The Common Descent Podcast

Happy New Year! Please enjoy our annual question-answering marathon, now longer than ever! Thank you so much to everyone who listens, shares, and supports the podcast.  Check out our website blog post...

31 Des 20255h 51min

Of all the highly successful and capable flying insects in the world, few are as successful or capable as those in the order Diptera. This episode, we’re joined by special guest Brandon Strauss to dis...

21 Des 20252h 41min

Today, bony animals are some of the most diverse organisms on Earth, but it wasn’t always that way. This episode, we explore what features distinguish vertebrates from their closest relatives, and we ...

7 Des 20252h 16min

Nearly 400 million years ago, an unusual group of fish gave rise to the first land-dwelling vertebrates. Since then, their descendants have repeatedly moved back into the water. This episode, we explo...

23 Nov 20252h 43min

The dome-headed dinosaurs are some of the most iconic ancient reptiles, but they’re surprisingly unexplored compared to other dinos. This episode, we explore what makes these dinosaurs unique, what li...

9 Nov 20252h 16min

In this special guest episode of Silver Screen Science, we're joined by Sabrina and Garret of I Know Dino to discuss the science and scientists of the newest installment in the Jurassic franchise: Jur...

5 Nov 20251h 39min

Welcome … to Cute-E! During our Spook-E series, we speculate on the evolution of monsters from myth and popular media, but we leave out fiction’s more adorable creatures. In Cute-E, we choose cuddlier...

1 Nov 202558min

Generally speaking, it’s not a good idea to mess with ants. But several lineages of animals have evolved to be ant-eating specialists. This episode, we discuss anteaters, the suite of adaptations that...

26 Okt 20252h 21min