The Common Descent Podcast

Everybody poops! Throughout the history of life on Earth, animals of all lifestyles have been littering the planet with little presents, and those few that fossilize become coprolites: unique time capsules that can serve as invaluable sources of information, not just on obvious stuff like ancient diets, but also about evolution, extinction, and more. This episode: we talk turds.

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The Podcast music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome.

In the earliest millennia of vertebrate life on Earth, the seas were home to the placoderms, a diverse group of extinct armored fish whose evolutionary innovations set the stage for some of the most important features of vertebrate life. This episode, we talk about some of history's most influential placoderms, with a special spotlight on the most famous of armored fish, the giant predator Dunkleosteus.

In the news: asteroids and volcanoes, running lizards, Shawn's turtle, walking fish, and more on broken mastodon bones.

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The Podcast music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome.

Happy Darwin Day!

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The Podcast music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome.

This episode, we explore the evolutionary innovation that brought us a diversity of animal companions, from corgis to cattle to cauliflower, and jump-started our species’ rise to world dominance: Domestication.

In the news: a colorful new dinosaur, super-ancient butterflies, the evolution of tail weaponry, and migrating whale barnacles.

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The Podcast music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome.

This episode, we look to the stars! Our discussion takes a tour across the field of astrobiology, the broad and thought-provoking science that seeks to answer the questions of how life arises, where it thrives, and where we might find it elsewhere in the universe, incorporating everything from astronomy to paleontology along the way.

In the news: Ancient Americans, a frozen baby rhino, unique dinosaur bones, and a surprising shared feature of cells.

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The Podcast music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome.

In this episode, we firmly establish a tradition of extinction-talk! This time, by request, it’s the latest major prehistoric extinction in Earth history, the event that took from us the mammoths, ground sloths, and other giants of the Ice Age, a mass extinction that our own species was around to witness (and perhaps even cause): the Pleistocene Megafaunal Extinction.

In the news: mistaken Archaeopteryx identity, ticks with a taste for dinosaurs, evolution of the Tibetan Plateau, and ancient bear hibernation.

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The Podcast music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome.

This episode, by listener request, is all about sloths! We explore their bizarre family tree, their adorable and internet-favorite living representatives, and their diverse and truly incredible ancient members.

In the news: pterosaur eggs, a bizarre swimming dinosaur, the plight of paleontological monuments, and the ears of plesiosaurs.

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The Podcast music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome.

Hold onto your butts … in this episode, we celebrate the intersection of science and popular culture with a discussion about the biggest dinosaur movie of all time, what makes it unique, and the incredible effect it had on the real-life world of paleontology: Jurassic Park.

In the news: a new Jurassic glider, Tasmanian stromatolites, the world’s longest dinosaur trackway, and a tool for tracking fossils.

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The Podcast music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome.

This episode, we take a super up-close look at the tiniest components of the fossil record, the microscopic remains that are so essential to our understanding of earth history, and the field of study devoted to them: Micropaleontology.

In the news: daytime mammals, unusual dinosaur teeth, the dinosaur family tree (again), and dead male mammoths.

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The Podcast music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome.

There is no group of prehistoric creatures more iconic, more widely-studied, or more requested by our listeners, than the subject of this episode! This time, it's a brief introduction to Dinosaurs.

In the news: colorful dinosaurs, the rise of big herbivores, an Indian ichthyosaur, and saber-tooth DNA.

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The Podcast music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome.