{"podcast":{"title":"Instant Genius","slug":"instant-genius-226559","podcast_index_feed_id":226559,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/GLT7732401960","website_url":"http://www.sciencefocus.com/","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/f7c186ec-ab83-11ed-876d-531b385da704/image/1e3aeeafe7dbc619978cf0eccb54d269.jpeg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Our Media","episode_count":652,"summary":"Whether you’re curious about getting healthy, the Big Bang or the science of cooking, find out everything you need to know with Instant Genius. The team behind BBC Science Focus Magazine talk to world-leading experts to bring you two bite-sized masterclasses on a new subject each week. New episodes are released every Monday and Friday and you can subscribe to Instant Genius on Apple Podcasts to access all new episodes ad-free and all old episodes of Instant Genius Extra. Watch full episodes of Instant Genius on BBC Science Focus Magazine's YouTube channel. Follow us on X: @SFIGPod","last_synced_at":"2026-06-19T10:17:02.929921+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/instant-genius-226559"},"episode":{"title":"How flowers played a key role of the evolution of life on Earth","slug":"how-flowers-played-a-key-role-of-the-evolution-of-life-on-earth","published_at":"2026-04-12T23:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/instant-genius-226559/how-flowers-played-a-key-role-of-the-evolution-of-life-on-earth","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/instant-genius-226559","url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/NSR2787645999.mp3?updated=1775732020","audio_url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/NSR2787645999.mp3?updated=1775732020","summary":"For most of us, our experience of flowers is limited to sending a bouquet to our loved ones on special occasions or perhaps picking up some pretty plants from the garden centre to cheer up our homes. But if we take a wider, more nuanced view, it quickly becomes clear that flowers have played an essential role in the evolution of the vast and varied ecosystems of the planet we live on. The fact is, without them, the Earth would be a very different place indeed. In this episode, we’re joined by David George Haskell, adjunct professor of environmental sciences at Emory University and author, to talk about his latest book, How Flowers Made Our World – The Story of Nature’s Revolutionaries. He tells us how the emergence of flowering plants around 130 million years ago triggered a massive cascade in biodiversity that we’re still feeling the effects of today, how their genetic flexibility has allowed them to be so evolutionarily successful, and talks us through the huge influence they continue to have on human life and culture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices","meta_description":"For most of us, our experience of flowers is limited to sending a bouquet to our loved ones on special occasions or perhaps picking up some pretty plants…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1939,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/instant-genius-226559/episodes/how-flowers-played-a-key-role-of-the-evolution-of-life-on-earth/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/instant-genius-226559/how-flowers-played-a-key-role-of-the-evolution-of-life-on-earth.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}