Magnetic Field Reversals and Extinctions: The Correlation Won't Go Away.
There's something about the way this correlation refuses to fade that keeps pulling me back. Scientists have been poking at the link between geomagnetic reversals and mass extinctions for decades, and every time someone thinks they've ruled it out, another study finds the pattern again. The new work points to a window where reversals bunch up right alongside both an extinction event and Large Igneous Provinces, and that stacking of events makes the case feel more substantial than coincidence.
One thing I'd want to know is whether the reversals are causing the trouble or just happening at the same time as the volcanic activity. If the pole flips occur during periods of intense geologic upheaval, the reversals might be a side effect of whatever is driving the eruptions, which would change how we read the correlation entirely.
For now I think the honest position is to say the correlation is real, whatever the cause turns out to be. And that's interesting enough on its own, because it suggests these big planetary processes are linked in ways we're only starting to map out.