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How Evolution Works (And How We Figured It Out)

Season 2 Episode 25 | 12m 09s

As a scientific concept, evolution was revolutionary when it was first introduced. With the help of all three of our hosts and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History’s new Deep Time Hall, we’ll try to explain how evolution actually works and how we came to understand it.

Aired: 06/12/19
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Life begins to rebound after the destruction of the mass extinction ending the Permian Period.
An apocalypse ended the Permian Period 252 million years ago, wiping out more than 80% of species.
The first saber-teeth and tusks evolve in the Late Permian and our ancestors, the cynodonts, appear.
An extinction in the Middle Permian decimates life, from a fossil reef to our ancient relatives.
The first herbivorous vertebrates evolve on the side of the amniote family tree leading to mammals.
Seed plants and amniotes adapt to dry climates, helping them thrive on Pangea in the Permian Period.
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