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Vermont Edition

Vermont Public•www.vermontpublic.org
Society & Culture
Vermont Edition brings you news and conversation about issues affecting your life. Host Mikaela Lefrak considers the context of current events through interviews with news makers and people who make our region buzz.
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Episodes

Improving the Vermont legislature's ethics enforcement

State Senators Seth Bongartz (D-Bennington) and Scott Beck (R-Caledonia) are the subject of an ethics complaint that alleges their ties to independent schools influenced their work on Vermont's big education reform bill. Vermont Public reporter Lola Duffort has been closely following the education reform process and this ethics complaint. We also explore the process of investigating alleged ethical violations, such as conflicts of interest and other financial entanglements that could influence l...

Jul 07, 2025•50 min

The snack bars of Vermont

Who wants to turn on the stove and cook dinner this time of year when you could stop by a local snack bar instead? Eating out at these seasonal restaurants is a beloved summer tradition in our region. Seven Days food writer and editor Melissa Pasanen shares some of her favorite snack menu items, like the smash burgers from Gondola's Snack Bar in Morristown and the hand cut fries at Green Meadows Grill in Williston. We also talk with local snack bar owners: Marilyn Kozlowski of Joe's Snack Bar in...

Jul 02, 2025•50 min

Why Erica Heilman asks "What Class Are You?"

Of all the touchy topics there are to talk about, class might be the thorniest of all. Today on Vermont Edition: Vermont Public's Erica Heilman tells us about her ongoing series examining economic differences in Vermont. New stories in her series What Class Are You drop this week. Then: we bring you a recent episode of the podcast Brave Little State/ Producer Burgess Brown explores what it’s like to get around Vermont and maintain a social life when you can no longer drive. Broadcast live on Tue...

Jul 01, 2025•49 min

The 25th anniversary of civil unions in Vermont

July 1st, 2025 marks the 25th anniversary of civil unions in Vermont. This legal alternative to marriage was the first of its kind in the United States. In the Vermont Supreme Court case Baker v. Vermont , the court ruled that the state had no legal basis to discriminate against same-sex couples. If the legislature would not allow same-sex couples to get marriage licenses, lawmakers would have to figure out a legal alternative. The result: civil unions. Stan Baker was the lead plaintiff on that ...

Jun 26, 2025•50 min

Four local poets discuss their craft

Our region is home to celebrated poets from a wide variety of personal backgrounds. On this Vermont Edition, we revisit interviews with four local poets that we recorded in April to mark National Poetry Month. Bianca Stone of Brandon reflects on her first year as Vermont’s poet laureate, Geof Hewitt of Calais tells us about the roots of slam poetry, Alexandria Hall explains how she carries her Vergennes roots with her while living in California, and Sarah Audsley of Johnson discusses the influen...

Jun 25, 2025•49 min

Barre's burgeoning queer community

Building queer community can be incredibly hard, when you’re facing forces like bigotry or intolerance. It can also be hard when you live in a place like Vermont, where there just aren’t a whole ton of people. Last week, our team went to The Barre Social Club to record a live panel discussion with Barre-area LGBTQ business owners and organizers who are trying to strengthen ties in Barre’s queer community and support vulnerable people there. Our guests were; Liv Dunton of Fox Market and Bar in Ea...

Jun 23, 2025•50 min

Juneteenth celebrations and new books by local authors

Communities across our region are hosting Juneteenth celebrations this year. The federal holiday marks the end of slavery in the United States and honors Black history and culture. South Burlington recreation specialist Kate Likhite and state Sen. Joe Major of Hartford tell us about their communities' Juneteenth events. Then: two local authors share the stories behind their new books. In " The Ghost Lab: How Bigfoot Hunters, Mediums and Alien Enthusiasts Are Wrecking Science ," Vershire's Matthe...

Jun 18, 2025•50 min

How Canadian wildfire smoke affects air quality – and your health

More than 200 wildfires are currently burning in Canada. They are transforming forests, and becoming more intense and frequent due to climate change. This hour we discuss how wildfires affect our landscapes, and how wildfire smoke affects air quality and our bodies. Our guests are David Grass , a senior environmental health manager at the Vermont Department of Health, and David Phillips , a Toronto-based climatologist emeritus with Environment and Climate Change Canada, a governmental agency. Th...

Jun 17, 2025•50 min

Vermont Edition At Home: Rosemary Gladstar

Rosemary Gladstar is said to be the Godmother of modern herbalism. In the latest installment of Vermont Edition At Home, Mikaela visited Gladstar at her house in Milton, Vermont. They discussed her roots in herbalism, from her childhood learning how to forage for food and medicine with her grandmother, to becoming the founder of a world renowned herbal retreat center in Vermont and founder of several companies. Mikaela was also treated to a tour of her herbal garden and heard about all of the me...

Jun 12, 2025•50 min

Novelist Tim Weed and hikes off the beaten path

"The long term survival of life on earth has never really been in doubt...it's the survival of homo sapiens that has been in question." That stark reminder, or perhaps warning, comes from one of the central characters in the new novel by Vermont author Tim Weed called "The Afterlife Project." Guest host Mitch Wertlieb speaks with the Putney-based writer about what inspired his book--which blends elements of climate fact with science fiction, telling a story that stretches from the not too distan...

Jun 11, 2025•50 min

Stories of childlessness, by choice or by chance

The birthrate in the United States is on the decline, and of all 50 states, Vermont’s fertility rate is the lowest. We'll listen to a recent episode of Vermont Public's podcast Brave Little State where reporter Nina Keck looks into a listener’s question about childlessness. Then, we'll be joined by sociology professor Amy Blackstone of the University of Maine, who researches why some people opt out of parenting. Her book is Childfree by Choice . Broadcast live on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, at noon;...

Jun 10, 2025•50 min

New historic roadside markers and soccer star Sam Mewis

Vermont’s roadways are dotted with iconic green and gold markers. They tell stories of our region’s past. Today on Vermont Edition, the state’s Historic Preservation Officer tells us about the state’s newest historic markers, like the one for Devil’s Bowl Speedway, New England’s fastest dirt track, or another in Fayston for Ralph Waldo Ellison, author of the classic novel Invisible Man. Then, soccer star Sam Mewis will coach two women’s exhibition games this summer for the Vermont Green. She’s a...

Jun 04, 2025•50 min

Why did Governor Scott pause the electric vehicle mandate?

Electric vehicles – EVs – don’t emit pollutants into the air. That’s a good thing, if you’re focused on cutting emissions and curbing climate change. But they’re also often more expensive than gas cars, and the charging infrastructure along roads and highways isn’t fully built out yet. Considering these challenges, how do you get people to buy EVs? In Vermont, the Scott administration proposed a rule to the Legislature in 2022 to end gas-powered car sales by 2035, which a legislative committee t...

Jun 03, 2025•49 min

The education bill that's divided Vermont's legislature

Vermont’s legislative session was supposed to be over, but one massive and potentially historic bill will keep lawmakers in Montpelier longer than expected. That bill? Education reform. Today on Vermont Edition: a trio of local education reporters break down the ed reform debate. This bill seeks to fundamentally transform how Vermont schools are run and how they are funded. It could set class size minimums, dramatically cut the number of school districts, and change how we pay for public educati...

Jun 02, 2025•50 min

What's in the Waterbury water that makes businesses bloom?

Darn Tough. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. Ben and Jerry’s. Ivy Computer. Verde Technologies. KORE Power Battery Cell Developers. What do all these businesses have in common? They either were, or still are, in the small town of Waterbury, Vermont. Today on Vermont Edition: what makes this one town in Washington County a good home for growing companies? Our guests this hour have their theories. We’ll talk with leaders of companies based in Waterbury and the head of the town’s business developmen...

May 29, 2025•50 min

Checking in on Lake Memphremagog and Lake Champlain

Lake Memphremagog provides drinking water for around 200,000 Canadians, and recreation for countless Vermonters. It also faces serious environmental challenges. Today on Vermont Edition: the fight to restore and protect the water quality of our region’s largest lakes. We’ll hear from a Quebec-based group about their effort to designate Memphremagog as a lake in crisis. We’ll also talk with a scientist from the Lake Champlain Basin Program, and a shoreline ecologist with Vermont’s Department of E...

May 28, 2025•50 min

Rep. Balint on the budget bill; outgoing VT Progressive Party leader; and Seven Days on local food

First up, we're joined by Josh Wronski , the outgoing Executive Director of the Vermont Progressive Party to talk about his tenure there, what he learned in his nine years leading Vermont's third party, and how they should move forward. Then, Rep. Becca Balint joins us to talk about the Big Beautiful Bill, Medicaid cuts, the war in Gaza, impeachment, and U.S.-Canada relations. Lastly, it's our monthly local food segment with Seven Days food writer Melissa Pasanen . Broadcast live on Thursday, Ma...

May 27, 2025•50 min

Vermont Edition At Home: Alison Bechdel

In the latest installment of our series, Vermont Edition At Home: The award-winning cartoonist Alison Bechdel chats with us from her home studio in Bolton. Alison Bechdel is one of the country’s most renowned cartoonists. Her graphic memoir Fun Home was turned into a Tony Award-winning musical. Her new graphic novel, Spent, is set in Vermont.

May 22, 2025•45 min

Got junk? Vermont's home organizers want to help you declutter

Spring is an annual rite of passage, a time of transition and regrowth. Some spend it gardening. Others reconnect with friends. And a few of us, like Vermont Edition's Mikaela Lefrak, derive actual joy from spring cleaning. Two professional home organizers joined Mikaela to share their best spring cleaning tips: Sarah Thompson of St. George and Amie Davis of Georgia, Vt. If you need an extra dose of motivation, you could hire a DJ like Burlington-based Taraleigh Weathers , also known as DJ Cheet...

May 21, 2025•50 min

Vermont prepares for floods in 2025

Parts of our region are experiencing a very wet and muddy spring. For some, the rains bring up tough memories of the flooding of recent years. For some towns, the floods of 2023 and 2024 caused immense damage and upended lives. While we all hope 2025 doesn’t make this list, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Here to to talk flood preparedness is the director of Vermont Emergency Management, Eric Forand . His office is working to improve communication with individual towns when a disaster hits. W...

May 19, 2025•50 min

Vermont Edition's annual spring gardening show with Charlie Nardozzi

Today is Vermont Edition’s annual spring gardening show. Our guest is Charlie Nardozzi – gardening consultant extraordinaire, speaker, and TV and radio host. You can hear him on Sunday mornings right here on Vermont Public for All Things Gardening. This year's show was in front of a live audience at Vermont Public’s Colchester studio.

May 15, 2025•57 min
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