In this episode of “Podcast from the Prairie,” Wes Jackson and Robert Jensen discuss the role of religion, both in Jackson’s life and in our human future. The title of this episode references something Jackson has said for years, “There’s Methodism in my madness,” which honors the church of his family growing up even though he’s no longer a believer. How does Jackson reconcile his life as a scientist with that tradition? How important is faith to the hope for a sustainable human presence on the planet?
“Podcast from the Prairie” is available on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, Castbox, Blubrry, and Overcast. https://soundcloud.com/michael-johnson-910748507
For more information, go to https://podcastfromtheprairie.com/ and https://landinstitute.org/learn/podcast-from-the-prairie/.
“Podcast from the Prairie” is previewing some of the stories from Wes Jackson’s forthcoming book, Hogs Are Up: Stories of the Land, with Digressions, which will be published in early 2021 by the University Press of Kansas.
Robert Jensen’s book, The Restless and Relentless Mind of Wes Jackson: Searching for Sustainability, summarizes Wes’ key ideas over the past half-century and will be out at the same time, also from UPK.
Related Articles
'SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS wp_posts.ID
FROM wp_posts LEFT JOIN wp_term_relationships ON (wp_posts.ID = wp_term_relationships.object_id)
WHERE 1=1 AND wp_posts.ID NOT IN (3484511) AND (
wp_term_relationships.term_taxonomy_id IN (3,8996)
) AND wp_posts.post_type = \'post\' AND ((wp_posts.post_status = \'publish\'))
GROUP BY wp_posts.ID
ORDER BY wp_posts.post_date DESC
LIMIT 0, 3'
By Nate Hagens, The Great Simplification
In this episode, Nate speaks with primatologist and author Dr. Christine Webb about human exceptionalism – the deeply embedded belief that humans are separate from and superior to the rest of nature. Webb argues this worldview is not a universal human trait but rather a product of a few dominant cultures, and that it lies at the root of many of our most pressing global challenges.
March 12, 2026
By Chris Smaje, Small Farm Future
I don’t think anything is more important than challenging the notion that ‘they’ will solve the current poly-crisis and keep people safe and fed via existing and new technologies, economic policies and political negotiation. They won’t. It’s time for ordinary people to try to do it for themselves.
March 12, 2026
By Tom Murphy, Do the Math
All we can do now is stop being dumb enough to think our brains are capable of outsmarting ecology, and aim for lifestyles that are less obviously catastrophic—relying heavily on proven examples from the distant past.
March 12, 2026
