Our awesome project is a funny podcast about dinosaurs (and other fossil things).

Weird & Dead is a comedic science podcast where two gossipy paleontologists, Amy Atwater and Meaghan Wetherell, dish on the most bizarre, embarrassing, and fascinating stories from evolution’s past. From fossilized dinosaur butts (and what's found inside of them) to the drama behind naming new species, we dive deep into paleontology with a playful and irreverent tone.

Our podcast brings paleontology to an audience of adults who love science but aren’t necessarily scientists themselves. Our reviews refer to us as "unhinged", "sophomoric", and "incredible", and all of those are accurate. We think science should be fun, dinosaurs are fundamentally ridiculous, and that fossils should make you giggle as well as contemplate the incredible resilience of life.

The podcast has already gained a loyal following but to reach its full potential, we need better equipment and the chance to film together in person. Since Amy is based in rural Colorado and Meaghan in nowheresville Washington and neither of us have anything resembling good internet, remote recordings can be problematic. A lot of our jokes would be funnier without lag, and editing would be easier to boot. Also, microphones whose structural integrity relied less on tape and zip ties would be good.

Weird & Dead premiered in January 2024 and we are currently releasing season 2. Our episodes currently get around 200 listens on their premiere day across our different platforms and we are regularly charting on different podcast apps in the Earth Science category. With improved equipment and more in-person recordings, we can elevate the show’s production quality, continue building a larger audience, and create more engaging content.