The Common Descent Podcast

Just about every body of water on Earth, from oceans to puddles, is home to an ecosystem of tiny drifting organisms. This episode, we discuss what sorts of organisms we might expect to find in a swarm of plankton, we’ll explore how plankton is so fundamental to biological and geological systems on Earth, and we’ll take some time to lay out some of the many ways that ancient plankton are a crucial...

Silver Screen Science is our series where we explore how science is portrayed on the big screen. This year, we’re focused on one recurring franchise: Planet of the Apes! Finally, we visit the ongoing prequel franchise with the story of how it all got started: Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Check out our website for blog posts and more: http://commondescentpodcast.com/ Join us on Patreon to suppor...

With several thousand living species, ferns are the second most diverse vascular plants around today, after angiosperms. Ferns are also abundant and well-known in the fossil record. This episode, Aly joins us to explore the dizzying variety of ferns and their ferny-friends, past and present. In the news: When the Earth Was Green, weird wasps, and ancient claws. And also dire wolves. Time markers:...

Silver Screen Science is our series where we explore how science is portrayed on the big screen. This year, we’re focused on one recurring franchise: Planet of the Apes! It’s the reboot of the original, a 21st-Century take on the concept – Planet of the Apes (2001). Check out our website for blog posts and more: http://commondescentpodcast.com/ Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy b...

Silver Screen Science is our series where we explore how science is portrayed on the big screen. This year, we’re focused on one recurring franchise: Planet of the Apes! This episode, we begin where it began, with the original movie about a world where simian society is turned upside-down – Planet of the Apes (1968). Check out our website for blog posts and more: http://commondescentpodcast.com/ J...

Evolution just loves a nice pair of oversized canines, especially on mammalian predators. Saber-toothed animals have shown up over and over again – we even have some today – but despite their similarities, not all of these toothy species were using their canines the same way. This episode, we explore the various shapes of functions of saber teeth and the disparate lineages that have sported them....

Our high-level Patreon supporters get to request a topic for their very own mini-episode! For the sixth time, we’ve put the latest bunch together for everyone to enjoy! Thank you as always to our incredible Patrons of all levels for keeping the podcast going! Intro: 00:00:00 Ambulocetus for Ambulocetus – 00:01:45 Abelisaurs for Quinn – 00:18:30 Capybaras for Melissa – 00:41:22 Pelicans for Johnath...

Leave a carcass or a log or a pile of poop out in the wild long enough and it will break down into its component parts. Decomposers are an often-overlooked but essential component of ecosystems past and present. This episode, we explore the varied processes of decomposition and how scientists study decomposers and use that information. We’ll also discuss the importance of decomposition to the foss...

After you’ve listened to the Leaf it to Us pilot episode, enjoy this follow-up discussion where Nora, Aly, and David share their thoughts about that first episode and the upcoming season of the new podcast. You can contact us – and find more from Common Descent – here: https://linktr.ee/common_descent The Intro and Outro music is “Late Bloomer” by Devours. Find more from Devours at http://devours....

Enjoy this special preview of the upcoming podcast Leaf it to Us, hosted by Nora Spurling and Dr. Aly Baumgartner. In this pilot episode, they discuss the fascinating phenomenon of sex-changing trees! The first season of Leaf it to Us is in the works, and we’re excited to hear your feedback for this pilot episode. Please reach out to us and let us know what you think! You can contact us and find m...

When vertebrates first moved onto land, they gave rise to a variety of amphibious tetrapods. The most diverse and successful of these were temnospondyls, which were some of the most important species in early land and freshwater environments. This episode, we’ll explore temnospondyls’ evolutionary history, their ecological variety, and their mysterious connection to modern amphibians. In the news:...

E. D. Cope is one of the most recognizable and notorious names in paleontology history. He did some of the most important early work in vertebrate paleontology, he was one half of the dueling duo in the infamous Bone Wars, he named some of the most famous fossil animals, and he was profoundly irresponsible and unethical with his science. This episode, we’re joined by Astrid Lundberg to explore the...

The evolution of mineralized tissues is responsible not only for the incredible success and diversity of vertebrate animals, but also for their extraordinarily informative fossil record. This episode, we explore the detailed anatomy of bones and their deep evolutionary history, we touch on some of the ways they’re important for paleontology, and we take some time to discuss the secrets that can be...

You might know them as ghost sharks, rat fish, or spook fish. Chimaeras are close cousins of sharks and rays, equipped with distinctive and unusual features in their fins, teeth, and reproductive structures. In today’s oceans, chimaeras are rare and easy to miss, but their extended family includes some of the most diverse and iconic fish of the Paleozoic seas. In this episode, we’ll explore the tr...

Southern Africa is home to an incredible sequence of geologic formations that span more than 100 million years of Earth history. These rocks, collectively called the Karoo Supergroup, are an extraordinary resource for studying evolution and extinction across the Late Paleozoic and Early Mesozoic Eras. This episode, we’ll explore the deep history of this vast geologic resource, and we’ll sample som...

Happy New Year! Welcome back to our annual, traditional question-answering marathon! As always, a big thank you to everyone who submitted questions for this Q&A, everyone who has listened and shared and engaged with us throughout the year, and especially to our Patrons, who make this podcast possible. See you in 2025! Check out our website for our blog posts and more: http://commondescentpodca...

Most theropod dinosaurs are sleek predators built for speedy movement and efficient hunting. Therizinosaurs are unusual. They’re slow and stocky and, in many ways, more like the famous plant-eating dinosaurs. This episode, we’ll explore the diversity of therizinosaurs, the winding path that paleontologists took to understand them, the many ways they became specialized for a diet of plants, and wha...

Evolution involves the innovation of new features, but even more reduction of old features. Those reduced features might disappear, develop in a new direction, or just linger as a functionless evidence of deep ancestry. This episode, we explore how we identify vestigial traits, how they help us understand evolutionary history, and the various evolutionary paths vestigial structures can take. In th...

Welcome to Spotlight 2024! In this series, we’re sitting down with our fellow paleo-podcasters to discuss Science Communication. It’s the final episode! And we’re thrilled to be joined by Kallie, Gabriel, and Blake from PBS Eons and their podcast, Eons: Surviving Deep Time! Find Eons here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/eons-surviving-deep-time/id1610360633 https://www.youtube.com/@eons Fin...

Not all plants rely on the sun for their energy. Thousands of species are adapted for stealing nutrients from other plants. This episode, Aly joins us to explore the diversity and evolution of parasitic plants, their varied lifestyles, and their impacts on their hosts. We also examine the surprising nature of the parasitic plant fossil record. In the news: a frozen sabertooth kitten, plesiosaur sw...

Around six million years ago, the Mediterranean Sea dried up, wreaking havoc with local marine life and leaving a dramatic legacy in the geologic record in the form of massive salt deposits. This episode, we’ll explore the evidence for this event, why it happened, how it ended, and the impact it left in the fossil record. In the news: marine crocs, giant cicadas, giant tadpoles, and drowning bats....

Welcome to Spotlight 2024! In this series, we’re sitting down with our fellow paleo-podcasters to discuss Science Communication. This time, we’re hanging out with Amy and Meaghan from Weird & Dead! Find Weird & Dead here: www.weirdanddead.com www.patreon.com/WeirdandDeadPodcast More from Amy and Meaghan: www.meaghanwetherell.com www.geopetalfabric.com   https://dinosaurtrips.com/all-women-...

Welcome … to Cute-E! Every October during Spook-E, we have fun speculatively evolving monsters from myths and stories, but we leave out the cuddlier side of fiction. In Cute-E, we’re choosing kinder creatures and discussing how they – or something like them - could evolve here on Earth, pulling inspiration from real-world species across our planet’s history. This year’s theme is Tiny Monsters. Thi...

Mice, rats, beavers, and more! Rodents are some of the most diverse and successful mammals on the planet. This episode, we discuss what traits make rodents special, and we explore their incredible living diversity. Then we’ll take a trip to the past to investigate early rodent evolution, some highlights of their fossil record, and some of their ancient competitors. In the news: Arthropleura’s head...

Welcome ... to Spookulative Evolution. October is Spook-E Season on Common Descent! Each episode, we pick monsters from fiction and fable and ponder how they – or something like them – could evolve here on Earth, pulling inspiration from real-world species across our planet’s history. This year’s theme is Tiny Monsters. This episode, there’s trouble afoot. How could biological processes generate o...