Where did life begin — in a warm little pond, a volcanic vent, or on mineral surfaces deep below the sea? This episode revisits a century of debate through Juli Peretó’s classic review of origin‑of‑life research. The paper contrasts heterotrophic and autotrophic beginnings; replicator‑first versus metabolism‑first frameworks; and the timing of cellular boundaries. Each hypothesis explains part of the story yet leaves gaps: heredity without energy flow, or metabolism without information. Peretó argues for an eclectic origin: protocells that exchanged matter and energy with their surroundings, within which genetic polymers like RNA emerged to kick‑start Darwinian evolution. Ecology preceded heredity; metabolism came before genes — and from these interactions, life took hold. Produced by Cognivault — insight, intelligence, and innovation made clear.