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Up From Dust podcast highlights environmental solutions pursued by ordinary Kansans

Up From Dust co-host Celia Llopis-Jepsen explains the podcast's mission.
Elizabeth Ruiz
Up From Dust co-host Celia Llopis-Jepsen explains the podcast's mission.

Kansas News Service environmental reporter Celia Llopis-Jepsen spent two years researching and reporting the first episode of Up From Dust. The newly launched podcast tells the stories of the Kansans who are addressing environmental crises.

Up From Dust is a product of KCUR Studios and the Kansas News Service, co-hosted by Celia Llopis-Jepsen and KUER’s David Condos.

Llopis-Jepsen often covers issues related to climate change in her work, but that’s not the sole focus of her podcast. Up From Dust also examines environmental concerns such as invasive species, disappearing prairies, and the declining water levels of the Ogallala Aquifer.

The podcast isn’t meant to be another depressing reminder of how humanity is damaging the planet. Its goal is to educate and inspire listeners about the changes that individuals are capable of making.

“We have to recognize the reality, which is that we are part of an ecological system as human beings,” Llopis-Jepsen says. “We need to inform ourselves, understand what's happening and continue to be in these spaces, because if we withdraw from these spaces and turn our backs on understanding what is happening with the food web and such, there are consequences for ourselves.”

  • Celia Llopis-Jepsen, Kansas News Service environmental reporter
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