Do aliens exist on Mars? Possibly. But how do humans actually go about answering that question? One option is to examine certain rocks to understand the types of  life-forms, like squishy things, that roamed the earth billions of years ago. That's what Alison Olcott does in her role as associate professor of pealeobiogeochemistry in the Department of Geology at the University of Kansas. And while playing on Google Maps one day, Alison found that those rocks are found not far from KU, in the Gypsum Hills of Kansas. Who knew Kansas and Mars were so similar!

In this episode of Unwinding we chat to Alison Olcott about science communication and squishy things, undergraduate research and Jurassic park, barbies and why chemistry is not as hard to understand as you think!

Music: Lee Rosevere's "Let's Start at the Beginning" and "Alien's - Deep Dark" by Deep Dark.