When a massive asteroid struck Earth 66 million years ago, a devastating  mass extinction followed, taking with it more than half of the world's  species. The consequences, both immediate and long-term, of this disastrous event are detailed by author and paleontologist Riley Black in her latest book, The Last Days of the Dinosaurs: An Asteroid, Extinction, and the Beginning. Today she joins me to further discuss the incredible evolutionary opportunities that arose out of the worst day in history.

Bio: Riley has been a fossil fanatic since the time she was knee-high to a Stegosaurus. A prolific writer, Riley wrote her popular Laelaps blog for publications such as WIRED, National Geographic, and Scientific American for more than a decade. Her fossil-filled tweets have led Business Insider to call her one of the top "science social media wizards" and HLN to dub her one of "Twitter's 8 coolest geeks", as well, and she was the host of Parallax Film’s Dinologue. And in a childhood dream come true, Riley was also hired to be the "resident paleontologist" for Jurassic World. 

In between blogs, Riley also freelances for a variety of publications - from National Geographic to Slate - and writes books. Her first, Written in Stone, was an exploration about what evolution's great transitions tell us about our place in nature, and her second, My Beloved Brontosaurus, was a critically-acclaimed romp with the new dinosaurs science is bringing to life.

Website - http://rileyblack.net/

Book - http://rileyblack.net/books

Artwork by Phillip Thor - https://linktr.ee/Philipthor_art 

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Thank you Don Grant for the Intro/Outro. Check out his podcast - https://threeinterestingthings.captivate.fm

Intro guitar copied from Aiden Ayers at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UiB9FMOP5s 

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