b'An Earth covered in ice might sound far-fetched, but there\\u2019s reason to think it has actually happened in the past \\u2013 more than once. In this episode, we examine the Snowball Earth hypothesis and the geologic evidence and climate models that back it up, as well as some of the major lingering questions: Just how snowy is the snowball? How could this start? How could it end? And how did life fare on a frozen planet?\\nIn the news: ancient tardigrades, meat-eating sloths, shark communities, and relict mangroves.\\nTime markers:Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00News: 00:04:30Main discussion, Part 1: 00:32:30Main discussion, Part 2: 01:02:00Patron question: 01:44:00\\nCheck out our blog for bonus info and pictures:http://commondescentpodcast.wordpress.com/\\nJoin us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content! https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast\\xa0\\nOr make a one-time donation via PayPal: https://tinyurl.com/4c68u4hp\\nFind merch at the Common Descent Store! http://zazzle.com/common_descent\\nFollow and Support us on: Twitter: https://twitter.com/CommonDescentPCFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/commondescentpodcastInstagram: @commondescentpodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCePRXHEnZmTGum2r1l2mduwPodBean: https://commondescentpodcast.podbean.com/ iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-common-descent-podcast/id1207586509?mt=2\\nThe Intro and Outro music is \\u201cOn the Origin of Species\\u201d by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org.\\nMusical Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/'