Vermont has a special history with horses. The Morgan horse is our state animal and some of the most famous endurance horses come from this state. There are also therapeutic benefits to horseback riding that can help people build their confidence too. 

To learn about what it takes to raise healthy horses, a panel of experts with personal equine connections will share their insights. Mary Fay leads the Whispering Pines 4-H Club and helps coordinate the Vermont 4-H Program. She lives in Westford and has been a 4-H leader for 55 years. We also spoke with Ripton resident Molly Witters, an equine veterinarian with Vermont Large Animal Clinic and Hospital in Milton, and Margaret Bojanowski, farm manager and riding director at the Eddy Farm School in Middlebury.

Vermont schools are required to provide comprehensive sex education. Classes cover everything from STIs to consent. Jenna Emerson, a certified sex educator and stand-up comedian, and Celia Bird, a family nurse practitioner and comprehensive sex educator, share how they create age-appropriate lesson plans, and embrace the awkward humor of the human body. 

At a national level, the Trump administration cut sex ed funds for California after the state refused to remove references to gender identity from its curriculum. If the same thing happens in Vermont, the state could lose more that $650,000 dollars in federal funds. We’ll learn more from Carter Sherman, reproductive health and justice reporter with the Guardian US who’s been following this story. She’s also the author of The Second Coming: Sex and the Next Generation’s Fight Over Its Future.

Can you get the latest COVID vaccine? The answer might depend on how old you are, what state you live in or whether you have a prescription. Under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is undergoing a period of upheaval marked by firings and resignations. Kennedy also fired the members of the CDC's immunization panel, and the new panel hasn't met in weeks.

Weighing in on Vermont Edition is: Dr. Anne Schuchat, a former deputy director at the CDC; Julie Arel, the interim head of Vermont’s Department of Health; and Dr. Timothy Lahey, an infectious disease physician at the University of Vermont Medical Center. Plus, Vermont Public senior political reporter Bob Kinzel talks about the CDC and RFK, Jr. with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt).

Broadcast live on Monday, September 8, 2025, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.

Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or check us out on Instagram.

The Vermont alt weekly Seven Days is celebrating its 30th anniversary. Every week, they publish a print paper, and every day they share local news and stories online. We’ll hear from the paper’s co-founder and deputy publisher about their favorite memories from the past 30 years, and what it’ll take to keep the paper going for 30 more.

Plus, a check-in with Vermont Public's two newest music hosts, Tad Cautious and DJ Llu. They’ll tell us stories from their radio roots, explain how they come up with playlists, and share some favorite new songs. If you’re sick of listening to the same five albums over and over, they have some great ideas for you on how to diversify your musical tastes. 

When we talk about schools, we usually focus on what happens inside the classroom, but what happens in the cafeteria also plays an important role in learning.

In the second installment of our fall series School Stories, we’re talking school meals. Food services coordinators Susan Grabowski of the Windham Southeast Supervisory Union and Kathy Alexander of the Mount Abe and Addison Northwest school districts discuss menus, how federal funding cuts could affect school meals and the pros and cons of following the USDA’s rules.

We'll also hear from a school district in southern Vermont, where a team of Afghan refugees cook up food in the cafeteria, including halal meals for Muslim and vegetarian students.

Broadcast live on Tuesday, September 2, 2025, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.

Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or check us out on Instagram.

Vermonters are very particular about our ice cream. It makes sense — we live in the land of milk and maple syrup. Chances are that if you stop a person in the street, they'll be able to quickly rattle off their favorite creemee spot and classic order.

On Vermont Edition's annual creemee show, we talk with the purveyors of some of your favorite frozen treats in the region. This year we hear from Hannah Connor, the café and kitchen manager at Red Hen Baking Company in Middlesex, Jess Yates, owner of Yates Family Orchard in Monkton (creators the Dreamee), and Amanda Ellis Thurber of Lilac Ridge Farm in West Brattleboro.

Plus: Asa Waterworth eats an eye-popping number of creemees every year — upwards of 50, she estimates. She takes photos of her cones and offers up recommendations on her instagram account, @creemeechronicles. Asa and Mikaela got a cone together and talked about what makes a perfect creemee down at Ice Cream Evan's at the Burlington Waterfront.