Fossils and Fiction

Friend of the podcast Tom Jurassic previews season 2 of his audio fan production 'Tales from a Jurassic World'. Check out the full series on YouTube or via the Jurassic Park Podcast .

Amanda Perry, science communicator and palaeoartist, discusses her love for bugs and extinct animals. Amanda believes it is important to show vibrancy in representing animals, including extinct ones, through her artwork. She shares her journey into becoming a palaeoartist and science communicator, which involved working at science center cafeteria. Amanda's career now involves science communicatio...

Ari Dharminalan Rudenko, the artistic director of Prehistoric Body Theater, discusses his background and how his childhood fascination with dinosaurs led him to combine dance and science communication. He explains the formation of Prehistoric Body Theater in Surakarta, Indonesia, and its focus on accuracy in science communication. Ari also shares his collaboration with palaeontologists and the cha...

Astrid O’Connor is a PhD researcher in the Evans EvoLab at Monash University. Astrid undertakes a fascinating mix of research and creative work including immensely detailed 3D reconstructions of extinct animals. This conversation charts Astrid's journey into and through palaeo. Check out @PalaeoAstrid on Instagram for more.

Zach Vanasse, founder and director of Dinosaur Trips, discusses his journey in creating a unique travel company that offers dinosaur-themed trips. He shares his childhood fascination with dinosaurs and how it led him to combine his passion for palaeontology with his experience in the travel industry. Zach explains the offerings of Dinosaur Trips, which include visits to museums, dinosaur digs, and...

In this conversation, Dr. Catherine Pugh and Dr. Ross Garner discuss their chapters in 'The Jurassic Park Book' and provide new perspectives on the classic 1990s blockbuster. Dr. Pugh analyses a play called 'The Jurassic Parks' that riffs on the film and explores themes of family and grief. Dr. Garner focuses on the role of merchandise and franchising in the Jurassic Park franchise and the lack of...

Bronwyn Saunders, a children's author and citizen scientist, discusses her book 'Diprotodon: A Megafauna Journey' and the importance of Australian megafauna. She shares her journey as a writer and the research process she went through to write the book. Bronwyn also mentions her author inspirations and hints at future projects. More: Follow Bronwyn's Facebook page Buy Diprotodon: A Megafauna Journ...

Jake Kotevski is a PhD candidate at Monash University studying Australian theropods, specifically megaraptorids. Are they just big raptors? Find out in our wide-ranging discussion about the known knowns, the known unknowns, and some speculation on the unknown unknowns. Jake also describes his journey into palaeontology and how the pieces fit together between Australia, South America, Antarctica an...

Dr Matthew Melia introduces and discusses The Jurassic Park Book, published by Bloomsbury. The Jurassic Park Book is the second in a three-part series by Matt on Steven Spielberg's biggest creature features: Jaws, Jurassic Park, and ET. Following Matt, global film specialist Peter Kramer discusses his contribution to the book. This is part one of a two-part discussion with contributors to this boo...

Alyssa Fjeld discusses her research on early arthropods, especially tomotiids, a group that appeared over 520 million years ago. Alyssa's research focuses on the growth patterns of early arthropods. She explores the concept of the inhibitory cascade model and its implications for understanding the life cycle and evolution of these animals. Alyssa also shares her experiences in science education an...

Do you know what to do if you find a fossil or First Nations artifact? Sally Hurst made it her business to find out as part of her Masters study at Macquarie University. We talk about the Found a Fossil project, Sally's journey to palaeontology, and her outreach work with school children. More info: Found a Fossil website https://www.foundafossil.com/ Hurst, S. (2023). Found a Fossil: Assessing Au...

Each summer in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, a prehistoric landscape comes alive with the sound and sights of dinosaurs. This is Scenic World's Dinosaur Valley. For more information on Scenic World and Dinosaur Valley visit https://scenicworld.com.au/

From a dino-themed wedding to running the world’s biggest dinosaur podcast, it’s Garret from I Know Dino! Garret joins Fossils and Fiction to chat about the lessons he and Sabrina have learned while covering new dinosaur discoveries every week for the past decade.  Check out I Know Dino on their website or your favourite podcasting app: https://iknowdino.com/   ___ Stuff mentioned:  Clements, T.,...

Jimmy Waldron once told Conan O’Brien he looked like a therizinosaurus. He also founded a non-profit called Dinosaurs Will Always Be Awesome that takes dinosaur experiences out to those who might not otherwise access them. After you’ve listened to the episode, check out more info on DWABA: https://dwaba.org/ Check out Jimmy's research on teaching evolution to school students: Nadelson, L., Culp, R...

Dinotherium, diprotodon, mastodon and more! Dr Chris Manias discusses his book The Age of Mammals: Nature, Development and Paleontology in the Long Nineteenth Century . Chris is Senior Lecturer in the History of Science & Technology at Kings College London. Books mentioned: Manias, C. (2023). The Age of Mammals: Nature, Development and Paleontology in the Long Nineteenth Century . University of Pi...

Palaeontologist Adele Pentland makes her second appearance on Fossils and Fiction to talk about... The Simpsons? Oh, and also her podcast Pals in Palaeo and her tips for science communication. ___ Find out more about Adele's work and Pals and Palaeo here: Adele's website https://www.adelepentland.com/ Pals in Palaeo Instagram https://www.instagram.com/palsinpalaeo/ Pals in Palaeo links https://lin...

I've been writing, thinking, and talking about Jurassic Park *a lot* lately. It's time to wrap all that work up into something listenable for Fossils and Fiction. ___ Articles/interviews mentioned: Shaye Ganam, 770 CHQR/630 CHED Edmonton and Toronto, Thirty years after Jurassic Park hit movie screens, its impact on science and culture remains as strong as ever, https://open.spotify.com/episode/1DX...

If there's one thing that will spark an interest in palaeontology, it might just be finding 450 million-year-old fossil as a child. That's exactly what happened to Dr Nic Campione. Nic is originally from Canada but is now a Senior Lecturer in Earth Sciences (Palaeontology) at the University of New England in Australia. Nic tells the story of his childhood fossil find and talks about his approach t...

Packed with emotion and pulling the nostalgia heartstrings, how does The Land Before Time (1988) hold up today? Clemson University English Lecturer Peter Cullen Bryan takes us through the links between Don Bluth's classic film and other palaeomedia. _______________ Follow Dr Peter Cullen Bryan on Twitter @pfxbryan Don Bluth.  Somewhere Out There: My Animated Life .  SmartPop, 2022.  1988 Pizza Hut...

Creative all-rounder Lucas Zellers recently worked on a D&D handbook that presents the real-life stories of extinct animals, and then twists them into D&D-suitable monsters. ____ Check out Lucas' work: Scintilla Studio https://scintilla.studio/ Book of Extinction https://magehandpress.com/extinction Making a Monster podcast https://scintilla.studio/monster/

Dino-obsessed content creator Tom Jurassic joins me for a visit to Prehistoric Domain, an immersive dinosaur wildlife park that can be viewed in a web browser or in virtual reality. __ Prehistoric Domain https://www.prehistoricdomain.com/ Check out Tom Jurassic's 'Tales from a Jurassic World' https://www.youtube.com/@talesfromajurassicworld

Check out what you'll hear on Fossils and Fiction.

Vicky Coules is a PhD candidate and researcher at the University of Bristol in the UK looking into the entanglements between visual culture and dinosaurs. Her research took her into the story of the 1871 attack on a nascent Palaeozoic Museum destined for New York’s Central Park. Vicky and Michael Benton recently published a paper on the topic.  __ Coules, V., & Benton, M. J. (2023). The curious ca...

Multi-talented entertainer and science communicator Michael Mills is the feature guest on the first episode of Fossils and Fiction for 2023. Michael is the creative director of Heaps Good Productions and 'Vice-Chancellor' of Dinosaur University. Michael has a podcast, PalaeoJam, and a show playing at the Adelaide Fringe Festival about foundational palaeontologist Mary Anning. We cover all of these...

Could you get two more different topics in palaeontology than gaming and the ethics of amber from conflict zones? Join Jake Atterby from the University of Birmingham to discuss the former and Dr Emma Dunne from Friedrich-Alexander University for the latter.  Papers:  Clements, T., Atterby, J ., Cleary, T., Dearden, R. P., and Rossi, V.: The perception of palaeontology in commercial off-t...