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 Lake.

Find the web version of this story here.

This episode was reported and produced by Ruth Abramovitz and Dan Wanschura. It was edited by Morgan Springer. Additional editing from Dan Wanschura, Ellie Katz and Claire Keenan-Kurgan.

The Brave Little State team is Josh Crane, Sabine Poux and Burgess Brown. Our intern is Camila Van Order González. Our Executive Producer is Angela Evancie. Theme music by Ty Gibbons; Other music by Blue Dot Sessions.

As always, our journalism is better when you’re a part of it:

Brave Little State is a production of Vermont Public and a proud member of the NPR Network.

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 from our experience, and a full episode transcript, in our web post. 

A big shoutout to a little-known podcast called This American Life, which has done two all-day (and all-night) episodes that inspired this piece: “24 Hours at the Golden Apple” and “Rest Stop.”

This episode was reported and produced by Josh Crane, Sabine Poux and Burgess Brown. Our intern is Camila Van Order González. Our Executive Producer is Angela Evancie. Theme music by Ty Gibbons; Other music by Blue Dot Sessions.

Special thanks to Elodie Reed, Amy Tatko, Tricia Roy, Jessica Fay, Betsy LeBlanc, Sara Walker, Robert Blandon, Terrance Sayers, Glenn Varricchione, Tricia Roy, Cliff Mix, Minda Stridsberg, Brendan Grahn, Jean Koegler, Brenda Rose, Pete Niarchos and everyone else we spoke to at the Richmond park and ride on Labor Day 2025. 

As always, our journalism is better when you’re a part of it:

Brave Little State is a production of Vermont Public and a proud member of the NPR Network. 

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 driving up and down the three roads in question (sorry, neighbors!) — all in the name of journalism. 

And don’t miss the seven previous installments of this road-names-extravaganza. You can find them all here. 

This episode was reported by Burgess Brown, Lucia McCallum and Sabine Poux. Editing and additional production from Josh Crane. Our Executive Producer is Angela Evancie. Theme music by Ty Gibbons; Other music by Blue Dot Sessions and Universal Production Music.

Special thanks to Craig Goodenough, Bill Holiday, Joe Rivers, Mary Collins, Aroline Putnam, Paul Cate, Steve Picazio, Karalyn Mark, Jessica Leal, Trina Magi, Olivia Campbell, Eric Anderson, Corinne Cooper, Jennifer Boyer, Sarah Wilds and Bob Nuner.

As always, our journalism is better when you’re a part of it:

Brave Little State is a production of Vermont Public and a proud member of the NPR Network.

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 from Curtis Mraz, of New Haven:

“What is Vermont doing to protect our pollinators?”

For a full transcript of this episode and photos from our reporting, check out our web post.

This episode was reported by Sabine Poux. Editing and production from the rest of the BLS team: Burgess Brown and Josh Crane. Additional support from Ainslie McClellan, journalist at CBC Montreal and the host of a podcast called This is Montreal. Our intern is Lucia McCallum. Angela Evancie is our Executive Producer. Theme music by Ty Gibbons; other music by Blue Dot Sessions.

Special thanks to Abagael Giles, Howard Weiss-Tisman, Andrea Laurion, Laurie Kigonya, Todd Mallory, Seth Bedard, Noah Villamarin-Cutter, Valérie Fournier and Steve Dwinell. 

As always, our journalism is better when you’re a part of it:

Brave Little State is a production of Vermont Public and a proud member of the NPR Network. 

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 city together while remaining completely anonymous. Then, we look at what being a good opponent at chess can teach us about building strong, long-lasting relationships.  

As always, our journalism is better when you’re a part of it:

Brave Little State is a production of Vermont Public and a proud member of the NPR Network.

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 of the Vermont Lake Monsters mean for the team, and what does minor league baseball mean to Vermonters?”

We’re revisiting that episode this baseball season. 

Find the web version of this episode here.

This episode was reported by Liam Elder-Connors and produced by Angela Evancie. Editing and additional production from Myra Flynn and Josh Crane. Engineering support from Peter Engisch. The encore was produced by Burgess Brown. Angela Evancie is Brave Little State’s executive producer. Our theme music is by Ty Gibbons; other music by Blue Dot Sessions.

Special thanks to Kate Phillips and Kevin Trevellan. 

As always, our journalism is better when you’re a part of it:

Brave Little State is a production of Vermont Public and a proud member of the NPR Network. 

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 Vermonters know about our flag? And is it time to update ours too?”

Have an idea for a new Vermont flag design? Check out our web post for a template and instructions to submit it to the show — we’ll post our favorites! We’ve also included question-asker Brian’s proposed redesign as inspiration.

For more on flag design, check out this TED Talk from Roman Mars: “Why city flags may be the worst-designed thing you've never noticed”

This episode was reported by Mikaela Lefrak. Editing and production from the BLS team: Sabine Poux, Burgess Brown and Josh Crane. Our intern is Lucia McCallum. Angela Evancie is our Executive Producer. Theme music by Ty Gibbons; other music by Blue Dot Sessions.

Special thanks to Zoe McDonald, Amanda Gustin, Ted Kaye and Katie Grant.

As always, our journalism is better when you’re a part of it:

Brave Little State is a production of Vermont Public and a proud member of the NPR Network. 

Not being able to drive in this state can be isolating — especially for older Vermonters navigating the challenges of aging.  

Ninety-two-year-old Gerry Quinlan has found a way, with a network of friends that can drive her to their weekly coffee dates in Essex.

But she’s wondering how others do it, so she came to us with this question:

"How do you maintain a social life in Vermont once you can no longer drive?"

Join us as we ride along with Gerry and others who have given up their keys, but not their communities and friendships.

For a full transcript of this episode and photos from our reporting, check out our web post.

This episode was reported by Burgess Brown. Editing and production from the rest of the BLS team: Sabine Poux and Josh Crane. Additional editing from Erica Heilman. Our intern is Lucia McCallum. Angela Evancie is our Executive Producer. Theme music by Ty Gibbons; other music by Blue Dot Sessions.

Special thanks to Lilias Ide, Andrea Stauffeneker, Laura Brooke, Martina Anderson and Andrew Bernstein. 

As always, our journalism is better when you’re a part of it:

Brave Little State is a production of Vermont Public and a proud member of the NPR Network. 

Wanting children, and not being able to have them, is an experience people rarely discuss publicly. But it’s one that cuts close to the bone for many — like Gina Accorsi, of Milton. 

Gina is grieving the loss of a path she can’t take, and she’s looking for support as she charts a new one. She reached out to us with some questions:

“How common is childlessness in Vermont today? Is there a support system or community acceptance here for childless people?”

If you’re looking for more support, check out AllPath Family Building. We also posted a callout seeking advice from Redditors.

For a full transcript of this episode and photos from our reporting, check out our web post.

This episode was reported by Nina Keck. Editing and production from the rest of the BLS team: Sabine Poux, Burgess Brown and Josh Crane. Our intern is Lucia McCallum. Angela Evancie is our Executive Producer. Theme music by Ty Gibbons; other music by Blue Dot Sessions.

Special thanks to Kim Butterfield, Felicia Kornbluh and Ananda Boyer.

As always, our journalism is better when you’re a part of it:

Brave Little State is a production of Vermont Public and a proud member of the NPR Network. 

Do you know what rocker panels are? No? Well, one listener found out hers were rusted during her annual car inspection — and that they were in need of a pricey repair. Vermont is one of just nine states that still requires annual safety inspections for all cars. And over and over, car inspections — especially car inspections that end in failure — bring frustrated Vermonters to the BLS question box. 

Three listeners want to know why Vermont’s inspection requirements persist, even as other states have axed theirs. And they ask: Do inspections actually make the roads here safer?

For photos from our trip to Brian’s North End Automotive (feat. Potato the dog) check out the web version of this story.

Thanks to Keese Lane and Mike Santos of Essex Junction, and Julianne Jones of Derby, for the great questions.

This episode was reported by Josh Crane. Editing and production from the rest of the BLS team, Sabine Poux and Burgess Brown. Our intern is Catherine Morrissey. Angela Evancie is our Executive Producer. Theme music by Ty Gibbons; other music by Blue Dot Sessions.

Special thanks to Rick Green, Steve Belitsos, Brian Chase, Drew Cline,  Amy Tatko, Scott Davidson, Jeremy Reed, Ernie Patnoe, Pete Hirschfeld, Abagael Giles, Joey Palumbo, April McCullum, Melody Bodette, Mike Dunn, Andrea Laurion and Lola Duffort, .

As always, our journalism is better when you’re a part of it:

Brave Little State is a production of Vermont Public and a proud member of the NPR Network.