Wonder, by Geo Co.

On today's show: explosions, infernos, Mount Doom— oh my! From volcanic eruptions to the origins of lava, volcanologist and geochemist Dr Lucy McGee takes us around the world (and deep into its infernos) to chat about when Earth explodes.Find us on Instagram ⁠⁠@thegeoco⁠⁠GeoCo connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.Thank you to the Institute of Sustainability, Energy and Resources, The University of Adelaide, for sponsoring this episode of Wonder.Thumbnail image credit: Ása Steinarsdóttir on Unsplash

"Sila can be perceived as the breath of the glaciers, the cold, crisp air that comes from them, and the sense of timelessness they represent... "In todays show, Wonder Podcast crosses to the Arctic and talks to Norwegian glaciologist and expedition guide, Hedda Andersen, who adventures into the fastest warming frozen lands on the planet to research Earth's vanishing glaciers.Trust us— this conversation is special. Find Hedda on Instagram ⁠@adventureglaciologist⁠Find us on Instagram ⁠@thegeoco⁠GeoCo connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.Thumbnail image credit: Svalbard,⁠ contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2022), processed by ESA

In today's show: Holly debuts her rock-omendation, the article on The Importance of Stupidity in Scientific Research. And after exploring why 'ignorance' is good for science and curiosity, Anthony embarks on tectonic travels to the South Sandwich Islands and (with the help of good old Google Earth) we stitch together the fascinating formation of these landscapes, their connection to todays polar ice caps, and we encounter some of the largest seal and penguin populations on the planet ...Find us on Instagram @thegeocoGeoCo connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.Thumbnail image: Brian McMahon on Unsplash

Oh, long time no see! In today's episode Holly and Anthony first catch up on their adventures while away from the studio... followed by the GeoGist where we unpack Tibet's devastating January 2025 earthquake and the mysterious earthquake swarm shaking Santorini and nearby Greek islands of the Aegean Sea. We recorded this episode of Wonder in February 2025, one month before another magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the Myanmar region— resulting in a disastrous loss of life with critical rescue efforts ongoing at the time of publishing. Anthony mentions a scientific paper on Tibet's topographic ooze— find it linked here. Now we mentioned a GeoCo website, but alas, we're not yet live... it's coming soon! Until then, find us on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thegeoco⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠A tremendous thank you to the Geological Society of Australia for making this episode of Wonder possible. GeoCo connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.Thumbnail image credit: Plateau of Tibet, Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC

Left on the table, after our previous conversation with Professor Alan Collins, were some unexplained and weird trinkets. A vial of black slime, a rock, a 25 pack of toilet paper ... obviously, we turned the cameras back on. What on earth did Alan bring in his backpack??? Happy bonus episode! find us on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thegeoco⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ __ Welcome to Wonder, brought to you by the Geo Co. Join Holly Cooke & Dr Anthony Reid in conversation about our beautiful, ancient, and alive earth. We are all about connecting people to planet by exploring the curiosities of our natural world. The Geo Co. connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

From the western Mediterranean to Southeast Asia - join our geological globetrots with Professor Alan Collins as we explore the extraordinary interconnectedness of the earth system. After a few episodes of unpacking why today's landscapes look the way they do, Alan helps Holly and Anthony peer past the present and deep into the rock archives of earth history. [ Wonder podcast takes on the everchanging Earth. In this miniseries we pull apart the mysteries of tectonics, piece together ancient supercontinents, and visit the far space and time corners of our unique planet. ] find us on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thegeoco⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ __ Welcome to Wonder, brought to you by the Geo Co. Join Holly Cooke & Dr Anthony Reid in conversation about our beautiful, ancient, and alive earth. We are all about connecting people to planet by exploring the curiosities of our natural world. The Geo Co. connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

Now that Dr McLaren has literally *warmed* us up on all things earthquakes, mountains, and building a planet ... Dr Jack Mulder (hey again, Jack!) takes us to the early Earth and the mysteries of the everchanging continents that dance across the face of our planet. [ Wonder podcast takes on the everchanging Earth. In this miniseries we pull apart the mysteries of tectonics, piece together ancient supercontinents, and visit the far space and time corners of our unique planet. ] find us on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thegeoco⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ __ Welcome to Wonder, brought to you by the Geo Co. Join Holly Cooke & Dr Anthony Reid in conversation about our beautiful, ancient, and alive earth. We are all about connecting people to planet by exploring the curiosities of our natural world. The Geo Co. connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

From the soaring peaks of Mount Everest to the deepest dwellings of the Mariana Trench - why does Earth look the way it does? How does our planet create such incredible diversity of landscape? Really .... how does the earth work? Dr Sandra McLaren walked us through Earths thermal engine in our previous episode, and now it's time to untangle plate tectonics and how it built (and continues to build!!!!) the planet we know today. [ Wonder podcast takes on the everchanging Earth. In this miniseries we pull apart the mysteries of tectonics, piece together ancient supercontinents, and visit the far space and time corners of our unique planet. ] find us on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thegeoco⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ __ Welcome to Wonder, brought to you by the Geo Co. Join Holly Cooke & Dr Anthony Reid in conversation about our beautiful, ancient, and alive earth. We are all about connecting people to planet by exploring the curiosities of our natural world. The Geo Co. connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

Change is the only permanent thing about Earth. Our landscapes are transient, from mountains to oceans to rivers to plains. But have you ever wondered what makes our earth so *dynamic* compared to our solar systems other rocky planets? We have a world of these questions for Dr Sandra McLaren ... for starters, why should mountains and ocean basins exist at all? And at the heart of it, why does heat make the world go round? [ Wonder podcast takes on the everchanging Earth. In this miniseries we pull apart the mysteries of tectonics, piece together ancient supercontinents, and visit the far space and time corners of our unique planet. ] find us on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thegeoco⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ __ Welcome to Wonder, brought to you by the Geo Co. Join Holly Cooke & Dr Anthony Reid in conversation about our beautiful, ancient, and alive earth. We are all about connecting people to planet by exploring the curiosities of our natural world. The Geo Co. connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

Now, our last polar explorer and geologist Dr Jack Mulder whisks us through the hidden lands beneath all that ice. What supercontinent secrets are revealed by the rocks down there? And why does the Denman Glacier sit atop the scars of ancient mountain ranges? Jack walks us through these mysterious worlds and more in our fascinating Antarctic finale. [ Wonder podcast takes on the big, beautiful, icy continent at the bottom of the Earth ... it's time to talk everything Antarctica! When three adventurous Australians returned from their summer expedition to Antarctica, we knew we had to get them on the pod... ] find us on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thegeoco⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ __ Welcome to Wonder, brought to you by the Geo Co. Join Holly Cooke & Dr Anthony Reid in conversation about our beautiful, ancient, and alive earth. We are all about connecting people to planet by exploring the curiosities of our natural world. The Geo Co. connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

We interrupt the Antarctic content with a debrief and check in! We've now chatted with Dr Halpin and Dr Selway on their summertime Antarctic field expedition ... but Holly and Anthony need a minute to debrief on this polar science frenzy! Make a cup of tea - we've settled into a quick and casual catch up (work from home, anyone?) to touch base on the last two episodes! Next up on the pod to talk all things Antarctica is geology legend Dr Jack Mulder! And we will have to get our rock science hats ready for that one.... find us on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thegeoco⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ __ Welcome to Wonder, brought to you by the Geo Co. Join Holly Cooke & Dr Anthony Reid in conversation about our beautiful, ancient, and alive earth. We are all about connecting people to planet by exploring the curiosities of our natural world. The Geo Co. connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

Here we chat with geophysicist Dr Kate Selway on how seeing beneath Antarctica's ice simply requires some cosmic 'listening', plus, what on earth is a blizz line?!?! Go on, have a listen to two geologists soaking in the wisdom of an expert geophysicist and feel a sense of magic about the electric-current-curiosities of the rocks beneath the Denman Glacier. [ Wonder podcast takes on the big, beautiful, icy continent at the bottom of the Earth ... it's time to talk everything Antarctica! When three adventurous Australians returned from their summer expedition to Antarctica, we knew we had to get them on the pod... ] find us on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thegeoco⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ __ Welcome to Wonder, brought to you by the Geo Co. Join Holly Cooke & Dr Anthony Reid in conversation about our beautiful, ancient, and alive earth. We are all about connecting people to planet by exploring the curiosities of our natural world. The Geo Co. connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

Wonder podcast takes on the big, beautiful, icy continent at the bottom of the Earth ... it's time to talk everything Antarctica! When three adventurous Australians returned from their summer expedition to Antarctica, we knew we had to get them on the pod. Geoscientist Dr Jacqueline Halpin kicks us off with the stories and science behind her field season working on one of Antarctica's fastest retreating glaciers during the Denman Terrestrial Campaign with the Australian Antarctic Program. find us on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thegeoco⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ __ Welcome to Wonder, brought to you by the Geo Co. Join Holly Cooke & Dr Anthony Reid in conversation about our beautiful, ancient, and alive earth. We are all about connecting people to planet by exploring the curiosities of our natural world. The Geo Co. connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

In 2023's final episode of Wonder, Holly & Anthony take time to reflect on the busy year that's been and the feelings that drive our Geo Co passion. We meander through perspectives on our 'human moment', the apparent paradoxes of our earth-reliant material world, and how conversations about earth stewardship can foster connected futures for all. *a caution about Holly's recycling comment: we don't let these ruminations deter us from taking personal responsibility for environmental good - recycle your milk cartons! find us on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thegeoco⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (and for the geo's who have made their way here - find ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Holly on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Anthony at ⁠GeoSynth⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) __ Welcome to Wonder, brought to you by Geo Co. Join Holly Cooke & Dr Anthony Reid in conversation about our beautiful, ancient, and alive earth. We are all about connecting people to planet by exploring the curiosities of our natural world. Geo Co. connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

How are wacky elements in ancient oceans linked to the explosion of complex life? What do these ocean chemistries reveal about hidden seafloor ore? Why are we all science fighting about the 'Boring Billion'? Geo Co. is thrilled to welcome the fabulous Dr Indrani Murkerjee, lecturer at UNSW, to Wonder! find us on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thegeoco⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (and for the geo's who have made their way here - find ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Holly on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠Anthony at ⁠GeoSynth⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) __ Welcome to Wonder, brought to you by Geo Co. Join Holly Cooke & Dr Anthony Reid in conversation about our beautiful, ancient, and alive earth. We are all about connecting people to planet by exploring the curiosities of our natural world. Geo Co. connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

Journey into the centre of the earth, anyone!? Geoscientists Holly Cooke & Dr Anthony Reid wonder what the earth looks like deep beneath our feet ... right down into the liquid inner core. How hot does it get? How far is it from our feet on the surface? How do scientists know the inner structure of the earth? And what deep secrets do earthquakes reveal? find us on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠@thegeoco⁠⁠⁠⁠ (and for the geo's who have made their way here - find ⁠⁠⁠⁠Holly on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠Anthony at ⁠GeoSynth⁠⁠⁠⁠) __ Welcome to Wonder, brought to you by Geo Co. Join Holly Cooke & Dr Anthony Reid in conversation about our beautiful, ancient, and alive earth. We are all about connecting people to planet by exploring the curiosities of our natural world. Geo Co. connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

Welcome to the world of mine waste with the Mine Waste Transformation through Characterisation (MIWATCH) research group from the W.H Bryan Mining Geology Research Centre, Sustainable Minerals Institute, University of Queensland. This is a must-listen for anyone in the geosciences, minerals and resources industry who has ever wondered where our beloved mineralised rocks wind up 'in perpetuity' ... Associate Professor Anita Parbhakar-Fox, Dr Laura Jackson, and Dr Kam Bhowany join Holly Cooke and Dr Anthony Reid for a high energy conversation about all the rocks we leave behind as we mine our modern world. (Views and opinions are their own and not that of University of Queensland.) Find the MIWATCH crew on LinkedIn: A/ Prof Anita Parbhakar-Fox, Dr Laura Jackson, Dr Kam Bhowany and check out their research group blog here. find us on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thegeoco⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ find ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Holly on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠Anthony at ⁠GeoSynth⁠⁠⁠⁠ __ Welcome to Wonder, brought to you by Geo Co. Join Holly Cooke & Dr Anthony Reid in conversation about our beautiful, ancient, and alive earth. We are all about connecting people to planet by exploring the curiosities of our natural world. Geo Co. connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

Welcome to Wonder with geologist, palaeontologist, short-film director and all-round geo-legend Dr Marissa Betts! Come along on our journey of small shelly fossils to Jurassic Park and science fights about Cambrian geology. By exploring big themes like empowering cultural connection to landscape and balancing both scientific and spiritual narratives, we crack open a chat about power of different ways of knowing to build better people-planet futures. Watch Rola[stone] and connect with Marissa here. find us on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠@thegeoco⁠⁠⁠⁠ (and for the geo's who have made their way here - find ⁠⁠⁠⁠Holly on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠Anthony at ⁠GeoSynth⁠⁠⁠⁠) __ Welcome to Wonder, brought to you by Geo Co. Join Holly Cooke & Dr Anthony Reid in conversation about our beautiful, ancient, and alive earth. We are all about connecting people to planet by exploring the curiosities of our natural world. Geo Co. connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

This episode sees Holly & Anthony on an epic voyage through deep time. Join us in our time-travels as we grasp the vast depths of earth history and explore how humanity perceives time in the present. We muse on how rocks encode both eons and mere moments from ancient asteroids to Burrungkuy rock art. Join us on our final (for now!) journey through earth's most fundamental story - that of the passage, and archive, of time. find us on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠@thegeoco⁠⁠⁠ (and for the geo's who have made their way here - find ⁠⁠⁠Holly on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠Anthony at ⁠GeoSynth⁠⁠⁠) __ Welcome to Wonder, brought to you by Geo Co. Join Holly Cooke & Dr Anthony Reid in conversation about our beautiful, ancient, and alive earth. We are all about connecting people to planet by exploring the curiosities of our natural world. Geo Co. connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

Episode three of Wonder brings you an ensemble of vibrant stories about life on Earth. From its ancient origins to the landscapes that moulded Darwin's ideas of evolution, Holly and Anthony traverse three billion years of earth history in twenty six minutes to connect you to the mysteries of past, present and future life. We love understanding nature. Time to share that wonder with you. find us on Instagram ⁠⁠@thegeoco⁠⁠ (and for the geo's who have made their way here - find ⁠⁠Holly on LinkedIn⁠⁠ or ⁠Anthony at ⁠GeoSynth⁠⁠) __ Welcome to Wonder, brought to you by Geo Co. Join Holly Cooke & Dr Anthony Reid in conversation about our beautiful, ancient, and alive earth. We are all about connecting people to planet by exploring the curiosities of our natural world. Geo Co. connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

In our second episode of Wonder, Holly and Anthony dive into the waters of the world. We meander through the quiet transformation of coastlines to how rivers are creators and destroyers of land. Embarking on a journey from molecules to mountains, we tell the stories of earth's waters and the human connection behind it all. We love understanding nature. Time to share that wonder with you. find us on Instagram ⁠@thegeoco⁠ (and for the geo's who have made their way here - find ⁠Holly on LinkedIn⁠ or Anthony at ⁠GeoSynth⁠) __ Welcome to Wonder, brought to you by Geo Co. Join Holly Cooke & Dr Anthony Reid in conversation about our beautiful, ancient, and alive earth. We are all about connecting people to planet by exploring the curiosities of our natural world. Geo Co. connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

In our debut episode, Holly and Anthony open Volume 1 of Wonder with a big picture conversation about the majesty of mountains, the sweeping forces of water, and marvel at the history of life encoded in stone. And then, after a brief voyage into deep time, the two earth scientists commit to storytelling earth's most brilliant curiosities in the most energetic and fun way we know how. We love understanding nature. Time to share that wonder with you. find us on Instagram @thegeoco (and for the geo's who have made their way here - find Holly on LinkedIn or Anthony at GeoSynth) __ Welcome to Wonder, brought to you by Geo Co. Join Holly Cooke & Dr Anthony Reid in conversation about our beautiful, ancient, and alive earth. We are all about connecting people to planet by exploring the curiosities of our natural world. Geo Co. connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.