Vermont Edition

About 6% of Vermonters are veterans. That's nearly 39,000 people, as of 2023.Many veterans face mental and physical challenges because of experiences they had while serving. They often have to navigate complex legal systems to make sure they receive the benefits and services they’re entitled to.Ahead of Veterans Day, we learn about a few local programs that support veterans. Misha Pemble-Belkin is an Army veteran and the coordinator of a veterans program for Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports. They run year-round sports and recreation programs for people with cognitive, developmental, physical and emotional disabilities. Donald Hayes runs the Vermont Veterans Legal Assistance Project at Vermont Law and Graduate School. He’s also volunteered as a ski instructor with the New England Healing Sports Association and Vermont Adaptive.We also hear from John Curtis, a veteran, and Kate Adams, who together run Ascutney Mountain Horse Farm in Perkinsville. They will host a free event for veterans, first responders, family and friends on Veterans Day.Then, Vermont Edition managing editor Jon Ehrens speaks with Seven Days music editor Chris Farnsworth about some new releases from Vermont musicians that have caught his ear. 

It’s the first installment of our three part – or three course – series on food. Up first – appetizers. We’ll talk dips, dumplings, charcuterie and cheese. We get ideas for what to serve your guests this holiday season when we talk with Pete Colman, the founder of Vermont Salumi, which makes all kinds of cured meats, Cara Tobin, the chef and co-owner of two Burlington restaurants focused on Middle Eastern flavors, Honey Road and the Grey Jay, and Nurbu Sherpa who runs Sherpa Foods, which sells pre-packaged Nepalese dumplings called momos and handmade sauce at co-ops and markets around New England.We also talk about ways to support one another in this season through the sharing of food.. This hour you’ll hear about a couple different organizations that offer free meals or groceries to those in need.Broadcast live on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or check us out on Instagram.

As a high school history teacher, Tyler Alexander is always trying to figure out how to make events like the Civil War feel relevant to young Vermonters. Well, what’s more relevant to teenagers than the frustrations of love?Alexander is the author of a new nonfiction book about the Civil War called "If I Can Get Home This Fall: A Story of Love, Loss, and a Cause in the Civil War." It tells the story of Dan Mason, a Union soldier from Glover who wrote over 100 love letters to his lover from the front lines of the war. The book highlights his views on slavery, the violence of war and his long-distance love.Then; Robin Crofut-Brittingham of Montreal loves birds, and it shows in her new book. She crafted detailed watercolor illustrations of hundreds of different bird species, all with names and descriptions that will inspire you to bust out the binoculars and get birding. Her new book of illustrations is called The Illuminated Book of Birds. She joins us to talk about the process of creating these illustrations, the joy of painting birds, and some of her favorite species. Broadcast live on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or check us out on Instagram.

What’s the story of the phrase Jeezum crow? How’s Vermont doing on composting? And why do people like the band Phish so much? These are just some of the questions taken on by the Vermont Public podcast Brave Little State over its 200 episodes.Today on Vermont Edition: we celebrate our homegrown podcast’s 200th episode. To mark the milestone, the Brave Little State team answered 20 questions in one show.  We’ll chat with the podcast’s lead producer and one of its founders. And we’ll even get the story behind the podcast’s perfectly Vermont name.

We're one month into a government shutdown and the ramifications are being felt throughout the state. We're joined by joined by Congresswoman Becca Balint to talk about the shutdown and why she says Democrats should hold the line to extend ACA subsidies. Then, we continue our discussion and take listener questions on changes to health insurance with Mike Fisher and Marjorie Stinchcomb from Vermont Legal Aid.Broadcast live on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or check us out on Instagram.

Tomorrow evening, neighborhoods across our region will be infiltrated by ghosts, witches, princesses, superheroes and Louvre jewel thieves. It’s almost Halloween!Halloween brings out our crafty, creative sides. This time of year can also create a slight panic if you’ve waited too long to put together a costume for yourself or your kid. Thankfully, we've got a bunch of experts in the creative arts of dress up, crafting, and costuming.Jennifer LaCasse, clothing supervisor for the ReSOURCE in Williston, gives us the scoop on costumes that have come through the store. We also heard from Sarah Bush, the costume shop supervisor for the University of Vermont’s Theater Department, and Luke Hungerford of Rail City Fan Fest in St. Albans, for a professional point of view and tips on experimenting with new materials. 

On Saturday, Oct. 18th, the world-famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma sat down on a folding chair in the grass near the banks of the Connecticut River. It was dawn in Hanover, New Hampshire, and mist was rising off the water. He took a deep breath, then began to play.This was "We Are Water," a special series of performances inspired by the waterways of the north. It was part of the reopening celebrations for Dartmouth’s Hopkins Center for the Arts, which just completed a three-year renovation.Yo-Yo Ma is a fellow at Dartmouth and the founder of the Silk Road Ensemble, a Grammy-winning group that plays music from all over the world. For "We Are Water," he teamed up with Chris Newell, a Passamaquoddy musician, educator and Dartmouth graduate whose work is closely tied to the lands and waters of New England. Newell and Ma were joined for the sunrise ceremony and evening concert by a diverse group of Indigenous and local musicians: Jeremy Dutcher, Andri Snaer Magnason, Mali Obomsawin, Nance Parker, Roger Paul, Lokotah Sanborn, Lauren Stevens, and Ida Mae Specker, a fiddler from Andover. Their performances combined music, poetry and storytelling.Then; a discussion of "Along the River's Way," a new multimedia exhibition and oral history project about elder artists in the Mad River Valley. We hear from Christopher Wiersema, the executive director of Mad River Valley TV, and Tracy Brannstrom, a local journalist and the primary interviewer for the project. The exhibition will be open to the public at Mad River Valley Arts from Nov. 6 through Dec. 13 in Waitsfield.Broadcast on Wednesday, October 29, 2025, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or check us out on Instagram.

Windham County author explores how the ultra-rich shape everyday life

Vermont and Maine are the only two states that allow incarcerated people to vote. A new report tells us what is and isn’t working about ballot access in Maine and Vermont prisons.Kristen Budd, a senior research analyst at the Sentencing Project, authored the report. Tim Burgess, executive director of VT CURE, voted in the 2006 and 2008 elections while he was incarcerated in Vermont. And Vermont's Secretary of State, Sarah Copeland Hanzas, is assembling a new task force to increase voter participation in four underserved populations, including the incarcerated. Then: October is Substance Use Prevention Month. The Turning Point Center of Rutland runs a peer recovery coaching program for people in Vermont’s prisons who struggle with addiction. We’ll hear how the program’s going from Tracie Hauck, executive director of the Turning Point Center of Rutland.Broadcast live on Monday, October 27, 2025, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or check us out on Instagram.

The signs are all there – stick season is almost upon us. The skies are gray, the wind’s a blowin', and the leaves are dropping. Despite the changing seasons, the gardeners among us are still busy, trouble shooting garden falls from the summer, prepping beds for the winter and bringing potted plants indoors. For anyone with turnip trouble or potato problems, it's Vermont Edition’s annual fall gardening show with Charlie Nardozzi, gardening consultant and host of All Things Gardening on Vermont Public.