Paleo Nerds
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Alaskan artist, Ray Troll, and his friend, ventriloquist David Strassman, host exciting interviews with paleontologists, scientists and fellow paleo nerds from around the world.
Available episodes
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Aug 30, 2023
Episode #65 Shaping Humanity and the Paleo Art of John Gurche
Ray and Dave talk to John Gurche, one of the world’s leading paleoartists, especially of early hominins. John is a world-class sculptor, painter, draughtsman extraordinairre, and author. He's an artist/scientist who doesn't blur the line between science and art.
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Jun 14, 2023
Episode #64 Australian Megafauna Fossils and Outback Geology Down Under with Dr. Adam Yates
Dave is Down Under in Alice Springs, the red centre of Australia where he interviews Dr. Adam Yates to discuss the Geology of the Outback and the amazing Australian Megafauna! Dr. Yates is the senior curator of Earth Sciences at the Museum of Central Australia in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia.
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May 24, 2023
Episode #63 Cool Crap that Died with JP Cavigelli & Russell Hawley
Ray and Dave have a fun foursome conversation with the Casper Wyoming's Tate Geological Museum's master paleontologists, JP Cavigelli and Illustrator Russell J. Hawley
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Feb 22, 2023
Episode #62 The T-Rexpert Expert of the Tyrant King Dinosaur with Tom Holtz
Ray and Dave chomp down on all things T-Rex, the King of dinosaurs with the king of paleontologists who studies them, the prolific and extremely interesting Thomas R. Holtz Jr.!
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Jan 25, 2023
Ep # 61 Bringing The Prehistoric Back to Life with Master Muralist Jay Matternes
Dave and Ray talk to one of Ray's art heroes, the master muralist and anatomist Jay Matternes, the artist responsible for many of the iconic artworks seen in the Time-Life Books and National Geographic Magazine. He painted six HUGE murals over the course of 15 years that adorned the walls of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
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Dec 28, 2022
Episode #60 Sonic Signals Bouncing Off the Biggest Migration on Earth with Kelly Benoit-Bird
Dave and Ray dive deep with Kelly Benoit-Bird to discuss the denizens of the not so deep, the Mesopelagics; the largest migration of vertebrates on planet Earth.
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Nov 29, 2022
Episode #59 Jasmina Wiemann: Better Paleo Through Modern Chemistry
Dave and Ray's minds are blown by talking to molecular Paleobiologist, Jasmina Wiemann, who can now "see" into fossils more organic detail then ever before imagined.
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Sep 28, 2022
Episode #58 Hell Creek, Hell Yeah! Dave Digs Dinosaurs in Montana
Dave interviews field and lab manager from the Museum of the Rockies, paleontologist, Lee Hall. Dave and his son, Carson, spent an amazing 6 days in the Hell Creek formation digging up tons of dirt with a cadre of the most hard working volunteers and students of all things paleo.
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Aug 24, 2022
Episode #57 Two Paleo Podcasters walk into a den of Eurypterids
Dave and Ray interview Dave Marshall, the host and founder of the first Paleontological Podcast, "Palaeocast Podcast", now in it's 10th successful year.
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Jul 20, 2022
Episode #56 Saving Ourselves From Ourselves with Kirk Johnson
Dave and Ray talk again with their very first Paleo Nerds guest, Dr. Kirk Johnson, Sant Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, about the state of our planet today.
Not to be missed!
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Jun 1, 2022
Episode #55 Dave and Ray didn’t go away
Ray and Dave talk about their latest adventures, Paleo News, and upcoming ideas for future guests.
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Apr 27, 2022
Episode #54 A Dinosaur’s Leg and a Pterosaur Egg! Now it can be told. Robert DePalma Part Two
The Nerds coerce Robert DePalma to reveal the Tanis site discoveries he couldn't talk about in Part One. DePalma's Tanis site documents the actual day the Asteroid hit and ended the reign of the Dinosaurs.
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Apr 8, 2022
Episode #53 The Very Day the Asteroid (almost) Killed Our Planet with Robert DePalma Part One
The nerds travel to the final day of the dinosaurs reign with paleontologist Robert DePalma and the legendary Tanis Site.
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Mar 30, 2022
Episode #52: Your Mother Was a Vetulicolian and Your Father Smelt of Elderberries with Henry Gee
The Paleo Nerds cover the history of life on Earth with Nature Senior Editor Henry Gee
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Mar 16, 2022
Episode #51 Botany, Bugs, and Beards with Dr. Ellen Currano
The nerds reconstruct ancient ecosystems with Paleobotanist Dr. Ellen Currano
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Mar 2, 2022
Episode #50: The Past is All We Ever Have with Ken Lacovara
The nerds hit the prehistoric Jersey Shore with Ken Lacovara
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Feb 22, 2022
Episode #49 Raptors red in tooth and claw with James Kirkland
The nerds talk Utahraptors with Utah State Paleontologist Jim Kirkland.
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Oct 13, 2021
Episode #48 The Ends of the World with Peter Brannen
Author Peter Brannen just happened to be driving through Kansas so Ray flagged him down to ask him about The Ends of the World, his recent book on mass extinctions, a fitting end to Season 3 of Paleo Nerds!
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Oct 6, 2021
Episode #47 Locked in Time with Dean Lomax
Dr. Dean Lomax sold his Star Wars collection to fund his paleontology dreams. While some may gasp, his investment certainly paid off - his book Locked in Time has already come up a few times on the show already!
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Sep 29, 2021
Episode #46 The Colossal Wyoming Death Cave with Julie Meachen
The Natural Trap Cave is a sinkhole death trap that contains a pile of fallen mammals that spans over 100,000 years and Julie Meachen has been studying this pile of bones since 2014.
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Sep 22, 2021
Episode #45 The Coastal Fossil Finder with Kent Gibson
While installing his Cruisin' the Fossil Coastline exhibit at the Oregon Coast Aquarium, Ray had a chance to sit down with Kent Gibson who lent a very small fraction of his massive collection of coastal fossils to Ray's exhibit.
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Sep 15, 2021
Episode #44 Polar Dinos and Super Crocs! with Greg Erickson
Greg Erickson is a very well-rounded paleontologist: he's studied Super Crocs, arctic duckbills and even "dated" (well, aged...) the prehistoric celebrity Sue.
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Sep 8, 2021
Episode #43 Interplanetary Paleontology with Kenneth Williford
This episode of Paleo Nerds is truly out of this world! The Nerds talk to Kenneth Williford, Deputy Project Scientist for the Mars 2020 Perseverance mission. Blast off to the martian past!
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Sep 1, 2021
Episode #42 The Scariest Moments with Brian Skerry
Brian Skerry has logged over 10,000 hours underwater, capturing powerful images for National Geographic and has recently teamed up with James Cameron to continue bringing the captivating stories of the world's oceans to those of us stuck on land.
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Aug 25, 2021
Episode #41 A Gentleman's Geology of Georgia with Cameron Muskelly
Youtube star Cameron Muskelly joins the Nerds to talk about the geologic treasures of Georgia and the southern United States. Cam is a paleo encyclopedia, so you're sure to learn something new!
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Aug 18, 2021
Episode #40 Who Dung It? with Karen Chin
Coprolites (or fossil poop to the layman) have come up repeatedly on the show so we are thrilled to finally have the Queen of Coprolites herself on the show! Karen Chin can interpret entire lifestyles from a thin slice of paleo dung.
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Aug 11, 2021
Episode #39 Hell Pigs: T. rex of the Tertiary with Scott Foss
What had giant cheeks, protruding canines, dainty hooves and a giant, ridged back? The Hell Pig is almost like Frankenstein's monster, and Scott Foss tells us all about how these creatures utilized this unique combo of features to be the "T. rex of the Tertiary."
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Aug 4, 2021
Paleo Nerds on Vacation
Dave and Ray both took advantage of their early vaccination status (the perks of being living fossils!) and got out for some traveling. Dave visited Montana and Ray drove across the country, both visiting a few Paleo Nerds along the way.
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Jul 28, 2021
Episode #38 A Dog's Day at the Tar Pits with Mairin Balisi
The Nerds return to the La Brea tar pits, this time to talk carnivores with Mairin Balisi! She studies what the dogs of the tar pits ate throughout their life and discusses dog evolution.
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Jul 21, 2021
Episode #37 Turning Trout into Salmon with Gerald "Jerry" Smith
Anyone familiar with Ray's art knows that fish are a focal point and salmon are central, so it's shocking that it's taken so long to have a salmon expert on the show! We're talking spike tooth salmon with Jerry Smith - Dive in!
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Jul 14, 2021
Episode #36 The Call of the Parasaurolophus with Ashley Hall
Ashley Hall has been obsessed with dinosaurs since she was a kid and now she spends her days educating the public at the Museum of the Rockies. She makes fossils fun!
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Jul 7, 2021
Episode #35 Painting the Living Science of Paleontology with William Stout
Seeing dinosaurs on the silver screen made Bill Stout a Paleo Nerd, so it's only fitting that he started his art career illustrating movie posters. His work spans from comic books to murals and has brought him all the way to Antarctica.
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Jun 29, 2021
Episode #34 One for the Bird Nerds with John Marzluff
Ravens and crows have their own form of complex communication amongst themselves, and John Marzluff has studied how these birds pass information on an individual and even generational level. Ray gets to ask questions about his own raven experiment!
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Jun 23, 2021
Episode #33 The Sistine Chapel of Dinosaurs with ReBecca Hunt-Foster
ReBecca Hunt-Foster is the Park Paleontologist at the Dinosaur National Monument. Yes, she has the iconic park ranger hat, but she spends her time tracing the footsteps of the dinos that walked Utah in the Late Jurassic.
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Jun 16, 2021
Season 3 is Coming Soon!!!
This season brings a lineup that won't disappoint! There's something for everyone as Ray and Dave discuss ancient salmon, corvids, and "hell pigs" with Paleo Nerds in the sciences, the arts, and even on other planets...
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Apr 21, 2021
Episode #32 The Hot Blooded Dinosaur Revolutionary with Bob Bakker
Dr. Bob Bakker is widely known as the "Dinosaur Heretic". Over his long career, he has revolutionized our understanding of dinosaur behavior and overturned many outdated concepts. Get an insight into the mind of this bold maverick and expansive thinker in our season two finale.
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Apr 14, 2021
Episode # 31 The Tantalizing Truth about Trilobites with Sam Gon III
Sam Ohu Gon III, trilobite expert and Senior Scientist & Cultural Advisor for the Nature Conservancy of Hawaiʻi. Sam looks to traditional Hawaiian cultural history as an example for a sustainable future.
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Apr 7, 2021
Episode #30 Diving into Hell's Aquarium with Laura Wilson
Imagine time traveling back to the Western Interior Seaway AKA "Hell's Aquarium." It's a fitting nickname for the shallow marine environment, full of fish with teeth so big they ate differently than modern fish.
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Mar 30, 2021
Episode #29 Fighting Anti-Science with Facts and Fossils with Don Prothero
Don Prothero has written 48 books and counting! And he has repeatedly gone to bat for science, using the facts of the fossil record to disprove creationist beliefs.
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Mar 24, 2021
Episode #28 Mammoths, Mummies and Wolves (Oh My!) with Grant Zazula
Grant Zazula is a Paleo Nerd! His interest in archaeology is what attracted him to the Pleistocene and now he studies in the mighty Yukon, managing thousands of fossils that are byproducts of the mining industry.
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Mar 17, 2021
Episode #27 A Crash Course on the Great Alaskan Terrane-Wreck with Connie Soja
Connie Soja has extensively studied the paleontology of the Alexander terrane, a gigantic crustal fragment that underlies Ray's backyard of Southeast Alaska. In fact, she's reconstructed ancient environments around the globe!
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Mar 10, 2021
Episode #26 Hunting for Sharks in a Dark National Park with JP Hodnett
JP Hodnett is a Paleo Nerd. But that's a given! He's a shark (and sauropod and cat) expert, so the Nerds get to go off the deep end, diving into incredible finds at Mammoth Cave and JP's day job at Dinosaur Park.
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Mar 3, 2021
Episode #25 Slothful Titans of the Tar Pits with Emily Lindsey
Emily Lindsey is a paleoecologist who's been fascinated with giant ground sloths since the beginning of her career. She is now a curator and excavation director at the La Brea Tar Pits in LA!
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Feb 24, 2021
Episode #24: Hunting Dinosaurs with a Camera with Louie Psihoyos
Louie is a photographer and documentary filmmaker, so what's he doing on a podcast about paleontology? Well, you can thank Jurrasic Park for that.
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Feb 17, 2021
Episode #23 In the Valley of the Tiny Titanosaurs with Luis Chiappe
Luis Chiappe is as famous for his barbecues as he his for his knowledge of prehistoric birds. Luis' discoveries include an incredible Sauropod nesting site and is currently the Vice President of the Natural History Museum of LA.
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Feb 10, 2021
Episode #22 How to See a Forest in a Handful of Dirt with Regan Dunn
Regan Dunn is a paleobotanist who's work has taken her all over the world and has landed her in the hottest paleontology site in Hollywood - the La Brea Tar Pits. Learn how she uses the microscopic remains of plants to reconstruct entire ecosystems!
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Feb 3, 2021
Episode #21 Out of the Ooze, Evolved to Cruise with Neil Shubin
The Nerds get to talk Tiktaalik with esteemed evolutionary biologist and author Neil Shubin. Neil uses molecular biology and gene expression to fill in the gaps left in the fossil record.
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Jan 27, 2021
Episode #20 How to Kill a Dinosaur with Holly Woodward
Paleontologist Holly Woodward reads the microscopic stories left behind in dinosaur bones to tell characteristics like their age, sex, and general health. She's even used histology to "kill" a dinosaur!
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Jan 20, 2021
Episode #19 My Favorite Fossil is the Next One with Chuck Bonner
Ray joins his old friend Chuck Bonner in Kansas where Chuck's family has collected exquisite fossils now on display around the world.
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Jan 13, 2021
Episode #18 Eons of Epic Epochs with Fossil Librarian Kallie Moore
The Nerds sit down with Kallie Moore, cohost of the PBS youtube show Eons and fossil librarian at the University of Montana.
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Jan 6, 2021
Episode #17 I'll Have the Dinosaur, Please! with Jack Horner, the REAL Dr. Alan Grant
World renowned paleontologist Jack Horner discusses bringing paleontology to the masses as the scientific advisor on the Jurassic Park franchise and how dyslexia may have helped him make discoveries.
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Dec 16, 2020
Season Two Teaser
Get ready for a second season of Paleo Nerds: A Prehistoric Podcast with David Strassman and Ray Troll. Interviews with Paleontologists, Scientists and Artists who love dinosaurs just as much as they did when they were kids.
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Oct 27, 2020
Episode #16 Walking with Whales with Bobby Boessenecker
The Nerds have a whale of a time with Bobby Boessenecker. Modern whales actually evolved from walking mammals! But how exactly does a huuuuuuge blue whale go from walking on land to swimming in the ocean? Find out!
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Oct 20, 2020
Episode #15 Sleeping Through Extinction with Christian Sidor
Dr. Christian Sidor tells the Nerds all about the ancestry of mammals, including a little creature that hibernated through the Permian-Triassic extinction, allowing reptiles to branch off and evolve into mammals.
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Oct 13, 2020
Episode #14 The Flight of the Cephalopods with Danna Staaf
Did you know we're in the middle of a Cephalopod Renaissance? Esteemed author Danna Staaf is ready to introduce you to our Squid Overlords!
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Oct 6, 2020
Episode #13 Evolving Toward a Sense of Beauty with Carl Safina
What's the difference between humans and animals? Who decided there was a difference? Maybe there's less of a difference than we thought...
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Sep 29, 2020
Episode #12 Life Finds a Way... and Then Medea Kills It with Peter Ward
The Nerds sit down with one of life's great thinkers, Peter Ward. He currently studies Mass Extinctions but nautiloids and ammonites are an ongoing passion.
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Sep 22, 2020
Episode #11 The Origin of Human Anatomy is in Old Dead Fish with John Long
"You're a fish!" Turns out that's not an insult, it's the truth! Professor John Long will explain why this is true AND discusses the origins of sex! And then he'll ride off on his motorcycle...
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Sep 15, 2020
Episode #10: Comparative Science Fiction Anatomy with Gabriel Santos
Gabriel Santos is a nerd. But, hey, if you're listening to this podcast so are you! He's studied the paleoparadoxical Desmostylians, but now he uses cosplay to demonstrate that science is everywhere, especially in pop culture!
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Sep 8, 2020
Episope #9: All Birds are Dinosaurs but Not All Dinosaurs are Birds with Paleontologinista Jingmai O'Connor
Paleontologista Jingmai O'Connor teaches the Nerds how to fly! Well, at least how dinosaurs evolved flight and eventually became the birds we live with today.
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Sep 1, 2020
Episode #8: Know Your Prehistoric Marine Reptiles with Pat Druckenmiller
The nerds try and impress Dr. Pat Druckenmiller with their knowledge of marine reptiles. The key word being try.
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Aug 26, 2020
Episode #7: Using Lasers to Stare Into the Eyes of a Pterosaur with Tom Kaye
Tom Kaye uses lasers to see microscopic changes recorded in the rock surrounding fossils that reveal soft tissues, literally shaping what dinosaurs looked like when they walked the Earth.
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Aug 19, 2020
Episode #6: What Came First, the Shark or the Ratfish? with Dr. Dominique Didier
Dr. Dominique Didier has touched and fondled more ratfish than anyone one, so what better person to discuss the evolutionary perfection and sex life of this living fossil.
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Aug 12, 2020
Episode #5: Beating Your Art to the Grave with Paleo Artist Gary Staab
Gary Staab leaps on snakes, wrestles caiman, taxidermies road kill, oh and sculpts massive dinosaurs, realistic sharks and celebrity mummies.
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Aug 5, 2020
Episode #4: Cheating the Tooth Fairy with Leif Tapanila
Dr. Leif Tapanila studies fossil invertebrates and clams, so why is he here to talk about Helicoprion (AKA the Buzz Saw Shark)? Turns out it's all Ray's fault.
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Jul 30, 2020
Episode #3: Smashing the Patriarchy like a Bone-Crushing Dog with STEMinist Amy Atwater
As a paleontologist and science communicator, Amy Atwater has been challenging the conviction that all paleontologists look like Indiana Jones!
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Jul 21, 2020
Episode #2: Channeling Your Childhood Superpower with Kirk Johnson
The Nerds talk to Dr. Kirk Johnson, Sant Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and long-time friend and collaborator of Ray's.
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Jul 21, 2020
Episode #1: The Only Way to Know Where We're Going is to Know Where We've Been.
Ray Troll and David Strassman swap childhood stories about becoming Paleo Nerds and reminisce about their most treasured finds in this exciting and refreshing debut recording.
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