The Common Descent Podcast

We just talked last episode about Speculative Evolution, so now is a great time to tackle another request we received: to talk about mermaids! In this digression, we discuss these famous mythical marine creatures and do some speculating of our own. Could aquatic humans evolve? And if so, what might they really look like? Follow and Support us on: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/CommonDescentPC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/commondescentpodcast/ PodBean: https://commondescentpodcast.podbean.com/ iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-common-descent-podcast/id1207586509?mt=2 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCePRXHEnZmTGum2r1l2mduw The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org.

This episode, we’re discussing the fun and fascinating “What If” thought experiments of evolution. From fantastical fictional stories to unusual scientific hypotheses to just-for-fun artistic creations, speculative evolution is all about exploring the unseen (and maybe never-to-be-seen) possibilities of real biological science. We’ll touch on some of our favorite “hard science fiction” as well as how this style of creative thinking can contribute to the study of real living creatures of the past ... and beyond. In the news: Native American dogs, Neanderthal hunting methods, mammal testicle evolution, and plant-induced insect development. Time markers: Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00 News: 00:04:30 Main discussion, Part 1: 00:36:00 Main discussion, Part 2: 01:15:00 Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures: http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/ Follow and Support us on: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/CommonDescentPC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/commondescentpodcast/ PodBean: https://commondescentpodcast.podbean.com/ iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-common-descent-podcast/id1207586509?mt=2 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCePRXHEnZmTGum2r1l2mduw The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org. Muscial Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

At long last, a plant episode! Our friend Aly Baumgartner joins the podcast to teach us all about grass - it's not just part of the background! From humble beginnings during the Age of Reptiles, grasses have gone on to dominate global ecosystems (as well as human diet!) and continue to do so today. They are truly one of the most influential groups of life on Earth. In the news: strange ancient reef fish, dinosaur tongues, a surprise extinct gibbon, and a history of primate claws. Time markers: Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00 News: 00:04:30 Main discussion, Part 1: 00:28:30 Main discussion, Part 2: 01:04:00 Follow Aly on Twitter! https://twitter.com/kyrietree Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures: http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/ Follow and Support us on: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/CommonDescentPC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/commondescentpodcast/ PodBean: https://commondescentpodcast.podbean.com/ iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-common-descent-podcast/id1207586509?mt=2 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCePRXHEnZmTGum2r1l2mduw The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org. Muscial Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Part 5 of 5! This is it – the end of our series! We’ve now re-watched all the old movies and finally turned to the newest one for our “science reviews.” How do these movies handle such subjects as prehistoric creatures, the science of paleontology, and the portrayal of scientists? Fresh out in theaters – Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018). Follow and Support us on: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/CommonDescentPC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/commondescentpodcast/ PodBean: https://commondescentpodcast.podbean.com/ iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-common-descent-podcast/id1207586509?mt=2 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCePRXHEnZmTGum2r1l2mduw The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org. Muscial Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Surprise! We've gotten a lot of bird requests, so to follow up our Evolution of Birds discussion, we put together three mini-discussions based on other birds our listeners have asked to hear about: 1. The evolution and fossil history of flamingos. 2. The fossil record of the famous predatory "terror birds." 3. Argentavis and Pelagornis, history's largest flying birds. Time markers: Intro: 00:00:00 Flamingos: 00:02:30 Terror birds: 00:23:30 Giant flying birds: 00:46:30 Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures: http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/ Follow and Support us on: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/CommonDescentPC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/commondescentpodcast/ PodBean: https://commondescentpodcast.podbean.com/ iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-common-descent-podcast/id1207586509?mt=2 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCePRXHEnZmTGum2r1l2mduw The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org. Muscial Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Part 4 of 5! Our Jurassic Park review series is almost done! All month, we’ve been re-watching the movies and chatting about the science in a series of “science reviews.” How do these movies handle such subjects as prehistoric creatures, the science of paleontology, and the portrayal of scientists? In this episode, the complex – and controversial – franchise revival: Jurassic World (2015). Follow and Support us on: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/CommonDescentPC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/commondescentpodcast/ PodBean: https://commondescentpodcast.podbean.com/ iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-common-descent-podcast/id1207586509?mt=2 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCePRXHEnZmTGum2r1l2mduw The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org.

Birds are such unique and fascinating animals; for many decades scientists have wondered at their evolutionary story – and so have many of our listeners! Well here it is: the Evolution of Birds, complete with some scientific history, key fossil finds, and a fly-by (yep) of the incredible diversity of critters that led to birds as we know them today In the news: history of the Great Barrier Reef, giant bony fish, early African tetrapods, and the oldest lizards. Time markers: Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00 News: 00:03:30 Main discussion, Part 1: 00:31:00 Main discussion, Part 2: 00:56:30 Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures: http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/ Follow and Support us on: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/CommonDescentPC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/commondescentpodcast/ PodBean: https://commondescentpodcast.podbean.com/ iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-common-descent-podcast/id1207586509?mt=2 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCePRXHEnZmTGum2r1l2mduw The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org. Muscial Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Part 3 of 5! Every Saturday this month, we’re re-watching all of the Jurassic Park movies and chatting about the science in a series of “science reviews.” How do these movies handle such subjects as prehistoric creatures, the science of paleontology, and the portrayal of scientists? This time, the last of the original trilogy: Jurassic Park III (2001). Follow and Support us on: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/CommonDescentPC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/commondescentpodcast/ PodBean: https://commondescentpodcast.podbean.com/ iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-common-descent-podcast/id1207586509?mt=2 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCePRXHEnZmTGum2r1l2mduw The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org.

Part 2 of 5! Each Saturday in June, we’re re-watching all of the Jurassic Park movies and chatting about the science in a series of “science reviews.” How do these films handle such subjects as prehistoric creatures, the science of paleontology, and the portrayal of scientists? Sequel time. The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997). Follow and Support us on: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/CommonDescentPC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/commondescentpodcast/ PodBean: https://commondescentpodcast.podbean.com/ iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-common-descent-podcast/id1207586509?mt=2 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCePRXHEnZmTGum2r1l2mduw The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org.

In this episode, we’re examining the incredible formation of reefs! Not just coral – reef systems have been built by many different organisms over Earth history, and we’ll be touching on the details of these essential harbors of biodiversity: past, present, and prospects for the future. In the news: bone-crushing dogs, ancient global warming, a tick in a web, and how birds bounced back. Time markers: Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00 News: 00:05:30 Main discussion, Part 1: 00:35:00 Main discussion, Part 2: 01:11:30 Patron question: 01:46:30 Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures: http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/ Follow and Support us on: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/CommonDescentPC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/commondescentpodcast/ PodBean: https://commondescentpodcast.podbean.com/ iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-common-descent-podcast/id1207586509?mt=2 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCePRXHEnZmTGum2r1l2mduw The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org. Muscial Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/