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The Big Blue Rock Pod

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Rating
★★★★★
4.7
from
21 reviews
This podcast has
49 episodes
Language
English
Explicit
No
Date created
2022/01/31
Latest episode
2026/02/06
Average duration
47 min.
Release period
32 days

Description

Welcome to the Big Blue Rock Pod, produced by the Kentucky Geological Survey, at the University of Kentucky. This podcast is a fun, conversational approach to discussing all things geology and earth processes. We primarily focus on Kentucky. We talk emerging ideas in research, along with classic topics in earth science for all levels of interest.

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Check latest episodes from The Big Blue Rock Pod podcast


Ep. 50: Lakes, Diatoms, and DNA: Will You Be My Valentine?
2026/02/06
50th Episode! Matt, Doug, and Sarah talk to UK Earth & Environmental Sciences Professor Trisha Spanbauer. The discuss lakes, paleolimnology, lake sediment as proxies for global environmental change, ancient environmental DNA, biodiversity, ecological and molecular evolution, Lake Titicaca, promise of a.e.DNA sequencing, algae and art, and much more!
Ep. 49: Seeing what you can't see with geophysics
2025/12/29
Matt, Doug, and Sarah talk with UK Earth & Environmental Sciences Professor Ed Woolery. The discuss near surface geophysics, shear wave propagation, imaging technique limitations, blind faults, applied geophysics, department chair duties, Ed’s geophysics heroes and much more!  
Ep. 48: Dig Doug: KGS Digital Mapping and a Unique Career Arc
2025/11/27
Matt and Sarah talk with KGS geologist and BBRP co-host Doug Curl. They talk about Doug’s unique and fascinating career arc as a geologist, geoinformatics, GIS, geologic maps, compact discs, metadata (everyone’s favorite!), online geologic map services, and much more.  
Ep. 47: News and Boos
2025/10/30
Matt, Sarah, and Doug recap their participation in conferences but most importantly lean into Halloween! They discuss haunted pump jacks, suffering cows, the dark history of the Nada Tunnel, and a creepy story from a special guest about their experience with a time vortex during field work.
Ep. 46: The Coal Whisperer
2025/09/30
Matt, Sarah, and Doug talk with KGS geologist Cortland Eble. They discuss all things coal geology with a world-renowned palynologist, one of few people in the world who grinds up coal and glues in back together! They discuss coal formation, macerals, coke, coal spores and pollen, coal quality and quantity, coal from the Titanic, and much more!
Ep. 45: Building resilience from the ground up with the Kentucky State Geologist
2025/08/27
Matt, Doug, and Sarah talk with KGS Director and Ky State Geologist Mike McGlue. They discuss what geologists do, trends in earth science, converging disciplines, exciting research at KGS, and emphasize the application of geology to build resilience for the Commonwealth. Listen up!
Ep. 44: Out of Office Messages
2025/07/31
Matt, Doug, and Sarah talk about conferences they attended this summer, along with a little travel in between. They discuss the National Speleological Society Convention, Niagara Falls, Jim Thorpe, Archbald Pothole State Park, the Kansas Geological Survey (the other KGS) Field Conference, geology of New York City, The Natural Hazards Center Workshop, geologic hazards, disaster resilience, effective data dissemination, the geology of Iceland and much more!
Ep. 43: Same Geologic Time, New Listen
2025/06/27
Geologic time is a fundamental concept at the core of all geology and earth sciences. Since it's the foundation for everything else, we thought it was worth listening to twice. Enjoy this reissued episode of "Geologic Time" from September 2022 (episode 10) with Matt, Sarah, and Doug and special guest KGS geologist and geomorphologist (now SP&M Lab lead) Jason Dortch.
Ep. 42: Shale, yeah!
2025/05/30
Matt, Doug, and Sarah talk with KGS Geologist Alex Washburn to discuss shales, rare-earth element, critical minerals, calcite, geochronology, petroleum geology, and environmental geology. Also, Doug spills his water.
Ep. 41: Someone to Organize Our Schist
2025/04/30
Sarah, Matt, and Doug talk with KGS Public Resources Curator Cheyenne Hohman about KGS archiving, data dissemination over time, weird publications, maps, science and political winds, which Survey was most productive, and much more! And check out our oldest publication (to date - from 1794!) in the KGS catalog here: https://kgs.uky.edu/kygeode/services/pubs/pub.htm?id=4385 "Map of the State of Kentucky with the Adjoining Territories" You can search the entire KGS publication catalog here: https://kgs.uky.edu/kygeode/services/pubs/ 
Ep. 40: Geology in the Gallery (view description for images!)
2025/03/31
Matt, Sarah, and Doug talk to UK Art Museum Curator, Rachel Hooper. In this special episode, they go on-site to the museum and discuss with Rachel the materials and subjects that connect art and geology: landscapes, photography, painting (with volcanic materials!) a Mt. Vesuvius eruption, ceramics, clay mineralogy, marble, lithography, and much more. View referenced art pieces below: Thomas Melville Chapin, Will in Growth, 1993, Colorado yule marble. Collection of the UK Art Museum, gift of Dr. John W. Hankla. Follower of Pierre Jacques Volaire, Eruption of Mount Vesuvius, late 18th – early 19th century, oil on canvas. Collection of the UK Art Museum, gift of Drs. Jim and Bonnie Tanner.   Iranian, Storage Jar, late 14th-15th century, ceramic with thin quartz-frit layer, decorated in cobalt blue and alkaline glaze. Collection of the UK Art Museum, gift of Mrs. Alice Heeramaneck.   Sonia Delaunay-Terk, Composition, circa 1972, color lithograph on paper. Collection of the UK Art Museum, gift of Carol Williams in honor of Thomas M. Williams, Jr. (B.A., 1955; M.A., 1963).  
Ep. 39: Mystery Science Geology 2025: Netflix's La Palma
2025/02/28
Matt, Sarah, and Doug breakdown the 2024 television mini-series La Palma! They discuss the plot of the show, geologic character stereotypes, geologic details right and wrong, the geology of the Canary Islands, general geology movie cheesiness, and much more!
Ep. 38: 2025 Goals: Rock solid or shaky ground
2025/01/29
Matt gets philosophical about time management and Sarah gets anxious. Doug's just trying to get through the website redo.
Ep. 37: Rock, Paper, Data
2024/12/19
Matt, Sarah, and Doug talk about data with KGSers Cheyenne Hohman and Liz Adams. They dig into KGS history and mission, saving data and maps from threats, progress of storage and dissemination, data curation, data management, metadata (ugh!), UKnowledge, and the future of data storage for KGS.
Ep. 36: Dating profile: Earth, 4.567 billion
2024/11/22
"I'm a 4.567 billion-year-old planet with a rich history, constantly evolving, and always open to new experiences. You should leave a message if you like cheese and would like to discuss it further..." This month Matt, Sarah, and Doug discuss it further with UK Earth and Environmental Science professor Dave Moecher. Take a listen to their chat about the age of the Earth, the oldest rocks on earth, meteorites, petro-tectonics, terrane orogens, radiometric dating, zircons, and much more!

Podcast reviews

Read The Big Blue Rock Pod podcast reviews


4.7 out of 5
21 reviews
★★★★★
entropy squared 2025/09/23
Best Rockcast Ever
By far my favorite geology podcast. I can tell these guys know what they are doing.
★★★★★
Brooke1233456778 2023/06/29
Interesting!!
Listened to the meteorite episode because Ethan is my fiancé.. staying because good content. Keep it up! 👍🏼
★★☆☆☆
XHimpx 2023/10/07
Audio needs work
I truly enjoyed the episode where the petroleum podcast was interviewed. He was an extremely knowledgeable guest with much to offer. Please up your ...
★★★★★
Utah Geo Fan 2023/03/20
Informative and fun
I love the podcast. Though I haven’t lived in the Commonwealth for a while I sill love hearing about it. Would love more Mammoth Cave content…maybe so...
★★★★★
Daniel Booone 2022/08/02
Kentucky Rocks!
The best geology podcast out there
check all reviews on apple podcasts

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