Paleo Nerds

Dr. Christian Sidor tells the Nerds all about the ancestry of mammals, including a little creature that hibernated through the Permian-Triassic extinction, allowing reptiles to branch off and evolve into mammals.

Did you know we're in the middle of a Cephalopod Renaissance? Esteemed author Danna Staaf is ready to introduce you to our Squid Overlords!

What's the difference between humans and animals? Who decided there was a difference? Maybe there's less of a difference than we thought... 

The Nerds sit down with one of life's great thinkers, Peter Ward. He currently studies Mass Extinctions but nautiloids and ammonites are an ongoing passion. 

"You're a fish!" 

Gabriel Santos is a nerd. But, hey, if you're listening to this podcast so are you!  He's studied the paleoparadoxical Desmostylians, but now he uses cosplay to demonstrate that science is everywhere, especially in pop culture!

Paleontologista Jingmai O'Connor teaches the Nerds how to fly! Well, at least how dinosaurs evolved flight and eventually became the birds we live with today.

The nerds try and impress Dr. Pat Druckenmiller with their knowledge of marine reptiles. The key word being try.

Tom Kaye uses lasers to see microscopic changes recorded in the rock surrounding fossils that reveal soft tissues, literally shaping what dinosaurs looked like when they walked the Earth.

Dr. Dominique Didier has touched and fondled more ratfish than anyone one, so what better person to discuss the evolutionary perfection and sex life of this living fossil.