My friend and horticultural mentor, Dave Janas returns to the podcast. This time In Defense of Plants went to him. You will remember Dave from Episode 15. He lives and works as the Senior Horticulturist for the Wilson Botanical Gardens in San Vito, Costa Rica. This episode was recorded during a behind the scenes tour we got of the gardens plant collection. Along the way we learn a lot about what Dave is working on in regards to propagating native Costa Rican flora. This is a relaxing episode full of the sounds of the jungle.

There are many ways to conserve plants but there are certainly many obstacles as well. One of those obstacles lies in how many plants remain. Defining an individual in the plant world can be tricky. Genetics offers some ways of getting around this. Join me for a conversation on how genetic tools are being used to conserve an endangered Florida endemic called Polygala lewtonii.

Comedian Jerry Rocha is fast, funny, dark, Latino and a nerd. What else do you need to know? Well, there's a LOT more, plus his special "Gabriel Iglesias Presents: The Gentleman Jerry Rocha" airs TONIGHT (10/17) on Fuse, so get the low-down now before he brings the funny...

What is a species? Why does it matter and what can we do with that information? What drives the patterns of plant diversity we see around the world? These are just some of the questions Dr. Iván Jiménez likes to investigate. Join me for an interesting conversation exploring plant richness.

Director Michael Lehmann has directed the cult hit Heathers, the notorious flop Hudson Hawk, and a bunch of episodes of every good show you've ever watched, ever. His particular journey includes a Bay Area radio station known as KPOO, studying philosophy in Germany, being Francis Ford Coppola's rec

Kudzu (Pueraria lobata) is a plant that most people will readily recognize. This invasive vine is a relative of the pea and has the ability to carpet everything on the landscape including houses. Introduced to the North America from Asia, this species offers researchers a chance to understand not only plant invasion but also evolution. Join me for a conversation with Steven Callen regarding his research into this interesting legume.

Remnant prairies are few and far between but this week's podcast is going to take you to one. The Grand Prairie Friends invited people out to their Loda Prairie site this weekend to help them with seed collection. I was happy to oblige and the resulting adventure was quite fun. Tune in this week to enjoy a tour of an original prairie.

Martha Davis tells us about her not-so-easy path to breaking in to the LA music scene with her particular (and at the time quite quirky) musical vision...

I spent the day volunteering with the Friends of Langham Island. They are a group of concerned citizens working to restore Langham Island's unique flora, which includes the endangered endemic Kankakee Mallow. It was a fun day and I met a lot of great people along the way.

Screenwriter, professor and all-around good guy Jack Epps, Jr. talks about co-writing Top Gun, why screenwriting is rewriting and how Ethel Merman was a big influence. (Okay...that last one's a stretch.) Listen and learn...