DiscoverThe Infinite Monkey CageHead in the Clouds - Owain Wyn Evans, Gavin Pretor-Pinney, Amanda Maycock
Head in the Clouds - Owain Wyn Evans, Gavin Pretor-Pinney, Amanda Maycock

Head in the Clouds - Owain Wyn Evans, Gavin Pretor-Pinney, Amanda Maycock

Update: 2025-12-10
Share

Description

Robin Ince and Brian Cox look up to the heavens as they try to ‘de-mistify’ the foggy science of clouds. They’re joined by Cloud Appreciation Society founder Gavin Pretor-Pinney, climate scientist Amanda Maycock, and former weather presenter and drummer Owain Wyn Evans, for a whirlwind tour of our too often-overlooked aerial realm.

The panel explores how clouds form, why they take such extraordinary shapes, and how satellites and weather balloons help us keep track of them. They discover why low clouds cool the planet but high clouds warm it and why a cloud that weighs as much as a jumbo jet manages to stay up in the sky. From the physics of a crisp packet balancing on a cumulonimbus to the shimmering beauty of noctilucent clouds, tune in for this cirrus-ly fascinating episode.

Series Producer: Mel Brown
Researcher: Alex Rodway
Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem
A BBC Studios Production

Comments 
loading
In Channel
Is Extinction the End?

Is Extinction the End?

2024-12-1844:47

loading
00:00
00:00
1.0x

0.5x

0.8x

1.0x

1.25x

1.5x

2.0x

3.0x

Sleep Timer

Off

End of Episode

5 Minutes

10 Minutes

15 Minutes

30 Minutes

45 Minutes

60 Minutes

120 Minutes

Head in the Clouds - Owain Wyn Evans, Gavin Pretor-Pinney, Amanda Maycock

Head in the Clouds - Owain Wyn Evans, Gavin Pretor-Pinney, Amanda Maycock

BBC Radio 4