Vermont Edition

Vermont Public

4.3 (97)
SOCIETY & CULTURE
UPDATED DAILY

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.

1D AGO

Three Courses with Vermont Edition: Main Dishes

It’s the second installment of our three-course November series on holiday food. Last week was appetizers. This week – main courses.If you love a traditional meal, we’ll learn about what Vermonters in the 1800s served on their Thanksgiving tables with Christine Scales, the director of education and interpretation at the Billings Farm Museum. Then we hear from chef and owner of a restaurant and inn right along the Canadian border in Orleans County – the Derby Line Village Inn, Fritz Halbedl about some offbeat meal centerpieces to keep your guests on their toes. We also hear how the turkey, and turkey sausage gets made with Paul Stone, founder of Stonewood Farm, a family-run poultry operation in Orwell.

50 min
2D AGO

Town by Town: Grafton

Vermont Edition heads to Grafton in Windham County for the latest installment in our monthly “Town by Town” series. Grafton is known for its cross-country ski trails, its award-winning cheddar cheese, the centuries-old Grafton Inn, and its tight-knit community of longtime residents. Our guests include: Grafton News editor Wendy Martin; lifelong Grafton resident Cynthia Gibbs; Patrick Cooperman of the Cooperman Company, which manufactures fifes and drums; Windham Foundation executive director Dan Lerner; Vermont Farmstead Cheese company president Kent Underwood; and Nikolas Katrick, executive director of the Nature Museum at Grafton. Each month for "Town by Town," we spend an hour together learning about one of Vermont’s 252 towns or cities. Hear from regular folks and town leaders about what life is like there and how the town culture and economy have changed over the years. At the end of the hour, a guest helps us randomly select our next town by spinning a big Wheel of Fortune-style spinner.

57 min
4D AGO

Local programs offer veterans connection to nature

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.

50 min
NOV 6

Three Courses with Vermont Edition: Appetizers

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.

50 min
NOV 5

Civil War love letters shed light on Vermont's place in history

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.

50 min
NOV 4

Brave Little State's road to 200 episodes

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.

50 min
NOV 3

Rep. Becca Balint on the government shutdown and ACA subsidies

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.

50 min
OCT 30

Homemade Halloween costumes bring out the creative side

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.

50 min

See All (156)

4.3

out of 5

97 Ratings

An interesting listen

09/17/2024

JJ90909

I’m from New England and love visiting Vermont. The hosts are always polite even when callers are a little blunt. Although the callers tend to be very nice! You can learn a lot from this show regardless of where you live. One suggestion I have is that while each episode says it’s been edited for clarity and brevity, it feels like some content could be cut such as calls from people who can’t hear the hosts or vice versa. The hosts having to cut off callers who go on for too long is a little awkward too (maybe this interaction is left in for transparency?).
Love the show but…..

01/14/2023

lake/farmgirl

I love the show but some of the programs are just boring and useless. I love Jane Lindholm and miss her very much, the new hosts voices are super annoying. I love when brave little state does it because they are clear and factual.
Unprofessional

02/23/2023

123FakeSt

You don’t seem to have an editor. You leave in irrelevant calls, and the resulting fluster that it causes the hosts. Mikaela stutters and stammers and she sounds perpetually stuffed up. “Verbont” I can’t stand it. The guests are good, and the topics are interesting. Please make it sound more professional and smoother
I'm a Vermont Edition Fan!

07/20/2017

PMullery

Jane Lindholm does an amazing job of ferreting out the issues that are critical to all of us living in Vermont. She has a wonderful interview style - kind, calm, insightful. Her show is on daily, and I am continually amazed at how many topics of interest and significance there are to cover in our small state. Thank you, Jane. Thank you, Vermont Public Radio and everyone who contributes financially to keep Vermont Edition on the air. I'd give Vermont Edition a 5+ star if it were available.

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.