This week, Emily is going off the radar back to 1863! She'll be talking to Dr. Jon Nese, an Associate Head of Penn State University's Program in Meteorology and Atmospheric Science. Dr. Nese isn't just a meteorologist; he's also studied and written about how weather influenced the American Civil War! We'll explore how different weather elements affected everything about the Gettysburg campaign, discover the surprising place where Dr. Nese found the meteorological evidence that brings this story to life, and discuss why his deep dive into 160-year-old weather records serves as a powerful reminder of just how critical reliable weather observation is in our modern world.

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Craig Setzer has a unique job - he's Royal Caribbean's Chief Meteorologist. In this episode that originally aired in 2024, Craig shares what it's like predicting storms, waves, and wind along constantly moving cruise routes. Craig offers a behind-the-scenes look at how he works with ship captains to keep passengers and crew safe and comfortable.

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In September 1989, NOAA hurricane hunters became the first to encounter Hurricane Hugo—and nearly became its first victims. Flying at 1,500 feet, they hit G-Forces in the Category 5 storm's eyewall, losing control of the aircraft nearly plunging it into the ocean.

The flight was so violent that some crew members never flew into another hurricane. Today we'll hear from Dr. Jeff Masters, the meteorologist who was on board that historic flight, then explore the science of measuring turbulence with Dr. Josh Wadler from Embry-Riddle, who has developed a metric to quantify how rough these flights get—and confirms this remains the most violent hurricane hunter flight on record.

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A storm surge causes coastal flooding, widespread devastation, and death. When a hurricane hits, the winds can blow away homes; but historically, a storm surge has been the deadliest part of a hurricane in the US. It can sweep houses right off their foundations and lead to a greater loss of life than hurricane winds alone. To better understand this phenomenon - and to grasp just how devastating and deadly it can be - we're going off the radar with Dr. “Hurricane Hal” Needham to discuss the biggest storm surges in American history.

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June 15th is Father's Day, and this week we're going off the radar with author Kelly V. Porter. She's honoring her late father, Alonzo Smith Jr., who was one of the first Black American meteorologists in history and the subject of Kelly's book, The Weather Officer. Join Kelly and Emily for an emotional and eye-opening historical perspective on the history of meteorology and race in America as we pay tribute to this barrier-breaking dad.

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When Adam Met isn’t playing bass or recording albums with his brothers in the sensational pop-rock band AJR, he finds novel ways of keeping busy. Adam founded a renewable energy and climate policy nonprofit, earned a PhD in Human Rights Law, and he also teaches at Columbia University. In his spare time, Adam Met recently wrote a book, Amplify, about activism in the art and music scenes. Climate change and global climate policy are hugely important topics to Adam. This week, Emily is going off the radar with Met to discuss music as activism, the global climate crisis, and what needs to be done to ensure corporations don’t “Burn the House Down” on our planet.

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As the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season begins, Jamie Rhome, Deputy Director of the National Hurricane Center, joins Off The Radar to discuss how hurricane science and communication have evolved over his 26-year career.

While forecasting accuracy has reached new heights, getting life-saving information to communities remains a critical challenge. Jamie reveals the Hurricane Center's lesser-known fieldwork—quiet missions to storm-affected areas where teams gather crucial data from survivors about their evacuation decisions.

This episode explores groundbreaking research into hurricane mortality, the technological and communication breakthroughs that have transformed the field. . Jamie also shares practical safety advice and how he's preparing his own home for potential impacts this upcoming season.

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Artificial intelligence is everywhere – some people feel it’s unavoidable and needs to be embraced. After all, it can save time and has the potential to make writing, editing, and researching drastically easier. But what about weather forecasting? And what happens when people use this technology with bad intentions? In this episode, Emily talks with two meteorologists with very different AI experiences: one who created her own AI avatar to deliver important weather updates to viewers, and another who had her likeness stolen by someone on the internet. We’ll get into the pros and cons of using AI, along with the ethics of AI, and we’ll cover some basic advice on how you can safeguard yourself from being manipulated by others who use this technology.

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