Brave Little State

We explore an aspect of the state's history that some say is overlooked — and answer listener questions about Anglicized names and discrimination — in this encore episode of Brave Little State.

More than 200 Vermonters have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began. Brave Little State looks back on a year of loss.

How did Vermont end up with so many small, one-room schools? And why don’t we use them anymore? 

How can a state that is 94% white do better? Brave Little State presents an illustrated guide, featuring insights from Vermonters of color.

This one goes out to our future neighbors. To answer a question from Samantha Spano, of South Florida, Brave Little State collected your advice.

The small town of Fletcher did notably well during the 1918 flu pandemic. How did they manage that, and how are they managing COVID?

A listener question with some local implications. We pass the mic to our friends at New Hampshire Public Radio's show Outside/In. 

Where did these unusual labels come from, and what do they evoke today? A question about blatant stereotypes, and the Green Mountain lingo we use for them.

In the heart of this strange, sad holiday season, businesses and families continue to navigate the ongoing border closure between Vermont and Canada. So how are they doing?

The pandemic has shifted even more of our lives online. So what's being done to address Vermont's internet inequities?

That's what Maggie Eppstein of Hinesburg asked Brave Little State, VPR's people-powered journalism project.

Is our population growing because of the pandemic? And what impact are COVID transplants having on their new communities?

With mail-in voting already underway and a president who has COVID-19 — and who has not pledged to accept the results if he loses — we check in with some of his supporters. 

What is the state of religion in Vermont? How do Vermonters characterize their beliefs?

Every summer, we drive all over Green Mountain creation to find the origins of the strange road names you’re wondering about.

When a vaccine becomes available for COVID-19, who gets it first?

Earlier this summer, Jason Broughton noticed a Confederate flag hanging outside a home in his neighborhood in Barre. It happened to be Juneteenth, a day commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. Broughton wondered, was this on purpose?