Ross King: The Secret Genius Behind Florence's Impossible Dome

<p>In this episode, Pat sits down with acclaimed author Ross King, whose book Brunelleschi&#39;s Dome has captivated readers for over two decades (and inspired Pat to give away more than 100 copies to friends). Ross opens up about his childhood in a tiny Saskatchewan border town, his winding academic path through three universities and a failed bid at a professorship, and how a novel-in-progress about Filippo Brunelleschi transformed into one of the most beloved works of narrative nonfiction ever written.The conversation dives deep into the story behind the story: how 14th-century Florence dared to build a dome larger than the Pantheon before anyone knew how, how Brunelleschi - a goldsmith and clockmaker with no architectural training - solved it through secrecy, ingenuity, and sheer force of will, and the astonishing engineering details that still puzzle experts today (the herringbone brickwork, the ox hoist with history&#39;s first clutch mechanism, safety harnesses centuries ahead of their time). Along the way, Pat and Ross find a deeper theme running through it all: that building something impossible — a dome, a book, a life — always comes at a cost, and that cost is worth it.In this episode: - Ross King&#39;s childhood on the Canada/North Dakota border and his earliest memory - How reading transported him beyond a town of 150 people - Comparisons to Dava Sobel&#39;s Longitude and their shared editor - Why Brunelleschi&#39;s Dome almost became a novel instead of nonfiction - The 1290s Florentine &quot;hubris&quot; that led to the dome being commissioned - Brunelleschi&#39;s secrecy, his rivalry with Lorenzo Ghiberti, and being thrown out of a public meeting - The herringbone brick pattern and ox hoist that made construction possible - What it&#39;s like to climb all 463 steps to the top of the dome today - Life, legacy, and building your own &quot;cathedral&quot;</p>