Vermont Viewpoint

Start your engines, because we’re going to hear some Thunder Road history and learn all about the upcoming season, including Sunday’s Memorial Day Classic. Correspondent Bob Ney gives us a national and international news update. Then, Steve Goldstein shares stories of Vermont’s World War II Veterans from his piece in this week’s Seven Days. And we finish the show enjoying Tipsy Pickles. These cukes have been pickled in a brine containing a variety of Vermont’s favorite beers and ciders!

Luke Groff from Vermont Fish & Wildlife leads off the show discussing the turtles we have in the state and the proper etiquette to display when you come across one in the wild. Next, we meet a very interesting Vermonter. Alek Wolfe has been blind since birth, but the college senior is looking to launch a radio career, which so far has included calling basketball, baseball and hockey games. And then we spend the second hour getting the garden ready. Peter Burke, host of In the Garden, gives our weekday listeners a chance to call in with their questions as they plant flowers, shrubs and vegetable gardens for the growing season.

We begin by learning about the summer performance lineup of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra. Next, we meet the Vermonter credited with creating the first electric motor and electric locomotive, and who printed the first newspaper using electricity. We head to Morrisville, to visit the Noyes House Museum and its collection of furniture, textiles, military objects, clothing, photographs, pottery and art. And we finish the show with your opportunity to ask Governor Phil Scott a question.

Cookbook author Tracey Madeiros has a new one out called “The Art of Cooking with Cannabis.” She’ll share recipes from the book and we’ll hear from Joe Pimentel of Luce Farm Wellness in Stockbridge and Ari Fishman of Zenbarn in Waterbury. We head outside to see what birds are in our area as Zac Cota of the North Branch Nature Center and Nathaniel Sharp of the Vermont Center for Ecostudies serve as our birding guides.

Adamant novelist and publisher Ruth Porter joins us during the first hour to share the debut true-crime prison memoir from R. Troy Bridges. Bridges is a serial bank robber and prison escapee who discovered meditation and healing practices while in solitary confinement. We speak with recently retired Major Ingrid Jonas about here trailblazing career of over two decades with the Vermont State Police.

For the past decade, a small group of Vermonters having been working to aid schools in Haiti. We’ll open the show learning about the Haitian Partnership. Next, we’ll hear about Middlebury College’s Energy2028 Plan, that will, among other things, transition the school to 100% renewable energy in the next seven years. National correspondent Bob Ney stops in.  Then we’ll hear from Anne Wallace Allen of Seven Days about the growing pains being experienced by the town of Burke. And we finish with a trip to the Clemmons Family Farm in Charlotte, one of the 22 official cultural and historic sites on Vermont's African-American Heritage Trail.    

We start the show getting an understanding of the science of opioids and how medication-assisted treatments affect those who use them. Next, we hear from a Vermonter who has dedicated himself to spreading the word about the benefits of switching to electric lawn mowers. We’ll dive into a report published recently that focuses on the health of farmworkers. And we finish the show by getting an update on Vermont’s rail service from Christopher Parker of the Vermont Rail Action Network. 

The Hartford Tree Board is holding a special day to honor the dreaded Emerald Ash Borer. We’ll start the show learning all about this invasive pest. Next, we visit Reap and Sow Farm in Hinesburg and learn about their operation and their value-added products. Then, we finish the show speaking with Vermont Foodbank CEO John Sayles about a new hunger relief program being launched.

The Summit on the Future of Vermont is scheduled for next week. We’ll spend the first hour discussing how the summit will set goals for the state’s economy, environment and people and how a non-partisan platform of action to achieve them will be developed. Emma Cotton of VTDigger joins us to discuss the rise in fatal drug overdoses in Vermont, not just during the pandemic, but for most years since 2014.  

State Treasurer Beth Pearce opens the show discussing the role of the treasurer, the state’s unclaimed property program and the recent Pension Reform Report. We celebrate National Bike Month by learning about the work of the Vermont Mountain Biking Association. We’ll remember the life of M. Dickey Drysdale, the long-time editor and publisher of the Herald of Randolph. And we finish by talking with a Central Vermont volunteer group that is dedicated to gleaning produce to be provided to disadvantaged members of the community.