Love in the Time of Chasmosaurs

In this slightly-delayed-by-the-heatwave episode, Gemma, Marc and Natee finally get around to discussing some of the best-known and most widely reproduced and copied palaeoart of all time – Neave Parker’s monochrome saurians as published in the Natural History Museum (or rather, British Museum (Natural History))’s 1960s book entitled Dinosaurs. Then, Marc interviews American artist and author Timothy J Bradley on a career that encompasses Dinamation (see episode 49), toy design for Hasbro and literally hundreds of illustrations for the Jurassic Park Institute Dinopedia, as well as more recent forays into the world of children’s books. In addition to having a highly distinctive, vibrant art style, he’s responsible for perhaps the most coveted unreleased Jurassic Park toy…which is saying something.

 

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In this no-doubt pivotal 50th episode of the somewhat irregular LITC podcast, Gemma and Marc interview Tim Haines about his latest televisual venture featuring CG recreations of prehistoric animals in photogenic settings – Surviving Earth! But before that, a short preamble packs in Isle of Wight shoutouts, Thai-ropods (or something like that), and Gemma's boundless flair for the dramatic.

 

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Episode fifty minus one is finally here, and we're back looking at some non-traditional forms of palaeoart! Gemma, Marc and Natee discuss the beloved animatronics made by the Dinamation company in the 1980s and 1990s. Then, Natee and Gemma interview the unsung Sean Hennesy, whose dinosaur comics under the name "Speed Thief" combine art with comedy. We discuss how cartoons can inspire curiosity, and how a little bit of humour can make the knowledge go down better. Is dino animatronic design a lost art? Just how ugly is the Dinamation Allosaurus? How does a cartoonist come up with new gags? How ridiculous are dinosaurs? Does The Lost World: Jurassic Park hold up?  And will your humble hosts ever accept that middle age is coming for us? It's all here in episode 49!

 

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It feels like we're doing this a lot now, but Marc, Gemma and Natee are once again reviewing a new television show with CGI dinosaurs! This time, the title is simply "The Dinosaurs", a four-part miniseries on Netflix narrated by that fellow from Driving Miss Redemption of the Seven Penguins. Also, Marc has an in-depth chat with Dougal Dixon, the maestro of speculative evolution and the writer of half of all of our dinosaur books. He speaks enthousiastically about his thought processes behind his seminal 1988 The New Dinosaurs, of which a new edition is out now. Of course, Marc can't resist asking him about a certain magazine from the 90s... Is "The Dinosaurs" better than "Life On Our Planet"? What does Morgan Freeman say if he isn't allowed to use "Dynasty"? Is palaeopublishing dead? And will Gemma use this platform for shameless self-promotion? All of that in episode 48!

 

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Gemma's single Queen Latvia on YouTube!

We're trying out something new for our first podcast episode of 2026! Marc, Natee and Gemma are joined by returning guest Christopher DiPiazza, teacher, palaeoartist and now budding palaeontologist. Not only does he fill us in about all his adventures working with fossils from the Maryland Dinosaur Park bone beds, he also joins us for our Vintage Dinosaur Art discussion. Chris introduces us to the work of Pam Mara as it appears in several volumes of Rourke dinosaur books. These came out in the 1980s and have been illustrated by a handful of different artists, of which Pam Mara was one that proved particularly formative to Chris' young mind... Do old, half-remembered books still subliminally influence the artist's work? Why is Coelophysis purple? How is a tyrannosaur like Mickey Mouse? Why can we imagine the smell of vinyl when looking at these illustrations? And where does Gemma draw the line when it comes to stylization? Join us for the first episode of 2026!

 

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In the season of Santa and weather so bleak,
Three natural history nerds take a peek
At young ancient mammals, so fluffy and twee
As seen on the new show on Apple TV.

In landscapes so snowy and icy and barren
They go on adventures, instructed by Darren.
Some get dehydrated and some weather-beaten,
Ales, all to few of the babies get eaten.

Is the show a success, or is it too hokey?
Did the BBC trade in old David for Loki?
How did we enjoy all the epic CG?
Now listen to Gemma and Marc and Natee...

 

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Gemma, Natee, and Marc are back for another attempt at entertaining prehistorically inclined people with carefully edited commentary and interviews with people who actually know what they're talking about. In this episode, David Armsby's back and better than ever, Darren Naish's hair is slicker than ever, and Gemma interviews palaeobotanist and artist Julianne Kiely, who's here to save us all from painfully generic and/or inaccurate flora in palaeoart. Will Gemma dare challenge Julianne's assertion that plants are cooler than animals? How handsome is a cockroach? Can we still be confident that an illustration of a dinosaur was AI-generated? Find out...by listening.

 

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Your Charmosaurs crew is here again with a cool new episode. This month, we're discussing the works of the late, great Brian Franczak as it appears in The National Audubon Pocket Guide: Dinosaurs. Rolls off the tongue, doesn't it? Mark, Natee and Gemma discuss the merits of an unfairly forgotten palaeo master of the ninetes. Then, old familiar voices Steve White and Darren Naish come on the show to discuss their new palaeoart compendium, Mesozoic Art II. Who is the ninetiesest palaeoartist? How excited are we about the new Prehistoric Planet? Has Gemma been spoiled on rubber dinosaurs? Is there such a thing as dinosaur-themed spirituality? And has anyone outside of the UK ever heard of Gorgo? All shall be revealed in episode 44!

 

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It's that time of year again, even though it's at a different time each year. Natee, Gemma and Marc attended the very first iteration of DinoCon, the spiritual successor to TetZooCon, but more bigger, more dinosaurier and more in Exeter! Join our crew as they reminisce about their adventures and misadventures, the perilous journey to Devon, the informative talks and highlights, the colourful characters, the quiz, the costumes and the merch. Is DinoCon a worthy successor to TetZooCon? What changed, what stayed the same? Did Gemma get told off for interviewing people? What made Marc shed a tear? And will Natee ever not get Covid? Join us at the Big Bony Club and find out all about DinoCon 2025!

 

Show Notes At Chasmosaurs!

Episode 42 (insert Hitchhiker's Guide reference here) sees Marc, Natee and Gemma team up with Andrew Stück, the one and only Dino Dad, as we tackle surely one of the most divisive topics we have ever discussed on this show: the 2025 revival of Walking With Dinosaurs. Will it be a beloved classic like the original 1999 series, an embarassing turkey like the 2013 movie, or something in between? Are we as blown away as we were when we saw our first Diplodocus? Are we as menaced as we were by Liopleurodon? Are our heartstrings tugged as they were when we saw the last journey of Ornithocheirus? Are we as endeared as we were by Leallynasaura? What place is there for a Walking With Dinosaurs in this post-Prehistoric Planet world? Who skipped through the segments of modern-day palaeontology? Can Jim Kirkland save the day? And, most crucially of all: what did Andrew's children think? It's all here in today's action packed episode.

 

Show Notes At Chasmosaurs!