A new book uses science and hindsight to figure out how to survive history’s greatest disasters. Plus, megalodon was the largest shark that ever lived. How accurate is the science in the movie Meg 2: The Trench?
Today
Telling the tale of human origins, one fossil tooth at a time
Where did we come from? How did humanity, with our complicated civilizations and all our human quirks and foibles, come to be? Much of what we know about those questions traces back to important fossil finds in Ethiopia. Paleoanthropologist Yohannes Haile-Selassie has been key in ... Show More
25m 33s
Yesterday
Did the fire at the Library of Alexandria set humanity back?
In 48 B.C.E., a massive fire ripped through the Library of Alexandria in Egypt, one of the largest and most significant ancient libraries. An estimated 100,000 works of literature were lost. Throughout history, there are lots of examples of things being “lost”: cities, like Pompe ... Show More
14m 8s
Sep 14
Black bears are moving into the neighborhood. How do we coexist?
Living with black bears is complicated. They’re huge, hungry, and they really don’t care about your hostas. After a long period of being overhunted, black bears are on the rebound. And as they begin returning to parts of their native ranges, they’re finding humans there, too.Repo ... Show More
18m 8s
Aug 2023
What killed off North American megafauna, and making languages less complicated
Ancient wildfires may have doomed Southern California’s big mammals, and do insular societies have more complex languages? First up on this week’s show, what killed off North America’s megafauna, such as dire wolves and saber-toothed cats? Online News Editor Mike Price joins host ... Show More
48m 29s
Oct 2022
Will Humans Ever Become Extinct?
Greg and Bella explore the science of extinction with the help of dinosaur enthusiast Mr Yates.Together, they’ll look at some famous recent extinctions, find out what role conservation plays in the preservation of species, and explore the major mass extinction events that shaped ... Show More
43m 7s
Jul 2022
Extinct Super Sharks, Mysterious Die Offs, Stopping Attacks
Today, you’ll learn about a new project trying to keep humans and sharks separate and safe, how all sharks almost mysteriously went extinct 19 million years ago, and how great white sharks may have contributed to the extinction of a shark twice its size!Boundaries between sharks ... Show More
13m 38s
Mar 2022
The Only Human In The La Brea Tar Pits
While the famous La Brea Tar Pits are well-known for charismatic Ice Age megafauna, like sabertooth cats and dire wolves, a lesser-known discovery from the Pits is the partial skeleton of a human woman. In this episode, we walk through what the Tar Pits can tell us about the ecos ... Show More
16m 52s