In this episode, we tackle the fascinating – and confusing – subject of hybridization. What are hybrids? Why are hybrids? And if organisms can breed across subspecies and species boundaries, what does that mean for our understanding of important topics like evolution, speciation, and conservation?In the news: saber-tooth footprints, a Cambrian filter-feeder, false extinctions, and an ancient pet trade.Time markers: Intro & Announcements: News: Main discussion, Part 1: Main discussion, Part 2: Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures: http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/Follow and Support us on: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/CommonDescentPC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/commondescentpodcast/ PodBean: https://commondescentpodcast.podbean.com/ iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-common-descent-podcast/id1207586509?mt=2 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCePRXHEnZmTGum2r1l2mduwThe Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org.Muscial Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/