Eons
Season 2021
TV-Y7
Join hosts Hank Green, Kallie Moore, and Blake de Pastino as they take you on a journey through the history of life on Earth. From the dawn of life in the Archaean Eon through the Mesozoic Era — the so-called “Age of Dinosaurs” -- right up to the end of the most recent Ice Age. The evolutionary history of mammals including humans and other modern species is explored with these amazing paleontology experts.
Where to Watch Eons • Season 2021
31 Episodes
- What Happened to the World's Biggest Beaver?
E1What Happened to the World's Biggest Beaver?It’s important to us that you understand how big this beaver was. Just like modern beavers, it was semiaquatic -- it lived both on the land and in the water. The difference is that today’s beavers do a pretty special thing - one that the giant beaver probably didn’t, or couldn’t, do. - The Reign of the Hell Ants
E2The Reign of the Hell AntsThis ancient species had the same six legs and segmented body that we’d recognize from an ant today. But it also had a huge, scythe-like jaw and a horn coming out of its head. This bizarre predator belonged to a group known as “hell ants.” But they’re gone now, and we’re still trying to figure out why. - The Return of Giant Skin-Shell Sea Turtles
E5The Return of Giant Skin-Shell Sea TurtlesThe biggest turtle ever described wasn’t an ancestor of today’s leatherback turtles or any other living sea turtles. But it looks like there are some things about being a giant, skin-shelled sea turtle that just work, no matter where, or when, you lived. - The Genes We Lost Along the Way
E6The Genes We Lost Along the WayOur DNA holds thousands of dead genes and we’ve only just begun to unravel their stories. But one thing is already clear: we’re not just defined by the genes that we’ve gained over the course of our evolution, but also by the genes that we’ve lost along the way. - Our Bizarre, Possibly Venomous, Relative
E7Our Bizarre, Possibly Venomous, RelativeIt's possible Euchambersia possessed venom about 20 million years before the first lizards and over 150 million years before the first snakes evolved. We’ve teamed up Sarah Suta from Bizarre Beasts to explore the story of venomous mammals, both living and extinct. - How Worm Holes Ended Wormworld
E8How Worm Holes Ended WormworldElongated tubes, flat ribbons, and other “worm-like” body plans were so varied and abundant that a part of the Ediacaran is sometimes known as Wormworld. But in the end, the ancient Wormworld was ended by the actions of its very own worms. - How Humans Became (Mostly) Right-Handed
E9How Humans Became (Mostly) Right-HandedNo other placental mammal that we know of prefers one side of the body so consistently, not even our closest primate relatives. But being right-handed may have deep evolutionary roots in our lineage. And yet, being a leftie does seem to come with some unexpected advantages. - How Chilis Got Spicy (and Why We Love the Burn)E10
How Chilis Got Spicy (and Why We Love the Burn)Today, chilis are the most widely cultivated spice crop in the world - grown everywhere from their native home in the Americas to Europe, Africa, and Asia. But how and why did chilis evolve this weird, fiery trick in the first place? And why did we learn to love that spicy burn? - How To Survive the Little Ice AgeE11
How To Survive the Little Ice AgeNunalleq, a village in what’s today southwest Alaska, seemed to have thrived during the Little Ice Age. How did this village manage to survive and prosper during this time period? And what caused this period of climate change in the first place? - When Trees Took Over the WorldE13
When Trees Took Over the World420 million years ago, the forest floor of what's now New York was covered with a plant that didn’t look like a tree at all, except its roots were made of wood. Instead of looking up to learn about the evolution of trees, it turns out paleobotanists should’ve been looking down all along. - Did These Giant Sloths Poop Themselves to Death?E16
Did These Giant Sloths Poop Themselves to Death?At Tanque Loma, at least 22 giant ground sloths in the genus Eremotherium met their end. Of the five hypotheses that researchers proposed for what killed the sloths, the best supported one right now is that they died surrounded by their own poop. - The Island of the Last Surviving MammothsE18
The Island of the Last Surviving MammothsThe Wrangel Island mammoths would end up being the final survivors of a once-widespread genus. In their final years, after having thrived in many parts of the world for millions of years, the very last mammoths that ever lived experienced what’s known as a mutational meltdown. - The Creature That Stumped DarwinE21
The Creature That Stumped DarwinToxodon was one of the last members of a lineage that vanished 11,000 years ago after thriving in isolation for millions of years. And its fossils would inspire a revolutionary thinker to tackle a bigger mystery than Toxodon itself: evolution. - How a Mass Extinction Event Created the AmazonE24
How a Mass Extinction Event Created the AmazonThe Amazon rainforest of South America is a paradise for flowering plants. But long ago, the landscape that we now think of as the Amazon looked very different. And would you believe that the entire revolution of the Amazon began with just one day? - When Mammals Only Went Out At NightE25
When Mammals Only Went Out At NightFor decades, scientists believed dinosaurs were diurnal and tiny mammals were nocturnal. But as researchers have uncovered more mammalian fossils and studied the biology of different dinosaur species, they’ve found some surprising results. - How Ancient Whales May Have Changed the Deep Ocean
E26How Ancient Whales May Have Changed the Deep OceanIt looks like the evolution of ocean-going whales like Borealodon may have affected communities found in the deep ocean, like the ones found around geothermal vents. And it turns out that when a whale dies, that’s just the beginning of the story. - Why The Paleo Diet Couldn't Save The NeanderthalsE29
Why The Paleo Diet Couldn't Save The NeanderthalsThese relatives of ours lived in Eurasia for more than 300,000 years. They were expert toolmakers, using materials like stone, wood, and animal bone. They were also skilled hunters and foragers, and may even have created cave art. So what caused the decline and disappearance of their population? Well, in a way...it could’ve been us. But maybe not in the way you might’ve heard. - The Fossil Record In Your MouthE30
The Fossil Record In Your MouthThe hardened residue scraped off your teeth at the dentist is called your dental calculus, and your dental calculus is the only part of your body that actually fossilizes while you’re alive! And scientists have figured out how to study & trace the evolutionary history of these microbes over tens of millions of years. - When Pterosaurs WalkedE31
When Pterosaurs WalkedIf you know one thing about pterosaurs, it’s that they’re flyers. And while pterosaurs may be well-known for their domination of the skies in the Mesozoic Era, they didn’t live their entire lives in the air. So how did we figure this out? And what were they like when they finally came down?
