Wonder

GeoCo

Welcome to Wonder, the planet earth podcast for curious people. Hosted by earth scientists Holly Cooke & Dr Anthony Reid.

  1. Writer & illustrator Vojta Hybl on the art of knowing the Earth

    1D AGO

    Writer & illustrator Vojta Hybl on the art of knowing the Earth

    We adored our time with writer, illustrator, educator, and 'not-geologist(!!!)', Vojta Hybl (aka @vojta.illustrates). Look, we don't have better words to summarise these ideas than those Vojta gifted us throughout this conversation.... so, please, go listen & enjoy 💗 What a joy. Here you can Vojta's gorgeous new book, Rocks, A Guide to the Stones Around Us and the Stories They Tell. Make sure you're following Wonder wherever you get your podcasts - and chuck that notifications bell on! We release a GeoCo News email newsletter. You wouldn't want to miss out... ⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up here.⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find us on Instagram & TikTok: @thegeoco Thanks to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Geological Society of Australia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for making this episode of Wonder possible! GeoCo comes to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

    32 min
  2. Did plants drive ancient ice ages? Rewinding the Earth's evolution with Professor Ben Mills (Part 2)

    APR 28

    Did plants drive ancient ice ages? Rewinding the Earth's evolution with Professor Ben Mills (Part 2)

    We start todays episode at the end of the world with Professor of Earth System Evolution, Ben Mills. Soon we're looking at his incredible grid cell model of the Earth and watching 537 million years of evolution play out in pixels: continents drifting, plants evolving, ice sheets growing, CO2 falling, climates flipping. Ben then really shows us something cool: a simulation wherein we build, or rather terraform, an exoplanet from scratch into a habitable planet. In realtime we seed a lifeless world with cyanobacteria... wait for oxygen... drop in algae, tinker with plants... And how did we go? Well, let's just say we're glad Gaia took care of this all on our planet, because left to us three, we're probably not making it out of the Snowball... If you haven't listened to part 1 yet, don't start this episode until you've done that!!! Watch here. Make sure you're following Wonder wherever you get your podcasts - and chuck that notifications bell on! We release a GeoCo News email newsletter. You wouldn't want to miss out... ⁠⁠⁠sign up here.⁠⁠⁠ Find us on Instagram & TikTok: @thegeoco Thanks to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Geological Society of Australia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for making this episode of Wonder possible! GeoCo comes to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

    31 min
  3. Does life regulate the Earth's atmosphere? The Gaia hypothesis with Professor Ben Mills (Part 1)

    APR 21

    Does life regulate the Earth's atmosphere? The Gaia hypothesis with Professor Ben Mills (Part 1)

    Todays show is something super special for you guys... Professor Ben Mills joins us in studio (all the way from the UK!) to walk us through what is genuinely one of the most interesting scientific ideas about our planet: the Gaia hypothesis. The Gaia hypothesis posits that life doesn't just passively inhabit habitable conditions on the Earth ... rather, life itself regulates the atmosphere, oceans and climate over billions of years and thus maintains a habitable planet. Ben explains it all to us, and on the way we walk through his origin story as a mathematician at the University of East Anglia, through his chance introduction to the Gaia hypothesis under PhD supervisor Andy Watson, and into the heart of modern Earth system modelling – where simple equations on a piece of paper are now evolving into 3D simulations of our living planet. Along the way we get into oxygen, wildfires, cigarettes in bell jars, Daisy World, and what all of this might tell us about finding life on other worlds. Make sure you're following Wonder wherever you get your podcasts - and chuck that notifications bell on! We release a GeoCo News email newsletter. You wouldn't want to miss out... ⁠⁠sign up here.⁠⁠ Find us on Instagram & TikTok: @thegeoco Thanks to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Geological Society of Australia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for making this episode of Wonder possible! GeoCo comes to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

    32 min
  4. How gold nuggets grow with Dr Chris Voisey (Part II)

    APR 15

    How gold nuggets grow with Dr Chris Voisey (Part II)

    Today we continue our electrifying conversation with the hilarious Dr Chris Voisey about his impressive experiments and what they tell us about the mysterious ways of gold nugget formation. Find Chris and friends Nature Geoscience paper here. Thanks to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Geological Society of Australia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for making this episode of Wonder possible! Make sure you're following Wonder wherever you get your podcasts - and chuck that notifications bell on! We release a GeoCo News email newsletter. You wouldn't want to miss out... ⁠sign up here.⁠ Find us on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thegeoco or our website ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.thegeoco.com.au⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ GeoCo comes to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

    20 min
  5. The electric growth of gold in earthquakes with Dr Chris Voisey (Part I)

    APR 8

    The electric growth of gold in earthquakes with Dr Chris Voisey (Part I)

    Gold is one of the most chemically inert elements on the periodic table, and the fluids that carry it through the crust contain barely any of it… so how on Earth do we end up with enormous gold nuggets? Dr Chris Voisey, research fellow at Monash University, joins Wonder to talk about the geology of gold deposits, the mystery of how gold nuggets actually form, and the weird property of quartz crystals that might hold the answer: piezoelectricity. This is part 1 of two conversations we have with Chris – say tuned!! Find more from Dr Chris Voisey from his piece in The Conversation, 'How do you make a giant gold nugget? Take a vein of quartz, add a few thousand earthquakes'. Or check out his article in Nature Geoscience 'Gold nugget formation from earthquake-induced piezoelectricity in quartz'. Make sure you're following Wonder wherever you get your podcasts - and chuck that notifications bell on! We release a GeoCo News email newsletter. You wouldn't want to miss out... ⁠sign up here.⁠ Find us on Instagram & TikTok: @thegeoco Thanks to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Geological Society of Australia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for making this episode of Wonder possible! GeoCo comes to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

    30 min
  6. From the Himalaya to Uluru, Dr Melanie Finch explains how the greatest mountains on Earth grow

    MAR 31

    From the Himalaya to Uluru, Dr Melanie Finch explains how the greatest mountains on Earth grow

    Fifty million years ago, two colliding tectonic plates began building the biggest mountain range on Earth today. Structural geologist Dr Melanie Finch from the University of Melbourne joins Wonder to explain exactly how these mountains are rising: deep in the crust, where it's too hot for rocks to snap, thin layers of rock flow like honey, slowly pushing everything above them skyward. These are shear zones, and just three of these conveyor belts built the entire Himalaya. In this episode, Melanie takes us from the marine fossils sitting on top of Mount Everest to the five kilometre high mountains that once stood in the middle of Australia – where, to our delight, we also detour into the geological story of Uluru. Find more beautifully written pieces by Melanie in The Conversation, 'The epic, 550-million-year story of Uluṟu, and the spectacular forces that led to its formation' and on her website. Thanks to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Geological Society of Australia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for making this episode of Wonder possible! Make sure you're following Wonder wherever you get your podcasts - and chuck that notifications bell on! We release a GeoCo News email newsletter. You wouldn't want to miss out... sign up here. Find us on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thegeoco or our website ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.thegeoco.com.au⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ GeoCo comes to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

    29 min
  7. The Brilliant Stone Structures that Preserve Earth's Earliest Life with Heidi Allen

    11/25/2025

    The Brilliant Stone Structures that Preserve Earth's Earliest Life with Heidi Allen

    Thanks to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Geological Society of Australia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for making this episode of Wonder possible! Find us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.thegeoco.com.au⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thegeoco⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Got questions? Get in touch- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠hello@thegeoco.com.au⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ GeoCo connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

    30 min
  8. Why Lithium in the Universe is an Elemental Mystery, with Professor Brian Fields

    11/05/2025

    Why Lithium in the Universe is an Elemental Mystery, with Professor Brian Fields

    It's the lightest metal on the periodic table and a crucial component in our modern technologies... but lithium also presents a fascinating cosmological problem. Professor Brian Fields joins WONDER podcast from the University of Illinois and shares with us the mysteries of primordial lithium formation in the universe - a story that takes us from interstellar dust to the big bang itself. Turns out, geologists aren't the only ones hunting for lithium... Thanks to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Geological Society of Australia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for making this episode of WONDER possible! Find us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.thegeoco.com.au⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thegeoco⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Got questions? Get in touch- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠hello@thegeoco.com.au⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ GeoCo connects to you from the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains, South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

    31 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
8 Ratings

About

Welcome to Wonder, the planet earth podcast for curious people. Hosted by earth scientists Holly Cooke & Dr Anthony Reid.

Information

  • Creator
    GeoCo
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    48
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © GeoCo
  • Show Website
    Wonder

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