The Origins Podcast with Lawrence Krauss

Neil Shubin: Science, Exploration, Patience, and Survival at the Ends of the Earth

May 9, 2025
Neil Shubin, the Robert R. Bensley Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago and discoverer of Tiktaalik, shares his incredible journey from veterinary medicine to paleontology. He recounts thrilling Arctic expeditions, emphasizing the patience and risk involved in fossil hunting. Shubin discusses the implications of climate change as ancient viruses threat surface, and he explores how extreme environments reveal secrets about life's adaptability and our planet's history. A captivating blend of science, exploration, and resilience awaits!
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INSIGHT

Why the Arctic Yields Crucial Fossils

  • The Canadian Arctic has the right aged rocks formed in ancient river environments to find fossils showing fish-to-land transition.
  • Its geological history makes it accessible and perfect for discovering transitional fossils like Tiktaalik.
ANECDOTE

Plover's Ancient Trickery and Symbolism

  • Neil Shubin tells of a blackneck plover that pretended injury to lure predators away from its nest.
  • He realized this ancient behavior symbolizes the fragile balance of life in polar regions and our vulnerability to change.
INSIGHT

Polar Ice Is a Recent Phenomenon

  • Earth's polar regions have changed drastically over geological time with ice forming only in recent eras.
  • This dynamic history reveals the planet's capacity for rapid and dramatic environmental transformations.
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