Kim Stanley Robinson’s life project has been imagining utopias. He’s a science-fiction writer best known in climate circles for writing Ministry For The Future, which depicts a future in which the world gets to grips with climate change following an extreme heat event that kills millions. Robinson joins Akshat Rathi this week on Zero to discuss how to create better futures and whether it’s right to pursue abundance.  

Explore more of Kim Stanley Robinson on Zero:
Kim Stanley Robinson imagines utopia in 2025
How a utopian sci-fi author writes toward a low-carbon future

Other episode in the Imagine series:
George Saunders goes inside the mind of a climate denier
Monira Al Qadiri on building monuments to the end of oil

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Sommer Saadi, Mohsis Andam, Sharon Chen and Laura Millan. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at zeropod@bloomberg.net. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.

Kim Stanley Robinson&rsquo;s life project has been imagining utopias. He&rsquo;s a science-fiction writer best known in climate circles for writing Ministry For The Future, which depicts a future in which the world gets to grips with climate change following an extreme heat event that kills millions. Robinson joins Akshat Rathi this week on Zero to discuss how to create better futures and whether it&rsquo;s right to pursue abundance.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Explore more of Kim Stanley Robinson on Zero:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-02/why-kim-stanley-robinson-is-optimistic-about-the-climate-future">Kim Stanley Robinson imagines utopia in 2025</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-03/how-sci-fi-author-kim-stanley-robinson-imagines-a-low-carbon-future?embedded-checkout=true">How a utopian sci-fi author writes toward a low-carbon future</a></li>
</ul>
Other episode in the Imagine series:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://omny.fm/shows/zero/george-saunders-goes-inside-the-mind-of-a-climate-denier-imagine-series">George Saunders goes inside the mind of a climate denier</a></li>
<li><a href="https://omny.fm/shows/zero/building-monuments-to-the-end-of-oil">Monira Al Qadiri on building monuments to the end of oil</a></li>
</ul>
Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Sommer Saadi, Mohsis Andam, Sharon Chen and Laura Millan. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at zeropod@bloomberg.net. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/green">https://www.bloomberg.com/green</a>.

Zero is about the tactics and technologies taking us to a world of zero emissions. Each week Bloomberg’s award-winning reporter Akshat Rathi talks to the people tackling climate change – a venture capitalist hunting for the best cleantech investment, scientists starting companies, politicians who have successfully created climate laws, and CEOs who have completely transformed their businesses. The road to zero emissions has many paths and everyone’s got an opinion about the best route. Listen in.

Zero: The Climate Race

Zero

Abundance or adequacy? The search for better climate futures: Imagine series

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/cf701067-c6d1-45a8-9965-b3c300d70917/transcript

Climber Alex Honnold is best known as the star of Free Solo, an Oscar-winning documentary that followed his rope-free ascent of the 3,000-foot (1,000-meter) face of Yosemite’s El Capitan. But he has also established the Honnold Foundation to bring solar power to those who most need it. This week on Zero, Bloomberg’s Akshat Rathi asks Honnold how he gets big things done and why helping communities get clean energy has become his other passion in life.

Explore further:
Honnold Foundation website
Alex Honnold's website
Free Solo trailer

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Sommer Saadi and Alyssa McDonald. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at zeropod@bloomberg.net. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.

Climber Alex Honnold is best known as the star of Free Solo, an Oscar-winning documentary that followed his rope-free ascent of the 3,000-foot (1,000-meter) face of Yosemite&rsquo;s El Capitan. But he has also established the Honnold Foundation to bring solar power to those who most need it. This week on Zero, Bloomberg&rsquo;s Akshat Rathi asks Honnold how he gets big things done and why helping communities get clean energy has become his other passion in life.
Explore further:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Honnold Foundation <a href="https://www.honnoldfoundation.org/">website</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Alex Honnold's <a href="https://www.alexhonnold.com">website</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Free Solo <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urRVZ4SW7WU">trailer</a></li>
</ul>
Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Sommer Saadi and Alyssa McDonald. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at zeropod@bloomberg.net. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/green">https://www.bloomberg.com/green</a>.

Free Solo climber Alex Honnold's next mission: solar for everyone

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/b3022eef-ca06-47a6-b376-b4be01121016/transcript

Energy consumers are used to a pretty simple transaction with utility companies: get electricity to power your home, pay up every month. Now, more consumers are stockpiling their own energy using solar panels and batteries. And some are even making money by selling that energy back to the grid. On last week's Big Take podcast, host Sarah Holder talked with Zero host Akshat Rathi about a new class of at-home energy trader that’s vibe coding its way to daily energy savings and big profits.

Read the full feature story here.

Find all episodes of The Big Take podcast here.

 

 

Energy consumers are used to a pretty simple transaction with utility companies: get electricity to power your home, pay up every month. Now, more consumers are stockpiling their own energy using solar panels and batteries. And some are even making money by selling that energy back to the grid. On last week's Big Take podcast, host Sarah Holder talked with Zero host Akshat Rathi about a new class of at-home energy trader that&rsquo;s vibe coding its way to daily energy savings and big profits.
Read the full feature story&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2026-09-03/consumers-profit-off-solar-batteries-selling-excess-energy-back-to-grid-mtlkf7l8?srnd=undefined">here.</a>
Find all episodes of The Big Take podcast <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/bigtake">here</a>.
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

Do-it-yourself energy traders are gaming the grid: Big Take

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/5e35c965-4a28-427a-8038-b4bb00cd559b/transcript

On the morning of August 26, a glacial collapse in the Himalayas triggered a flash flood that sent ice, mud, rocks and fast-moving water through a valley in Nepal, wiping out entire communities. This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi is joined by Lou Del Bello, who has been reporting on the disaster for Bloomberg News from New Delhi. They discuss what can be done to keep mountain communities safe, and why events like this are likely to become more frequent in a warming world.

Explore further:
Nepal Races to Find Missing Amid Threats of Further Flooding 
What Caused Nepal’s Deadly Flash Flood? Here’s What We Know
Nepal: The World's Mountains Are Ticking Time Bombs - Bloomberg
A Building Boom in the Himalayas Threatens Climate Disasters
The Swiss Alps Reckon With the Threat of Collapsing Glaciers
Sound of the week: CRYING GLACIER - The inner sounds of a glacier

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Sommer Saadi, Laura Millan and Alyssa McDonald. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at zeropod@bloomberg.net. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.

On the morning of August 26, a glacial collapse in the Himalayas triggered a flash flood that sent ice, mud, rocks and fast-moving water through a valley in Nepal, wiping out entire communities. This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi is joined by Lou Del Bello, who has been reporting on the disaster for Bloomberg News from New Delhi. They discuss what can be done to keep mountain communities safe, and why events like this are likely to become more frequent in a warming world.
Explore further:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-30/nepal-warns-of-more-floods-as-rescue-efforts-risk-disruption?itm_source=record&amp;itm_campaign=Nepal-Tibet_Floods&amp;itm_content=Latest-0">Nepal Races to Find Missing Amid Threats of Further Flooding</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-27/nepal-flash-floods-what-causes-them-and-why-the-country-is-so-vulnerable?srnd=undefined">What Caused Nepal&rsquo;s Deadly Flash Flood? Here&rsquo;s What We Know</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2026-08-27/nepal-the-world-s-mountains-are-ticking-time-bombs?srnd=undefined&amp;sref=jjXJRDFv">Nepal: The World's Mountains Are Ticking Time Bombs - Bloomberg</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2024-india-climate-disaster-himalayas/">A Building Boom in the Himalayas Threatens Climate Disasters</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2026-swiss-glacier-collapse-risk/">The Swiss Alps Reckon With the Threat of Collapsing Glaciers</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Sound of the week: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MkjeEEDlQU&amp;t=279s">CRYING GLACIER - The inner sounds of a glacier</a></li>
</ul>
Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Sommer Saadi, Laura Millan and Alyssa McDonald. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at zeropod@bloomberg.net. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/green">https://www.bloomberg.com/green</a>.

Nepal disaster shows how mountains are becoming less stable

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/30eec2d5-5490-4f28-89b5-b4b6013eef88/transcript

Abundance or adequacy? The search for better climate futures: Imagine series

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