Commentary Series (VPR)
7:55am and 5:55pm Weekdays
Displaying April Archive «prev next»
Wednesday April 30, 2008
Am I fat?
Commentator Cheryl Hanna, a professor at Vermont Law School, recently contemplated whether a French law banning the promotion of extreme thinness ought to be adopted here.
Wednesday April 30, 2008
Lack of Civility
Veteran A-B-C News correspondent and commentator Bill Seamans regrets the lack of civility in the current contest between Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination. And he observes that he's not the only one who feels this way.
Tuesday April 29, 2008
My Vermont
Inspired by VPR's My Vermont project, commentator and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer David Moats has been thinking about what it was - exactly - that brought him to the Green Mountains.
Tuesday April 29, 2008
Poetry Matters
Commentator Tom Slayton is a veteran journalist and editor-emeritus of Vermont Life magazine. He says a new book by Vermont writer Jay Parini makes a compelling case for the importance of poetry.
Monday April 28, 2008
Crisis Brand
This year's rough-and-tumble White House political campaign reminds filmmaker, teacher, and commentator Jay Craven of a penetrating documentary film he recently saw on DVD.
Friday April 25, 2008
Croc Man
On a recent school trip, commentator and nature writer Ted Levin was reminded that when observing wildlife, it's important to remember that it is - after all - wild.
Friday April 25, 2008
Female Leadership
Commentator, contractor and storyteller Willem Lange wonders why so many Americans are still nervous about female leadership.
Thursday April 24, 2008
Robert Putnam
Commentator Frank Bryan is a writer who teaches political science at the University of Vermont -- and *his Vermont* is a place where community still matters.
Thursday April 24, 2008
Spring Is Here
Commentator Madeleine Kunin is a former governor of Vermont, and today she's celebrating the return of Spring.
Wednesday April 23, 2008
Can't Sleep?
Can't sleep? Commentator Dr. Rachel Johnson is Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at UVM and an advisor to EatingWell magazine - and she's been looking at the science to find out if anything we eat or drink can help.
Wednesday April 23, 2008
Ta-dah!
The Governor's recent economic development surprise package has Hinesburg writer and commentator Bill Schubart asking about the broader strategic plan for Vermont's prosperity.
Tuesday April 22, 2008
Landscape Roses
Roses have a reputation of being hard to grow. But commentator Charlie Nardozzi says that may no longer be true - if you grow landscape-type roses that flower freely, resist pests and are hardy in our cold climate.
Tuesday April 22, 2008
Multitudes and a Torch
Commentator Philip Baruth’s Vermont, whatever else might be said about it, is a very strange place. Today he imagines confronting the Olympic torch, and all of the political contradictions now implicit within it.
Monday April 21, 2008
Turn Off the TV
April 22-28 is National Turn off the TV Week, and Commentator Deborah Luskin has a problem with that.
Monday April 21, 2008
Running Boston
Commentator Bill Mares is an author - and a retired teacher and legislator. He's also been a marathon runner for 30 years; and today he's reflecting on his absence from the most famous running race in the world.
Friday April 18, 2008
False Economy
With the hard economic news of the past week, cuts are being made in state spending. But to writer and commentator Deborah Doyle-Schechtman one proposed budget-cutting measure doesn't seem to add up.
Friday April 18, 2008
My Little Piece of Vermont
It's been a long road, but storyteller, contractor and commentator Willem Lange finally feels at home.
Thursday April 17, 2008
Gay Tax
Commentator Jason Lorber is a state legislator who takes his tax obligations seriously. But he's also a stand-up comedian, who can't help pointing out one especially absurd part of the filing process.
Thursday April 17, 2008
The "R" Word
There's been a tendency lately for economic pundits to avoid using the word "recession." Economist and commentator Art Woolf says it's beginning to sound like deja vu - all over again.
Wednesday April 16, 2008
Expat Vermonter
Commentator Alia Stavrand Woolf is a college student in New York City who still feels very connected to her Green Mountain roots. When she heard that Vermont policy-makers are concerned about too many young people leaving the state, it got her thinking.
Wednesday April 16, 2008
G.I. Bill Update
Veteran A-B-C News correspondent and commentator Bill Seamans is encouraged by recent activity in support of a new G.I. Bill of Rights, but he says that the future of the initiative is still uncertain.
Tuesday April 15, 2008
Deception
What do Eliot Spitzer, Bear Stearns and the Iraq War have in common? Commentator Bill Shutkin is a writer, lawyer and Research Affiliate at MIT, who tries to connect the dots in his sometimes quixotic quest for truth.
Tuesday April 15, 2008
Recession
The Vermont legislature and Governor Douglas will get some difficult economic news to swallow this afternoon. Commentator Timothy McQuiston is editor of Vermont Business Magazine, and he explains what that bad news is.
Monday April 14, 2008
Poetry Power
April is National Poetry Month, and commentator and Vermont Humanities Council Executive Director Peter Gilbert has some thoughts about what keeps some people from reading poetry, how they can start, and why they should.
Friday April 11, 2008
Taxes
As the income tax filing deadline approaches, commentator, storyteller and contractor Willem Lange has been thinking about one of the best quotes about taxes - ever; Ben Franklin - who said it first; and how taxes have been around for a very long time.
Friday April 11, 2008
Iraq Report
After all the discussions about Iraq this past week, what have we really learned? This morning, commentator Barrie Dunsmore who for more than three decades was a foreign and diplomatic correspondent for ABC News, gives us his assessment.
Thursday April 10, 2008
Pull of the Tropics
Nature writer and commentator Ted Levin recently took a break from winter and discovered something very much like a tropical paradise - at least for as long as it lasts.
Thursday April 10, 2008
Redwings
Commentator Tom Slayton is a veteran journalist and editor-emeritus of Vermont Life magazine. He agrees with the popular notion that spring returns on the wing, but you may be surprised by the bird that he has in mind.
Wednesday April 9, 2008
Edible Landscaping
With higher gas and food prices, everone is looking for ways to save money. Commentator Charlie Nardozzi is an all-around gardening expert who reminds us that one of the simplest economic strategies is to grow some of our own food. But, he says, instead of just tilling up a vegetable garden, why not grow edible trees, shrubs, vegetables and flowers that are beautiful too?
Wednesday April 9, 2008
Teacher
Commentator Mike Martin writes about issues of culture and education. He also teaches French at Champlain Valley Union High School, and today he offers an appreciation of one of his own favorite teachers.
Monday April 7, 2008
Rum, Romanism and Rebellion
Recent events in the presidential campaign have reminded teacher and historian Vic Henningsen that, in politics, some things just don't change.
Monday April 7, 2008
Low Petroleum Diet
Commentator Deborah Luskin teaches writing and literature in libraries, hospitals and prisons throughout Vermont. And this year, encouraged by her children, she's planning to have a big vegetable garden - and go on a Low-Petroleum Diet.
Friday April 4, 2008
Remembering Dith Pran
Former reporter and editor for the New York Times, commentator Chris Wren was patiently waiting for the first signs of spring to arrive in Thetford - when news came instead that took him back to old friends and far-away places.
Friday April 4, 2008
Ode to a Pothole
All this week, VPR has been reporting on the state of Vermont's roads after one of the worst winters. Today, commentator, storyteller and contractor Willem Lange is here with the lighter side.
Thursday April 3, 2008
Iraq
Commentator Bill Mares is a writer, former teacher and legislator. He was moved by a conversation about the war in Iraq with an old friend who was in the CIA.
Wednesday April 2, 2008
Financial Aid?
Commentator Philip Baruth is a novelist who teaches at the University of Vermont. When his older brother died, he offered to help his nephew with applications for college and financial aid - and he was appalled by what he learned. But there’s a hint of a silver lining: Vermont’s Freshman Congressman has been very much on the case.
Wednesday April 2, 2008
State of Wars
Veteran A-B-C News correspondent and commentator Bill Seamans is looking forward to next week - when General Petraeus will again appear before congress for an update on the progress of the war in Iraq.
Tuesday April 1, 2008
Olympic Boycott Debate
Commentator Mike Martin teaches French at Champlain Valley Union High School and writes about issues of culture and education. He heard today that the Olympic Torch had arrived in Beijing for this summer's Olympic Games in China. And he couldn't help wondering why the debate in Europe about China's human rights record isn't taking place here in the U.S. too.
Tuesday April 1, 2008
Breastfeeding Decision
Commentator Cheryl Hanna is a professor at Vermont Law School in South Royalton, who says that a recent case involving a woman who was removed from a Delta flight for nursing her child, has made her particularly grateful to Vermont lawmakers.
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