Episode 39 – Speculative Evolution

Listen to Episode 39 on PodBean, iTunes, or your favorite podcast source!

Our subject for this episode is a bit more abstract than our typical topics. Here we discuss the subject of speculative evolution. This concept covers everything from imaging what the future of life will look like to figuring out how movie monsters might have actually functioned. Here we’ll visit some of the ideas that are commonly explored in these thought experiments and look at how speculation contributes to real science.

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Episode 38 – Grass

Download Episode 38 from PodBean, iTunes, or your favorite podcast source!

In this episode, we are joined by our friend Aly Baumgartner, who tells us all about one of the world’s most successful – and influential – groups of plants, including how they’ve evolved, spread, and changed the world. Our very first plant-dedicated topic: Grass!

Episode 37 – Evolution of Birds

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This episode, our topic is one of the most detailed and exciting stories of evolutionary origin in the fossil record, one of the most historically fascinating questions in paleontology, and the single most requested topic from our listeners: The story of the Evolution of Birds.

Episode 36 – Reefs

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In this episode we dive into the concept of reefs. Reefs today are one of the most crucial environments in the oceans. They promote extremely high biodiversity and protect coast lines. Today we are accustomed to coral reefs, but throughout history many organisms have built reefs that proved just as important to ancient ocean life.

Episode 35 – De-extinction

Listen to Episode 35 at PodBean, iTunes, or your favorite podcast-place!

It’s time for another extinction episode!

Is extinction truly forever? In this episode, we discuss the stirrings of the real-life science seeking to bring back some semblance of the creatures of the past: De-extinction.

Episode 34 – Ancient DNA

Listen to Episode 34 at PodBean, iTunes, or your personal preferred podcast platform!

Over the past three decades, a particular field of study has been revolutionizing our understanding of the past, driven by advances in technology and good ol’ scientific persistence. This episode, we discuss Ancient DNA.

Episode 33 – Ontogeny

Listen to Episode 33 at PodBean, iTunes, or a podcast provider near you!

In this episode we discuss the process through which organisms develop throughout their lives, otherwise known as ontogeny. We’ll examine what ontogeny is, what it teaches us, and how we deal with it in the fossil record.