I Wish You Were Dead

Audio issues aside, Fia tells us about a great preservation area that she's been working in to collect data for her Ph.D! NCAP (or the Nature Coast Aquatic Preserve to its friends) is an area on the Gulf side of Florida with lots of unique biology and even some cool geology!

News link: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/04/240410112736.htm

Links from Fia:

With Mike and Fia away for the week, Gavin talks with Dr. Nathan Smith from Bucknell University about the coolest little creatures on the planet; ants.

Nate's page on Bucknell's website: https://www.bucknell.edu/fac-staff/nathan-smith

Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIgFW91jPXc

Gavin takes a field trip to the dentist, so let's talk about those bones* in your mouth!

Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIgFW91jPXc

The largest animals to ever exist live among us right now! Let's learn about them!

Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIgFW91jPXc

Gavin takes us through the next slice of Earth's history on our list: the Eocene Epoch! Fia also teaches us about Batman.

Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIgFW91jPXc

*CONTENT WARNING* This episode discusses a public suicide of an elected official in the 1980's.

Mike really takes us on a ride for this episode. Meanwhile Gavin complains about home ownership.

Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIgFW91jPXc

Every field of study has an origin story. Today we share the story of one of the founders of modern geology; James Hutton.

Last episode I challenged myself to find an important figure in the history of geology who *wasn't* a horrible racist, and I did!

Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIgFW91jPXc

Growing up is an awkward experience for everyone. Luckily, we didn't have to grow any extra legs or have the entire left side of our body become our mouth!

Today we learn about how growing up works across the animal kingdom, and how we tell if a fossil animal is fully grown or not.

Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIgFW91jPXc

Herbivores are often seen as less interesting than carnivores. However, they have to go through a wide array of challenges just to get nutrition from their food without it killing them. Let's learn about how they do it!

Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIgFW91jPXc

We all know the story of how the dinosaurs became extinct. But what happened afterward? Mike, Gavin, and Fia take a closer look at the post-extinction world of the Paleocene!

Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIgFW91jPXc

Fia talks us through starting a PhD program and how it differs from her experience with her Master's degree!

Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIgFW91jPXc

Have a great Thanksgiving (in the US anyway)! We'll be back next week.

Everyone loves geckos! From large insurance companies, to tropical residents all over the world, geckos are a really well-liked group of lizards. But boy, are they weird. Let's learn about them!

Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIgFW91jPXc

This past weekend Gavin presented his Master's thesis at the annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology! In this episode we talk about what it's like to present at an academic conference, and some of the cool research shown at SVP this year.

Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIgFW91jPXc

What does it mean to be human? Well from a taxonomic standpoint, it means that you're in the genus Homo. But what really makes us, us? Let's talk about the history of our genus.

Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIgFW91jPXc

Human evolution is a marvelous collection of data. We understand human evolution better than basically anything else in paleontology. How did we get such bad backs? Why do we see faces on pieces of toast? It's all in our evolution, so let's take a closer look!

Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIgFW91jPXc

JFK was famously assassinated in November 1963. But did you know that other people were shot along with him? Let's hear from Mike a bit of their stories.

Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIgFW91jPXc

Tails, the famous side-kick of Sonic The Hedgehog. Also a body part ubiquitous to vertebrate animals. What are they even used for anyway? Let's find out!

Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIgFW91jPXc

Science costs money. In many cases, entirely too much money. In a surprise twist of episode topics, Gavin, Mike and Fia talk about their student loan situations, how the American higher education system is going to decrease the quality of science done in the U.S., and how college tuition will soon be over $100,000 per year.

Episode of The Weeds mentioned in the episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2SvnOvfCfDSouj8UiAuEm6?si=60b98ab7db944d61

Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIgFW91jPXc

Louis Agassiz (1807-1873) was a world-famous geologist, ichthyologist, early paleontologist, glaciologist, and racist. He was foundational in our understanding of fish, and also the Ice Age, and also to the white-supremacist movement in America. Let's learn about his scientific legacy, and how he ruined his legacy with racism.

Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIgFW91jPXc

One group of birds stands above all the others...literally! Ratites are a group of (mostly) giant and flightless birds found all across the world. Why did they give up the freedom of the skies for the difficulties of life on the ground? Let's find out!

Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIgFW91jPXc

While Gavin is vacationing and Fia is grinding out grad school, Mike tells us about a trailblazing (literally) pioneer in backpacking; "Grandma" Emma Gatewood.

Couldn't find the book for free on Google Books, sorry friends!

Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIgFW91jPXc

We all love oxygen. It's what allows us to breathe, and to make energy from the food we eat. However, long, long ago, oxygen was a deadly poison that killed anything that it touched. How did oxygen go from a death cloud to Gavin's favorite element? The Great Oxidation Event!

Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIgFW91jPXc

This is it. The big one. Well....the 3rd biggest one. What am I talking about? Mass extinctions of course! Today we talk about the End-Cretaceous Mass Extinction, the global catastrophe that killed many species and inspired many movies.

Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIgFW91jPXc

Gavin and Mike wanted to enjoy a holiday, so we're postponing this episode until next week.

Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIgFW91jPXc

Cats are everyone's favorite weird little guys. But now that Gavin has FOUR extra weird little guys running around his house, he decided to learn more about them and share with you!

Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIgFW91jPXc

Cephalopods (Squid, octopus, cuttlefish, nautilus) are one of the most bizarre groups of animals on the planet. They also have simultaneously one of the best, and one of the most terrible fossil records. Let's learn about these weirdos in today's episode!

Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIgFW91jPXc

Humans have been launching stuff into space for nearly a century. Some of that stuff includes dogs. Mike tells us the *tail* of Laika, the Soviet space dog, the first animal to orbit around Earth, who paved the way for future space dogs, and space people.

Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIgFW91jPXc

*Everyone* knows that there's 365 days in a year, and 24 hours in a day. Or are there??? In this impromptu episode, Gavin tells Mike about how time gets funky throughout the geologic record.

Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIgFW91jPXc

Episode Links:

The oldest natural history museum in North America, the Academy of Natural Sciences, is near where Gavin lives, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania! Some students from Gavin's university took a trip to the Academy for a class this semester, and Gavin tagged along to meet Dr. Ted Daeschler. Dr. Daeschler works on the evolutionary transitions from fish with fins, to land-dwelling animals with limbs, and he was nice enough to join us this episode for an interview!

Dr. Daeschler's website: http://clade.ansp.org/vert_zoology/people/daeschler/?_gl=1*w9snbo*_ga*MjA4MjA0MDE5LjE2Nzk0NDgzODE.*_ga_6KJ1PNLE19*MTY3OTQ0ODM4MS4xLjAuMTY3OTQ0ODM4MS42MC4wLjA.

Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIgFW91jPXc

Life is busy, so episode 108 is postponed until next week! Thanks for your patience!

Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aBasGHTZ88

The Jurassic Period is famous for many reasons. Having a Mass Extinction at the end isn't one of them. But should it be?

Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aBasGHTZ88

Some animals live more simply than others. In today's episode we talk about the simplest animals of them all; the sponges. From tubes within tubes, to little glass needles, sponges are both more simple and more complex than you might think!

Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aBasGHTZ88

We never really know what Mike will deign to bring us in our Mike Takes The Wheel episodes. Today we talk about Broken Arrows, which are much scarier than they sound, and why we're never actually safe from nuclear armageddon.

Links from Mike:

Theropod dinosaurs are likely the most talked about group of dinosaurs, and probably the most talked about group of (sort of) extinct animals. In today's fairly technical episode, we learn about the group, their history, and their evolution!

Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aBasGHTZ88

Today we look back at one of the founders of many fields of biology, as well as a major figure in paleontology; Georges Cuvier. Having survived the French Revolution, he quickly becomes one of the most revered scientists in the world. It's not all good news from Cuvier though. Don't meet your heroes kids.

• Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon Games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aBasGHTZ88
• Sarah Baartman detailed information: https://mansellupham.wordpress.com/
• Sarah Baartman Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Baartman

Grasses seem like the most bland type of plant don't they? They're everywhere, but never really exciting. WRONG! In this episode, Gavin shares the wonder of grasses and how they shape nearly everything about the world around us.

The continent with the weirdest wildlife is a bit of a toss up between South America and the topic of today's episode; Australia! What makes it so weird? Why does it have so many pockets? Also...Gavin's wife Liz subs in for Fia today because of finals week!

When you learn about the history of paleontology, you mostly learn about stuff that white people did starting around 1700 or so. However, humans have had a relationship to fossil for MUCH longer than that. Let's explore how different cultures from around the world have thought about fossil through time!

Source Links:

100 episodes is a big milestone, and as such, we want the episode to be perfect, so we're taking an extra week to make sure that happens!

The weirdest animals are sometimes the most familiar. In the case of reptiles, that's the turtles! Everyone knows what a turtle is...except scientists! Find out what we DO know about them in this week's episode!

4 Mass Extinctions down...1 to go. Following the near-total destruction that was the end-Permian mass extinction, life had to rebound somehow. Unfortunately for everyone but the dinosaurs, that rebound lead life straight into another mass extinction 50 million years later. Let's learn about it!

Bats are *the* symbol of spooky season, but is it deserved? Let's learn about bats, their relatives, and how they need our help!

Fossil collecting is a hobby for many people around the world, but how legal is it? That depends where in the world you live! How legal is it to collect fossils where you live? Maybe you'll find out in today's episode about international fossil laws!

Mike takes the wheel once again to teach Gavin about the music of their childhoods...oh and also some extended members of the Kennedy political dynasty.

Happy National Fossil Day!

Gavin, Mike and Fia talk about the most interesting group of lizards; Snakes! Why don't they have legs? Why don't they have two lungs? Why are people afraid of them? Let's talk about it.

Gavin and Mike talk to one of Gavin's former professors, Dr. Robert Darling (Dr. Bob), about the Adirondack Mountains! Mike spent the summer hiking in and around them, and wanted to learn more about them, so we brought in an expert!

Gavin teaches Mike about the exploding wonders of the planet; volcanoes.

Episode Links:

Mike is back from the wilderness, and just in time to join Fia to learn about Antarctica, the *most extreme* continent.

Episode Links:

Fia tells Gavin about the recent climate-related struggles of a Native American tribe near where she does her field work, and how well-intentioned actions can be taken advantage of.