Up From Dust

KCUR Studios · kcur.org

Trees are swallowing prairies. Rivers are losing their fish. And stars are disappearing from view. Humans broke the environment — but we can heal some of the damage.Up From Dust is a podcast about the price of trying to shape the world around our needs, and how to live more sustainably. Host Celia Llopis-Jepsen brings you the stories of people across the Midwest and Great Plains who are working to fix our generational mistakes. From Harvest Public Media, KCUR Studios and the NPR Network.

26 episodes

20d ago latest

monthly cadence

English language

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Episodes 26

Getting more comfortable with 'sneks' and creepy-crawlies
20d ago · 26:53
Justin was terrified of snakes – until he learned they’re scared of him, too. Tay’s fear was soothed after discovering the Internet’s affection for “nope ropes” and “danger noodles.” Can we ease our discomfort around critters by getting to know the animals? We spoke with psychologists, who offer their tips for overcoming phobias. This is part two of a two-part series on getting over the fears that spoil our outdoor fun.
A nature lover confronts her fear of spiders
1mo ago · 26:00
How do you stop being so afraid? Tracy Twombly had such a strong phobia of spiders, it was messing with her life — stressing her out while she was working at her native plant nursery or hiking through the woods. So she embarked on a journey to make peace with her eight-legged neighbors (even the extra hairy ones). This is part one of a two-part series on getting over the fears that spoil our outdoor fun.
Why you should kill your lawn
2mo ago · 21:06
All summer long, we run mowers over our lawns to keep them the perfect height – and run sprinklers to keep them emerald green. Add fertilizer and weedkillers into the mix, and it’s a real resource drain. But there’s something else about lawns: They’re inhospitable to most wildlife. Celia joins Marielle Segarra on NPR’s Life Kit to explain how to push back against American lawn culture by killing a small patch of grass and turning it into a wildlife friendly garden.
Spying on box turtles
3mo ago · 28:36
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 misunderstood. Reed is a box turtle superspy, spending the last 13 years following the animals with radio equipment as they face daunting challenges like roads, lawnmowers, poachers and more. Reed has a laundry list of ways we can all help prairie turtles survive in a difficult world.
Between land and water: Tribal relocation and resistance
4mo ago · 34:52
Climate change is altering the land we live on, and Indigenous communities are on the frontline. In this episode, we bring you to Alaska, where rapid permafrost thaw is threatening the Native village of Nunapitchuk. Then, we head to Louisiana, where the Pointe-Au-Chien Indian Tribe is watching their land disappear underwater due to sea level rise. These threats are forcing these tribes to make the difficult decision: to stay and adapt, or to leave their ancestral home. (This episode comes to us from the podcast Sea Change.)
The bat scientist and the pecan farmer
6mo ago · 29:11
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 challenge. That’s what brought him together with a famous bat scientist — who helped him build an insect-eating army of bats.
Stargazers, unite for science!
6mo ago · 20:50
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 science project Globe At Night has helped advance our understanding of light pollution – as scientists figure out how fast stars are disappearing from our sky.
Our changing Midwest
7mo ago · 18:32
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 farmers, astronomers, turtles, bats and more. We’ll overcome fears and rethink how we grow food and build our cities. And we’ll meet the people in the Heartland who tackle the challenge of climate change with determination and resolve. Thanks for coming along with us.
A river’s return from the brink of disaster
8mo ago · 27:10
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 benefitting from environmental cleanups after a century of mining pollution. A professor and his students are uncovering the evidence of recovery. But there’s a twist: They’ve also found a new environmental challenge unfolding farther upstream.
One man's quest for a rare shellfish
10mo ago · 24:10
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 overharvesting, pollution and dam construction. To right the wrongs of the past, Trevor and his colleagues are releasing rare mussels by the hundreds. Now, the only thing left is to find out if it worked.
Prairie islands are popping up in a sea of corn and soybeans
10mo ago · 28:42
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 the prairie that once dominated the region. They’re an effort to hold back the fertilizer runoff that pollutes drinking water and then travels hundreds of miles downstream, where it fuels the Gulf of Mexico’s infamous Dead Zone.
Why a prairie scientist spent years photographing a single square meter of land
11mo ago · 29:34
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 creatures that call it home. By blending art and science, he hopes to open people's eyes to this underappreciated ecosystem on the Great Plains that is shrinking more and more every year.
A sticky solution for microplastics
1y ago · 19:21
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 environment and our bodies. But an accidental discovery at the University of Michigan in 2019 – involving baby diapers and rubber tires – has broken ground on an idea for how to get them out of our water. (This episode comes to us from the podcast Points North at Interlochen Public Radio.)
Kayakers vs. river pollution
1y ago · 27:52
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 country. Today the Kansas River is a place to scope out beavers and bald eagles. But decades-old garbage and other pollution still plague the river, so a motley crew of kayakers took it upon itself to dig out the trash.
Say no to skyglow: Smarter lighting can help save the stars
1y ago · 28:58
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 releasing millions of tons of avoidable carbon dioxide. Now people in a Missouri college town and a state park are proving that picking the right bulbs and fixtures can curb light pollution and its harms.
Less lawn, more wildlife! Here’s how to ditch turf for native plants
1y ago · 24:20
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 gives us the scoop on how to kill grass, where to look for the right native plant species to replace it, and how to start laying out your flower beds. Come learn from someone who’s been winning over her neighbors to give native plants a shot.
Those soil health products may be a waste of money
1y ago · 26:16
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 market, but many products don’t deliver on their promises. Come visit the world’s biggest collection of these fungi to learn what makes them so great — and why you should think twice before buying them.
Can we save millions of migrating birds?
1y ago · 25:31
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. Most of America’s 10 riskiest cities for migrating birds lie in the middle of the country. We’ll find out why — and how every resident from Texas to the Canadian border can help reduce the death toll.
The case of the disappearing lake
1y ago · 41:16
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.
What's better for the environment: Tea or coffee?
1y ago · 32:51
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.)
Dry times on the High Plains
2y ago · 44:38
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.
Healing the ground we broke
2y ago · 37:26
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.
For the love of dung beetles
2y ago · 34:21
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.
The Green Glacier
2y ago · 42:49
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.
When good plants turn bad
2y ago · 34:19
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.