In Our Time: Science

Meteorology


Listen Later

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss meteorology. The Book of Genesis resounds with a terrible act of vengeance, carried out by an angry God seeking to punish his people. And the mechanism with which this is carried out - a catastrophic flood which wipes out evil on earth. In fact, many ancient civilisations believed extreme meteorological phenomena like thunder and lightning, hailstones and even meteors were acts of divine intervention. Running parallel with this belief, however, was also a desire to understand and explain the natural world through rational enquiry and observation. This complex relationship – between the natural world and divinity – has fascinated philosophers, artists and scientists alike from antiquity to our own time. Aristotle, for example, coined the phrase meteorology but to what extent did he link meteorological events to the cosmos and the Gods? How did the development of instrumentation during the Renaissance aid the prediction of weather events? Why did 18th century writers such as Keats feel that these scientific advances stripped the skies of its mystique and romance? And why does meteorology continue to fascinate and mystify to this day? With Vladimir Jankovic, Wellcome Research Lecturer at the Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine at Manchester University;Richard Hamblyn, writer; Liba Taub, Director of the Whipple Museum of the History of Science at Cambridge University.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

In Our Time: ScienceBy BBC Radio 4

  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6

4.6

681 ratings


More shows like In Our Time: Science

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,404 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,837 Listeners

Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,683 Listeners

History Extra podcast by Immediate Media

History Extra podcast

3,210 Listeners

5 Live Science Podcast by BBC Radio 5 Live

5 Live Science Podcast

109 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,817 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,086 Listeners

Science In Action by BBC World Service

Science In Action

343 Listeners

Witness History by BBC World Service

Witness History

961 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

1,940 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,060 Listeners

In Our Time: History by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: History

1,899 Listeners

In Our Time: Culture by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: Culture

594 Listeners

In Our Time: Religion by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: Religion

280 Listeners

In Our Time: Philosophy by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: Philosophy

859 Listeners

The Life Scientific by BBC Radio 4

The Life Scientific

239 Listeners

Unexpected Elements by BBC World Service

Unexpected Elements

352 Listeners

BBC Inside Science by BBC Radio 4

BBC Inside Science

401 Listeners

Curious Cases by BBC Radio 4

Curious Cases

818 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

2,974 Listeners

The Supermassive Podcast by The Royal Astronomical Society

The Supermassive Podcast

284 Listeners

The Ancients by History Hit

The Ancients

2,953 Listeners