“Prairie Prophecy” of Wes Jackson
By Robert Jensen
Published in Dead Dogma Substack · March, 2026
“Prairie Prophecy,” a film about the work of ecologist Wes Jackson now available through PBS, is the best environmental documentary ever made.
https://www.prairieprophecy.com/
OK, I may not be a neutral critic. I was host of a podcast with Wes a few years ago, and I wrote one book about Wes and another with him. I consider him a close friend, and I think he regards me in the same way. And I am an associate producer of the documentary.
With biases acknowledged, I encourage people to watch this beautiful film. The folks at public television agree:
“Prairie Prophecy follows visionary scientist and farmer Wes Jackson, co-founder of The Land Institute, whose lifelong work in perennial agriculture offers a hopeful path toward restoring balance with the Earth. This inspiring film celebrates a vision for a sustainable future.”
and
“Visually grounded in the American prairie and marked by moments of wit and reflection, the program is both informative and approachable—offering viewers a thoughtful, watchable look at the future of food and land stewardship.”
Director Michael Johnson and his team captured so much of what makes Wes’ way of seeing the world so distinctive. I first read Wes’ work nearly four decades ago, and it changed the way I understood ecology and the human future. I have long said Wes is the most important environmentalist that most people have never heard of, and “Prairie Prophecy” is a great place to start to spread the word.
The 90-minute version of the film is currently being screened around the country. Check online for a showing of the feature-length version in your area.
https://www.prairieprophecy.com/screenings
You can watch the 55-minute version of “Prairie Prophecy” on public television. Check local listings to see when it is on in your area. If it’s not airing locally, please call your station to request the program so that more people have a chance to see it. You also can watch online.
https://www.pbs.org/show/prairie-prophecy/
For an overview of Wes’ work, read this short profile.
Wes Jackson: A Misfit Trying to Change the Future of Farming
Here are the books that Wes and I have produced:
An Inconvenient Apocalypse: Environmental Collapse, Climate Crisis, and the Fate of Humanity by Wes Jackson and Robert Jensen (2022)
From the Ground Up: Conversations with Wes Jackson (2022)
https://www.newperennials.org/books
based on our “Podcast from the Prairie”
https://podcastfromtheprairie.com/
The Restless and Relentless Mind of Wes Jackson: Searching for Sustainability by Robert Jensen (2021)
Hogs Are Up: Stories of the Land, with Digressions by Wes Jackson (2021)
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Robert Jensen is Emeritus Professor in the School of Journalism and Media at the University of Texas at Austin. His most recent book, This I Don’t Believe: A Fulfilling Life without Meaning, will be published by Blue Ear Books in 2026. Jensen is also the author of It’s Debatable: Talking Authentically about Tricky Topics (Olive Branch Press, 2024). More information at https://robertwjensen.org/ or email [email protected].