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Silver Screen Science is our series where we explore science on the big screen and beyond. This year, we’re taking a tour through cinematic history with Old School Dinosaurs! This episode, we start things off with the great grand-daddy of dinosaur movies: The Lost World (1925). Check out our website for blog posts and more: http://commondescentpodcast.com/ Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast Lots more ways to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/common_descent The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by…

The Common Descent Podcast

by Common Descent · English · Tech & Science

Join David and Will as they explore the paleontologists’ perspective on various topics in life and earth history. Each episode features a main discussion on a topic requested by the listeners, presented as a lighthearted and educational conversation about fossils, evolution, deep time, and more. B

More from The Common Descent Podcast

  1. E366 · 23 Apr 2026 · 1 hr 20 min

    Silver Screen Science - One Million Years B.C. (1966)

    Silver Screen Science is our series where we explore science on the big screen and beyond. This year, we’re taking a tour through cinematic history with Old School Dinosaurs! This episode, we visit a classic of mid-century caveman-versus-dinosaur cinema, with One Million Years B.C. Check out our website for blog posts and more: http://commondescentpodcast.com/ Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast Lots more ways to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/common_descent The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species”…

  2. E365 · 16 Apr 2026 · 1 hr 18 min

    Silver Screen Science - Dinosaur Shorts (Gertie, Slumber Mountain, Fantasia)

    Silver Screen Science is our series where we explore science on the big screen and beyond. This year, we’re taking a tour through cinematic history with Old School Dinosaurs! This episode, we compile and compare a handful of dino-themed short films from the early days of dinosaur movies: Gertie the Dinosaur, The Ghost of Slumber Mountain, and the Rite of Spring segment from Disney’s Fantasia. Check out our website for blog posts and more: http://commondescentpodcast.com/ Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast Lots more…

  3. E364 · 12 Apr 2026 · 2 hr 20 min

    Episode 241 - Digestion

    The world is full of food, but in order to make the most of it, living organisms need to be able to break it down and extract the useful nutrients. This episode, we explore the fundamental process of digestion and the many, many ways that life has adapted this process to various diets. And we’ll take a look at what the fossil record has to tell us about ancient diets and the evolutionary history of digestive systems. In the news: predator bites, coelacanth lungs, Cambrian claws, and squid evolution. Time markers:Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00News: 00:05:55Main discussion, Part 1:…

  4. E362 · 29 Mar 2026 · 2 hr 42 min

    Episode 240 - Terror Birds

    For most of the Cenozoic Era, South America was home to an incredible group of predatory birds called phorusrhacids, which included some of the largest carnivorous birds of all time. With their giant axe-like beaks and powerful clawed legs, these giants have gained the nickname “terror birds.” This episode, we explore what makes these birds unique, how they varied across their diversity, and what exactly they were doing with all those terrifying tools. In the news: a bitten plesiosaur, wildflower adaptation, a new croc, and dinosaur parents. Time markers:Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00News:…

  5. E361 · 15 Mar 2026 · 2 hr 14 min

    Episode 239 - Nocturnality

    Creatures of the night! The world is a different place in the dark, and a whole array of organisms have adapted to being most active outside of daytime hours. This episode, we’ll explore the regular traits that allow nocturnal animals to get by, we’ll discuss some of the ways nocturnal evolution has shaped living species, and we’ll investigate which – if any – of these traits we can identify in the fossil record. In the news: snake hormones, Australian amphibians, ancient microbes, and baby dinosaurs. Time markers:Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00News: 00:07:25Main discussion, Part 1:…

  6. E355 · 7 Mar 2026 · 1 hr 7 min

    Pok-É – Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza

    Welcome ... to Pok-É! This year is the 30th anniversary of the Pokémon franchise, so we’re picking some of our favorite Legendary Pokémon and speculating upon how they – or something like them – might evolve in real life, pulling inspiration from species throughout our planet’s history! This episode, we take on the super-ancient Pokémon of Hoenn. How could natural selection result in masters of the sea, land, and sky embroiled in an endless feud? Our creatures to create this time: Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza. Join the Common Descent Discord server for more Pok-É discussion!…

  7. E384 · 11 Oct 2026 · 2 hr 13 minNew

    Episode 254 - Abelisaurs

    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. In the news: plesiosaur vomit, seaweed snacks, bat evolution, and flying dinosaurs. Time Markers:Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00News: 00:07:10Main discussion, Part 1: 00:42:30Main discussion, Part 2: 01:14:40Patron question: 02:03:10 Join us on…

  8. E385 · 10 Oct 2026 · 1 hr 3 minNew

    Spook-E - Greys

    Welcome ... to Spookulative Evolution. 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!…

  9. E383 · 3 Oct 2026 · 1 hr 42 min

    Spook-E - Xenomorphs

    Welcome ... to Spookulative Evolution. 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…

  10. E382 · 27 Sep 2026 · 2 hr 43 min

    Episode 253 - Kangaroos

    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. In the news: warm tyrannosaurs, sea star ancestors, traveling dinosaurs, and new cats. Time Markers:Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00News: 00:06:35Main discussion, Part 1: 00:50:30Main discussion, Part 2: 01:36:40Patron question: 02:32:45 Join us on Patreon to…

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