I Wish You Were Dead

After 1976 days, we have reached the final episode of this podcast. Mike, Fia, and Gavin talk about what they've learned over the last roughly 5 and a half years of podcasting together. Fia's webinar series: https://sites.google.com/ufl.edu/nature-coast-currents/home Donate to Archive.org if you can: https://archive.org/donate Fia just published a new paper! Check it out here: https://peer...

For our penultimate episode, let's talk about today, this moment right now; the Holocene Epoch. This is basically when all of recorded human history takes place and boy have we recorded a bunch of history. Fia's webinar series: https://sites.google.com/ufl.edu/nature-coast-currents/home Donate to Archive.org if you can: https://archive.org/donate Fia just published a new paper! Check it ou...

We have some sad news to share....but also a great episode about the most recent slice of Earth's history; the Pleistocene Epoch a.k.a. The Ice Age. Fia's webinar series: https://sites.google.com/ufl.edu/nature-coast-currents/home Link to cool graphic Gavin mentioned: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milankovitch_cycles#/media/File:Five_Myr_Climate_Change.svg Donate to Archive.org if you can:...

Some groups of animals become popular memes for their weirdness. No group of dinosaurs have been the main character of paleontology memes (or discourse) than the Spinosauridae, and Spinosaurus in particular. Let's learn about them! Fia's webinar series: https://sites.google.com/ufl.edu/nature-coast-currents/home Donate to Archive.org if you can: https://archive.org/donate Fia just publishe...

Crabs. The stars of memes all across the internet. But are they really as *optimized* as the memes say? Let's find out! Donate to Archive.org if you can: https://archive.org/donate Fia just published a new paper! Check it out here: https://peerj.com/articles/19346/ Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new some paleontology D&D stuff: https://youtu.be/0n7FfTmcaRU?si=CqeuBjO5...

Fia teaches us about the magic that can be done with stable isotope analysis, and Gavin tries to give us a little hope. YouTube videos Gavin mentions: Technology Connections: https://youtu.be/KtQ9nt2ZeGM?si=camR7CfPS8Ogdz4n Moon Channel: https://youtu.be/zkgNnbTrsgw?si=VhAGYcNpGRGOvjTA Donate to Archive.org if you can: https://archive.org/donate Fia just published a new paper! Check it out here: h...

Animals make a lot of noise. Presumably, ancient animals also made lots of noise. How do we study it? What kinds of noises did they make? Let's talk about it! Donate to Archive.org if you can: https://archive.org/donate Fia just published a new paper! Check it out here: https://peerj.com/articles/19346/ Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new some paleontology D&D stuff: h...

Stegosaurs are weird dinosaurs. They're asymmetrical, they have weird legs, and they have a part of their body named after a newspaper comic from the 1980's. Confused? Don't be! Learn with us what makes stegosaurs great! Donate to Archive.org if you can: https://archive.org/donate Fia just published a new paper! Check it out here: https://peerj.com/articles/19346/ Palaeocast Gaming Net...

Gavin goofed on the schedule, so we'll see you in 2026! From Mike, Fia, and I, happy holidays! Donate to Archive.org if you can: https://archive.org/donate Fia just published a new paper! Check it out here: https://peerj.com/articles/19346/ Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new some paleontology D&D stuff: https://youtu.be/0n7FfTmcaRU?si=CqeuBjO5x1ElXIXJ ⁠Topic form⁠: https:...

There are a lot of slices of Earth's history. Almost none are as short or as recent as the Pliocene Epoch. How similar was it to today? How many tusks did the elephants back then have? How much did Earth's orbit wiggle? Let's find out! Donate to Archive.org if you can: https://archive.org/donate Fia just published a new paper! Check it out here: https://peerj.com/articles/19346/ Palaeo...

Humans have domesticated hundreds of species of animals, plants, and fungi. But what does that mean exactly? And are we alone in our ability to control other animals? Let's find out! Donate to Archive.org if you can: https://archive.org/donate Fia just published a new paper! Check it out here: https://peerj.com/articles/19346/ Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new some paleo...

Mike tells us about a variety of things that don't actually exist, from ancient times to the American Revolution, to his mute button. Donate to Archive.org if you can: https://archive.org/donate Fia just published a new paper! Check it out here: https://peerj.com/articles/19346/ Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new some paleontology D&D stuff: https://youtu.be/0n7FfTmca...

Fia's on vacation, Mike's busy, and Gavin's sick. Next episode coming 11/12. Donate to Archive.org if you can: https://archive.org/donate Fia just published a new paper! Check it out here: https://peerj.com/articles/19346/ Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new some paleontology D&D stuff: https://youtu.be/0n7FfTmcaRU?si=CqeuBjO5x1ElXIXJ ⁠Topic form⁠: https://form...

Jane Goodall is one of the most famous scientists and activists of my lifetime. Sadly, she passed away a few weeks ago, so Gavin thought that this would be a good time to talk about her life, her legacy, and her contributions to not just how science thinks about animals, but how we think about ourselves. Donate to Archive.org if you can: https://archive.org/donate Fia just published a new paper! C...

Wood is the most useful material that humans have ever discovered. We use it for everything from paper, to houses, to fire. But what is it? Where did it come from? Let's find out! Donate to Archive.org if you can: https://archive.org/donate Fia just published a new paper! Check it out here: https://peerj.com/articles/19346/ Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new some paleonto...

Mammals are (in Gavin's biased opinion) the best vertebrates, but some are mammals are weirder than others. Monotremes are without a doubt the weirdest mammals and it's not even close. But what are they? Who are they? And why do they wear hats to disguise themselves from mad scientists? Let's find out! Donate to Archive.org if you can: https://archive.org/donate Fia just published a ne...

Since Gavin ('s wife) just had a baby, he thought it would be a fitting time to do an episode about birth! Live birth is a thing that mammals are most famous for, but a *ton* of other animals do it too, in lots of different ways! Let's learn about them! Timestamp to bypass the administration news: 15:21 Article about the recent anti-science activity at the CDC: https://abcnews.go.com/Healt...

Quick update on why there wasn't an episode this week! TL;DR Gavin, Liz and their new baby were traveling and Gavin got his dates wrong. But he got to go to the Pokemon World Championships! Donate to Archive.org if you can: https://archive.org/donate Fia just published a new paper! Check it out here: https://peerj.com/articles/19346/ Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new some pa...

Fia takes the wheel today and tells us all about some cool research she's working on about how noisy the oceans are! Donate to Archive.org if you can: https://archive.org/donate Fia just published a new paper! Check it out here: https://peerj.com/articles/19346/ Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new some paleontology D&D stuff: https://youtu.be/0n7FfTmcaRU?si=CqeuBjO5x1E...

Gavin and Liz watch through the new-and-improved(?) Walking With Dinosaurs series! Was it good? How does it compare to the original? How many baby dinosaurs get eaten? Let's find out! Episode Links: AP Article about the EPA: https://apnews.com/article/epa-zeldin-trump-reorganization-science-research-acf0ad3a649f940e138b2a917169405f AP article about PBS's funding getting cut: https://apnews...

For many reasons, BBC's Walking With Dinosaurs was really important to Gavin becoming a paleontologist. Now, BBC is making a new-and-improved Walking With Dinosaurs series! In this episode Gavin and his wife Liz watch through the original to see if it holds up after 26 years of scientific discovery and CGI improvements. Watch the original Walking With Dinosaurs on the Internet Archive here: ht...

Today we're learning about the *very simple* topic of brains! What are they? Where did they come from? Why do baby humans have squishy heads? Let's find out! Fia just published a new paper! Check it out here: https://peerj.com/articles/19346/ Donate to Archive.org if you can: https://archive.org/donate Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new some paleontology D&D stuff: https:...

Today we're looking at a weird regional food from where Gavin, Mike, and Fia grew up; the Salt Potato! What's a Salt Potato? How salty is it? What does that have to do with geology? Let's find out! Fia just published a new paper! Check it out here: https://peerj.com/articles/19346/ Paper about job prospects in paleontology: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/paleobiology/article/e...

Mike takes the wheel this episode to teach us about a potentially cursed seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Don't fly on small aircraft, please. Fia just published a new paper! Check it out here: https://peerj.com/articles/19346/ Paper about job prospects in paleontology: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/paleobiology/article/employment-in-paleontology-status-and-trends-in-the-un...

How does something go from being a dead thing on the ground to a fossil in the ground? Let's find out through the secret magic of taphonomy! Fia just published a new paper! Check it out here: https://peerj.com/articles/19346/ Administration Science News 1: https://eos.org/research-and-developments/trump-blocks-funding-for-epa-science-division Administration Science News 2: https://insideclimatenew...