Brave Little State

You might have heard that the U.S. turns 250 this year. It’s a big, corporate to-do — the phrase “America 250” is plastered all over baseball hats and bags of potato chips.  But what do Americans really make of this anniversary? The historian Jill Lepore and audiomaker Sophie Crane wanted to find out. They sent reporters all across the country, from California to Louisiana to Vermont, to listen to...

Right now, there are around 150 Vermonters behind bars in Tutwiler, Mississippi.  Question-asker Devon Kurtz is wondering: Why does the state send these men to a private prison more than a thousand miles away — especially since there's a vacant prison in Windsor, Vermont?  Click here for the web version of this episode, including photos and a full transcript. And read an in-depth dispatch from Lia...

There’s a saying that twins are “in the water” in the town of Sheldon. Our journey to get to the bottom of this curious bit of local lore takes us from a dairy farm in Franklin County to a university in Amsterdam and back. Thanks to the amateur investigators who aided us along the way, and to Ellen Stanley, our winning question-asker. She’s wondering: “I live next to a community — Sheldon, Vermont...

Inside a cavernous redemption warehouse in the Upper Valley, customers come to exchange bottles and cans for coins — and to see bottle-sorter Teera “Sweet T” Paye.  We visited thanks to a question from Kevin Donohue of Thetford. He asked,“Who redeems bottles and cans in Vermont? Why are there so few places to do so?” Click here for photos and a full episode transcript. And here to sign up for the...

People love to highlight Vermont “firsts” — like, how we’re the first state to ban billboards and to approve civil unions. Or how we’re first in the nation in maple syrup production and number of craft breweries per capita.  Gary Gulka, of Cabot, wants to know: Where is Vermont ranked dead last? As we waded through a sea of last-place statistics, one stood out to us more than any other. Satisfy yo...

We all accumulate lots of … stuff. Increasingly, we’re cramming more of that stuff into self-storage facilities: those fields of metal lockers, arranged in neat, industrial rows.  Join us as we explore the stuff — and stories — we usually keep stored away. Thanks to Chris Robbins of Middlebury for the great question. JOIN US! We’re headed to Northern Stage in White River Junction to give fans a be...

This is a tale about what happens when a toxic industry booms and busts, the mess that’s left behind and the fight over how to clean it up. Thanks to Morgan Pratt, Ann Fano and Carol Fano for the great questions. You can find the web version of this story here .  JUST ANNOUNCED: Join us in April in White River Junction for a behind-the-scenes look at the show! This episode was reported by Burgess...

Fire departments across the country are struggling to find volunteers. But in Norwich, new recruits are lining up.  We spent a weekend at the firehouse to find out why. You can find the web version of this story here . This episode was reported by Josh Crane. Additional editing and production from Burgess Brown and Sabine Poux. Angela Evancie is our executive producer. Ty Gibbons composed our them...

Ice is unavoidable during winter on the Champlain Islands. Surrounded on all sides by an icy expanse, islanders embrace this seasonal terrain — as a place to walk the dog, to skate and to fish.  One North Hero resident sees trucks of ice fishermen driving out onto the lake and wants to know: How do they know when it's safe?  You can find the web version of this story here . For ice fishing guidanc...

Vermont has among the weakest forms of county government in the United States, placing a big burden on towns. Is there a better way forward? You can find the web version of this story here . Thanks to everyone who submitted questions about counties, including Gary Novosel of Addison County, Paul Hochanadel of Chittenden County and Michael Moser of Lamoille County. This episode was reported by Howa...

The Vermont National Guard usually takes orders from the state. But at the end of 2025, President Trump deployed the Vermont guard to the Caribbean — and Gov. Scott said he had no control over the president’s orders. It gave this question from a listener newfound relevance:  “Who controls the deployment of the Vermont National Guard if orders from the federal government and the state are in confli...

Today, the origin story of the Appalachian Trail, which stretches more than 2,000 miles from Maine to Georgia. But it was a peak in southern Vermont that inspired the idea of the trail in the first place.  Thanks to one of our favorite podcasts, Off the Path , for sharing this story with us. Here’s a link to the original web post. For more stories from the trail, check out our episodes, “ What’s i...

A few years ago, John Haffner was digging in his White River Junction backyard when his shovel hit a glass bottle buried underground. Then he found another, and another — all with words like “remedy,” “tonic” and “quick cure” embossed on them. John wants to know why there are so many of these old bottles around and, more importantly, what was in them?  Local historian and independent reporter Kelb...

Question-asker Manny recently got out of prison. He wants to learn about his options for transitional housing — a place where he could stay sober while readjusting to life outside a prison cell.  It turns out, those options look very different today than they would have even a few years ago. To see photos from our reporting, check out the web version of this story here .  This episode was reported...

Rutland — or, “RutVegas” — gets a pretty bad rap outside the city’s limits. But some of Rutland’s most passionate cheerleaders say there’s a side of the city people are missing. Thanks to Linda Mullin of Rutland for the great question. If you want to be part of a future BLS live voting round, join us in Jeffersonville on Dec. 3 at Lot 6 Brewing. Reserve your ticket and find more information here ....

Leave your grocery store apples at home and join our search for this most unusual Vermont fruit. For photos from our journey, check out the web version of our story here . And if you want to read up on apples, here are three books that were helpful in our research: Apples of Uncommon Character by Rowan Jacobsen (2014) The Illustrated History of Apples in the US and Canada by Daniel J. Bussey (2017...

For the 200th episode of the show, we set ourselves a challenge: take on 20 listener questions in a single episode. We went back to the very beginning of our archive — combing through thousands of questions — and picked out some of our favorites that we’ve never answered before: about apple pie, nudity laws, haunted houses and Subarus. Laughter ensues. Find the web version of this story here . Thi...

“There was this huge divide in, like, social grouping and connection … No one really talked to each other.” “Making friends at the high school wasn't really my priority because I felt like I had nothing in common with them at all.” “I think the closer we got to graduation, the more it kind of came out.”  “Financial class absolutely affects everything beyond financial class in the classroom. Absolu...

There are five Great Lakes: Superior, Ontario, Michigan, Huron and Erie. But for a few fleeting weeks in the late 1990s, Lake Champlain made six. How did this happen? To answer that question from Erin Robbason of West Rutland, we pass the mic to our friends at Interlochen Public Radio and the podcast Point North for a story about Lake Champlain’s brief and controversial stint as the sixth Great La...

We took a full-day detour to answer this question from Heather Channon of South Burlington:  "Who is using all of the park-and-ride lots?" We spent 12 straight hours (yes, you read that correctly) at one of the busiest park and rides in the state, on one of the busiest travel days of the year, to find out.  This is the story of our day — and all the people we met along the way.  Check out photos f...

Every summer, we add a new chapter to our favorite annual tradition: investigating the origins of Vermont’s strangest road names, as chosen by our listeners. This summer’s crop included Horn of the Moon Road in East Montpelier, Scotch Hollow Road in Newbury and Goodenough Road in Brattleboro. Tune in to hear us raid town archives, chase down local lore… and spend an inordinate amount of time drivi...

Starting this summer, Vermont farmers are some of the first in the nation to face major restrictions on neonicotinoids — a kind of pesticide widely used to treat corn and soy plants. In part, that’s because neonics are killing honeybees. Quebec has had a similar law on the books for years. So we head north of the border to see what we can learn from our Canadian neighbors and answer this question...

Today, we're sharing an episode of a podcast we really like. It's called Essential Salt , a show about connection, local storytelling and how getting to know your neighbors might change the way you see yourself. It's a collaboration between Maine Public and the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies at the Maine College of Art and Design. In this episode , we get to know a famous figure who drew a...

July in Vermont means hot dogs and peanuts and Cracker Jacks… and summer baseball. A few summers ago, reporter Liam Elder-Connors joined question-asker Emma Ramirez-Richer in the stands at Centennial Field to share some Dippin’ Dots, root for the Lake Monsters and chat with fans about Emma’s winning question. The team had just been sold the year before and Emma wanted to know:  “What does the sale...

Close your eyes and try to picture the Vermont flag… If you’re drawing a blank — you're not alone. Our flag defies almost all the flag design rules set out by the North American Vexillological Association.  That’s part of the reason why Brian Sewell, of Burlington, thinks Vermont should consider an upgrade. He asked: “Other states are undergoing redesigns of their state flags. How much do Vermonte...