William Kellogg begins by describing his first acquaintance with the NCAR concept, and his belief in the benefits of team research or big science. He notes the first retreat meeting at Keystone and offers examples of problems that required an interdisciplinary approach. He mentions chairing a group for a larger study called the "Study of Critical Environmental Problems" ("SCEP" study for short), which wrote on human influences on climate, and discusses the challenges of getting scientists to work together, relating an anecdote about having to fire a dynamic meteorologist.

William Mankin begins by speaking about the origin of his “Physics of a Cup of Coffee” seminar and his relationship with Jack Herring of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, New York. After graduating from Southwestern (now called Rhodes College), Mankin received a scholarship to attend the Summer Institute in Space Physics offered by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) where he learned about radiative transfer.