x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Paleo Bites

Welcome to Paleo Bites, the weekly podcast hosted by Matthew Donald where we make dumb jokes, reference pop culture, derail like crazy, and oh yeah, discuss and rate dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals. Each episode Matthew and a rotating set of guest co-hosts talk about a different genus of primeval critter, explain basic stats, exchange plenty of banter, barely fact-check, and at the end, rate the creature one out of 65 million for any reason, including but not limited to sexiness, mana, and

comedy natural sciences

All Episodes

22:57

Ectopistes, the Passenger Pigeon

Paleo Bites ·

2023/10/24

(image source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/things-of-beauty-i-like-to-see--543528248785595561/) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host and Matt’s dad Don Hall discuss Ectopistes, another great example of human-caused extinction because we didn’t depress our listeners enough with the Dodo and Tasmanian Tiger episodes. From the Late Pliocene to the Early Holocene, this 1.5-foot columbid bird used to have flocks in the billions before being shot, batted, and netted by greedy and terrible European

en

25:37

Moeritherium, the Beast of Lake Moeris

Paleo Bites ·

2023/10/17

(image source: https://www.thoughtco.com/moeritherium-lake-moeris-beast-1093246) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Laura Owsley discuss Moeritherium, a pig-hippo-tapir thing that was actually closer related to elephants than any of those other creatures, because the only thing nature is consistent at is being inconsistent. From the Late Eocene, this 6-foot proboscid lived in the mangrove swamps of its Egyptian home while blissfully unaware of the bleak desert it would become a few minor

en

23:08

Suuwassea, the Ancient Thunder

Paleo Bites ·

2023/10/10

(image source: https://dino.fandom.com/wiki/Suuwassea)Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Natasha Krech discuss Suuwassea, a dinosaur named after terms in the language of the Native American Crow Tribe just in time for Indigenous People's Day, because I'm really good at planning these things. It's not a coincidence, I swear. Pinkily so. From the Late Jurassic, this 45-foot dicraeosaurid sauropod was still plenty big but definitely one of the smaller long-necked dinosaurs of Jurassic North America,

en

21:04

Sinosauropteryx, the Chinese Lizard Wing

Paleo Bites ·

2023/10/03

(image source: https://bit.ly/3PEeLaG) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Lexi Ryan discuss Sinosauropteryx, the first non-avian dinosaur identified with feathers and thus the one to blame for the Jurassic Park style scaly raptors going out of fashion. Feathers can be monstrous too, guys! Just look at cassowaries. Or don't, they'll kill you. Kill you dead. And then disembowel you. Yeah. From the Early Cretaceous, this 3-foot compsognathid theropod was also the first dinosaur that we've discovered

en

23:14

Raphus, the Dodo

Paleo Bites ·

2023/09/26

(image source: https://pixels.com/featured/3-dodo-bird-spencer-sutton.html?product=poster) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Stephen Curro discuss Raphus, also known as the dodo and a shining example of anthropogenic extinction. That’s when humans completely kill a species, just in case you wanted a punch in the gut today. From the Early Holocene, this 3-foot tall columbid bird is one of the prime candidates for scientists to try and resurrect Jurassic Park style, which would make for a far less

en

27:25

Deinonychus, the Terrible Claw

Paleo Bites ·

2023/09/19

(image source: https://images.dinosaurpictures.org/Deinonychus_ewilloughby_2931.jpg) Host Matthew Donald and very special guest co-host Jason Singleton discuss Deinonychus, the one whose titular claw sparked the Dinosaur Revolution like a slash heard around the world. That’s an American Revolution reference, that joke. Know your history, even if it’s probably mostly propaganda. From the Mid Cretaceous, this 11-foot dromaeosaurid had the biggest beef with poor ol’ Tenontosaurus, or should I say the

en

27:13

Cygnus falconeri, the Giant Swan

Paleo Bites ·

2023/09/12

(image source: https://bit.ly/3Rhfwc6) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Laura Owsley discuss Cygnus falconeri, the biggest swan ever that towered over elephants… although to be fair the elephants on the island it lived on were dwarf elephants, so it’s kind of cheating. From the Late Pleistocene, this 10-foot-wingspan bird was undoubtedly the biggest asshole and probably bullied those poor little elephants to extinction. You ever encountered a swan? They’re assholes! Even the regular-sized ones

en

22:54

Homotherium, the Same Beast

Paleo Bites ·

2023/09/05

(image source: https://fanon.fandom.com/wiki/Homotherium_latidens_(SciiFii)) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Natasha Krech discuss Homotherium, another one of those saber-toothed cats early humans had to deal with because we’ve never had enough problems. From the Mid Pliocene to the Late Pleistocene, this 5-foot machairodont felid was more like a saber-toothed cougar than a saber-toothed tiger, as it was a pursuit hunter that could run down prey rather than merely ambushing them. Then again,

en

27:47

Podokesaurus, the Swift-Footed Lizard

Paleo Bites ·

2023/08/29

(image source: https://bit.ly/3PfmRaG)Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Lexi Ryan discuss Podokesaurus, the state dinosaur of Massachusetts, which really shows the lack of good fossils there and their sheer desperation in having a dino representative. From the Early Jurassic, this 3-foot coelophysid theropod was the first dinosaur discovered and described by a woman, which is definitely cool, although I bet Mary Ann Mantell is seething in the annals of history at her husband taking the credit

en

52:49

Spinosaurus, the Spined Lizard

Paleo Bites ·

2023/08/22

(image source: “Spinosaurus Through the Decades” by Mario Lanzas)Happy 200 episodes! Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Stephen Curro discuss Spinosaurus, a creature with so many different updates changing it up constantly it’s practically a modern video game. Was it a biped or a quadruped? Was it terrestrial or aquatic? Did it have a sail or a fin? Did it have a trunk like an elephant seal? Okay, that last one I made up, but hey, you never know. From the Mid Cretaceous, this 50-foot theropod

en

26:26

Perucetus, the Peruvian Whale

Paleo Bites ·

2023/08/15

(image source: Alberto Gennari/Nature via AP) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Laura Owsley discuss Perucetus, potentially the biggest animal ever because prehistory needs to one-up the modern day at every opportunity. Those blue whales really thought their crown was safe, didn’t they? Pity. From the Late Eocene, this 65-foot basilosaurid whale was discovered just a few weeks before this episode’s release, so we cranked this episode out fast because by golly, it’s cool. It’s big. I like big

en

26:13

Thrinaxodon, the Trident Tooth

Paleo Bites ·

2023/08/08

(image source: https://ideas.fandom.com/wiki/Thrinaxodon_(SciiFii)) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Ben O’Regan discuss Thrinaxodon, a stem mammal that did not have little pitchforks or sea-ruling weapons in their mouths, so they’re very inaccurately named. I question these so-called scientists sometimes. From the Early Triassic, this 3-foot cynodont was one of the survivors of the Great Dying, AKA the Permian Extinction, AKA the worst time to be on Earth in all of its history other than last

en

17:30

Haikouichthys, the Fish from Haikou District, in...

Paleo Bites ·

2023/08/01

(image source: https://prehistoric-life.fandom.com/wiki/Haikouichthys) Host Matthew Donald, and guest Natasha Krech talk, Haikouichthys. An early chordate, or perhaps something weirder, we just don’t know yet. From the Cambrian, this 1-inch backboned fish-thing, lived early in time. As you’ve surely learned, this whole flippin’ episode, is all Haiku form. Even the title fits, and the description itself, and the written stats. Yet this is Chinese, not Japanese like Haikus, so it’s wrong and dumb. But

en

21:43

Cryolophosaurus, the Cold Crested Lizard

Paleo Bites ·

2023/07/25

(image source: https://bit.ly/3OtbH1P) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Stephen Curro discuss Cryolophosaurus, the first dinosaur described and named from Antarctica. That’s pretty cool. Haha, geddit? GEDDIT?! You get it. From the Early Jurassic, this 22-foot neotheropod lived when the continent was still kind of nice and full of trees and ferns, kind of like Alaska in the summer. Ugh, can you imagine the mosquitoes though?! John Hammond should have searched for them in Antarctica; I’m sure

en

22:02

Rhabdodon, the Fluted Tooth

Paleo Bites ·

2023/07/18

(image source: https://bit.ly/44PPyQG) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Cici Eilert discuss Rhabdodon, the Iguanodon equivalent of the Maastrichtian age and an archetypal example of insular gigantism. None of that statement made any sense to dinosaur or biology normies, I’m sure. From the Late Cretaceous, this 20-foot ornithopod lived in the European islands around the Hateg basin and had to deal with giant azhdarchid pterosaurs plucking its young off the ground on occasion. Sounds like one of

en

29:53

Mononykus, the Single-Clawed One

Paleo Bites ·

2023/07/11

(image source: https://dinopedia.fandom.com/wiki/Mononykus) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Lexi Ryan discuss Mononykus, a dinosaur that was really good at poking and pretty much nothing else with those singular claws of theirs. They could point, poke, and pork. That’s it. Good night, everyone. From the Late Cretaceous, this 3-foot alvarezsaurid probably lived like an anteater picking bugs out of logs with its claws and its long tongue. Its tongue didn’t fossilize though, so that’s pure

en

28:18

Ophthalmosaurus, the Eye Lizard

Paleo Bites ·

2023/07/04

(image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophthalmosaurus) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Ben O’Regan discuss Ophthalmosaurus, an eye-catcher of a creature that sees the seas with optimal precision, and other eye-related jokes. From the Late Jurassic, this 16-foot ichthyosaur probably used its massive eyes to catch schools of fish in deep waters, meaning it used its pupils to catch pupils! Geddit?! Yeah, that one was a stretch. Required some real yoga to work. Have you seen me do yoga

en

26:23

Lagosuchus, the Rabbit Crocodile

Paleo Bites ·

2023/06/27

(image source: https://www.sciencephoto.com/contributor/jsi/) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Stephen Curro discuss Lagosuchus, a long-legged little lunatic that was named like a crocodile but is actually closer related to dinosaurs… then again dinosaurs are often named like they’re lizards when they’re patently not. From the Early Triassic, this 2-foot archosaur was not related to rabbits either despite the name, nor does it look like one. And it also wasn’t found near the city of Lagos,

en

19:03

Transylvanosaurus, the Lizard from Across the Forest

Paleo Bites ·

2023/06/20

(image source: https://www.sci.news/paleontology/transylvanosaurus-platycephalus-11423.html) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Cici Eilert discuss Transylvanosaurus, a dinosaur with a name far scarier than this cute little critter would suggest, but I suppose Romanian means vampires, am I right? From the Late Cretaceous, this 6-foot rhabdodontid lived in an island paradise alongside some other miniaturized dinosaurs with their only fear being the giant pterosaurs that would swoop in from above

en

22:27

Tsaagan, the White Monster

Paleo Bites ·

2023/06/13

(image source: Beasts of the Mesozoic action figure line) Host Matthew Donald and guest co-host Lawrence Mack discuss Tsaagan, a raptor from Mongolia that is decidedly not Velociraptor for some reason isn’t due to some minor differences in the skull or whatever. And yet Dracorex… ugh, forget it. From the Late Cretaceous, this 5-foot dromaeosaur got its name from a local Mongolian term for “white monster,” which would be a pretty accurate term if this thing was found in Europe with a ship full of

en

329 results

Similar Podcasts

射後不理＃爽就好了

咪咪 & 淳淳

Therapy Gecko

iHeartPodcasts

百靈果 News

Bailingguo News

Old Time Radio Comedy

solgoodmedia.com

The Hard Yarns Podcast

Cameron Branch and Daniel Delby