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Weird & Dead

Amy Atwater and Meaghan Wetherell

A podcast about evolution's most embarrassing and bizarre stories as told by two very gossipy paleontologists. Amy and Meaghan happily dish the details on everything from fossilized dinosaur butts to the secret drama behind naming new species. Time for the hottest tea from prehistory!

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  • 23 episodes
  • fortnightly
  • Avg 49 min
  • English
Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.
  • September 10 · 45 min

    Evolution of the Skunk Butt

    When did skunks get their characteristic butts? How does skunk spraying work and how do you get rid of it? We dig into the whys and wherefores of the skunk stank butt and watch a video so disgusting that Amy couldn't even relisten to herself reacting to it. (Images and video are on Patreon!) CW: cursing, butt nipples, animal death, skunk spray and its results, use of skunk spray against protestors and Palestinians

  • S4 · E6
    August 27 · 48 min

    Clam Jam

    There's a clam called Vulvaceramus. Or Volviceramus, if you are no fun. Let's talk about giant clams, pearls, and how Amy overidentifies with certain minerals. CW: Vagina jokes, obviously. Cursing. Gossip.

  • S4 · E5
    August 13 · 50 min

    Skin Teeth

    Teeth evolved to be sensitive first, thank you very much - the whole “use for eating” thing was actually an evolutionary afterthought. And whatever ratfish are doing with them is… not correct. CW: tenaculums & triggering medical procedures, cursing, dick shaped objects, trypophobia & odontophobia

  • S4 · E4
    July 30 · 54 min

    Fossil Unicorns

    We narrow down the closest fossil candidate for that virgin-loving legend, the Unicorn, as Meaghan finds yet another excuse to talk about how cool artiodactyls are. Photos on Patreon! CW: Cursing, animal experiments, dildo discussion, the pitfalls of intelligent design

  • July 16 · 58 min

    Clever Hurl

    Filter-feeding pterosaurs and the dinosaurs that ate them and then threw them back up - a love story? CW: Vomit, Vomit eating (for romance), Scavenging (also for romance), Crop milk (platonic), Dinosaur slander, and of course... cursing.

  • July 2 · 46 min

    Exploding Fossil Frogs

    Some frogs are explosive breeders. Some frogs just explode. Both have somehow been preserved in lakes in Europe... a lot. CW: Frog death, frogs drowning each other during mating, frog researchers forgetting key feminist frog facts, bloat & float & explode as a concept, cursing Images for this episode are available for everyone on Patreon!

  • S4 · E1
    June 18 · 51 min

    The Evolution of Scrotums

    What makes a scrotum a scrotum, why do they exist, and why is Meaghan so good at answering quiz questions about them? CW: Testicles & mockery thereof, animal castration, hernias, cursing

    • Transcript
  • February 11 · 1 hr 33 min

    The Epstein Files and Paleontology

    This episode is a little different than our normal content. There are several paleontologists mentioned in the latest release of the Epstein files, and the official response to that has been... underwhelming. In this episode we tell you about the facts within the files, the paleo people identified, some important context, and the reasons that events like this concern us and negatively affect paleontology as a field. CW: sexual assault, sexual harassment, Epstein's convictions for sexual assault of a minor, PTSD symptoms, eugenics

    • Transcript
  • January 1 · 56 min

    Bonus: Turtle Mouth Madness

    At least one soft-shelled turtle pees mostly out of its mouth. This Patreon exclusive episode takes you down winding pathway from throat stalactites to shark dissection to vegan gardening practices (it's related, we promise). Images and a whole season of full-length exclusive episodes are on Patreon! CW: Urine, dissection of sharks, experimentation on turtles , teasing of vegans, pre-eclampsia and birth, turtles just being generally bad

    • Transcript
  • Dec 18, 2025 · 47 min

    Bonus Episode: Giant Lemurs

    Happy holidays! Here’s a bonus episode we’re releasing to the public as a holiday gift for you, all about Amy’s favorite: Lemurs! And specifically, how they used to be enormous and maybe interested in crushing birds. Art (and a whole season worth of exclusive episodes) is available on our Patreon. CW: Cursing, discussion of the crushing of said bird, the general concept of Aye-Ayes.

    • Transcript
  • S3 · E9
    Nov 6, 2025 · 43 min

    Megatherium the Stabber

    From carnivorous armadillos to the serial stabbing experiments of a self-described 70 kg male with no special training in any sporting discipline but who seems to have a very vicious cat, this episode is a wild, wild ride. But would you truly expect any different from xenarthrans? CW: Cursing, drug testing, the vegan police, a man stabbing meat and facing off against cats, sloth baby murder

    • Transcript
  • S3 · E7
    Oct 16, 2025 · 38 min

    Freaky Fingers, the Return

    Evolution continues to be disgusting as we dive into the multipurpose functionality of Aye Aye and Striped Possum fingers. CW: Boogers, Aye Ayes just generally, cursing, and somehow puppy play (you know, the kink that Google apparently thinks Meaghan has)

    • Transcript
  • S3 · E9
    Oct 2, 2025 · 51 min

    Freaky Fingers Pt 1

    Sometimes evolution isn’t just weird, it’s weirdly indecisive. Let’s talk about the multipurpose mishaps that led to Iguanodon’s hoof-knife-tentacle combo and the extending butterknife palms of Pandas. Now with fixed audio featuring also Amy! CW: jokes about dildos, sex acts, and rude hand gestures. Cursing. Discussion and mockery of Meaghan’s current ganglion cyst. We do call extra fingers weird or freaky, but this is specific to animals and does not cover polydactyly or humans.

    • Transcript
  • S3 · E7
    Sep 4, 2025 · 49 min

    Worms & Dead

    There is a worm that has fins and an Elizabethan collar of venomous fangs. It looks like someone glued false lashes to a tiny translucent manatee, and it might be the reason that clams are starting to kill people. Let's talk about arrow worms! CW: Swearing. Jokes about penises. Impacts of modern climate change.

    • Transcript
  • Aug 21, 2025 · 46 min

    Birds That Make Milk

    Some birds (and thus, dinosaurs) make milk in a special part of their throat called the crop. Let's talk crop milk, crop cheese, shrimp smoothies, and why pterosaurs were pink. CW: a befowling of milk and cheese as concepts. Gagging noises. Eating of roadkill (theoretical). Swearing.

    • Transcript
  • Aug 7, 2025 · 51 min

    Fossil Rodents of Unusual Size

    Or rather, unusually interesting size. To some. Let's talk giant beavers and the biggest rodent of all time, Josephoartigasia. CW: Body shaming of big rodents (not us!), cursing, statistics.

    • Transcript
  • S3 · E4
    Jul 24, 2025 · 48 min

    The Glory of Gonopods

    From crazy three-legged millipede fossils to the sexy club hands of spiders, this episode is all about where arthropods put their genitals. Specifically, their chins and feet. Videos and images are on our website weirdanddead.com! CW: Spiders and other arthropods. Cursing. Sex acts only a millipede could dream up.

    • Transcript
  • S3 · E3
    Jul 10, 2025 · 44 min

    Radioactive Dinos

    Dinosaurs and horses and Amy loudly shouting out radioactive elements to antagonize her husband, oh my! This episode covers the perils lurking behind locked and poorly ventilated cabin doors - specifically, radioactive bones. CW: Cursing, cancer and theoretical nastiness caused by radioactive poisoning, Chernobyl, Meaghan's stuffed up nose

    • Transcript
  • S3 · E2
    Jun 26, 2025 · 42 min

    Bloat & Float

    Ankylosaurs, ichthyosaurs and nonexistent narcissistic krakens! Let's talk about why Ankylosaurs are found upside down, and what really happened at Berlin Ichthyosaur State Park. Time to bloat up & float along. CW: Cursing, Pseudoscience, Dead Animals & Decay

    • Transcript
  • S3 · E1
    Jun 12, 2025 · 48 min

    Fossil Urine

    Time to discuss yet another body secretion that you probably didn't think could fossilize. Urine marks, urine that became rocks, and rocks that formed in urine - we've got it all, baby! CW: Body fluids, cursing, turtles doing horrible physiological things, animal death

    • Transcript
Showing 1–20 of 23 episodes