The Earth has ended before.

Five times in the last half-billion years, life on this planet has been nearly wiped clean—reset by asteroid impacts, volcanic winters, and cataclysms we can barely imagine. And now? We’re living through number six. The difference? This one’s caused by us.

But buried in those ancient endings are stories—lessons about resilience, adaptation, and the strange, beautiful creatures that made it through.

In this episode, I’m joined by JP, better known online as @paleoauthor, the mind behind the upcoming book Primordial: A Biology of Ancient Triumphs and Tragedies. Together, we explore:

• Previous mass extinction events and what they can teach us about the one we’re in now
• Why dinosaurs still capture our collective imagination
• The weirdest prehistoric animals you’ve never heard of
• The influence of media and film on our understanding of deep time
• How telling the stories of the past might help us change the future

It’s part science, part storytelling, and part love letter to life itself.

Links & Resources:

• Follow JP on Instagram: @paleoauthor
• Support The Wild Life on Patreon