The Trouble Sum Weather
Curious Cases
BBC
4.8 • 4.1K Ratings
🗓️ 22 November 2019
⏱️ 35 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
"Why is it so difficult to predict the weather?" asks Isabella Webber, aged 21 from Vienna.
"I am sure there are many intelligent meteorologists and it seems rather straight forward to calculate wind speed, look at the clouds, and data from the past to make accurate predictions, but yet it’s not possible."
Adam delves into the history of forecasting with author Andrew Blum, beginning with the mystery of a lost hot air balloon full of Arctic explorers.
Hannah visits the BBC Weather Centre to talk to meteorologist and presenter Helen Willetts about how forecasting has changed, and whether people get annoyed at her if she gets the forecast wrong.
Plus mathematician Steven Strogatz suggests a chaotic explanation as to why we can't produce the perfect forecast.
Presenters: Hannah Fry, Adam Rutherford Producer: Michelle Martin
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2019.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. |
| 0:04.8 | MUSIC |
| 0:08.0 | I'm Dr Adam Rutherford. |
| 0:12.4 | And I'm Dr Hannah Fry. |
| 0:13.9 | And you are going to send us your everyday mysteries. |
| 0:16.7 | And we are going to investigate them. |
| 0:18.6 | Using the power of... |
| 0:20.1 | Science! |
| 0:21.1 | Science! |
| 0:22.1 | I like it. |
| 0:23.4 | MUSIC |
| 0:26.4 | Hello, final episode in this series. |
| 0:29.5 | Sorry, one. |
| 0:30.5 | But one. |
| 0:31.5 | Ten ultimate. |
| 0:32.5 | You've got to see me one more time, Adam Rutherford. |
| 0:34.5 | I like seeing you. |
| 0:36.2 | But this is another super mathsy one. |
| 0:37.5 | I don't know quite how we've organised it, so you get two mathsy ones in a row here. |
| 0:41.2 | Physics followed by more calculus. |
| 0:43.4 | I'll tell you how we organised it, because you got to scare the living of Jesus out of me |
| 0:47.0 | two times in a row. |
... |
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 © Tapesearch 2026.