Podcast
Dinosaurs Explained: What the Fossils Reveal
Dinosaurs Explained follows the evidence preserved in bones, tracks, feathers, rocks, and living relatives. Each episode separates what fossils establish, what scientists infer, and what remains open, using clear language for curious adults and younger listeners.
- Episodes
- 4
- Releases
- Daily
- Typical length
- 14 min
- On air since
- 2026
- Latest episode
- 1 month ago
Episodes
4 episodes, newest first
-
14 min
Triceratops: What Were the Horns and Frill For?
Episode 3
Show notes
Few dinosaur skulls are easier to recognize. A beak at the front. Two long brow horns.
Inside this episode:
- Meet The Three-Horned Face
- What A Horn Really Was
- The Feeding Machine
- Defense Against T. Rex
- Horns Against HornsSources include the references linked below.
Sources and further reading:
- [Natural History Museum, Triceratops](https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/dino-directory/triceratops.html)
- [Smithsonian Institution, Deep Time fossil hall fact sheet](https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/factsheets/david-h-koch-hall-fossils-deep-time)This episode is a researched science explainer. Evidence and interpretations can change as new discoveries are made; material uncertainty is stated in context.
Follow Dinosaurs Explained for another evidence-led journey into prehistoric life.
-
13 min
The Real Velociraptor: Small, Feathered, and Fast
Episode 2
Show notes
Erase the tall, scaly movie hunter from your mind. Now picture an animal closer to the size of a large turkey. Give it a long stiff tail, a narrow tooth-filled snout, muscular legs, feathered arms, and one curved claw held above the ground on each foot.
Inside this episode:
- A Claw In The Gobi
- The Size Reset
- The Claw Was Not A Knife
- Feathers Leave Bone Clues
- A Dinosaur With Birdlike FeaturesSources include the references linked below.
Sources and further reading:
- [Natural History Museum, Vicious Velociraptor](https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/velociraptor-facts.html)This episode is a researched science explainer. Evidence and interpretations can change as new discoveries are made; material uncertainty is stated in context.
Follow Dinosaurs Explained for another evidence-led journey into prehistoric life.
-
15 min
The Asteroid Evidence: How the Age of Dinosaurs Ended
Episode 4
Show notes
Across the world, inside cliffs and road cuts, there is a thin layer of rock marking one of the largest changes in the history of life. Below it, fossils belong to a world with Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops, pterosaurs, and ammonites. Above it, those groups are gone.
Inside this episode:
- A Boundary In Time
- The Iridium Clue
- Shocked Minerals And Glass
- Finding A Crater That Was Hidden
- The First HoursSources include the references linked below.
Sources and further reading:
- [Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Mass Extinction video transcript](https://naturalhistory.si.edu/sites/default/files/media/file/video-transcript-mass-extinction-solving-dinosaur-mystery2.pdf)
- [Natural History Museum, What killed the dinosaurs?](https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/dinosaur-extinction.html)This episode is a researched science explainer. Evidence and interpretations can change as new discoveries are made; material uncertainty is stated in context.
Follow Dinosaurs Explained for another evidence-led journey into prehistoric life.
-
14 min
T. rex: What the Bones Reveal About a Giant Predator
Episode 1
Show notes
Imagine that nearly everything you know about an animal must come from stone. There is no photograph of it walking, no recording of its voice, and no living observer to describe its day. What remains are bones, teeth, marks, rock layers, and comparisons with animals alive now.
Inside this episode:
- The World Around The Bones
- A Skeleton Is Not A Simple Kit
- Start With The Skull
- Hunter Or Scavenger Is The Wrong Choice
- The Legs And The Speed QuestionSources include the references linked below.
Sources and further reading:
- [Smithsonian Institution, Tyrannosaurus rex fact sheet](https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/factsheets/tyrannosaurus-rex)
- [Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, The Nation's T. rex](https://naturalhistory.si.edu/explore/dinosaurs-fossils/nations-t-rex)This episode is a researched science explainer. Evidence and interpretations can change as new discoveries are made; material uncertainty is stated in context.
Follow Dinosaurs Explained for another evidence-led journey into prehistoric life.
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