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 what people had to say about it.

This piece is part of a project called The Listeners, an experiment in hyperlocal documentary storytelling from the Transom Story Lab. 

You can find the Transom post here and the New Yorker Radio Hour presentation here.

Reporting by Eve Abrams in Louisiana, Scott Carrier and Jenny Ament in Utah, Erica Heilman in Vermont, Yohance Lacour in Illinois and David Weinberg in California. It was produced by Sophie Crane. Mix and sound design by Josh Crane with music from Matthias Bossi and Jon Evans of Stellwagen Symphonette. 

Special thanks to Jay Allison, Jen Jerrett and David Krasnow.

The Brave Little State team is Josh Crane, Sabine Poux and Burgess Brown. Our intern is Sarah Bokelberg. 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.

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 Liam’s visit to Tutwiler here. 

RSVP to our upcoming event in Winooski!

This episode was reported by Liam Elder-Connors. Editing and production from Sabine Poux, Burgess Brown, Alicia Freese and Josh Crane. Our intern is Sarah Bokelberg. Angela Evancie is our Executive Producer. Theme music by Ty Gibbons; other music by Blue Dot Sessions.

Special thanks to Zoe McDonald, Catherine Hurley and Tom Marsh.

This episode was made possible with support from the Vermont Public Journalism Fund.

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.

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 — that has so many twins. Are twins really 'in the water'? What might cause this over generations?” 

Click here for the web version of this episode, including photos and a full transcript. 

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.

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 BLS newsletter!

This episode was reported by Burgess Brown. Editing and additional production from Sabine Poux and Josh Crane. Our executive producer is Angela Evancie. Theme music by Ty Gibbons; other music by Blue Dot Sessions.

Special thanks to Catherine Hurley and Marcie Gallagher.

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.

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 your cravings (hint hint) and tune in to learn more.

Thanks to Gary for the great question. Click here for photos and a full episode transcript.

This episode was reported by Sabine Poux. Editing and production from the rest of the BLS team: That’s Burgess Brown and Josh Crane. Our executive producer is Angela Evancie. Theme music by Ty Gibbons; other music by Blue Dot Sessions.

Special thanks to Kari Anderson, Bobby Lussier, Mikaela Lefrak, Jon Ehrens, Zoe McDonald, Phil Edfors, Shawn Harrington, Barbara Baraw, Hank Lambert, Michael Moser and everyone on Reddit who responded to our callout for fast food stories.

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 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 behind-the-scenes look at the show. We hope to see you there.

Click here for photos and a full episode transcript.

This episode was reported by Mikaela Lefrak. Editing and production from Sabine Poux, Josh Crane and Burgess Brown. Our executive producer is Angela Evancie. Theme music by Ty Gibbons; other music by Blue Dot Sessions.

Special thanks to Carly Berlin. 

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.

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 Brown. Editing and additional production from the BLS team: Sabine Poux and Josh Crane. Our executive producer is Angela Evancie. Theme music by Ty Gibbons; other music by Blue Dot Sessions.

Special thanks to Abagael Giles, Matt Kierstead, Gary Lipson, Dr. Arti Shuckla, Marjorie Gale and Kyle Casteel. 

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.

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 theme music; other music from Blue Dot Sessions.

Special thanks to Camila Van Order Gonzales, Alex Warner, Chris Pike, Prescott Nadeau, Gerald Levesque, Ronald Morse and Michael Skaza.

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.

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 guidance from the state of Vermont, head here.

Thanks to David Erich, of North Hero, for the great question.

This episode was reported and produced by Sabine Poux. Additional editing and production from Burgess Brown and Josh Crane. Angela Evancie is our executive producer. Ty Gibbons composed our theme music; other music from Blue Dot Sessions.

Special thanks to Kevin White and Andy Julow.

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.

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 Howard Weiss-Tisman and produced by Burgess Brown. Editing and additional production from Josh Crane and Sabine Poux. Angela Evancie is our executive producer. Ty Gibbons composed our theme music; other music from Blue Dot Sessions.

Special thanks to Becca Golden, Alicia Freese, Catherine Hurley, Ted Brady, Cheryl Morse, Dona Brown, Chris Campany, Austin Davis, Carolyn Partridge, Grant Reynolds, Joyce McKeema and Peter Gregory.

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.