The Common Descent Podcast

Welcome ... to Spookulative Evolution.

It's October, so we're exploring some more speculative evolution with a spooky twist! Each week this month, we'll be choosing a creepy creature and discussing how it - or something like it - might evolve biologically, pulling inspiration from the critters of the real world.

This episode, we think deeply about the Creature From the Black Lagoon and other myths of amphibious humanoids. How do you evolve something with the legs and arms of a human, but the fins and gills of a fish? Our creatures to create: fish-people.

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The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome.

Welcome ... to Spookulative Evolution.

It's October, so we're exploring some more speculative evolution with a spooky twist! Each week this month, we'll be choosing a creepy creature and discussing how it - or something like it - might evolve biologically, pulling inspiration from the critters of the real world.

This episode, we contemplate the evolution of aggressive predators that spread madness with their bite and get particularly nasty when the moon is full. How might evolution produce the lycanthropes of lore? Our creatures to create: Werewolves.

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The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome.

252 million years ago, the Earth experienced what might be the worst extinction event of all time, so dramatic that it brought an end to the entire Paleozoic Era, that it resulted in the rise of entirely new types of ecosystems, and that it has come to be known as “The Great Dying.” This episode, we discuss the tragedy, the chaos, and the aftermath of the Permian Extinction.

In the news: the oldest animal, giant elephant birds, mammal jaw evolution, and one really big tree.

Time markers:

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The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome.

Muscial Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Welcome ... to Spookulative Evolution.

It's October, so we're exploring some more speculative evolution with a spooky twist! Each week this month, we'll be choosing a creepy creature and discussing how it - or something like it - might evolve biologically, pulling inspiration from the critters of the real world.

This episode, how do you evolve large-bodied nocturnal sanguivores that can spread their condition to normal humans? How can biology arrive at the most iconic children of the night? Our creatures to create this time: Vampires.

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The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome.

Will and David recently attended SciFest: Rock, Fossil, Quake! This was an event held at the St. Louis Science Center in collaboration with the Washington University School of Medicine.

The event brought scientists and science enthusiasts face-to-face to talk about geology, earthquakes, and - most exciting for us - fossils (mostly dinosaurs)!

In this episode, we recount some of our impressions and favorite parts of the event, and include interviews with six dinosaur paleontologists who attended the event. You'll hear from:

Dr. Ashley Morhardt, Washington University

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The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome.

Welcome to our Spotlight Series!

We’re talking paleo-science with some paleo-people! In this 5-part series, we’ve interviewed 5 different invertebrate paleontologists about their research and other work.

We wrap up this series by chatting with Ranjeev Epa about his research on the best animals ever (according to him), bivalves - that is, clams, oysters, etc. - and what preyed upon them in the distant past, and also about the paleo-PhD experience

Find Ranjeev in these places:

If you like Spotlight, let us know and we'll do more of it in the future!

Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:

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The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome.

It's a movie about a giant prehistoric shark that eats a bunch of people. Let's talk science!

In this "science review," we're discussing The Meg (2018) - the portrayal of megalodon, the tropes of the scientists, and the movie's general relationship with real-world science.

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The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org.

In this episode, we tackle the fascinating – and confusing – subject of hybridization. What are hybrids? Why are hybrids? And if organisms can breed across subspecies and species boundaries, what does that mean for our understanding of important topics like evolution, speciation, and conservation?

In the news: saber-tooth footprints, a Cambrian filter-feeder, false extinctions, and an ancient pet trade.

Time markers:

Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:

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The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome.

Muscial Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Welcome to our Spotlight Series!

We’re talking paleo-science with some paleo-people! In this 5-part series, we’ve interviewed 5 different invertebrate paleontologists about their research and other work.

It's Episode 4, and this time we have Dr. Chris Mah with us to explain the science of studying sea stars - past and present - and what it takes (or at least, what it has taken him) to run a science blog!

Find Chris in these places:

If you like Spotlight, let us know and we'll do more of it in the future!

Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:

Follow and Support us on:

The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome.

Welcome to our Spotlight Series!

We’re talking paleo-science with some paleo-people! In this 5-part series, we’ve interviewed 5 different invertebrate paleontologists about their research and other work.

In Episode 3, our guest is Dr. Alycia Stigall, sharing with us her research on the best animals ever (according to her), brachiopods! And also discussing what it’s like to run a whole lab of paleontologists.

Find Alycia in these places:

If you like Spotlight, let us know and we'll do more of it in the future!

Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:

Follow and Support us on:

The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome.