Six Foot Turkey: What Jurassic Park Got Wrong (And Right) About Dinosaurs

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When the smash-success Jurassic Park first hit theaters in 1993, it inspired a generation of dinophiliacs and helped to usher in a new “golden age of paleontology.”

But it also froze the public’s perception of dinosaurs in time, and popularized inaccuracies that people still believe are true today.

So what happens when the biggest source of information on a scientific field comes from a fictional monster movie? In this episode, three Jurassic Park super-fans (one paleontologist, and two podcasters) try to sort it all out.

Featuring: Gabriel-Philip Santos

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LINKS

Want to learn more about dinosaurs? Check the publish date before you check it out from the library! And here are some good options:

Smithsonian’s The Dinosaur Book (pretty much all of the Smithsonian books are good for younger readers)

Want to get a more global perspective of where dinosaurs have been discovered? Check out a dinosaur atlas book.

For older readers, or anybody who loves a good coffee table book, check out this entry featuring a number of excellent paleoartists: Dinosaur Art II (Taylor has the first one and loves to show it off).

Also: A truly disheartening read about people who think feathered dinosaurs are an attack on masculinity.

CREDITS

Host: Nate Hegyi

Reported and produced by Taylor Quimby

Mixer: Taylor Quimby

Editing by Rebecca Lavoie, with help from Nate Hegyi and Justine Paradis

Rebecca Lavoie is our Executive Producer

Music for this episode by Sarah the Illstrumentalist, Pandaraps, Matt Large, Ballpoint, and Valante.

Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

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