The Common Descent Podcast
Join David and Will as they explore the paleontologists’ perspective on various topics in life and earth history.
Each episode features a main discussion on a topic requested by the listeners, presented as a lighthearted and educational conversation about fossils, evolution, deep time, and more.
Before the main discussion, each episode also includes a news segment, covering recent research related to paleontology and evolution.
Each episode ends with the answer to a question submitted by subscribers on Patreon.
New episodes with new topics every fortnight!
- Update frequency
- every 8 days
- Average duration
- 105 minutes
- Episodes
- 337
- Years Active
- 2017 - 2025
End of the Year Q&A 2018
Episode 51 - Mosasaurs
Many times in the history of life on Earth, reptiles have returned to the oceans. There were three famous groups of marine reptiles during the Mesozoic, and in this episode, we’re discussing the last…
Episode 50 - Australia
This episode, we take a tour of the land that takes home the prizes for oldest geologic materials, most marsupials, and (arguably) biggest island! Our trip through the history of this island-continen…
Episode 49 - Fake Fossils
It’s no secret we love paleontology; it’s a fascinating field of study. But sometimes our favorite subject is polluted and perverted by fraud. In this episode, we’re talking about fake fossils: why t…
Episode 48 - Sharks
This episode, it’s back into the ocean, this time to discuss one of the most successful groups of predators on the planet. Sharks are famously “ancient,” but their evolutionary story is complex and f…
Episode 47 - Early Synapsids ("Proto-Mammals")
Synapsids are a vast group of animals that includes only one living lineage: us mammals. But for about 100 million years before true mammals evolved, ancient synapsids were not only incredibly divers…
Spook-E - Zombies
Welcome ... to Spookulative Evolution.
It's October, so we're exploring some more speculative evolution with a spooky twist! Each week this month, we'll be choosing a creepy creature and discussing h…
Episode 46 - Cryptozoology
Human culture is full of stories of marvelous creatures hiding in the wilds on the fringe of our understanding. Some are the stuff of local lore while others are world-famous, and some are even thoug…
Spook-E - Fish-People
Welcome ... to Spookulative Evolution.
It's October, so we're exploring some more speculative evolution with a spooky twist! Each week this month, we'll be choosing a creepy creature and discussing h…
Spook-E - Werewolves
Welcome ... to Spookulative Evolution.
It's October, so we're exploring some more speculative evolution with a spooky twist! Each week this month, we'll be choosing a creepy creature and discussing h…
Episode 45 – The Permian Extinction (“The Great Dying”)
252 million years ago, the Earth experienced what might be the worst extinction event of all time, so dramatic that it brought an end to the entire Paleozoic Era, that it resulted in the rise of enti…
Spook-E - Vampires
Welcome ... to Spookulative Evolution.
It's October, so we're exploring some more speculative evolution with a spooky twist! Each week this month, we'll be choosing a creepy creature and discussing h…
SciFest in St. Louis
Will and David recently attended SciFest: Rock, Fossil, Quake! This was an event held at the St. Louis Science Center in collaboration with the Washington University School of Medicine.
The event bro…
Spotlight - Ranjeev Epa (5/5)
Welcome to our Spotlight Series!
We’re talking paleo-science with some paleo-people! In this 5-part series, we’ve interviewed 5 different invertebrate paleontologists about their research and other w…
Silver Screen Science - The Meg
It's a movie about a giant prehistoric shark that eats a bunch of people. Let's talk science!
In this "science review," we're discussing The Meg (2018) - the portrayal of megalodon, the tropes of the…
Episode 44 - Hybridization
In this episode, we tackle the fascinating – and confusing – subject of hybridization. What are hybrids? Why are hybrids? And if organisms can breed across subspecies and species boundaries, what doe…
Spotlight - Chris Mah (4/5)
Welcome to our Spotlight Series!
We’re talking paleo-science with some paleo-people! In this 5-part series, we’ve interviewed 5 different invertebrate paleontologists about their research and other w…
Spotlight - Alycia Stigall (3/5)
Welcome to our Spotlight Series!
We’re talking paleo-science with some paleo-people! In this 5-part series, we’ve interviewed 5 different invertebrate paleontologists about their research and other w…
Episode 43 - The Great American Biotic Interchange (GABI)
For tens of millions of years, North and South America were separate sisters across the sea, each with their own unique ecosystems. But around 3 million years ago, the Isthmus of Panama brought the l…
Spotlight - Adriane Lam (2/5)
Welcome to our Spotlight Series!
We’re talking paleo-science with some paleo-people! In this 5-part series, we’ve interviewed 5 different invertebrate paleontologists about their research and other w…