Vermont Edition

Canada and the U.S. are in an intense period of negotiations over a trade deal. Many Canadians are boycotting the States this summer over President Trump’s policies and 51st state rhetoric. We talk with Shawn Appell, host of our sister show on the CBC, Radio Noon in Québec, about what he's hearing from his listenership regarding their feelings on travelling to Quebec in the age of Trump. Then, during the pandemic lockdown musician and songwriter Katy Hellman began to dig into her Irish heritage, particularly the folklore of the pre-Christian era. She used her newfound passion as inspiration for her newest musical venture Emerald Ground Water. Their new album is called "The World Below." Lastly, a new musical comedy video series explores the natural world and our connection to it. It’s called “Biraland,” and it’s a 20-part video series created by Bira Vanara. He’s a multimedia artist and musician in Middlebury. "Biraland" features a host of wacky characters, catchy original music and wild effects, all conceived of and performed by its creator. Biraland was funded in part by Vermont Public’s Made Here Fund, which supports a diverse group of video and filmmakers across the state.

Money runs out to pay federal defense lawyers, and Champlain College hones in on cybersecurity

Today on the show, we explore the sibling dynamic, and how some families have multiple high achieving kids. Susan Dominus is a staff writer at The New York Times Magazine. Her new book, “The Family Dynamic,” looks at classic sibling examples, like the Bronte sisters, and modern ones. We’ll talk with two New Hampshire sisters featured in the new book – Olympic triathlete Sarah True and renowned novelist Lauren Groff. Plus, two Vermont brothers who come from a VERY large family.

Tourism-heavy towns often have a lot of AirBnBs per capita. Some towns, like Londonderry, are putting stricter rules in place on short-term rentals. Their goal, in large part, is to maintain housing for full-time residents — Vermont has a housing shortage, after all. But some short-term rental owners think the new rules are too strict and end up hurting the local economy. Vermont Public reporter Howard-Weiss Tisman shares an update on current debates over short-term rentals in southern Vermont towns. We also hear from Julie Marks, the founder and executive director of the Vermont Short Term Rental Alliance, the chair of Londonderry's housing commission Patty Eisenhauer, and Nate Lantieri of the Vermont Housing Finance Agency. Broadcast live on Monday, July 28, 2025, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m. Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or check us out on Instagram.

For 29 years, Robert Resnik celebrated folk and world music as the host of the Vermont Public music show All the Traditions. He passed away earlier this week. Through his show, he elevated local musicians and introduced listeners to new sounds and styles. He was also a musician himself and played more than two dozen instruments. We’ll share memories with friends, fellow musicians, and our listeners. Then: A new addiction treatment clinic has opened in Bennington.We’ll talk with Vermont’s deputy health commissioner about how this clinic fits into the state’s hub and spoke system.

Vermont state symbols and how they came to be

Love 'em or hate 'em, jam bands have infiltrated our culture and forever changed the music industry. There’s the Grateful Dead and Phish, but also Widespread Panic, The String Cheese Incident, and The Dave Matthews Band. Author Mike Ayers joins Mikaela to talk about his new oral history which chronicles the rise of the jam band genre in the 1990s, and the culture that surrounded them. It's called "Sharing in the Groove: The Untold Story of the 90s Jam Band Explosion and the Scene that Followed." We talk about some of the biggest jam bands to come out of this region, and remember some of the most iconic local concerts. Mike Ayers is a veteran music journalist, and he’s been to more than 20 Grateful Dead shows and 130 Phish shows. Broadcast live on Tuesday July 22, 2025, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m. Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or check us out on Instagram.

Last year, Vermont became just the second state in the nation to ban a type of pesticides called neonicotinoids. Now, that ban is going into effect. Many farmers use these treated seeds to keep pests away, but pollutes water and hurts fragile pollinator populations, like honey bees. The Vermont state government is in charge of enforcing this ban. It also has a role in determining exemptions. Who still gets to use neonics, and under what conditions? We’ll hear how the state is making those choices, using information from local farms. We’ll also learn about other neonics restrictions in Quebec and New York.

To make a feature film, you don’t have to move to Hollywood. It might take a little more resourcefulness, but you can do it right here in our region. Three local film professionals join Vermont Edition to talk about their latest projects: Chad Ervin, president of the Vermont Production Collective and director of the documentary Gone Guys; Emma Schlenoff, producer of The Obelisk and a Vermont Production Collective board member; and Alexey Hartlieb-Shea, who co-wrote The Obelisk and stars in it. Then; Shelburne Museum in Chittenden County celebrates a wide range of American art. If you visit, you’ll find everything from a round barn full of circus-themed figurines, to a Ticonderoga steamboat permanently beached on a green field. Through the end of October, you can also visit the exhibition “Making a Noise: Indigenous Sound Art.” The pieces on display are all by Indigenous artists, and they merge sound and textile design to create interactive works. Victoria Sunnergren is Shelburne Museum’s curator of Native American Art. She tells us more about the artists and their work. Broadcast live on Thursday, July 17 2025, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.

Many longtime educators understand that the traditional one-size-fits-all approach to teaching is not always effective. There are different types of learners with unique needs. Landmark College in Putney is designed for students who learn differently, like those with dyslexia, autism, or ADHD. The college marks its 40th anniversary this fall, and its new president Jim Dlugos is optimistic about its future. The Willowell Foundation runs outdoor learning programs in Addison County that let young students chart their own paths. Founder and executive director Matt Schlien discusses his efforts to revive the Walden Project, a high school program focused on ecology, wellness, civic engagement and time outdoors. Broadcast live on Wednesday, July 16, 2025, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m. Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or check us out on Instagram.

Sunil "Sunny" Eappen is the president and CEO of the University of Vermont Health Network. It’s the largest hospital system in Vermont where health insurance premiums are among the highest in the country. We talk with Dr. Eappen about why that is, and the role hospitals play in setting health care costs. He also discusses how he’s thinking about the hospital system’s budget for the coming year.

President Trump’s new travel ban is in effect. For a month now, people from 12 countries have been barred from entering the U.S., including Afghanistan, Burma and Eritrea. Seven other countries are partially banned, and the President has floated the idea of banning several more. We’ll hear how the travel ban affects refugees, green card holders, international students and others in our region. joined from Brattleboro by Joe Wiah, director of the Ethiopian Community Development Council, a refugee resettlement agency in Brattleboeo, Tracy Dolan, the director of Vermont’s state refugee office, and Kristen Connors, an immigration attorney at Montroll, Oettinger and Barquist in Burlington Plus: The Mexican consulate recently set up a mobile location in Brattleboro. We’ll hear from a Mexican farmworker living in Vermont amid the Trump Administration’s immigration crackdown.

A good jingle is short, catchy and teaches you a business name or phone number that you can't get out of your head — maybe even for years. This hour we celebrate the art of the local jingle. We from some jingle writers who have written some legendary earworms. Jim Giberty is based in Bethel and wrote ads for local ski areas, as well as some broader New England gems, most notable, The Lobster Claw in Cape Cod. Cary Reich is based in Florida, but penned songs for Pizza Putt and Wendell's Furniture that will be familiar to longtime Vermonters. And we hear from Daisy Nell, a folk musician who has just so happened to have her songs become local jingles - her most famous being from the 1980s for the Snowsville General Store. Broadcast live on Thursday, July 10, 2025, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m. Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or check us out on Instagram.

Scientists try to restore American chestnut trees to the northeast

Vermont marks the anniversary of the 2023 and 2024 summer floods

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 lawmaking. We speak with the executive director of the Vermont State Ethics Commission, Christina Sivret, and members of the House and Senate ethics committees, Rep. Martin LaLonde (D-South Burlington), and Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky, (P/D-Chittenden Central). Broadcast live on Monday, July 7, 2025, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m. Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or check us out on Instagram.

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 Jericho, Jason Boutin of Cajun's Snack Bar in Lowell, Jon Villeneuve of Kate's Food Truck in Jericho, and Josh Butler of Village Snack Bar in Rutland. Broadcast live on Wednesday, July 2, 2025, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m. Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or check us out on Instagram.

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 Tuesday, July 1st, 2025 at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m. Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message.

How local communities are working to save their general stores

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 case, alongside with his partner, Peter Harrigan, and two other couples. He died on Monday at the age of 79. We'll listen back to a 2019 interview he gave on Vermont Edition, and hear from Susan Murray of Burlington. She was one of the attorneys who represented Baker and the other plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Vermont Edition producer Andrea Laurion spoke with LGBTQ+ Vermonters who were coming of age — and coming out — when civil unions became legal. They were likely too young at the time to be thinking about marriage for themselves, but old enough to know what was going on and how it might affect them one day. We also talk with David Moats, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 2001 for his editorials about civil unions in the Rutland Herald.