geology

What is a rock? How big is a boulder? Why are they pretty and heavy? It’s rock talk with a true enthusiast, the charming and beloved Geologist Schmitty Thompson. Schmitty walks us through different types of rocks, minerals, geological formations, roadside wonders, countertop crystals, stone skipping, and why you should stare lovingly into a pit of gravel. There were so many listener questions, we had to make this a two-parter people. So roll up a boulder, take a seat, and enjoy Schmitty’s Geology Corner. Also: losing my marbles. 

More links and sources

Schmitty’s bio

A donation went to Skype a Scientist

Those cool squid stickers

Other episodes you may enjoy: Teuthology (SQUIDS), Areology (MARS), Ludology (VIDEO GAMES), Volcanology (VOLCANOES), Gemology (GEMS & MINERALS), Astrobiology (ALIENS), Eschatology (THE APOCALYPSE)

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Transcripts and bleeped episodes

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Sound editing by Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media

Transcripts by Emily White of The Wordary

Website by Kelly R. Dwyer

Theme song by Nick Thorburn

What’s a supervolcano? On this episode, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Matt Kirshen discover all types of volcanoes in the solar system with cosmochemist and author of Fire and Ice, Natalie Starkey. Is there such a thing as an ice volcano?

NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can watch or listen to this entire episode commercial-free.

Thanks to our Patrons ILAN CAPONE, Ricardo Torres, Boiphamet, Sebastien Leroy, Parker, Katharine Hooper, and Alireza Sefat for supporting us this week.

Photo Credit: Boaworm, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Are we crazier during a full moon? What is the Moon made of? Can we move to the Moon? Was the Moon landing a hoax? What's up with all those craters? Planetary geologist and selenologist Raquel Nuno loves the Moon and sits down to answer approximately 1 million of Alie's shameless questions. Gaze into the sky with newfound understanding and appreciation for our glowing buddy in the sky. Also: a burst bladder and a drunk moose.

Raquel Nuno's website and Instagram @thespacegeologist

More links at www.alieward.com

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Sound editing by Steven Ray Morris and Jarrett Sleeper

Theme song by Nick Thorburn

Support the show: http://Patreon.com/ologies

Last week we got a big thicc primer on ol' Mars, that dusty desert doomsday cabin millions of miles away. This week, Alie continues the conversation with areologist Dr. Jennifer Buz and asks your Patreon questions about whether we could landscape Mars to look like a golf course, what a water balloon fight on Mars would be like, and if people in Jennifer's lab quote science fiction. Plus we hear directly from Kim Staney Robinson on the moral quandaries of inhabiting the red planet and explore the question: "Why is Elon Musk so horny for Mars?"

You're going to want to look at Dr. Jennifer Buz's website JNNFR.BZ

Follow Jennifer on Instagram

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Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month

OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, pins, totes!

Follow @Ologies on Twitter and Instagram

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Sound editing by Steven Ray Morris

Theme song by Nick Thorburn
 

The Red Planet. A mysterious dusty orb millions of miles away. Our emergency escape bunker. Alie sits down with Dr. Jennifer Buz to talk about what Mars’s DEEEEAL is, why we send rovers there, good science fiction, so-so science fiction, double egg yolks, the poetry of the moon Phobos and some of the best science dreams perhaps ever recorded. Jennifer is maybe the chillest areologist on this planet and an absolute gem.

You're going to want to look at Dr. Jennifer Buz's website JNNFR.BZ

Info on the 2020 rover workshop via JPL

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Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month

OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, pins, totes!

Follow @Ologies on Twitter and Instagram

Follow @AlieWard on Twitter and Instagram

Sound editing by Steven Ray Morris

Theme song by Nick Thorburn
 

In this first episode of Ologies, Alie Ward chats with volcanologist Jess Phoenix who also happens to be running for Congress. Learn how hot magma is, how volcanoes are formed, how screwed the Pacific Northwest is, what thrills Jess about volcanoes, and what to do if surrounded by horse bandits. Also: some valuable information about haunted lava tubes.

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Music by Nick Thorburn

Production by Jason Scardamalia and Steven Ray Morris