How did the Earth transform simple carbon into the complex ingredients of life?

Today, we'll meet a troubled Charles Darwin hunting for fossils, we'll create slime from thin air in one of the greatest laboratory experiments, and we'll learn what was in Earth's earliest atmosphere.

Extra Credit: Breathe in, breathe out, and have a sip of your favorite soup.

When did DNA show up in Earth's past, and how does it actually work today?

In this episode, we brush up on biology, learning about DNA's hardworking but underrated sister RNA, how cells turn genetic code into meat, and inch closer to actual living things in the Hadean.

Extra Credit: Help someone make a tasty dish in the kitchen today, or thank someone you think doesn't get enough credit for their work.

How and where did the first cells form on planet Earth, 4 billion years ago?

To answer that question, we investigate why oil and water hate each other, explore the seafloor with the Titanic's discoverer, and take a relaxing dip inside a hot spring.

Extra credit: drop some olive oil into water, or make a trip to the closest hot spring in your local area.

Season 1 Finale.

What was the first living thing on Earth, when did it live, and what did it do?

Today, we end Season 1 by meeting LUCA, the oldest ancestor for every living thing on Earth today. On the way, we'll tackle how complex life formed in a chaotic universe and why it hasn't formed again, take a trip down life's family tree, and meet a deadly modern microbe- one of the closest relatives of the oldest living thing.

Thank you all for listening to Season 1, and stay tuned for Season 2!

Extra Credit: Take a look at family photos, or check your canned foods for botulism.

Get caught up to speed on Season 1, a time known as The Hadean.

The Hadean covers Earth's earliest days from 4.6 to 4 billion years ago, January 1 to Feb 14 on the Earth Calendar. This is a time of many firsts, including the formation of the Earth, Moon, oceans, islands, and perhaps life.

Check out previous episodes for more details, like the women who mapped the Earth's inner core (6) and seafloor (11), the largest object to strike our planet (8), and our earliest ancestor (23).