Amy Atwater and Meaghan Wetherell
Weird & Dead
A podcast about evolution's most embarrassing and bizarre stories as told by two very gossipy paleontologists. Amy and Meaghan happily dish the details on everything from fossilized dinosaur butts to the secret drama behind naming new species. Time for the hottest tea from prehistory!
Author
Amy Atwater and Meaghan Wetherell
Category
Podcast website
Latest episode
Jul 2, 2026
Where to listen?
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Episodes
Exploding Fossil Frogs 02.07.2026 46:34
Some frogs are explosive breeders. Some frogs just explode. Both have somehow been preserved in lakes in Europe... a lot. CW: Frog death, frogs drowning each other during mating, frog researchers forgetting key feminist frog facts, bloat & float & explode as a concept, cursing Images for this episode are available for everyone on Patreon!
The Evolution of Scrotums 18.06.2026 51:40
What makes a scrotum a scrotum, why do they exist, and why is Meaghan so good at answering quiz questions about them? CW: Testicles & mockery thereof, animal castration, hernias, cursing
The Epstein Files and Paleontology 11.02.2026 1:33:08
This episode is a little different than our normal content. There are several paleontologists mentioned in the latest release of the Epstein files, and the official response to that has been... underwhelming. In this episode we tell you about the facts within the files, the paleo people identified, some important context, and the reasons that events like this concern us and negatively affect paleo...
Bonus: Turtle Mouth Madness 01.01.2026 56:17
At least one soft-shelled turtle pees mostly out of its mouth. This Patreon exclusive episode takes you down winding pathway from throat stalactites to shark dissection to vegan gardening practices (it's related, we promise). Images and a whole season of full-length exclusive episodes are on Patreon ! CW: Urine, dissection of sharks, experimentation on turtles , teasing of vegans, pre-eclampsia an...
Bonus Episode: Giant Lemurs 18.12.2025 47:44
Happy holidays! Here’s a bonus episode we’re releasing to the public as a holiday gift for you, all about Amy’s favorite: Lemurs! And specifically, how they used to be enormous and maybe interested in crushing birds. Art (and a whole season worth of exclusive episodes) is available on our Patreon . CW: Cursing, discussion of the crushing of said bird, the general concept of Aye-Ayes.
Megatherium the Stabber 06.11.2025 43:58
From carnivorous armadillos to the serial stabbing experiments of a self-described 70 kg male with no special training in any sporting discipline but who seems to have a very vicious cat, this episode is a wild, wild ride. But would you truly expect any different from xenarthrans? CW: Cursing, drug testing, the vegan police, a man stabbing meat and facing off against cats, sloth baby murder
Freaky Fingers, the Return 16.10.2025 38:21
Evolution continues to be disgusting as we dive into the multipurpose functionality of Aye Aye and Striped Possum fingers. CW: Boogers, Aye Ayes just generally, cursing, and somehow puppy play (you know, the kink that Google apparently thinks Meaghan has)
Freaky Fingers Pt 1 02.10.2025 51:48
Sometimes evolution isn’t just weird, it’s weirdly indecisive. Let’s talk about the multipurpose mishaps that led to Iguanodon’s hoof-knife-tentacle combo and the extending butterknife palms of Pandas. Now with fixed audio featuring also Amy! CW: jokes about dildos, sex acts, and rude hand gestures. Cursing. Discussion and mockery of Meaghan’s current ganglion cyst. We do call extra fingers weird...
Worms & Dead 04.09.2025 49:29
There is a worm that has fins and an Elizabethan collar of venomous fangs. It looks like someone glued false lashes to a tiny translucent manatee, and it might be the reason that clams are starting to kill people. Let's talk about arrow worms! CW: Swearing. Jokes about penises. Impacts of modern climate change.
Birds That Make Milk 21.08.2025 46:20
Some birds (and thus, dinosaurs) make milk in a special part of their throat called the crop. Let's talk crop milk, crop cheese, shrimp smoothies, and why pterosaurs were pink. CW: a befowling of milk and cheese as concepts. Gagging noises. Eating of roadkill (theoretical). Swearing.
Fossil Rodents of Unusual Size 07.08.2025 51:19
Or rather, unusually interesting size. To some. Let's talk giant beavers and the biggest rodent of all time, Josephoartigasia. CW: Body shaming of big rodents (not us!), cursing, statistics.
The Glory of Gonopods 24.07.2025 48:43
From crazy three-legged millipede fossils to the sexy club hands of spiders, this episode is all about where arthropods put their genitals. Specifically, their chins and feet. Videos and images are on our website weirdanddead.com! CW: Spiders and other arthropods. Cursing. Sex acts only a millipede could dream up.
Radioactive Dinos 10.07.2025 44:30
Dinosaurs and horses and Amy loudly shouting out radioactive elements to antagonize her husband, oh my! This episode covers the perils lurking behind locked and poorly ventilated cabin doors - specifically, radioactive bones. CW: Cursing, cancer and theoretical nastiness caused by radioactive poisoning, Chernobyl, Meaghan's stuffed up nose
Bloat & Float 26.06.2025 42:49
Ankylosaurs, ichthyosaurs and nonexistent narcissistic krakens! Let's talk about why Ankylosaurs are found upside down, and what really happened at Berlin Ichthyosaur State Park. Time to bloat up & float along. CW: Cursing, Pseudoscience, Dead Animals & Decay
Fossil Urine 12.06.2025 48:58
Time to discuss yet another body secretion that you probably didn't think could fossilize. Urine marks, urine that became rocks, and rocks that formed in urine - we've got it all, baby! CW: Body fluids, cursing, turtles doing horrible physiological things, animal death
Bonus Episode: Chameleons 31.12.2024 28:22
Thanks for an excellent first year! Here’s a bonus episode where Amy demonstrates she’s learned more about Chameleons since we started (kinda). Images are on weirdanddead.com CW: Cursing
Bonus Episode: Rugose Corals 24.12.2024 26:58
Meaghan loses her mind about how gross rugose corals are. Try evolving something that doesn’t involve genetically manipulating your babies, you lonely jellyfish-emulating losers. CW: cursing. Gagging noises.
Dino Sex 23.10.2024 56:03
It may not have happened in lakes but it certainly did happen – so how? Let’s dive into fossilized cloacas, theoretical genitals, and the impracticalities of sexing a dinosaur. CW: sexual content, genitalia, brief discussions of nonconsensual sex between animals, Nanotyrannus, making fun of old white men
Fossil Frenemies 09.10.2024 54:45
From friends to enemies to roommates (to lovers??), we discuss classic examples of animals found fossilized together, how that happens, and how some of the interpretations are… a stretch. CW: Animal death, dead babies, lubed holes, incest, cursing
The Burgess Shale 25.09.2024 49:07
500 some million years ago the world was full of ‘abnormal shrimp’ and ‘blunt feet’ and other animals that defy comprehensible definitions. In this episode we talk all about the mind-boggling biology and bizarre geology of the Cambrian. CW: Drug references, cursing, dead animals, cavalier jokes at the expense of white men, dick jokes
Fossil Forensics 11.09.2024 56:35
Bones are sick – and this time, we mean it literally. From infected bite marks to the ever-prevalent markings of tuberculosis, we’re talking about the signs of illnesses and injuries in fossils and what they tell us about the lives (and deaths) of these animals. CW: Cancer, infections and pus, injuries, animal suffering
Trunks, Snoods, and Other Floppy Face Flesh 28.08.2024 1:04:09
Did Diplodocus have a trunk? Did T. rex have a wobbly turkey neck? This week’s episode is all about fleshy face flaps and their uses, and how to detect them in the fossil record. CW: Animal death, cursing, making fun of dinosaurs, urine
Polar Dinosaurs 14.08.2024 52:32
There were dinosaurs in Antarctica and Alaska – but what did it look like when they lived there? Was it cold? Was it dark? Did they stay there year round? Also, Meaghan learns how magnets work (finally). CW: cursing, death of people and animals
The Baculum and the Baubellum 31.07.2024 53:53
Sometimes boners have actual bones! This episode is all about the evolution, use, and occasional loss of/damage to genital bones in both male and female animals. CW: Cursing, genitalia, brief mention of non-consensual sexual behavior in animals
Fossil Brainz 17.07.2024 44:41
How much do we really know about the brains of ancient animals? In this episode we dive into the fantastic world of endocasts, aka, brain impressions! CW: soft tissue, cursing, Nanotyrannus, brief mention of the Nazis in regards to Tilly Edinger
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