The Common Descent Podcast

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 …

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…

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 str…

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 extraord…

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 …

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 d…

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 eviden…

Welcome to Spotlight 2024! In this series, we’re sitting down with our fellow paleo-podcasters to discuss Science Communication.

It’s the final episode! And we’re thrilled to be joined by Kallie, Gab…

Not all plants rely on the sun for their energy. Thousands of species are adapted for stealing nutrients from other plants. This episode, Aly joins us to explore the diversity and evolution of parasi…

Around six million years ago, the Mediterranean Sea dried up, wreaking havoc with local marine life and leaving a dramatic legacy in the geologic record in the form of massive salt deposits. This epi…

Welcome to Spotlight 2024! In this series, we’re sitting down with our fellow paleo-podcasters to discuss Science Communication.

This time, we’re hanging out with Amy and Meaghan from Weird & Dead!

F…

Welcome … to Cute-E!

Every October during Spook-E, we have fun speculatively evolving monsters from myths and stories, but we leave out the cuddlier side of fiction. In Cute-E, we’re choosing kinder …

Mice, rats, beavers, and more! Rodents are some of the most diverse and successful mammals on the planet. This episode, we discuss what traits make rodents special, and we explore their incredible li…

Welcome ... to Spookulative Evolution.

October is Spook-E Season on Common Descent! Each episode, we pick monsters from fiction and fable and ponder how they – or something like them – could evolve h…

Welcome ... to Spookulative Evolution.

October is Spook-E Season on Common Descent! Each episode, we pick monsters from fiction and fable and ponder how they – or something like them – could evolve h…

It’s the final part of our fungal trilogy!

Fungi and animals interact in a wide variety of ways, from parasitism to partnership to predation. This episode, we explore how fungi and animals have evolv…

Welcome ... to Spookulative Evolution.

October is Spook-E Season on Common Descent! Each episode, we pick monsters from fiction and fable and ponder how they – or something like them – could evolve h…

Welcome ... to Spookulative Evolution.

October is Spook-E Season on Common Descent! Each episode, we pick monsters from fiction and fable and ponder how they – or something like them – could evolve h…

Welcome to Spotlight 2024! In this series, we’re sitting down with our fellow paleo-podcasters to discuss Science Communication.

This episode, we’re joined by one of the longest-running paleo-podcast…

Our fungal celebration continues!

The relationship between fungi and plants is one of the most famous and consequential connections in biological history. This episode, Aly is here to help us explore…