Geologists from Planet Earth
Geologists from Planet Earth explores the lives and careers of geologists through personal stories. Guests share experiences from fieldwork, including dodging lions, turning ancient rock data into music, and working with radioactive rocks for the Pentagon in Afghanistan. Others reflect on the challenges of Greenlandic cliffs, mining, motherhood, and proving family wrong. The podcast reveals the diverse and passionate people who dedicate their lives to studying rocks and the planet. It also offers a teaching resource with question prompts for 12-16 year olds.
Episodes
Marit Brommer: Connecting to natural landscapes through clean, geothermal energy
Send a textIn this episode, Marit Brommer – once a Dutch teenager enchanted by landscapes charts her career journey from oil and gas super-majors to geothermal diplomacy to her newest venture: transforming geothermal wells into places of wellness, ritual, and regeneration. Marit explains why geology is the beating heart of our clean-energy future. Her is a wonderful reminder that sometimes our jou
Dennis Bird: Getting paid to go camping — for 43 year
Send a textA California kid who just wanted to go climbing and dodge the draft ends up in a life spent between the lecture hall and the high Arctic. From Yosemite’s granite walls to magma chambers under the ice, Dennis Bird’s story is one of chance and curiosity — one in which a teacher, a mountain lion, and a storm helped forge a lifetime of discovery and humility.
Adrian Finch: Geology as a journey through generations
Send a textAdrian Finch hailed from South London and - in his own words - started out utterly hopeless at fieldwork. His lifelong love of crystal structures led him to research into car catalysts and superconductors, before settling on the Arctic for a love affair with geology that, despite hurricane-force winds on a remote Greenlandic nunatak, proved irresistible. It's a testament to stubbor
Helen Degeling: It's okay to change: a geological career
Send a textEver wondered what happens when a young geologist, told she'd only ever be the "token female," decides to prove everyone gloriously wrong? Here's Helen Degeling, whose journey has careened from academia, to surviving a decidedly un-gentlemanly welcome at a Pilbara gold mine, to doing fieldwork seven months pregnant in 38-degree heat. Helen's is a tale of resili
Kristopher Szilas: Geological fieldwork: the ultimate adventure
Send a textKristopher Szilas's geological journey began by abseiling down a 500-meter cliff face. In this episode, we hear how his rock-climbing prowess landed him a dream job sampling for gold in Greenland – an experience he'll tell you felt more dangerous than climbing the infamous North Face of the Eiger! Kris's is a thrilling glimpse into the wild, outdoor life of a hard-rock ge
Richard White: Solo geological fieldwork: a path to independence
Send a textRichard White is a man whose PhD involved spending weeks utterly alone in Australia's central desert. In this episode, he recounts tales of encountering herds of camels (while in bed!), carrying half a ton of rocks in an overloaded 4WD, and exploring remote terrain by following his dream... Richard's story is one of the glorious independence and a little eccentricity that make
Alina Khalida: The power of a geology education
Send a textAlina Khalida, with stunning grace and grit, transformed herself from a village girl tending cattle to an indomitable spirit, working for her nation's water security. From stumbling upon geology, to drilling for water in the driest corners of the Namib Desert, while battling unimaginable financial hardship, Alina's story isn't just about rocks and water: it's a testa
Chris Carson: The Omega man: alone in the Antarctic
Send a textChris Carson is a geologist whose passion for the planet was ignited by a trekking trip to K2. Prepare for an absorbing tale of Antarctic fieldwork, traveling by icebreaker (much better than flying), battling katabatic winds strong enough to launch 200kg (400 pound) fuel drums, and the glorious, rule-breaking, solitary climb of a remote Antarctic peak. Chris's story is a reminder t
Emily King: Geology and self-reliance: figuring stuff out in Afghanistan
Send a textThis episode introduces Emily King, who quite literally found love (and some really interesting rocks) while running a Pentagon-backed mineral exploration program in Afghanistan. Prepare for "free-range geologists" navigating perilous terrain in body armor, battling bubbling lithium lakes in repurposed dune buggies, and the logistical chaos of getting radioactive samples into
Tim Ivanic: Communicating geology as art
Send a textMeet Tim Ivanic, a British-Australian geologist who started life as an artist. Tim fused his passions for rocks and art in the 'Aeon Sounds Project', turning geological data into music and sound: imagine volcanoes as instruments, geological time transformed into sound, the synesthetic transformation of crystals into music. It's a wild, unexpected, and brilliant dive into
David Schofield: Geological fieldwork as a window to the world
Send a textDavid Schofield never really planned on being a geologist. But sometimes, life (and an outbreak of foot and mouth disease) throws you a curveball. David recounts his adventures mapping vast stretches of the Saharan desert, learning to survive on newly-learned resilience and sheer geological grit, and becoming the leader he hadn't realised he was.Teaching resources (questions prompt
Gillian Becky: We belong here too: women in field geology
Send a textGillian Becky is a Nairobi-based geologist who didn't exactly stumble into the field, but rather, geology found her, from a phone call that led her on a new path to discovering her purpose. Gillian's early experiences of fieldwork in a remote Kenyan landscape include a heart-pounding encounter with wildlife. And she shares her insights on overcoming challenges as a woman in a
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