Episode 32
Before the Spark
Dr. Mac explores the atmospheric, climatic, and environmental conditions that determine how a wildfire behaves after the first spark, including fuel moisture, wind, terrain, and vapor pressure deficit.
Explore episodeA podcast about climate science and the world around us
Climate science,
translated.
The headlines move quickly. The science underneath them does not. The Climate Translation explains what researchers know, what they are still working to understand, and why it matters, all without losing the science in the process.
Latest episode
Episode 33
The Blocked Drain
What happens when heavy rain, rising rivers, and coastal water all arrive at the same time?
Dr. Mac explores compound flooding through Hurricane Harvey and Port Arthur, Texas, then explains why a “100-year flood” is a probability rather than a schedule, and why infrastructure can struggle when several water hazards arrive together.
Explore episodeFrom the archive
Recent episodes
Episode 31
The Living Archive
An exploration of peatlands, where water, oxygen, microbes, and moss interact to preserve carbon and climate clues for thousands of years, as well as what changes when those landscapes are drained.
Explore episodeEpisode 30
The Antarctic Paradox
A case study in how changes high in the atmosphere altered winds over the Southern Ocean, redistributed heat, and temporarily complicated the warming signal around Antarctica.
Explore episodeWhat is The Climate Translation?
The science is complicated. Understanding it shouldn't have to be.
Climate conversations often jump from data to politics before anyone has explained the mechanism in between. This podcast starts with the science: the physics, chemistry, biology, evidence, uncertainty, and real-world observations that help us understand how Earth's systems are changing.
The goal is not to shout across the gap between experts and everyone else. It is to build a bridge.
Learn about the story behind the podcastYour host
Meet Dr. Mac
Dr. Mac is a meteorologist, educator, and science communicator who has spent decades teaching atmospheric and Earth science and translating complex scientific ideas for students and the public.
On The Climate Translation, he brings the classroom into the podcast studio: using analogies, real-world examples, current research, and the questions people actually ask to make climate science easier to understand.