Episode 1 – Sex-changing Plants
Nora brings along some surprising news about trees that spontaneously changed sex, and Aly explains how plant sex works and what makes a tree suddenly swap from male to female.
Listen here.
Image: Fortingall Yew, Paul Hermans
Episode 2 – Houseplants vs Housepets
Why are so many of our favorite houseplants so dangerous to our pets? Nora and Aly investigate the antagonism between plants and animals and share some of their favorite stories of plants vs pets.
Listen here.
Image: Garth the cat, contemplating tasty plants.
Episode 3 – What’s Inside a Pinecone?
Aly sent Nora a CT-scan of a pinecone, and it blew Nora’s mind so much that she had to get Aly on the podcast to explain what exactly is going on in there.
Listen here.
Image: Pinecone CT-scan from the Regents of the University of Michigan.
Episode 4 – Brassica!
Did you know that dozens of our favorite vegetables are all the same species? How did that happen? This episode, Nora and Aly explore the science and history of Brassica.
Listen here.
Episode 5 – Plants and Fire
Since they first moved onto land, plants have had to adapt to world full of fire, and not only do they survive, they thrive! This episode, Nora and Aly explore how plants persist despite being some of the most flammable things around.
Listen here.
Episode 6 – Jurassic Salad
What if you traveled back in time to the Jurassic Period … and got hungry? Could you make a meal with the plants available at the time? This episode, Nora and Aly do some speculative cooking to see what they might include in a Jurassic Salad.
Listen here.
Episode 7 – How do Plants Scream Without a Mouth?
Plants do not have mouths, but that doesn’t stop them from expressing themselves! This episode, Nora and Aly touch on the topic of plant communication and explore how plants signal distress.
Listen here.
Image by Mtaufiqurrahman
Episode 8 – What Makes Fruit Ripe?
Did you know that placing a banana next to an apple can help the banana ripen faster? Well that was news to some people! This episode, Nora and Aly discuss what exactly is going on inside a ripening fruit and how the fruit knows it’s time to signal its own deliciousness.
Listen here.
Episode 9 – Roots in the Air
We all learned that roots are the below-ground part of a plant. Well, it turns out there are exceptions … a lot of them. This episode, Nora asks Aly to explain the many and varied reasons why a plant might wave its roots in the air like it just don’t care.
Listen here.
Image by Peripitus
Episode 10 – Plant Super-Organisms
Some plants get big – like, several acres big – like, an entire forest big – like, the largest living things on the planet big. This episode, Nora and Aly address some of the most sprawling plants on Earth and explore the plant super-powers that allow them to achieve super-size.
Listen here.
Episode 11 – Flowers of the Night
Plants require sunlight to survive, but when night falls and the daytime-dwellers disappear, many varieties of flower come alive. This episode, Nora and Aly explore the allure of “moon gardens” and the adaptations that allow beautiful and aromatic flowers to thrive in darkness.
Listen here.
Episode 12 – The Geologic Time Scale According to Plants
Scientists organize the history of the Earth based on the experiences of animals. But what if the Geologic Time Scale was plant-centric? This episode, Aly presents Nora with her take on a time scale based on the evolution and extinction of plants through time.
Listen here.
Image by Lucy Wayland
The Common Descent Podcast 
