In this episode of Utah Unearthed, as we talk about Moab’s fossil record, Randy—our usual cohost—gets put in the hot seat alongside fellow NHMU paleontologist Carrie Levitt-Bussian. Moab today is a rusty, red-rock desert, but for millions of years the region was home to drastically different environments and animals, including dinosaurs. Hundreds of millions of years later, the sedimentary rock of the Colorado Plateau, on which Moab sits, has been uplifted but not drastically contorted. Therefore, it's the perfect setting for revealing well-preserved fossils from the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods when dinosaurs roamed. This is great news for paleontologists in Utah, like Carrie and Randy, who can find a smorgasbord of dinosaur discoveries on each expedition to Moab.

The hosts of Utah Unearthed include Aidan Bailey, an NHMU school outreach coordinator, Dr. Randy Irmis, NHMU’s curator of paleontology, and Andy Connolly, a former NHMU science communications specialist who now works with the Kansas Geological Survey. The show is produced and edited by Mark Johnston. Series logo by Will Shepherd.

In each episode of Utah Unearthed, the team interviews a different scientist from a different discipline, who will help both hosts and listeners unearth Utah’s incredible natural history. This podcast supports NHMU's mission to illuminate the natural world and the place of humans within it. Learn more at ⁠nhmu.utah.edu/podcast⁠.