We talked with an amazing lineup of recordists for this one:
Bethan Kellough 
Thomas Rex Beverly 
Zach Goheen 
George Vlad
Some gear recommended in this talk:
Dry bags (for keeping the sand out)
Neutrick XHD connectors (with extra rubber rings for sand protection)
Cat5 audio snake (for long distance runs)
wind teepee 
snow wind wall 
namibia 
salt flats 
zach in california 
west texas 
geared up 
dangerous critter
Here are some links to Desert related sound libraries from the guests on this episode:
African Desert by George Vlad
Dune Drones by Zach Goheen
Extensive list of desert releases by Thomas Rex Beverly
You have no idea how much I appreciate this episode.