In the first two episodes of “Podcast from the Prairie,” Wes Jackson discussed some of the key ideas he developed in his half-century career as an educator and activist in the movement for ecological sustainability, and reflected on the role of his rural upbringing on his career. In Episode 3, titled “Mad about Science,” Wes talks about how formal science differs from, and is similar to, the folk science he learned on the farm growing up. Wes earned degrees in biology, botany, and genetics before resigning as an environmental studies professor to co-found The Land Institute in 1976. Recognizing that modern science has changed society for the better and the worse, Wes ponders how modern science is both necessary for, and can pose threats to, our struggle to create a sustainable human presence on the planet.