What Is Life? #7: Warm Ponds Or Hellish Vents–Where Did Life Begin?

“What Is Life?” is an eight-episode podcast series recorded in front of a live audience. (Subscribe to the podcast at iTunes, via RSS, etc.)

In this episode, I talked withDonato Giovannelli, an assistant professor at the University of Naples “Federico II.” Giovannelli travels to acid lakes and other extreme environments that are the closest thing today to what Earth was like when life began.

Update: If you’d like to learn more about scientists exploring the borderlands between the living and nonliving worlds, check out my new book Life’s Edge: The Search For What It Means To Be Alive.

Links:
Giovannelli’s web site
Giovannelli on Twitter

If you enjoyed this episode, listen to Episode 8 or check out all eight episodes on the main podcast page. And please spread the word however you can, such as reviewing it on Apple and elsewhere!

What Is Life? was recorded in front of a live audience at Caveat in New York and is supported by a grant from Science Sandbox, a Simons Foundation initiative. Artwork by Caryn Audenried.