Vermont Edition

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.

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 influence of her personal identity on her poetry. Broadcast on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m. Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or check us out on Instagram.

What it's like being a first-term state lawmaker

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 East Montpelier and Foxy’s in Barre. Maddie Cobb is a co-owner of Slowpoke Exchange, a buy-sell-trade shop for vintage and modern clothing in Barre. Heather Ely is the executive director of the Rainbow Bridge Community Center in Barre - a nonprofit that provides support for vulnerable communities and a gathering space for connection. And Lee Baker is a potter and a co-organizer of Vermont Queer Craft. They also shared their thoughts on making Central Vermont home, the recent Supreme Court decision upholding a Tennessee ban on gender affirming care, and about Pride Month – where Barre just hosted its fifth annual pride parade. Broadcast on Monday, June 23, 2025, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m. Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or check us out on Instagram.

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 Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling explores the ties between pseudoscience and the erosion of trust in institutions like government and media. Mima Tipper, who lives in Waitsfield and South Hero, tells a story of travel, family and young love in her debut young adult novel, "Kat's Greek Summer."

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. This episode also includes an interview with Boston Globe correspondent Paul Heintz about recent ICE detentions in Vermont, including an immigrant rights advocate and his 18-year-old stepdaughter. Broadcast live on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m. Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or check us out on Instagram.

Navigating changes and challenges on Burlington's Church street

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 medicinal and culinary uses of the many herbs Gladstar grows at home. Broadcast live on Thursday, June 12, 2025, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m. Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or check us out on Instagram.

"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 distant future to a world that in ten thousand years is visited by one man who may or may not be the last surviving member of an otherwise wiped-out human race. Plus, we'll discuss some of the better ways you can feel like the last person on earth by exploring great out-of-the-way wilderness hikes with Claire Polfus, a recreation program manager for the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation.

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; rebroadcast at 7 p.m. Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or check us out on Instagram.

As Senate debates the budget, Vermont Sen. Peter Welch hopes "we kill the bill"

Summer reading: Ease into the season with these book recommendations

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 FIFA World Cup champion, an Olympic medalist and one of the best midfielders to come out of the U.S. We’ll hear more about coaching in Vermont, and her popular Men in Blazers podcast, the Women’s Game.

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 legislature enacted a new regulation in 2022 to end gas-powered car sales by 2035. To do that, manufacturers would have to increase the percentage of EVs for sale in Vermont. State agencies said the strategy led to an uptick in EV ownership. But then, about three weeks ago, Vermont’s Governor Phil Scott issued an executive order halting enforcement of this law for 19 months. He also said his administration "remains committed to achieving emissions reductions, including vehicle emissions." We hear more about what's going on in Vermont from freelance journalist Nathaniel Eisen of Colchester, who recently covered the story for Inside Climate News. Vermont's Secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources, Julie Moore, gives us the state's perspective, and Democratic state Senator Anne Watson explains why she's disappointed in the governor's decision. Plus, Brent Dragon, sales manager for the heavy truck dealership R.R. Charlebois in Milton, tells us about the trucking industry's take on the mandate and the state's decision to put it on hold. Broadcast live on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m. Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or check us out on Instagram.

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 education and independent school tuition. We'll hear from Alison Novak with Seven Days, Ethan Weinstein with VTDigger, and Vermont Public’s Lola Duffort.

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 development organization. Plus, we’ll talk about how other small towns can attract businesses that bring good jobs to the area.

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 Environmental Conservation. They’ll tell us about the biggest threats to these water bodies, like phosphorus runoff.