160: METRA - A Climate Revolution With Songs

What if a Musical Could Help us Tell the Truth About Climate Change?In this episode, Bill Cleveland sits down with theater director Emily Hartford and composer–storyteller Ned Hardford to explore Metra: A Climate Revolution with Songs—a nine-episode musical audio drama that reimagines an ancient Greek myth as a near-future climate story.What starts as a conversation about craft opens into deeper territory: imagination as resistance, music as pedagogy, and why genuinely new stories don’t come from algorithms—they come from people doing long, human work together.In it, we explore three big questions at the heart of Metra and the moment we’re living in now:How music, story, and the human voice reach places that facts, lectures, and policy arguments can’tWhat it looks like to tell a climate story without fear-mongering or “disaster porn,”How artists can build work that others can actually use,—turning art-making into cultural infrastructure rather than a one-off production.Listen in to discover how art, music, and story can help us practice a different future—and why Metra just might be the kind of narrative infrastructure we need right now.PeopleBill ClevelandHost of Change the Story / Change the World and founder of the Center for the Study of Art & Community.Emily HartfordTheater director, writer, and producer; founding member of Flux Theater Ensemble and co-creator of Metra.Ned HartfordComposer, songwriter, audio engineer, and co-creator of Metra, focused on musical storytelling and audio drama.Alan LomaxFolklorist and field-recording pioneer whose work capturing the emotional power of the human voice is referenced in the episode.Enoch RutherfordOld-time banjo player recorded by Alan Lomax in Virginia; referenced through a story of lineage, listening, and musical transmission.Bill McKibbenClimate activist and author referenced for framing distributed solar power as a metaphor for bottom-up social change.adrienne maree brownWriter and activist whose work on emergence and collective power informs Metra’s worldview.Martin BuberPhilosopher referenced for his concept of relational connection (I–Thou), via the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.Organizations & CollectivesFlux Theater EnsembleNew York–based theater company where Metra was developed and premiered, known for ensemble-driven creation and an aesthetic of liberation.Gideon MediaAudio production studio that supported the transition of Metra from stage work to musical audio drama.Third ActClimate and democracy organization referenced in connection with Ned Hartford’s activism.New York Communities for ChangeGrassroots organization cited as part of the movement ecosystem influencing the creators’ thinking.Climate DefendersClimate justice organization referenced as an example of movement-based learning and narrative change.Works & PublicationsMetra: A Climate Revolution with SongsOfficial project site for the nine-episode musical audio drama.Metamorphoses by OvidSource text for the myth of Erysichthon and Metra.Here Comes the Sun by Bill McKibbenReferenced for its account of decentralized solar power as a model for social transformation.The Overton WindowPolitical concept discussed in relation to climate disinformation and long-term narrative shifts.Antidote by Karen RussellNovel recommended by Emily Hartford for its imaginative interrogation of manifest destiny and power.The Serviceberry by Robin Wall KimmererRecent book recommendation connecting ecology, reciprocity, and community.Wendell BerryWriter recommended for his grounding reflections on land, ethics, and community.