How can music be used to communicate the climate crisis and its solutions? This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi talks with Pulitzer Prize winning composer Julia Wolfe about her recent work, unEarth, which explores climate change and habitat loss through orchestra, voice and poetry. Wolfe discusses how she did her research, captured the clash between humanity and nature, and what the piece means at a time when her home country of the US seems to be moving ever further from climate action. 

Listen to unEarth:

If you'd like to listen to the full performance of Julia Wolfe’s unEarth, it will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on Thursday, 12 February at 7.30pm UK time, and will be available on BBC Sounds, at least for those here in the UK, for the next month. 

Explore further:
Julia Wolfe’s website: https://juliawolfemusic.com/
Past episodes in the Imagine series: 
George Saunders on Climate Guilt, AI and Critical Thinking
Kim Stanley Robison on Abundance, Adequacy and Better Climate Futures
Artist Monira Al Qadiri on 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.

How can music be used to communicate the climate crisis and its solutions? This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi talks with Pulitzer Prize winning composer Julia Wolfe about her recent work, unEarth, which explores climate change and habitat loss through orchestra, voice and poetry. Wolfe discusses how she did her research, captured the clash between humanity and nature, and what the piece means at a time when her home country of the US seems to be moving ever further from climate action.&nbsp;
Listen to unEarth:
If you'd like to listen to the full performance of Julia Wolfe&rsquo;s unEarth, it will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on Thursday, 12 February at 7.30pm UK time, and will be available on <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds">BBC Sounds</a>, at least for those here in the UK, for the next month.&nbsp;
Explore further:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Julia Wolfe&rsquo;s website: <a href="https://juliawolfemusic.com/">https://juliawolfemusic.com/</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Past episodes in the Imagine series:&nbsp;</li>
<ul>
<li aria-level="2"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-29/george-saunders-on-climate-guilt-ai-and-critical-thinking">George Saunders on Climate Guilt, AI and Critical Thinking</a></li>
<li aria-level="2"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-02/abundance-or-adequacy-the-search-for-better-climate-futures">Kim Stanley Robison on Abundance, Adequacy and Better Climate Futures</a></li>
<li aria-level="2"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-09-18/bloomberg-zero-podcast-artist-monira-al-qadiri-on-the-end-of-oil">Artist Monira Al Qadiri on the End of Oil </a></li>
</ul>
</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

Do artists have a duty to be political? Imagine series

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/6e7219c8-c6ca-4757-9f62-b3ee0096aee1/transcript