The Common Descent Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Conserving Crocs with Dr. Marisa Tellez Jun 17, 2022

Show notes

Happy Croc Month!

In this special episode, we talk croc conservation and geek out about crocs with special guest Dr. Marisa Tellez of the Crocodilian Research Coalition. We learn about what it’s like to study crocs in the wild, we discuss the importance of public education, and we hear some of Marisa’s amazing croc tales!

Follow Marisa on Instagram and Twitter: @crocparasites13

CRC Info:
Webpage: www.crocodileresearchcoalition.org
Facebook and Pinterest: Crocodile Research Coalition
Instagram: @crocodileresearchcoalition
Twitter: @CrocResCoal
TikTok: crc_crocresearchcoal

Check out more Croc Month activities on our social media, Discord, and Patreon (links below)!

Check out our blog for more info about us and our episodes:
http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/

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

Or make a one-time donation via PayPal: https://tinyurl.com/4c68u4hp

Find merch at the Common Descent Store! http://zazzle.com/common_descent

Follow, Join, and Support us on:
Discord: https://discord.gg/CwPBxdh9Ev
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CommonDescentPC
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/commondescentpodcast
Instagram: @commondescentpodcast
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCePRXHEnZmTGum2r1l2mduw
PodBean: https://commondescentpodcast.podbean.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-common-descent-podcast/id1207586509?mt=2

You can email us at commondescentpodcast(at)gmail.com
Or send us physical mail at:
The Common Descent Podcast
1735 W State of Franklin Rd. Ste 5 #165
Johnson City, TN 37604

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

Episode 141 - Supercontinents Jun 11, 2022

Show notes

Perhaps you’ve heard of Pangaea, the supercontinent that existed when our modern continents were puzzle-pieced together. But have you heard of Rodinia? Or Columbia? Scientists have only come to realize in the last few decades that supercontinents are a recurring feature of our planet. This episode, we discuss what counts as a supercontinent, what evidence they leave behind, and the various ways they impact just about every other feature of our planet as they continuously come together and break apart.

In the news: croc resilience, American cheetahs, dome-headed giraffoids, and traveling termites.

Time markers:
Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
News: 00:05:00
Main discussion, Part 1: 00:43:00
Main discussion, Part 2: 01:14:30
Patron question: 02:03:30

IT’S CROC MONTH! Check out our Croc Month activities on our social media, Discord, and Patreon!

We recently made a guest appearance on Third Pod From the Sun, where we discussed the K-Pg mass extinction! https://thirdpodfromthesun.com/2022/06/10/extinctions-dinosaurs-a-big-rock-andclimate-change/

Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:
http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/

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

Or make a one-time donation via PayPal: https://tinyurl.com/4c68u4hp

Find merch at the Common Descent Store! http://zazzle.com/common_descent

Join the Common Descent Discord server! https://discord.gg/CwPBxdh9Ev

Follow and Support us on:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CommonDescentPC
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/commondescentpodcast
Instagram: @commondescentpodcast
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCePRXHEnZmTGum2r1l2mduw
PodBean: https://commondescentpodcast.podbean.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-common-descent-podcast/id1207586509?mt=2

You can email us at commondescentpodcast(at)gmail.com
Or send us physical mail at:
The Common Descent Podcast
1735 W State of Franklin Rd. Ste 5 #165
Johnson City, TN 37604

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/

Silver Screen Science – Prehistoric Planet Jun 04, 2022

Show notes

Recently, BBC Studios put out a new documentary series set in the world of the Late Cretaceous, so we’re doing our first-ever Silver Screen Science discussion focused on a documentary!

The documentary in question: Prehistoric Planet.

Happy Croc Month! Special things are going on throughout this (and next) month in all the places linked below!

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

Or make a one-time donation via PayPal: https://tinyurl.com/4c68u4hp

Find merch at the Common Descent Store! http://zazzle.com/common_descent

Join the Common Descent Discord server! https://discord.gg/CwPBxdh9Ev

You can email us at commondescentpodcast(at)gmail.com
Or send us physical mail at:
The Common Descent Podcast
1735 W State of Franklin Rd. Ste 5 #165
Johnson City, TN 37604

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

Episode 140 - Horns and Antlers May 28, 2022

Show notes

Who doesn’t like a flashy bit of headgear? A wide variety of cranial ornamentation is found on a wide variety of animals: sharp horns, branching antlers, bumpy knobs, and more. In this episode, we break down what technically counts as a “horn” (you’ll be unsurprised to learn there isn’t a simple answer!), the vast diversity of animal headgear today and in the fossil record, and the various ways animals have found to use these remarkable structures.

In the news: sabertoothed faces, head origins, dinosaur climates, and ancient false gharials.

Time markers:
Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
News: 00:06:00
Main discussion, Part 1: 00:40:00
Main discussion, Part 2: 01:20:00
Patron question: 02:16:00

Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:
http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/

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

Or make a one-time donation via PayPal: https://tinyurl.com/4c68u4hp

Find merch at the Common Descent Store! http://zazzle.com/common_descent

Join the Common Descent Discord server! https://discord.gg/CwPBxdh9Ev

You can email us at commondescentpodcast(at)gmail.com
Or send us physical mail at:
The Common Descent Podcast
1735 W State of Franklin Rd. Ste 5 #165
Johnson City, TN 37604

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/

Episode 139 - Vultures May 14, 2022

Show notes

Scavenging isn’t easy. There’s a reason most scavengers are only part-time carrion-eaters. But vultures are exquisitely adapted for a dedicated lifestyle of finding and feasting on carcasses, and as a result, they’ve made themselves invaluable members of ecosystems all over the globe. In this episode, we explore vulture evolution, their ancient history, and the adaptations that make them the world’s most famous scavengers.

In the news: insect wings, trilobite mating, a “small” sauropod, and post-Cretaceous plants.

Time markers:
Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
News: 00:04:00
Main discussion, Part 1: 00:36:00
Main discussion, Part 2: 01:16:00
Patron question: 01:44:30

Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:
http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/

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

Or make a one-time donation via PayPal: https://tinyurl.com/4c68u4hp

Find merch at the Common Descent Store! http://zazzle.com/common_descent

Join the Common Descent Discord server! https://discord.gg/CwPBxdh9Ev

You can email us at commondescentpodcast(at)gmail.com
Or send us physical mail at:
The Common Descent Podcast
1735 W State of Franklin Rd. Ste 5 #165
Johnson City, TN 37604

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/

Episode 138 - The Moon Apr 30, 2022

Show notes

It's an easy mistake to think of the Moon as a simple accessory to our planet, but the Earth and Moon are a close-knit pair, and the Moon influences everything from our tides to our magnetic fields to the brightness of our nights. All life on Earth has evolved in the presence of the Moon, and so life on Earth can't be fully understood without considering our cosmic companion. In this episode, we discuss how the Moon influences life past and present, and what we know about the deep history of the Earth-Moon relationship.

In the news: pterosaur colors, a glowing spider, deformed pollen, and a long-toed tetrapod.

Time markers:
Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
News: 00:04:00
Main discussion, Part 1: 00:36:30
Main discussion, Part 2: 01:16:30
Patron question: 01:55:00

Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:
http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/

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

Or make a one-time donation via PayPal: https://tinyurl.com/4c68u4hp

Find merch at the Common Descent Store! http://zazzle.com/common_descent

Join the Common Descent Discord server! https://discord.gg/CwPBxdh9Ev

You can email us at commondescentpodcast(at)gmail.com
Or send us physical mail at:
The Common Descent Podcast
1735 W State of Franklin Rd. Ste 5 #165
Johnson City, TN 37604

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/

Episode 137 - Fossilization Apr 16, 2022

Show notes

We talk about fossils a lot on this podcast – every episode, in fact – but we rarely take the time to discuss how fossils get the way they are. This is a crucial subject, because the fossilization process is a filter, and nothing comes through the filter unaltered, and many things don’t come through at all. In this episode, we talk about how fossils typically form, how we study this process, and why it’s so important for paleontologists to understand fossilization.

In the news: giant croc tracks, injured dino footprints, evolution in cities, and ancient snakey-ness.

Time markers:
Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
News: 00:04:00
Main discussion, Part 1: 00:41:00
Main discussion, Part 2: 01:16:00
Patron question: 01:52:00

Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:
http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/

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

Or make a one-time donation via PayPal: https://tinyurl.com/4c68u4hp

Find merch at the Common Descent Store! http://zazzle.com/common_descent

Join the Common Descent Discord server! https://discord.gg/CwPBxdh9Ev

You can email us at commondescentpodcast(at)gmail.com
Or send us physical mail at:
The Common Descent Podcast
1735 W State of Franklin Rd. Ste 5 #165
Johnson City, TN 37604

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/

Episode 136 - Seahorses Apr 02, 2022

Show notes

Seahorses are very strange fish, with their upright posture, tube-like mouths, and various other unusual features. Along with their cousins in the family Syngnathidae, seahorses have been the subject of much research into how they came about their bizarre body plans and lifestyles. In this episode, we discuss a bit of what we know of how seahorses (and their relatives) do what they do, and how they came to do it.

In the news: trilobite predators, early jaws, de-extinction troubles, and spinosaur bone density.

Time markers:
Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
News: 00:04:00
Main discussion, Part 1: 00:39:00
Main discussion, Part 2: 01:26:30
Patron question: 02:08:00

Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:
http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/

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

Or make a one-time donation via PayPal: https://tinyurl.com/4c68u4hp

Find merch at the Common Descent Store! http://zazzle.com/common_descent

Join the Common Descent Discord server! https://discord.gg/CwPBxdh9Ev

You can email us at commondescentpodcast(at)gmail.com
Or send us physical mail at:
The Common Descent Podcast
1735 W State of Franklin Rd. Ste 5 #165
Johnson City, TN 37604

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/

Patron Mini-Episode Compilation #2 Mar 28, 2022

Show notes

Our highest-level supporters on Patreon get their own special mini-episode on a topic of their choosing! We released the first five in a compilation a while ago, and now that we’ve done five more, here’s another compilation for everyone to enjoy.

Special thanks to our Patrons for their generous contributions, and thanks also to our special guest, Laura!

00:00:00 Intro
00:02:15 Crinoids for Lewis
00:16:15 Acrocanthosaurus for Will
00:36:30 The Hadean for Jordan
00:52:30 Fainting Goats for Mike
01:12:30 Scabies for Andreas

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

Or make a one-time donation via PayPal: https://tinyurl.com/4c68u4hp

Find merch at the Common Descent Store! http://zazzle.com/common_descent

Join the Common Descent Discord server! https://discord.gg/CwPBxdh9Ev

You can email us at commondescentpodcast(at)gmail.com
Or send us physical mail at:
The Common Descent Podcast
1735 W State of Franklin Rd. Ste 5 #165
Johnson City, TN 37604

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/

Episode 135 - Seeds Mar 19, 2022

Show notes

Every plant starts somewhere, and often that somewhere is inside a seed. Seeds are among the most diverse and important evolutionary innovations of plants, allowing species to survive, thrive, and travel between generations in extraordinary ways. This episode, Aly joins us to discuss how seeds do what they do, how seeds have evolved over time, and how seeds are invaluable resources for paleontologists seeking to understand plants of the past.

In the news: early octopus-cousins, early tuatara cousins, evolution of walking, and how sauropods moved.

Time markers:
Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00
News: 00:04:00
Main discussion, Part 1: 00:46:30
Main discussion, Part 2: 01:39:00
Patron question: 02:22:00

Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures:
http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/

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

Or make a one-time donation via PayPal: https://tinyurl.com/4c68u4hp

Find merch at the Common Descent Store! http://zazzle.com/common_descent

Join the Common Descent Discord server! https://discord.gg/CwPBxdh9Ev

You can email us at commondescentpodcast(at)gmail.com
Or send us physical mail at:
The Common Descent Podcast
1735 W State of Franklin Rd. Ste 5 #165
Johnson City, TN 37604

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/

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

The Common Descent Podcast

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected