The Common Descent Podcast

By Common DescentScience Education Natural Sciences Earth Sciences

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114 min
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The Common Descent Podcast episodes

October 11 Episode 254 - Abelisaurs
During the Cretaceous Period, while tyrannosaurs stomped around the northern continents, the less famous abelisaurs were the top predatory dinosaurs of the south. This episode, we piece together the history and diversity of these predators, and we explore what they were doing with their bulldog faces, tiny arms, and in some cases, horned faces.
In the news: plesiosaur vomit, seaweed snacks, bat evolution, and flying dinosaurs.
Time Markers:
Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
News: 00:07:10
Main discussion, Part 1: 00:42:30
Main discussion, Part 2: 01:14:40
Patron question: 02:03:10
Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast
Check out our website for this episode’s blog post and more: http://commondescentpodcast.com/
Got a topic you want to hear about? Submit your episode request here: https://commondescentpodcast.com/request-a-topic/
Lots more ways to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/common_descent
The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org
Musical Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
2 hr 14 min
October 10 Spook-E - Greys
Welcome ... to Spookulative Evolution.
It’s Spook-E Season! All throughout October, we pick monsters from myth and media and speculate 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 Aliens!
This episode, we explore the mysterious beings (supposedly) in our own backyard! What evolutionary path can we devise for round-headed, eerie beings lurking just beyond our understanding? Our creatures to create this time: Greys.
Join the Common Descent Discord server for more Spook-E discussion! https://discord.gg/CwPBxdh9Ev
Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast
More ways to connect with us: https://commondescentpodcast.com/
The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org.
1 hr 3 min
October 03 Spook-E - Xenomorphs
Welcome ... to Spookulative Evolution.
Spook-E Season is back! All throughout October, we pick monsters from myth and media and speculate 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 Aliens!
Where better to begin than with the quintessential big screen terrors from beyond the stars? How might Earth-based evolution produce a human-hunting monster that’s equal parts predator and parasitoid? Our creatures to create this time: Xenomorphs.
Join the Common Descent Discord server for more Spook-E discussion! https://discord.gg/CwPBxdh9Ev
Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast
More ways to connect with us: https://commondescentpodcast.com/
The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org.
1 hr 43 min
September 27 Episode 253 - Kangaroos
Kangaroos – and their wallaroo and wallaby cousins – are some of the most recognizable, charismatic, and impressively strange mammals on the planet. This episode, we explore the surprising diversity of this group, we discuss how they manage to be world’s pre-eminent hoppers, and we delve into some of their unexpected fossil relatives.
In the news: warm tyrannosaurs, sea star ancestors, traveling dinosaurs, and new cats.
Time Markers:
Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
News: 00:06:35
Main discussion, Part 1: 00:50:30
Main discussion, Part 2: 01:36:40
Patron question: 02:32:45
Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast
Check out our website for this episode’s blog post and more: http://commondescentpodcast.com/
Got a topic you want to hear about? Submit your episode request here: https://commondescentpodcast.com/request-a-topic/
Lots more ways to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/common_descent
The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org
Musical Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
2 hr 44 min
September 13 Episode 252 - The Ice Age
About 10% of the Earth’s land surface is currently covered in persistent glacial ice, but for most of Earth history, that number was much closer to zero. This episode, we explore what happens when ice overtakes our planet and how we investigate icy conditions of the distant past, and we’ll take a close look at the most recent (and ongoing) global climate event that we commonly call the Ice Age.
In the news: distant space objects, snake embryos, Jurassic chirps, and polar dinosaur nests.
Time Markers:
Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
News: 00:05:35
Main discussion, Part 1: 00:40:35
Main discussion, Part 2: 01:16:45
Patron question: 02:02:10
Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast
Check out our website for this episode’s blog post and more: http://commondescentpodcast.com/
Got a topic you want to hear about? Submit your episode request here: https://commondescentpodcast.com/request-a-topic/
Lots more ways to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/common_descent
The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org
Musical Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
2 hr 11 min
August 30 Episode 251 - The Sun
The Sun is kind of a big deal. It is the center of our solar system, around which all other objects revolve, and its heat and light are responsible for the life-supporting conditions here on Earth. This episode, we take a close look at how the Sun actually works and what makes it different from other stars. Then, we track the lifetime of the Sun, exploring how it originally formed, how it has changed over its lifetime, and how it will eventually burn out.
In the news: carnivorous plants, ancient burrowers, live birth, and reptile metabolism.
Time Markers:
Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
News: 00:07:50
Main discussion, Part 1: 00:46:30
Main discussion, Part 2: 01:47:40
Patron question: 02:37:05
💗
https://imaginationlibrary.com/the-dollywood-foundation/
Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast
Check out our website for this episode’s blog post and more: http://commondescentpodcast.com/
Got a topic you want to hear about? Submit your episode request here: https://commondescentpodcast.com/request-a-topic/
Lots more ways to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/common_descent
The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org
Musical Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
2 hr 45 min
August 16 Episode 250 - Camels
Large, herbivorous mammals come in many shapes and sizes, but few are as famously unusual as camels. This episode, we explore the surprising adaptations of Old World and New World camelids, from the dromedaries of Middle Eastern deserts to the llamas of the Andean highlands. Then, we take a tour through their fossil record to investigate the many forms this family took on the way to our modern diversity.
In the news: stomach stones, aquatic reptiles, tiny dinosaurs, and a Poop Explosion.
Time Markers:
Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
News: 00:06:20
Main discussion, Part 1: 00:42:30
Main discussion, Part 2: 01:21:40
Patron question: 02:11:05
Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast
Check out our website for this episode’s blog post and more: http://commondescentpodcast.com/
Got a topic you want to hear about? Submit your episode request here: https://commondescentpodcast.com/request-a-topic/
Lots more ways to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/common_descent
The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org
Musical Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
2 hr 22 min
August 02 Episode 249 - Sexual Dimorphism
In most animal species, there are differences in the anatomy, behavior, and lifestyle of male and female individuals. In this episode, we explore the incredible variety of these differences and the equally incredible blurry areas between the sexes, we investigate the evolutionary processes behind these features, and we examine the constant and confounding discussion about whether or not we can spot sexual dimorphism in the fossil record.
In the news: The Story of Birds, early snakes, and early archosaurs.
Time Markers:
Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
News: 00:05:40
Main discussion, Part 1: 00:42:45
Main discussion, Part 2: 01:34:40
Patron question: 02:45:00
Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast
Check out our website for this episode’s blog post and more: http://commondescentpodcast.com/
Got a topic you want to hear about? Submit your episode request here: https://commondescentpodcast.com/request-a-topic/
Lots more ways to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/common_descent
The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org
Musical Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
2 hr 58 min
July 19 Episode 248 - Big Cats
Felines come in all shapes and sizes, but only a handful of them are large enough and in charge enough to have earned the title of “Big Cats.” This episode, we’re joined by special guest Lindsay Nikole as we take a tour through the surprising diversity of the “official” and “unofficial” big cats, and we explore how their evolutionary past has shaped this impressive assortment of apex predators.
Find more of Lindsay here: https://www.youtube.com/@LindsayNikole
And shout-out to the Cheetah Conservation Fund: https://cheetah.org/
In the news: giant sharks, early movements, Cretaceous fruits, and snake venoms.
Time Markers:
Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
News: 00:06:55
Main discussion, Part 1: 00:46:15
Main discussion, Part 2: 01:43:00
Patron question: 02:42:05
Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast
Check out our website for this episode’s blog post and more: http://commondescentpodcast.com/
Got a topic you want to hear about? Submit your episode request here: https://commondescentpodcast.com/request-a-topic/
Lots more ways to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/common_descent
The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org
Musical Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
2 hr 57 min
July 16 Snake Stuff with Ali Ashraf
Happy Snake Month!
In this bonus episode, we're joined by friend of the podcast Ali Ashraf to talk about his research on the distribution and evolution of water snakes!
This month only! Join the Snakes & Crocs Tier on our Patreon to receive a Snake Month sticker and to contribute to charitable donations toward reptile and other wildlife conservation!
www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast
This year, our donations are going toward:
Save the Snakes
https://savethesnakes.org/
The Crocodile Research Coalition
https://crocodileresearchcoalition.org/
The Natural Resources Defense Council
https://www.nrdc.org/
Lots more ways to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/common_descent
The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org
58 min