The Common Descent Podcast

At DragonCon 2019, Will and David were part of the Paleontology Hour Panel, where a room full of nerds asked all their paleo-related questions to a panel of experts - and we recorded it! We were joine...

19 Jan 20202h 6min

Hand a kitchen appliance to a child and they’re likely to find a whole new way to use it. This happens in evolution, too – traits adapted for one purpose turn out to be beneficial for a whole other re...

12 Jan 20201h 49min

Happy New Year! We got a ton of questions this year, so enjoy the end of the decade with this extra-long edition of David and Will saying the things you want to hear! See you in the ‘20s! Check out ou...

1 Jan 20203h 26min

Happy New Year! As we transition into a new decade, this episode is about one of the most important and incredible transitions in the evolutionary history of life. In the Late Devonian, one particular...

29 Dec 20191h 37min

The evolution of horses is a classic story, first because it is a beautiful example of evolution in the fossil record, and second because of how our scientific perspective of this story has shifted ov...

15 Dec 20191h 54min

Welcome to the world of Pokémon Paleontology! In this digression – by popular demand – we explore how the fictional world of Pokémon draws inspiration from real world science, particularly in regard t...

8 Dec 20191h 1min

Time for another extinction! This time, we’re discussing what might be the most ancient, most mysterious, and most catastrophic mass extinction event of all time. The Great Oxidation Event marks the t...

1 Dec 20191h 39min

South America today is home to some of the most incredible ecosystems on the planet, and its fossil record is even more varied and fantastic. In this episode, we explore the history of the continent f...

17 Nov 20191h 42min