The Big Blue Rock Pod
Kentucky Geological Survey
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Recent Episodes
Ep. 54: The Enviropod Pod: Teaching Earth Science in a Changing World
Matt, Sarah, and Doug talk with Earth and Environmental Sciences Department Senior Lecturer Summer Brown. They discuss earth science education, teaching, how scientists connect to stakeholders,…
Ep. 53: From Seam to Ash: A Career in Coal
Matt, Sarah, and Doug talk with world-renowned applied energy researcher Jim Hower. They discuss the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research, coal petrology, coal research, the Fire…
Ep. 52: New Harmonizing with Dr. Cobb
Matt, Sarah, and Doug speak with former KGS Director and State Geologist Jim Cobb. They talk about James Hutton, New Harmony, Indiana, the job of a State Geologist, the 12th Geological Survey at KGS,…
Ep. 51: Friction and Fjords: Curling Stones and The Wave
Jam packed show! Fresh of the Winter Olympics, Matt, Sarah, and Doug discuss the geology of curling stones. Next, back by popular demand (not really), they break down another Norwegian geology…
Ep. 50: Lakes, Diatoms, and DNA: Will You Be My Valentine?
50th Episode! Matt, Doug, and Sarah talk to UK Earth & Environmental Sciences Professor Trisha Spanbauer. The discuss lakes, paleolimnology, lake sediment as proxies for global environmental…
Ep. 49: Seeing what you can't see with geophysics
Matt, Doug, and Sarah talk with UK Earth & Environmental Sciences Professor Ed Woolery. The discuss near surface geophysics, shear wave propagation, imaging technique limitations, blind faults,…
Ep. 48: Dig Doug: KGS Digital Mapping and a Unique Career Arc
Matt and Sarah talk with KGS geologist and BBRP co-host Doug Curl. They talk about Doug’s unique and fascinating career arc as a geologist, geoinformatics, GIS, geologic maps, compact discs, metadata…
Ep. 47: News and Boos
Matt, Sarah, and Doug recap their participation in conferences but most importantly lean into Halloween! They discuss haunted pump jacks, suffering cows, the dark history of the Nada Tunnel, and a…
Ep. 46: The Coal Whisperer
Matt, Sarah, and Doug talk with KGS geologist Cortland Eble. They discuss all things coal geology with a world-renowned palynologist, one of few people in the world who grinds up coal and glues in…
Ep. 45: Building resilience from the ground up with the Kentucky State Geologist
Matt, Doug, and Sarah talk with KGS Director and Ky State Geologist Mike McGlue. They discuss what geologists do, trends in earth science, converging disciplines, exciting research at KGS, and…
Ep. 44: Out of Office Messages
Matt, Doug, and Sarah talk about conferences they attended this summer, along with a little travel in between. They discuss the National Speleological Society Convention, Niagara Falls, Jim Thorpe,…
Ep. 43: Same Geologic Time, New Listen
Geologic time is a fundamental concept at the core of all geology and earth sciences. Since it's the foundation for everything else, we thought it was worth listening to twice. Enjoy this reissued…
Ep. 42: Shale, yeah!
Matt, Doug, and Sarah talk with KGS Geologist Alex Washburn to discuss shales, rare-earth element, critical minerals, calcite, geochronology, petroleum geology, and environmental geology. Also, Doug…
Ep. 41: Someone to Organize Our Schist
Sarah, Matt, and Doug talk with KGS Public Resources Curator Cheyenne Hohman about KGS archiving, data dissemination over time, weird publications, maps, science and political winds, which Survey was…
Ep. 40: Geology in the Gallery (view description for images!)
Matt, Sarah, and Doug talk to UK Art Museum Curator, Rachel Hooper. In this special episode, they go on-site to the museum and discuss with Rachel the materials and subjects that connect art and…
Ep. 39: Mystery Science Geology 2025: Netflix's La Palma
Matt, Sarah, and Doug breakdown the 2024 television mini-series La Palma! They discuss the plot of the show, geologic character stereotypes, geologic details right and wrong, the geology of the…
Ep. 38: 2025 Goals: Rock solid or shaky ground
Matt gets philosophical about time management and Sarah gets anxious. Doug's just trying to get through the website redo.
Ep. 37: Rock, Paper, Data
Matt, Sarah, and Doug talk about data with KGSers Cheyenne Hohman and Liz Adams. They dig into KGS history and mission, saving data and maps from threats, progress of storage and dissemination, data…
Ep. 36: Dating profile: Earth, 4.567 billion
"I'm a 4.567 billion-year-old planet with a rich history, constantly evolving, and always open to new experiences. You should leave a message if you like cheese and would like to discuss it…
Ep. 35: Big BOO! Rock Pod
This Halloween, step into Kentucky's spooky side with Matt, Sarah, and Doug as they explore eerie place names, reveal the surprising history of Transylvania, and uncover the haunting tale of Floyd…
Frequently Asked Questions
The Big Blue Rock Pod has published 54 episodes since January 2022, covering topics in Earth Sciences, Natural Sciences.
The Big Blue Rock Pod is currently highly active with new episodes monthly. Average episode length is 48m.
