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PODCAST

The Common Descent Podcast

Join David and Will as they explore the paleontologists’ perspective on various topics in life and earth history. Each episode features a main discussion on a topic requested by the listeners, presented as a lighthearted and educational conversation about fossils, evolution, deep time, and more. Before the main discussion, each episode also includes a news segment, covering recent research related to paleontology and evolution. Each episode ends with the answer to a question submitted by

science natural sciences

All Episodes

02:05:50

Episode 126 - Mimicry

The Common Descent Podcast ·

2021/11/14

Evolution loves to plagiarize. You might be surprised at just how useful it can be for an organism to copy the signals, sights, sounds, and smells of others. Mimicry is all about making use of miscommunication. In this episode we’ll discuss the astounding diversity of modern mimics, the rare examples of fossil mimics, and the complex and confusing evolution patterns of mimicry. In the news: Cambrian bryozoans, early tusks, hermit worms, and parthenogenetic condors. Time markers: Intro &

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01:48:04

Episode 125 - Orchids

The Common Descent Podcast ·

2021/10/31

Orchids are among the most diverse and widespread group of plants on Earth today, not to mention one of the most popular among plant enthusiasts. This episode, we discuss what makes orchids so unique and strange, as well as the many mysteries surrounding their evolution and deep history. As with all our plant episodes, Aly is on hand to tell us all about why orchids are so fascinating. Featuring special guest, Dr. Aly Baumgartner, our favorite paleobotanist! Follow Aly on Twitter or Instagram

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01:04:48

Spook-E - Triffids

The Common Descent Podcast ·

2021/10/30

Welcome ... to Spookulative Evolution. October is here, and that means it’s time for Spook-E! Each episode throughout this month, we’re choosing a famous monster and discussing how it – or something like it – might evolve under the rules of evolution and natural selection, pulling inspiration from organisms of the real world. This year’s theme: monster plants. This episode, we face a more modern monster, star of page and screen. Can we invoke natural processes to develop a plant that haunts humans

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48:01

Spook-E - Mandrakes

The Common Descent Podcast ·

2021/10/23

Welcome ... to Spookulative Evolution. October is here, and that means it’s time for Spook-E! Each episode throughout this month, we’re choosing a famous monster and discussing how it – or something like it – might evolve under the rules of evolution and natural selection, pulling inspiration from organisms of the real world. This year’s theme: monster plants. This episode, we evaluate a famous and deadly monster favored by healers and witches. How can we use nature’s toolkit to evolve a baby-shaped

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01:59:49

Episode 124 - Snowball Earth

The Common Descent Podcast ·

2021/10/17

An Earth covered in ice might sound far-fetched, but there’s reason to think it has actually happened in the past – more than once. In this episode, we examine the Snowball Earth hypothesis and the geologic evidence and climate models that back it up, as well as some of the major lingering questions: Just how snowy is the snowball? How could this start? How could it end? And how did life fare on a frozen planet? In the news: ancient tardigrades, meat-eating sloths, shark communities, and relict

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55:24

Spook-E - Animated Trees

The Common Descent Podcast ·

2021/10/16

Welcome ... to Spookulative Evolution. October is here, and that means it’s time for Spook-E! Each episode throughout this month, we’re choosing a famous monster and discussing how it – or something like it – might evolve under the rules of evolution and natural selection, pulling inspiration from organisms of the real world. This year’s theme: monster plants. This episode, we ponder a familiar favorite of myths, media, and Middle Earth. What evolutionary path might result in a towering woody plant

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01:05:30

Spook-E - People-Eating Plants

The Common Descent Podcast ·

2021/10/09

Welcome ... to Spookulative Evolution. October is here, and that means it’s time for Spook-E! Each episode throughout this month, we’re choosing a famous monster and discussing how it – or something like it – might evolve under the rules of evolution and natural selection, pulling inspiration from organisms of the real world. This year’s theme: monster plants. This episode, we consider a classic category of plants-turned-monsters. How might natural selection produce a predatory plant with a taste

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02:00:37

Episode 123 - Spiders

The Common Descent Podcast ·

2021/10/03

Spiders are among the most diverse, successful, and famous living groups of invertebrates. Today, they’re a worldwide assortment of fascinating predators, and their scarce fossil record provides hints of a history over 300 million years old. In this episode, we discuss the diversity and evolution of spiders, their varied lifestyles, and their most versatile and famous tool, silk. In the news: snake evolution, giant penguins, early American humans, and spider parents. Time markers: Intro &

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02:06:48

Episode 122 - Plate Tectonics

The Common Descent Podcast ·

2021/09/19

The Earth is in motion beneath our feet. The shifting and grinding of the tectonic plates is responsible for the shape of our planet’s surface and – directly or indirectly – nearly all the activity that happens upon it. Plate tectonics has a deep and fascinating history, both as a force that has shaped the Earth for billions of years and as a surprisingly recent foundational scientific theory. In the news: shark teeth, Cambrian predators, Carnotaurus skin, and teratorns. Time markers: Intro &

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02:10:23

Episode 121 - Brains

The Common Descent Podcast ·

2021/09/05

Nearly all animals have some form of nervous system, and this system is often monitored and regulated by a brain. We humans are particularly proud of our enormous brains, but these organs come in all shapes and sizes across the animal kingdom, past and present. In this episode, we discuss brain diversity, the sometimes roundabout ways we explore brains in the fossil record, and what we’ve come to learn about the evolution of brains. In the news: turtle embryo, frog-legged leaf beetle, early lizard

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02:51:19

Episode 120 – Tyrannosaurs

The Common Descent Podcast ·

2021/08/22

Ever since T. rex was first identified in 1905, tyrannosaurs have been among the most famous and well-studied dinosaurs of all time. Research, especially in the last few decades, has revealed incredible details of tyrannosaur evolution, lifestyles, and development. This episode, we take a tour through tyrannosaur history, envision what these predators were like in life, and touch on some of the most prominent tyrannosaur controversies, including their notorious popularity. In the news: venom

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01:44:02

Episode 119 - India

The Common Descent Podcast ·

2021/08/08

India is a landmass with an incredible history. Over the past half-billion years, it has spent time with the southern continents, time as an island-on-the-move, and time with the northern continents. Its fossil record is a combination of southern life, northern life, and uniquely Indian life, and its geologic history is not only the story of a traveling subcontinent, but also the origin story of one of Earth’s most impressive mountain ranges. In the news: baby pterosaurs, vampire bats, early

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02:04:19

Episode 118 - Trace Fossils

The Common Descent Podcast ·

2021/07/25

As organisms live, grow, and move in their environments, they leave all sorts of traces in their surroundings, and these can become fossilized just like body parts can. Trace fossils (ichnofossils) can include evidence of burrowing, walking, feeding, and more. Individual trace fossils are great for understanding the behaviors of ancient organisms, and communities of trace fossils can help us track major changes in ecosystems through time. In the news: damaged cave bear, shrinking dinosaurs, koala

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01:56:05

Episode 117 - Crabs and Carcinization

The Common Descent Podcast ·

2021/07/11

What exactly is a “crab” anyway? One answer is that they are among the most diverse and successful living arthropods. Another answer: they are many different groups of crustaceans that have converged on a crabby body plan. In this episode, we discuss the diversity and evolution of “true crabs,” the incredible phenomenon of carcinization that keeps creating crabs, and what it really means to be a “crab.” In the news: poop beetles, Arctic dinosaurs, Dragon Man, and an ancient shark attack. Time

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02:10:46

Episode 116 - Ichthyosaurs

The Common Descent Podcast ·

2021/06/27

The history of evolution has seen many land animals move to the sea, but few have done it with such success and specialization as ichthyosaurs. These Mesozoic marine reptiles were the first group of tetrapods to truly dominate the marine realm, and they evolved some of the most extreme adaptations – and largest bodies – of any ocean-dwelling tetrapods. This episode, we discuss how they got started, what they did, where they went, and why they’re so incredibly famous. In the news: giant crocs, giant

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59:44

Silver Screen Science - Anaconda (1997)

The Common Descent Podcast ·

2021/06/24

This June, by popular demand, we’re doing a Silver Screen Science double feature focusing on our two favorite reptiles: crocs and snakes. One croc movie, one snake movie, both quintessential creature features of the 90s. This episode, it’s snake time: Anaconda (1997) The Common Descent Store is open! Get merch! http://zazzle.com/common_descent Follow and Support us on: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/CommonDescentPC Facebook:

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51:20

Silver Screen Science - Lake Placid (1999)

The Common Descent Podcast ·

2021/06/17

This June, by popular demand, we’re doing a Silver Screen Science double feature focusing on our favorite reptiles: crocs and snakes! One croc movie, one snake movie, both quintessential creature features of the 90s. This episode, crocs take center stage: Lake Placid (1999) Next time … Anaconda. The Common Descent Store is open! Get merch! http://zazzle.com/common_descent Follow and Support us on: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast Twitter:

en

01:53:23

Episode 115 - Biomes

The Common Descent Podcast ·

2021/06/13

All over the Earth, there are biological communities that differ depending on the local climate and landscape. These are biomes, and biologists love to map them to unravel patterns of ecosystem distribution. But biomes also change over time as climates and landscapes shift. In this episode, our favorite paleobotanist, Dr. Aly Baumgartner, joins us to discuss how we identify biomes in the past and present, how they’ve changed over time, and what it means for a new biome to arise … or for an old one

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01:59:00

Episode 114 - Polar Life

The Common Descent Podcast ·

2021/05/30

Far to the north and far to the south, conditions on Earth get weird. Cold climates and periods of perpetual night or day create some of the most unique habitats on the planet. In this episode, we look at what makes the polar regions so strange, how they’ve changed over time, what it takes for life to survive there, and what fossils tell us about what lived there in the past. In the news: gut microbiomes, chewed Neanderthals, ancient symbiosis, and very old turtles. Time markers: Intro &

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02:18:22

Episode 113 - Paleoclimate

The Common Descent Podcast ·

2021/05/16

The geologic record of Earth is an archive of data on the causes and effects of changing climates. As climate changes, it impacts everything from plants and animals to rocks and rivers. The study of ancient climates is paleoclimatology, and it’s important not only for our understanding of climate in the past, but also for teasing out what’s happening with our climate today and what we can expect for the future. In the news: tyrannosaur group, a chomped squid, horned crocs, and night dinosaurs. This

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