Plantopia
Healthy plants are the foundation for life on our planet. They produce the oxygen we breathe and over 80% of the food we eat. The Plantopia podcast series explains how protecting plant health can ensure a sustainable future. Inspired by the United Nations declaration of 2020 as the International Year of Plant Health, the American Phytopathological Society created Plantopia so you can explore the world of plant health in company with plant pathologists—people on a mission to protect plants and our food supply.
- Update frequency
- every 23 days
- Average duration
- 36 minutes
- Episodes
- 63
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2025
Lessons in Resilience
In this episode, PhD student Isako (Izzi) Di Tomassi from the Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology Program in the School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell University joins host Matt Kasson…
More than peanuts in the Peach State
In this episode, Dr. Bob Kemerait, Professor of Plant Pathology at the University of Georgia, Tipton joins host Matt Kasson to discuss his long career as an extension plant pathologist working primar…
Good Fellows Part III
In this episode, 2025 APS Fellow Dr. Carolyn Young, Professor of Plant Pathology and Department Head of Entomology and Plant Pathology at North Carolina State University joins host Matt Kasson to dis…
Good Fellows Part II
In this episode, Dr. Michael Boehm, Professor of Plant Pathology, Vice President for Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Harlan Vice Chancellor for the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resourc…
Good Fellows Part I
In this episode, Dr. Tim Widmer, Plant Pathologist and former USDA ARS scientist and National Program Leader joins host Matt Kasson to discuss his 2025 APS Fellow Award, his career as a federal resea…
A Conversation with APS President Dr. Karen Garrett
In this episode, Dr. Karen Garrett, Preeminent Professor of Plant Pathology at the University of Florida and current APS President joins host Matt Kasson to discuss her research journey and diverse …
Plants Get Parasitic Worms Too
In this episode, Dr. Marisol Quintanilla, Assistant Professor of Nematology in the Department of Entomology at Michigan State University joins host Matt Kasson to discuss her research on plant parasi…
The Fastidious and The Curious
In this episode, Dr. Kranthi Mandadi, Professor of Plant Pathology and Microbiology at Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Weslaco, Texas, joins host Matt Kasson to discuss his basic …
Why a Collection of Dead Fungi Matters
In this episode, Dr. Lisa Castlebury, Research Mycologist and Leader of the Mycology and Nematology Genetic Diversity and Biology Laboratory with the USDA ARS and Director of the U.S. National Fungus…
Mexico's agricultural extension ambassador
In this episode, Dr. Ilse Alejandra Huerta Arredondo, Assistant Professor of Agriculture at the Universidad de Guanajuato in Mexico, joins host Matt Kasson to discuss growing up in Mexico and her fam…
Ghost Forests and Other Terrifying Tales About Trees
In this episode, Dr. Elena Karlsen-Ayala, Research Plant Pathologist with The USDA Forest Service in Hamden, Connecticut, joins host Matt Kasson to discuss present day threats to U.S. forests and lan…
Searching for Cereal Killers
In this episode, Dr. Jonathan Jacobs, Associate Professor of Emerging Infectious Diseases at The Ohio State University, joins host Matt Kasson from Uruguay where he is currently investigating emergin…
Insights Into Industry
In this episode, Dr. Terence Mhora, Senior Global R&D Scientist at FMC Agricultural Solutions, joins host Matt Kasson for an insightful discussion on building an interdisciplinary career in plant pat…
The Clubroot King of Canada
In this episode, Dr. Edel Pérez-López, Associate Professor of Phytopathology at Université Laval, joins host Matt Kasson for an engaging conversation about growing up in Cuba, taking risks and naviga…
Planting the Seeds of Innovation
In this episode, Dr. Niklaus Grunwald, Research Plant Pathologist with the Horticultural Crops Disease and Pest Management Research Unit with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, joins host Matt K…
Chaos in the Clinic
In this episode, Dr. Romina Gazis, Associate Professor of Plant Pathology and Director of the Plant Diagnostic Clinic at the University of Florida, joins host Matt Kasson for an engaging conversatio…
Plant Pathology 101
In this episode, Dr. Mannon Gallegly, centenarian and Professor Emeritus of Plant Pathology at West Virginia University, joins host Matt Kasson for an engaging conversation about Mannon’s storied 80+…
Soilborne in the U.S.A.
In this episode, join host Matt Kasson as he engages in a conversation with Dr. Megan McCaghey, Assistant Professor of Plant Pathology in the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Minnes…
Spurring Onward: Confessions of a Midwestern Plant Pathologist
In the season 4 premier of Plantopia, new host Matt Kasson, associate professor of forest pathology and mycology at West Virginia University, talks to Dr. Jim Bradeen, season 2 and 3 host of Plantopi…
A Perfect Trifecta: A Plant Health Career in Government, Academia and the Private Sector
In this episode, Dr. Rubella Goswami, director for the Plant Protection Division at USDA’s-National Institute of Food and Agriculture, joins host Jim Bradeen to talk about her vast career in plant pa…