Audio is streamed from the publisher.
Show notes
This week, in an episode we first aired in 2022, we flip the Disney story of life on its head thanks to a barrel of seawater, a 1970s era computer, and underwater geysers. It’s the chaos of life. Latif, Lulu, and our Senior Producer Matt Kielty were all sitting on their own little stories until they got thrown into the studio, and had their cherished beliefs about the shape of life put on a collision course. From an accidental study of sea creatures, to the ambitions of Stephen J Gould, to an undercooked theory that captured the world’s imagination, we undo the seeming order of the living world and try to make some music out of the wreckage. (Bonus: Learn how Francis Crick really thought life got started on this planet). EPISODE CREDITS: Reported by - Latif Nasser, Matt Kielty, Heather Radke, Lulu Miller and Candice Wang Produced by - Matt Kielty and Simon Adler with help from - Arianne Wack Original music and sound design contributed by - Matt Kilety, Simon Adler, Alan Goffinski, and Jeremy Bloom **EPISODE CITATIONS:** Articles - - [https://www.nature.com/articles/nature06512"]( _Chaos in a long-term experiment with a plankton community_([https://zpr.io/j6sYXKfDzPCG"]( [https://zpr.io/j6sYXKfDzPCG](https://zpr.io/j6sYXKfDzPCG %29,)), by Benincà, E., Huisman, J., Heerkloss, R. _et al. Nature_ - [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31889119/"]( _Chaos theory discloses triggers and drivers of plankton dynamics in stable environment_ ([https://zpr.io/qHKENA3SJ8ML"]( [https://zpr.io/qHKENA3SJ8ML](https://zpr.io/qHKENA3SJ8ML %29,)), by Telesh IV, Schubert H, Joehnk KD, Heerkloss R, Schumann R, Feike M, Schoor A, Skarlato SO. _Sci Rep._ Books - - [https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-517-70394-6"]( Full House ([https://zpr.io/pMQZfyPcRzD4"]( [https://zpr.io/pMQZfyPcRzD4](https://zpr.io/pMQZfyPcRzD4 %29,)), by Stephen Jay Gould - [https://www.abebooks.com/9780393309270/Extinction-Bad-Genes-Luck-Raup-0393309274/plp"]( Extinction: Bad Genes or Bad Luck? ([https://zpr.io/pPVNugUKWpi4"]( [https://zpr.io/pPVNugUKWpi4](https://zpr.io/pPVNugUKWpi4 %29,)), by David M. Raup - [https://chicago.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.7208/chicago/9780226748580.001.0001/upso-9780226748559-chapter-1"]( Rereading the Fossil Record: The Growth of Paleobiology as an Evolutionary Discipline ([https://zpr.io/YBjJxuXjydPN"]( [https://zpr.io/YBjJxuXjydPN](https://zpr.io/YBjJxuXjydPN %29,)), by David Sepkoski - [https://nick-lane.net/books/the-vital-question-why-is-life-the-way-it-is/"]( The Vital Question: Energy, Evolution, and the Origins of Complex Life ([https://zpr.io/LzfueEqUWNHb"]( [https://zpr.io/LzfueEqUWNHb](https://zpr.io/LzfueEqUWNHb %29,)), by Nick Lane [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/865615.Life\_Itself"]( Life Itself: Its Origin and Nature ([https://zpr.io/KPZf57eEVMBX"]( [https://zpr.io/KPZf57eEVMBX](https://zpr.io/KPZf57eEVMBX %29,)), by Francis Crick _Signup for our newsletter!! It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show._ [https://radiolab.org/newsletter"]( _Sign up_ ([https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!](https://radiolab.org/newsletter%29! ) _Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of_ [http://members.radiolab.org"]( _The Lab_ _( today._ _Follow our show on_ [http://instagram.com/radiolab"]( _Instagram_ _,_ [http://twitter.com/radiolab"]( _Twitter_ _and_ [http://facebook.com/radiolab"]( _Facebook_ _@radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing_ [_radiolab@wnyc.org_](mailto:radiolab@wnyc.org)_._ _Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation._