Episode 212 - Temnospondyls
When vertebrates first moved onto land, they gave rise to a variety of amphibious tetrapods. The most diverse and successful of these were temnospondyls, which were some of the most important species ...
2 Mar 20251h 41min
Episode 211 - Edward Drinker Cope
E. D. Cope is one of the most recognizable and notorious names in paleontology history. He did some of the most important early work in vertebrate paleontology, he was one half of the dueling duo in t...
16 Feb 20252h 34min
Episode 210 - Bones
The evolution of mineralized tissues is responsible not only for the incredible success and diversity of vertebrate animals, but also for their extraordinarily informative fossil record. This episode,...
2 Feb 20252h 25min
Episode 209 - Chimaeras
You might know them as ghost sharks, rat fish, or spook fish. Chimaeras are close cousins of sharks and rays, equipped with distinctive and unusual features in their fins, teeth, and reproductive stru...
19 Jan 20252h 27min
Episode 208 - The Karoo Supergroup
Southern Africa is home to an incredible sequence of geologic formations that span more than 100 million years of Earth history. These rocks, collectively called the Karoo Supergroup, are an extraordi...
5 Jan 20251h 49min
End of the Year Q&A 2024
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
Episode 207 - Therizinosaurs
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
Episode 206 - Vestigial Structures
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
