The Music of our Planet: Geology, Sound Art, and Deep Time with Marcia Bjornerud and Olivia Block

Geology is usually taught through rocks, minerals, mountains, and deep time. But structural geologist Marcia Bjornerud and sound artist Olivia Block show how Earth science also connects to sound, music, memory, climate change, architecture, and the way humans understand the planet. Marcia Bjornerud, professor of geosciences at Lawrence University and author of Timefulness and Turning to Stone, joins composer and sound artist Olivia Block for a Curiosity Entangled conversation about geology, sound art, deep time, and the more-than-human world. Together, they explore how rocks record Earth’s history, how mountains and continents move over immense timescales, and why listening can become a powerful way to think about geological change. They also discuss the Great Unconformity, Snowball Earth, the Great Oxygenation Event, banded iron formations, slow earthquakes, seismology, quarry landscapes, architectural stone, and the challenge of communicating Earth history to a human audience. The conversation connects science and art through Olivia’s sound installations and Marcia’s writing, while also touching on climate change, AI, scientific humility, and the importance of seeing Earth as an active, dynamic system rather than a passive background to human life. This episode bridges geology, sound art, Earth history, climate science, music, architecture, and deep time to ask: how can science and art help us better understand the planet we live on? ⸻ TIMESTAMPS 00:00:31 - Introductions: Sound art, structural geology, and sonic connections 00:01:05 - Weaving Earth history with memoir 00:03:04 - Geological time, sound, and human perception 00:09:28 - Rocks as animate, responsive, and more-than-human 00:14:37 - The Great Unconformity and missing time in the geologic record 00:15:43 - Snowball Earth and ancient climate shifts 00:19:19 - The Great Oxygenation Event and how life transformed the atmosphere 00:27:18 - Climate urgency, grief, and moving beyond human-centered thinking 00:28:29 - AI, vulnerability, capitalism, and empathy for the nonhuman world 00:34:42 - Selecting rocks for a sound art installation 00:40:30 - Indiana limestone, architecture, and sound 00:46:27 - Slow earthquakes and finding signals in noise 00:58:52 - Scientific humility, jazz, and the limits of disciplinary boundaries ⸻ GUESTS Marcia Bjornerud - Structural Geologist, Professor & AuthorProfessor of Geosciences, Lawrence UniversityAuthor of Timefulness and Turning to Stonehttps://lawrence.edu/people/marcia-bjornerud-walter-schober-professor-of-environmental-studies-and-professor-of-geosciences Olivia Block - Composer & Sound ArtistMultichannel Installation ArtistComposer working across music, sound, electronics, and geological themeshttps://oliviablock.net/ https://instagram.com/oliviablocksound/https://oliviablock.bandcamp.com/ ⸻ RELATED TOPICS Geology, Earth science, sound art, deep time, structural geology, rocks, Earth history, climate change, Snowball Earth, Great Unconformity, Great Oxygenation Event, banded iron formations, slow earthquakes, seismology, music, sound installation, architecture, limestone, quarries, science communication, art and science, AI, scientific humility, more-than-human world, longform conversation ⸻ ABOUT CURIOSITY ENTANGLED Curiosity Entangled pairs distinguished thinkers from different disciplines for unscripted conversations about consciousness, science, technology, and humanity’s long-term future. Hosted by Accelerator Media, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to public engagement with science and long-term thinking. #Geology #EarthScience #MarciaBjornerud #OliviaBlock #SoundArt #DeepTime #ClimateChange #Seismology #Rocks #ScienceCommunication #ArtAndScience #LongformPodcast #CuriosityEntangled