Commentary Series (VPR)
7:55 a.m. and 5:55 p.m. Weekdays
Displaying May Archive «prev next»
Friday May 30, 2008
My Vermont
Teacher, writer and commentator Deborah Luskin was inspired by VPR's My Vermont project to reflect on how she came to live in the Green Mountains. She says that her Vermont is a place to both work and play.
Friday May 30, 2008
Celebrating Willie O'Ree
Commentator, attorney and lifelong sports fan Brian Porto thinks that the man who broke the color barrier in professional hockey fifty years ago, should be more widely celebrated - for that accomplishment and for a great deal more.
Thursday May 29, 2008
Mount Chocorua
Storyteller, contractor and commentator Willem Lange has been climbing mountains again - and reflecting on the legends that sometimes become associated with them.
Thursday May 29, 2008
American Chestnut
Commentator Tom Slayton is a veteran journalist and editor-emeritus of Vermont Life magazine, who's been reading a new book about the demise - and possible resurrection - of the American Chestnut tree.
Wednesday May 28, 2008
A Perfect Storm
Commentator Rebecca Coffey is a freelance writer with a special interest in mental health issues. And as a resident of Putney, she also takes an active interest in matters concerning Vermont Yankee. Most recently, she's been paying close attention to the Dry Cask Storage Plan.
Wednesday May 28, 2008
Spirit of '68
Commentator Mike Martin teaches French at Champlain Valley Union High School and writes about issues of culture and education. Today he reflects on events that took place in France during the month of May in 1968 - and how they influence attitudes today.
Tuesday May 27, 2008
Water Power
As teacher, writer and commentator Deborah Luskin watched the spring run off and the flooding of local rivers this year, she got to thinking about the possibility of generating clean energy right in her own backyard.
Tuesday May 27, 2008
China Quake
Commentator Chris Wren is a former reporter and editor for the New York Times. During the recent devastating earthquake he was in China - as host of VPR's China trip.
Monday May 26, 2008
Last of the Last
At Memorial Day services all over the country, aging veterans lead remembrance services. Teacher and historian Vic Henningsen reflects on the legacy of one group rapidly disappearing from their ranks.
Friday May 23, 2008
Male Identity Crisis
Storyteller, contractor and commentator Willem Lange recently read a book that got him thinking about what it's like to have a male identity crisis - and wondering whether or not to have one.
Friday May 23, 2008
My Vermont: Ryan Sanderson
Fory Ryan, hunting,
gardening and cooking have always
been a family affair, ever since he was a kid. He's seen these traditions fade.
Friday May 23, 2008
Cuba Policy Debate
There are indications that a presidential campaign between Senators Barack Obama and John McCain would be likely to focus on American foreign policy. This morning, commentator Barrie Dunsmore, a veteran diplomatic and foreign correspondent for ABC News, takes a look at the early skirmishes.
Friday May 23, 2008
Memorial Day Thoughts
A special series of commentaries from the VPR archives
VPR presents a series of
archival commentaries devoted to Memorial Day. Commentators include Willem Lang, David Moats, Christine Smith and Linda DuCharme.
Thursday May 22, 2008
Green-up Let-down
Hinesburg writer and commentator Bill Schubart experienced something you might call Green-up Let-down this year. He'd been ready for months and the day itself was a disappointment.
Thursday May 22, 2008
Remembering Rauschenberg
Filmmaker and Marlboro College professor Jay Craven remembers some Vermont connections as he reflects on the recent passing of artist Robert Rauschenberg.
Wednesday May 21, 2008
Train Ride, Part II
Commentator and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer David Moats recently traveled cross-country on the train. Round trip. This morning David recalled that one of the things he encountered on the way out was the land itself. This afternoon, David reflects on the trip back and the people he encountered both ways.
Wednesday May 21, 2008
Train Ride, Part I
Commentator and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer David Moats recently traveled cross-country on the train. Round trip. One of the things he encountered on the way out was the land itself.
Tuesday May 20, 2008
Vermont is Legend
Commentator and Vermont Humanities Council Executive Director Peter Gilbert is fascinated by how national media invoke Vermont as an idyllic place. But when he recently watched a movie that presents Vermont as a place apart - in a fallen world, he found a story teeming with symbolism.
Tuesday May 20, 2008
Expressing Grief
According to commentator and former Vermont Governor Madeleine Kunin, the sheer size of the disasters in Myanmar and China make it a challenge to comprehend on a human level.
Monday May 19, 2008
The Road
Commentator Philip Baruth is a novelist who teaches at the University of Vermont. He got off to an early start on his summer reading list this year, only to confront a book powerful enough, and bleak enough, to shadow an entire summer.
Monday May 19, 2008
2008 Legislature
Commentator John McClaughry is president of the Ethan Allen Institute, a Vermont policy research and education organization. And he has considerable praise for the legislative session that has just ended.
Friday May 16, 2008
Gone Fishin'
Storyteller, contractor and commentator Willem Lange recently went fishing for the first time this year. He had some luck and found lots to think about.
Friday May 16, 2008
My Vermont: Kathryn Johnson
Kathryn's Vermont has
taught her that anyone with a passion can fulfill that passion with hard work
and dedication.
Thursday May 15, 2008
Rite of Spring
As baseball season finally gets underway in Vermont's mountain communities, writer, anthropologist and commentator John Fox reflects on the magical - and ancient - connection between ball games and springtime.
Thursday May 15, 2008
My Vermont: Susan Beard
Susan is heartened by the enthusiasm in Vermont for relying more on healthful, locally grown food,
and by a determination to preserve our wilderness.
Wednesday May 14, 2008
From Here to There
Commentator Deborah Luskin recently learned that while you can get there from here, it may not be a pleasant journey, and it can take an awfully long time.
Wednesday May 14, 2008
My Vermont: John Reed
John feels that the biggest
concern facing Vermont is the exit of children and youth from all but the Burlington area.
Tuesday May 13, 2008
Cold War Monument
Commentator Olin Robison is a past president of both Middlebury College and the Salzburg Seminar, and today he's reflecting on the end of a Cold War monument.
Tuesday May 13, 2008
My Vermont: Wendy Jenne
When Wendy came to Vermont it was only to be for one
ski season... that was almost 20 years ago.
Monday May 12, 2008
Book Club
Commentator Bill Mares is an author - as well as retired teacher and legislator - who for many years, has belonged to a lively - if slightly eccentric - Book Club.
Monday May 12, 2008
My Vermont: Cara Cookson
Cara has found herself wondering if she could belong to an illicit counter-culture of young Vermonters who
want to live here.
Friday May 9, 2008
Nuclear Iran
The next President of the United States may very well have to deal with Iran as a nuclear power. This afternoon, commentator Barrie Dunsmore, who for more than three decades covered war and diplomacy for ABC News, looks at how that might play out.
Friday May 9, 2008
My Vermont: Alice Outwater
After moving to Vermont, Alice grew to appreciate
Vermonters' no-nonsense values, their work ethic, their reserve, their basic
kindness and pioneer spirits.
Friday May 9, 2008
My Vermont: Amy Braun
Amy has noticed a unique phenomenon here in Vermont: "The Wave." She says it's a special part of life in a small
state.
Friday May 9, 2008
My Vermont: Dawna Neron
While Dawna often yearns for the Vermont she grew up in, she appreciates that it's still a special
place. It's not perfect, but it just may be as perfect as it gets.
Thursday May 8, 2008
Swimming Through History
This Saturday is the anniversary of the capture of Fort Ticonderoga by Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys. Author and commentator Ken Davis traces his interest in history back to a swim he took as a child near that historic site.
Thursday May 8, 2008
My Vermont: Josh VanHouten
It's been said that "Vermont is
what America used
to be," and that "in Vermont we
live life in the slow lane." Josh says both those
statements are true, and he wouldn't have it any other way.
Thursday May 8, 2008
My Vermont: Megan Humphrey
Megan feels that with a little awareness and hard work by all of us, we can
keep the best of the state and change the pieces that need a bit of help.
Thursday May 8, 2008
My Vermont: Cara Butterly
Cara Butterly's Vermont reminds her of who she is and how much of her character is rooted in this landscape.
Wednesday May 7, 2008
State Buys Local
Author, gardener, and commentator Ron Krupp tells us about a way in which the State of Vermont is facilitating the use of locally grown food.
Wednesday May 7, 2008
My Vermont: Mickey Meyers
Mickey says the process of making art, which can be lonely, challenging and complex, is appreciated and fostered here. There is something about the support of the people that steers her, like the stars in the sky, through the journey in her own studio.
Wednesday May 7, 2008
My Vermont: Dot Helling
Dot Helling says the smells, the views, the culture and our way of living are
all part of a package that she has yet to find anywhere else on this planet.
Tuesday May 6, 2008
Summer Job
Writer-commentator Leora Dowling is looking forward to this summer - and a new summer job.
Tuesday May 6, 2008
My Vermont: Becka Roolf, Montpelier
Becka Roolf loves the freedom, and the community, that comes with having a compact approach to transportation and life.
Tuesday May 6, 2008
My Vermont: Lali Cobb
Lali Cobb says that in an era when most Americans have forgotten
the history of the food they eat the cycle in Vermont continues for all to see, and be inspired by.
Tuesday May 6, 2008
My Vermont: Kate Cadreact
Kate's overriding concern is
that only the highly paid and wealthy individuals will have adequate housing,
heat, nutritional food, and the privilege of serving the community.
Monday May 5, 2008
Government
The end of the legislative session has had Hinesburg writer and commentator Bill Schubart thinking about the need to talk more in our schools and our communities about the role of government in our lives.
Monday May 5, 2008
My Vermont: Maxine Leary
Maxine Leary wrote this poem especially for a nephew who grew up in Montpelier
but at the time was working overseas. She thinks a Vermonter's life-story and
geography resemble each other, so the poem has many layers of meaning.
Monday May 5, 2008
My Vermont: Sarah Jo Willey
Sara Jo Willey's Vermont is about home, roots and connections.
Monday May 5, 2008
My Vermont: Jim Woodard
Jim Woodard says it's challenging to live anywhere. Every place has its own inherent
strengths and disappointing drawbacks. The key is how we, as a community,
choose to respond to either.
Friday May 2, 2008
Graduation Ceremony
Across the country high school graduates are poised to accept diplomas in ceremonies honoring their achievements, but one recent graduation ceremony here in Vermont was especially moving to free lance writer, educator and commentator Mary McCallum.
Friday May 2, 2008
Saving the Earth
Commentator, contractor and storyteller Willem Lange says that if we want to save the earth, we can start by drinking tap water.
Thursday May 1, 2008
Legislature
As the legislature works toward adjournment, former state representative and commentator Dennis Delaney reflects on some of the lesser-known aspects of a legislative session.
Thursday May 1, 2008
The Philippine "Insurrection"
This morning, teacher and historian Vic Henningsen reflects on an anniversary that calls to mind Mark Twain's observation that "History may not repeat itself, but it does rhyme."
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