Earth’s crust is shattered into dozens of moving plates, but many other worlds operate very differently. What are some alternatives to plate tectonics?

Today, we’ll compare tectonics on Earth with tectonics on other planets, through the lens of 3.9 billion-year-old rocks from Greenland. On the way, we’ll visit the westernmost town in the USA, visit one of our cosmic neighbors, and learn about the Occam’s Razor of geology.

Extra Credit: find today’s planet in the night sky, drop a pebble every day this week and see if anything changes, or read “The Long Rain” by Ray Bradbury.

Donate to support the show- anything is appreciated!

Click here for the audience survey!

Click here to read Dylan's Nature paper!

This season's final arc is set in Greenland. Let's start with the most common rocks in the region: what are they and what stories do they tell about the world 3.9 billion years ago?

Along the way, we'll weave a tapestry of stone, boil some rocks, and learn a bit about Dylan's birthstone.

Extra credit: try the Play-Doh experiment from this episode, or make some stone soup.

Click here for the audience survey!

Donate to support the show- anything is appreciated!

We're back! After nearly a year, Dylan has updates about his life and the future of the show.

Please take the audience survey in the link below to let Dylan know how you'd like to support the show! Also, please check out the donate button if you like what you've heard so far.

Click here for the audience survey!

Donate to support the show- anything is appreciated!

Hi folks,

If you’re a long-term listener, you know this show often takes long, multi-week breaks. This break has been much longer than normal, and will likely continue for a few months. What’s going on?

Right now, I have one goal on my mind: to find a new, permanent job.

My three-year contract at Grand Valley State University will end in April. I knew this going in, and it’s public information, so don’t worry about any dirt being spilled. In the past three months I have applied for dozens of jobs, and that number will double before year’s end.

Each application takes time. I also have a full teaching schedule and I’m supervising undergraduate research. In short, there’s simply no time to make the show right now.

I don’t know where I’ll be in six months, and that’s honestly a very stressful situation. But things are looking up- I’ve had a few interviews, and jobs are still being posted.

When I find a permanent position, hopefully by early 2025, I will let you all know and finally return to Bedrock, both the show and in my own life. In the meantime, thank you as always for your patience and enthusiasm. If you’ve finished the show, you can recommend it to a science-curious friend. You can always drop a line at bedrock.mailbox@gmail.com, it always makes my day.

See you next time, whenever that may be.

Hi folks! I've just been invited by my university to join a field trip to Iceland next week, one of the best spots in the world to study geology. This means there will be a slight hiccup in our programming.

Episode 38 will drop early next week, while Episode 39 will hopefully drop the first week of August. If I have time and space, I might try some experimental episodes from Iceland itself, field diaries and interviews, but no promises yet.

As always, thanks for your patience and support!

Why are some ancient rocks well-preserved, while others are extremely messed up?

Today, we'll take a side quest from our Greenland arc to learn more about metamorphosis, which changes rocks beneath our feet. On the way, we'll transform toast into cookies, take an elevator ride deep into the crust, and meet an ancient rock with a babyface.

Extra credit: make some toast, or go looking for butterflies.

What is the oldest *major* slice of rock, one that's relatively well-preserved, one that's fueled a half-century of research?

The episode's name kinda gives it away, but stay tuned as we meet the last location of Season 2: a series of rocks near Greenland's capital. Along the way, we'll meet the different groups of people who have settled on this remote island, and a geologist from the other side of the world. I'll also take a brief detour into why I unfortunately can't talk about every single ancient rock out there.

Extra Credit: Find a choir to sing in, or play some ping-pong.

How did the Man in the Moon form? What does the Moon's Far Side look like?

Today, we'll learn about the most visible remnant of the ancient world- the pattern of dark lunar rocks that stares down on us each night. On the way, we'll hitch a ride with a flying fax machine, play a game with crystals in magma, and learn why bananas are slightly radioactive (and why that doesn't really matter).

Extra Credit: Try to send me a fax, or just eat a banana.