Commentary Series
7:55 a.m. and 5:55 p.m. Weekdays
Displaying March Archive «prev next»
Monday March 31, 2008
Extraordinary Knowing
A big fan of used bookstores as well as libraries, Vermont Humanities Council executive director Peter Gilbert found a fascinating book amidst the miscellaneous volumes on the for-sale-shelf at Burlington's Fletcher Free Library. And it has given him and his family a lot to think about.
Monday March 31, 2008
Fire All Around The Room
Given recent political news, filmmaker, teacher and commentator Jay Craven has been thinking about racial rhetoric - and the way it's most often represented in the visual media.
Friday March 28, 2008
Cuba
Commentator, storyteller and contractor, Willem Lange, urges a change in the United States' policy toward Cuba.
Friday March 28, 2008
Vermont Women - Sister Jane Blanchard
Today, we conclude this week's series on notable Vermont women, with the story of Sister Jane Blanchard - a Vermont Shaker - as told by author and Shaker scholar Galen Beale.
Thursday March 27, 2008
Long Trail Names
Commentator Tom Slayton, veteran journalist and editor-emeritus of Vermont Life magazine, is also a dedicated hiker. And he's looking forward to getting out on the trails again - just as soon as they're dry!
Thursday March 27, 2008
Vermont Women - Alice Herdan-Zuckmayer
This week VPR is honoring the accomplishments of notable Vermont women. Today, commentator Cyndy Bittinger tells how one of the best books about farm life in Vermont in the 1940s came to be written by a German refugee.
Wednesday March 26, 2008
The Seven Deadly Sins
Commentator Olin Robison is a past president of both Middlebury College and the Salzburg Seminar, and today he's reflecting on the effort to update the Seven Deadly Sins.
Wednesday March 26, 2008
Vermont Women - Women's Relief Corp
All this week on Morning Edition, VPR is honoring women who have contributed to the life and culture of Vermont. Today, Christine Smith - history teacher at Spaulding High School and Barre Technical Center - has the story of the Women's Relief Corp in post-Civil-War Vermont.
Tuesday March 25, 2008
Women in Politics
Commentator Madeleine Kunin is a former governor of Vermont, who thinks that despite this year's presidential race, not enough women are elected to public office.
Tuesday March 25, 2008
Vermont Women - Shirley Jackson
As VPR's week honoring women who have contributed to the life and culture of Vermont continues, we hear from historian Deborah Clifford about writer Shirley Jackson and the years she spent in southern Vermont.
Monday March 24, 2008
Sweet Work
Commentator Deborah Luskin teaches writing and literature in libraries, hospitals and prisons throughout Vermont, but recently she got a taste of the sweet work of the sugarbush.
Monday March 24, 2008
Vermont Women - Donella Meadows
In recognition of Women's History Month, VPR salutes women who have contributed to the life and culture of Vermont. Donella Meadows was a MacArthur Genius Award recipient and scientist - trained in chemistry and biophysics. She lived the last few years of her life in Hartland, and Diana Wright of Thetford was her research assistant.
Friday March 21, 2008
Sunday Morning Drive
Commentator Willem Lange is a contractor, writer and storyteller who recently took a Sunday morning drive through northern New England.
Friday March 21, 2008
Sunday Morning Drive
Commentator Willem Lange is a contractor, writer and storyteller who recently took a Sunday morning drive through northern New England.
Friday March 21, 2008
Two Champions
Trail designer, sports writer and commentator John Morton says that - for skiers - the ongoing celebration of this winter's surprisingly abundant snowfall has been tempered by the loss of two beloved champions.
Thursday March 20, 2008
Beekeeping Diplomacy
Commentator Bill Mares is a writer, former teacher and legislator. He's also a beekeeper, and lately he's been practicing what you might call "Beekeeping Diplomacy."
Wednesday March 19, 2008
Fifth Anniversary
On this Fifth Anniversary of the War in Iraq, commentator, poet and teacher Jay Parini reflects on this particular war - and war in general.
Wednesday March 19, 2008
Admiral Fallon
Veteran ABC News correspondent and commentator Bill Seamans is reading political tea-leaves again - this time in the sudden departure of Admiral William Fallon from the Middle East.
Tuesday March 18, 2008
Winter Walk
Just over a week ago, Vermont was digging out from yet another significant winter storm, but commentator Ruth Page found beauty in the aftermath.
Tuesday March 18, 2008
Revising the Lottery
While national economists whisper recession for the national economy, those who suggest privatizing Vermont's state lottery just might find new allies in alleviating state budget problems. Commentator Tim McQuiston, Editor of Vermont Business Magazine, asks, why stop there?
Monday March 17, 2008
The Grain Challenge
Wheat may be making a come-back in Northern New England, according to gardener, author and commentator Ron Krupp.
Monday March 17, 2008
Declining Standards?
Recent reports indicate - yet again - that American teenagers are ignorant of basic facts of history and literature. But commentator Vic Henningsen is a teacher and historian who doesn't believe we really need to fear for the future of the republic.
Friday March 14, 2008
Letter Power
There's a new history mini-series beginning this weekend on HBO. And Vermont Humanities Council executive director and commentator Peter Gilbert has discovered an interesting connection between the series - and the U S Postal Service.
Friday March 14, 2008
Democratic Dream Ticket
There has been much talk this week about a so-called dream ticket - Obama/Clinton or Clinton/Obama - to represent the Democrats in this year's Presidential election. This morning commentator Barrie Dunsmore, who covered American politics as well as foreign affairs for ABC news for more than thirty years, offers his analysis.
Thursday March 13, 2008
Three Birches
The recent ice storm, like all storms, brought down some things and not others. Commentator Philip Baruth, a novelist who teaches at UVM, woke to find that the ice had fallen heaviest on one of his birch trees - the one he's always worried over the most.
Thursday March 13, 2008
Spring Creep
Never mind the TS Eliot quote that April is the cruelest month - here in Northern New England March can be pretty tough - full of wintery weather. But nature writer and commentator Ted Levin assures us that spring is indeed on the way - and it's traveling north.
Wednesday March 12, 2008
Walls
Poet Robert Frost famously once wrote "Something there is that doesn't love a wall." Commentator Bill Schubart , who writes about life in Vermont from his home in Hinesburg, begs to differ, and cites our propensity to erect prisons and build walls along our borders
Wednesday March 12, 2008
Liars Exposed
Writer-commentator Leora Dowling says that another liar has been exposed. Well, actually, three liars - and none of them are politicians.
Tuesday March 11, 2008
Remembering Paul Robbins
Commentator Mary McKhann is a freelance writer and editor of the Snow Industry Letter. Today she remembers her friend and mentor - sports-writer Paul Robbins.
Tuesday March 11, 2008
Ground Beef Recall
Commentator Mary Barrosse Schwartz is a policy and communications consultant - and a part time farmer. She and her husband raise much of their own food, but their son enjoys an occasional school lunch. So the recent meat recall - much of it intended for use in Vermont schools - felt just too close for comfort.
Monday March 10, 2008
The Venezuelan Youth Orchestra
Here in Vermont, we're comfortable with the notion that the arts enrich our lives, but filmmaker, teacher and commentator Jay Craven has just encountered an artistic endeavor that - quite literally - saves lives.
Monday March 10, 2008
New Population Explosion
The Post-World War II Baby Boom is still with us, as the first wave of boomers approach retirement and social security. But commentator Olin Robison - a past president of both Middlebury College and the Salzburg Seminar - says there's another Baby Boom on it's way.
Friday March 7, 2008
Thinking About Spring
Commentator Henry Homeyer is a gardening coach and writer who lives in Cornish Flat, New Hampshire - and he's already thinking about spring.
Friday March 7, 2008
Frost At Dartmouth
Robert Frost, the Vermont poet known worldwide, has been dead more than 40 years. But scholars recently found some fascinating lectures and discussions Frost had with Dartmouth students. Commentator Tom Slayton, veteran journalist and editor-emeritus of Vermont Life magazine, was especially interested, and has some reflections of his own on the Frost legacy.
Thursday March 6, 2008
There You Are
Commentator Bill Shutkin is a writer, lawyer and Research Affiliate at MIT, who says that modern enviromentalism - launched in the suburbs in the 1960s - has spread far and wide.
Wednesday March 5, 2008
Frugality
In recent years, we've been told that shopping is practically a patriotic duty, but lately writer-commentator Leora Dowling has begun to question that point of view.
Wednesday March 5, 2008
Pity the Poor Pundit
Veteran A-B-C News correspondent and commentator Bill Seamans says that, so far, this primary season has been one of the toughest in recent memory on those experts who make a living predicting our political future, and he suggests that we take moment to pause - and pity the poor pundits.
Tuesday March 4, 2008
Functions of X
When Vermont Humanities Council Executive Director and commentator Peter Gilbert thinks about voting, he thinks about ballots, which leads him to think about X - the twenty-fourth letter in the Roman alphabet - and the multiple meanings it has in our culture.
Tuesday March 4, 2008
Town Meeting Advice
Although teacher and historian Vic Henningsen has been going to town meetings for years, he's never spoken in one. That's given him a lot of time to watch the proceedings, reflect on what works and what doesn't, and formulate some sound advice for newcomers to this New England tradition.
Monday March 3, 2008
Town Meeting '08
Commentator Frank Bryan is a writer who teaches political science at the University of Vermont - and an expert on Town Meeting.
Monday March 3, 2008
School for Moderators
Commentator Deborah Luskin has been facilitating book discussions in Vermont libraries, hospitals and prisons - and attending town meetings - for years. Tomorrow, she'll serve as School Moderator for the first time.
- web tools supported by:
- Contributing Listeners