The Common Descent Podcast

This episode, we’re discussing the fun and fascinating “What If” thought experiments of evolution. From fantastical fictional stories to unusual scientific hypotheses to just-for-fun artistic creations, speculative evolution is all about exploring th...

At long last, a plant episode! Our friend Aly Baumgartner joins the podcast to teach us all about grass - it's not just part of the background! From humble beginnings during the Age of Reptiles, grasses have gone on to dominate global ecosystems (as ...

Part 5 of 5! This is it – the end of our series! We’ve now re-watched all the old movies and finally turned to the newest one for our “science reviews.” How do these movies handle such subjects as prehistoric creatures, the science of paleontology, a...

Surprise! We've gotten a lot of bird requests, so to follow up our Evolution of Birds discussion, we put together three mini-discussions based on other birds our listeners have asked to hear about:1. The evolution and fossil history of flamingos.2. T...

Part 4 of 5! Our Jurassic Park review series is almost done! All month, we’ve been re-watching the movies and chatting about the science in a series of “science reviews.” How do these movies handle such subjects as prehistoric creatures, the science ...

Birds are such unique and fascinating animals; for many decades scientists have wondered at their evolutionary story – and so have many of our listeners! Well here it is: the Evolution of Birds, complete with some scientific history, key fossil finds...

Part 3 of 5! Every Saturday this month, we’re re-watching all of the Jurassic Park movies and chatting about the science in a series of “science reviews.” How do these movies handle such subjects as prehistoric creatures, the science of paleontology,...

Part 2 of 5! Each Saturday in June, we’re re-watching all of the Jurassic Park movies and chatting about the science in a series of “science reviews.” How do these films handle such subjects as prehistoric creatures, the science of paleontology, and ...

In this episode, we’re examining the incredible formation of reefs! Not just coral – reef systems have been built by many different organisms over Earth history, and we’ll be touching on the details of these essential harbors of biodiversity: past, p...

Part 1 of 5! By the end of June, there will be five Jurassic Park films! So for each of the five Saturdays this month, we’re re-watching all of the movies and chatting about the science in a series of “science reviews.” How do these movies handle suc...