January 16, 2026 (recorded on 1/15): Every year, the Public Assets Institute releases its State of Working Vermont report. The document outlines the economic landscape for working Vermonters. Unfortunately, the ratio of costs to wages is out of whack for many households. Julie Lowell, PAI's Economic Security Policy and Outreach Director, breaks down the full report. 

Read the full SWVT report here: https://publicassets.org/research-publications/state-of-working-vermont-2025

Check out the Joint Fiscal Office's Basic Needs Budget reports: https://ljfo.vermont.gov/publications/report/basic-needs-budget-reports

Julie mentioned Voices for Vermont's Children - here's their website: https://www.voicesforvtkids.org/

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January 9, 2026: Welcome to a new year and the second half of the Legislature's biennium! This week, lawmakers returned to the State House. Gov. Phil Scott focused the majority of his State of the State Address on education reform and Act 73.

Journalist John Walters joins the conversation this week to reflect on the opening of the session. He shares his thoughts on campaign announcements by Molly Gray for Lieutenant Governor and Tim Ashe for State Auditor. 

Read Gov. Scott's State of the State Address: https://governor.vermont.gov/press-release/governor-phil-scott-delivers-2026-state-state-address

Check out the State Auditor's reports and audits in progress: https://auditor.vermont.gov/

Read John's work at The Vermont Political Observer: https://thevpo.org/

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December 19, 2025: As we finish up 2025, Rep. Emilie Kornheiser joins the show to break down the annual "December 1st letter." In this document, the VT Department of Taxes outlines the expected education tax yields for the upcoming fiscal year. This year, the department is forecasting an average increase of 11.9 percent. 

NOTE: The number, however, is not set in stone and may change by the end of the the Legislative session. 

Find the December 1st letter here: https://tax.vermont.gov/press-release/commissioner-taxes-releases-fy2027-education-tax-rate-letter

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December 12, 2025: Overhauling Vermont's school districts and governmental structures are two options being floated to control education costs. Enter the School District Redistricting Task Force and its examination of the state's education system. Windham County State Senator Wendy Harrison served on the task force and today outlines its recommendations and report.

Read the Task Force's report here: https://aoa.vermont.gov/school-district-redistricting-task-force

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December 5, 2025: John Walters of The Vermont Political Observer is on the show this week. We discuss education, housing, and tariffs. 

View the Agency of Commerce and Community Development's Canadian visitation data: https://accd.vermont.gov/canada-research

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November 28, 2025: Randy Holhut, news editor for The Commons, joins this week's conversation with an update on local news. He shares his thoughts on high school sports, changes at Vermont Independent Media, and what the 2026 elections could mean for VGOP. 

The Commons: https://www.commonsnews.org/

The Deerfield Valley News: https://www.deerfieldvalleynews.org/

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September 12, 2025: Gov. Phil Scott surprised many when he vetoed H.91. Lawmakers designed the bill to address homelessness while phasing out what is commonly known as the emergency hotel/motel program. 

This week's episode features a reading of the bill as it passed the Vermont Legislature and is one piece of multiple conversations exploring the thoughts and decisions that go into developing legislation. Why a full read? While this bill was discussed in the press, not all its details were printed, and we wanted audience members to receive a fuller picture. Many thanks go to Journalist Leah McGrath Goodman for helping read through the bill. 

To view H.91: https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/H.91

Gov. Scott's veto letter: https://governor.vermont.gov/document/h91-veto-letter

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September 5, 2025: Rep. Leslie Goldman dives into systems and health care in this week's episode. Paraphrasing a former professor, Goldman said that systems get the results they were designed to achieve. If so, what does that say about health care in Vermont? Goldman represents Windham 3 and serves on the House Committee on Health Care.

Read S.27 (Act 21): https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/S.27

Read H. 71: https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/H.71

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August 29, 2025—Rep. Christopher Morrow weighs in on his first session as a new lawmaker. He's mulling over issues around leadership and investing in government oversight, education, and health care. Morrow represents the tri-county Windham-Windsor-Bennington district. 

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August 22, 2025 (prerecorded 8/21): John Walters is back and sharing his concerns about Vermont's news (small and getting smaller) news environment. He discusses campaign finance filings and preparing for the 2026 gubernatorial race. 

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