Ice Station Housman is a show all about the weather – what causes it, what effect it has on us puny humans, and what we can do to improve the weather and/or our reaction to it. While Jimmy and Joel aren’t actual meteorologists, Becky is! So at least one of us knows what we’re talking about.
ABOUT ICE STATION HOUSMAN, THE WEATHER OBSERVATORY
Ice Station Housman was built in Antarctica by Richard Branson, eccentric billionaire pseudo-scientist. Branson decided to abandon the station (dubbed “Virgin Permafrost” at first) when the realized that the real cold, unforgiving experience he was seeking was not on Earth, but out in the darkness of space. The neglected station was put up for public auction where it was purchased by Joel Housman for an undisclosed sum.
The station has several storm-tracking satellites, advanced moisture sensors, an atomic barometer, an array of clocks that show the hour in a number of countries across the globe, and a soap-making kitchen (installed at Joel’s wife’s request). There is a hyper-loop train connecting the station to the hosts’ homes in Virginia. Branson has already perfected Hyperloop technology and is withholding his findings from Elon Musk because, and this is a direct quote from Branson, “Musk can suck it.”
ABOUT YOUR HOSTS
Joel Housman is software & web developer who works for a large environmentally-focused non-profit in Washington D.C. He’s also a weather enthusiast with an active interest in storm systems, fronts, precipitation and the drivers behind them all. He lives in a self-contained weather observation outpost in “Antarctica” (by way of Virginia) with his wife and several oft-photographed pets. Follow him on Instagram at your peril.
Jimmy Marks is a guy who slept through most of the climatology unit of Marine Biology in high school. He has a tenuous grasp of weather and its causes and wants to know more about the sky and why it’s so mad at him all the time. He has a wife and a pretty sweet laptop that he’s modded out once or twice. He wants you to listen to more podcasts – go to howtolistentopodcasts.com to learn more.
Becky Elliott works as an actual meteorologist and product manager at AccuWeather in Pennsylvania. She is from Colorado and also spent time in Kansas, where she saw some pretty crazy storms. She loves nature and being outdoors, usually ogling some sweet clouds. When not working or nerding out over clouds, she is busy planning her wedding to a fellow meteorologist and volunteering for the Red Cross. Follow her on Instagram.