Best Common Descent Podcasts (2025)

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Episode 224 - Bipedalism 2:14:54

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9d ago2:14:54

2:14:54

Most vertebrate animals on land get around on all fours, but some of us have committed to two-legged locomotion. This episode, we explore the various ways animals have evolved bipedalism and the many benefits that come with it. We’ll also take a look at how we identify bipedal animals in the fossil record, and we’ll zoom in on the evolutionary stor…

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Journey to the Internal Waters: A Guided Meditation 50:10

2d ago50:10

50:10

Released for this Vigo New Moon This episode of Deconstruction is an invitation into active imagination. Rooted in my Celtic lineage and blessed by the Waters on the land where I live — the unceded and traditional territory of the Syilx First Nations — this meditation offers a safe container to meet our own Inner Terrain through sensation & image. …

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A Meditation Back to the Soft Animal of Your Body 38:19

16d ago38:19

38:19

“You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.” – Mary Oliver I’m releasing this Bodyful encounter for the Aquarius Full Moon. A gentle return to Self. To the home of the Body. A re-emergence into the goodness of Now. This isn’t meditation in the traditional sense. No rigid posture. No discipline to uphold. No efforting. If …

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Episode 223 - Mutations 2:38:54

23d ago2:38:54

2:38:54

Mutation. It is the key to our evolution. As our cells constantly divide and reproduce and replicate our DNA, errors and inconsistencies develop, leading to the incredible variation of life that drives evolutionary change. This episode, we explore the genetic mechanisms behind mutation and we discuss how scientists study mutations to understand the…

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Conscious Festivalling: Healing in the Psychedelic Playground (Marisa Radha Weppner) 1:06:56

24d ago1:06:56

1:06:56

In this episode, I speak with Marisa Radha Wepnner about conscious festivalling—not as escape, but as sacred emergence. Together we explore how festivals, when entered with intention, can become ceremonial spaces for nervous system repair, archetypal play, and collective re-enchantment. This is not therapy in the clinical sense. It’s beyond the cli…

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Bonus: Rockstar Muse – Guided Meditation 30:26

1M ago30:26

30:26

Here, on my Leo New Moon, the Jesse Roper saga completes! After recording my episode with musician Jesse Roper, I offered to create a meditation for a big show he had coming up—one that was taking place in a cave. An audacious offer. What came through was unexpected—joyful, easeful, and deeply alive. I’ve been in conscious relationship with the Mus…

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Episode 222 - Shrews 2:20:57

1M ago2:20:57

2:20:57

On the outside, shrews might seem like standard tiny mammals, but their anatomy and lifestyle are highly specialized. This episode, with help from special guest Derek den Ouden, we explore the diverse habits of shrews, the anatomical features that set them apart, and how they thrive worldwide despite being perpetually on the brink of starvation. Th…

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CSWM Episode 4: Descent into Chaos 1:21:45

1M ago1:21:45

1:21:45

Timestamps and Topics: Dumpy - Musk breakup - 00:45 - 04:00 June 14 - perede and No Kings Protests - 4:00 - 17:35 Red States using National Guard to go into blue states - 17:35 - 24:00 Assassination of Lawmakers - 24:00 - 30:30 Iran - 30:30 - 39:30 RFK and the Vaccine Panel - 39:30 - 49:00 Big Beautiful Bill fallout - slush fund for red states - 49…

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CSWM Episode 3: A Big Beautiful Episode 1:40:02

1M ago1:40:02

1:40:02

List of topics with Time Stamps Tariffs: 00:35 Big Beautiful Bill + ICE Bonuses + Ignoring Court: 13:50 Town Halls + Jodi: 27:30 Planting Evidence + ICE Out of Control + Deporting Americans: 34:45 Airplane: 45:00 Legislation: SAVE Act + HR 1526: 57:00 Pardons: 1:07:30 P&T: 1:18:00By Wes and Matt

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Joyful Transmission: Music, Stories, & Aliveness (Jesse Roper) 1:13:26

2M ago1:13:26

1:13:26

In this week’s episode of Deconstruction, Rachael drops in with rockstar & artist Jesse Roper for a rich, entertaining, and wildly alive conversation on performance, presence, and joy as a revolutionary act. What begins as a playful exchange unfolds into something deeper, a study in what it means to follow aliveness through fear, and offer it back …

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Rewoven: A Guided Journey 25:06

2M ago25:06

25:06

Create a cocoon. Light a candle. Wear headphones. Let the music move through you. Let the part of you that is still becoming feel seen. A Ritual for Uranus in Gemini In honour of Gemini’s duplicity, I wanted to try this one again. This audio was originally recorded for the Jupiter Cazimi (Breathing into Belonging), but it never quite anchored the b…

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Episode 221 - Legless Lizards 2:30:24

2M ago2:30:24

2:30:24

Lizards are extremely good at becoming snake-shaped. A long body with small or absent limbs is a shape that has evolved dozens of times across nearly every major lineage of lizards. This episode, we explore the diversity of leglessness in lizards, we discuss which groups have done it and which groups have done it best, and we examine what’s known a…

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Breathing Into Belonging: A Guided Meditation 26:32

2M ago26:32

26:32

This is a guided meditation to help you return to your body, your breath, and your being. Gently. Honestly. With reverence. There’s a place inside you that knows how to come home. Not through effort. Not through fixing. But through breath. Through sensation. Through presence. This meditation is an invitation to meet yourself in that place. Together…

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Episode 220 - Terrestrial Crocs 2:27:35

2M ago2:27:35

2:27:35

Today’s crocs are iconic semi-aquatic predators, but their extended family tree features lots of land-dwelling cousins. This episode, we take a tour through croc evolutionary history and explore the many times these reptiles have taken to life on dry land. We’ll examine what features these terrestrial crocs shared, which ones they didn’t, and what …

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CSWM Episode 2 - Are We Winning Yet 1:27:07

2M ago1:27:07

1:27:07

Episode 2 - Are We Winning Yet? We focus on several topics from the tariffs and markets crashing, to the layoffs, to the stuff with the Signal app, Greenland, Visa issues, "Voter Fraud", The April 1 special elections, and some crazy things with a new Law. Timestamps: Tariffs -> Markets crashing -> 1:10 Federal Layoffs -> 14:45 Signal App stuff -> 2…

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What the Body Carries: Descent as Ceremony (Dr. Ido Cohen) 1:22:42

3M ago1:22:42

1:22:42

Dr. Ido Cohen is back! He joins Rachael for a deep and nuanced conversation about the emotional and relational work of digesting trauma. Together, they explore the space between personal experience and collective pain, and what it takes to create environments where truth, grief, and transformation can unfold. This episode moves through themes of em…

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Episode 219 - Beringia 1:48:37

3M ago1:48:37

1:48:37

For over 100 million years, North America and Asia have been connected over the Pacific Ocean through a region called Beringia. The comings and going of plants and animals across this connection have shaped ecosystems of the past and present. This episode, we explore the geologic history of the region and which ancient species have managed to live …

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The Mother Within: Grief, Chaos, and the Path to Secure Belonging (Mackenzie Amara) 1:29:28

3M ago1:29:28

1:29:28

In this episode, I sit down with Mackenzie Amara for a rich and reverent conversation about the mother wound—how it lives in our bodies, our culture, and our ancestral lines. We explore grief as a spiritual excavator, the path to existential secure attachment, and what it means to surrender to love even when loss is inevitable. Mackenzie brings the…

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Episode 218 - Lungs 2:15:11

3M ago2:15:11

2:15:11

Take a deep breath and appreciate for a moment the organs that let you do it so efficiently. Lungs are an invaluable tool for life out of the water, and are therefore a favorite topic for paleontologists interested in early animals on land. This episode, we explore the diversity of modern lungs and the few but fascinating insights we have into the …

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Metabolizing Truth: From Dissociation to Sensual Aliveness (Marisa Radha Weppner) 59:54

4M ago59:54

59:54

In this conversation, Radha and Rachael explore the themes of transformation, self-awareness, and the importance of personal responsibility in navigating both individual and collective challenges. They discuss the role of relationships in self-discovery, the significance of open-mindedness, and the impact of the nervous system on our ability to fee…

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Episode 217 - Bears 2:23:51

4M ago2:23:51

2:23:51

Bears are among the most charismatic and impressive mammals. They have large bodies, very flexible lifestyles, and an extensive fossil record that includes some of the best-preserved and largest fossil mammals of all time. This episode, we explore what makes bears so distinctive and successful, and how their diversity has changed over time. In the …

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When the House Burns Down: On Integration & the Relational Psyche (Dr. Ido Cohen) 1:23:47

4M ago1:23:47

1:23:47

Season 5 opens with one of the most compelling minds in the field of psychedelic integration: Dr. Ido Cohen—clinical psychologist, founder of The Integration Circle, and someone who brings rare clarity, warmth, and rigour to the transformational path. In this conversation, Rachael and Ido trace the arc from personal rupture to collective insight—be…

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Episode 216 - Plankton 2:10:20

4M ago2:10:20

2:10:20

Just about every body of water on Earth, from oceans to puddles, is home to an ecosystem of tiny drifting organisms. This episode, we discuss what sorts of organisms we might expect to find in a swarm of plankton, we’ll explore how plankton is so fundamental to biological and geological systems on Earth, and we’ll take some time to lay out some of …

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6. Treehouse Project | BONUS episode: A Guided Encounter with Earth & Body 46:14

4M ago46:14

46:14

A guided somatic journey into your body and into the body of the Earth. In this bonus episode from the Treehouse Project, Rachael shares a short, potent commentary on the origins of this guided meditation—created during a time of deep personal and political upheaval. Originally made to regulate her own nervous system while navigating a wave of coll…

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Silver Screen Science - Rise of the Planet of the Apes 1:07:23

4M ago1:07:23

1:07:23

Silver Screen Science is our series where we explore how science is portrayed on the big screen. This year, we’re focused on one recurring franchise: Planet of the Apes! Finally, we visit the ongoing prequel franchise with the story of how it all got started: Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Check out our website for blog posts and more: http://comm…

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Episode 215 - Ferns 2:33:18

5M ago2:33:18

2:33:18

With several thousand living species, ferns are the second most diverse vascular plants around today, after angiosperms. Ferns are also abundant and well-known in the fossil record. This episode, Aly joins us to explore the dizzying variety of ferns and their ferny-friends, past and present. In the news: When the Earth Was Green, weird wasps, and a…

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The Commodification of the Sacred: Psychedelics, Activism, & the Feminine Reclamation (Marisa Radha Weppner) 1:22:48

5M ago1:22:48

1:22:48

What happens when spiritual awakening meets a collapsing world? In this pivotal episode, Rachael sits down with psychedelic therapist and spiritual activist Marisa Radha Weppner for a soul-deep conversation on truth, discernment, and sacred responsibility. Together, they name what many are afraid to: the commodification of psychedelics, the seducti…

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Silver Screen Science - Planet of the Apes (2001) 59:07

5M ago59:07

59:07

Silver Screen Science is our series where we explore how science is portrayed on the big screen. This year, we’re focused on one recurring franchise: Planet of the Apes! It’s the reboot of the original, a 21st-Century take on the concept – Planet of the Apes (2001). Check out our website for blog posts and more: http://commondescentpodcast.com/ Joi…

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Silver Screen Science - Planet of the Apes (1968) 1:14:47

5M ago1:14:47

1:14:47

Silver Screen Science is our series where we explore how science is portrayed on the big screen. This year, we’re focused on one recurring franchise: Planet of the Apes! This episode, we begin where it began, with the original movie about a world where simian society is turned upside-down – Planet of the Apes (1968). Check out our website for blog …

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Myth as Medicine: Animism, Psychedelics, & Cultural Repair (Simon Yugler) 44:05

5M ago44:05

44:05

In this episode of Deconstruction, I’m joined by Simon Yugler—depth psychotherapist, psychedelic guide, and author of Psychedelics and the Soul: A Mythic Guide to Psychedelic Healing, Depth Psychology, and Cultural Repair. Together, we spiral into the terrain of mythopoetics as a lens for meaning-making in times of upheaval and unknowing. We explor…

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CSWM Episode 1 1:46:02

5M ago1:46:02

1:46:02

Our first episode talking about the first roughly 2 months of 2025 in news and politics.By Wes and Matt

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5. Treehouse Project | Finale: Guided Inner Child Meditation 35:01

5M ago35:01

35:01

This final meditation in the Treehouse Project is a tender homecoming! Created as a sanctuary for the moments when big emotions rise—when you recognize the feeling isn’t just about now, but something from long ago. This is a guided journey into the safe forest within you, where your inner child awaits your presence. Here, you’re invited to tend gen…

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Episode 214 - Saber Teeth 2:37:58

5M ago2:37:58

2:37:58

Evolution just loves a nice pair of oversized canines, especially on mammalian predators. Saber-toothed animals have shown up over and over again – we even have some today – but despite their similarities, not all of these toothy species were using their canines the same way. This episode, we explore the various shapes of functions of saber teeth a…

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Patron Mini-Episode Compilation #6 2:17:47

5M ago2:17:47

2:17:47

Our high-level Patreon supporters get to request a topic for their very own mini-episode! For the sixth time, we’ve put the latest bunch together for everyone to enjoy! Thank you as always to our incredible Patrons of all levels for keeping the podcast going! Intro: 00:00:00 Ambulocetus for Ambulocetus – 00:01:45 Abelisaurs for Quinn – 00:18:30 Cap…

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4. Treehouse Project | Fear Becoming Courage: Sitting with Sensations Meditation 20:56

5M ago20:56

20:56

The Fourth episode of the Treehouse Project, this guided meditation invites you into the depths of your own body, where sensations hold stories and fear is simply courage waiting to unfold. Born from a deeply attuned therapeutic relationship, this meditation was originally created for someone who had spent years building resilience, learning to mee…