Vermont Edition

July 1st, 2025 marks the 25th anniversary of civil unions in Vermont. This legal alternative to marriage was the first of its kind in the United States.

In the Vermont Supreme Court case Baker v. Vermont, the court ruled that the state had no legal basis to discriminate against same-sex couples. If the legislature would not allow same-sex couples to get marriage licenses, lawmakers would have to figure out a legal alternative. The result: civil unions.

Stan Baker was the lead plaintiff on that case, alongside with his partner, Peter Harrigan, and two other couples. He died on Monday at the age of 79. We'll listen back to a 2019 interview he gave on Vermont Edition, and hear from Susan Murray of Burlington. She was one of the attorneys who represented Baker and the other plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

Vermont Edition producer Andrea Laurion spoke with LGBTQ+ Vermonters who were coming of age — and coming out — when civil unions became legal. They were likely too young at the time to be thinking about marriage for themselves, but old enough to know what was going on and how it might affect them one day. 

We also talk with David Moats, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 2001 for his editorials about civil unions in the Rutland Herald.

Our region is home to celebrated poets from a wide variety of personal backgrounds. On this Vermont Edition, we revisit interviews with four local poets that we recorded in April to mark National Poetry Month. 

Bianca Stone of Brandon reflects on her first year as Vermont’s poet laureate, Geof Hewitt of Calais tells us about the roots of slam poetry, Alexandria Hall explains how she carries her Vergennes roots with her while living in California, and Sarah Audsley of Johnson discusses the influence of her personal identity on her poetry.

Broadcast on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.

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Building queer community can be incredibly hard, when you’re facing forces like bigotry or intolerance. It can also be hard when you live in a place like Vermont, where there just aren’t a whole ton of people.

Last week, our team went to The Barre Social Club to record a live panel discussion with Barre-area LGBTQ business owners and organizers who are trying to strengthen ties in Barre’s queer community and support vulnerable people there.

Our guests were; Liv Dunton of Fox Market and Bar in East Montpelier and Foxy’s in Barre. Maddie Cobb is a co-owner of Slowpoke Exchange, a buy-sell-trade shop for vintage and modern clothing in Barre. Heather Ely is the executive director of the Rainbow Bridge Community Center in Barre - a nonprofit that provides support for vulnerable communities and a gathering space for connection. And Lee Baker is a potter and a co-organizer of Vermont Queer Craft.

They also shared their thoughts on making Central Vermont home, the recent Supreme Court decision upholding a Tennessee ban on gender affirming care, and about Pride Month – where Barre just hosted its fifth annual pride parade.

Broadcast on Monday, June 23, 2025, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.

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Communities across our region are hosting Juneteenth celebrations this year. The federal holiday marks the end of slavery in the United States and honors Black history and culture. South Burlington recreation specialist Kate Likhite and state Sen. Joe Major of Hartford tell us about their communities' Juneteenth events.

Then: two local authors share the stories behind their new books. In "The Ghost Lab: How Bigfoot Hunters, Mediums and Alien Enthusiasts Are Wrecking Science," Vershire's Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling explores the ties between pseudoscience and the erosion of trust in institutions like government and media. Mima Tipper, who lives in Waitsfield and South Hero, tells a story of travel, family and young love in her debut young adult novel, "Kat's Greek Summer."

More than 200 wildfires are currently burning in Canada. They are transforming forests, and becoming more intense and frequent due to climate change. 

This hour we discuss how wildfires affect our landscapes, and how wildfire smoke affects air quality and our bodies. Our guests are David Grass, a senior environmental health manager at the Vermont Department of Health, and David Phillips, a Toronto-based climatologist emeritus with Environment and Climate Change Canada, a governmental agency.

This episode also includes an interview with Boston Globe correspondent Paul Heintz about recent ICE detentions in Vermont, including an immigrant rights advocate and his 18-year-old stepdaughter.

Broadcast live on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.

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Rosemary Gladstar is said to be the Godmother of modern herbalism. In the latest installment of Vermont Edition At Home, Mikaela visited Gladstar at her house in Milton, Vermont. They discussed her roots in herbalism, from her childhood learning how to forage for food and medicine with her grandmother, to becoming the founder of a world renowned herbal retreat center in Vermont and founder of several companies. Mikaela was also treated to a tour of her herbal garden and heard about all of the medicinal and culinary uses of the many herbs Gladstar grows at home. 

Broadcast live on Thursday, June 12, 2025, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.

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"The long term survival of life on earth has never really been in doubt...it's the survival of homo sapiens that has been in question." That stark reminder, or perhaps warning, comes from one of the central characters in the new novel by Vermont author Tim Weed called "The Afterlife Project."

Guest host Mitch Wertlieb speaks with the Putney-based writer about what inspired his book--which blends elements of climate fact with science fiction, telling a story that stretches from the not too distant future to a world that in ten thousand years is visited by one man who may or may not be the last surviving member of an otherwise wiped-out human race.

Plus, we'll discuss some of the better ways you can feel like the last person on earth by exploring great out-of-the-way wilderness hikes with Claire Polfus, a recreation program manager for the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation.

The birthrate in the United States is on the decline, and of all 50 states, Vermont’s fertility rate is the lowest. We'll listen to a recent episode of Vermont Public's podcast Brave Little State where reporter Nina Keck looks into a listener’s question about childlessness.

Then, we'll be joined by sociology professor Amy Blackstone of the University of Maine, who researches why some people opt out of parenting. Her book is Childfree by Choice.

Broadcast live on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.

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