Month: June 2026

Dale Gnidovec: Dinosaurs Are Like Measles

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“I’ve loved dinosaurs since I was a little kid. A lot of kids like dinosaurs. It’s sort of like measles: most kids get it, most kids get over it. I never got over it. I still love dinosaurs.”

Dale Gnidovec, collections manager and curator of the Orton Geological Museum, received the Ohio Department of Natural Resources 2025 Cardinal Award, which recognizes individuals and organizations who have made significant contributions to conservation and environmental education in Ohio. This episode features Gnidovec giving David Staley a tour of the Orton Museum, something you can do in person almost any weekday or any time at all online.

Ryan Joyce: How Former Colonies Recover

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Ryan Joyce, assistant professor of French and Francophone Studies, researches decolonization, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic World. His scholarship foregrounds the study of creolization, gender and sexuality, diaspora and migration, performance, and marronage (slaves escaping captivity). Joyce is especially interested in decolonization, the ways former colonies reclaim their economic, political and cultural autonomy. Joyce argues for the contemporary relevance of this process in Ohio due to its continued influence on large Haitian communities in Springfield and Columbus. Joyce discusses his decolonization seminar that was supported by OSU Special Collections, his Engaged Scholars Academy experience, and phis lans for an expanded free public Creole course and a marronage monograph.