Don't Panic Geocast

By John Leeman and Shannon DulinScience Technology Education Natural Sciences

Don't Panic Geocast episodes

April 25, 2025Episode 415 - "Fiat 500 Volcanic Bomb"
This week we talk hail, Vesuvius, volcanic bombs, and vitrified brains.
Scandone, Roberto, Lisetta Giacomelli, and Mauro Rosi. "Death, Survival and Damage during the 79 AD Eruption of Vesuvius which destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum." J. Res. Didact. Geogr 2 (2019): 5-30.
Fun Paper Friday
An amazing new finding shows that brains were vitrified or turned to glass during the nearly 2000 year old eruption of Vesuvius.
Giordano, Guido, et al. "Unique formation of organic glass from a human brain in the Vesuvius eruption of 79 CE." Scientific Reports 15.1 (2025): 5955.
Mt Vesuvius
Plinian
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John Leeman
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Shannon Dulin
@ShannonDulin
49 min
April 18, 2025Episode 414 - "Closed Because of Landslide"
Shannon's class took a trip to study catestrophic sedimentation... and they found it! John switched back to a Mac after 5 years. Join us for these and other exciting updates!
Fun Paper Friday
Find out how alcohol and an eye puffer machine cominbed with magnets can teach us about where our motor skills reside in the brain.
Johansson, Fredrik, et al. "Alcohol impairs learning and timing of conditioned eyeblink responses." Brain Research 1854 (2025): 149545.
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John Leeman
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Shannon Dulin
@ShannonDulin
1 hr 6 min
April 04, 2025Episode 413 - "Waterfalls I Have Loved"
Turner Falls, Oklahoma
A rare waterfall that grows outward due to travertine deposition instead of eroding backward.
Formed by spring-fed Honey Creek flowing through Ordovician limestone, creating massive travertine deposits.
Pe'ePe'e Falls, Hawai'i (Big Island)
~80 ft falls in downtown Hilo, part of the Wailuku River flowing between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.
Carved into 10,000-year-old lava flows with subsequent flows creating the Boiling Pots — vertical and horizontal lava tubes.
Extremely dangerous, especially after storms — known as the deadliest water in Hawai'i.
Cataratas do Iguaçu, Brazil/Argentina
Largest waterfall system in the world, spanning the Argentina-Brazil border.
Name means "Big Water" in Guarani.
Upstream from the Itaipu Dam, which generates most of Paraguay’s electricity.
Itaipu — the 3rd largest hydroelectric plant globally and 2nd in power output.
Bonus Waterfalls Mentioned:
Cascata delle Marmore, Italy – Ancient Roman-engineered waterfall.
Natural Falls - West Siloam Springs, OK
Devil’s Kettle, Minnesota – Mysterious waterfall where water seems to disappear underground.
Fun Paper Friday
What can spacecraft learn from cats?
Zhang, Li, et al. "Analysis of Cushioned Landing Strategies of Cats Based on Posture Estimation." Biomimetics 9.11 (2024): 691.
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John Leeman
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@geo_leeman
Shannon Dulin
@ShannonDulin
58 min
March 08, 2025Episode 412 - "Unpopular Flavor of Capri Sun"
This week we talk about snow forecasting as the winter season starts to wrap up and try to figure out if you're really happier in the morning or not!
Fun Paper Friday
https://mentalhealth.bmj.com/content/28/1/e301418
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John Leeman
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@geo_leeman
Shannon Dulin
@ShannonDulin
49 min
February 14, 2025Episode 411 - "TSA Does Not Care About Your Data "
Ever wondered how geologists figure out when a landslide happened? Or how ancient river terraces and glacial deposits get dated? This week, we dive into the detective work behind dating geomorphic features! 🌍🔬 From tree rings to cosmic rays, we explore the fascinating methods geologists use to reconstruct Earth’s history and assess natural hazards.
Why Dating Landslides and Other Features is Hard
Landslides can reactivate multiple times, fluvial deposits get reworked, and glacial features have complex histories.
What are we really dating—the event, the material, or the last exposure?
Dating Techniques in Geology
Dendrochronology 🌲 – Tree rings reveal landslides, floods, and debris flows.
Radiocarbon Dating 💀 – Organic material like charcoal and buried soil horizons provide time markers.
Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) 🌞 – Measures when quartz grains were last exposed to sunlight.
Cosmogenic Nuclide Dating ☄️ – Tracks surface exposure using cosmic rays.
Other Methods – Lichen growth, volcanic ash layers, and earthquake trenching.
Fun Paper Friday
Ever wondered if your favorite neon-orange snack has hidden superpowers? This study explores how strongly absorbing molecules, like those found in food dyes, can reduce light scattering in biological tissues—making them temporarily more transparent! Researchers applied tartrazine (a common food coloring) to live mice and were able to see internal structures like blood vessels without invasive procedures. The discovery could improve biomedical imaging, but we’re mostly just fascinated that Dorito dust might have unexpected side effects!
Ou, Zihao, et al. "Achieving optical transparency in live animals with absorbing molecules." Science 385.6713 (2024): eadm6869.
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John Leeman
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Shannon Dulin
@ShannonDulin
46 min
February 07, 2025Episode 410 - "GEARS OIL UTEP"
We just wrapped up our first-ever on-site GEARS Workshop at UTEP and it was a massive success! 🎉 Tune in as we break down the highlights, what we learned, and how this hands-on geoscience training is evolving for the future.
Fun Paper Friday
Can paranormal lights actually be tied to earthquakes?
Hough, Susan E. "Haunted Summerville: Ghostly Lights or Earthquake Lights?."
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John Leeman
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Shannon Dulin
@ShannonDulin
49 min
January 24, 2025Episode 409 - "Resolutions"
This week, it's time for our 2025 resolutions show, where we see how we can improve this year and discuss everything that's changed in the past year!
Fun Paper Friday
We are all overloaded with surveys and requests, but can a chocolate bar increase the response rates?
Jamtvedt, Gro, et al. "Chocolate bar as an incentive did not increase response rate among physiotherapists: a randomised controlled trial." BMC research notes 1 (2008): 1-4.
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John Leeman
www.johnrleeman.com
@geo_leeman
Shannon Dulin
@ShannonDulin
1 hr 8 min
January 17, 2025Episode 408 - "Everywhere there's cottonwood trees"
This week we wrap up our finding faults show started oh so long ago! Learn how to identify faults in the field and then relax with a coffee with a physicist! A perfectly spherical coffee on a frictionless plane that is!
Fun Paper Friday
Bossart, Aleksi, Romain Fleury, and Benjamin Apffel. "Science of a coffee cup: a physicist walks into a bar..." arXiv preprint arXiv:2501.01180 (2025).
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John Leeman
www.johnrleeman.com
@geo_leeman
Shannon Dulin
@ShannonDulin
42 min
December 27, 2024Episode 407 - "If you like dragons, that's important to you" Joshua Pearce
This week, we’re thrilled to welcome Joshua Pearce to the show! We dive into the world of open-source hardware for academic labs, the challenges and rewards of open-sourcing projects, and the exciting opportunities it creates for researchers and the general public alike. Tune in for a fascinating discussion about innovation, making, and the future of accessible technology!
Joshua Pearce
Open-Source Lab: How to Build Your Own Hardware and Reduce Research Costs
Create, Share, and Save Money Using Open-Source Projects
To Catch the Sun: Inspiring stories of communities coming together to harness their own solar energy, and how you can do it too!
Feeding Everyone No Matter What: Managing Food Security After Global Catastrophe
@ProfPearce
Fun Paper Friday
This Study Was Hailed as a Win for Science Reform. Now It’s Being Retracted.
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John Leeman
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@geo_leeman
Shannon Dulin
@ShannonDulin
1 hr 13 min
December 21, 2024Episode 406 - "Taking in all the really interesting things"
Shannon went to AGU and we're updated on the meeting and what cool new science things she saw!
Fun Paper Friday
He, Yu, et al. "Superionic iron alloys and their seismic velocities in Earth’s inner core." Nature 602.7896 (2022): 258-262.
Contact us:
Show
Support us on Patreon!
www.dontpanicgeocast.com
@dontpanicgeo
[email protected]
John Leeman
www.johnrleeman.com
@geo_leeman
Shannon Dulin
@ShannonDulin
58 min

About Don't Panic Geocast

From the publisher's feed

John Leeman and Shannon Dulin discuss geoscience and technology weekly for your enjoyment! Features include guests, fun paper Friday selections, product reviews, and banter about recent developments.…