Discovering Darwin

About Discovering Darwin

A website dedicated to the podcast Discovering Darwin.

Category

education

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

29 Aug 2020

Latest episode

15 Mar 2024

Latest episodes

25 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   15 Mar 2024

   Season 5 Episode 6: Gender Bender

   In this final episode of Season 5, Sarah, Mark, and James discuss the last chapters from Lucy Cooke's book Bitch: On the female of the species. Sarah described the sex lives of barnacles and encouraged us to watch the Green Porno episode (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7fAw6N5p-U)that illustrates the impressive size of a barnacle penis. (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNjYeUMHn2AAddwUI4RC5mALjNikS7pWYoF65a6aFw7UM9X8VIQyoMyZMra5Vg7JIIIBSfMHjMaugrRlUkYqQ7BxS20RyI-RJqww2i_EM9Cf7PoKZuMTN8xMSGXy4eIe6bS1f8iEm8-O7eo8m8cT_lUR-5JvIpVkUWg442VY_WXz3dXS_IdI09BSSs__h7/s640/balanus_nubilus_oregon_sones_may2017.jpg) Image from https://bodegahead.blogspot.com/2017/06/a-long-reach.html The conversation considered why Charles Darwin did not include barnacles in his Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex. Sarah suggested it would not fit nicely in his narrative on male and female roles in sexual selection. We then discussed how clown fish, which can shift their sexual identity from male to female, challenge the notions of sexual identity. (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZrXXKz6fgg62C8wkSSecpwPS3lT4Q6oPaTXBdn6X7PXAkB5xV3U0Gx5BuoaiJ2KvzzWxjz9ZgUk0pcfJmWTrz-V_dSFc2sB3PdOwQe4u3t_OqLpIb7ax19o_cEthpc_GX7Js6qAuJ7bPRbD2_xUJ4MkI3wblG8jURtHlEHRILdc-DeijKXp9i16gTRoih/s2560/ImageBank_Fish_Amanda-Cotton_01-scaled.jpg) Photo: Amanda Cotton/Coral Reef Image Bank Mark recounted Lucy Cooke's biologically accurate retelling of Finding Nemo which results in a story that would not get a G rating. James questions if the term Gender is only relevant to humans, since we seem consumed with identity, and in the animal world, gender is meaningless as are terms like masculine and feminine. We then speculated how a modern Charles Darwin would integrate these diverse views of sexual identity and sexual strategies into a more inclusive theory of sexual selection.

2. 

   5 Nov 2023

   Season 5 Episode 5: Hot Orcas and Superfluous Males

   In this episode Sarah, Mark and James continue their discussion of the book Bitch by Lucy Cooke where they explore menopause in humans and non-human animals and discuss those animals that have forwent males when they reproduce. The first conversation explored how orcas are an unusual mammal in that the males do not disperse from their mother's pod, but instead they retain a close relationship with their mothers. The ultimate momma's boy. Sarah discussed the various hypothesis for why women would actually go through menopause, and why it is an evolutionary puzzle. One of the hypothesis that Sarah thought had traction was the fact that human women at birth reduce their one million oocytes to about 300,000 at birth, and the number and quality of eggs continue to decline with age. (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOPkg9brKOyU6bLTPzxISQu4joH7FjaXWNz-dZsvUK0AcerWuKec46E-dPJYTMLNs3wH1dAEHPXRlXAUEX3pK8t1d0WmIpkjdyPT7vILnXUPB5kojccw7Oxee7gEJ157EgVxCwkzM08mP4pFDztLkh_F5cz_oNgREblcH687q9HkzLCtuexHogAZujJ05f/s1200/alieneggchambo.jpg) The oocytes of a human female in stasis awaiting the monthly opportunity to develop into a fertile egg. We discussed why it is the female orca that experiences menopause and not the males. We finished the podcast discussing single sex albatross pairs who successfully rear offspring every year. James discussed seeing these birds raising their single offspring in the yards of a suburban neighborhood. Humans have encroached on much of the historical nesting sites of the albatross on the Hawaiian islands but Nevertheless, she persisted. Here is a picture of a baby albatross James took on Kauai where it is manipulating its parents by maintaining the baby downy feathers on its head while the adult feathers are on the rest of the body. (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigemClGjQueqpX-sQYOrodDR_Tp6248dc29icnuyaUvXNyRYInXJJKktjfXQSzzvj2R9KzJopNEbAHLsRUWYeHMIbvVmqYj2Lp_ZB28THHo34gZfEDO1V3MQP1YO2uKQogCKPtpClLVzqTfqxHsx6f7w8sgAT9TCy5fnvnWcz5iJjSXRGUa_qSwqVzF0xD/s2560/DSC07074.jpg) We finished the podcast discussing the parthenogenic Mourning geckos that have colonized many of the islands of the Pacific since they can reproduce asexually. Virgin births have been observed in many chordates except in mammals. We discussed why that may be. (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCfgmGbkQ_TdyAEDnB86SlIg7BOhTxY14FZ4Eaa5QJPG4j420HUikaUQZ0tJ65FVyxdDzIKYYTIJDfD9dxYvY8Mq1g5wS7LL7QSwH-lWTmuRcAerseoS3u4Qh_ZkeNSIOkLMNPWu-ij9pJu4534L5p7LaJSAJ_xe79RgUK-vdWfPcqrFpD82qDvmw-PQej/s2560/DSC07578.jpg) A Mourning Gecko James photographed when doing field work in Kauai. Opening and closing music is "May" by Jared C. Balogh. Interlude music Confessions by Sudan Archives

3. 

   24 Sept 2023

   Season 5 Episode 4: Ken the Naked Mole Rat

   In this episode Sarah, Mark, and James continue their coverage Bitch by Lucy Cooke. We discussed systems where female aggression was common and the subjugation of other females and males was done by "alpha" females. We were surprised to learn how murderous and violent naked mole rats and sweet little meercats could be. (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjypZAqVbBKrPeP_9EbbbvHx3hAMd40R0FCE6l-R1K7U4vnY44mXnr6XVd3JPsETxLQfFabfj89kfbmug4-gneJt8N_yjYJvoPaqCoesqPngwf6AHHiU_c6vhxL6Vy_TscLv11a77wgjuzd7XI27IuNPfvqmti16UKt2-yX_FXcHyoc7FpScuVjHAoqRjaL/s1600/Naked-mole-rat-main.png) Photo from Akron Zoo Naked mole rats are eusocial mammals where a dominant female is the sole reproducer in the colony and others help rear the young. Here is a photo of a queen rat with her newborn pubs and other females assisting in their care. Do not be fooled by the serene nature of this image, those helper females are violently coerced into their roles. (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb8tzVvXUA8G1_o2mBk1nwpSxxj_xm4hizAJKWjlBALsJ4-15AtZ8GeFAR7Lh-ylulxlqUGpZSO5O8clwzlLfVeF5gmHBNzO9QZjp1BfJnLPcBTZaL2NDjard9c42zIIrheW1bQphbnI4DFC3AZAFZo2CVNW9geOMB4C90ncJGeZJbrwGRpRQZypbuGQZa/s1280/DSC08837.jpg) Photo from https://lsc.org/news-and-social/news/our-naked-mole-rats-had-babiesagain Meercats are also a fossorial social mammal that is ruled ruthlessly by the dominant female. The play of meercats often mimics fighting, which is always a constant possibility in their tight knit clan. (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLIzCVZXNNREzlgVM-8A8O6IarxfndMmsXaiaNWKdCa6PYWGcxIhXyaJZo1Ff2oiUOSs3YVDBF5qxFx3N0AZaEOo-dcjCwKBYNk7c1E2yfhffseuHFjxCAXk_v0MzHe8nJjzHKfSJ-xmBZ_jyKXp4Bo5Ii4B8t6DfX6Bg486CNm-01GxHk8Kx9BrBEMn-q/s736/2fca5ae278acac3378f2d08f82ce8226--photos-animals.jpg) The second half of the discussion focused on female dominant systems that rely more on alliances and social bonding to create group coherence. Ring tailed lemurs and bonobo chimpanzees were the classic system we discussed. At the end we tried to make sense of how ecology, physiology, and culture might be influencing a social system being matriarchal or patriarchal. Sarah noted that the males in these female dominant social systems reminded her of Ken in the movie Barbie. (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV0m1G5tooVEHWLUAcjCV1FECKI4e8ytpzzh2x2CCbsU6on_dpErHpF6TF7MJR3_hdMAI0yUj-imD_3hbIqy8Y7VRFMoemQMfVmPuy6n0aM0U6EcoM7Y-Sfhg_dpAaBWVZFKPO8mhiPqzjj7uZtujW6QYoJ7ziv9WXyGIOcEITw9BZqD5jBwEupOpGD0ED/s300/ryan-gosling-ken.jpg) Opening and closing music is "May" by Jared C. Balogh. Interlude music My Humps by the Black Eyed Peas

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.4 / 5

12 ratings

Contact Discovering Darwin

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.