As the physicist and astrobiologist Sara Imari Walker—the author of the mind-expanding book Life as No One Knows It: The Physics of Life’s Emergence—sees it, every single thing on Earth can be traced to life’s beginnings. Walker studies the origins of life on this planet—one of science’s greatest unsolved puzzles—and, beyond that, whether alien life exists on other planets. As part of her research, she’s advancing a physics known as “assembly theory,” a new way of thinking and talking about life’s origins and, in turn, time. She displays that rare gift for demystifying deeply layered concepts—and for reminding us of how profound it is to be alive, in this moment, in the first place. 

On this special episode—produced in partnership with the Aspen Art Museum and recorded in Aspen, Colorado, during the inaugural AIR festival earlier this month—Walker makes a compelling case for why understanding life’s origins is crucial to understanding ourselves.

Special thanks to our episode sponsor, the Aspen Art Museum. 

Show Notes:

Sara Imari Walker

[6:59] Assembly theory

[10:00] Thomas Moynihan

[11:13] “Life as No One Knows It: The Physics of Life's Emergence” (2024)

[13:36] Michael Lachmann

[18:38] Lee Cronin

[18:48] Bertrand Russell 

[21:04] “A.I. Is Life”

[24:10] Paley’s watch argument

[25:36] Steve Jobs

[25:54] “Reflecting on the iPhone's cultural impacts as it turns 18”

[29:14] “It’s Time to Retire the Word ‘Technology’”

[32:46] Copernican Revolution

[36:14] “Hundert Autoren gegen Einstein” or “One Hundred Authors Against Einstein” (1931)

[40:54] Arizona State University: School of Earth and Space Exploration

[45:03] AIR Aspen

[46:20] Carlo Rovelli

[47:44] Thaddeus Mosley

[47:54] Constantin Brâncuși

[47:55] Isamu Noguchi