Up From Dust
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.
Out now, wherever you get podcasts, from the NPR Network, KCUR Studios, and the Kansas News Service.
Listen to the podcast
-
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 instead. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has an idea to tackle the problem, and they’ll try it for the first time ever — in Kansas. -
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 and coffee, from cultivation to consumption. (This episode comes to us from the podcast Living Planet.)
-
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 it for our corn, wheat and cows. In the rain shadow of the Rocky Mountains, we’ll learn how farmers are adjusting as the water disappears and hear how some are prodding state leaders to finally act.
-
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 years – made it wash away. So some farmers are retiring their tilling equipment. Amble through Kansas prairies and cornfields as we learn how treasuring the ground beneath our feet can lead to farms that better withstand climate change, use less fertilizer and suck carbon out of the atmosphere.
-
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, predators and prey. We’ll wander the prairie with bison ranchers, in search of the dung beetles that work quiet miracles in huge piles of poop. And we’ll meet people overcoming their insect fears to help scientists catch and release bees, before they disappear.
-
A vast ocean of grass and wildflowers once covered one-third of North America. But that diverse prairie biome is collapsing, partly due to greenhouse gases and to our obsession with trees. Humans have unleashed an aggressive canopy that’s swallowing the Great Plains. For ranchers, saving the environment means being a tree killer — not a tree hugger.
-
Humans opened a Pandora’s box by moving plants, animals and fungi around the planet where they didn’t live before. Some of those species become so successful in their new surroundings that they crowd out others. Come along on a hunt for rogue Bradford pears, meet the teens turning cityscapes into butterfly havens and learn how to turn invasive plants into delicious food.
-
Trees are swallowing prairies. Bees are starving for food. Farmland is washing away in the rain. Humans broke the environment — but we can heal it, too. 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 soon from the Kansas News Service, KCUR Studios, and the NPR Network.
Dig deeper
-
Scientists want to know how well bees are coping with habitat loss. But first, they need to be able to tell nearly identical species apart. -
Scientists are trying to figure out which insect species are struggling, what it means for ecosystems and, ultimately, how it will impact people. -
We normally think of trees as being good for the environment. But in parts of the Midwest and Great Plains, they're heating up the earth as woodlands take over grasslands. -
Harvesting invasive species like autumn olives or carp is a great way to learn about the woods and rivers close to home, and to realize that our interaction with these local ecosystems matters. KCUR put together this introduction to edible invasive species in the Kansas City region. -
A juggernaut unleashed by humans is grinding slowly across the Great Plains, burying some of the most threatened habitat on the planet beneath dense junipers and shrubland. -
Determined high schoolers envision more sustainable and beautiful cityscapes. Experts say their approach can benefit both human health and the environment. -
Humans transport some non-native species on purpose. Others arrive by accident. The vast majority don’t hijack landscapes. But those that do come with high stakes. -
Native plant species are better adapted for our environment, great food for bees and butterflies, and available to purchase at nurseries and plant shops across the Kansas City region. Can you dig? -
Water levels in the Ogallala Aquifer continue to plummet as farm irrigation swallows an average of more than 2 billion gallons of groundwater per day statewide. But after decades of mostly inaction from Kansas leaders, the state’s approach to water conservation might finally be starting to shift. -
After decades of irrigation, the aquifer that makes life possible in dry western Kansas is reaching a critical point. Several counties have already lost more than half of their underground water. But a new plan could save more of what’s left. -
Reservoirs that feed the Kansas River during times of drought are filling up with mud. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has an idea to slow the process.
Up From Dust is a production of the Kansas News Service and KCUR Studios, and a member of the NPR Podcast Network. The podcast is written by Celia Llopis-Jepsen and hosted and reported by Celia Llopis-Jepsen and David Condos. Mackenzie Martin is our senior producer. Editorial support from Scott Canon and Suzanne Hogan. Mix and sound design by Celia Llopis-Jepsen and Byron Love.
Music provided by David Condos, Thomas Laune, Milktooth, and Blue Dot Sessions. Artwork by Jessica Cornelison. Additional support from David McKeel, Anna Schmidt, Gabe Rosenberg, Stephen Koranda, Genevieve Des Marteau, Stephanie Kuo and Mike Russo.
Want to support our work? Become a KCUR member!
