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PlanetGeo: The Geology Podcast

PlanetGeo: The Geology Podcast

Chris and Jesse 288 Episodes Jul 16, 2026

A Geology and Earth Science Podcast. Join Chris, an award-winning geology teacher, and Jesse, a geoscience professor, in discussing the amazing features of our planet and their impact on your everyday life. No prior knowledge required. New episodes coming at you every week. Listen, subscribe, share with someone you know!

Episodes

The Rock 50 Light-Years Away
The Rock 50 Light-Years Away Jul 16, 2026 3411 What if you could tell whether a rock exists on a planet 50 light-years away — without ever leaving Earth? This week Chris and Jesse welcome back friend-of-the-show Dr. Jackie Faherty (American Museum of Natural History) for her fourth appearance to talk about one of the wildest results in exoplanet science yet.The crew digs into a new Nature Astronomy paper on a rocky planet about 30% larger than
The Room Problem (and how Geochronology solves it)
The Room Problem (and how Geochronology solves it) Jul 2, 2026 3271 Granite is everywhere — it makes up much of the continental crust beneath our feet; yet, for over a century geologists were stuck on a deceptively simple question: where does all that magma find room? In this episode, Jesse and Dr. Mike Ackerson pick the granite series back up to tackle the "room problem" — the puzzle of how you wedge a magma body tens of kilometers wide into solid crust
Rocks for the Future - with MIT Prof. Oli Jagoutz
Rocks for the Future - with MIT Prof. Oli Jagoutz Jun 11, 2026 2645 What does cracking open green-shiny rocks in a German preschool have to do with feeding eight billion people without oil and gas? In this episode, we sit down with Prof. Oli Jagoutz, professor at MIT and director of the Earth Resources Laboratory (ERL), for a wide-ranging conversation that travels from the Himalayas to the wastewater treatment plant — and makes the case that geology might be one o
The Fundamentals of Geology (Exam)
The Fundamentals of Geology (Exam) May 28, 2026 2465 This week we take on the FG test — the Fundamentals of Geology exam — the very first step on the road to becoming a professionally licensed geologist. Jesse just sat the exam this past fall (yes, a geology professor going back to take Geology 101), and we get into exactly what that was like: the nerves, the cram sessions, and the very real fear of an embarrassing fail.We break down what's act
Granite Wars: The Debates That Built a Science
Granite Wars: The Debates That Built a Science May 21, 2026 3553 In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Mike Ackerson (Smithsonian) for the kick-off of a deep-dive series on granites and granitoids. This one goes into the weeds: the 250-year history of how arguing about granite shaped nearly every major idea in the geosciences.We trace the great controversies from the 1700s to today:🌊 Neptunism vs. Plutonism — Did granite precipitate out of a global ocean, or cr
The Geologist's License: How the FG and PG Exams Get Built — with Keith Rapp
The Geologist's License: How the FG and PG Exams Get Built — with Keith Rapp Apr 30, 2026 3810 In this episode, we sat down with Keith Rapp, senior hydrogeologist, longtime volunteer with ASBOG (the Association of State Boards of Geology), and immediate past president of the organization. We dug into the professional geologist licensure process — what the FG (Fundamentals of Geology) and PG (Practice of Geology) exams actually test, how questions get written and vetted by panels of subject
What Makes Supervolcanoes? With Professor Shan de Silva and Dr. Rachel Phillips
What Makes Supervolcanoes? With Professor Shan de Silva and Dr. Rachel Phillips Apr 16, 2026 3018 What distinguishes supervolcanoes from regular or non-super volcanoes? How many supervolcanoes are on Earth today? What are the precursors to supervolcano eruptions? In today's deep dive, Dr. Rachel Phillips, from GeoGirl, and I we got to talk to supervolcano researcher, Dr. Shan de Silva, to answer all your supervolcano questions (and more)!Download the CampGeo app now at this link. On the a
Eating Rocks For Breakfast
Eating Rocks For Breakfast Apr 2, 2026 2216 Download the CampGeo app now at this link. On the app you can get tons of free content, exclusive images, and access to our Geology of National Parks series. You can also learn the basics of geology at the college level in our FREE CampGeo content series - get learning now!Like, Subscribe, and leave us a Rating!——————————————————Instagram: @planetgeocastTwitter: @planetgeocastFacebook: @planetgeoc
What is a Professional Geologist? An Intro to Licensure
What is a Professional Geologist? An Intro to Licensure Mar 26, 2026 1879 Jesse and Dr. Joshua Davis introduce a new series on professional geology licensure, prompted by listener questions, exam study use of their podcast, and continuing-education approvals. Jesse shares starting the U.S. process by taking the FG (Fundamentals of Geology) exam and explains the typical U.S. pathway in 31 states: FG exam, geologist-in-training status, years of work experience under a lic
Visualizing the Deep Earth - CEO and Founder Christie Capper
Visualizing the Deep Earth - CEO and Founder Christie Capper Mar 19, 2026 3187 Today Jesse talks with Christie Capper, founder and CEO of Deep Earth, which aims to visualize the subsurface by digitizing and unifying scattered underground data into accessible 3D maps. Christie describes her path from a toy-inventor upbringing to studying economics and mechanical engineering (robotics) at Claremont and Columbia, then working at SpaceX, interning at the UN and Boeing, moving in
The Anatomy of Mountain Ranges
The Anatomy of Mountain Ranges Feb 26, 2026 2483 Chris is back!! Today we answer the simple question - Why do we see a predictable geologic and topographic progression as we drive from flat plains into mountains? We use examples from Michigan to Tennessee, the Canadian Rockies, Glacier, the Bighorns, Colorado, and the Appalachians to walk through a common sequence: we start on broad areas of mostly flat-lying sedimentary rocks (sandstones, shale
Geology Meets Deep Tech - Danielle Bennett
Geology Meets Deep Tech - Danielle Bennett Feb 19, 2026 3463 On this episode of Planet Geo, we welcome Danielle Bennett—a startup operator with a venture capital background (and not a geoscientist by training) who’s been talking with tons of geologists, hydrogeologists, and engineers while helping build a geoscience-adjacent mapping company at Deep Earth Tech. Danielle shares how growing up with entrepreneur parents (who ran a groundwater-focused engineerin

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