Palaeo After Dark

In this episode, the gang discusses changes in biomass through time. They also spend a fair chunk of the podcast passing blame. Meanwhile, James is denied eating a bagel, Curt describes complex biodiversity patterns as “getting swole”, and Amanda apologizes repeatedly. They also try to answer the toughest question of all, would a eurypterid be tasty?   References: Bambach, Richard K. "Seafood thro...

In this episode, the gang tries desperately to talk about a really interesting plant paper and fails miserably. Meanwhile, James stops caring, Amanda relishes in being right, and Curt really tries to keep this one together (he fails). Also, despite the podcast not being about it at all, James has to talk about the new gliding dinosaur.   References: Stevenson, Robert A., Dennis Evangelista, and Ci...

 The gang attempts to discuss the Ringo Starr of mass extinctions, the End Triassic. And much like the actual extinction event, the discussion is long, broad, and not focused on any one thing in particular. Meanwhile, Amanda learns the joys of screen sharing, Curt makes some dubious shopping decisions, and James “wins” (play along at home and count how many times James “wins” the podcast).   Refer...

In this episode the gang discusses mimicry in the fossil record, which James uses as an excuse to introduce everyone to one of his “favorite” papers.  And as they stare into the gaping maw of mimicry in slack-jawed disbelief, grim smiling lips float back to them flashing pearly teeth in the dark and whispering one word.... mouths.   References http://www.edinburghgeolsoc.org/edingeologist/z_42_08....

The gang attempts to talk about the coral gap, but instead Amanda spends nearly 40 minutes trying to explain why Petoskey Stones are cool, and James tries to sidetrack her at every turn. Meanwhile, Curt is too drunk to care. Our sincerest apologies to all of the coral workers out there.   References: Robinson, George W., and Donald Reed. "Pink Petoskey Stones from Northern Michigan." Rocks & Miner...

The gang celebrates their second birthday podcast by discussing two papers that deal with large evolutionary trends through time in the marine realm. Also, Amanda describes her ideal skull throne, and James and Curt detail their recent pear related experiments.   References Heim, Noel A., et al. "Cope’s rule in the evolution of marine animals." Science347.6224 (2015): 867-870. Kelley, Neil P., and...

In this episode we revisit the topic of taphonomy by discussing two papers that deal with actualistic taphonomy studies. Also, Amanda butchers potatoes, Curt becomes morbid, and James’s humor gets progressively bluer as the night goes on to the surprise of no one.   References Briggs, Derek EG. "The role of decay and mineralization in the preservation of soft-bodied fossils." Annual Review of Eart...

The gang returns to the subject of molecular clocks by discussing several papers that compare the results of molecular clock studies to the fossil evidence. Meanwhile, James tells stories of internet “fame”, Curt loses his composure, and Amanda will be right back.   References: Jarvis, Erich D., et al. "Whole-genome analyses resolve early branches in the tree of life of modern birds." Science 346....

The gang decides to revisit the past by returning to a few previous podcast topics and updating them with current research; starting with a survey of recent research into early vertebrate jaws. And like a snake eating its own tail, the conversation rambles about in circles and accomplishes very little. At the very least they manage to deliver an empathetic discussion of the impostor syndrome, seem...

After days of indecision about podcast topics, Curt snaps and decides to enact terrible revenge on the others. He holds the gang hostage and slowly tortures them by incessantly prattling on about species concepts and philosophy of science. Trapped in a room with only their snark (and some fresh cooked brisket) to defend themselves, Amanda and James struggle to survive the onslaught of boring. Can...

The gang gins up a flimsy excuse to talk about short-faced bears and megalodon. Also, Amanda researches topics for future podcasts on air, Curt becomes transfixed by Google image searches, and James's mind is broken by the thought of Mr. T.  References: Soibelzon, Leopoldo H., et al. "South American giant short-faced bear (Arctotherium angustidens) diet: evidence from pathology, morphology, stable...

In this episode, the gang looks at a few cases of fossil pathologies in arthropods, birds, and amphibians and discusses the interesting broader evolutionary ramifications of these studies. Meanwhile, Amanda wrangles cats, and Curt confuses everyone by consistently assigning taxa to the wrong groups (for example: loriciferans are not priapulids, even though they are closely related). Oh... and  Jam...

After spending 2 hours fighting the internet (drinking the whole time), the gang finally starts recording a bit tipsy and ends the evening fairly wasted. And like an e-mail sent after a long night out at the bars, they record a podcast on properties of higher taxa that they immediately regret in the sobering light of day.   References Humphreys, Aelys M., and Timothy G. Barraclough. "The evolution...

The gang stumbles their way through several papers about kangaroos, particularly focusing on a meat eating rat kangaroo. Also, stressed and annoyed at the current internet climate, James and Curt spend most of the podcast relentlessly mocking GamerGate while Amanda decides to ignore them and play with the cat. Also.... texting.    Scientific References Wroe, Stephen. "Killer kangaroos and other mu...

James, Curt, Liam, Brendan, and Aly discuss talks from the final paleo sessions at GSA 2014, and Brendan makes an impassioned plea to conserve a vital resource.

Amanda and the cat skype in to see what’s been going on at the Vancouver GSA 2014 meeting. Also, James’s brain is so broken that it makes a pun that doesn’t exist.

James, Curt, Liam, and Aly join up with biogeochemists Brendan and Charity to discuss some of the GSA 2014 paleontology talks, as well as the difference between a creek and a crick.

James and Curt are joined by fellow paleontologists Liam and Aly to discuss paleo talks from the first day of the Geological Society of America Meeting 2014 in Vancouver, as well as unusual Swiftian food sources.

The gang discusses the new Spinosaurus material while also trying to completely alienate their audience, starting at jingoistic humor and ending with mass suicide jokes. Meanwhile, Amanda discusses her misgivings about musicals, James compares the other podcast hosts to Peanuts characters, and Curt struggles to understand a perplexing metaphor.   References: Rayfield, EMILY J. "Structural performa...

In this episode, the gang concludes their marathon of prerecorded episodes with two papers about the biomechanics of the Terror Birds. We also talk about chukars for pretty much no reason. Also, Curt freaks out about birds, James starts a rumor about Aristotle, and Amanda is assaulted by her cat.   References: Blanco, R. Ernesto, and Washington W. Jones. "Terror birds on the run: a mechanical mode...

In this episode of Palaeo After Dark, the gang discusses the complicated history of Hallucigenia, and somehow gets completely derailed into rambling conversations about Star Trek 5, proper pronunciation, Gould’s “Wonderful Life”, microwave ovens, the effects of aging on your storytelling abilities, natural kinds versus individuals, puppy petting, poor puns, minions, food, Hell and Michael Bolton,...

In this episode, the gang spirals into insanity while discussing a strange paper about hippo biogeography. Also, James discusses childhood cartoon trauma, Amanda graduates from beer to vodka, and Curt lowers the bar.   References: Mazza, Paul. "If hippopotamuses cannot swim, how did they colonize islands?." Lethaia (2014). Geer, Alexandra AE, George Anastasakis, and George A. Lyras. "If hippopotam...

In this episode, the gang discusses two papers that look at the ecology of the early life forms of the Ediacaran period. Also, James discusses the American dream, Curt details the secrets of the podcast's "success", and Amanda is nearly murdered by her cat.   References: Carbone, Calla, and Guy M. Narbonne. "When life got smart: the evolution of behavioral complexity through the Ediacaran and earl...

This week, instead of picking papers with a similar theme the gang decided to talk about the craziest papers they could find. The end result: yetis and airplanes... Maybe this was a mistake. Meanwhile, James describes his theory of automobile evolution, Amanda discusses swimming polar bears, and Curt describes the life and times of the podcast gang in Tomodachi Life.   References: Sykes, Bryan C.,...

In this episode of Palaeo After Dark, the gang discusses two papers that use morphometric analysis to test how strongly ecology imprints on evolution, which culminates in Curt drunkenly stumbling his way through hierarchy theory. Also, James and Curt talk about the wonder that is Machete Kills, and Amanda wins an argument only using the word “meh”.   References Mitchell, Jonathan S., and Peter J....