Discussion With Paleontologist Neil Shubin: A Podcast

Environmental & Science Education
STEM
Biological Evolution
Biodiversity
Edward Hessler

Sean Carroll's relatively new podcast (#88) is a discussion with University of Chicago paleontologist and evolutionary biologist Neil Shubin.

Shubin is the co-discoverer of Tiktaalik roseae, an ancient fish midway in transition from sea to land--one of those transition fossils. Shubin wrote about this find and its significance in a book that became widely popular, Your Inner Fish. It was chosen by the National Academy of Sciences as the best science book of 2009 and was ultimately made into a PBS TV special.

Shubin and Carroll discuss Shubin's new book, Some Assembly Required: Decoding Four Billion Years of Life, from Ancient Fossils to DNA. The book covers a multibillion-year evolutionary history, one filled with twists and turns, trial and errot, accident and invention.

The podcast-- 1h 33m 12s-- may be heard here. It is l-o-n-g I admit but both Carroll and Shubin are not boring and good to listen to. Besides consider the period of time period being covered--"billions and billions" of years. It takes some time to cover that period.