The Common Descent Podcast

With several thousand living species, ferns are the second most diverse vascular plants around today, after angiosperms. Ferns are also abundant and well-known in the fossil record. This episode, Aly ...

13 Apr 20252h 33min

Silver Screen Science is our series where we explore how science is portrayed on the big screen. This year, we’re focused on one recurring franchise: Planet of the Apes! It’s the reboot of the origina...

9 Apr 202559min

Silver Screen Science is our series where we explore how science is portrayed on the big screen. This year, we’re focused on one recurring franchise: Planet of the Apes! This episode, we begin where i...

2 Apr 20251h 14min

Evolution just loves a nice pair of oversized canines, especially on mammalian predators. Saber-toothed animals have shown up over and over again – we even have some today – but despite their similari...

30 Mar 20252h 37min

Our high-level Patreon supporters get to request a topic for their very own mini-episode! For the sixth time, we’ve put the latest bunch together for everyone to enjoy! Thank you as always to our incr...

22 Mar 20252h 17min

Leave a carcass or a log or a pile of poop out in the wild long enough and it will break down into its component parts. Decomposers are an often-overlooked but essential component of ecosystems past a...

16 Mar 20252h 17min

After you’ve listened to the Leaf it to Us pilot episode, enjoy this follow-up discussion where Nora, Aly, and David share their thoughts about that first episode and the upcoming season of the new po...

10 Mar 202530min

Enjoy this special preview of the upcoming podcast Leaf it to Us, hosted by Nora Spurling and Dr. Aly Baumgartner. In this pilot episode, they discuss the fascinating phenomenon of sex-changing trees!...

10 Mar 202532min