Dinner table scenes. Soldiers deploying to war. Kids with scuffed knees and dirty socks. The quintessential American illustrator Norman Rockwell painted them all. Many were created while he lived and worked in Vermont for more than a decade. Today on Vermont Edition: Norman Rockwell in the Green Mountains. We'll hear stories from his granddaughter, the writer and translator Daisy Rockwell, as well as the executive director of the Shelburne Museum. The exhibit, “Norman Rockwell: At Home in Vermont,” is on view this fall and it celebrates his most iconic artwork, like his Saturday Evening Post covers. Then: The Kelly Brush Foundation marks 20 years of advocacy for safe ski racing. Its founder, Kelly Brush, reflects on her last two decades, and shares her vision for the future of ski racing and adaptive sports.

School is back in session. This is the first year that students across Vermont are banned from bringing cell phones. Today on Vermont Edition: the reasoning behind the cell phone ban, and what it’s like on the ground, trying to enforce it. We’ll talk with the principal of Rutland High School and the Dean of Students at Sharon Academy. This episode of Vermont Edition also includes a conversation with Seven Days food writer Jordan Barry. With summer in full swing, Jordan shares her favorite fair food, and current restaurant opening and closings. Broadcast live on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or check us out on Instagram.

It’s early September and the water’s warm in our region’s lakes and ponds. That means some fish are under stress, while many native species are in their element.Today we explore the underwater world of so-called “trash fish.” These ancient, native species are often dismissed by anglers. But the members of our panel catch, release and celebrate these species. Master Angler Drew Price leads the fly fishing guide service Master Class Angling. Master Angler Chelsea Rapin shares photos of her catches on her Instagram account @fishyourpark.There’s work underway to add protections for native fish species. Shawn Good, a fisheries biologist with Vermont Fish & Wildlife, discusses those proposals and Vermont’s master angler program.

Based on the data, just one or two people live in most of Vermont's homes, that's Roughly 70 percent of the state's houses. The state has one of the country’s smallest average household sizes in the country.As we try to solve the state’s housing crunch, this component should play a key role in the conversation. That’s a big takeaway from recent reporting Carly Berlin. She’s Vermont Public’s housing and infrastructure reporter. She has an in-depth story on this subject, and she joins us today to tell us more about what she found when she dug into the data around population decline, household size and housing stock. We also have Maura Collins with us. She’s the executive director of the Vermont Housing Finance Agency. The organization finances and promotes housing for low and moderate-income Vermonters.Then; Vermont is in the midst of implementing a bold new vision for reducing health care costs. It’s called reference based pricing, and it’s the most expansive law of its kind in the country.The goal is to reduce hospital costs. They’re a major driver of our high health insurance premiums. Services at all Vermont’s hospitals will be standardized instead of being left to the hospitals and health insurance companies to negotiate independently, which is what they do now.This is happening because of a law the Vermont legislature passed last year, Act 68. It directs the independent Green Mountain Care Board to implement reference based pricing by fiscal year 2027. Owen Foster is the chair of the Green Mountain Care Board joins us to explain.Broadcast live on Monday, Aug. 31, 2026, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or check us out on Instagram.

Our August 2026 Town by Town stop is Chittenden in Rutland County. This town has the distinction of being the largest municipality in Vermont by area, though its population hovers around 1,200.Each month for Town by Town, we spend an hour together learning about one of Vermont’s 252 towns or cities. At the end of the hour, we randomly select our next town using a big spinner.Guests for our live broadcast: Vermont Public reporter and Chittenden resident Nina Keck; sugarmaker Bob Baird; longtime selectboard member and farmer Dave Sargent; Kim Moyer, who worked on a play about Chittenden's psychic Eddy Brothers; and Shane Hanlon, manager of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National Fish Hatchery in North Chittenden.Broadcast live on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or check us out on Instagram.

Proposed federal changes to historic preservation sites–including what qualifies for protection and who makes those decisions–has experts around the country on edge. Today on Vermont Edition: What’s behind the move to make changes to a federal legal requirement known as Section 106.That law mandates federal agencies to assess and evaluate the impact of projects on historic and cultural properties around the country, including in Vermont. Two local preservation experts will discuss what could be vulnerable if the federal alterations go through. Later in the show, we’ll speak with the Vermonter who was crowned this year’s Miss Black USA. Harmony Edosomwan is a TV host, philanthropist, and food justice advocate who established a Winooski soul food catering company called Harmony’s Kitchen. We’ll find out how it feels to win the pageant and what comes with the honor.

Every year, little old Vermont produces big new names in the writing world. A Booker Prize nominee. A poet published in the New Yorker. A professor with a thrilling new mystery out. On today's Vermont Edition, we talk to Wyn Cooper, Miciah Bay Gault and Makenna Goodman. Broadcast live on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or check us out on Instagram.

New federal regulations surrounding hemp products are expected to have huge ripple effects on the industry. Guest host Jenn Jarecki hosts a panel of guests to discuss these changes and how they potentially impact growers, sellers, and buyers of CBD in the state. They'll also discuss some recent changes at the federal level, and what the future of growing and selling cannabis in Vermont looks like moving forward. We're first joined by James Pepper, the Chair of Vermont’s Cannabis Control Board. Then, we chat with Sam Bellavance, Founder and CEO of Sunset Lake CBD and Cannabis, Kris Brown, who hosts the podcast Cannasations and is a grower himself, and Scott Sparks, Owner of the Bud Barn dispensary in Brattleboro. They'll give us their respective takes on the state of recreational cannabis in Vermont.Disclosure: Sunset Lake CDB is a Vermont Public business partner. Broadcast live on Monday, August 24, 2026, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or check us out on Instagram.

It's Vermont Edition's annual creemee show, where each summer we talk with maker's and lovers of Vermont's most famous delicacy. This year, speak with Adam founder of the Vermont Creemee Passport, a physical booklet that allows you to track your travels to Vermont’s 180-plus creemee stands. We also are joined by two creemee makers to get their take on what makes for a great creemee. Rebecca Freedner, owner of Holy Halvah in Bristol, which combines the Vermont tradition of creemees with the Middle Eastern, tahini-based dessert called halvah, and Henry Mizrahi, owner of Mr. Creemee, the newest creemee spot in Burlington.

Amanda Janoo, Molly Gray, and Gerald Malloy discuss their campaigns, and reporter Lola Duffort breaks down the results. Then: it’s been nearly five years since the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan. Vermont now has one of the largest per capita populations of Afghans in the U.S. The head of the Vermont Afghan Alliance will tell us about the challenges they still face. Broadcast live on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or check us out on Instagram.

Vermont might be far from the ocean, but that's not an issue for local scuba divers. The waters of Lake Champlain are dark, deep and perfect for underwater adventure.Matt Cetin is the owner and captain at Dive One LLC, the only dive charter company in Burlington. Kreig Pinkham is the Training Director for the Waterfront Diving Center in Burlington. They tell us about the historic shipwrecks and aquatic life to be found below the surface.Then, we get our heads above water with members of the Women in Wind sailing program, run by the Community Sailing Center in Burlington. Eva Sullivan is the sailing center's education coordinator, and Roxanne Tena-Nelson is a board member.Broadcast live on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or check us out on Instagram.

Vermont’s primary election is Aug. 11. About 3.1% of registered voters cast their ballots early, according to the Secretary of State's office. The rest of Vermont's 500,000 or so registered voters will need to go to a polling station to cast their ballots.Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas joins the show to discuss primary day logistics, Vermont's campaign finance laws and election security. Then, Vermont Public reporters Liam Elder Connors and Peter Hirschfeld talk us through the candidates in federal, statewide and county races that will appear on ballots.Check out Vermont Public's primary election guide for information on your polling place and candidate debates and interviews.Broadcast live on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or check us out on Instagram.