Coil, a brown cartoon snake, and Bask, a green and beige cartoon croc, happily look toward the black on white Common Descent Podcast Title banner.

Blog

  • Episode 44 – Hybridization

    Listen to Episode 44 on PodBean, Spotify, YouTube, or other podcast providers near you.

    In today’s episode we discuss the weird world of hybrids. The fact that different species of organisms sometimes breed has thrown a wrench into the scientific understanding of species and how they function for centuries. We won’t be solving that problem in this episode but we will cover how hybrids are made, why they’re made, how species stay separate, and what can happen when species (or other groups) interbreed.

    (more…)

  • Episode 43 – The Great American Biotic Interchange (GABI)

    Listen to Episode 43 on PodBean, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever podcasts are sold (just kidding, it’s free!).

    For tens of millions of years, North and South America were separate sisters across the sea, each with their own unique ecosystems. That is, until around 3 million years ago, when tectonic activity birthed the Isthmus of Panama and allowed an incredible mass migration of life across the bridge: The Great American Biotic Interchange.

    (more…)

  • Spotlight, Invertebrate Paleontologists

    Welcome to our Spotlight Series!

    Listen to Spotlight on PodBean, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you catch pods!

    We’re talking paleo-science with some paleo-people! Across this 5-part series, you’ll get to know some paleontologists as we interview them about their research and their lives as scientists.

    Our theme for this series is Invertebrate Paleontology

    Here on this blog post, we’ll collect information on our guests, ways you can find them on the internet, and some photos of what we discussed in the episodes!

    We’ll be updating this post as we release our Spotlight episodes throughout September!

    (more…)

  • Episode 42 – Spinosaurs

    Listen to Episode 42 on PodBean, Spotify, YouTube, or a podcast app near you!

    This episode we’re back on the subject of dinosaurs! Specifically, a very popular, very bizarre group of theropod dinosaurs known for their croc-like faces, ridiculous ornamentation, and a whole lot of scientific argument: the Spinosaurs.

    (more…)

  • Episode 41 – The Evolution of Whales

    Listen to Episode 41 on PodBean, Spotify, YouTube, or your preferred podcast place!

    This episode – the second most requested topic to date – deals with some of the largest and cleverest animals our planet has ever seen. We discuss how one group of mammals developed and moved from land to the sea as we explore the Evolution of Whales.

    (more…)

  • Episode 40 – Madagascar

    Listen to Episode 40 on PodBean, Spotify, YouTube, or your preferred podcast place!

    In this episode, we’re zooming in on one of the world’s most diverse and fascinating locales – the island of Madagascar! You may know that Madagascar is home to a variety of fascinating ecosystems today, but the geologic and fossil history of the island is just as exciting!

    (more…)

  • Episode 39 – Speculative Evolution

    Listen to Episode 39 on PodBean, Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite podcast source!

    Our subject for this episode is a bit more abstract than our typical topics. Here we discuss the subject of speculative evolution. This concept covers everything from imaging what the future of life will look like to figuring out how movie monsters might have actually functioned. Here we’ll visit some of the ideas that are commonly explored in these thought experiments and look at how speculation contributes to real science.

    (more…)

  • Episode 38 – Grass

    Listen to Episode 38 on PodBean, Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite podcast source!

    In this episode, we are joined by our friend Aly Baumgartner, who tells us all about one of the world’s most successful – and influential – groups of plants, including how they’ve evolved, spread, and changed the world. Our very first plant-dedicated topic: Grass!

    (more…)

  • Episode 37 – Evolution of Birds

    Listen to Episode 37 on PodBean, Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite podcast source!

    This episode, our topic is one of the most detailed and exciting stories of evolutionary origin in the fossil record, one of the most historically fascinating questions in paleontology, and the single most requested topic from our listeners: The story of the Evolution of Birds.

    (more…)

  • Episode 36 – Reefs

    Listen to Episode 36 on PodBean, Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite podcast source!

    In this episode we dive into the concept of reefs. Reefs today are one of the most crucial environments in the oceans. They promote extremely high biodiversity and protect coast lines. Today we are accustomed to coral reefs, but throughout history many organisms have built reefs that proved just as important to ancient ocean life.

    (more…)

  • Episode 35 – De-extinction

    Listen to Episode 35 on PodBean, Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite podcast-place!

    It’s time for another extinction episode!

    Is extinction truly forever? In this episode, we discuss the stirrings of the real-life science seeking to bring back some semblance of the creatures of the past: De-extinction.

    (more…)

  • Episode 34 – Ancient DNA

    Listen to Episode 34 on PodBean, Spotify, YouTube, or your personal preferred podcast platform!

    Over the past three decades, a particular field of study has been revolutionizing our understanding of the past, driven by advances in technology and good ol’ scientific persistence. This episode, we discuss Ancient DNA.

    (more…)