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!
http://commondescentpodcast.podbean.com
Gesamtlänge aller Episoden: 20 days 3 hours 33 minutes
episode 40: Silver Screen Science - Jurassic Park (1/5)
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...
episode 39: Episode 35 - De-extinction
It's time for another extinction episode! Is extinction truly forever? Could something like Jurassic Park actually be possible? If so, should we do it? As we speak, there are scientists around the world working on the early stages of answering these ...
episode 38: Episode 34 - Ancient DNA
Only a few decades ago, the idea of pulling DNA from long-dead organisms was the stuff of science fiction, but the field of ancient DNA is now totally real and thriving. In this episode, we discuss how we get DNA from ancient specimens and just a bit...
episode 37: Crocs vs Snakes - The Poll Returns
THE GREAT DEBATEIS BACK! By popular demand! Will and David agree on most things, but not this... Help us settle our long-running debate - choose a side! Head to Twitter, Facebook, or Patreon and cast your vote! And then, if you like, tell us what you...
episode 36: Survey Response and Q&A
Thanks to everyone who filled out our Listener Survey! In this bonus episode, we’re discussing the feedback we got on the survey and how we’re planning for the future of the podcast. And then we’re answering all the wonderful questions you asked on...
episode 35: Episode 33 - Ontogeny
Animals don’t start their lives as tiny copies of adults; there are all sorts of changes that a creature goes through from fertilization to birth and from newborn to mature. This development is called ontogeny. In this episode, we discuss how ontogen...
episode 34: Episode 32 - Naracoorte Caves, Australia
Over the past several hundred thousand years, Australia has witnesed numerous ice age cycles, ecosystems dominated by giant marsupials, the arrival of humans, the extinction of those giant animals, and more. And there may be no better window into thi...
episode 33: Episode 31 - The Ediacaran Biota
Before life as we know it, and before even the Cambrian Explosion, there was a time when the Earth was home to an assortment of strange squishy creatures so unusual that they defy most of our best attempts at classification. This episode, we discuss ...
episode 32: Episode 30 - Prehistoric Poop
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 info...
episode 31: Episode 29 - Placoderms, The Armored Fish
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...