Episodes

How did leading Republicans go from being Cold Warriors to apologists for Russian President Vladimir Putin? For insight, we turned to Stuart Stevens, who knows Republican politics from the inside. He was a top Republican political operative who worked on five presidential campaigns, including the campaigns of Mitt Romney in 2012 and George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004. Stevens, who lives in Vermont, now finds himself inside a very different political operation. He is a central player in the anti-T...

The Vermont Land Trust, founded in 1977, is one of the oldest and largest land conservation groups in the country. It has helped protect more than 620,000 acres in Vermont, comprising about 11% of the state. The land trust began with a simple goal of conserving land and supporting farmers. But with heightened awareness about equity and racial justice today, things are not so simple. Who can claim the right to land that was stolen from Indigenous people? How has racism shaped who owns land? How...

The Vermont Land Trust, founded in 1977, is one of the oldest and largest land conservation groups in the country. It has helped protect more than 620,000 acres in Vermont, comprising about 11% of the state. The land trust began with a simple goal of conserving land and supporting farmers. But with heightened awareness about equity and racial justice today, things are not so simple. Who can claim the right to land that was stolen from Indigenous people? How has racism shaped who owns land? How...

The Vermont Land Trust, founded in 1977, is one of the oldest and largest land conservation groups in the country. It has helped protect more than 620,000 acres in Vermont, comprising about 11% of the state. The land trust began with a simple goal of conserving land and supporting farmers. But with heightened awareness about equity and racial justice today, things are not so simple. Who can claim the right to land that was stolen from Indigenous people? How has racism shaped who owns land? How...

Education is the new frontline in America’s culture wars. In Florida, teaching about LGBTQ+ issues has become a flashpoint. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently surrounded himself with smiling elementary school children as he signed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill that bars discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in the state’s primary schools. Teaching about racism is also now perilous. At least 36 states have passed or proposed laws or policies that restrict the teaching of race or racism...

Education is the new frontline in America’s culture wars. In Florida, teaching about LGBTQ+ issues has become a flashpoint. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently surrounded himself with smiling elementary school children as he signed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill that bars discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in the state’s primary schools. Teaching about racism is also now perilous. At least 36 states have passed or proposed laws or policies that restrict the teaching of race or racism...

Education is the new frontline in America’s culture wars. In Florida, teaching about LGBTQ+ issues has become a flashpoint. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently surrounded himself with smiling elementary school children as he signed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill that bars discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in the state’s primary schools. Teaching about racism is also now perilous. At least 36 states have passed or proposed laws or policies that restrict the teaching of race or racism...

Ski mountaineer Kit DesLauriers skied off the summit of Mount Everest into history. DesLauriers is the first person to ski from the so-called Seven Summits, the highest peak on every continent. Her 2006 descent of Everest capped a string of firsts: She was the first woman to ski the Vinson Massif, the highest mountain in Antarctica, and Mt. Aspiring in New Zealand. She also made the first female solo ski descent of Grand Teton in Wyoming. A two-time Freeskiing World Tour champion, National Geo...

Ski mountaineer Kit DesLauriers skied off the summit of Mount Everest into history. DesLauriers is the first person to ski from the so-called Seven Summits, the highest peak on every continent. Her 2006 descent of Everest capped a string of firsts: She was the first woman to ski the Vinson Massif, the highest mountain in Antarctica, and Mt. Aspiring in New Zealand. She also made the first female solo ski descent of Grand Teton in Wyoming. A two-time Freeskiing World Tour champion, National Geo...

Ski mountaineer Kit DesLauriers skied off the summit of Mount Everest into history. DesLauriers is the first person to ski from the so-called Seven Summits, the highest peak on every continent. Her 2006 descent of Everest capped a string of firsts: She was the first woman to ski the Vinson Massif, the highest mountain in Antarctica, and Mt. Aspiring in New Zealand. She also made the first female solo ski descent of Grand Teton in Wyoming. A two-time Freeskiing World Tour champion, National Geo...

Countries around the world are debating how to respond to the unfolding humanitarian and political crisis in Ukraine. Few people have more intimate knowledge into the thinking of the Washington national security establishment than David Sanger. Sanger is a senior writer for the New York Times covering the White House and national security. He is a three-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, a CNN expert analyst and the author of three bestselling books, the most recent of which is The Perfect Weapo...

Countries around the world are debating how to respond to the unfolding humanitarian and political crisis in Ukraine. Few people have more intimate knowledge into the thinking of the Washington national security establishment than David Sanger. Sanger is a senior writer for the New York Times covering the White House and national security. He is a three-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, a CNN expert analyst and the author of three bestselling books, the most recent of which is The Perfect Weapo...

Countries around the world are debating how to respond to the unfolding humanitarian and political crisis in Ukraine. Few people have more intimate knowledge into the thinking of the Washington national security establishment than David Sanger. Sanger is a senior writer for the New York Times covering the White House and national security. He is a three-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, a CNN expert analyst and the author of three bestselling books, the most recent of which is The Perfect Weapo...

In 2021, the Vermont Legislature issued a long overdue apology for Vermont’s early 20th century state-sanctioned eugenics movement, which targeted Indigenous people and other groups. According to VTDigger, “The eugenics movement used forced sterilizations and other practices in an attempt to wipe out targeted populations who were deemed unfit to procreate, including Indigenous people, French Canadians, mixed-race people, people with disabilities and low-income families, among others.” In issuin...

Why did Russia invade Ukraine? What motivates Vladimir Putin? What do Russians believe about the war? To help cut through the fog of war and explain the back story behind Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we turned to Russia expert Will Pyle. He is Frederick C. Dirks Professor of International Economics at Middlebury College and an affiliate of the programs in International Politics and Economics and Russian and East European Studies. Pyle says that Putin “viewed the breakup of the Soviet Union as...

In 2021, the Vermont Legislature issued a long overdue apology for Vermont’s early 20th century state-sanctioned eugenics movement, which targeted Indigenous people and other groups. According to VTDigger, “The eugenics movement used forced sterilizations and other practices in an attempt to wipe out targeted populations who were deemed unfit to procreate, including Indigenous people, French Canadians, mixed-race people, people with disabilities and low-income families, among others.” In issuin...

Why did Russia invade Ukraine? What motivates Vladimir Putin? What do Russians believe about the war? To help cut through the fog of war and explain the back story behind Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we turned to Russia expert Will Pyle. He is Frederick C. Dirks Professor of International Economics at Middlebury College and an affiliate of the programs in International Politics and Economics and Russian and East European Studies. Pyle says that Putin “viewed the breakup of the Soviet Union as...

In 2021, the Vermont Legislature issued a long overdue apology for Vermont’s early 20th century state-sanctioned eugenics movement, which targeted Indigenous people and other groups. According to VTDigger, “The eugenics movement used forced sterilizations and other practices in an attempt to wipe out targeted populations who were deemed unfit to procreate, including Indigenous people, French Canadians, mixed-race people, people with disabilities and low-income families, among others.” In issuin...

Why did Russia invade Ukraine? What motivates Vladimir Putin? What do Russians believe about the war? To help cut through the fog of war and explain the back story behind Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we turned to Russia expert Will Pyle. He is Frederick C. Dirks Professor of International Economics at Middlebury College and an affiliate of the programs in International Politics and Economics and Russian and East European Studies. Pyle says that Putin “viewed the breakup of the Soviet Union as...

The world has been watching in horror at the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Author and environmental activist Bill McKibben argues that this is a war fueled by fossil fuels. He writes in The Guardian, “If you want to stand with the brave people of Ukraine, you need to find a way to stand against oil and gas.” McKibben is the co-founder of the global climate justice group 350.org, and Third Act, a new group focused on activism by older Americans. He says that the way to bring down “petrostate auto...

The world has been watching in horror at the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Author and environmental activist Bill McKibben argues that this is a war fueled by fossil fuels. He writes in The Guardian, “If you want to stand with the brave people of Ukraine, you need to find a way to stand against oil and gas.” McKibben is the co-founder of the global climate justice group 350.org, and Third Act, a new group focused on activism by older Americans. He says that the way to bring down “petrostate auto...

The world has been watching in horror at the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Author and environmental activist Bill McKibben argues that this is a war fueled by fossil fuels. He writes in The Guardian, “If you want to stand with the brave people of Ukraine, you need to find a way to stand against oil and gas.” McKibben is the co-founder of the global climate justice group 350.org, and Third Act, a new group focused on activism by older Americans. He says that the way to bring down “petrostate auto...

When Alex Belth went on a first date with Emily Shapiro, he was smitten. He had finally met the woman of his dreams, and he imagined a life together filled with romance and kids. The were married in 2007, five years after that date. Belth, now 50, and Shapiro, 49, remain deeply in love. But their life has been very different from what they first imagined. Shapiro has struggled with chronic illness, and Belth has been her caregiver. At the age of 22, Emily developed Crohn’s disease, an incurable...

When Alex Belth went on a first date with Emily Shapiro, he was smitten. He had finally met the woman of his dreams, and he imagined a life together filled with romance and kids. The were married in 2007, five years after that date. Belth, now 50, and Shapiro, 49, remain deeply in love. But their life has been very different from what they first imagined. Shapiro has struggled with chronic illness, and Belth has been her caregiver. At the age of 22, Emily developed Crohn’s disease, an incurable...