The Origins of Life
In Our Time
BBC
4.6 ⢠9.9K Ratings
đď¸ 23 September 2004
âąď¸ 29 minutes
đď¸ Recording | iTunes | RSS
đ§žď¸ Download transcript
Summary
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the emergence of the worldâs first organic matter nearly four billion years ago. Scientists have named 1.5 million species of living organism on the land, in the skies and in the oceans of planet Earth and a new one is classified every day. Estimates of how many species remain to be discovered vary wildly, but science accepts one categorical point â all living matter on our planet, from the nematode to the elephant, from the bacterium to the blue whale, is derived from a single common ancestor. What was that ancestor? Did it really emerge from a âprimordial soupâ? And what, in the explanation of evolutionary science, provided the catalyst to start turning the cycle of life?With Richard Dawkins, Charles Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University; Richard Corfield, Visiting Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Earth, Planetary, Space and Astronomical Research at the Open University; Linda Partridge, Biology and Biotechnology Research Council Professor at University College London.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know. |
| 0:04.7 | My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds. |
| 0:08.5 | As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices. |
| 0:18.0 | What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars, |
| 0:24.6 | poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples. |
| 0:29.7 | If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds. |
| 0:36.0 | Thanks for downloading the In Our Time Podcast. |
| 0:39.0 | For more details about In Our Time and for our terms of use, please go to BBC.co. UK |
| 0:44.3 | forward slash radio for. I hope you enjoy the program. |
| 0:47.2 | Hello scientists have named 1.5 million species of a living organism on the land in the skies and in the ocean of planet |
| 0:55.1 | Earth. |
| 0:56.1 | And a new one's classified every day. |
| 0:58.1 | Estimates of how many species remain to be discovered vary widely. |
| 1:01.6 | But science accepts one categorical point, all living matter on our planet |
| 1:05.9 | from the nematode to the elephant, from the bacterium to the blue whale is derived from a single |
| 1:11.9 | common ancestor. |
| 1:14.0 | What was that ancestor? |
| 1:15.2 | Did it really emerge from a primordial soup? |
| 1:17.8 | And what did in the explanation of evolutionary science |
| 1:20.7 | provide the catalyst to start turning the cycle of life. |
| 1:24.0 | With me to explore the scientific explanation for the origin of life is Richard Dawkins, the |
| 1:28.7 | Charles Simoney, professor of the public understanding of Science at Oxford University |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright Š Tapesearch 2026.