b'We live in a solar-powered world. Photosynthesis is the process by which some organisms (notably plants and cyanobacteria) harness the energy of sunlight to power their own metabolism, in the process creating the sugars (food) which provide a source of energy for all sorts of other organisms, not to mention releasing oxygen as well. Photosynthesis is the reason our planet is the way it is, from the diversity of life to the composition of the atmosphere. In this episode, we discuss the diversity of photosynthesis and photosynthesizers, what we know about the evolutionary history of the process, and how it has profoundly changed the world.\\nIn the news: freshwater plesiosaurs, endothermy evolution, whale shark diets, and bone-crushing dogs.\\nTime markers:Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00News: 00:08:30Main discussion, Part 1: 00:43:30Main discussion, Part 2: 01:45:30Patron question: 02:31:00Please forgive our mismatched audio in the Intro and News sections.\\nWe recently appeared on the Juras-Sick-Park-Cast! https://jurassickparkcast.blogspot.com/2022/07/episode-20-when-dinosaurs-ruled-earth.html\\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\\nJoin the Common Descent Discord server! https://discord.gg/CwPBxdh9Ev\\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\\nYou can email us at commondescentpodcast(at)gmail.comOr send us physical mail at:The Common Descent Podcast1735 W State of Franklin Rd. Ste 5 #165Johnson City, TN 37604\\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/'