Science and Nature

Eons

Join hosts Michelle Barboza-Ramirez, Kallie Moore, and Blake de Pastino as they take you on a journey through the history of life on Earth. From the dawn of life in the Archaean Eon through the Mesozoic Era — the so-called “Age of Dinosaurs” -- right up to the end of the most recent Ice Age.

When Neandertals Became Apex Predators

11m 50s

Climbing to the summit of the Eurasian food chain was one of the Neandertals’ most impressive evolutionary feats, but in the end, it may have actually been what doomed them.

Episodes

  • When Neandertals Became Apex Predators: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    When Neandertals Became Apex Predators

    S7 E11 - 11m 50s

    Climbing to the summit of the Eurasian food chain was one of the Neandertals’ most impressive evolutionary feats, but in the end, it may have actually been what doomed them.

  • When the Amazon Flowed Backwards: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    When the Amazon Flowed Backwards

    S7 E10 - 11m 25s

    What did life look like when the Amazon watershed flowed backwards? How did its direction shape the evolution of life around it? And what force could have possibly been strong enough to up-end one of the world’s mightiest rivers between then and now?

  • How Animals Got Butts: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    How Animals Got Butts

    S7 E9 - 12m 10s

    While the evolution of the butthole was a major breakthrough in animal development, its story might actually end with redefining what it means to have a butthole at all.

  • What Happened To The Other Mesozoic Mammals?: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    What Happened To The Other Mesozoic Mammals?

    S7 E8 - 12m 28s

    In 2003, a fossil belonging to a mammaliaform was discovered in an ancient lakebed in what's now China. It was an almost complete skeleton the size of a platypus, a find that complicated the history of mammaliaforms. It painted a picture of their explosive diversification, their mysterious disappearance, and how our own ancestors might have survived thanks to a leg up from some leafy allies…

  • The Dinosaurs That Evolution Forgot: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Dinosaurs That Evolution Forgot

    S7 E7 - 9m 19s

    Where are all the east coast dinosaurs? Why don’t we find famous species like Triceratops in Central Park? Turns out, evolution and geology came together to make the east coast into an ancient lost world of weird dinosaurs.

  • How the Himalayas Changed the World: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    How the Himalayas Changed the World

    S7 E6 - 10m 4s

    We may have the Himalayas to thank for everything from the rise of giant flightless birds in Madagascar; to the disappearance of plants from Antarctica; to the expansion of the great grasslands of North America, and more.

  • Where Did the Moon Come From?: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Where Did the Moon Come From?

    S7 E5 - 10m 50s

    Where did our unique moon come from? It turns out that lunar rocks brought back by Apollo astronauts are a clue, pointing to the origin of our closest cosmic companion, an origin even stranger than you might imagine…

  • How The Elephant Got Its Trunk: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    How The Elephant Got Its Trunk

    S7 E4 - 11m 53s

    What suddenly made long jaws such a liability? Well it looks like we can thank a changing climate for the evolution of the elephant’s trunk.

  • What's the Oldest Beverage: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    What's the Oldest Beverage

    S7 E3 - 11m 55s

    When exactly did we start drinking other things, and why? To find out, we have to look at the world’s oldest beverages – which might not be what you expect.

  • The Mystery of South America's False Horses: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Mystery of South America's False Horses

    S7 E2 - 9m 45s

    How did the "false horse," Thoatherium, and its relatives survive when their hoofed legs seemed to be adapted for an ecosystem that wouldn't exist for another 12 million years?

  • When India Was An Island: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    When India Was An Island

    S7 E1 - 11m 4s

    We need to talk about the biggest break-up of all-time: the break-up of the supercontinent Pangea, and how, ultimately, when India smashed back into Asia, it traded one form of evolutionary isolation for another.

Extras + Features

  • A Quick Introduction to Eons: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    A Quick Introduction to Eons

    S1 - 1m 28s

    Join hosts Hank Green, Kallie Moore, and Blake de Pastino as they take you on a journey through the history of life on Earth. From the dawn of life in the Archaean Eon through the Mesozoic Era — the so-called “Age of Dinosaurs” -- right up to the end of the most recent Ice Age. The evolutionary history of mammals including humans and other modern species is explored with these amazing paleontology

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