Podcast

Dinosaurs Explained: What the Fossils Reveal

Education, Life Sciences, Science

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

  1. 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 Horns

    Sources 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.

    14 min
  2. 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 Features

    Sources 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.

    13 min
  3. 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 Hours

    Sources 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.

    15 min
  4. 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 Question

    Sources 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.

    14 min

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