© 2026 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

When Sails Were All the Rage

Season 9 Episode 9 | 7m 54s

Around 300 million years ago, in the early Permian Period, life on land was a cauldron of strange experiments. There’s one trait from the Early Permian that was extremely common back then, but is almost totally absent in living species today. This is a tale about sails, and the enigma of why, for a brief critical phase in the history of life, sporting a big biological billboard was all the rage.

Aired: 09/14/26
Extras
Get ready for the all-new season, coming January 17, 2027 at 9/8c.
The cast play a game of "What's in the vet bag?" with sentimental props from the series.
See how the unique partnership between two countries made the iconic monument possible.
Get a sneak peek at a brand new season of NATURE on PBS.
Join Elmo and the Sesame Street gang on a once-in-a-lifetime African safari adventure.
New discoveries reveal how pivotal Great Zimbabwe was to global trade.
Discover all-new Secrets of the Dead on Wednesdays this fall, starting October 14 at 10/9c.
The story of the dolphin reveals how intelligence evolved, step by step, over billions of years.
Discover filmmaker and playwright Luis Valdez, a founding figure of the Chicano Movement.
A filmmaker explores racial justice in his hometown as he returns to his conservative father.
Latest Episodes
All
  • All
  • Eons Season 9
  • Eons Season 8
  • Eons Season 7
  • Eons Season 6
  • Eons Season 5
  • Eons Season 4
  • Eons Season 3
  • Eons Season 2
  • Eons Season 1
What about the Great Dying caused a global age of mutant plants?
During the Permian Period many tetrapods, or four-limbed vertebrates, took to life in the trees.
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.
For millions of years after the Great Dying microbes ruled the Earth.
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.
How did Homotherium evolve to be so successful? The answer may lie in the rise of the Tibetan plate.