Episode 96. The Weather: Simon Winchester

Episode 96. The Weather: Simon Winchester

From Science History Podcast by 그것이 알고 싶다SBS

November 11, 2025 · 1h 4m · Season 1 · Episode 96

About this episode

Simon Winchester discusses the scientific understanding of weather and his new book, The Breath of the Gods.

The weather has always been a critical element of the human experience - deadly during storms and droughts, sustaining when aligned with the harvest schedule, beautiful and frightening, and integrated into the myths and religions of all societies. How did a scientific understanding of the weather come about? Here to guide us on this question is Simon Winchester. Simon's articles and approximately 30 books range in topic from travel writing to politics, geography, biography, and science history. Simon is best known for his books The Professor and the Madman, The Men Who United the States, The Map That Changed the World, The Man Who Loved China, A Crack in the Edge of the World, and Krakatoa, all of which were New York Times bestsellers. In 2006, Simon was made an officer of the Order of the British Empire by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the II. Today we discuss Simon's new book about the weather entitled, The Breath of the Gods, published by HarperCollins.

People in this episode

Guest: Simon Winchester

Topics covered

  • weather
  • science history
  • human experience
  • myths and religions
  • climate
  • literature

Keywords

  • weather
  • Simon Winchester
  • science history
  • The Breath of the Gods
  • climate
  • human experience
  • myths

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: HarperCollins

Books & works: The Breath of the Gods, The Professor and the Madman, The Men Who United the States, The Map That Changed the World, The Man Who Loved China, A Crack in the Edge of the World, Krakatoa

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