Biologically Speaking

After recieving criticisms of having an unessecarily heavy focus on paleontology, we prove that we won't let the haters get us down, with our longest episode yet detailing the highlights and lowlights of that underrated time in history: the Triassic period. Ben talks us through some of the best of the best archosauromorphs of their day, Henry still thinks all fossils are about sex, and Alia gets bored. Get comfortable, and enjoy!Also if this podcast is totally your thing for some reason, you may be in luck, because there's another one now. It's called The Substandard Model, it's also about science basically, but this time we give physics and chemistry a turn as well. Find it on spotify. Please.

Ahhh, Madagascar. Truly ecology's playground.There is so much to say about this often overlooked island, and we try and say quite a lot of it within the course of an hour. We cover the ancient history of Madagascar, including its dinosaurs, then move onto more recent topics, while trying to illustrate what makes Madagascar so much more than a distinctly forgettable film from our childhood. Then we tackle the sizzling hot topic of Madagascan conservation, evaluating what is being done, and what can be done to save the island paradise. At least until me and Ben get to visit.By the way, we haven't done this before but if you have any questions, suggestions, corrections, opinions, contributions, insults or really anything to say whatsoever, email samuelalexanderpickett@gmail.com, and we guarantee your email will be read out next episode!

Ever wished that there was animal that could punch water so hard, that it could create actual light? Or even one that could see human thoughts, recognise cancer, or create thousand-degree bubbles. Also, ever wished that this animal was a shrimp? WELL TOO BAD, there is no such shrimp. However the mantis shrimp, (a close relative of the shrimp), can indeed do all of these things and more. We manage to discuss this for a good 45 minutes, before moving on to a second arguably superior shrimp, the details of which I will let you, dear listener, discover for yourself.Also, I'm so so sorry, about the jingles.P.S, we're sorry we haven't uploaded in a while, trust me, A level revision is at least as annoying for us as it is for you.

We love sharks! We love them so much, they're great. Having said that, we acknowledge that some sharks are superiors to others, so we have decided to gather up the best of the best of the sharks, and attempt to settle which is the best of them. As you might expect, this took a while. We hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed recording, and also, if we manage to convince you how amazing sharks are, please donate to a marine conservation charity of your choice (the sharks would really appreciate it).DISCLAIMER: Sam's audio is sort of terrible for the first 20 minutes or so, but power on through, the best is yet to come.

Back by popular demand, in part two of two, we once again tackle the sizzling hot topic of placoderm taxonomy. If you thought/hoped we were finished with this, you could not have been more wrong. Today we ask the ultimate question: were placoderms monophyletic or paraphyletic, in other words, did we all evolve from placoderms or not. All jokes aside, this particular debate get weirdly heated, at least within the paleontological community, and this episode is no exception to that. You will definitely want to have a little background knowledge beforehand though, at least listen to part one, but once you have feel free to enjoy this romp through the fascinating, contentious and relevant subject of how early gnathostomes came about.

Never heard of a placoderm? Well this is the podcast for you! Not only do we explain all that the average citizen needs to know about this long extinct clade of fish, but we deliver an answer (somewhat) on what the best placoderm of all is. No one will be seated as we enter the ring to battle it out for our entry to be crowned superior, along with enough twists, turns and secret plots to put any crime drama to shame. Enjoy!