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Bedrock: Earth's Earliest History

Bedrock: Earth's Earliest History

By: Dylan Wilmeth
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About this listen

 This podcast starts at the beginning of Earth's prehistory and works forward through time. Bedrock will explore the first 90% of Earth’s past, a time known as the Precambrian Era. Before humans, before dinosaurs… there was the Precambrian. The Earth was an incredibly alien world, but not a dead one. Along the way, you will build a mental toolkit to see the world like a geologist. You will never look at a mountain, the moon, or pond scum in quite the same way again. Welcome to Bedrock. For transcripts, visuals, and references, check out https://www.bedrockpodcast.comCopyright 2025 Dylan Wilmeth Biological Sciences Earth Sciences Science
Episodes
  • 50: The Oldest Evidence for Life?

    50: The Oldest Evidence for Life?
    Nov 26 2025

    Donate to support the show- anything is appreciated!

    Finally, 3.7 billion years ago, we reach some of the strongest evidence for life on Earth yet. It takes a while to find, and it only looks like a few dark crystals, but it's better than anything else we've seen so far. Along the way, we'll meet three scientists who helped define the quest for Earth's oldest fossils, including one of my old bosses.

    Extra Credit: Sharpen your pencils, spackle some cracks, or thank a mentor in your life.
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    42 mins
  • 50th Episode Fireside Chat: What's Next?

    50th Episode Fireside Chat: What's Next?
    Nov 19 2025

    In this casual chat, Dylan talks about the show's growth, the upcoming end of Season 2, a potential career shift to science communication, and other podcast recommendations. Thank you all for bringing this show to 50 episodes- here's to 50 more!

    Donate to support the show- anything is appreciated!
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    16 mins
  • 49: The Fossil Quest

    49: The Fossil Quest
    Nov 5 2025

    Many folks have claimed to find Earth's oldest fossils in the Greenland rocks, 3.7 billion years old. Before we meet and judge these contenders, we need to learn what counts as a fossil. This early in Earth history, nothing has any bones or teeth or shells, so researchers need to search for other clues. Today, I'll show you four ways to look for fossils in Earth's oldest rocks, including my personal field of study: fossilized bacteria.

    Extra Credit: Find different types of organic carbon in your day, or eat a burger.
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    31 mins
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Dylan has a pleasing voice and manner of explaining complicated topics in a comprehensive manner.

Detailed and understandable

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