![100 Episodes: A Look Back]()
November 22, 2020
We’ve released 100 episodes of the podcast! Plus, more than 50 side episodes, a handful of YouTube videos, some live shows … it’s been quite a journey. In this episode, we take some time to look back over our experience, to discuss some of our favorite aspects of the podcast, and above all, to thank our listeners.
Thank you. To everyone who listens to the podcast; everyone who supports us on Patreon; everyone who sends us requests, questions, comments, and feedback; everyone who follows us on social media or leaves a review on iTunes; everyone who comes to see us at DragonCon; everyone who tells their friends about us. This podcast wouldn’t exist without all of you, and we are so, so glad it exists.
Here’s to another 100 episodes.
Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:
http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/
Submit your questions for our End of the Year Q&A using this form: https://forms.gle/2BDWts2RaKzRo3hL8
Find merch at the Common Descent Store! http://zazzle.com/common_descent
Follow and Support us on:
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CommonDescentPC
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/commondescentpodcast
Instagram: @commondescentpodcast
PodBean: https://commondescentpodcast.podbean.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-common-descent-podcast/id1207586509?mt=2
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCePRXHEnZmTGum2r1l2mduw
The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome.
More music like this at http://ocremix.org.
![Episode 100 - the Origin of Life]()
November 14, 2020
One hundred episodes is kind of a big deal, so we figured we’d pick a big deal kind of topic, and it doesn’t get much bigger than this.
As far as we can tell, all life on Earth is descended from a common ancestry – at some point, at least once, life originated on Earth. But when, where, and how? These are open questions that have been subject to lots of scientific and philosophical discussions and experiments. In this episode, we’ll touch on some of the biggest questions: What even is life? How old is life on Earth? What steps led to the first living things? Is Earth the only place this has happened?
In the news: dino bone disease, amphibian chameleons, ancient social mammals, and pterosaur diets.
Time markers:
Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
News: 00:08:00
Main discussion, Part 1: 00:38:00
Main discussion, Part 2: 01:30:00
Patron questions: 02:26:30
Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:
http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/
Submit your questions for our End of the Year Q&A using this form: https://forms.gle/2BDWts2RaKzRo3hL8
Find merch at the Common Descent Store! http://zazzle.com/common_descent
Follow and Support us on:
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CommonDescentPC
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/commondescentpodcast
Instagram: @commondescentpodcast
PodBean: https://commondescentpodcast.podbean.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-common-descent-podcast/id1207586509?mt=2
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCePRXHEnZmTGum2r1l2mduw
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/
![Episode 99 - Evolution of Insects]()
October 31, 2020
Insects must be among the most impressive animals in Earth history. For hundreds of millions of years, they have been some of the most significant animals on land in terms of their abundance, diversity, and ecological impact. Their deep story is marked by evolutionary innovations that weren’t just major events for insects, but major events for the entire planet. This episode, we barely scratch the surface of the insect story.
In the news: a new pterosaur, big Antarctic birds, gliding dinosaurs, and a dinosaur cloaca.
Time markers:
Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
News: 00:07:30
Main discussion, Part 1: 00:35:00
Main discussion, Part 2: 01:08:00
Patron question: 01:56:30
Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:
http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/
Find merch at the Common Descent Store! http://zazzle.com/common_descent
Featuring art by Rob Soto! https://www.rob-soto.com/
Follow and Support us on:
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CommonDescentPC
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/commondescentpodcast
Instagram: @commondescentpodcast
PodBean: https://commondescentpodcast.podbean.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-common-descent-podcast/id1207586509?mt=2
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCePRXHEnZmTGum2r1l2mduw
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/
![Episode 98 - Species and Speciation]()
October 17, 2020
When we study life, past or present, we talk a lot about species, their evolution, their diversity, their extinction, and more. But we don’t often slow down to discuss what we really mean by that. What is a species? How and where do new species arise? It turns out this topic is much more complicated – and controversial! – than it may seem. In this episode, we’ll touch on the basics and discuss why scientists get so worked up about species and speciation.
In the news: a glass-ified brain, a Cretaceous croc, a long walk, and a sensitive dinosaur.
Time markers:
Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
News: 00:05:30
Main discussion, Part 1: 00:36:30
Main discussion, Part 2: 01:13:00
Patron question: 01:57:30
Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:
http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/
We were featured on Pallet University, talking about science and Pokémon! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noKhRDVa03o
Find merch at the Common Descent Store! http://zazzle.com/common_descent
Featuring art by Rob Soto! https://www.rob-soto.com/
Follow and Support us on:
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CommonDescentPC
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/commondescentpodcast
Instagram: @commondescentpodcast
PodBean: https://commondescentpodcast.podbean.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-common-descent-podcast/id1207586509?mt=2
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCePRXHEnZmTGum2r1l2mduw
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/
![Episode 97 - Venom and Poison]()
October 3, 2020
Okay, that’s not a great title. More accurately, we’re discussing toxins, the substances that organisms produce for chemical defense or attack against each other. Toxins are found in practically all living things, they function as part of immune systems, poisonous defenses, and predatory venom, and they have all sorts of amazing effects from discomfort to death. In this episode, we’ll touch on who has them, what they do, and what we know about the long, complex evolutionary history of venom and biological poison.
In the news: Spinosaurus teeth, an overlooked extinction, bird beaks, and Neanderthal DNA.
Time markers:
Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
News: 00:04:00
Main discussion, Part 1: 00:33:30
Main discussion, Part 2: 01:07:30
Patron question: 01:47:30
Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:
http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/
Find merch at the Common Descent Store! http://zazzle.com/common_descent
Featuring art by Rob Soto! https://www.rob-soto.com/
Follow and Support us on:
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CommonDescentPC
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/commondescentpodcast
Instagram: @commondescentpodcast
PodBean: https://commondescentpodcast.podbean.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-common-descent-podcast/id1207586509?mt=2
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCePRXHEnZmTGum2r1l2mduw
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/
![Episode 96 - Marsupials]()
September 19, 2020
Marsupials are like alternate-reality mammals. Everything about them, from their skeletons to their reproductive strategies, is just a bit strange – from the perspective of us placental mammals, that is! But you can’t argue with results, and marsupials include some of the most fascinating mammals of the past and present. In this episode, we track the long evolutionary journey that gave the modern world its kangaroos, koalas, possums, opossums, and more.
In the news: air-breathing sea scorpions, fish bone evolution, mastodon migrations, and burrowing dinosaurs.
Time markers:
Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
News: 00:04:30
Main discussion, Part 1: 00:37:30
Main discussion, Part 2: 01:12:00
Patron question: 01:59:00
Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:
http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/
If you missed our DragonCon presentations, find them here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDlI6lJgRsU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC-oSa9OMm8
New merch at the Common Descent Store! http://zazzle.com/common_descent
Featuring art by Rob Soto! https://www.rob-soto.com/
Follow and Support us on:
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CommonDescentPC
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/commondescentpodcast
Instagram: @commondescentpodcast
PodBean: https://commondescentpodcast.podbean.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-common-descent-podcast/id1207586509?mt=2
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCePRXHEnZmTGum2r1l2mduw
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/
