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About This Podcast
Humans broke the environment — but we can heal it, too.
Trees are swallowing prairies. Bees are starving for food. Farmland is washing away in the rain.
Up From Dust is a new podcast about the price of trying to shape the world around our needs, as seen from America’s breadbasket: Kansas.
Hosts Celia Llopis-Jepsen and David Condos wander across prairies, farm fields and suburbia to find the folks who are finding less damaging, more sustainable ways to fix our generational mistakes.
Coming in April from the NPR Network, KCUR Studios, and the Kansas News Service. Listen to the trailer now.
Up From Dust is hosted and reported by Celia Llopis-Jepsen and David Condos. This episode was written by Celia Llopis-Jepsen and produced by Mackenzie Martin with editorial support from Scott Canon and Suzanne Hogan. Mix by Celia Llopis-Jepsen and Byron Love.
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Recent Episodes
Spying on box turtles
Box turtles are cute and an absolute delight to spot while walking in the Midwest or Great Plains. But scientist Benjamin Reed wants us to know that these creatures are complex and widely…
Between land and water: Tribal relocation and resistance
Climate change is altering the land, and Indigenous communities are on the frontline. This episode takes you to Alaska, where rapid permafrost thaw is threatening the Native village of Nunapitchuk.…
The bat scientist and the pecan farmer
A Texas pecan farmer spent years rethinking whether he needed so many chemicals to grow food. He cut back on things like weedkillers, but when it came to ditching insecticides, crop pests posed a…
Stargazers, unite for science!
Astronomers need your help! And you don’t have to be an expert, because it’s as easy as stepping outside your home and taking a good look at a constellation like Orion. For 20 years, the citizen…
Our changing Midwest
As we embark on our third year of Up From Dust, we discuss why we started an environmental podcast in the Midwest — and what we’ve learned along the way. In 2026, stay tuned for stories about…
A river’s return from the brink of disaster
In one long-polluted Ozark river, the little fish darting through the water and the rare mussels hiding on the pebbly bottom tell a story worth celebrating. They’re signs that the Spring River is…
One man's quest for a rare shellfish
Trevor Starks is on a mission. He wants to help the humble but powerful creatures that clean the waters of the Neosho River: freshwater mussels. For decades, their populations dwindled due to…
Prairie islands are popping up in a sea of corn and soybeans
The Midwest has a reputation for vast fields of corn and soybeans that stretch to the horizon. But on some farms, strips of wildflowers and little bluestem now interrupt the crops, tiny glimpses of…
Why a prairie scientist spent years photographing a single square meter of land
Have you ever wondered how much life a tiny patch of land can hold? Nebraska scientist Chris Helzer photographed one square meter of prairie from every angle for two years, getting to know the…
A Sticky Solution for Microplastics
Microplastics are everywhere. They’re in the air we breathe, the clothes we wear, even the food we eat. Scientists are still trying to understand what these tiny particles are doing to the…
Kayakers vs. river pollution
For decades, the world’s longest prairie river was treated as a convenient dumping ground by cities and industries. Government regulation dramatically improved water quality here and around the…
Say no to skyglow: Smarter lighting can help save the stars
We have inadvertently filled our world with poorly designed outdoor lighting. The price? We’re losing our starry skies, hurting our health, killing pollinators, wasting billions of dollars and…
Less lawn, more wildlife! Here’s how to ditch turf for native plants
So you’ve been thinking about getting rid of your lawn, or at least having less. You’ll attract birds and bees and you won’t have to mow as much. Nice! But where to start? Master gardener Paula Diaz…
Those soil health products may be a waste of money
Symbiotic fungi are all the rage right now. Farmers want them in their fields, gardeners want them in veggie patches and flowerbeds. The excitement has given rise to a billion-dollar mycorrhizae…
Can we save millions of migrating birds?
In 1978, a young scientist “brazenly trespassed” around a Chicago building in search of dead birds. He unwittingly began a 40-year journey that could help save countless warblers, thrushes and more.…
Can we save a disappearing lake?
During times of drought, when the rains fail, man-made lakes come to the rescue of our cities and towns. Except the reservoirs we’ve come to depend on for drinking water are filling up with mud…
What's better for the environment: Tea or coffee?
Have you ever wondered about the eco-story behind your daily brew? Join us as we spill the beans on the environmental impact of tea & coffee, from cultivation to consumption. (This episode comes…
S1E5 Dry times on the High Plains
Ancient waters that lie deep beneath the dry High Plains helped to turn western Kansas into an agricultural powerhouse. But the Ogallala Aquifer’s wells have begun to run dry after decades of tapping…
S1E4 Healing the ground we broke
After Europeans colonized America, their descendants plowed their way across the continent, seeking prosperity through farming. But breaking up the soil – that had built up over many thousands of…
S1E3 For the love of dung beetles
It’s easy to advocate for saving pandas and elephants, but bugs are a harder sell. Look closer, though, and you’ll find tiny superheroes propping up entire ecosystems as pollinators, decomposers,…
Frequently Asked Questions
Up From Dust has published 23 episodes since March 2024, covering topics in Sports, Wilderness.
Up From Dust is currently highly active with new episodes monthly. Average episode length is 30m.
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