Paleoecology podcasts

Kyle Harper and Sean Carroll examine how humans have altered other life on Earth, from the Ice Age to present-day extinction pressures. Their conversation connects long-term human history with changes in ecosystems, the disappearance of species and less visible transformations of the biosphere, drawing on Harper's account of the historical roots of contemporary biodiversity loss.

Hosted by Sean Carroll

Sara Pruss discusses archaeocyath sponges, the first multicellular reef builders, and their relationship to diversification during the Cambrian. The episode traces successive reef-building groups through the geological record and asks why reefs repeatedly emerge despite environmental disruption and extinction.

Carina Hoorn examines how the Amazon Basin’s geological evolution shaped its extraordinary biodiversity. The discussion connects Andean uplift, fresh sediment supply and marine incursions during the Early Miocene with the diversification of aquatic environments and ecological opportunities.