Vermont’s only law school is the heart of South Royalton. Many residents wonder if the school will stay there, or if it’ll leave town. Today on Vermont Edition, we share a recent episode of Brave Little State. It digs into this listener question about Vermont Law and Graduate School: “Do South Royalton and the surrounding towns actually have to worry about the Vermont law school leaving, or is it just a recurring rumor?” Produce Sabine Poux learns about the law school’s footprint in that part of...
May 13, 2025•50 min
First, Leading arts organizations in Vermont are reeling, after finding out they’ve lost grant funding from the federal government. The Vermont Symphony Orchestra, the Flynn Center, and Northern Stage are just a few of the local groups that face significant cuts. The head of the Vermont Arts Council, Susan Evans McClure , explains the role of federal funding in Vermont’s cultural landscape. Then, The Trump administration has filed a lawsuit against Vermont and three other states for legislation ...
May 12, 2025•50 min
We’re excited to present a new podcast created by the nonprofit Vermont Folklife . It’s called The Arts That Shape Us . It’s devoted to exploring the state’s cultural heritage and what different local artforms say about the past and present of Vermont. This podcast is one of ten projects funded by Vermont Public’s Made Here Fund, created to support Vermont media makers. Vermont Folklife’s Director of Education and Media, Mary Wesley , hosts the show. In this first installment, she takes us to Ba...
May 08, 2025•50 min
There’s an effort underway by the Trump administration to defund public media in America. Vermont Public's CEO Vijay Singh will answer listener questions along with our own to get a clearer view of public media’s mission, its message, and future if financial support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is eliminated. Plus, Quebec's Eastern Townships may be overshadowed by the glamour associated with the city of Montreal, but the editors of a new book called "Quebec's Eastern Townships an...
May 07, 2025•50 min
Vermont author Bailey Seybolt used marvel at the beauty of one old Burlington building. Her research unearthed a dark history. Seybolt sits down with Mitch Wertlieb to discuss her true-crime novel, Coram House, and the notorious real-life abuses at St. Joseph's Orphanage it's based on. Then; the story of Vermont's founders like Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold has been told ad nauseum. But Vermont State Representative Conor Casey found something inherently funny about these men and their relation...
May 06, 2025•49 min
Urban and rural Vermont communities face a primary care shortage
May 05, 2025•50 min
Two local orchestras celebrate music and fight mental health stigma
May 01, 2025•50 min
Today on Vermont Edition, the celebrated cartoonist Harry Bliss discusses his new graphic memoir, You Can Never Die . It’s about his life, his relationship with his dog Penny, and his grief over her death. We’ll learn about his successful cartooning career with the New Yorker and collaborating with the comedian Steve Martin. Plus: April is National Poetry Month. For the final installment of our April poetry series, we’ll talk with Sarah Audsley of Johnson. Her poetry often reflects her experienc...
Apr 30, 2025•50 min
Three forestry experts discuss the many uses of Vermont's forested lands, and the potential local impact of an executive order about timber production.
Apr 29, 2025•50 min
Gov. Scott talks Trump's immigration policy, tariffs, and state budget
Apr 28, 2025•50 min
Vermont Edition is launching a new series, featuring intimate conversations with noteworthy Vermonters right in their own living rooms. It’s called Vermont Edition At Home. For the first installment, Mikaela Lefrak went to the Middlebury home of François Clemmons .. Clemmons is best known for playing Officer Clemmons on Mr. Rogers Neighborhood . Clemmons discusses how he came to embrace his Blackness, his homosexuality, and his desire to be a performer. Broadcast live on Thursday, April 24, 2025...
Apr 24, 2025•48 min
An original indie-folk musical premieres at Northern Stage in White River Junction next month. Set over the course of one working day, "The Vermont Farm Project" tells the stories of eight farmers. It's based on three years of interviews with farmers from Vermont and the surrounding region. Director Sarah Wansley of White River Junction and Hudson Valley-based writer Jessica Kahkoska tell us more about this unique production. Plus, Vergennes native Alexandria Hall is based in Los Angeles, but a ...
Apr 23, 2025•50 min
Vermonters and Quebeckers share much more than a border. We do business together, get our passports out for vacation, and visit family. But this year, the threads that hold us together have frayed. Vermont Edition co-hosted a cross-border conversation in partnership with Radio Noon , a call-in program from the CBC in Quebec. Mikaela Lefrak and Radio Noon host Shawn Apel took calls and emails from listeners on both sides of the border about the current state of U.S.-Canada relations. We also hear...
Apr 22, 2025•51 min
A new report finds that Americans consume more dairy than they did a decade ago. Vermont dairy farmers are trying to capitalize.
Apr 21, 2025•50 min
Vermont is at the epicenter of two high-profile arrests by federal immigration officers. Both involve pro-Palestinian university students, Mohsen Mahdawi of White River Junction, and Tufts graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk. Our reporters covering these detentions, Sabine Poux and Lexi Krupp share the latest updates. The cases shine a light on changing federal immigration practices, and Vermont's role in them. We also hear from immigration attorney Brett Stokes and state senator Becca White . who r...
Apr 17, 2025•50 min
Made Here Film Festival showcases local filmmakers
Apr 16, 2025•50 min
A Montreal economist, Burlington financial advisor and Waitsfield money mindset coach share their best advice for this uncertain economic time.
Apr 15, 2025•50 min
Today on Vermont Edition, Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas. We’ll discuss the SAVE Act, which she opposes, and get her take on Vermont’s election integrity in the face of cuts to the federal office that handles election security infrastructure. Then, we'll be joined by the superintendents of two school districts, one from central Vermont and the other in the Northeast Kingdom. We’ll hear how their school budgets are shaping up and how they're preparing for education changes from Washingt...
Apr 14, 2025•50 min
Spring bird show: the Bird Diva's favorite migratory species
Apr 10, 2025•50 min
Today on Vermont Edition, we'll explore the massive changes underway at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. A program known as LIHEAP offsets utility bills for more than 6 million Americans. Vermont Public reporter Abagael Giles tells us about the future of the program. We’ll also talk with a Head Start supervisor in Windham Southeast school district, and the head of an agency that feeds hundreds of low-income, older Vermonters. Plus: Vermont’s poet laureate, Bianca Stone helps us ...
Apr 09, 2025•50 min
For some Vermonters, biking is simply a fun form of recreation or exercise. But for others, it’s how they get to work or school. Bike advocates across the region are trying to make commuting by bike more accessible and safe for Vermonters. Joining us is Jonathon Weber of Local Motion , Hanif Nazerli of the Capital City Corridor bike share project, and Darren Ohl of the Vermont Bicycle Shop in Barre discussed road safety, to discuss bike infrastructure development, and access to good bikes and ge...
Apr 08, 2025•50 min
Programs for careers like welding, construction, and automotive tech are in hot demand. The Central Vermont Career Center, a career technical school in Barre, has more applicants than they have space to admit. A recent report by Vermont Public found that enrollment is up statewide at most of Vermont’s 17 career and technical education centers. It’s a national trend, and it’s earned Gen Z the nickname “The Toolbelt Generation.” We talk with CVCC's director Jody Emerson and Nick Cantrick , a const...
Apr 07, 2025•50 min
WCAX sports director Jack Fitzsimmons and Seven Days food writer Jordan Barry share recent exciting stories from their beats.
Apr 03, 2025•50 min
As the soil thaws, rain falls, and warmer spring days fill up the forecast, the little critters that live in our region are on the move. It is the amphibian migration season and frogs and salamanders have places to be. We talk with herpetologist Jim Andrews of Salisbury who tells us about so-called Big Nights, when humans help salamanders, frogs, and toads cross roads without getting flattened by tires. And he suggests ways to support these species during their migration season, and how to repor...
Apr 02, 2025•50 min
Many Vermonters are frustrated and worried about the high cost of healthcare in the state. One of the main organizations trying to figure out what to do about it is Green Mountain Care Board. It controls the rate of health care costs in the state. Green Mountain Care Board president Owen Foster joins us to talk about the rising costs of health insurance premiums, and the financial challenges facing rural hospitals. Then, Some Vermont-based employers are trying to diversify their hiring pool. But...
Apr 01, 2025•50 min
When we file our taxes, we all have a guess as to where our money’s going. Education, infrastructure, the military, foreign aid. But for most of us, it’s just that – a guess. We break down where exactly our tax dollars go, both at the state and federal level. Vermont’s new tax commissioner Bill Shouldice explains where the state’s pot of tax dollars comes from, and where it gets allocated He also breaks down how his office estimates property taxes every year. Then, Chuck Marr helps us understand...
Mar 31, 2025•49 min
They hang upside down, fly by night, and some of them drink blood?! Bats get a bad rap – but are they really as scary as they seem? On today's Vermont Edition: Bats! It’s the latest installment of our March series, Animal Hour. Bats play a vital role in our ecosystems. But some species are endangered, and others are being threatened by disease. A small mammal biologist with Vermont Fish and Wildlife studies the bat species in our region. She’ll share fun facts about bats, and explain why they’re...
Mar 27, 2025•50 min
Today on Vermont Edition: the history of the Vermont marble industry. Quarries around the state produced beautiful black, red, dark green and white marble. A Brandon historian will share stories of what it was like to work in a quarry, and the importance of marble to our region. We’ll also hear about the Marble Museum’s closure and the uncertain future of its collection, with the head of the Preservation Trust of Vermont. Then: the annual Public Philosophy Week returns. Two local philosophy prof...
Mar 26, 2025•50 min
March marks the five-year anniversary of the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Vermont Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine was a steadying force through the early days of the lock down, a conduit of quickly evolving health guidance, and an advocate for the vaccine. Gov. Phil Scott tapped Dr. Levine in 2017 to lead Vermont's Department of Health. As health commissioner, he provided guidance on public health concerns like opioid addiction, teen substance use, and respiratory viruses. He sat down wit...
Mar 25, 2025•50 min
A new book preserves the stories of Vermonters during the historic COVID-19 pandemic. For the first time, you can read oral histories of more than a hundred state leaders, frontline workers and regular citizens. It’s called Life Became Very Blurry , An Oral History of COVID-19 in Vermont . The book illuminates the mindset of Vermonters during this unforgettable period in history, the way Vermont handled the epidemic, and how it reshaped the state. Its editor, Garrett Graff , is a bestselling aut...
Mar 24, 2025•50 min
