The Pirates Don’t Eat The Tourists: Jurassic Park & Prehistoric Fiction

Charles Dickens opened Bleak House with a megalosaurus waddling up Holborn Hill. This episode traces the stories we told about the bones in the rock before we knew what they were. I’m joined by Bexhill Museum curator Julian Porter and author Natalie Lawrence.

For the extended interview with Natalie Lawrence, you can hear it by subscribing to the Plus version of the podcast in Apple Podcasts or clicking the ‘support the show’ link below.

A huge thank you to Guy Adams for the opening narration!

Guests

Julian Porter
Curator at Bexhill Museum and author of Bexhill on Sea: A History
https://amzn.to/4wL8eQ6 (affiliated link so I might earn commission on items bought)
https://www.instagram.com/bexhill_museum?igsh=ZXh5Mm12c2R6Z2pu

Natalie Lawrence
Author of Enchanted Creatures, a history of the monsters we have made from the natural world
https://amzn.to/4dQqtuK (affiliated link so I might earn commission on items bought)
https://www.nataliejlawrence.com/
https://www.instagram.com/natalie.j.lawrence

Links

Mark Witton: Unicorns, dragons, monsters and giants
Natalie references Mark’s work in this episode, picking apart the arguments for mythological creatures being derived from fossil discoveries.
https://markwitton-com.blogspot.com/2018/04/unicorns-dragons-monsters-and-giants.html?m=1

Bexhill Museum: Dinosaurs and Geology
https://www.bexhillmuseum.org.uk/access-centre/museum-exhibitions-displays/dinosaurs-geology/

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Presented and produced by Roland Squire

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🎵 Theme music: Caleb Burnett (@calebcomposed)

🎨 Cover artwork: @thejurassicartist

Before Season 2 begins, here’s every film episode from Season 1 in one place!

Season 1 of The Pirates Don’t Eat The Tourists was called Road to Rebirth. Over the course of the season, we worked our way through all seven Jurassic films, from Spielberg’s original in 1993 to Jurassic World Rebirth in 2025. 

This compilation brings together all seven film episodes as a single listen. Perfect for catching up before Stones to Stories begins on 3rd June, or for new listeners wanting to understand where the show came from.

Episodes included: Jurassic Park (1993) with Derrick Davis · The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) with Caleb Burnett · Jurassic Park III (2001) with Daniel Stephen · Jurassic World (2015) with Brad Jost · Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) with Samantha Endres · Jurassic World: Dominion (2022) with Sam Phillips and Jack Ewins · Jurassic World Rebirth (2025) with James Mottram and Derrick Davis

Send a message to the show. Questions, corrections, favourite dinosaurs

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Enjoying the show? A quick rating and review on Apple Podcasts would mean the world, it’s one of the best ways to help fellow Jurassic fans discover us.

Presented and produced by Roland Squire

☕️Buy Me A Coffee:

https://buymeacoffee.com/roadtorebiq

🎥 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@jurassicpiratespod?si=DJOlBmPoF75YE8It

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🎵 Theme music: Caleb Burnett (@calebcomposed)

🎨 Cover artwork: @thejurassicartist

Thirteen books, two hundred years, and one question: how did we get from fossils in the rock to dinosaurs on the page?

This is the opening episode of Season 2 of The Pirates Don’t Eat The Tourists. The season is called Stones to Stories, and it traces prehistoric fiction from Victorian fossil folklore through pulp adventure to alien planets full of dinosaurs.

Here is the reading list the season is built on:

Jules Verne, Journey to the Centre of the Earth
Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World
Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Land That Time Forgot trilogy
Ray Bradbury, A Sound of Thunder
Anne McCaffrey, Dinosaur Planet
Harry Adam Knight, Carnosaur
Michael Crichton, Jurassic Park and The Lost World
James Gurney, Dinotopia
Greg Bear, Dinosaur Summer
Robert T. Bakker, Raptor Red
Stephen Baxter, Evolution
Ethan Pettus, Primitive War
Lee Murray, Into the Mist

If you are new to the show, this is the best place to start.

Send a message to the show. Questions, corrections, favourite dinosaurs

Support the show

Enjoying the show? A quick rating and review on Apple Podcasts would mean the world, it’s one of the best ways to help fellow Jurassic fans discover us.

Presented and produced by Roland Squire

☕️Buy Me A Coffee:

https://buymeacoffee.com/roadtorebiq

🎥 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@jurassicpiratespod?si=DJOlBmPoF75YE8It

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jurassicpiratespod?igsi=cmswOTFwM29pOWhl&utm_source=qr

🎵 Theme music: Caleb Burnett (@calebcomposed)

🎨 Cover artwork: @thejurassicartist

What can Jurassic learn from Star Wars? Would Jurassic work as a TV show or would it loose it’s special cinematic exclusivity? 

All of these questions and more are discussed in today’s special episode with my wonderful guest Mark Newbold!

If you want to follow Mark’s work then please head to @prefect_timing on Instagram and visit FanthaTracks.com

Here is also a link to Mark’s interview with David Vickery for ILM.com - https://www.ilm.com/jurassic-world-rebirth-david-vickery-interview-ilm/

I will be back in a couple of weeks for a special introductory episode for my next season so make sure you listen to the end for details!

Send a message to the show. Questions, corrections, favourite dinosaurs

Support the show

Enjoying the show? A quick rating and review on Apple Podcasts would mean the world, it’s one of the best ways to help fellow Jurassic fans discover us.

Presented and produced by Roland Squire

☕️Buy Me A Coffee:

https://buymeacoffee.com/roadtorebiq

🎥 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@jurassicpiratespod?si=DJOlBmPoF75YE8It

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🎵 Theme music: Caleb Burnett (@calebcomposed)

🎨 Cover artwork: @thejurassicartist

To round out the year and to launch the brand new podcast look and name I am joined by Conor O’Keeffe and Tom Jurassic to chat all things Jurassic’25.

Tune in next week for part 2 with my interview with journalist Mark Newbold and a tease about the new upcoming 2026 season.

Thanks for all the support in 2025 and Happy New Year!

Send a message to the show. Questions, corrections, favourite dinosaurs

Support the show

Enjoying the show? A quick rating and review on Apple Podcasts would mean the world, it’s one of the best ways to help fellow Jurassic fans discover us.

Presented and produced by Roland Squire

☕️Buy Me A Coffee:

https://buymeacoffee.com/roadtorebiq

🎥 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@jurassicpiratespod?si=DJOlBmPoF75YE8It

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jurassicpiratespod?igsi=cmswOTFwM29pOWhl&utm_source=qr

🎵 Theme music: Caleb Burnett (@calebcomposed)

🎨 Cover artwork: @thejurassicartist

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Hello!

I’m here with the ‘final episode’ of ‘Road to Rebirth’. Thank you all so much for listening along.

Stay tuned for future announcements!

Send a message to the show. Questions, corrections, favourite dinosaurs

Support the show

Enjoying the show? A quick rating and review on Apple Podcasts would mean the world, it’s one of the best ways to help fellow Jurassic fans discover us.

Presented and produced by Roland Squire

☕️Buy Me A Coffee:

https://buymeacoffee.com/roadtorebiq

🎥 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@jurassicpiratespod?si=DJOlBmPoF75YE8It

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jurassicpiratespod?igsi=cmswOTFwM29pOWhl&utm_source=qr

🎵 Theme music: Caleb Burnett (@calebcomposed)

🎨 Cover artwork: @thejurassicartist

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It’s finally here! 

Grab a Snickers, some Doritos and a can of Dr.Pepper and listen to our Spoiler review of ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’

You can find more about Derrick and his fantastic book, ‘Invertiverse’ at derrickdavismedia.com

And more on British Cinematographers Magazine here (James’s interview with ‘Rebirth’ cinematographer John Mathiseon is in July’s issue)

Send a message to the show. Questions, corrections, favourite dinosaurs

Support the show

Enjoying the show? A quick rating and review on Apple Podcasts would mean the world, it’s one of the best ways to help fellow Jurassic fans discover us.

Presented and produced by Roland Squire

☕️Buy Me A Coffee:

https://buymeacoffee.com/roadtorebiq

🎥 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@jurassicpiratespod?si=DJOlBmPoF75YE8It

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jurassicpiratespod?igsi=cmswOTFwM29pOWhl&utm_source=qr

🎵 Theme music: Caleb Burnett (@calebcomposed)

🎨 Cover artwork: @thejurassicartist

🦖 Got a minute? Help shape the future of the podcast by filling in this quick form: https://forms.gle/wsz1wNygN4uhe39y5

Today I am joined by the Lead Graphic Designer of ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, Matthew Clark, as we discuss the visual world building in the original 1993 movie. 

The conversation has made me see this film I love and have watched multiple times in a new light.

If you want to follow Matthew and see some behind the scenes pictures from the new film then you can find him on Instagram here: 

@clarksworth

Send a message to the show. Questions, corrections, favourite dinosaurs

Support the show

Enjoying the show? A quick rating and review on Apple Podcasts would mean the world, it’s one of the best ways to help fellow Jurassic fans discover us.

Presented and produced by Roland Squire

☕️Buy Me A Coffee:

https://buymeacoffee.com/roadtorebiq

🎥 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@jurassicpiratespod?si=DJOlBmPoF75YE8It

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jurassicpiratespod?igsi=cmswOTFwM29pOWhl&utm_source=qr

🎵 Theme music: Caleb Burnett (@calebcomposed)

🎨 Cover artwork: @thejurassicartist

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Happy Rebirth Release Day!

I’m very excited to bring you my interview author of 3 behind the scenes ‘Jurassic’ books - James Mottram. 

We recorded this before I’d seen the film but after he’d seen it for the first time so this is spoiler free. 

We don’t just talk about Rebirth we also dig into how he came to create those books and we talk about our overall feeling for the series in the wake of a new film. 

We will be back for a spoiler discussion later this month!

Send a message to the show. Questions, corrections, favourite dinosaurs

Support the show

Enjoying the show? A quick rating and review on Apple Podcasts would mean the world, it’s one of the best ways to help fellow Jurassic fans discover us.

Presented and produced by Roland Squire

☕️Buy Me A Coffee:

https://buymeacoffee.com/roadtorebiq

🎥 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@jurassicpiratespod?si=DJOlBmPoF75YE8It

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jurassicpiratespod?igsi=cmswOTFwM29pOWhl&utm_source=qr

🎵 Theme music: Caleb Burnett (@calebcomposed)

🎨 Cover artwork: @thejurassicartist

🦖 Got a minute? Help shape the future of the podcast by filling in this quick form: https://forms.gle/wsz1wNygN4uhe39y5

We’ve made it! 

In 2 days time the film will be released and we will officially have a new film to explore. 

I was lucky enough to see it early and today I’m bringing you my spoiler free first impressions. 

If you don’t want to listen yet that’s fine I won’t be offended. 

All I will say is make sure you see this on the biggest screen you possibly can! 

Let me know your thoughts about the film on instagram or via email. 

[email protected]

Send me a voice message!

Support the show

If you enjoy the show then it would mean a lot to me if you could rate & review on Apple Podcasts. It really helps this show find more Jurassic fans like you!

Presented and produced by Roland Squire

Theme music: Caleb Burnett (@calebcomposed)

Cover artwork: @thejurassicartist

Find us: @JurassicPiratesPod on Instagram