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Sasquatch Tracks takes a scientific look at whether there are large animal species that remain undiscovered. With special emphasis on the Sasquatch in North America, the show looks at claims of apelike “relict hominoids” and other animals purported to exist in various parts of the world.
Past and present advances in the fields of agronomic, crop, soil, and environmental sciences. Enjoy interviews with researchers published in journals, books, and magazines from the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America. Opinions and conclusions expressed by authors are their own and are not considered as those of the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, Soil Science Society of America, its staff, its membe ...
Welcome to Paleo Bites, the weekly podcast hosted by Matthew Donald where we make dumb jokes, reference pop culture, derail like crazy, and oh yeah, discuss and rate prehistoric animals. Each episode Matthew and a rotating set of guest co-hosts talk about a different genus of primeval critter, explain basic stats, exchange plenty of banter, barely fact-check, and at the end, rate the creature one out of 65 million for any reason, including but not limited to sexiness, mana, and dexterity. So ...
Stories that connect us more deeply with birds, nature, and each other.
Nature all Around Me invites persons of all ages and backgrounds to ground themselves in the environment that the Agua Hedionda Lagoon provides through experiential learning.
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Geek Chic's Weird Science
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Geek Chic's Weird Science
Lliana Bird, Dr Jack Lewis And Richard Boffin
Your weekly dose of weird science. Join neuroscientist Dr Jack Lewis and science enthusiast Lliana Bird as they take an irreverent look at the latest news from the weird and wonderful world of science. Science never sounded so good!
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Paleo Bites
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Herrerasaurus, the Lizard of Victorino Herrera
26:45
26:45
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(image source: https://fineartamerica.com/featured/herrerasaurus-ischigualastensis-sergey-krasovskiy.html) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Stephen Curro discuss Herrerasaurus, one of the earliest dinosaurs and yet still a rather big boi that I would not want to mess with. Look at dat boi! I’m hip, bro. From the Mid Triassic, this 20-foot carn…
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Field, Lab, Earth
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Humor in the Classroom with Dr. Andrés Varhola
52:15
52:15
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Episode Title: Humor in the Classroom with Dr. Andrés Varhola Show notes: ““His lectures were like watching a show on Netflix”: A success story of laugh tracks in prerecorded undergraduate lessons” with Dr. Andrés Varhola. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, teachers had to rapidly adapt to new, fully online teaching environments. For Andrés, who had a…
(image source: https://dinosaurpictures.org/Coelophysis-pictures) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Lawrence Mack discuss Coelophysis, the archetypal early dinosaur despite some rather advanced features compared to earlier dinosaurs, one of which we’ll talk about next week! A bit of a sausage sizzle there for the listeners. From the Late Triass…
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Sasquatch Tracks
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Buck Buckingham: Australian Yowies Caught on Film | ST 042
1:50:51
1:50:51
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In this installment of Sasquatch Tracks, the team is joined by Australian researcher Buck Buckingham, who shares his knowledge about Australian Yowies, the purported relict hominoid that occupies the remote wilds of the Land Down Under. Buckingham is a member of the group Australian Yowie Research, and has been hooked on Yowie studies ever since he…
(image source: https://dinopedia.fandom.com/wiki/Pezosiren) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Laura Owsley discuss Pezosiren, a hippo-like ancestor of manatees when they weren’t quite sea cows but sea-ish cows. Semiaquatic cows. Except not cows. From the Eocene epoch, this 7-foot sirenian mammal lived quite the peaceful life in its lagoon habit…
(image source: https://dinosaurpictures.org/Gigantoraptor-pictures) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Stephen Curro discuss Gigantoraptor, which, like the name suggests, is a gigantic raptor. A big Oviraptor, not Velociraptor, since they’re two totally different families. Pay attention. From the Late Cretaceous, this 26-foot oviraptorosaur brow…
(image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonemys) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Natasha Krech discuss Carbonemys, an enormous super predator that gives Raphael a run for his money in terms of turtle aggression and edginess. From the Early Paleocene, this 10-foot turtle chomped on crocodiles and fought giant snakes such as Titanoboa, …
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Field, Lab, Earth
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The Roots of Drought Resistance with Dr. Maryse Bourgault and Jessica Williams
43:48
43:48
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“Relationships between roots, the stay-green phenotype, and agronomic performance in barley and wheat grown in semi-arid conditions” with Dr. Maryse Bourgault and Jessica Williams. Roots are an important factor in drought-resistance as they are the primary way by which plants uptake the water they need to survive. However, measuring roots can be a …
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Sasquatch Tracks
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Gregory Forth: A Living Fossil Hominoid in Modern Indonesia? | ST 041
1:19:25
1:19:25
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Joining the team for this installment of Sasquatch Tracks is Gregory Forth, a retired professor of anthropology at the University of Alberta. He earned his PhD from the University of Oxford in 1980. Beginning in 1986, Forth was a professor at the University of Alberta for over thirty years. Forth is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and is a…
(image source: https://dinosaurpictures.org/Iguanodon-pictures) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Lawrence Mack discuss Iguanodon, a dinosaur that’s not an iguana nor known for its teeth, so its chosen name is a real mystery. From the Early Cretaceous, this 30-foot ornithopod was one of the first dinosaurs discovered and was a bulky bro for sur…
(image source: https://dinopedia.fandom.com/wiki/Protoavis) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Ben O’Regan discuss Protoavis, a highly controversial fossil that might disrupt the entire evolutionary line leading to birds, but also, probably not. From the Late Triassic, this 1-foot reptile might have been an early dinosaur, another type of archos…
(image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mussaurus) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Laura Owsley discuss Mussaurus, a teeny tiny dinosaur in a family of giant dinosaurs, except those tiny fossils were actually of babies and the adults were fairly large anyways. Your one novelty was a lie, Mussaurus. From the Early Jurassic, this 20-foot s…
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Paleo Bites
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Tullimonstrum, the Monster of Francis Tully
16:35
16:35
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(image source: http://bit.ly/3QDvTx7) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Natasha Krech discuss Tullimonstrum, an anomaly and enigma in every sense of the word and proof that evolution has a twisted sense of humor. From the Late Carboniferous, this 1-foot… thing has been suggested to be from a multitude of different lineages. Personally, I think …
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Field, Lab, Earth
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3D Fruit Form Reconstruction with Dr. Mitchell Feldmann
53:28
53:28
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“Cost-effective, high-throughput phenotyping system for 3D reconstruction of fruit form” with Dr. Mitchell Feldmann Various research and breeding programs study phenotypical traits—or traits that can be discerned via the five senses—to evaluate the quality of their target crops. However, getting data on these traits, often via human-made measuremen…
(image source: http://bit.ly/3ZuaOcH) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Christina Eilert discuss Dracoraptor, the very first Jurassic dinosaur known and a survivor of the Triassic-Jurassic mass extinction, the one everyone seems to forget for some reason. It was a multiple impact event, people! Probably. From the Early Jurassic, this 3-foot coe…
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Sasquatch Tracks
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Nathaniel Bronis: Michigan Encounters and Sasquatch Studies | ST 040
1:24:20
1:24:20
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As the team returns from a seasonal hiatus to officially kick off 2023, we are joined by Nathaniel Bronis, a Sasquatch researcher from Michigan's lower peninsula who currently resides in Idaho, and previously spent time in Washington. An avid outdoorsman, he has been collecting reports and conducting field research into the relict hominoid mystery …
(image source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/312366924155667804/) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Ben O’Regan discuss Phorusrhacos, the last hurrah of giant land-based theropod dinosaurs as top predators, ruling well after non-avian dinosaurs went extinct. That’s not funny, just cool, but then again these descriptions aren’t really funny anyw…
(image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oviraptor) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Stephen Curro discuss Oviraptor, the most unfairly judged dinosaur found fossilized with a bunch of eggs and thus was assumed to be stealing those eggs rather than nurturing their own. There’s no way this thing could actually be a good mother, now could it…
(image source: https://walkingwith.fandom.com/wiki/Hybodus) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Natasha Krech discuss Hybodus, a seemingly ordinary looking shark that might have actually had a temporal range of nearly 200 million years because, evolutionarily speaking, it was perfect. Sharks, man. From the Late Permian to the Late Cretaceous, thi…
(image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microraptor) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Christina Eilert discuss Microraptor, a beautiful ebony gem that went butterfly-mode and had four wings instead of two. Show-off. From the Early Cretaceous, this 2-foot dromaeosaurid might have been capable of true flight, but also might not have, which …
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Field, Lab, Earth
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Optimizing Industrial Hemp Production with Dr. Josh Freeman
45:44
45:44
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“How do pinching and plant density affect industrial hemp produced for cannabinoids in open field conditions?” with Dr. Josh Freeman. Industrial hemp has only recently been re-introduced in American production systems. Therefore, there’s a lot to learn about how to best produce this versatile crop in American climates. This episode of the Field, La…
(image source: https://dinosaurpictures.org/Carnotaurus-pictures) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Ben O’Regan discuss Carnotaurus, a carnivore that heard all other dinosaurs end in ‘saurus’ so decided to change one letter to be distinctive. I respect the commitment to bare minimum effort. From the Late Cretaceous, this 25-foot abelisaurid the…
(image source: https://dinosaurpictures.org/Acrocanthosaurus-pictures) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Stephen Curro discuss Acrocanthosaurus, perhaps the biggest and meanest predator before the mighty rex ever took its first stomp. From the Early Cretaceous, this 38-foot carcharodontosaurid was roughly the size of T. rex, had the spine of Sp…
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Field, Lab, Earth
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Modeling Water Use in Biofuel Crops with Dr. Alexandria Kuhl
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47:45
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“Root Water Uptake of Biofuel Crops Revealed by Coupled Electrical Resistivity and Soil Water Content Measurements” with Dr. Alexandria Kuhl Biofuel crops can be used to create fuel from renewable plant materials. Corn is the most common example, but as research progresses, scientists are looking to expand their biofuel crop pool to include woody p…
(image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platyhystrix) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Natasha Krech discuss Platyhystrix, an amphibian with the head of a frog, the back of a newt, and the sail of a Dimetrodon just for giggles. From the Late Carboniferous, this 3-foot temnospondyl swiftly swam and slithered with its sail-lined spine stick…
(image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minmi_paravertebra) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Christina Eilert discuss Minmi, a cutesy wittle turtledillo with a cutesy wittle name, one of the shortest names of all dinosaurs if Yi and Zby weren’t a thing. From the Early Cretaceous, this 9-foot ankylosaur nearly got rendered invalid due to i…
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Field, Lab, Earth
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Life Cycle Analyses and Greenhouse Gases with Dr. Hoyoung Kwon
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36:36
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“Greenhouse gas mitigation strategies and opportunities for agriculture” with Dr. Hoyoung Kwon Agriculture and food systems can be strong contributors to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and, in turn, climate change. However, in the midst of this reality, there are also abundant opportunities to improve our systems, reduce emissions, and move towards…
(image source: http://bit.ly/3UqwgfD ) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Stephen Curro discuss Homo neanderthalensis, the archetypal caveman and our bulkier, hairier, and dumber cousins, not unlike my bulkier and hairier and dumber cousins down in Mississippi. From the Late Pleistocene, this 5.5 foot tall hominid never really made it that far i…
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Sasquatch Tracks
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Jeff Waldridge: Kentucky Sasquatch, Government Files, and Cryptid Con | ST 039
1:12:46
1:12:46
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In this edition of Sasquatch Tracks, the team is joined by Kentucky researcher Jeff Waldridge, who in addition to being an expert in the study of Sasquatch, is also one of the team members behind the annual CryptidCon event in his home state. Jeff Waldridge is a researcher of Sasquatch with an interest in cryptozoological mysteries and the unexplai…
(image source: https://dinopedia.fandom.com/wiki/Erectopus) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Lexi Ryan discuss Erectopus, perhaps the worst name of any dinosaur ever, or maybe the best if you're twelve years old. From the Early Cretaceous, this 16-foot long allosaurid has an interesting backstory in regards to the recovery of its fossils, incl…
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Field, Lab, Earth
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Popping Sorghum Performance with Kent Mitchell
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35:05
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“Assessment of Kernel Characteristics to Predict Popping Performance in Grain Sorghum” with Kent Mitchell Popping sorghum is a niche alternative to popcorn, with no large hulls, a neutral flavor, and smaller kernels. While the tasty snack is growing in popularity, much remains to be learned about the practices that can produce the best popping prod…
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Paleo Bites
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Koshisaurus, the Lizard of the Koshi Region
38:13
38:13
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(image source: https://images.dinosaurpictures.org/Koshisaurus/Koshisaurus_NT_899f.jpg) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Matt David Seivert discuss Koshisaurus, a dinosaur with very little known about it so this episode is basically a sneaky preview episode of Seivert’s other podcast Nerds ‘R Us. From the Early Cretaceous, this 14-foot hadrosa…
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Field, Lab, Earth
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Halloween Special: Aphids and Hornworms and White Flies, oh my! with Dr. Vikram Baliga
59:34
59:34
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It’s Halloween, which means its spooky time. Throughout history, humans have battled some pretty scary pests, from aphids to spider mites, white flies and more. This episode, Vikram Baliga of the Planthropology podcast walks us through some of the scary adaptations these pests have that have made them so effective and progress we’ve made in fightin…
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Sasquatch Tracks
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Mister Sam Shearon: Bigfoot, Wolflike Cryptids, and Monstrous Mysteries | ST 038
1:45:22
1:45:22
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In this Halloween installment of Sasquatch Tracks, we are joined by Mister Sam Shearon, who in addition to being renowned for his unique cryptozoological artwork, presents an impressive knowledge of all-things Sasquatch, along with an assorted conversation about eerie cryptids in keeping with the season. Along with his impressive horror art, Sam Sh…
(image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brontomerus.jpg) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Christina Eilert discuss Brontomerus to round out Bronto Month, a real voluptuous dinosaur if the name is any indication, which dear God I hope it’s not as that would stir a lot of worrying things in me. From the Early Cretaceous, this 46-f…
“‘VT Sweet’: A vegetable soybean cultivar for commercial edamame production in the Mid-Atlantic U.S.” with Dr. Bo Zhang Edamame, or edible soybean, is a popular snack. However, due to a lack of US specific soybean varieties, domestic production hasn’t been able to keep up with consumer demand. In this episode, Bo discusses her work breeding varieti…
(image source: https://bit.ly/3S8egF1) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-hosts the De Papier brothers from Matt’s other show The Writ Wit discuss Brontotherium, a creature almost certainly called Megacerops instead but we needed another genus for Bronto Month so we’ll use the outdated name. It’s not misinformation if we outright state its erroneousn…
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Field, Lab, Earth
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Modeling for Climate Change with 2022 World Food Prize Laureate Dr. Cynthia Rosenzweig
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39:27
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The World Food Prize was established by Dr. Norman Borlaug and is the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in agriculture. This year’s winner is Dr. Cynthia Rosenzweig, whose extensive work in crop modeling, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and activism is helping to prepare the world to combat the effects of climate change. In this episode, Cynthia disc…
(image source: https://www.activewild.com/brontosaurus) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Stephen Curro discuss Brontosaurus, a real dinosaur of a dinosaur that wasn’t valid for a while until suddenly it was, kind of like the inverse of Pluto. From the Late Jurassic, this 70-foot diplodocid sauropod was a bit chunkier than Apatosaurus with a sl…
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Sasquatch Tracks
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Aleksandar Petakov: Sasquatch in the Northeast | ST 037
1:53:40
1:53:40
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In this installment of Sasquatch Tracks, the team is joined by researcher Aleksandar Petakov for a discussion about his wide-ranging cryptozoological interests. Aleksandar Petakov was born in 1993 during the last year of Apartheid in South Africa to parents that fled civil war in the former Yugoslavia. He grew up in the United States & has always b…
(image source: https://fossil.fandom.com/wiki/Brontoscorpio) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Christina Eilert discuss Brontoscorpio, a big fat nope of a creature and the first of our Paleo Bites Bronto Month! From the Early Devonian, this 3-foot arachnid was one of the earliest creatures to make its way onto land, ahead of the lobe-finned fis…
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Field, Lab, Earth
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Biosolids Research in Colorado with Dr. Jim Ippolito
51:03
51:03
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“The Clean Water Act and Biosolids: A 45-Year Chronological Review of Biosolids Land Application Research in Colorado” with Dr. Jim Ippolito Biosolids are the human waste products that are managed and produced by wastewater treatment plants. While many simply flush and forget their waste, biosolids can have a variety of advantageous environmental i…
(image source: https://bbc.in/3Rc0j8G) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Ben O’Regan discuss Australotitan, the biggest Australian land animal of all time that probably had venomous tail spines or exploding scales if modern Australian fauna is any indication. From the Mid Cretaceous, this 95-foot titanosaur lived alongside other local dinosaurs…
(image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiktaalik by Zina Deretsky) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Christina Eilert discuss Tiktaalik, a real asshole that should have known what horrible things crawling onto land would eventually lead to for the world. From the Late Devonian, this 8-foot sarcopterygian has been the subject of many memes…
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Field, Lab, Earth
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A Proactive Approach to Lithium Pollution with Dr. Alex Chow
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37:09
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“Proactive Approach to Minimize Lithium Pollution” with Dr. Alex Chow Lithium is a chemical element that has recently gained much attention for its use in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles and electronics. However, with recycling and re-use programs still in their infancy, there is a growing concern about potential lithium pollution. Thi…
(image source: https://bit.ly/3RFXJbQ) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Lexi Ryan discuss Meraxes, a dinosaur named after a dragon in A Song of Ice and Fire that lived about as long ago as George R. R. Martin released his last book. From the Mid Cretaceous, this 45-foot carcharodontosaurid theropod was merely one of a plethora of giant meat-ea…
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Sasquatch Tracks
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Tate Hieronymus: A Search for Sabe | ST 036
1:48:12
1:48:12
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In this installment of Sasquatch Tracks, the team catches up on the subject of Indigenous American beliefs about Sasquatch, as discussed in a recent BBC Travel feature, as well as sightings reports and emails from our listeners. We are then joined by filmmaker and researcher Tate Hieronymus, producer of the forthcoming four-part series “A Search fo…
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Paleo Bites
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Koolasuchus, the Crocodile of Lesley Kool
25:15
25:15
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(image source: https://walkingwith.fandom.com/wiki/Koolasuchus) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Ben O’Regan discuss Koolasuchus, a giant amphibian from far later than when giant amphibians were cool, kind of like people today with mohawks or rollerblades. From the Mid Cretaceous, this 16-foot temnospondyl hung out in polar waters too cold for…
(image source: https://bit.ly/3QdUyqU) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Christina Eilert discuss Sciurumimus, a predator with a squirrel-like tail that was probably real cuddly if it didn’t have all those needley teeth and claws coming out of it. From the Late Jurassic, this 3-foot tetanuran theropod didn’t have buckteeth or stored nuts but wa…
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Sasquatch Tracks
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Sasquatch Sightings: Eyewitness Encounters with Unknown Species | ST 035
1:52:17
1:52:17
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In this episode of Sasquatch Tracks, after the team goes over recent news related to the study of relict hominoids, we shift our attention over to reports from our listeners, which includes several sightings and intriguing accounts that may involve observations of an unrecognized species of primate in North America. Beginning with emails covering a…
