Podcast appearances and mentions of Donald R Prothero

Over 4.5 billion years, Earth's climate has transformed tremendously. Before our more temperate recent past, the planet swung from one extreme to another--from a greenhouse world of sweltering temperatures and high sea levels to a "snowball earth" in which glaciers reached the equator. During this history, we now know, living things and the climate have always influenced and even shaped each other. But the climate has never changed as rapidly or as drastically as it has since the Industrial Revolution. In The Story of Earth's Climate in 25 Discoveries: How Scientists Found the Connections Between Climate and Life (Columbia University Press, 2024), Donald R. Prothero explores the astonishing connections between climate and life through the ages, telling the remarkable stories of the scientists who made crucial discoveries. Journeying through the intertwined evolution of climate and life, he tackles questions such as: Why do we have phytoplankton to thank for the air we breathe? What kind of climate was necessary for the rise of the dinosaurs--or the mammals, their successors? When and how have climatic changes caused mass extinctions? Prothero concludes with the Ice Ages and the Holocene, the role of climate in human history, and the perils of anthropogenic climate change. Understanding why the climate has changed in the past, this timely book shows, is essential to grasping the gravity of how radically human activity is altering the climate today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Over 4.5 billion years, Earth's climate has transformed tremendously. Before our more temperate recent past, the planet swung from one extreme to another--from a greenhouse world of sweltering temperatures and high sea levels to a "snowball earth" in which glaciers reached the equator. During this history, we now know, living things and the climate have always influenced and even shaped each other. But the climate has never changed as rapidly or as drastically as it has since the Industrial Revolution. In The Story of Earth's Climate in 25 Discoveries: How Scientists Found the Connections Between Climate and Life (Columbia University Press, 2024), Donald R. Prothero explores the astonishing connections between climate and life through the ages, telling the remarkable stories of the scientists who made crucial discoveries. Journeying through the intertwined evolution of climate and life, he tackles questions such as: Why do we have phytoplankton to thank for the air we breathe? What kind of climate was necessary for the rise of the dinosaurs--or the mammals, their successors? When and how have climatic changes caused mass extinctions? Prothero concludes with the Ice Ages and the Holocene, the role of climate in human history, and the perils of anthropogenic climate change. Understanding why the climate has changed in the past, this timely book shows, is essential to grasping the gravity of how radically human activity is altering the climate today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

Over 4.5 billion years, Earth's climate has transformed tremendously. Before our more temperate recent past, the planet swung from one extreme to another--from a greenhouse world of sweltering temperatures and high sea levels to a "snowball earth" in which glaciers reached the equator. During this history, we now know, living things and the climate have always influenced and even shaped each other. But the climate has never changed as rapidly or as drastically as it has since the Industrial Revolution. In The Story of Earth's Climate in 25 Discoveries: How Scientists Found the Connections Between Climate and Life (Columbia University Press, 2024), Donald R. Prothero explores the astonishing connections between climate and life through the ages, telling the remarkable stories of the scientists who made crucial discoveries. Journeying through the intertwined evolution of climate and life, he tackles questions such as: Why do we have phytoplankton to thank for the air we breathe? What kind of climate was necessary for the rise of the dinosaurs--or the mammals, their successors? When and how have climatic changes caused mass extinctions? Prothero concludes with the Ice Ages and the Holocene, the role of climate in human history, and the perils of anthropogenic climate change. Understanding why the climate has changed in the past, this timely book shows, is essential to grasping the gravity of how radically human activity is altering the climate today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/environmental-studies

Over 4.5 billion years, Earth's climate has transformed tremendously. Before our more temperate recent past, the planet swung from one extreme to another--from a greenhouse world of sweltering temperatures and high sea levels to a "snowball earth" in which glaciers reached the equator. During this history, we now know, living things and the climate have always influenced and even shaped each other. But the climate has never changed as rapidly or as drastically as it has since the Industrial Revolution. In The Story of Earth's Climate in 25 Discoveries: How Scientists Found the Connections Between Climate and Life (Columbia University Press, 2024), Donald R. Prothero explores the astonishing connections between climate and life through the ages, telling the remarkable stories of the scientists who made crucial discoveries. Journeying through the intertwined evolution of climate and life, he tackles questions such as: Why do we have phytoplankton to thank for the air we breathe? What kind of climate was necessary for the rise of the dinosaurs--or the mammals, their successors? When and how have climatic changes caused mass extinctions? Prothero concludes with the Ice Ages and the Holocene, the role of climate in human history, and the perils of anthropogenic climate change. Understanding why the climate has changed in the past, this timely book shows, is essential to grasping the gravity of how radically human activity is altering the climate today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/science

Over 4.5 billion years, Earth's climate has transformed tremendously. Before our more temperate recent past, the planet swung from one extreme to another--from a greenhouse world of sweltering temperatures and high sea levels to a "snowball earth" in which glaciers reached the equator. During this history, we now know, living things and the climate have always influenced and even shaped each other. But the climate has never changed as rapidly or as drastically as it has since the Industrial Revolution. In The Story of Earth's Climate in 25 Discoveries: How Scientists Found the Connections Between Climate and Life (Columbia University Press, 2024), Donald R. Prothero explores the astonishing connections between climate and life through the ages, telling the remarkable stories of the scientists who made crucial discoveries. Journeying through the intertwined evolution of climate and life, he tackles questions such as: Why do we have phytoplankton to thank for the air we breathe? What kind of climate was necessary for the rise of the dinosaurs--or the mammals, their successors? When and how have climatic changes caused mass extinctions? Prothero concludes with the Ice Ages and the Holocene, the role of climate in human history, and the perils of anthropogenic climate change. Understanding why the climate has changed in the past, this timely book shows, is essential to grasping the gravity of how radically human activity is altering the climate today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over 4.5 billion years, Earth's climate has transformed tremendously. Before our more temperate recent past, the planet swung from one extreme to another--from a greenhouse world of sweltering temperatures and high sea levels to a "snowball earth" in which glaciers reached the equator. During this history, we now know, living things and the climate have always influenced and even shaped each other. But the climate has never changed as rapidly or as drastically as it has since the Industrial Revolution. In The Story of Earth's Climate in 25 Discoveries: How Scientists Found the Connections Between Climate and Life (Columbia University Press, 2024), Donald R. Prothero explores the astonishing connections between climate and life through the ages, telling the remarkable stories of the scientists who made crucial discoveries. Journeying through the intertwined evolution of climate and life, he tackles questions such as: Why do we have phytoplankton to thank for the air we breathe? What kind of climate was necessary for the rise of the dinosaurs--or the mammals, their successors? When and how have climatic changes caused mass extinctions? Prothero concludes with the Ice Ages and the Holocene, the role of climate in human history, and the perils of anthropogenic climate change. Understanding why the climate has changed in the past, this timely book shows, is essential to grasping the gravity of how radically human activity is altering the climate today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/science-technology-and-society

Over 4.5 billion years, Earth's climate has transformed tremendously. Before our more temperate recent past, the planet swung from one extreme to another--from a greenhouse world of sweltering temperatures and high sea levels to a "snowball earth" in which glaciers reached the equator. During this history, we now know, living things and the climate have always influenced and even shaped each other. But the climate has never changed as rapidly or as drastically as it has since the Industrial Revolution. In The Story of Earth's Climate in 25 Discoveries: How Scientists Found the Connections Between Climate and Life (Columbia University Press, 2024), Donald R. Prothero explores the astonishing connections between climate and life through the ages, telling the remarkable stories of the scientists who made crucial discoveries. Journeying through the intertwined evolution of climate and life, he tackles questions such as: Why do we have phytoplankton to thank for the air we breathe? What kind of climate was necessary for the rise of the dinosaurs--or the mammals, their successors? When and how have climatic changes caused mass extinctions? Prothero concludes with the Ice Ages and the Holocene, the role of climate in human history, and the perils of anthropogenic climate change. Understanding why the climate has changed in the past, this timely book shows, is essential to grasping the gravity of how radically human activity is altering the climate today.

En el programa de hoy, que "solo" dura una hora, hablamos de los siguientes temas: Plan Nacional Integrado de Energía y Clima (PNIEC). Podéis consultarlo y opinar en la web del Ministerio. Evaluación a escala nacional del potencial de recuperación de materias primas críticas. ¿Cómo se formaron las Islas Canarias? Un nuevo estudio sugiere que parte de la respuesta está en África Al final, Carles recomienda un autor llamado Donald R. Prothero, quien ha escrito -entre muchos otros- "The Story of the Earth in 25 Rocks". Realiza una donación Grupo de Telegram: t.me/geocastawaypodcast CURSOS ACADEMIA GEOCASTAWAY Web: http://geocastaway.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/geocastaway Facebook: http://facebook.com/geocastaway Youtube: http://youtube.com/geocastaway Correo: geocastaway@gmail.com

‘Le equazioni del cuore, della pioggia e delle vele' è il titolo di un saggio appena uscito, edito da Zanichelli. Cosa accomuna cuore, meteo e barche a vela? Il legame è la matematica, uno strumento che è in grado di creare modelli di fenomeni diversi alla ricerca di una loro spiegazione e anche alla scoperta di nuovi modi per maneggiarli. A Darwin l'autore, Alfio Quarteroni, direttore del Laboratorio di Modellistica e Calcolo scientifico del Politecnico di Milano, ci racconta come il campo d'azione di un matematico sia praticamente infinito. Chiara e Federico vi consigliano la lettura di altri due libri divertenti e ben scritti: ‘Come si fa' di Randall Munroe (Ed. Bompiani) che fornisce consigli -scientifici- utili per risolvere certe grane quotidiane, e ‘Fossili fantastici e chi li ha trovati' di Donald R. Prothero (Ed. Aboca), sulle scoperte straordinarie di 25 dinosauri.

Guest Donald Prothero joins us to discuss the common tactics and thinking of science deniers and the implications of this assault on science for our future. The denial of scientific realities in issues like global warming, creationism, vaccine safety, and AIDS, is growing in our society. Not only is our acceptance of scientific "inconvenient truths" under attack, but even scientists themselves have been threatened. Donald R. Prothero is Professor of Geology at Occidental College and Lecturer in Geobiology at the California Institute of Technology. He is the author, co-author, editor, or co-editor of 25 books, over 200 scientific papers and a number of popular books including, most recenly, "Catastrophes!: Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Tornadoes, and Other Earth-Shattering Disasters" and "Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters". He is on the editorial board of Skeptic magazine and has been featured on several television documentaries, including episodes of Paleoworld (BBC), Prehistoric Monsters Revealed (History Channel), Entelodon and Hyaenodon (National Geographic Channel), and Walking with Prehistoric Beasts (BBC). Sped up the speakers by

Shermer and Prothero discuss: flat earth theories and how we know the earth is round, hollow earth theories and how we know it’s not hollow, the return of Ptolemy and an earth-centered solar system model (and how we know it’s wrong), how science deals with anomalies, fringe claims, and challenges to the orthodoxy, whether humans were in the San Diego area 130,000 years ago, how consensus is achieved in science (and the messy road to get there), from Newton to Einstein and what ultimately determines if a theory is true or not, flood myths and what causes such stories to arise in some cultures but not others, catastrophism vs. uniformitarianism in geology, the age of the earth and how geologists determined it, the myth of Atlantis and what Plato really intended with his account, biblical accounts of the world and how we should read the book as literature, not science, how science won the evolution-creation wars, science denial and how to deal with it, and the real-world consequences of denying science. Dr. Donald R. Prothero has taught geology for over 33 years as Professor of Geology at Occidental College in Los Angeles, and Lecturer in Geobiology at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, and currently at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, CA. He earned M.A., M.Phil., and Ph.D. degrees in geological sciences from Columbia University in 1982. He is currently the author, co-author, editor, or co-editor of 33 books and over 250 scientific papers, including five leading geology textbooks and three trade books as well as edited symposium volumes and other technical works. He is on the editorial board of Skeptic magazine, and in the past has served as an associate or technical editor for Geology, Paleobiologyand Journal of Paleontology. He is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America, the Paleontological Society, and the Linnaean Society of London, and has also received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Science Foundation. In 1991, he received the Schuchert Award of the Paleontological Society for the outstanding paleontologist under the age of 40. He has also been featured on several television documentaries, including episodes of Paleoworld (BBC), Prehistoric Monsters Revealed (History Channel), Entelodon and Hyaenodon (National Geographic Channel) and Walking with Prehistoric Beasts (BBC).

For this week’s podcast, we shall explore some of the misconceptions people have about the Earth’s structure, earthquakes, and volcanoes.  Many of the topics discussed here arise from a new book called, Weird Earth: Debunking Strange Ideas About Our Planet, by Donald R. Prothero.  Prothero notes that holding bizarre ideas about the world does not necessarily correlate with level of intelligence.  In fact, bright people can develop very elaborate, though highly erroneous, rationalizations of their preexisting beliefs. 

Interview with Donald R. Prothero. He has written more than 30 book and we discuss his newest "Weird Earth: Debunking Strange Ideas about Our Planet" . He also has books on geology, science deniers, Paleobiology, evolution, UFOs, Dinosaurs, prehistoric mammals and other topics.Investing Skeptically: Investment patents?

Brea and Mallory talk about spooky nonfiction with special guest, Ross Blocher, from Oh No Ross and Carrie! Use the hashtag #ReadingGlassesPodcast to participate in online discussion! Email us at readingglassespodcast at gmail dot com!   Reading Glasses Merch Links -   Oh No Ross and Carrie http://www.maximumfun.org/shows/oh-no-ross-and-carrie   Kid Lit Says No Kids In Cages Pre-Order Mallory’s Book! The Lady from the Black Lagoon Reading Glasses Live Event 7/1 NoveList Plus Reading Glasses Transcriptions on Gretta Reading Glasses Facebook Group Reading Glasses Goodreads Group Apex Magazine Page Advice Article   Amazon Wish List Books Mentioned - Gulp by Mary Roach Night Shift by Joanna Angel   The Singularity Is Near by Ray Kurzweil Stories from the Messengers by Mike Clelland The Alienist by Caleb Carr Abominable Science! by Daniel Loxton and Donald R. Prothero Stiff by Mary Roach Ghost Hunters by Deborah Blum   The Poisoner’s Handbook by Deborah Blum   Ghostland by Colin Dickey Trolls by John Lindow Scream by Margee Kerr   The Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan   Flim Flam by James Randi   Death from the Skies! by Philip Plait Abducted by Susan A. Clancy From Here to Eternity by Caitlin Doughty The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson   Caesar’s Last Breath by Sam Kean Psychic Blues by Mark Edward Conspiracies Declassified by Brian Dunning Dealing with Demons by Bob Larson Paperbacks from Hell by Grady Hendrix   Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me) by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson   The Martian by Andy Weir The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey    

It’s October, MONSTER MONTH! We’re starting it off right with an episode about the Yeti! I literally could have made this episode an hour long without even touching on half the information out there, but no one wants to listen to me talk for that long. If you're intrigued and want to hear more about our big furry friend from the Himalayas, check out the fine podcasts listed below. The Himalayas, in map form: A Himalayan brown bear (tongue blep alert!): A bear standing up (this is a brown bear from Alaska but I like the picture. Bears stand up a lot): Recommended listening: Museum of Natural Mystery - episode 14: "Backtracking with Bigfoot" - highly recommended for information about North American bigfoot/Sasquatch lore and history. It's family friendly and not very long. I heart it. MonsterTalk - episode 116 "Yetipalooza" - lots of Yeti information and some terrible, terrible puns Strange Matters Podcast - "Legendary Humanoid Creatures" - a good overview of a lot of different bigfoot type monsters, including the Yeti Hidden Creatures Podcast - Episode Six A "Yearning for the Yeti's Discovery" and Episode Six B "The Yeti...Again" - lots of info on the Yeti All of the above should be family friendly, with possible mild language. Resources/further reading: The Historical Bigfoot by Chad Arment Abominable Science! by Daniel Loxton and Donald R. Prothero Hunting Monsters by Darren Naish Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. It’s October and that means monsters. Let’s jump right in with one of the biggest stars of cryptozoology, bigfoot! As part of my research for this episode, I listened to other podcasts that have covered bigfoot and his kin. One of those was the Museum of Natural Mystery’s episode 14, Backtracking with Bigfoot. I was more than a little dismayed when I listened to that one, because it’s exactly what I had hoped to do with this episode. In fact, while Museum of Natural Mystery covers other topics than just animals, when they do focus on animals they scratch the same itch I created Strange Animals podcast to scratch. If I’d discovered them earlier, the podcast you’re listening to now would probably be about music or something, not animals. There’s a link to Backtracking with Bigfoot in the show notes and I highly recommend you go listen to it. It focuses mainly on the Bigfoot phenomenon in North America, from Sasquatch to skunk apes. Rather than cover the same ground, my focus here is going to be on bigfoot legends from other parts of the world. There’s so much fascinating information out there that I had to break the episode into two parts. This week we’re looking at the yeti. But first, some background. There are a couple of starting places for the modern concept of bigfoot. In 1921, the Everest Reconnaissance Expedition found tracks in the snow resembling a bare human foot. They realized the tracks were probably made by wolves, the front and rear tracks overlapping and the snow melted enough to obscure the paw pads. Expedition leader Charles Howard-Bury wrote that the expedition’s Sherpa guides claimed the tracks were made by a wild hairy man. At about the same time, the 1920s, British Columbian schoolteacher John W. Burns was collecting reports of Native encounters with giant wild people. He coined the term Sasquatch by anglicizing a couple of different words from several different Native dialects. Burns published his stories in magazines. Howard-Bury talked to reporters about his Everest expedition. The idea of bigfoot took shape and took off in the public imagination. It merged with giant apes and ape-men in popular culture, like King Kong in 1933 and the movie Tarzan the Ape Man in 1932, both of which were huge hits. Before this, from the early 19th century to around the 1940s, newspaper reports that would today be called bigfoot sightings were attributed to wild men or occasionally to esc...

This week we investigate a couple of famous lake monsters, Nessie and Champ. Don’t worry, there are more lake monster and sea monster episodes coming in the future! Most lake monster pictures look like this. Compelling! This was taken in Loch Ness: The famous Mansi photograph taken in Lake Champlain: Beluga whales are really easy to spot. Look, this one has a soccer ball! Further reading: Hunting Monsters by Darren Naish Abominable Science! by Daniel Loxton and Donald R. Prothero Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. Back in March, we released an episode about sea monsters. For a long time it was our second most downloaded show, behind the ivory-billed woodpecker, although the jellyfish and shark episodes have taken over the top spots lately. I always intended to follow up with an episode on lake monsters, so here it is. Let me just say going in that I think most lake monster sightings are not of unknown animals. On the other hand, I also firmly believe there are plenty of unknown animals in lakes—but they’re probably not very big, probably not all that exciting to the average person, and probably not deserving of the name monster. But who knows? I’d love to be proven wrong. Let’s take a look at what people are seeing out there. One of the biggest names in cryptids is Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster. She and Bigfoot are the superstars of cryptozoology. But despite almost a century of close scrutiny of Loch Ness, we still have no proof she exists. Loch Ness is the biggest of a chain of long, narrow, steep-sided lakes and shallow rivers that cut Scotland right in two along a fault line. Loch Ness is 22 miles long with a maximum depth of 754 feet, the biggest lake in all of the UK, not just Scotland. It’s 50 feet above sea level and was carved out by glaciers. During the Pleistocene, Scotland was completely covered with ice half a mile deep until about 18,000 years ago. And before you ask, plesiosaurs disappeared from the fossil record 66 million years ago. Loch Ness isn’t a remote, hard to find place. All the lochs and their rivers have made up a busy shipping channel since the Caledonian Canal made them more navigable with a series of locks and canals in 1822, but the area around Loch Ness was well populated and busy for centuries before that. Loch Ness has long been a popular tourist destination, well before the Nessie sightings started. There have been stories of strange creatures in Loch Ness and all the lochs, but nothing that resembles the popular idea of Nessie. Rather, the stories were of water monsters of Scottish folklore like the kelpie, or of out-of-place known animals like a six-foot bottle-nosed dolphin that was captured at sea and released in the loch as a prank in 1868. Then, in August of 1933 a couple on holiday from London, Mr. and Mrs. George Spicer, reported seeing a quote “dragon or prehistoric animal” unquote crossing the road 50 yards or so in front of their car near the loch. Mr. Spicer said quote “It seemed to have a long neck which moved up and down, in the manner of a scenic railway, and the body was fairly big, with a high back.” unquote. The creature was gray and seemed to be carrying a lamb or other animal at its shoulder. Spicer described it as 25 to 30 feet long, with no feet or tail visible although Spicer said he thought the tail must be curved around behind the body. You know what else happened in 1933? King Kong was released in April of that year. If you haven’t seen the movie, or haven’t seen it in a long time, there’s a long-necked dinosaur in the movie that overturns a raft and kills the men aboard. The movie was a sensation unlike anything today, and that dinosaur looks identical to what George Spicer described seeing, right down to the details of the hidden feet, tail curved behind the body, and even the lamb or other animal it was carrying, since in the movie,

Aujourd'hui, épisode un peu spécial car je vais aborder le livre "Abominable Science !" en compagnie Jean-Michel Abrassart, l'hôte du podcast "Scepticisme Scientifique". Son podcast que vous connaissez sûrement (sinon il est indispensable de l'écouter) a pour vocation d'aborder des sujets assez variés (ufologie, parapsychologie, contre-apologétique, scepticisme, etc) avec un regard sceptique et scientifique sur les questions que tout ces thèmes peuvent soulever. Il m'a fait découvrir ce livre à travers son podcast et je ne voyais personne d'aussi pertinent que lui pour venir en parler avec moi ! Nous vous parlerons ainsi des auteurs, Daniel Loxton et Donald Prothero avant d'embrayer sur le contenu du livre et ensuite aborder un livre qui n'a rien à voir et un livre que Jean-Michel Abrassart aimerait lire. Les références des livres évoqués Abominable Science!: Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and Other Famous Cryptids ISBN : 0231153201 (ISBN13 : 9780231153201) Auteur : Daniel Loxton et Donald R. Prothero Nombre de pages : 411 pages Date de parution : 06/08/2013 chez Columbia University Press Prix : 26,14€ (version reliée) chez Amazon The Hastur Cycle ISBN : 1568820097 (ISBN13 : 9781568820095) Auteur : Robert W. Chambers, Robert M. Price, H.P. Lovecraft Nombre de pages : 304 pages Date de parution : 01/12/1993 chez Chaosium Prix : 16,92€ chez Amazon et 17,32€ à la Fnac Philosophie de la religion ISBN : 2711622827 (ISBN13 : 9782711622825) Auteur : Cyrille Michon et Roger Pouivet Nombre de pages : 384 pages Date de parution : 01/07/2010 chez Vrin Prix : 13,00€ chez Amazon et à la FnacVous pouvez enfin retrouver l’ensemble des livres cités sur la liste goodreads associée à ce podcast sur le compte de LisezLaScience. Les livres seront placés sur des “étagères” spécifiques par épisode et ceux de celui-ci sont sur l’étagère “lls-12” : https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/30797714-lisezlascience?shelf=lls-12 Prochain épisodeOn se retrouve le 12/04/2015 pour un nouvel épisode sur le livre "Une histoire de tout ou presque" de Bill Bryson. D’ici là à bientôt à toutes et à tous.

This week Point of Inquiry welcomes Daniel Loxton, longtime Editor of Junior Skeptic, the 10-page kids' science section bound within Skeptic magazine, author and illustrator of the national award-winning kids' science book Evolution: How We and All Living Beings Came to Be, and a series of illustrated books subtitled Tales of Prehistoric Life. Loxton has published two major essays on skeptical activism; "Where Do We Go From Here?" in 2007, dealing with the focus and direction of the new generation of skepticism, and which helped to inspire the SkeptiCamp community organized conferences on scientific skepticism; and "What Do I Do Next?" in 2009, providing ideas and suggestions for individual involvement in the skepticism movement. Recently, Loxton, along with co-author Donald R. Prothero, has written an entertaining, educational and definitive text on cryptids, presenting the arguments both for and against their existence. Abominable Science!: Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and Other Famous Cryptids systematically challenges the pseudoscience that perpetuates these myths, and examines the nature of the science and pseudoscience within cryptozoology. 

Guest Donald Prothero joins us to discuss the common tactics and thinking of science deniers and the implications of this assault on science for our future. The denial of scientific realities in issues like global warming, creationism, vaccine safety, and AIDS, is growing in our society. Not only is our acceptance of scientific "inconvenient truths" under attack, but even scientists themselves have been threatened. Donald R. Prothero is Professor of Geology at Occidental College and Lecturer in Geobiology at the California Institute of Technology. He is the author, co-author, editor, or co-editor of 25 books, over 200 scientific papers and a number of popular books including, most recenly, "Catastrophes!: Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Tornadoes, and Other Earth-Shattering Disasters" and "Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters". He is on the editorial board of Skeptic magazine and has been featured on several television documentaries, including episodes of Paleoworld (BBC), Prehistoric Monsters Revealed (History Channel), Entelodon and Hyaenodon (National Geographic Channel), and Walking with Prehistoric Beasts (BBC).

The 9.0 magnitude Tohoku earthquake and tsunami which devastated Japan on March 11th, 2011 is being reported as one of the five most powerful earthquakes since seismological records began being kept in 1900.  The awesome destructive power of our constantly changing world is highlighted by these kinds of disasters on a fairly regular basis, but does the understanding of when and how these events may happen change the way humans are choosing to live on dangerous planet earth?  This week on Skepticality, Swoopy talks with Dr. Donald R. Prothero, professor of geology at Occidental College in Los Angeles and a lecturer in geobiology at Caltech about his new book "Catastrophes! Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Tornadoes, and other Earth-Shattering Disasters" which discusses not only the dangers we face from geographical challenges but also those that affect us all: overpopulation and global climate change.

Mass extinctions, rising temperatures, and changing glaciers may sound like current events, but Earth scientists are learning that this type of climate change is nothing new.   This week on Skepticality, Swoopy talks with Dr. Donald R. Prothero about his new book Greenhouse of the Dinosaurs: Evolution, Extinction, and the Future of Our Planet. Prothero discusses the links between the climate changes that have occurred over the past 200 million years.   Dr. Prothero also discusses "Ida," a 47-million year old fossil the media is hailing as yet another "missing link." Is Ida all she is hyped up to be — or is this Darwinius masillae just one more transitional fossil supporting the theory of evolution?

Just this week, the discovery of the 300-million year old Gerobatrachus hottoni ("Hotton's elder frog") confirmed the previously contentious inference that modern frogs and salamanders evolved from one group of ancient primitive amphibians. The dispute arose because of a lack of transitional forms; but, like so many "missing links," this newly discovered fossil sealed the gap.   The fossil record is one of the strongest lines of evidence for evolution, yet it continues to come under attack by present-day creationists and advocates of Intelligent Design.  This week on Skepticality, Swoopy talks with eminent paleontologist and professor of geology Donald R. Prothero about his bestselling Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why it Matters. This comprehensive book explores not only the rich mosaic of fossil discoveries and transitional forms, but also the very nature of science—and the "monkey business of creationism."