The Common Descent Podcast

Happy New Year! Welcome back to our annual, traditional question-answering marathon! As always, a big thank you to everyone who submitted questions for this Q&A, everyone who has listened and shared a...

31 Des 20245h 22min

Most theropod dinosaurs are sleek predators built for speedy movement and efficient hunting. Therizinosaurs are unusual. They’re slow and stocky and, in many ways, more like the famous plant-eating di...

22 Des 20242h 9min

Evolution involves the innovation of new features, but even more reduction of old features. Those reduced features might disappear, develop in a new direction, or just linger as a functionless evidenc...

8 Des 20242h 7min

Welcome to Spotlight 2024! In this series, we’re sitting down with our fellow paleo-podcasters to discuss Science Communication. It’s the final episode! And we’re thrilled to be joined by Kallie, Gabr...

4 Des 20241h 20min

Not all plants rely on the sun for their energy. Thousands of species are adapted for stealing nutrients from other plants. This episode, Aly joins us to explore the diversity and evolution of parasit...

24 Nov 20242h 20min

Around six million years ago, the Mediterranean Sea dried up, wreaking havoc with local marine life and leaving a dramatic legacy in the geologic record in the form of massive salt deposits. This epis...

10 Nov 20242h 14min

Welcome to Spotlight 2024! In this series, we’re sitting down with our fellow paleo-podcasters to discuss Science Communication. This time, we’re hanging out with Amy and Meaghan from Weird & Dead! Fi...

6 Nov 20241h 9min

Welcome … to Cute-E! Every October during Spook-E, we have fun speculatively evolving monsters from myths and stories, but we leave out the cuddlier side of fiction. In Cute-E, we’re choosing kinder c...

2 Nov 202453min