Hacking The Planet, New Weather Channel Original Series

Science comedian Brian Malow has been working on “Hacking the Planet,” a new original series for The Weather Channel which he writes about in a recent article for Scientific American. To describe the show, he writes that the host John Rennie “flies around the globe, talking to researchers who study threatening weather conditions – hurricanes, tornadoes, lightning – with an eye toward developing strategies for early prediction or possibly even prevention…” Rennie then checks in with him and Cara Santa Maria via a Google+ Hangout where they have “spirited discussions about the plausibility of their methods – and also the risks.”

The series premiered February 28, 2013 on The Weather Channel and new episodes air Thursdays at 8pm Eastern/7pm Central. It also airs on Sundays.

Hacking the Planet tracks the fascinating work of scientists developing strategies for preventing, weakening or redirecting threatening weather conditions and natural phenomena.

Each week, host John Rennie takes viewers through a series of field experiments, illustrated by quirky animated graphics, to uncover strategies for preventing extreme weather events. To make for some fun, yet informative interactions, Rennie is joined by science bloggers Cara Santa Maria and Brian Malow who help gauge the plausibility of each scenario.

Here’s a video of Malow interviewing Rennie and Santa Maria: