The MeatEater Podcast Ep. 871: Are Birds Actually Dinosaurs?
18 snips
May 4, 2026 
Steve Brusatte, paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, and bestselling author, brings big-picture deep-time storytelling. He explains why modern birds are technically dinosaurs, recounts feathered fossil discoveries and preserved coloration, and discusses fossil rarity, dinosaur survival traits after the asteroid, and how flight and beaks shaped bird evolution.
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Feathered Dinosaurs Found In Chinese Pompeii
- Steve Brusatte describes Chinese volcanic fossil beds that preserved feathers like Pompeii preserved people.
- He recounts farmers in northeastern China bringing feathered dinosaur fossils into local museums showing raptors covered in feathers.
CAT Scans Let Us Read Dinosaur Brains
- CT scans of dinosaur skulls let researchers build digital endocasts to measure brain size and regions.
- From optic lobes, olfactory bulbs and cochlea length we infer senses and relative intelligence (e.g., T. rex had keen smell, vision, and hearing).
Learn Paleontology By Getting In The Field
- If you're interested in fossils, go look where the rocks are right for that age and learn by doing field prospecting.
- Brusatte likens prospecting to hunting: do homework, pick the right places, spend time, be patient and persistent.
