Evolution Talk

Rick Coste

Everything you wanted to know about evolution by natural selection in short, easy to digest, episodes. Hosted, and produced by writer Rick Coste.

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167 episodes
Updated July 20

Episodes167

Newest first

Jan 5, 2021 · 11 min
The Cosmic Calendar
Many years ago, in 1977, astronomer and author Carl Sagan offered us the concept of a "Cosmic Calendar" in his book The Dragons of Eden. It's a fun thought experiment in which you take the entire history of the universe, from the Big Bang until now, and represent it as calendar year. For show notes and more, please visit https://EvolutionTalk.com Written, Produced, & Narrated by: Rick Coste
Dec 22, 2020 · 12 min
Dating Fossils Again
It's time to look at fossil dating again! The last episode mentioned two dating methods used to estimate how old the Homo Naledi bones found the Rising Star cave system might be. To do so, researchers used a Uranium-thorium method as well as electron spin resonance, or "ESR". Let's take a brief look at what each of these entail. For show notes and more, please visit https://EvolutionTalk.com Written, Produced, & Narrated by: Rick Coste
Dec 8, 2020 · 13 min
Homo Naledi 2020
Quite a few episodes back, I produced a show that looked at a new hominin species discovered in 2013. This history-changing discovery happened when paleoanthropologist Lee Berger, assisted by cavers Rick Hunter and Steve Tucker, explored the Rising Star Cave in the Cradle of Humankind, South Africa. I thought it's about time we revisited that earlier hominin species. Think of it as an update on what science has to say about them now. For show notes and more, please visit https://EvolutionTalk.com Written, Produced, & Narrated by: Rick Coste
Nov 24, 2020 · 11 min
Evolution Does Not Produce Perfection
Natural selection isn't perfect. It only cares that something works. If it works and is not harmful to its host, then that something is passed on. For show notes and more, please visit https://EvolutionTalk.com Written, Produced, & Narrated by: Rick Coste
Nov 10, 2020 · 12 min
Is Evolution Random?
There is more than random mutations when it comes to evolution by natural selection. You also have to look at other variables outside of a genetic mutation. Variables such as the environment the organism lives in, the challenges it has to face, and its ability to find food. For show notes and more, please visit https://EvolutionTalk.com Written, Produced, & Narrated by: Rick Coste
Nov 3, 2020 · 1 min
Series 2 Update
Please join me for a brief update on the show, it's future, and what you can do to help.
Oct 27, 2020 · 11 min
The Second Law of Thermodynamics
Evolution by Natural Selection is a beautiful theory. But as wonderful a theory as it is, it does have its detractors. One argument states that evolution violates the second law of thermodynamics. Is this true? For show notes and more, please visit https://EvolutionTalk.com Written, Produced, & Narrated by: Rick Coste
Jan 28, 2020 · 9 min
The Human Eye
Evolution by natural selection can build complex features through small, incremental changes. But can it build an eye?
Jan 21, 2020 · 8 min
Denisovans
Caves hide many things. Be it shards of glass, arrowheads... or bones. It's to whom these bones might have belonged to which often leads us on a path to great discoveries... and forgotten 'cousins'.
Jan 15, 2020 · 12 min
Survival of the Fittest Part 2
Consider this a 'lost episode' of Evolution Talk. In it I talk with Stephanie Keep of BiteScis.org about the origins and misconceptions around the term 'survival of the fittest'.
Feb 22, 2016 · 13 min
Mary Anning
In 1811 , or 1812, a young girl by the name of Mary Anning, along with her little brother, happened upon an incredible find while digging around the cliffs of Lyme Regis in England. It was a skull. A very large skull.
Feb 8, 2016 · 14 min
Rosalind Franklin
It's safe to say, and very few would disagree, that without Rosalind Franklin the double helix structure would not have been discovered when it was, nor perhaps by the same team of discoverers.
Jan 25, 2016 · 14 min
An Interview With Emma Darwin
Way back in Episode 30 I stepped into a time machine and traveled back to 1869 in order to interview Charles Darwin. This time around I brought someone forward in time... his wife Emma Darwin.
Jan 18, 2016 · 13 min
Convergent Evolution
Convergent evolution has shown us that nature will find similar solutions under similar conditions. So too might it be on other planets. Life might not look that much different that it does here
Jan 11, 2016 · 12 min
Cladistics
A cladogram will show those animals that share similar form and structures. It's not about animals which have evolved from one another. In this episode we are going to look at clades and cladistics. We will also create a cladogram... an audio cladogram.
Jan 4, 2016 · 16 min
An Interview With Jonathan Tweet
Jonathan Tweet has authored a very remarkable book for children. He wasn't just trying to make evolution and its concepts easier to understand for kids in elementary school, Jonathan was shooting for an even younger audience. The result is the book 'Grandmother Fish'.
Dec 28, 2015 · 14 min
Are We Still Evolving?
There are some who say that evolution by natural selection, at least when it applies to you and I, is no longer a driving force. The argument is that we are no longer evolving and that we've pushed natural selection aside and taken the reign of our own development.
Dec 21, 2015 · 19 min
Your Brain
Over the course of billions of years a small region of specialized cells began to develop sensory organs. These light sensitive cells slowly developed into eyes. Behind them another organ began to develop. It's still there, buried beneath everything else that has developed to become your brain today.
Dec 14, 2015 · 22 min
Homo Naledi
In 2013 a secret that had been hidden for hundreds of thousands of years in a South African cave was discovered. Bones... many bones. Upon inspection by a team of specialists a picture began to emerge. At the center of it all is a new species of hominin - Homo Naledi.
Dec 7, 2015 · 23 min
The Evolution of Music
In this episode of Evolution Talk we take a look at some of the theories which have attempted to trace the evolution of music, from Charles Darwin to philosopher Daniel Dennett.