Fossils and Fiction

Jac O’Connor is a PhD researcher in the Evans EvoLab at Monash University. Jac undertakes a fascinating mix of research and creative work including immensely detailed 3D reconstructions of extinct animals. This conversation charts Jac's journey into and through palaeo. Check out @PalaeoJac on Instagram for more. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fossilsfiction/message

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 other attractions in various destinations. He emphasises that the trips cater to both dinosaur enthusiasts and curious travellers who want to explore destinations through the lens of palaeontology. For more info, check out DinosaurTrips.com --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fossilsfiction/message

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 academic attention towards it. They also discuss the impact of Jurassic Park on dinosaur fandom and the genre of eco-horror. The conversation explores the themes of environmental impact, the future of the Jurassic Park franchise, the portrayal of dinosaurs as animals or monsters, and the use of dinosaurs as agents of punishment. The discussion also touches on the tension between realism and spectacle in the films, the changing debates and viewpoints within the franchise, and the engagement with cultural and scientific debates. The conversation highlights the unique nature of the Jurassic Park series in actively engaging with these themes on screen. This is Part 2 of coverage of 'The Jurassic Park Book', edited by Dr Matt Melia and published by Bloomsbury. More info: https://www.bloomsbury.com/au/jurassic-park-book-9781501384844/https://cinergie.unibo.it/issue/view/1234 https://catherine-pugh.co.uk/https://profiles.cardiff.ac.uk/staff/garnerrp1 --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fossilsfiction/message

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: Bronwyn's Facebook pageDiprotodon: A Megafauna Journey --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fossilsfiction/message

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 and Asia. Follow Jake's work on Instagram @theropods_down_under --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fossilsfiction/message

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 book. __ More info: The Jurassic Park Book https://www.bloomsbury.com/au/jurassic-park-book-9781501384844/ Cinergie Journal: 'Franchising Jurassic Park' https://cinergie.unibo.it/issue/view/1234 Matt Melia's profile: https://www.kingston.ac.uk/staff/profile/dr-matthew-melia-648/ Peter Kramer's profile https://www.dmu.ac.uk/about-dmu/academic-staff/technology/peter-kramer/peter-kramer.aspx --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fossilsfiction/message

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 and outreach, emphasising the importance of making science accessible and engaging for diverse audiences. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fossilsfiction/message

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: Assessing Australian perceptions of heritage discoveries and conservationhttps://doi.org/10.25949/22662535.v1Journal of Science Communication22https://jcom.sissa.it/article/pubid/JCOM_2205_2023_A03/ __ Thanks to Charles Sturt Uni student intern Jack Thompson for his assistance with this episode. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fossilsfiction/message

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/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fossilsfiction/message

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., Atterby, J., Cleary, T., Richard P. Dearden, & Rossi, V. (2022). The perception of palaeontology in commercial off-the-shelf video games and an assessment of their potential as educational tools. Geoscience Communication, 5, 289–306. https://doi.org/10.5194/gc-5-289-2022 Common Descent Podcast: https://commondescentpodcast.com/ Noble, B. (2016). Articulating Dinosaurs: A Political Anthropology. University of Toronto Press. https://utorontopress.com/9781442621329/articulating-dinosaurs/ Plotnick, R. E., Anderson, B. M., Carlson, S. J., Jukar, A. M., Kimming, J., & Petsios, E. (n.d.). Paleontology Is Far More Than New Fossil Discoveries. Scientific American. Retrieved September 15, 2023, from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/paleontology-is-far-more-than-new-fossil-discoveries1/ Terrible Lizards Podcast with Dave Hone and Iszi Lawrence https://terriblelizards.libsyn.com/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fossilsfiction/message

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., Bunn, S., Burkhart, R., Shetlar, R., Nixon, K., & Waldron, J. (2009). Teaching Evolution Concepts to Early Elementary School Students. Evolution: Education and Outreach, 2(3), 458–473. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12052-009-0148-x --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fossilsfiction/message

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: The Age of Mammals: Nature, Development and Paleontology in the Long Nineteenth Centuryhttps://upittpress.org/books/9780822947806/ Platypus Matters: The Extraordinary Lives of Australian Mammals. HarperCollinshttps://www.harpercollins.com.au/9780008431440/platypus-matters/ Pictures of Time Beneath: Science, Heritage and the Uses of the Deep Pasthttps://www.publish.csiro.au/book/6342/ Beasts Before Us: The Untold Story of Mammal Origins and Evolutionhttps://www.bloomsbury.com/au/beasts-before-us-9781472983978/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fossilsfiction/message

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: --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fossilsfiction/message

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: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1DXM7ooNyFpIQmBAIBktuK?si=v6dMHMZXQquZG7VZrQpTIQhttps://theconversation.com/thirty-years-after-jurassic-park-hit-movie-screens-its-impact-on-science-and-culture-remains-as-strong-as-ever-podcast-210110https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/nightlife/jurassicpark-dinosaurs-movies/102492598 https://theconversation.com/toss-aside-those-high-heels-how-jurassic-worlds-claire-dearing-lights-a-path-for-women-in-action-films-182334 https://theconversation.com/how-jurassic-park-changed-film-making-and-our-view-of-dinosaurs-203147https://www.fossilsfiction.co/2022/05/02/making-sarah-harding/https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80117-506-720221009 --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fossilsfiction/message

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 to teaching troublesome palaeontology students like your host, Dr Travis Holland. __ Dr Nic Campione's UNE profile: https://www.une.edu.au/staff-profiles/ers/dr-nicolas-campione Dr Nic Campione's research publications https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=DIilDo0AAAAJ&hl=en UNE's Undergraduate Certificate in Palaeontology https://www.une.edu.au/study/courses/undergraduate-certificate-in-palaeontology --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fossilsfiction/message

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 puppets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ce17QquyL8s Forgotten Disney: Essays on the Lesser-Known Productions. https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/forgotten-disney/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fossilsfiction/message

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/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fossilsfiction/message

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 --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fossilsfiction/message

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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 case of Central Park’s dinosaurs: The destruction of Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins’ Paleozoic Museum revisited. Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pgeola.2023.04.004 Bristol Palaeomedia Project https://palaeomedia.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fossilsfiction/message