The Weather Machine
A Journey Inside the Forecast
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Narrated by:
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Greg Tremblay
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By:
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Andrew Blum
About this listen
From the acclaimed author of Tubes, a lively and surprising tour of the infrastructure behind the weather forecast, the people who built it, and what it reveals about our climate and our planet
The weather is the foundation of our daily lives. It’s a staple of small talk, the app on our smartphones, and often the first thing we check each morning. Yet behind these quotidian interactions is one of the most expansive machines human beings have ever constructed - a triumph of science, technology, and global cooperation. But what is this "weather machine" and who created it?
In The Weather Machine, Andrew Blum takes listeners on a fascinating journey through an everyday miracle. In a quest to understand how the forecast works, he visits old weather stations and watches new satellites blast off. He follows the dogged efforts of scientists to create a supercomputer model of the atmosphere, and traces the surprising history of the algorithms that power their work. He discovers that we have quietly entered a golden age of meteorology - our tools allow us to predict weather more accurately than ever, and yet we haven’t learned to trust them, nor can we guarantee the fragile international alliances that allow our modern weather machine to exist.
Written with the sharp wit and infectious curiosity Andrew Blum is known for, The Weather Machine pulls back the curtain on a universal part of our everyday lives, illuminating our relationships with technology, the planet, and the global community.
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- Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation
- By: Jon Gertner
- Narrated by: Chris Sorensen
- Length: 17 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Idea Factory, New York Times Magazine writer Jon Gertner reveals how Bell Labs served as an incubator for scientific innovation from the 1920s through the1980s. In its heyday, Bell Labs boasted nearly 15,000 employees, 1200 of whom held PhDs and 13 of whom won Nobel Prizes. Thriving in a work environment that embraced new ideas, Bell Labs scientists introduced concepts that still propel many of today’s most exciting technologies.
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Great story -- horrible pauses
- By Rodney on 01-29-13
By: Jon Gertner
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Accessory to War
- The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military
- By: Avis Lang, Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Narrated by: Courtney B. Vance, Neil deGrasse Tyson - introduction
- Length: 18 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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In this fascinating foray into the centuries-old relationship between science and military power, acclaimed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and writer-researcher Avis Lang examine how the methods and tools of astrophysics have been enlisted in the service of war. "The overlap is strong, and the knowledge flows in both directions," say the authors, because astrophysicists and military planners care about many of the same things: multi-spectral detection, ranging, tracking, imaging, high ground, nuclear fusion, and access to space. Tyson and Lang call it a "curiously complicit" alliance.
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Inspiring, educational, patriotic.
- By Kevin on 09-17-18
By: Avis Lang, and others
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You Belong to the Universe
- Buckminster Fuller and the Future
- By: Jonathon Keats
- Narrated by: Josh Bloomberg
- Length: 5 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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A self-professed "comprehensive anticipatory design scientist", the inventor Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983) was undoubtedly a visionary. Fuller's creations often bordered on the realm of science fiction, ranging from the freestanding geodesic dome to the three-wheel Dymaxion car to a bathroom requiring neither plumbing nor sewage. Yet in spite of his brilliant mind and lifelong devotion to serving mankind, Fuller's expansive ideas were often dismissed, and have faded from public memory since his death.
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Bucky, Bucky, Bucky
- By Amazon Customer on 08-25-18
By: Jonathon Keats
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Space Chronicles
- Facing the Ultimate Frontier
- By: Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Narrated by: Mirron Willis
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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With his signature wit and thought-provoking insights, Neil deGrasse Tyson - one of our foremost thinkers on all things space - illuminates the past, present, and future of space exploration and brilliantly reminds us why NASA matters now as much as ever. As Tyson reveals, exploring the space frontier can profoundly enrich many aspects of our daily lives, from education systems and the economy to national security and morale.
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The least helpful review of Space Chronicles.
- By Joshua Kring on 06-17-15
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The Apocalypse Factory
- Plutonium and the Making of the Atomic Age
- By: Steve Olson
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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It began with plutonium, the first element ever manufactured in quantity by humans. Fearing that the Germans would be the first to weaponize the atom, the United States marshaled brilliant minds and seemingly inexhaustible bodies to find a way to create a nuclear chain reaction of inconceivable explosive power. In a matter of months, the Hanford nuclear facility was built to produce and weaponize the enigmatic and deadly new material that would fuel atomic bombs.
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Lacking in many aspects
- By ATM on 08-27-20
By: Steve Olson
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Applied Minds
- How Engineers Think
- By: Guru Madhavan
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 5 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Through narratives and case studies spanning the brilliant history of engineering, Madhavan shows how the concepts of prototyping, efficiency, reliability, standards, optimization, and feedback are put to use in fields as diverse as transportation, retail, health care, and entertainment. Equal parts personal, practical, and profound, Applied Minds charts a path to a future where we apply strategies borrowed from engineering to create useful and inspired solutions to our most pressing challenges.
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excellent edifying book; great narrator too.
- By Phillip on 01-16-22
By: Guru Madhavan
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You Are Here
- From the Compass to GPS, the History and Future of How We Find Ourselves
- By: Hiawatha Bray
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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The story of the rise of modern navigation technology, from radio location to GPS—and the consequent decline of privacy. What does it mean to never get lost? You Are Here examines the rise of our technologically aided era of navigational omniscience—or how we came to know exactly where we are at all times. Filled with tales of scientists and astronauts, inventors and entrepreneurs, You Are Here tells the story of how humankind ingeniously solved one of its oldest and toughest problems—only to herald a new era in which it’s impossible to hide.
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I'm here - do you care
- By Nicholas E. Ertz on 04-13-14
By: Hiawatha Bray
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Beyond
- Our Future in Space
- By: Chris Impey
- Narrated by: Julie McKay
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Beyond dares to imagine a fantastic future for humans in space - and then reminds us that we're already there. Human exploration has been an unceasing engine of technological progress, from the first homo sapiens to leave our African cradle to a future in which mankind promises to settle another world. Beyond tells the epic story of humanity leaving home - and how humans will soon thrive in the vast universe beyond the Earth.
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OTHER WORLDS
- By chetyarbrough.blog on 01-10-16
By: Chris Impey
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Our Robots, Ourselves
- Robotics and the Myth of Autonomy
- By: David A. Mindell
- Narrated by: David Chandler
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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In Our Robots, Ourselves, David Mindell offers a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the cutting edge of robotics today, debunking commonly held myths and exploring the rapidly changing relationships between humans and machines. Drawing on firsthand experience, extensive interviews, and the latest research from MIT and elsewhere, Mindell takes us to extreme environments-high atmosphere, deep ocean, and outer space - to reveal where the most advanced robotics already exist.
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MUST READ
- By ryan salcido on 10-01-16
By: David A. Mindell
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The Smart Swarm
- By: Peter Miller
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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In a world where speed and flexibility are valued more than ever, leaders from the corporate boardroom to the military are looking for answers from seemingly unlikely experts - the ones in the grass, in the air, in the lakes, and in the woods. In this innovative audiobook, veteran National Geographic editor Peter Miller shows how swarm species, such as ants, bees, and fish, can teach us to tackle some of the most complex conundrums in business, politics, and technology.
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FLOCK TO THIS BOOK!
- By serine on 04-25-16
By: Peter Miller
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Apollo 11
- The Inside Story
- By: David Whitehouse
- Narrated by: Simon Mattacks
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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In the most authoritative book ever written about Apollo, David Whitehouse reveals the true drama behind the mission, telling the story in the words of those who took part - based around exclusive interviews with the key players. This enthralling book takes us from the early rocket pioneers to the shock America received from the Soviets' launch of the first satellite, Sputnik; from the race to put the first person into space, through President Kennedy's enthusiasm and later doubts, to the astronauts' intense competition to leave the first footprint.
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Space Race Revivalism
- By Doug on 06-14-19
By: David Whitehouse
What listeners say about The Weather Machine
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Joshua
- 07-08-19
Very well done
An incredibly interesting read on modern and historical weather prediction methods. Well researched and explained. Great for anyone who wonders how weather is predicted. A very good reader too.
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- Tintin
- 08-02-19
Good, could have been great
It was interesting to hear the history of weather forecasting, though I had hoped to learn more about how weather works. That wasn't the point of the book which could have been called The Weather Forecasting Machine.
The models self-correct and sync with better and better data from more and more elaborate weather stations, they balance local resolution with temporal reach, and we visit with the author a historic weather station, and done in the cafeterias of the modem European Mecca of weather forecasting. Satellites feed these models. Efforts for weather prediction rely on and createsl international cooperation. I thought it was odd not to reflect on what climate change means for weather forecasting, as I've heard It said that "crazy weather is the new norm." But mainly I had expected to learn more about weather itself... that's for the sequel I hope ...
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- Grant837
- 08-01-19
Good view on basic’s
Nice historic view, glad I listened, but listened to ‘18 miles’ first t obtain a great basis.
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- Robotmax64
- 06-13-24
Good niche subject.
This is not.an overall or introductory meteorology textbook. Instead it tells about how different types of forecasts are made and the history of weather science.
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- Kevin
- 08-03-19
Great information on the models, lacking on observational data
I was hoping this book would not only detail the historical perspectives and data on weather models, but also cover critical observations on things like radar along with innovations in radar technology used for many extreme weather events. While the former was covered in depth, I can only recall the word “radar” being used once or possibly a handful of times in context of a satellite, and was never spoken of again.
This is a great book if your interest is specifically in a more in-depth background of weather models, but it’s lacking in anything relating to observational challenges and specific weather events.
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- chris yoder
- 01-11-20
waste of money
this book talked nothing of the weather and its components. it goes into great detail about what the European weather service office looked like. waste of money
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- Anonymous User
- 08-03-20
Overall boring
An hours worth of material crammed into 5. The history is interesting, but when I see and experience the result of current weather forecasting, including that of the Hysterical Channel (Sorry, I meant the Weather Channel) which uses the European Model, much lauded in this audio, I don't see any change over the last 60 years.
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1 person found this helpful