I Wish You Were Dead

Ep. 180: This Podcast Is Extinct (Final Episode)

06 May 2026

Contributed by Lukas

After 1976 days, we have reached the final episode of this podcast. Mike, Fia, and Gavin talk about what they've learned over the last roughly 5 a...

Ep. 179: Today and Tomorrow: The Holocene Epoch

17 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

For our penultimate episode, let's talk about today, this moment right now; the Holocene Epoch. This is basically when all of recorded human histo...

Episode 179 Delayed

15 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Due to some health stuff this episode will be out on Friday hopefully. Thanks for your patience!

Ep. 178: Actually Yesterday: The Pleistocene Epoch

01 Apr 2026

Contributed by Lukas

We have some sad news to share....but also a great episode about the most recent slice of Earth's history; the Pleistocene Epoch a.k.a. The Ice Ag...

Ep. 177: Spinosaurs, The Weirdest Dinosaurs

18 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Some groups of animals become popular memes for their weirdness. No group of dinosaurs have been the main character of paleontology memes (or discours...

Episode 177 Postponed Until 3/18

04 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Your lovely hosts are all very busy with visiting in-laws and other fun family business, so this episode is postponed until 3/18. Take care everyone!D...

Ep. 176: Crabs; The Perfect Life Form?

20 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Crabs. The stars of memes all across the internet. But are they really as *optimized* as the memes say? Let's find out!Donate to Archive.org if yo...

Episode 176 Postponed Until Friday

18 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Scheduling issues happen to adults sometimes. But we get to talk about crabs this week, so it's okay.

Ep. 175: The Magic of Stable Isotopes

04 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Fia teaches us about the magic that can be done with stable isotope analysis, and Gavin tries to give us a little hope.YouTube videos Gavin mentions:T...

Ep. 174: Animal Noise (Bioacoustics)

21 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Animals make a lot of noise. Presumably, ancient animals also made lots of noise. How do we study it? What kinds of noises did they make? Let's ta...

Ep. 173: Stegosaurs

07 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Stegosaurs are weird dinosaurs. They're asymmetrical, they have weird legs, and they have a part of their body named after a newspaper comic from ...

See You in 2026!

24 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Gavin goofed on the schedule, so we'll see you in 2026! From Mike, Fia, and I, happy holidays!Donate to Archive.org if you can: https://archive.org/do...

Ep. 172: Basically Yesterday: The Pliocene Epoch

10 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There are a lot of slices of Earth's history. Almost none are as short or as recent as the Pliocene Epoch. How similar was it to today? How many t...

Ep. 171: Domestication

26 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Humans have domesticated hundreds of species of animals, plants, and fungi. But what does that mean exactly? And are we alone in our ability to contro...

Ep. 170: An Episode That Doesn't Actually Exist

12 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Mike tells us about a variety of things that don't actually exist, from ancient times to the American Revolution, to his mute button.Donate to Arc...

Update on Episode 170

30 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Fia's on vacation, Mike's busy, and Gavin's sick. Next episode coming 11/12.Donate to Archive.org if you can: https://archive.org/donateFi...

Ep. 169: Jane Goodall

15 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Jane Goodall is one of the most famous scientists and activists of my lifetime. Sadly, she passed away a few weeks ago, so Gavin thought that this wou...

Ep. 168: Wood

01 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Wood is the most useful material that humans have ever discovered. We use it for everything from paper, to houses, to fire. But what is it? Where did ...

Ep. 167: Monotremes (mammals that lay eggs!)

17 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Mammals are (in Gavin's biased opinion) the best vertebrates, but some are mammals are weirder than others. Monotremes are without a doubt the wei...

Ep. 166: Birth (Viviparity)

03 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Since Gavin ('s wife) just had a baby, he thought it would be a fitting time to do an episode about birth! Live birth is a thing that mammals are ...

Quick Update!

21 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Quick update on why there wasn't an episode this week! TL;DR Gavin, Liz and their new baby were traveling and Gavin got his dates wrong. But he got to...

Ep. 165: The Noisy Oceans

06 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Fia takes the wheel today and tells us all about some cool research she's working on about how noisy the oceans are!Donate to Archive.org if you c...

Ep. 164: Walking With Dinosaurs (2025) feat Gavin's Wife Liz!

23 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Gavin and Liz watch through the new-and-improved(?) Walking With Dinosaurs series! Was it good? How does it compare to the original? How many baby din...

Ep. 163: Walking With Dinosaurs (1999) feat. Gavin's Wife Liz

09 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For many reasons, BBC's Walking With Dinosaurs was really important to Gavin becoming a paleontologist. Now, BBC is making a new-and-improved Walk...

Ep. 162: Brains

25 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today we're learning about the *very simple* topic of brains! What are they? Where did they come from? Why do baby humans have squishy heads? Let's fi...

Ep. 161: New York's Salty Potatoes

11 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today we're looking at a weird regional food from where Gavin, Mike, and Fia grew up; the Salt Potato! What's a Salt Potato? How salty is it? ...

Ep. 160: Mike Takes The Wheel vol. 16: A Cursed Congressional Seat

28 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Mike takes the wheel this episode to teach us about a potentially cursed seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Don't fly on small aircraft, p...

Ep. 159: Taphonomy: How To Become A Fossil

14 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How does something go from being a dead thing on the ground to a fossil in the ground? Let's find out through the secret magic of taphonomy!Fia just p...

Ep. 158: Isopods, Pill Bugs, and Roly Polies

30 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Mike is away so Gavin and Fia take some time to appreciate some marine invertebrates! Isopods (or pill bugs, or roly polies, or potato bugs) are a nea...

Ep. 157: The "Dire Wolf" News

16 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This episode was supposed to be about isopods, but capitalism got in the way with dire wolf news from the company Colossal Biosciences. So are dire wo...

Ep. 156: Flowers feat. Liz! (Gavin's wife)

02 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Mike and Fia are away this week, so Gavin in joined by his wife Liz to discuss flowers!Timestamp to bypass the sadness: 10:37John Green's video readin...

Ep. 155: Seagrass, The Underwater Amazon

19 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Fia talks to us today about seagrass and all the wonderful stuff that it does for us!Timestamp to bypass the sadness: 19:44John Green's video reading ...

Ep. 154: A Strangely Familiar World: The Miocene Epoch

05 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Miocene Epoch was a world a lot like our current one... just a little bit stranger. How much stranger? Let's find out!Timestamp to bypass the ...

Update For Episode 154

19 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We've all been busy with travel and company coming to visit, so we're taking a short hiatus until 3/5.Also, a few of Gavin's friends are r...

Ep. 153: The Scopes "Monkey" Trial (Part 2)

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Given recent events, namely the inauguration of Donald Trump, let's discuss a court trial from 100 years ago! What does that have to do with paleo...

Ep. 152: The Scopes "Monkey" Trial (Part 1)

22 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Given recent events, namely the inauguration of Donald Trump, let's discuss a court trial from 100 years ago! What does that have to do with paleo...

Ep. 151: Pigs

08 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Pigs. Hogs. Swine. Pigs are a ubiquitous part of human culture. We eat millions of them every year. But where do they come from? Let's talk about ...

Happy New Year! (Update)

01 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Happy holidays from Gavin, Mike , and Fia! Today, Mike takes the wheel and tells us about Phineas Gage, a long-time case study in how brain injuries...

Update on Episode 151

18 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Due to some unforeseen family things, this episode is going to be delayed for a little while. The next few Wednesdays are holidays so we're not really...

Ep. 150: Mike Takes The Wheel vol. 15: Phineas Gage

04 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

*Content Warning for squeamish listeners.* We talk about brain injuries and significant bodily injury in this episode. Today, Mike takes the wheel an...

Ep. 149: Venoms and Poisons

20 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Animals and plants that are poisonous or venomous have always fascinated us because of their danger. But what if I were to tell you that YOU were pois...

Ep. 148: Beetles

06 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Beetles are by far the most diverse group of animals, and it's really not even close. Let's take a look at what makes them so cool and how the...

Ep. 147: Hurricanes & Tropical Storms

23 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

With the recent hurricanes in the US, I thought it would be a good time to talk about how these storms work and how they have worked throughout Earth&...

Ep. 146: The Science of Politics

09 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Election Season is upon us here in the United States. While Fia is traveling and preparing for Hurricane Milton, Gavin and Mike talk about how politic...

Quick Update On This Episode & Hurricane Helene

02 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We're postponing this episode to give Fia some time to get life in order after Hurricane Helene (she's okay). In the meantime, check out some ways t...

Ep. 145: Swamps

18 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Normally this would be a "Fia Takes The Wheel" episode,but she's busy doing science. In honor of that though, Gavin teaches us about swa...

Ep. 144: Mary Anning

04 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Who was the greatest paleontologist ever? We may just get our answer today with our discussion of Mary Anning. The famous fossil collector and early p...

Ep. 143: The Rise of Grasses (The Oligocene Epoch)

21 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Continuing our march through Earth's history, today we're talking about the Oligocene Epoch! A time when Earth sure looked a heck of a lot lik...

Ep. 142: Clams & Friends (Bivalves)

07 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Gavin and Fia talk about the best (according to Fia) invertebrates out there; clams and their relatives! Do they live up to the hype? Let's find o...

Ep. 141: Parasites and Other Freeloaders

24 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this particularly gross episode, Gavin talks to Fia about parasites and the various disgusting, albeit very interesting, lifestyles that they live....

Ep. 140: Mike Takes The Wheel vol. 14: Death By Baseball (Ray Chapman)

10 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Mike Takes The Wheel, Mike tells us about Ray Chapman, the only player to die as the result of a professional baseball game. Palaeo...

Ep. 138.5: Tattoos and Dinosaurs w/ Sierra Swenson, Lora Bird, & Rudy Hummel

03 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For this follow-up episode, Gavin is joined by Sierra and Rudy from the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, as well as Lora Bird, owner of Nest Art Col...

EP. 139: Why YOU Should Be Volunteering

26 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Gavin, Fia, and Mike have had a busy few weeks! Early June is always a busy time for us, because we all volunteer for the same youth leadership organi...

Ep. 138: How Not To Do Helicopter Science w/ Dr. Dave Krause & Sierra Swenson

05 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Gavin is joined by a pair of great scientists from the Denver Museum of Nature & Science to talk about helicopter science, and how to do internati...

Update and a Listener Question About Dinosaurs and Presidents

29 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Our usual episode is postponed until next week due to some scheduling hang ups with the guests for the episode. But! My best-good-friend Tug reached o...

Ep. 137: Angry Birds: The Hawks and Eagles

15 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Hawks, eagles and their other predatory bird relatives are some of the most iconic and charismatic birds in the world. Let's take a look at what m...

Ep. 136: The Smithsonian

01 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Gavin takes Mike and Fia through the very American history of the largest natural history museum in the world; the National Museum of Natural History,...

Ep. 135: Fia Takes The Wheel vol 5: Preserving Nature In Florida

17 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Audio issues aside, Fia tells us about a great preservation area that she's been working in to collect data for her Ph.D! NCAP (or the Nature Coas...

Ep. 134: The Wonderful World of Ants w/ Dr. Nate Smith

03 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

With Mike and Fia away for the week, Gavin talks with Dr. Nathan Smith from Bucknell University about the coolest little creatures on the planet; ants...

EP. 133: Are Teeth Bones?

20 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Gavin takes a field trip to the dentist, so let's talk about those bones* in your mouth! Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new...

Ep. 132: The Largest Animals To Ever Live; Whales

06 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The largest animals to ever exist live among us right now! Let's learn about them! Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokem...

Ep. 131: How Antarctica Got Its Ice: The Eocene Epoch

21 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Gavin takes us through the next slice of Earth's history on our list: the Eocene Epoch! Fia also teaches us about Batman. Palaeocast Gaming Netwo...

Ep. 130: Mike Takes The Wheel vol. 13: Budd Dwyer

07 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

*CONTENT WARNING* This episode discusses a public suicide of an elected official in the 1980's. Mike really takes us on a ride for this episode. ...

Ep. 129 James Hutton (Father Of Modern Geology)

24 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Every field of study has an origin story. Today we share the story of one of the founders of modern geology; James Hutton. Last episode I challenged...

Ep. 128 Ontogeny (Growing Up)

10 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Growing up is an awkward experience for everyone. Luckily, we didn't have to grow any extra legs or have the entire left side of our body become o...

Ep. 127 Herbivory (How To Eat Plants Without Dying)

27 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Herbivores are often seen as less interesting than carnivores. However, they have to go through a wide array of challenges just to get nutrition from ...

Ep. 126 After The Dinosaurs (The Paleocene Epoch)

13 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We all know the story of how the dinosaurs became extinct. But what happened afterward? Mike, Gavin, and Fia take a closer look at the post-extinction...

Ep. 125 Fia Takes The Wheel vol 4: Getting A PhD

29 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Fia talks us through starting a PhD program and how it differs from her experience with her Master's degree! Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavi...

Off This Week For Thanksgiving

22 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Have a great Thanksgiving (in the US anyway)! We'll be back next week. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow us on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Ep. 124 Geckos

08 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Everyone loves geckos! From large insurance companies, to tropical residents all over the world, geckos are a really well-liked group of lizards. But ...

Ep. 123 The Society Of Vertebrate Paleontology 2023

25 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This past weekend Gavin presented his Master's thesis at the annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology! In this episode we talk abo...

Ep. 122 Neandertals And Other Humans

11 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What does it mean to be human? Well from a taxonomic standpoint, it means that you're in the genus Homo. But what really makes us, us? Let's t...

Ep. 121 From Apes To Humans (Human Evolution)

27 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Human evolution is a marvelous collection of data. We understand human evolution better than basically anything else in paleontology. How did we get s...

Ep. 120 Mike Takes The Wheel vol. 12: The Other People Who Got Shot With JFK

13 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

JFK was famously assassinated in November 1963. But did you know that other people were shot along with him? Let's hear from Mike a bit of their s...

Ep. 119 Tails

30 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tails, the famous side-kick of Sonic The Hedgehog. Also a body part ubiquitous to vertebrate animals. What are they even used for anyway? Let's fi...

Ep. 118 The Science Of Student Loans

16 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Science costs money. In many cases, entirely too much money. In a surprise twist of episode topics, Gavin, Mike and Fia talk about their student loan ...

Ep. 117 Louis Agassiz (famous scientist)

02 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Louis Agassiz (1807-1873) was a world-famous geologist, ichthyologist, early paleontologist, glaciologist, and racist. He was foundational in our unde...

Ep. 116 Ratites (the big birds)

19 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

One group of birds stands above all the others...literally! Ratites are a group of (mostly) giant and flightless birds found all across the world. Why...

Ep. 115 Mike Takes The Wheel Vol. 11: Grandma Gatewood

05 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

While Gavin is vacationing and Fia is grinding out grad school, Mike tells us about a trailblazing (literally) pioneer in backpacking; "Grandma&q...

Ep. 114 The Great Oxidation Event

21 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We all love oxygen. It's what allows us to breathe, and to make energy from the food we eat. However, long, long ago, oxygen was a deadly poison t...

Ep. 113 The End-Cretaceous Mass Extinction (the one that killed the dinosaurs)

07 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This is it. The big one. Well....the 3rd biggest one. What am I talking about? Mass extinctions of course! Today we talk about the End-Cretaceous Mass...

Episode 113 Postponed

31 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Gavin and Mike wanted to enjoy a holiday, so we're postponing this episode until next week. Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the ...

Ep. 112 Cats (not the musical)

17 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Cats are everyone's favorite weird little guys. But now that Gavin has FOUR extra weird little guys running around his house, he decided to learn ...

Ep. 111 The Duality of Cephalopods

03 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Cephalopods (Squid, octopus, cuttlefish, nautilus) are one of the most bizarre groups of animals on the planet. They also have simultaneously one of t...

Ep. 110 Mike Takes The Wheel vol. 10: Laika The Space Dog

19 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Humans have been launching stuff into space for nearly a century. Some of that stuff includes dogs. Mike tells us the *tail* of Laika, the Soviet spac...

Ep. 109 How Long Is A Day?

05 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

*Everyone* knows that there's 365 days in a year, and 24 hours in a day. Or are there??? In this impromptu episode, Gavin tells Mike about how tim...

Ep. 108 The Academy of Natural Sciences w/ Dr. Ted Daeschler

22 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The oldest natural history museum in North America, the Academy of Natural Sciences, is near where Gavin lives, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania! Some st...

Epside 108 Delayed Until Next Week

15 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Life is busy, so episode 108 is postponed until next week! Thanks for your patience! Palaeocast Gaming Network video Gavin made about the new Pokemon...

Ep. 107 The Jurassic Extinction??

01 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Jurassic Period is famous for many reasons. Having a Mass Extinction at the end isn't one of them. But should it be? Palaeocast Gaming Network vi...

Ep. 106 Sponges

15 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Some animals live more simply than others. In today's episode we talk about the simplest animals of them all; the sponges. From tubes within tubes, to...

Ep. 105 Mike Takes The Wheel Vol. 9: Broken Arrows

01 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We never really know what Mike will deign to bring us in our Mike Takes The Wheel episodes. Today we talk about Broken Arrows, which are much scarier ...

Ep. 104 Theropod Dinosaurs

18 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Theropod dinosaurs are likely the most talked about group of dinosaurs, and probably the most talked about group of (sort of) extinct animals. In toda...

Ep. 103 Georges Cuvier

04 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today we look back at one of the founders of many fields of biology, as well as a major figure in paleontology; Georges Cuvier. Having survived the Fr...

Ep. 102 Grass

21 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Grasses seem like the most bland type of plant don't they? They're everywhere, but never really exciting. WRONG! In this episode, Gavin shares the won...

Ep. 101 Australia

07 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The continent with the weirdest wildlife is a bit of a toss up between South America and the topic of today's episode; Australia! What makes it so wei...

Episode 100!!: The History of Paleontology

23 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When you learn about the history of paleontology, you mostly learn about stuff that white people did starting around 1700 or so. However, humans have ...

Episode 100 Postponed

16 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

100 episodes is a big milestone, and as such, we want the episode to be perfect, so we're taking an extra week to make sure that happens! Follow us ...

Ep. 99 Turtles

09 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The weirdest animals are sometimes the most familiar. In the case of reptiles, that's the turtles! Everyone knows what a turtle is...except scientists...

Ep. 98 End-Triassic Mass Extinction

02 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

4 Mass Extinctions down...1 to go. Following the near-total destruction that was the end-Permian mass extinction, life had to rebound somehow. Unfortu...

Ep. 97 Bats (Spooky Season)

26 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Bats are *the* symbol of spooky season, but is it deserved? Let's learn about bats, their relatives, and how they need our help! Follow us on Twitt...