What Jurassic Park got wrong (and right) about dinosaurs

Outside/In

NHPR

Society & Culture, Documentary, Natural Sciences, Nature, Science

4.7 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 26 June 2025

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When the smash-success Jurassic Park first hit theaters in 1993, it inspired a generation of dinophiliacs and helped to usher in a new “golden age of paleontology.” But it also froze the public’s perception of dinosaurs in time, and popularized inaccuracies that people still believe are true today. So what happens when the biggest source of information on a scientific field comes from a fictional monster movie? In this episode, three Jurassic Park super-fans (one paleontologist and two podcasters) try to sort it all out. Featuring Gabriel-Philip Santos. This episode was originally published in 2022. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org. SUPPORT To share your questions and feedback with Outside/In, call the show’s hotline and leave us a voicemail. The number is 1-844-GO-OTTER. No question is too serious or too silly. Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. Follow Outside/In on Instagram, BlueSky, Tiktok, or join our private discussion group on Facebook. LINKSWant to learn more about dinosaurs? Check the publish date before you check it out from the library! And here are some good options: Smithsonian’s The Dinosaur Book (pretty much all of the Smithsonian books are good for younger readers) Want to get a more global perspective of where dinosaurs have been discovered? Check out a dinosaur atlas book. For older readers, or anybody who loves a good coffee table book, check out this entry featuring a number of excellent paleoartists: Dinosaur Art II (Taylor has the first one and loves to show it off). Also: A truly disheartening read about people who think feathered dinosaurs are an attack on masculinity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Outside In. I'm Nate Hedgy. So there are cycles to working in the media.
0:05.2	Journalists are there every summer when the Supreme Court releases new decisions.
0:09.1	They're there every four years when the presidential election comes around.
0:12.9	And also, about every four years, it seems, we get to cover a new Jurassic Park movie hitting theaters.
0:22.7	This time, it is the very appropriately titled Jurassic Park Rebirth, the seventh, can you
0:27.7	believe it's seventh film in the franchise? And it is the perfect opportunity for us to revisit
0:32.8	one of our favorite episodes about the accuracy of the much revered original. But before I hit play,
0:40.2	I've also got a couple of announcements to make. First, for those of you who listen to the
0:45.1	podcast in New Hampshire and the surrounding areas, we are so excited to tell you that
0:51.5	Outside Inn is coming back to broadcast. That's right, starting this July, you that outside in is coming back to broadcast.
1:01.5	That's right, starting this July, you can tune in on NHPR every Saturday morning at 11 a.m.
1:02.9	To listen to the latest episode.
1:08.1	So if you like chilling with the radio on, or we've got friends and family that haven't caught the podcast bug but you think would love the show, please spread the word.
1:11.7	And if you're a listener from California, New York, Texas, Alaska, anywhere in between,
1:17.8	feel free to write your local public radio station and let them know that they should play
1:22.7	outside in too. Which gets me to my other announcement, or I guess I should say more of a statement.
1:29.2	Just like the kids that were stuck under that Jeep as it was getting attacked by a T-Rex in
1:33.1	the original Jurassic Park, public media is also in deep trouble. If you've been paying attention
1:39.1	to the news lately, you might know that there are lots of efforts to defund and undermine stations
1:43.9	like NHPR,
1:44.9	where we make this podcast.
1:46.7	Long story short, this is a hugely important time to help support the public media
	...

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