For its eleventh episode, The Pain Beat brought together experts to discuss the biological evolution of nociceptors, their subtypes, and plasticity as part of the Gulf Coast Consortium’s #Pain2021 Webinar Series. These experts study nociceptors across a variety of animal models, including Drosophila, C. elegans, cephalopods, rodents, and humans. The discussion focused on how an evolutionary perspective brings novel insights into the role and function of nociceptors and if, why, and how organisms experience pain. Podcast participants include: Greg Neely, PhD, University of Sydney, Australia Edgar T. Walters, PhD, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, USA Robyn Crook, PhD, San Francisco State University, California, USA Ewan St. John Smith, PhD, University of Cambridge, UK Ted Price, PhD, University of Texas at Dallas, USA (Moderator) Peter Grace, PhD, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA (Host)