Beware the red spotted lanternfly. We’ll start the show learning why this is the latest invasive insect that has Vermont’s state entomologist concerned. Then we get a large dose of sunshine when we speak with Sean Lawson of Lawson’s Finest Liquids, one of Vermont’s socially responsible businesses. Next we learn what Catamount Arts has going on, including St. Johnsbury’s First Night on Thursday.  And we finish with a history lesson on a very interesting little corner of the state – Kents' Corner in Calais.

There’s an effort to raise money to keep WGDR, the Goddard College radio station alive. Not only that, but it is being turned over by the school to the community. We’ll learn about these efforts from station director (and musician) Kris Gruen. Then we hear about Vermont Humanities’ top programs from the past year and what it has planned for 2021. And finally, Nick Fortin of Vermont Fish & Wildlife joins us to discuss the recent deer hunting season and how the state’s deer population is faring. 

We’ll start the show by meeting Troy Austin of Essex, who is dedicated to doing good deeds, especially around the holidays. Then VTDigger’s Alan Keays joins us to discuss his recent “Tarnished Badge” series. In the three-part series, Keays looked at what happens to law enforcement officers whose truthfulness has been called into question. During the second hour, State Geologist Jon Kim discusses how the bedrock beneath us was formed and explains how the study of geology helps us solve modern-day problems.

We chat with the gregarious Chef Joey Buttendorf who leads Capstone Community Actions’ Community Kitchen Academy. It’s a job training program that prepares underemployed and unemployed Vermonters for careers in the food service industry. We’ll then hear from National Correspondent Bob Ney on the top stories of the week. Colin Flanders of Seven Days joins us to discuss why some racial justice advocates are not pleased with Vermont’s tax-and-regulate pot law. And Bruce Edwards of Vermont Business Magazine has a comprehensive economic report on the communities in the Northeast Kingdom.

Now that Congress has approved a stimulus bill and an omnibus spending bill, Representative Peter Welch joins us to help dissect what their passage will mean as we continue to the spread of the coronavirus. Then we hear from two Stowe women who have created a website that provides an online marketplace for women to find work and helps businesses find experts who can help them.  During the second hour, Zac Cota of the North Branch Nature Center lets us know what the birds are up to this winter in Vermont. And where to spot them.

We start by learning the conservation efforts of a piece of land in southern Vermont that includes representatives of nearly every important species of flora and fauna in the state. We hear about a couple of Vermonters who created the Quarantine Chef Cookbook to raise money for Feeding America. And then we talk snow with Radio Vermont forecaster Roger Hill. He finishes the show by explaining how the different types of snow we get are formed.

CLiF, the Children’s Literacy Foundation has been working to inspire a love of reading and writing among children in Vermont and New Hampshire since 1998. We’ll hear about their work from founder and executive director Duncan McDougall about their work. We then talk to Father Matthew Rensch, who has responsibility for the Catholic parishes in Waterbury, Moretown and Waitsfield. In the second hour, Vermont Foodbank CEO John Sayles discusses the rising incidence of food insecurity in the state and the $9 million donation that was recently awarded to the Foodbank. 

From revelations about what the Mayor knew and when, to moves by the city council regarding policing, to the pit that still sits downtown, Burlington keeps making news. We’ll get the latest from VTDigger’s Grace Elletson. National correspondent Bob Ney brings us up to date on what’s happening around the country. Dr. Jane Kim provides COVID-19 vaccination strategies for high-risk military veterans. And Cathy Resmer of Seven Days gives us many reasons to be happy about things that happened in 2020.

When a Vermont business isn’t able to secure a bank loan, where do they go? We’ll start the show by learning about how the Vermont Community Loan Fund fills that gap, and the other programs it has created to help Vermont businesses. Then Diana Moore and Emily McKenna from Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice discuss the organization’s work and how they’ve moved bereavement services online during the pandemic. We finish the show with Lindsey Leininger, Nerdy Girl in Chief for Dear Pandemic (and a prof at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business). She will help us make the right decisions about COVID-19 and the coronavirus vaccine.

As the demand for local meat has risen in Vermont, the need for more slaughterhouse and meat processing facilities has risen. We’ll talk to two representatives from the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets on what’s happening in that area. In the second hour, we’ll meet Interim Corrections Commissioner James Baker and discuss the death this week of a Vermont inmate, staffing and turnover issues within the department and other corrections issues.