The Common Descent Podcast

Afleveringen

1. Cute-E - Tribbles

   31 oktober 2026 · 58 min

   Afspelen
   Welcome … to Cute-E! Lees meer

   During our Spook-E series, we speculate on the evolution of monsters from myth and popular media, but we leave out fiction’s more adorable creatures. In Cute-E, we choose cuddlier critters and discuss how they – or something like them – could evolve here on Earth, pulling inspiration from real-world species across our planet’s history. This year’s theme is Aliens!

   This episode, we’re overrun with cuteness! What evolutionary history could lead to pesky swarms of irresistibly adorable fuzzballs? Our creatures to create this time: Tribbles.

   Join the Common Descent Discord server for more Spook-E discussion! https://discord.gg/CwPBxdh9Ev

   Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast

   More ways to connect with us: https://commondescentpodcast.com/

   The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org.

2. Episode 255 - Plant Origins

   25 oktober 2026 · 2 uur 19 min

   Afspelen
   Here on our blue-and-green planet, the green is plants. This episode, Aly joins us again to explore the beginnings of this all-important group of life. We’ll discuss which ancestors gave rise to true plants, what the fossil record tells us about the timing of this momentous event, and the array of key adaptations that allowed plants to join their fungus and animal cousins up on dry land. Lees meer

   In the news: mosasaurs, more mosasaurs, Jurassic mammals, and horned dinosaurs.

   Time Markers:
   Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
   News: 00:05:25
   Main discussion, Part 1: 00:47:35
   Main discussion, Part 2: 01:16:05
   Patron question: 02:05:35

   Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast

   Check out our website for this episode’s blog post and more: http://commondescentpodcast.com/

   Got a topic you want to hear about? Submit your episode request here: https://commondescentpodcast.com/request-a-topic/

   Lots more ways to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/common_descent

   The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org

   Musical Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

3. Spook-E - Andalites

   24 oktober 2026 · 54 min

   Afspelen
   Welcome ... to Spookulative Evolution. Lees meer

   It’s Spook-E Season! All throughout October, we pick monsters from myth and media and speculate how they – or something like them – could evolve here on Earth, pulling inspiration from real-world species across our planet’s history. This year’s theme is Aliens!

   Our final Spook-E creature for this season comes from sci-fi young adult fiction! How in the world (Earth, specifically) could evolution explain furry, centaur-shaped telepaths? Our creatures to create this time: Andalites.

   Join the Common Descent Discord server for more Spook-E discussion! https://discord.gg/CwPBxdh9Ev

   Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast

   More ways to connect with us: https://commondescentpodcast.com/

   The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org.

4. Spook-E - Headcrabs

   17 oktober 2026 · 1 uur 10 min

   Afspelen
   Welcome ... to Spookulative Evolution. Lees meer

   It’s Spook-E Season! All throughout October, we pick monsters from myth and media and speculate how they – or something like them – could evolve here on Earth, pulling inspiration from real-world species across our planet’s history. This year’s theme is Aliens!

   This time, we pull an extra-dimensional horror from the world of video games. What might lead natural processes to develop creepy-crawly parasite-hats? Our creates to create this time: Headcrabs.

   Join the Common Descent Discord server for more Spook-E discussion! https://discord.gg/CwPBxdh9Ev

   Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast

   More ways to connect with us: https://commondescentpodcast.com/

   The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org.

5. Episode 254 - Abelisaurs

   11 oktober 2026 · 2 uur 13 min

   Afspelen
   During the Cretaceous Period, while tyrannosaurs stomped around the northern continents, the less famous abelisaurs were the top predatory dinosaurs of the south. This episode, we piece together the history and diversity of these predators, and we explore what they were doing with their bulldog faces, tiny arms, and in some cases, horned faces. Lees meer

   In the news: plesiosaur vomit, seaweed snacks, bat evolution, and flying dinosaurs.

   Time Markers:
   Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
   News: 00:07:10
   Main discussion, Part 1: 00:42:30
   Main discussion, Part 2: 01:14:40
   Patron question: 02:03:10

   Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast

   Check out our website for this episode’s blog post and more: http://commondescentpodcast.com/

   Got a topic you want to hear about? Submit your episode request here: https://commondescentpodcast.com/request-a-topic/

   Lots more ways to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/common_descent

   The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org

   Musical Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

6. Spook-E - Greys

   10 oktober 2026 · 1 uur 2 min

   Afspelen
   Welcome ... to Spookulative Evolution. Lees meer

   It’s Spook-E Season! All throughout October, we pick monsters from myth and media and speculate how they – or something like them – could evolve here on Earth, pulling inspiration from real-world species across our planet’s history. This year’s theme is Aliens!

   This episode, we explore the mysterious beings (supposedly) in our own backyard! What evolutionary path can we devise for round-headed, eerie beings lurking just beyond our understanding? Our creatures to create this time: Greys.

   Join the Common Descent Discord server for more Spook-E discussion! https://discord.gg/CwPBxdh9Ev

   Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast

   More ways to connect with us: https://commondescentpodcast.com/

   The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org.

7. Spook-E - Xenomorphs

   3 oktober 2026 · 1 uur 42 min

   Afspelen
   Welcome ... to Spookulative Evolution. Lees meer

   Spook-E Season is back! All throughout October, we pick monsters from myth and media and speculate how they – or something like them – could evolve here on Earth, pulling inspiration from real-world species across our planet’s history. This year’s theme is Aliens!

   Where better to begin than with the quintessential big screen terrors from beyond the stars? How might Earth-based evolution produce a human-hunting monster that’s equal parts predator and parasitoid? Our creatures to create this time: Xenomorphs.

   Join the Common Descent Discord server for more Spook-E discussion! https://discord.gg/CwPBxdh9Ev

   Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast

   More ways to connect with us: https://commondescentpodcast.com/

   The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org.

8. Episode 253 - Kangaroos

   27 september 2026 · 2 uur 43 min

   Afspelen
   Kangaroos – and their wallaroo and wallaby cousins – are some of the most recognizable, charismatic, and impressively strange mammals on the planet. This episode, we explore the surprising diversity of this group, we discuss how they manage to be world’s pre-eminent hoppers, and we delve into some of their unexpected fossil relatives. Lees meer

   In the news: warm tyrannosaurs, sea star ancestors, traveling dinosaurs, and new cats.

   Time Markers:
   Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
   News: 00:06:35
   Main discussion, Part 1: 00:50:30
   Main discussion, Part 2: 01:36:40
   Patron question: 02:32:45

   Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast

   Check out our website for this episode’s blog post and more: http://commondescentpodcast.com/

   Got a topic you want to hear about? Submit your episode request here: https://commondescentpodcast.com/request-a-topic/

   Lots more ways to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/common_descent

   The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org

   Musical Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

9. Episode 252 - The Ice Age

   13 september 2026 · 2 uur 11 min

   Afspelen
   About 10% of the Earth’s land surface is currently covered in persistent glacial ice, but for most of Earth history, that number was much closer to zero. This episode, we explore what happens when ice overtakes our planet and how we investigate icy conditions of the distant past, and we’ll take a close look at the most recent (and ongoing) global climate event that we commonly call the Ice Age. Lees meer

   In the news: distant space objects, snake embryos, Jurassic chirps, and polar dinosaur nests.

   Time Markers:
   Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
   News: 00:05:35
   Main discussion, Part 1: 00:40:35
   Main discussion, Part 2: 01:16:45
   Patron question: 02:02:10

   Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast

   Check out our website for this episode’s blog post and more: http://commondescentpodcast.com/

   Got a topic you want to hear about? Submit your episode request here: https://commondescentpodcast.com/request-a-topic/

   Lots more ways to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/common_descent

   The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org

   Musical Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

10. Episode 251 - The Sun

    30 augustus 2026 · 2 uur 44 min

    Afspelen
    The Sun is kind of a big deal. It is the center of our solar system, around which all other objects revolve, and its heat and light are responsible for the life-supporting conditions here on Earth. This episode, we take a close look at how the Sun actually works and what makes it different from other stars. Then, we track the lifetime of the Sun, exploring how it originally formed, how it has changed over its lifetime, and how it will eventually burn out. Lees meer

    In the news: carnivorous plants, ancient burrowers, live birth, and reptile metabolism.

    Time Markers:
    Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
    News: 00:07:50
    Main discussion, Part 1: 00:46:30
    Main discussion, Part 2: 01:47:40
    Patron question: 02:37:05

    💗
    https://imaginationlibrary.com/the-dollywood-foundation/

    Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast

    Check out our website for this episode’s blog post and more: http://commondescentpodcast.com/

    Got a topic you want to hear about? Submit your episode request here: https://commondescentpodcast.com/request-a-topic/

    Lots more ways to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/common_descent

    The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org

    Musical Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

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