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This episode was recorded on January 18th, 2026 at the Canady Creative Arts Center at West Virginia University in Morgantown, WV. The lineup includes Don Was & The Pan-Detroit Ensemble, Vienna Teng, Joe Crookston, and William Matheny. https://bit.ly/4lZrAvO

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 –  Chaos in a long-term experiment with a plankton community (https://zpr.io/j6sYXKfDzPCG), by Benincà, E., Huisman, J., Heerkloss, R. et al. Nature  Chaos theory discloses triggers and drivers of plankton dynamics in stable environment (https://zpr.io/qHKENA3SJ8ML), by Telesh IV, Schubert H, Joehnk KD, Heerkloss R, Schumann R, Feike M, Schoor A, Skarlato SO. Sci Rep. Books – Full House (https://zpr.io/pMQZfyPcRzD4), by Stephen Jay Gould Extinction: Bad Genes or Bad Luck? (https://zpr.io/pPVNugUKWpi4), by David M. Raup Rereading the Fossil Record: The Growth of Paleobiology as an Evolutionary Discipline (https://zpr.io/YBjJxuXjydPN), by David Sepkoski The Vital Question: Energy, Evolution, and the Origins of Complex Life (https://zpr.io/LzfueEqUWNHb), by Nick LaneLife Itself: Its Origin and Nature (https://zpr.io/KPZf57eEVMBX), by Francis Crick Signup for our newsletter!! It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)! Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today. Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing 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.

Hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot explore the history of Chicago’s Bloodshot Records, an iconic, insurgent country music label. They talk with co-founder Rob Miller about the music and the business of running an independent label. They’ll also share some of their favorite songs from the vast catalog. Join our Facebook Group: https://bit.ly/3sivr9TBecome a member on Patreon: https://bit.ly/3slWZvcSign up for our newsletter: https://bit.ly/3eEvRnGMake a donation via PayPal: https://bit.ly/3dmt9lUSend us a Voice Memo: Desktop: bit.ly/2RyD5Ah  Mobile: sayhi.chat/soundops Featured Songs:Robbie Fulks, "Every Kind Of Music But Country," Country Love Songs, Bloodshot, 1996The Beatles, "With A Little Help From My Friends," Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Parlophone, 1967The Bottle Rockets, "Every Kinda Everything," For A Life of Sin: Insurgent Chicago Country, Bloodshot, 1994Jason & the Scorchers, "Lost Highway," Lost & Found, EMI, 1985Hank Williams, "Lost Highway," Lost Highway (Single), MGM, 1949Scott H. Biram, "Blood Sweat and Murder," For a Decade of Sin: 11 Years of Bloodshot Records, Bloodshot, 2005Handsome Family, "Tower of Song," Too Late to Pray: Defiant Chicago Roots, Bloodshot, 2019Justin Townes Earle, "Far Away in Another Town," The Good Life, Bloodshot, 2008Alejandro Escovedo, "Castanets," A Man Under the Influence, Bloodshot, 2001Lydia Loveless, "Bad Way to Go," Indestructable Machine, Bloodshot, 2011Neko Case, "Deep Red Bells," Blacklisted, Bloodshot, 2002Neil Young, "Rockin' in the Free World," Freedom, Reprise, 1989See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The stars of Spica may be headed for a breakup. One of the two stars is likely to explode as a supernova. That may send the stars careening into the galaxy on their own. Spica is the brightest star of Virgo. It rises just above the Moon early this evening. The system consists of two big, heavy stars. The primary star, Spica A, is about 10 times the mass of the Sun. Spica B is about seven times the Sun’s mass. The stars are so close together that they whirl around each other once every four days. Within a few million years, Spica A will consume all the nuclear fuel in its core. The core will collapse, probably forming a neutron star – an object up to twice the mass of the Sun, but only as big as a city. Its outer layers then will blast into space at a few percent of the speed of light – a supernova. The companion star should survive, although it might lose some gas from its surface. But what happens next is tricky. Supernovas sometimes explode asymmetrically – the blast can be off-centered. That can give the neutron star a big kick. And the neutron star will be only a fraction as massive as the original star. That means its gravitational grip on its companion will be much weaker. The neutron star could zip off at high speed – perhaps fast enough to escape the galaxy. And even if that doesn’t happen, the stars are likely to move farther apart – a bigger gap between these impressive stars. Script by Damond Benningfield

It's a new music explosion! We highlight the latest releases from Manu Chao, Darumas, Migrant Motel, Orquesta Akokán, Monsieur Perine, Hunters of the Alps, The Warning, Julieta Rada & Juan Campodonico, Diamante Electrico, Sara Valenzuela, Spanish Harlem Orchestra and more.

M. Gessen returns to our show with a true-crime story that takes place entirely within their own family. This story comes to us from the producers at Serial Productions—who invented the true-crime podcast more than a decade ago—and from The New York Times. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.Act One: M Gessen tells Ira Glass about the surprising events that prompted them to begin reporting on their own family for their new podcast, The Idiot. They play the first episode of the series. (14 minutes)Act Two: Ira Glass and M Gessen continue to talk through the story of M’s cousin, Allen Gessen. They play more clips from the podcast, and we finally hear about the big, shocking thing that snapped their family apart. (20 minutes)Act Three: M Gessen tells Ira Glass about Allen’s trial, and we hear a recording of his conversation with the undercover agent. (21 minutes)Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.orgThis American Life privacy policy.Learn more about sponsor message choices.