Gneiss Chats Podcast, fun geoscience learning for all!

The Gneiss Chats podcast is an interview podcast where the host (under the secret identity of Dr.B, because most people can’t pronounce Barrote) interviews an expert and asks them a bunch of questions about a certain theme in the field of geosciences including Geochemistry, Mineralogy, Petrology and Volcanology. The idea behind the show is to teach the listener about an interesting topic that might be new to them, but in a very light and fun environment.

“Gneiss Chats – trailer‘’

Every episode has the same basic structure. The show starts with a fun game, that is different every time, in order to break the ice and ensure the listener that this next 40 to 50 minutes will be filled with fun learning and light jokes. In these games, we often learn that experts with many years of experience in their respective research fields might also not remember all the details of their intro to crystallography syllabus, just like the rest of us! The game section also tries to poke fun at some of the silly things that some researchers hold dear to their heart, like the use of diabase versus dolerite, or the habit that some scientists have of criticizing their colleague’s work in conferences by posing “more of a comment than a question”, at the end of presentations.

“Short extract from Gneiss Chats Ep. 2 – Supercontinents with Dr. Erin Martin ‘’

Dr. Silvia Volante (producer and occasional co-host) and Dr.B. (host and producer) recording an episode of Gneiss Chats.

Once everyone is comfortable, and the listeners have already started to feel giggly and perhaps find common ground with our expert guest, we move on to the core of each episodes’ theme. This part usually starts by covering basic concepts in order to allow people from all backgrounds to be able to follow and learn from the podcast. GMPV members that are not familiar with the scientific advances in areas such as Palaeomagnetism or Supercontinents, could tune into an episode of Gneiss Chats and learn about a different field, while having fun and getting to know other scientists’ work and interests.

For example, do you remember what an isotope is? If you either don’t remember or have actually never learned about it, you don’t have to google it before listening to the upcoming interview with Dr. Bryant Ware about Isotopic Geochemistry. In this upcoming episode, the first question of, “What is an Isotope?”, lays the foundation to the next few minutes of learning about very complex phenomena in chemistry and geology that are explained by Bryant in a simple and approachable way to a diverse audience that includes both seasoned researchers as well as non-experts.

On the left: Isotope Geochemist Dr. Bryant Ware guest of a future episode of Gneiss Chats and producer and host of multiple episodes from the GPN. On the right: Dr.B.

The podcast episodes then move on to asking the same three questions to all the guests.

How did you first decide to become a geologist?
What are some of the specifics of the research that you are conducting at present?
What do you enjoy doing when you are not geology-ing?

These questions are designed to, once again, make the guests more familiar and relatable to the audience, as many geoscientists share interests and stories of how they became in love with the study of the Earth. This is also a very unique and exciting opportunity to compare experiences from diverse perspectives, since the show is designed to host geoscientists within many fields of study and different career stages.

Gneiss Chats was made possible by its association with the Geology Podcast Network (GPN), sponsored by TravelingGeologist. The GPN is a collaborative effort created in order to facilitate the conceptualization, production, and dissemination of Geological Podcasts, by aspiring geoscience communicators, by removing initial hurdles to entering the world of podcasting, such as technical and financial barriers. The GPN is host to two other Podcasts in addition to Gneiss Chats: Geological Expeditions of Yore and Backyard Geology, which have released 8 episodes each for their first season and are currently in the research and preparation phase of their upcoming second season.

You can listen to all of the shows from the GPN, including Gneiss Chats on Spotify, Apple podcasts, Stitcher and Google podcasts or directly at travelinggeologist.com.

Logos for the GPN and its other two Podcasts.

Did you enjoy the Gneiss Chats Podcast? You want some more?

We have rounded up the Geosciences Podcasts you might be interested in listening to! If you have your own podcast that you would like to advertise, please get in touch with us through ecs-gmpv@egu.eu.