About the Podcast
Ways of Ice is a narrative science podcast about glaciers, climate, landscapes, and the human quest to understand the cryosphere.
Written, produced, and hosted by glaciologist Ryan M. Strickland, the series explores ice as one of the great dynamic forces shaping Earth across deep time.
Combining glaciology, geomorphology, climate science, physics, and the history of science, the podcast approaches Earth systems through conceptual models, scientific storytelling, and field observations from some of the most extreme environments on Earth.
Episodes move between Antarctic ice streams, Himalayan glaciers, mountain landscapes, laboratory experiments, and the historical expeditions that transformed our understanding of climate and planetary change.
Ways of Ice explores fundamental scientific questions:
- How do glaciers flow?
- How do ice sheets shape landscapes?
- Why do glaciers respond so sensitively to climate?
- How do scientists build mathematical models of Earth systems?
- What can glaciers reveal about Earth's past and its future?
The podcast is written for a broad audience — including students, educators, and anyone curious about how glaciers and Earth systems work. No previous background in glaciology is necessary.
At its core, the series is about the power of science. How observations, physics, and imagination allow us to reconstruct worlds we cannot directly see, from the hidden beds of Antarctic ice sheets to the climates of the distant past.
Episodes
Episode 01 — The Paradox of Scale
Listen to Episode 01 →
Episode 02 — The Paradox of Melt
Listen to Episode 02 →
Episode 03 — The Paradox of Flow
Listen to Episode 03 →
Listener Feedback
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Ways of Ice - Listener Feedback
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Future Additions
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Transcripts
Searchable transcripts and citations for each episode.
Essays and Resources
Essays and external resources connected to episode themes.
Visual Atlas
Figures, glacier imagery, diagrams, and conceptual illustrations.