The Coming Storm

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About this listen

Tornadoes, cyclones, tsunamis…Weather can be deadly—especially when it strikes without warning. Millions of Americans could soon find themselves at the mercy of violent weather if the public data behind lifesaving storm alerts gets privatized for personal gain. In his first Audible Original, New York Times best-selling author and journalist Michael Lewis delivers hard-hitting research on not-so-random weather data—and how Washington plans to release it. He also digs deep into the lives of two scientists who revolutionized climate predictions, bringing warning systems to previously unimaginable levels of accuracy. One is Kathy Sullivan, a gifted scientist among the first women in space; the other, D.J. Patil, is a trickster-turned-mathematician and a political adviser. Most urgently, Lewis’s narrative reveals the potential cost of putting a price tag on information that could save lives. Please note The Fifth Risk includes the entirety of The Coming Storm.

Michael LewisMichael LewisAudible Originals

Politics & Government

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Martin Lewis is a voice I've thought worth listening to ever since the highly revealing Flash Boys passed between my ears. This one is short but packs in a very decent amount of information and of course opinion. Lewis covers the devastating impact that tornadoes in particular can have and touches on the psychology of why people ignore warnings and weather forecasts despite their dramatic improvements in usefulness over recent years.

Set against the awesome power of nature of course are the weathermen and he concentrates on two scientists in particular. The role that big data plays in the science of weather prediction becomes very clear but so does the damage that can be done by its misuse. Over-hyped forecasts that erode public trust in meteorologists, the commercial use of data whereby only paying customers get storm warnings and of course the Trump administration all come in for a Lewis-fuelled bashing.

I think it's well worth listening to. There is a level of political bias here (though most felt well deserved!) but the issues are important. How the data is used, the importance of public ownership of it and how government policy could send us backwards are all well worth exploring.