Paleo Policy Podcast

On this very special episode of the Paleo Policy Podcast, I spoke with Massachusetts State Representative, Jack Lewis, on Access Framingham about his plan to submit a bill in support of a new state symbol for the Commonwealth, a dinosaur! 

In fact, I was inspired to begin this podcast after deciding to lobby for a Massachusetts state dinosaur myself.  The thought of a state dinosaur for my adopted home was inspired by my home state's decision to designate Augustynolophus morrisi as new symbol for the state of California. After reading about the passage of CA bill AB1540 in 2017 and finding out that Massachusetts had yet to designate a state dinosaur of their own, I began to see how public policy and paleontology intersected with each other. 

I was fortunate enough to cross paths with Rep. Lewis through the Head of Collections and Operations at the Beneski Natural History Museum, Hayley Singleton (Former podcast guest, S1 E2), and now we are working towards making this ambition a reality!

Fossils need expert care when they are discovered, extracted, prepared, stored, and displayed in order to ensure their longevity and scientific utility. When most people see fossils in museums they think of paleontologists in the field. They may often fail to realize that the specimen they’re looking at is in a state of decay right before their eyes! Museum conservators are tasked with preserving the museum’s collections which could include fossils, taxidermy, archeological remains, pieces of art, and all of the other exhibits you would normally see. 

For this episode, I spoke with Dr. Mariana Di Giacomo, conservator at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University. We talk about her role at the museum, the factors that lead to fossil decay, and the steps one can take to care for their own fossils at home. We also discuss paleontology in Latin America and the renovations underway at the Yale Peabody museum. 

What is public policy anyways? The purpose of this podcast is to look at paleontology and prehistory from the lens of public policy by focusing on the actors, institutions, and events that shape this community. This could include grants for earth science research provided by the National Science Foundation, local ordinances requiring paleontological mitigation on construction sites, presidential executive orders regarding the designation of national monuments, or utilizing paleontology to encourage children to pursue careers in the STEM fields.

In this episode I spoke with Dr. Paul Cairney, professor of Politics and Public Policy at Stirling University, about the basic concepts that underpin this academic discipline. We discuss the policy making process, elements of public policy’s definition, the role of storytelling in policy advocacy, coalition building, and much more! 

The aim of paleo mitigation is to extract and preserve the prehistoric remains found on construction and development sites. The discovery of Archaeopteryx in limestone deposits near Solnhofen, Germany to the Cerutti Mammoth site in San Diego, California, have fascinated onlookers and challenged our conception of life’s progression on this planet. 

In this episode, I speak with the Vice President and Paleontology Program Director, Dr. Paul Murphey, of Paleo Solutions. Dr. Murphey and I discuss the origins of the paleo mitigation industry, how this field is regulated by states and localities, the development of a paleo mitigation best practices guide, and how the public interest benefits from this type of work. Fossils aren’t only found in the badlands, they might also exist just beneath the roads you take on your daily route! 

Natural history museums are a fantastic public resource for entertainment and education. The local museum is probably where most people are exposed to the prehistoric past and where most paleo enthusiasts are born (Me included!). Some natural history museums, like Beneski, are affiliated with a university that enable them to provide services a city museum could not. 

On this episode of the Paleo Policy Podcast I had the pleasure of speaking with the Head of Collections and Operations at the Beneski Museum of Natural History at Amherst College, Hayley Singleton. She is responsible for the 200,000 specimens across the museum’s nine collections, which includes fossil trackways, Native American artifacts, meteorites, fossilized plant material from the Ordovician Period (448 MYA – 443 MYA). Hayley and I discuss the opportunities made available to Amherst students by museum, public outreach initiatives, the museum’s collections and how those specimens were obtained, and the case of stolen theropod tracks. 

America's national parks and national monuments have inspired awe and wonder for generations of American's and international travelers for over a century. These public lands contain gorgeous landscapes, delicate ecosystems, wildlife, and FOSSILS! From the Antiquities Act of 1906 to the Paleontological Preservation Act of 2009, public policy has attempted to provide greater protections for paleontological remains for the benefit of researchers and patrons alike. 

For this episode I spoke with Park Paleontologist at Dinosaur National Monument in Utah, ReBecca Hunt-Foster. Her wealth of experience as paleontologist working for the Museums of Western Colorado, the Bureau of Land Management, and the National Park Service offered great insights as to the intersection of paleontology and policy. We discuss the closure of Dinosaur National Monument in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, policies concerning fossils found on public lands, the role of a park paleontologist, and features of Dinosaur National Monument itself.