We’re LIVE in Armidale for National Science Week at The Welder’s Dog Brewery, and in this episode, recorded on Anaiwan country, we’re talking about the creatures that once dwelt in this place, and nearby.

Of dinosaurs such as “Lightning Claw”, giant marsupials that left teeth marks on the bones of other giant marsupials, and tiny fossils too small for the naked eye to see. Along the way, we talk about the extraordinary changes that have taken place in the geology of the region that at one time during the Permian, was a volcanic wasteland, at an earlier time, was under the sea, and that is now, the highest city in Australia. In this episode we are reminded that wherever you are, there are fascinating prehistoric stories just waiting to be discovered!

To discuss all this and more, host Michael Mills is joined by Professor John Paterson, Dr Marissa Betts, and Dr Nic Campione, all from the University of New England, right here in Armidale.

You can find our more about John’s research from his University of New England profile at https://www.une.edu.au/staff-profiles/ers/jpater20

Marissa’s UNE profile at https://www.une.edu.au/staff-profiles/ers/marissa-betts

And Nic’s UNE profile at https://www.une.edu.au/staff-profiles/ers/dr-nicolas-campione

For more information on the research being undertaken by the team at University of New England’s Palaeoscience Research Centre, head to 

https://www.une.edu.au/research/research-centres-institutes/palaeoscience-research-centre

Palaeo Jam host Michael Mills is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Heapsgood

For more info on his work as Creative Director, HeapsGood Productions, head to… https://linktr.ee/HeapsGoodProductions

In a special edition of Palaeo Jam, recorded LIVE at the Western Australian Museum Boola Bardip, guest host Professor Flint chats with some of his Western Australian palaeo pals, about their favourite fossils, their best moments in the field, and a broad range of other palaeo-themed topics.

In a chat amongst friends, we hear about the group’s favourite fossils that include a giant skink, a tree kangaroo on the Nullarbor Plain, an Aussie sauropod, and a kangaroo with fangs! Favourite moments of discovery include finding an ancient Bilby, the skull and brain case of a sauropod, and a Western Australian plesiosaur. We also learn about stinky days in the lab, and what brought each of the panel to be involved with palaeontology.

This episode was recorded during the Museum’s “Biggest Science Lab Ever” event during National Science Week.

The panelists for this episode are Dr Kenny Travouillon, Mammalogy Curator at the Western Australian Museum Boola Bardip; Dr Kailah Thorn, Technical Officer for Terrestrial Vertebrates at the Western Australian Museum Boola Bardip; Associate Professor Natalie Warburton, of Murdoch University; and Dr Stephen F. Poropat, School of Planetary and Earth Sciences, Curtin University.

For more info on Prof Flint, including links to his albums of palaeo songs, head to https://linktr.ee/ProfessorFlint

You can find Kailah on Twitter at https://twitter.com/kailah_thorn

Kailah’s research profile is at…

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kailah-Thorn

Kenny can be found here…

https://twitter.com/TravouillonK

Kenny’s research profile is here…

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kenny-Travouillon

You can find Natalie on Twitter at https://twitter.com/aNATomy_Lab

You can also find Natalie’s profile at Murdoch University at http://profiles.murdoch.edu.au/myprofile/natalie-warburton/

Stephen’s research profile can be found here…

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Stephen-Poropat

World renowned geologist, Professor Walter Alvarez once noted that…

“Rocks are the key to Earth history, because solids remember but liquids and gases forget.”

In this episode of Palaeo Jam, host Michael Mills chats with Professor Tom Raimondo about how learning about our local geology can help us better connect to where we live. Of how rocks are places where stories from the past are etched, and that by learning to read the rocks around us, we open ourselves to a whole new world of connection to the past, and understanding.

Tom Raimondo is Professor of Geology and Geochemistry and Professorial Lead for STEM at the University of South Australia. He is a passionate science communicator who has been recognised as the 2019 SA Science Excellence Awards STEM Educator of the Year, and in 2017 was named in the ABC Top 5 Under 40. 

For more info on Tom and his work, head to…

https://people.unisa.edu.au/tom.raimondo

https://twitter.com/ROKmondo

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8nlPNwP0bcho0tTVomlwyg

The iconic landscape of the Flinders Ranges in South Australia holds a remarkable history, cultural heritage and scientific value that has been unlocked through the power of the ground breaking 360VR Flinders Ranges experience mentioned in this episode.

You can get free access to this brilliant experience at https://www.projectlive.org.au/

Palaeo Jam host Michael Mills is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Heapsgood

For more info his work as Creative Director, HeapsGood Productions, head to… https://linktr.ee/HeapsGoodProductions

This episode was recorded LIVE during South Australia’s Science Alive event, the STEM Day Out, as part of National Science Week.

The Virtual Museum of Australian Palaeontology, or VAMP, as it is known, was launched several months ago to much acclaim. So, what is it, why does it matter, and how has it been going?

In another episode recorded live during the Palaeo Jam National Science Week tour, we discuss why in an age of of misinformation, it is important that researchers and the public have access to information, and why projects such as VAMP are a great way of doing just that.

In this episode we also talk in a more general sense about access to academic collections and research, touching on a model that sees a great deal of publicly funded research hidden behind paywalls, and not accessible to the public. 

Joining Palaeo Jam host Michael Mills are three of the original VAMPers, all from Flinders University, in Dr Alice Clement, Dr Aaron Camens, and PhD candidate Jacob van Zoelen.

You can check out the VAMP website at… https://sites.flinders.edu.au/vamp/

You can follow Aaron on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DiprotoRon, and check out his Flinders University profile at https://sites.flinders.edu.au/palaeontology/home/people/academics/aaron-camens/

Check out Alice’s blog posts at https://draliceclement.com, and follow Alice on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DrAliceClement

You can follow Jacob at https://twitter.com/Zoelenotherium

Michael is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Heapsgood

For more info on the project team we are a part of, head to… https://linktr.ee/HeapsGoodProductions

Before there were dinosaurs, Queensland, Australia was home to a fascinating array of reptiles, amphibians, and the ancestors of mammals. And then, 252 million years ago, just about everything on Earth died! So let’s talk who survived, and why!

In an episode supported by National Science Week, host Michael Mills is joined by Dr Espen Knutsen, Senior Curator of Palaeontology at the Museum of Tropical Queensland, and James Cook University, and Ash Turner, PhD Candidate at James Cook University. Along the way, the three talk about some of the many and varied creatures of the Permian and the subsequent Triassic Periods. While Michael discovers an awesome new term for a particular group of animals... the Pigs of the Permian, which he's decided may well be the name of his next album or band!

Dr Espen Knutsen is the Senior Curator of Palaeontology at the Museum of Tropical Queensland and James Cook University. He has a special interest in the diversity, evolution and ecology of Mesozoic reptiles, such as ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs and dinosaurs.

You can check out his research portfolio at James Cook University at https://research.jcu.edu.au/portfolio/espen.knutsen/ and can follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/e_m_knutsen

Ash Turner is a palaeontologist from Adelaide, looking at vertebrates of Triassic South East Queensland, particularly the temnospondyl amphibians both large and small.

You can find Ash on ResearchGate at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ashten-Turner-2

You can find Palaeo Jam host Michael on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Heapsgood

To connect with Dinosaur University on Facebook, follow us at https://www.facebook.com/DinosaurUniversity

And on Twitter at… https://twitter.com/DinosaurUni

A palaeontologist and an archaeologist walk into a bar… The Afterlife Bar, that is, at the Western Australian Museum, Boola Bardip, thanks to National Science Week. So, then what happened? Listen in, to find out!

We’re in Perth, Whadjuk Country, Western Australia, and we’re here to talk about dead things, how we find them, what we do with them when we’ve found them, and what those dead things might tell us about the past! We’re also here to demystify the differences between these two popular sciences, and explore the things the two sciences share.

In this special edition of Palaeo Jam, Palaeo Jam host Michael Mills, palaeontologist Professor Kate Trinajstic and archaeologist Dr Sven Ouzman discuss all of these things, and more!

To follow the unfoldingly odd thing that is Twitter in regard to each of this episode’s human panel, head to https://twitter.com/KateTRINAJSTIC, https://twitter.com/crar_m, https://twitter.com/UWAArchaeology, and https://twitter.com/Heapsgood

You can find out more about Dr Sven Ouzman at https://www.uwa.edu.au/Profile/Sven-Ouzman

Kate Trinajstic’s research profile can be found at… https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kate-Trinajstic

To learn more about Michael, and all of his incarnations, you can begin by heading to https://www.heapsgood.com.au/', and see what happens frome there!

Join us on a journey to explore the remarkable fossil heritage of South Australia, and why its prehistoric story matters not just to South Australians, but to the the whole world.

In this episode of Palaeo Jam, recorded live at Flinders University, on Kaurna Country, host Michael Mills is joined by PhD Candidate Phoebe McInerney of Flinders University, Associate Professor Diego Garcia-Bellido from the University of Adelaide. and PhD Candidate Tory Botha, also of the University of Adelaide. Along the way, the panel discuss a range of discoveries found in South Australia, including the first big life, opalised sea creatures, the story of the first predators, along with some fascinating palaeo pathologies.

Yo can follow Phoebe on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Phoebyornis

Check out Phoebe’s article in The Conversation about disease in giant prehistoric birds, discussed in this episode…

https://theconversation.com/fossil-find-reveals-giant-prehistoric-thunder-birds-were-riddled-with-bone-disease-173745

Diego is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DGarciaBellido

Check out the recent research paper from Diego with a revised understanding of two species of Radiodonta foun d in Emu Bay, South Australia.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14772019.2023.2225066?journalCode=tjsp20

You can find some information about Tory’s research interests here…

http://www.emmasherratt.com/quantitative-morphology-group.html

You can find Michael, on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Heapsgood

If you're ever in Adelaide and want to see some of the amazing fossil heritage discussed in this episode, head to the South Australian Museum...   https://www.samuseum.sa.gov.au/

The Naracoorte Caves in South Australia are a World Heritage fossil site whose stories are many and varied. Part of the story of the Caves is the story of the people who work there, do their research there, or in the case of Palaeo Jam host Michael Mills, occasionally record podcasts and sing songs there. In another fascinating episode, recorded as part of National Science Week, we explore the connection of several different people to the Naracoorte Caves, and how what the Caves has to offer has been central to their developing careers.

You can find host Michael Mills on Twitter at @heapsgood https://twitter.com/Heapsgood. You can find his alter ego, Professor Flint, along with songs inspired by the creatures of the Naracoorte Caves at… https://linktr.ee/ProfessorFlint

For information on visiting the Naracoorte Caves in South Australia, head to… https://www.naracoortecaves.sa.gov.au/

Nicola Bail is a PhD candidate at the University of Adelaide studying the population dynamics of Southern Bent-wing Bats) in order to understand the subspecies’ decline, population structure and overall state of the South Australian population.

You can find on on Twitter at https://twitter.com/NicolaBail

Follow this link for a Cosmos article about her research

https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/pregnant-pause-researcher-ultrasounds-tiny-bats-in-amazing-breeding-study/

Nerita Turner is also a  PhD Candidate at the University of Adelaide. Her research focuses on the modes of accumulation of large animal remains in caves, with a particular focus on fossil sites within the Naracoorte Caves region.

You can find Nerita on Twitter at https://twitter.com/nerita_turner

Check out the following article, by Nerita and Dr Elizabeth Reed…

“Using historical research to constrain the provenance and age of the first recorded collection of extinct Pleistocene large mammal fossils from the Naracoorte Caves, South Australia.”

https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/M7JARRBWBXBWDCFDGIIY/full?target=10.1080/03721426.2023.2188442

Georgia Blows is  Site Interpreter at the Naracoorte Caves, and is passionate about all things wildlife and natural history. Georgia is one of the youngest staff at the Naracoorte Caves, and got the position fresh from Naracoorte High School, after a work a work experience placement convinced both her, and most likely Caves management, that Georgia and the Caves were a perfect fit.

In 2022, the first fossil body of an Australian long-necked plesiosaur with the head still attached was discovered in outback Queensland. In this episode, recorded live in Townsville, Wulgurukaba Country, for National Science Week, Palaeo Jam host Michael Mills, is joined by palaeontologist Dr Espen Knutsen, and public programmes officer Claire Speedie, in an exploration of the importance of this extraordinary discovery, and why it matters, not just to science, but to the community as well.

Dr Espen Knutsen is the Senior Curator of Palaeontology at the Museum of Tropical Queensland and James Cook University. He has a special interest in the diversity, evolution and ecology of Mesozoic reptiles, such as ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs and dinosaurs.

You can check out his research portfolio at James Cook University at https://research.jcu.edu.au/portfolio/espen.knutsen/ and can follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/e_m_knutsen

Claire Speedie is Public Programmes Officer at the Museum of Tropical Queensland, and is also currently studying at Deakin University. Claire has worked across many years in the public programmes space, both developing and delivering a range of programmes across multiple different themes.

You can find Palaeo Jam host Michael on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Heapsgood

To connect with Dinosaur University on Facebook, follow us at https://www.facebook.com/DinosaurUniversity

And on Twitter at… https://twitter.com/DinosaurUni

Naracoorte Caves in South Australia are home to a remarkable fossil heritage of Pleistocene life. The story of Naracoorte, though, is not just the story of it’s fossil heritage. It’s the stories of the community and the connection of lots people to the caves and that heritage. In this first episode for Season 2 of Palaeo Jam, we speak to several community members to hear their stories of the Naracoorte Caves. In so doing, we seek to explore what a site such a site with such a close proximity to a town, might mean to the local community.

Note: Our first attempt at uploading this episode saw only part of it uploaded! This is the full episode.

In this episode, host Michael Mills chats with former Mayor , Erika Vickory, former Caves Manager Steve Bourne, long time Caves site interpreter Barb Lobban, and a member of the audience, Pat Gericke, who was able to bring to our attention an amazing story about one of her ancestors, who was a key staff member of the Naracoorte Caves in its earliest days.

Thanks to National Science Week, Heaps Good Productions, the Naracoorte Caves, the Naracoorte Lucindale Council, and most importantly, the people of Naracoorte, for making this episode possible.

And in case you missed it, during Season 1 of Palaeo Jam, we recorded an episode with Prof Rod Wells while sitting in the very spot in Victoria Cave where he’d sat more than 50 years beforehand in discovering the fossil bed. We also chatted with Dr Liz Reed about her research in the Caves as a local, and in so doing, were reminded that while caves can be wonderful places for discovering fossils, they continue to be living ecosystems.

Check out this and the rest of of the Palaeo Jam episodes through your preferred platform, and subscribe.