We are fascinated by dinosaurs. From blockbuster hits to bestselling video games, skeleton exhibitions to cuddly plushies, the creatures that once roamed the planet have fully captured our imagination, giving us a portal to a completely alternative Earth. And it’s likely new species are still out there, waiting to be found...
Dr Nick Longrich is a palaeontologist and senior lecturer at the University of Bath, and he studies the dinosaur bones that many have overlooked. By rummaging through the back rooms of museums, he finds traces of never-before-described dinosaurs and goes on the hunt for other specimens to confirm or deny his hunch. Through these adventures, he’s discovered over a dozen new species, painting a more detailed picture of our prehistoric world.
Nick is also fascinated by rare ‘one in a million year’ events – like asteroid collisions or mega volcanic eruptions – and investigates how the event that wiped out the dinosaurs created the world we live in today. From an Island off the coast of Alaska, Jim Al-Khalili discovers how Nicks early immersion in nature has trained his brain to spot the subtle differences in the world around us that many would overlook.
Produced by Julia Ravey.
Jacqueline McGlade on monitoring the environment from space
Rachel Mills exploring the sea floor
Frank Close and particle physics
Sheena Cruickshank on the wonders of the human immune system
John Taylor on being an inventor
Cat Hobaiter on communication in apes
Caroline Dean reveals the genetic secrets of flowering
Carlo Rovelli on why time is not what it seems
Callum Roberts on the urgent need for marine conservation
Stephen Reicher on the psychology of crowds
Clare Grey on the Big Battery Challenge
John Burn and the genetics of cancer
Richard Henderson zooms in on the molecules of life
Wendy Barclay and the flu virus
Eugenia Cheng on the mathematics of mathematics
Eben Upton on Raspberry Pi
Adrian Thomas on the mechanics of flight
Ellen Stofan on being NASA chief scientist
Tim Birkhead on bird promiscuity
Steve Cowley on Nuclear Fusion
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Modern West
Global News Podcast
Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4
The Infinite Monkey Cage
You’re Dead to Me
Elis James and John Robins