Wonder

How is our planet's surface — from the creation and disintegration of mountains, to the first breaths of flora — related to the geologic evolution of Earth's climate?

In this episode of Wonder, Holly Cooke and Dr Anthony Reid are joined by Dr Andrew Merdith from the University of Adelaide. We explore the evolution of land plants to the formation of opals in the Australian outback, and our conversation asks why Earth’s internal heat, tectonic movements, and carbon cycles drive dramatic shifts in climate and life throughout deep time.

Find us at ⁠⁠⁠www.thegeoco.com.au⁠⁠⁠

Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thegeoco⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Got questions? Get in touch- [email protected]

Thanks to the Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Resources, at the University of Adelaide, for making this episode of Wonder possible.

GeoCo connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

Thumbnail image credits: ⁠⁠⁠ Guillaume Briard on Unsplash

Hi and Welcome to Wonder, with the ARC Centre in Critical Resources for the Future! Today Holly & Anthony are in marvellous conversation with centre Director Professor Marco Fiorentini, who journeys with us through the grand Australian libraries of geological history and what they spell out for Australia's critical resource futures.

Find us at ⁠www.thegeoco.com.au⁠

Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thegeoco⁠⁠⁠⁠

Got questions? Get in touch- [email protected]

Find the ARC Critical Resources for the Future ⁠here⁠.

GeoCo connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

Thumbnail image credits: ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Anissa Terry on Unsplash

It's been a huge few episodes for stories about our ever-changing Earth system, from living glaciers and volcanic eruptions to our human moments in a warming world. Holly & Anthony take this time to actually understand and reflect on recent conversations with geochemist-volcanologist Dr Lucy McGee and glaciologist Hedda Andersen, sprinkled with some ideas about the growth of Antarctica's ice sheets (see How Antarctica Got its Ice⁠ and Antarctic Ice Sheet variability Across the Eocene-Oligocene Boundary Climate Transition⁠), plus some climate change 101 thanks to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report⁠ and ⁠Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate.

Find us on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠@thegeoco⁠⁠⁠

GeoCo connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

Thumbnail image credits: ⁠ ⁠NASA⁠ and Toby Elliot on Unsplash

On today's show: explosions, infernos, Mount Doom— oh my! From volcanic eruptions to the origins of lava, volcanologist and geochemist Dr Lucy McGee takes us around the world (and deep into its infernos) to chat about when Earth explodes.

Find us on Instagram ⁠⁠@thegeoco⁠⁠

GeoCo connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

Thank you to the Institute of Sustainability, Energy and Resources, The University of Adelaide, for sponsoring this episode of Wonder.

Thumbnail image credit: Ása Steinarsdóttir on Unsplash

"Sila can be perceived as the breath of the glaciers, the cold, crisp air that comes from them, and the sense of timelessness they represent... "

In todays show, Wonder Podcast crosses to the Arctic and talks to Norwegian glaciologist and expedition guide, Hedda Andersen, who adventures into the fastest warming frozen lands on the planet to research Earth's vanishing glaciers.

Trust us— this conversation is special. Find Hedda on Instagram ⁠@adventureglaciologist⁠

Find us on Instagram ⁠@thegeoco⁠

GeoCo connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

Thumbnail image credit: Svalbard,⁠ contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2022), processed by ESA

In today's show: Holly debuts her rock-omendation, the article on The Importance of Stupidity in Scientific Research. And after exploring why 'ignorance' is good for science and curiosity, Anthony embarks on tectonic travels to the South Sandwich Islands and (with the help of good old Google Earth) we stitch together the fascinating formation of these landscapes, their connection to todays polar ice caps, and we encounter some of the largest seal and penguin populations on the planet ...

Find us on Instagram @thegeoco

GeoCo connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

Thumbnail image: Brian McMahon on Unsplash

Oh, long time no see! In today's episode Holly and Anthony first catch up on their adventures while away from the studio... followed by the GeoGist where we unpack Tibet's devastating January 2025 earthquake and the mysterious earthquake swarm shaking Santorini and nearby Greek islands of the Aegean Sea. We recorded this episode of Wonder in February 2025, one month before another magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the Myanmar region— resulting in a disastrous loss of life with critical rescue efforts ongoing at the time of publishing. Anthony mentions a scientific paper on Tibet's topographic ooze— find it linked here. Now we mentioned a GeoCo website, but alas, we're not yet live... it's coming soon! Until then, find us on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thegeoco⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

A tremendous thank you to the Geological Society of Australia for making this episode of Wonder possible.

GeoCo connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

Thumbnail image credit: Plateau of Tibet, Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC

Left on the table, after our previous conversation with Professor Alan Collins, were some unexplained and weird trinkets. A vial of black slime, a rock, a 25 pack of toilet paper ... obviously, we turned the cameras back on. What on earth did Alan bring in his backpack???

Happy bonus episode!

find us on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thegeoco⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Join Holly Cooke & Dr Anthony Reid in conversation about our beautiful, ancient, and alive earth. We are all about connecting people to planet by exploring the curiosities of our natural world.

The Geo Co. connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

From the western Mediterranean to Southeast Asia - join our geological globetrots with Professor Alan Collins as we explore the extraordinary interconnectedness of the earth system. After a few episodes of unpacking why today's landscapes look the way they do, Alan helps Holly and Anthony peer past the present and deep into the rock archives of earth history.

[ Wonder podcast takes on the everchanging Earth. In this miniseries we pull apart the mysteries of tectonics, piece together ancient supercontinents, and visit the far space and time corners of our unique planet. ]

find us on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thegeoco⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Join Holly Cooke & Dr Anthony Reid in conversation about our beautiful, ancient, and alive earth. We are all about connecting people to planet by exploring the curiosities of our natural world.

The Geo Co. connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

Now that Dr McLaren has literally *warmed* us up on all things earthquakes, mountains, and building a planet ... Dr Jack Mulder (hey again, Jack!) takes us to the early Earth and the mysteries of the everchanging continents that dance across the face of our planet.

[ Wonder podcast takes on the everchanging Earth. In this miniseries we pull apart the mysteries of tectonics, piece together ancient supercontinents, and visit the far space and time corners of our unique planet. ]

find us on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thegeoco⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Join Holly Cooke & Dr Anthony Reid in conversation about our beautiful, ancient, and alive earth. We are all about connecting people to planet by exploring the curiosities of our natural world.

The Geo Co. connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.