs as just dinosaurs.

While usually it’s just the hard bits that fossilize, occasionally the fossil record can preserve things like skin, organs, blood and more. This episode talks about what happens when soft tissue fossilizes, and what weird things scientists have done upon finding it. CW: Dead animals/babies, eating gross things, blood and gushy body bits, placentas.

Sometimes paleontology is awe-inspiring. Sometimes it’s gross and hilarious. This episode is at the weird epicenter of all of those things, because it turns out the best preserved fossil sturgeons are found up the rear end of duck-billed dinosaurs. CONTENT WARNINGS: Hemorrhoids, butt jokes, maligning archeologists, misinterpreting a cloaca as a butthole for the purposes […]

Throughout time we find evidence that animals made it to other continents seemingly by crossing vast oceans. In this episode we talk all about how animals can survive these strange events of accidental seafaring, and how the odds are always stacked against them. CW: Cruel research methods (not ours!), inbreeding, death.

In this episode of Backyard Geology, Serena takes you to the Jack Hills in western Australia to peer 4.39 billion years into the past. Detrital zircon grains found in the rocks of the Jack Hills are the oldest known materials existing on Earth today. Their chemical makeup preserves Earth’s oldest and most elusive Eon, the […]

In this episode of Backyard Geology, Serena takes you to the Semail Ophiolite. The small mountains on the northern coast of Oman once resided at the bottom of an ocean, before being uplifted onto land. Here, the igneous stratigraphy of the ocean crust is perfectly preserved, proving a standard for geologists to study. A special […]

In this episode of Backyard Geology, Serena takes you to the Galapagos Islands. Here, helium isotopes and the observations of Charles Darwin tell the tales of evolution, both in terms of geology and ecology respectively. As an isolated group of ocean islands, the Galapagos became the perfect place to observe the fine details of evolution. […]

In this episode of Backyard Geology, Serena takes you to Scotland where foundations for modern geology were laid. In the late 18th century, naturalists seeking to explain the landscapes around them started to propose radical ideas about the origins of rocks and the cycling of Earth’s materials. Tune in to hear about the people, places […]

In this episode of Backyard Geology, Serena takes you to Iceland to see the early stages of geologic succession in action. As one of the youngest nations in the world, geologically speaking, of course, Iceland showcases fresh geologic processes as an active volcanic island. Tune in to learn about what makes Iceland a great place […]

In this episode of Backyard Geology, Serena takes you 80 degrees north to the archipelago of Svalbard. Here, the cryosphere speaks to the effects of global warming and researchers can observe our changing world. As a change from our usual programing, it’s what sits on top of the rocks that is the hot topic, or, […]

Do you enjoy learning new things in all fields of geosciences? Do you have a soft spot for shenanigans? Then this podcast is just for you! In this podcast, Dr B. interviews interesting geoscientist with interesting stories. To skip the game jump to minute 5:00 Resources mentioned in this episode: Go back and listen to […]