The Common Descent Podcast

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Episodes

Join David and Will as they explore the paleontologists’ perspective on various topics in life and earth history. Each episode features a main discussion on a topic requested by the listeners, presented as a lighthearted and educational conversation about fossils, evolution, deep time, and more. Before the main discussion, each episode also includes a news segment, covering recent research related to paleontology and evolution. Each episode ends with the answer to a question submitted by subscribers on Patreon. New episodes with new topics every fortnight!

Episodes

Saturday Mar 23, 2019

Episode 57 - Evolution of Flowering Plants (Angiosperms)

Saturday Mar 23, 2019

Look who's back - our favorite paleobotanist, Aly Baumgartner!

And that means it’s time for more plants! As you may have noticed, the world around you is absolutely full of flowers. Angiosperms have dominated nearly every terrestrial ecosystem on the planet, but the story of their early evolution is a famous conundrum. Darwin called it an “abominable mystery,” but there are some tantalizing clues as to how this group of plants got their start and then evolved to the incredible diversity we see today.

In the news: new Cayman mammals, louse camouflage, a geologic orrery, and language evolution.

Time markers:
Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
News: 00:04:00
Main discussion, Part 1: 00:35:30
Main discussion, Part 2: 01:10:00

Follow Aly on Twitter: @kyrietree

The Common Descent Store is open! Get merch! http://zazzle.com/common_descent

Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:
http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/

Follow and Support us on:
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CommonDescentPC
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/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.

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

Tuesday Mar 19, 2019

Sloth Chat Livestream 2018

Tuesday Mar 19, 2019

In April 2018, we hosted this Sloth Chat Livestream!

Following up from Episode 24 (Sloths), we were joined by sloth scientists Ryan Haupt and Robert McAfee to answer audience questions about sloths, living and extinct!

For anyone who didn't (or doesn't want to) watch it on YouTube, here it is in audio format for your listening pleasure!

You can also still watch the original recording on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qirqw5ei45U

Find Ryan:
https://ryanhaupt.com/
Twitter: @haupt

Find Robert:
http://slothsearch.com
Twitter: @DocSloth

Hear Ryan and Robert discuss sloths on Science … Sort Of:
https://sciencesortof.com/show-notes/2014/10/episode-207-drop-bears-of-south-america
https://sciencesortof.com/show-notes/2016/6/episode-242-the-little-slothologist-that-could

Hear Will and David chat with Ryan on Science … Sort Of:
https://sciencesortof.com/show-notes/2018/7/episode-287-descent-into-madness

Keep up to date with modern sloth conservation with the Sloth Conservation Foundation, founded by Dr. Becky Cliffe, the one sloth scientist who didn’t make it to our Sloth Chat: https://slothconservation.com/

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

Saturday Mar 09, 2019

Episode 56 – The Evolution of Evolutionary Theory

Saturday Mar 09, 2019

One of the main themes of this podcast is the evolutionary history of life. This concept is familiar to all of us today, but our current understanding of evolution is the culmination of a very long history of scientific inquiry. In this episode, we’ll introduce you to some of the biggest names in this story, from Aristotle to Darwin, as we explore the evolution of evolutionary theory.

In the news: tiny frogs, an ancient nesting ground, algae evolution, and a tusked sea cow.

Time markers:
Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
News: 00:06:00
Main discussion, Part 1: 00:30:30
Main discussion, Part 2: 01:11:30

The Common Descent Store is open! Get merch! http://zazzle.com/common_descent

Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:
http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/

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

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

Saturday Feb 23, 2019

Episode 55 - The "Sixth Extinction" (Modern Biodiversity Crisis)

Saturday Feb 23, 2019

Usually, when we talk about mass extinction, we’re referring to events long past. But scary levels of extinction are a fact of our current world, as well. So much so that current events have been labeled the "Sixth Extinction.” In this episode, we discuss just how bad our current ecological crisis is, what’s causing it, and whether or not it truly deserves to be called a mass extinction. We also discuss what’s already being done – and what we can all do – to counteract catastrophe. It’s a depressing one, folks, but all isn’t lost. Stay informed and stay hopeful!

In the news: a new island, ancient turtle cancer, megalodon extinction, and that one Archaeopteryx feather.

Time markers:
Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
News: 00:07:30
Main discussion, Part 1: 00:44:30
Main discussion, Part 2: 01:21:00

Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:
http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/

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

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

Saturday Feb 09, 2019

Episode 54 - Alfred Russell Wallace

Saturday Feb 09, 2019

Happy Darwin Day! Last year around this time, we were joined by Dr. Sarah Bray to discuss the life and times of Charles Darwin. This time, Sarah joins us again to discuss his colleague and natural selection co-discoverer, Alfred Russell Wallace. In 1858, the year before Darwin published his famous book, he received a letter from a young, adventurous, sometimes tragic man in the throes of illness in southeast Asia. To Darwin’s shock, the letter included precisely the same biological insights he had been working on. That letter came from Alfred Russell Wallace.

Find Sarah and her colleagues on the podcast Discovering Darwin! http://discoveringdarwin.blogspot.com/

In the news: fast-evolving mice, a small-headed reptile, an early Antarctic archosaur, and really old amoebae.

Time markers:
Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
News: 00:05:00
Main discussion, Part 1: 00:39:00
Main discussion, Part 2: 01:23:30

Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:
http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/

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

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

Saturday Jan 26, 2019

Episode 53 - The Baculum (Penis Bone)

Saturday Jan 26, 2019

It's been called the most diverse of all bones. It comes in an incredible variety of shapes and sizes, living and fossil, scattered across the mammalian family tree. It's called the baculum, the os penis, and in this episode we discuss what it does, who has it, what it means for paleontologists, and the evolutionary processes that made it what it is today.

In the news: whales eating whales, pregnant plesiosaurs, robo-tetrapods, and the first American dogs.

Time markers:
Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
News: 00:05:30
Main discussion, Part 1: 00:34:30
Main discussion, Part 2: 01:15:00

Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:
http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/

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

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

Saturday Jan 12, 2019

Episode 52 – Sounds of the Past (Fossil Bioacoustics)

Saturday Jan 12, 2019

What did dinosaurs sound like? How did extinct animals make and use sound? Like most behaviors, noises don’t fossilize, but there is some tantalizing evidence that paleontologists have pulled together about fossil bioacoustics. In this episode, we discuss how pop-culture may have misled us, and how scientists have gathered actual clues from living animals and the fossil record – and have even made scientifically-inspired ancient audios! – to reconstruct the sounds of the past.

In the news: hatchling insects, bird brains, old flowers, and dinosaur noses.

Time markers:
Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
News: 00:04:00
Main discussion, Part 1: 00:28:30
Main discussion, Part 2: 01:15:00

There are some noises in this episode! The living and reconstructed-fossil sounds we played came from these sources:

Great Bittern (Botaurus stellaris) Roger Charters/Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (ML202485) https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/202485

American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) George B. Reynard/Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (ML163792) https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/163792

Parasaurolophus sound bite by Sandia National Laboratories and the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science with Paleontologist Tom Williamson and computer scientist Carl Diegert https://www.sandia.gov/media/dinosaur.htm

Katydid Stridulation from Jun-Jie Gu et al 2012. Wing stridulation in a Jurassic katydid (Insecta, Orthoptera) produced low-pitched musical calls to attract females, PNAS (Open access) https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2012/02/02/1118372109

All the other animal noises were just made by us!

Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:
http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/

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

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

Monday Dec 31, 2018

End of the Year Q&A 2018

Monday Dec 31, 2018

Happy New Year!

Big thanks to everyone who's supported us throughout the year, and big thanks to everyone who submitted questions to our Q&A!

Here's roughly two hours of Will and David answering YOUR questions - the silly and the science-y.

See you in 2019!

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

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

Sunday Dec 30, 2018

Episode 51 - Mosasaurs

Sunday Dec 30, 2018

Many times in the history of life on Earth, reptiles have returned to the oceans. There were three famous groups of marine reptiles during the Mesozoic, and in this episode, we’re discussing the last to evolve, the shortest-lived, and the greatest (in David’s opinion, anyway) of them. We’ll tell the tale of how one group of lizards evolved to dominate waters around the world during the reign of the mosasaurs.

In the news: hunting sabertooths, very strange feathers, megalodon temperature, and feathered(?) pterosaurs.

Time markers:
Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
News: 00:05:00
Main discussion, Part 1: 00:39:30
Main discussion, Part 2: 01:12:30
Patron question: 01:49:30

Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:
http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/

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

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

Sunday Dec 16, 2018

Episode 50 - Australia

Sunday Dec 16, 2018

This episode, we take a tour of the land that takes home the prizes for oldest geologic materials, most marsupials, and (arguably) biggest island! Our trip through the history of this island-continent starts nearly at the very origin of our planet, and follows a fascinating history of shifting super-continents and shuffling ecosystems. Join us on a journey Down Under, to Australia.

In the news: Gray Site peccaries, a blubbery ichthyosaur, fossil fungus, and an Australian dinosaur.

Time markers:
Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
News: 00:04:30
Main discussion, Part 1: 00:29:00
Main discussion, Part 2: 01:01:00
Patron question: 01:38:00

Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:
http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/

Don't forget to submit your question for our End of the Year Q&A:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeZjgAw5vghNPOYJ7e1rKJnqMA-QUn2WgYjM5F4Oj336O49gQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

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

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