Cover art for podcast Rumble Strip

Rumble Strip

269 EpisodesProduced by Erica Heilman / Rumble Strip, Erica HeilmanWebsite

Good conversation that takes its time, hosted by Erica Heilman.

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Kasey is Figuring it Out

March 26th, 2024

34:29

Kasey Phipps is transgender and has always been transgender. But Kasey didn’t grow up in a place where the word transgender was well understood. Or understood at all. It’s only in the last four years that Kasey’s put a …

What Class Are You Ashley?

March 15th, 2024

8:11

What Class Are You is a periodic series I make for Vermont Public. Thank you Vermont Public for letting me share the series on Rumble Strip.

What Class Are You Ashton?

March 13th, 2024

7:46

What Class Are You is a periodic series I make for Vermont Public. Thank you Vermont Public for letting me share the series on Rumble Strip.

What Class Are You Kathleen?

March 11th, 2024

5:51

What Class Are You is a periodic series I make for Vermont Public. Thank you Vermont Public for letting me share the series on Rumble Strip.

Revisiting Isaac

March 10th, 2024

19:30

Many of you got in touch with me after Isaac's story aired in the first week of What Class Are You. Isaac's on his way to Columbia in the fall, on a …

What Class Are You Ethan?

March 8th, 2024

9:53

What Class Are You is a periodic series I make for Vermont Public. Thank you Vermont Public for letting me share the series on Rumble Strip.

What Class Are You Mike?

March 6th, 2024

7:57

What Class Are You is a periodic series I make for Vermont Public. Thank you Vermont Public for letting me share the series on Rumble Strip.

What Class Are You John?

March 4th, 2024

8:11

What Class Are  You is a periodic series I make for Vermont Public. Thank you Vermont Public for letting me share this series with Rumble Strip. 

What Class Are You? A Conversation with Garret Keizer

March 1st, 2024

22:12

What Class is a periodic series I produce for Vermont  Public. Thank you Vermont Public for allowing me to share this series with Rumble Strip. 

What Class Are You Kytreana?

February 28th, 2024

9:35

What Class Are You is a periodic series I make for Vermont Public. Thank you Vermont Public for allowing me to share the stories with Rumble Strip.

What Class Are You Kate?

February 26th, 2024

8:03

What Class Are You is a periodic series I make for Vermont Public. Thank you Vermont Public for allowing me to share these stories with Rumble Strip.

What Class Are You Irfan?

February 23rd, 2024

7:09

Irfan Sehic and his family fled the war in Bosnia when he was seventeen, and landed in Barre, Vermont. Irfan did a lot of jobs when he got here, then …

Farewell

February 22nd, 2024

0:39

An important message from RadioPublic

What Class Are You Isaac?

February 21st, 2024

11:37

Isaac lives in Newport, Vermont, which is as far north as you get in Vermont. It’s a town in the Northeast Kingdom with a beautiful lake. It’s also a …

What Class Are You Susan?

February 19th, 2024

6:32

Today is the first episode of What Class Are You, a periodic series I make for VP. 

This series started as an experiment a few years ago. I wanted to …

Makeup For Special Occasion Valentines Day Redux!

February 13th, 2024

9:08

This is a rerun of what could be called a VALENTINE’S DAY SPECIAL, and I hope you enjoy it.

Last year on Hardwick's Front Porch Forum, someone called …

A 100 Year Flood

January 25th, 2024

12:08

The Anair story was produced for Vermont Public.

Little League Playoffs

January 11th, 2024

8:13

This is one of my all time favorite shows. I made it for Vermont Public in 2019 and I think about these guys all the time. It was the little league playoffs in St. Johnsbury in 2019, before the pandemic, recorded in a …

Forrest and I Sit in the Truck and Talk About Pain

December 10th, 2023

12:34

I got in a car accident. For some reason I thought it would make me feel better to talk with Forrest Foster about all the accidents he’s had and how …

John Rodgers Weed Farmer

November 30th, 2023

24:03

Music for this show is by Justin Lander

John's company is called Farmers Underground, based in West Glover, VT

Ode to Village Life

October 30th, 2023

11:19

A lot of people in rural America live near small towns or villages. Here in Vermont, a lot of small village schools and general stores and post …

Taylor Swift Music for the End

October 20th, 2023

11:20

My friend Kelly Green is a defense attorney who represents people accused of murder. She spends a lot of time reading autopsies and driving around talking with witnesses and worrying. She’s got a lot going on at the …

Susan on the Train Tracks

October 4th, 2023

16:11

Susan’s been a private investigator in Vermont for 24 years. She defends people who are accused of crimes, which often involve drugs in one way or …

Forrest Foster Lays Karen to Rest

September 4th, 2023

24:28

Forrest Foster is a dairy farmer in Hardwick, Vermont and a friend of mine. This past spring, on Memorial Day, Forrest’s partner, Karen Shaw, died after a long illness. They were together 43 years. The day after she …

The Civic Standard in the 100 Year Flood

July 27th, 2023

15:08

Special Note: 

Hill Farmstead, the best beer in the world, just named a beer after the Civic Standard. Which is fricking VERY COOL. Here's a link to it. 

The Civic Standard

July 6th, 2023

57:46

Rose Friedman and Tara Reese were in the early stages of starting the Civic Standard, an organization that gives the people of Hardwick excuses to get together. Rose and Tara were explaining this idea to Brenda at a …

Let's Talk about Guns

May 31st, 2023

48:13

Thanks to Brave Little State and Vermont Public for letting me run this episode on Rumble Strip. You can find Brave Little State wherever you listen to podcasts, and you can read more about them by visiting Vermont …

Nightwalking 1, from Constellation Prize

May 8th, 2023

29:46

Credits: Music by Ishmael Ensemble, John Caroll Kirby, Riley Mulherkar and Elori Saxl

Edited by Daniel Guillemette & Daniel Gumbiner

Sound mix / …

What Class are You?

March 30th, 2023

29:56

For years I've been wanting to make a show about the terrible cultural divides growing in our country, but I couldn't figure out how to do it without …

Mary Lake Sheep Slaughterer

March 15th, 2023

15:17

Mary Lake is a sheep farmer and sheep shearer and itinerant slaughterer. She is a tall, muscular woman in bib overalls and a baseball hat and dangly …

It's Town Meeting Again

March 7th, 2023

30:35

It's town meeting day here in Vermont.

In most of New England, town citizens become legislators for one day a year. They get together in school gyms …

Winter's Bear

February 21st, 2023

16:15

Sheila LaPoint wrote a post in Front Porch Forum asking if there was anyone in town who could turn her grandmother's fur coat into a teddy bear. She …

Speaking Whale

January 26th, 2023

36:09

Tom Mustill is a conservation biologist and he makes beautiful films about where nature and people meet. He’s worked with Greta Thunberg and David …

Police Log: The Fanny Pack Edition

January 23rd, 2023

3:14

This show is about crime. Really crimey crime.

Fishing with Jay

January 7th, 2023

23:40

Transom Bio: 

Jay Allison has been an independent public radio producer, journalist, and teacher since the 1970s. He is the founder of Transom. His work has won most of the major broadcasting awards, including six …

Nature's Top Deck, with Forrest Foster

December 2nd, 2022

17:44

Forrest Foster was loading up the tractor with kindling for deer camp. It was two days before deer season. I was over there visiting and helping him with his night chores. I like Forrest. I like being around him, and I …

Nick Paley and a Very Small Shell

November 21st, 2022

23:23

Nick Paley is a writer, editor and director for film and TV, and a co-writer on the recent film, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, which stars an adorable one-inch tall shell who wears shoes and is looking for his long …

An American Life

November 10th, 2022

32:18

Vaughn Hood was a 118-pound barber when he was drafted into the Vietnam War. And in Vaughn’s war, most men didn’t survive their first three-month tour. In honor of Veteran's Day, here is the story of an extraordinary …

Armand's Garden

September 14th, 2022

17:59

Armand Patoine sat with me in his tea house, deep inside his garden, which leads down to a stream. He has been creating this garden for 49 years. We talked about gardening, and what God has to do with his gardening, …

The Neighborhood

August 26th, 2022

11:27

My son is leaving for his freshman year of college in a week and I am feeling maudlin. I listened to this show I made years ago and it made me feel …

Leland is Moving On

August 15th, 2022

19:50

Leland is my neighbor and for the last seven years, we’ve been getting together in the spring to talk about his year, and things like God and space …

Makeup for Special Occasion

July 27th, 2022

9:08

A couple weeks ago on Hardwick's Front Porch Forum, someone called Tiana asked if there was anyone who could help her with her hair and makeup for an …

The Farm from THE BIG PONDER

July 18th, 2022

28:14

Ira Karp lives on a farm in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom, surrounded by music, puppets, and a family of incredible storytellers. Over his brief …

Bell Rising

July 7th, 2022

10:43

This show is a kind of coda to Finn and the Bell....

At long last, the bell is in its tower at Hazen Union High School. The final installation …

More than a Dog

May 31st, 2022

23:36

Tara Wray is a photographer. And a dog person. She takes pictures of dogs which are haunting and beautiful, and every bit as distinctive as pictures …

Puppy Diaries

May 11th, 2022

32:27

I've been thinking of getting a dog for years but even though I have an eighteen-year-old son, I've never felt mature enough to have a dog. So when …

Forrest Foster, Independent Dairyman

March 4th, 2022

22:01

Forrest Foster is a farmer in Hardwick, Vermont. It’s an organic dairy farm, seventy cows total and about forty milking at any given time. I spent …

Helena Becomes an American

February 4th, 2022

20:30

Helena de Groot grew up in Belgium and is now a radio producer living in New York City. When I found out she was about to take her citizenship test, I asked if she’d be willing to record herself talking about what it …

It’s New Years. Remember Grant Owen.

January 1st, 2022

8:41

I am home alone on New Years, cleaning and listening to music, and suddenly I remembered Grant Owen, a kid I interviewed at the beginning of the pandemic, and I realized he is exactly the company I needed. So as you’re …

Awful Sisters Christmas. Pandemic Year Two.

December 20th, 2021

15:32

It’s been another challenging year of the pandemic, and families across the nation are trying to figure out how to be together for the holidays. For …

Will Staats, Hunting Biologist

December 17th, 2021

24:14


Will Staats worked for both Vermont and New Hampshire for forty years as a wildlife biologist. He’s also a passionate hunter. He knows the back …

Finn and the Bell

November 2nd, 2021

33:51

Finn Rooney killed himself on January 3, 2020 in the afternoon after school. No one predicted it. There were no signs. All that can be said for sure …

Hill Farm. A Tribute to Peter Dunning

October 28th, 2021

20:00

I heard recently that Peter Dunning died.  I want to play this again, in tribute. He was an amazing man.

Peter Dunning’s farm was a Vermont hill farm. A hundred and thirty-six acres of forest and orchards and wet …

The Defense.

October 4th, 2021

57:31

In cases where a defendant seems unjustly accused, the defense attorney is our hero. But if they seem guilty…or if it’s an especially violent crime, …

The Defense

October 4th, 2021

57:15

In cases where a defendant seems unjustly accused, the defense attorney is our hero. But if they seem guilty…or if it’s an especially violent …

Susan Asks, For Who? For What?

September 5th, 2021

22:39


Susan is a private investigator and I interview her a lot for my show. Last week she hit an owl with her car and it died. She didn’t want to leave it on the side of the road so she took it home and put it in the …

Virtual Justice

August 27th, 2021

22:26


At the onset of Covid in March, 2020, the Vermont Supreme Court declared a judicial emergency, suspending all non-essential court hearings. Hearings have resumed, but many are still being held remotely, including …

Camp Zeno

August 13th, 2021

25:20

Zeno Mountain Farm is a camp for people with and without disabilities, which is a super reductive way to describe it. Most other camps are places where people with disabilities are not. They’re missing. Zeno is a …

Chris and Beth Sing

July 20th, 2021

17:33


Chris and Beth sing a lot. You’ve heard them before, if you listened to the show Sing your Job. They were the ones singing Game of Thrones, which …

Herschel’s Song

June 28th, 2021

17:57

Alexis Harte is out biking on a chilly afternoon last November when a new song pops into his head and mesmerizes him. It doesn’t seem strange at first — he’s a musician, after all. But when he discovers what was …

Growing Up in a War

June 3rd, 2021

40:12

Irfan Sehic grew up in Bosnia and spent most of his childhood living in a civil war. One day the kids across the street were his best friends, the …

Bird Man

May 21st, 2021

17:46


My friend Bryan Pfeiffer is a writer, educator and field naturalist. He used to be a professional birding guide. He knows all about birds and dragonflies and moths. He knows where they live and what they eat and what …

An Interview About Interviewing with Jane Lindholm

May 13th, 2021

33:18

Jane Lindholm recently left her position as host of Vermont Edition, VPR’s midday public affairs show. In her fourteen years on the show, Jane …

Police Log: Don’t Park Too Close Edition

May 7th, 2021

3:57

It’s been too long since I’ve reported on police activity here in Vermont and it’s been a challenging time for law enforcement. Calls to police …

An American Life

May 5th, 2021

32:13

Vaughn Hood was a 118-pound barber when he was drafted into the Vietnam War. And in Vaughn’s war, most men didn’t survive their first three-month tour.

Now Vaughn Hood runs a hair salon in St. Johnsbury with his …

Leland First Responder

April 29th, 2021

9:20


I met Leland when he was in school with my son Henry at Calais Elementary. I interviewed him when he was over playing at our house when he was in …

Sing Your Job

April 8th, 2021

18:00

Here is a little musical about the beautiful minutia of your lives. And I just keep adding to it because our lives just keep going on and on and …

Han’s Brain

March 23rd, 2021

32:25

The first time I meet Han MeiMei, we were standing on my deck in Vermont. She looked at the fields around my house and she said, ‘That’s a lot of fields. Have you ever thought of writing messages to airplanes?’ I had …

Free Soup. Come.

March 4th, 2021

10:09

Rose Friedman and some friends decided to start making free meals on Wednesday nights for anyone who wants them. They set up outside the East Hardwick Grange Hall. A lot of people around here are making food for …

Marriage in the Time of Covid

February 19th, 2021

22:57

We’re a year into Covid and in Vermont we’re almost into the last stretch of winter and I’ve been thinking a lot about married people, or people partnered with other people living in houses and apartments day after …

Town Meeting

February 5th, 2021

30:09

In most of New England, town citizens become legislators for one day a year. They get together in school gyms and town halls and vote in person, …

Party is Everything

January 20th, 2021

19:46

This is a FUN show to celebrate FRICKIN’ INAUGURATION DAY which we’ve been waiting for for 1000 years!!!!!!  It’s from the Shaking Out the Numb, a series I made with Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn of Sylvan Esso. The …

Problems: The Awful Sisters Christmas Special

December 23rd, 2020

24:38

It’s been a challenging year. Families are trying to figure out how to be together for the holidays when they can’t be together physically. …

Surviving COVID, a Fever Dream

December 15th, 2020

22:59


Daniel Kirk is a children’s book author and illustrator and he lives with his wife in New Jersey, about twelve miles outside of Manhattan. They were both infected with COVID last March, before it had spread in the …

A Talk About the F-Word, with Bill Schubart

December 3rd, 2020

23:38

Bill Schubart is a writer and a cultural and political commentator. He’s chaired a lot of important boards here in Vermont. He’s really smart and …

Shaking out the Numb

November 23rd, 2020

12:56


I first interviewed them when they played in Vermont in 2017 and we became friends. In fact Amelia is the only person with whom I have two-hour phone conversations that start like this:

‘Hey. What are you doing?’

Officer Clemmons

November 13th, 2020

41:47

François Clemmons was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1945 on the plantation where his great great grandmother Laura May’s family had been slaves, then he moved with his mother and siblings and aunts and cousins to …

I Am In Here

October 29th, 2020

23:13

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/230694656″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

I Hate Google Meet

October 29th, 2020

6:16

I’ve been doing a couple freelance jobs for extra money. One requires a great deal of video conferencing. I have learned that I do not excel at video conferencing and at the moment I knew this with certainty, my …

Karl Hammer and the Donkeys

September 24th, 2020

25:21

Karl Hammer is the founder and president of the Vermont Compost Company in East Montpelier, right up the hill from Montpelier, the state capital. I first heard about Karl from my friend Rosana, who used to be married …

Crossing Guard

August 24th, 2020

39:07

A GUEST SHOW from one of my favorite radio producers….Bianca Giaever.

During a period of personal loneliness, radio-maker Bianca Giaever set out into New York City, hoping to connect with another lonely stranger. She …

Winnie

August 11th, 2020

19:22

Winnie Wilkinson is originally from Jamaica but she spent half her life in New York City before moving up to St. Albans, Vermont, where black people …

Knots and Pandemics

July 23rd, 2020

24:27


Clare is the curator of the Museum Of Everyday Life, which lives in a barn on Route 16, about eight miles from Glover, Vermont, population 2000. …

Leland in a Pandemic

June 22nd, 2020

10:45

I met my friend Leland when he was in first grade and he came over to play with my son Henry. For six years now, we’ve been having a yearly conversation about how he’s doing and what he’s thinking about. He just …

1900 Cars

June 3rd, 2020

19:42

Last month a friend of mine sent me a picture of miles and miles of cars lined up waiting for food that was being distributed by the National Guard here in Vermont. Nineteen hundred cars. I’d never seen anything like …

Our Show Seven

April 16th, 2020

18:13

Here’s our last show, which also happens to be show number seven.

  • In this show you heard
  • Cheering healthcare workers in Barcelona and Toronto

Our Show Six

April 11th, 2020

23:13


This is Our Show, number six. Your recordings about the pandemic.

In this show you heard from:

  • Alicia and Liv in Los Angeles, CA
  • Ada in Marfa, …

Our Show Five

April 7th, 2020

23:13

Here’s Our Show, number five…your recordings about the pandemic.

In this show you hear from:

  • Niels in Copenhagen, Denmark
  • Thomas singing in El …

Our Show Four

April 2nd, 2020

15:46


Here is Our Show 4, your recordings during the pandemic. Thank you for sending me remarkable recordings from all over the world, and the intense …

Our Show Three

March 29th, 2020

13:55

This is Our Show number three…made from your recordings during the pandemic.

Keep that tape coming. Let’s keep making damn shows.

  • In this show …

Our Show Two

March 27th, 2020

11:58

This is the second installment of Our Show, which is about all of us during this pandemic, and is made from all the recordings you’re sending to …

Our Show One

March 25th, 2020

13:28

It’s amazing. An entire planet of people living mostly in isolation…or those of us lucky enough to be well. It’s the darkest thing to happen in my …

Announcement

February 20th, 2020

1:24

Hi all,

My father died a couple weeks ago. He died peacefully at the UVM Medical Center in Burlington. My mother and sister and I spent six days and …

Susan on the Brown Couch

February 11th, 2020

17:07


Susan Randall is a private investigator here in Vermont and she’s been my friend for twenty five years. If you listen to the show, you already know that I interview her periodically for Rumble Strip. We talk in her …

Joslyn House

January 15th, 2020

30:02


People often assume the Joslyn House is a nursing home, probably because a lot of old people live there. But it’s not a nursing home. It’s not …

One more thing about Ben Kilham…

December 19th, 2019

4:54

An outtake with bear biologist Ben Kilham, about living with dyslexia, and how it informs the way he thinks about bears.

Bear Man

December 16th, 2019

37:50

Ben Kilham and his sister Phoebe are the only licensed bear rehabilitators in the state of New Hampshire. For over twenty-five years, the Kilham Bear Center has taken in orphaned or injured black bear cubs and …

Fifty. A Phoenix Moment.

November 20th, 2019

20:26


For many years I have privately loved the song Total Eclipse of the Heart, by Bonnie Tyler. I started to love it when it came out in 1983, when I was fourteen.

This month I’m turning fifty. And for some reason, every …

Bobcat Hunter

October 17th, 2019

16:06

Patrick Soniera has been hunting and tracking bobcats in Vermont for fifty years, and he has a diary entry about every single hunt–the weather, …

Problems, Episode 5: Vacation

September 30th, 2019

12:56

This is the fifth episode of Problems, a radio drama about Pam and Joel, two old friends who support each other through their problems. In this …

A Perfect Drive with Garret Keizer

September 9th, 2019

19:03

Garret Keizer and I stood together in a field, in the late summer, in the Northeast Kingdom, and he read poems from his new book, The World Pushes Back.

I first heard of Garret a few years ago when I read his book,

Summer Musical

August 7th, 2019

13:25


It’s the summer musical in Randolph, Vermont…one day before showtime. It’s been an annual event at Chandler Music Hall for over twenty years, and …

Leland Will Figure It Out

July 9th, 2019

13:31

Leland lives over the hill from me in East Calais. We’ve been friends since he was in first grade, and every year around this time we get together and he tells me what he’s thinking about, worried about, what his plans …

Logging By Hand

June 28th, 2019

17:47

If you drive around rural Vermont, you see logging skidders parked in people’s dooryards. You see them working in smaller woodlots and residential woodlots, felling trees with a chainsaw at twenty below zero, dragging …

Gamelan and Subjects of Consequence

June 19th, 2019

11:53

Gamelan Sulukala is a group of fifteen people in central Vermont who come together at the dead end of a dirt road in the basement of the Goddard …

Senior

May 29th, 2019

15:09



When I was in high school I remember being amazed by how much grownups seemed to forget about being young. But as it turns out….you do forget. A …

Victim Advocate

May 10th, 2019

23:11

The criminal justice system is not designed to answer to the needs of crime victims. It’s designed to figure out if there’s enough evidence to bring a case. If there is, a defense attorney builds a case for the …

Problems Episode 4: Coffee and Public School

April 10th, 2019

9:10

Welcome to the fourth episode of Problems, a radio drama about Pam and Joel, two old friends who support each other through their problems…because …

Captain JP Sinclair

March 29th, 2019

28:59

Captain JP Sinclair has been at the center of over five-hundred death investigations and a hundred-and-one homicides in the state of Vermont. He served as the state’s chief criminal investigator and he led the …

Brand New Life

March 13th, 2019

24:32

I interviewed T.O. back in the summer of 2017. He’d just gotten out of prison, where he’s spent the majority of his adult life, and he was trying …

Deer Camp

February 11th, 2019

14:32


I spent the night before deer season at Jim Welch’s deer camp in Chelsea, Vermont. His camp is an old school bus, outfitted with a woodstove and a …

Susan and I Talk About Cancer

January 28th, 2019

19:43

A lot of you who listen to the show regularly already know Susan Randall. She’s a private investigator and an old friend and I interview her now …

Game Warden

January 10th, 2019

22:45

I spent a day riding around with game warden, Jeff Whipple, on the second weekend of deer season…just when some hunters are getting frustrated they haven’t got their deer yet.

Exciting things happened.

Game wardens …

Christine

December 6th, 2018

26:54


What most people outside Vermont know about Christine Hallquist is that she was the country’s first transgender gubernatorial candidate. But it’s not what she ran on–and it’s not even what was most interesting about …

Problems, Episode 3: A Celebrity Interview

November 22nd, 2018

9:05

Welcome to another episode of Problems–a series about Pam and Joel, two old friends who support each other through their problems. Because no …

They Are Us, Part 1: Sarah

November 20th, 2018

13:23


Sarah Holland had no history of mental illness. She was a full-time R.N., she had three kids and a small farm. She was busy. Then suddenly she …

They Are Us, Show 4: They Are Us

November 20th, 2018

13:54

How should people live long-term in our state if they have a serious mental illness? The hope is that they’ll find ways to integrate into their …

They Are Us, Show 7: Work

November 20th, 2018

11:47

Both Alexis and Steve were diagnosed with schizophrenia. This is the story about how meaningful, paid work plays a role in their recovery.

They Are Us, Show 6: I Could Be Well

November 20th, 2018

15:20

Leslie Nelson has heard voices for as long as she can remember. She sees things other people don’t see. This is a conversation about what it’s like to be normal, from Leslie’s point of view, and the incredible power …

They Are Us, Show 3: Parents

November 20th, 2018

15:40


Connie’s son was diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was nineteen, just as he was becoming independent. He didn’t believe there was anything wrong with him. He did not want to seek treatment. And since he was …

They Are Us, Part 2: Home

November 20th, 2018

12:54

There are Vermonters who experience psychiatric crises for years — and repeated visits to emergency rooms and psychiatric hospitals. Where do they go when they leave the hospital? And why do they keep coming back? …

They Are Us, Show 5: My Pad

November 20th, 2018

10:01

A story about Vermont’s only permanent, supervised housing for people with serious mental illness.

Featuring:

  • Anne Donohue, state representative …

Cheerleader

October 4th, 2018

14:39


We didn’t have cheerleading at my school. Or pep rallies. I think we would’ve made fun of cheering and cheerleaders at my school. Because we were …

Graffiti Photographer

September 28th, 2018

11:37


Steve Grody has dedicated his life to his passions. He’s an accomplished swing dance teacher. He’s a self defense instructor. And in the last twenty-eight years, he’s taken tens of thousands of photographs of graffiti …

Let’s Pull the Damn Woman Card

September 11th, 2018

22:33

This is a show about women running for office. It’s not about issues or policies. You won’t learn where these women stand on public education or …

One of Those Teachers

August 23rd, 2018

19:39


Daphne Kalmar was a school teacher for over twenty years. She taught in California, Massachusetts and then in a small school in Vermont. She was …

Amelia Drives Around

August 10th, 2018

24:56

I picked Amelia up at The Shelburne Museum the other day. It was a few hours before her soundcheck so she had some time to kill and we took a slow drive down by the lake. She drove. She’s a good driver.

Amelia is one …

Thomas Talks About Coming Out. Twice.

July 20th, 2018

14:26


Thomas Caswell has autism. Which doesn’t tell you very much about him.

Autism doesn’t describe a person. If you’ve met one person with autism, then you’ve met one person…with autism. But over the last couple years …

Leland. It’s a Porcupine!

June 28th, 2018

11:20

It’s time again for another conversation with my neighbor Leland. He’s fourteen now. He just finished eighth grade. He’s got big plans for the summer.

This is the fourth year I’ve interviewed Leland about what he’s …

Problems, Episode 2: Open Mic

June 7th, 2018

8:16

Welcome to the second episode of Problems, an occasional mini-series of  Rumble Strip. Problems. Because no problem is too small to complain about.

Police Log, Gancy’s Cows Edition

May 24th, 2018

3:27

It’s almost summer here in central Vermont, and as it gets hotter, it seems to get more dangerous. Law enforcement is working hard behind the scenes …

Shaggs’ Own Thing: The Story of the Wiggin Sisters

May 10th, 2018

30:42

Depending on who you talk to, The Shaggs were either one of the best bands from the ’60s, or one of the worst bands of all time.

Helen, Betty and Dot Wiggin grew up in Fremont, New Hampshire. They had no interest in …

Carl. A Different Breed of Cat

April 24th, 2018

16:41

Directions to Carl Blaisdell’s house: Go about seven miles down this road. Then there’s a road that kind of goes up to a Jersey farm on the left and then there’s a pond. But there’s no sign to the pond. So after the …

A Tribute to Greg Sharrow

April 4th, 2018

10:10

This is a show I made back in 2008. I’m running it as a tribute to my friend Greg Sharrow. Greg was one of the first people I met when I came back to Vermont in 2003. I didn’t have many friends, I didn’t have a job or …

Driving Around With Susan. Again!

March 29th, 2018

12:27


Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing
and rightdoing there is a field.
I’ll meet you there.

–Rumi

This winter Susan Randall worked with the defense on …

Problems, Episode 1: Grout and the Contra Dance

March 21st, 2018

10:49


[Uhm…..satire. In case that wasn’t evident….]

Some of life’s inevitable problems are big and some are quite small. But no problems are too small to complain about.

Welcome to the first installment of Problems…a …

Son Lux

March 3rd, 2018

22:18

Son Lux is a band that doesn’t live comfortably in any genre. Their sound is massive, anthemic, but it’s also strangely intimate. The rhythms are incredibly complex, and it’s shot through with these bright details of …

Learning the Trade

February 9th, 2018

21:22


The Northeast Kingdom is mostly small towns separated by miles and miles. Sometimes it’s featured in trout fishing magazines. It also has some of …

Emergency

January 16th, 2018

26:55

People having mental health crises are visiting emergency rooms in record numbers. But emergency room nurses are not trained to treat mental illnesses. This problem isn’t unique to Vermont. In fact it’s an acute …

Hitchhiker

January 10th, 2018

34:35

This is another guest show from radio producer Scott Carrier, which he produced when he was twenty-six. He hitchhiked across the United States, interviewed people along the way, and ended up at the door of NPR in …

Seasons Greetings From Liz and Jerry!

December 21st, 2017

10:43

Here is our annual season’s greetings card, this year from Liz and Jerry Danforth. Fair warning…they had a pretty rough year.

Credits

Script by writer Tal McThenia

The show is a co-production of Rumble Strip and Pod …

A Good Death

December 14th, 2017

14:39

My friend Tim Kasten died two weeks ago.

Ever since I met Tim, he’s been preparing for his own death. Partly because he had significant medical issues. But I think mostly he was preparing for his death because he …

Scott’s Nature

December 5th, 2017

10:25

I’ve been reading the news too much. I read every version of the same story in every news outlet, and sometimes I forget I’ve read them and I read them again. I think a lot of people are feeling concerned and even …

Rowell

November 14th, 2017

9:39

This fall my friend and I were going for a walk and as we walked past a small barn set down off the Upper Road in Calais, we heard someone from the barn call up to us and say, ‘You wanna come see some pigs?’

Of course …

The Museum of Everyday Life

October 28th, 2017

16:13


The mission of The Museum of Everyday Life is “a heroic, slow-motion cataloguing of the quotidian–a detailed, theatrical expression of gratitude and …

Catastrophe and Grace

October 16th, 2017

22:30

Rob Mermin had a career as a mime clown for forty years, then in 1987 he started a circus company here in Vermont called Circus Smirkus. Three years ago he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease.

This is a story about …

Hill Farm

September 24th, 2017

19:26

Peter Dunning’s farm is a Vermont hill farm. It’s a hundred and thirty-six acres of forest and orchards and wet spots and steep, rocky pasture, picked over by farmers for hundreds of years. It’s the kind of place that …

Waitress

September 1st, 2017

46:49

My mother used to say that everyone should waitress at least once.

So I did. And I failed.

In this program, I talk with some of the finest waitstaff …

Mind Windows

July 28th, 2017

11:44

Mind Windows is a public radio program that gives your mind a chance to open its windows. Open them and then…

Plain Life

July 8th, 2017

17:44

A few weeks ago I got a call from my friend Susan Randall, the private investigator you might remember from previous shows. She said that ‘T.O.’–a former client in a federal public defender case–had just been released …

Sylvan Esso is a Good Band

June 29th, 2017

31:00

The first time I learned of Amelia Meath was in an email exchange. She’d written me a nice note about Rumble Strip and at the end she wrote–in rather an understated way–‘P.S. I’m in a band. It’s called Sylvan Esso.’ …

Police Log, Burning Lawn Chairs Edition

June 19th, 2017

3:05

It’s been some time since we’ve heard reports from the police about criminal activity here in Vermont. And I’m sorry to say that so far this summer, …

Crime and Punishment Under Trump

June 7th, 2017

19:24

Last month, Attorney General Jeff Sessions sent a memo to all federal prosecutors, with new directives for charging and sentencing in criminal cases. He’s directed federal prosecutors to charge defendants with the most …

Leland is Almost Done Seventh Grade

May 11th, 2017

12:15

It’s spring in Vermont, and it’s been a full year since we heard from my friend Leland. When we left him last year, he was just about to graduate …

We Are Sending You Light

April 28th, 2017

18:09

The Eventide Singers are a volunteer hospice choir based in Greenfield, Massachusetts. They aim to comfort people who are ill, homebound, or actively …

Robert Ford Last Ambassador

April 13th, 2017

34:23

Robert Ford served as the last U.S. Ambassador to Syria. He arrived in the country right before the protests began there in 2011 and he was …

Hunger is Boring

April 3rd, 2017

18:30

This is a show about how the charitable food system works and how it’s not working.

The topic of hunger is not very exciting. Stories about problems that have always been problems are generally not very exciting. And …

The Wildlife

March 22nd, 2017

21:55

In the concrete jungle, it all starts out innocently enough: especially if you live in a high-rise.

It was a blustery Tuesday morning, when two pigeons, named Cody and Megan, were house hunting on the balcony of my …

Judge Cashman

March 8th, 2017

21:17

Ed Cashman spent twenty-five years on the bench, presiding over drunk driving cases and murders and everything in between. After a while, he started to question whether the American criminal justice system was actually …

Your Neighbor

February 24th, 2017

16:49

For the last four and a half years, Victor’s been working on dairy farms in the Northeast. Like 11 million other people in this country, he’s undocumented. I’m embarrassed to say that I’ve always assumed I knew this …

Deep Stealth Mode

February 14th, 2017

20:22

When Marlo Mack’s son was three and just learning to talk, he informed his mother that he was not a boy. He said that something had gone wrong in her tummy that made him come out as a boy instead of a girl.

Today, a …

Dunkin’ Donuts

January 31st, 2017

16:49

It’s really dark here in Vermont this time of year. And every year, by the third week in January, I feel like I’m seeing everything through the wrong end of a telescope. A dirty telescope. I stop wanting to answer the …

Benedict Arnold’s Leg

January 3rd, 2017

29:15


Steve Sheinkin is an award-winning writer of  stories for kids about American history. When he started out, he was a writer of boring textbooks for kids about American history. When he started, he was young and …

Seasonal Update from the Keens!

December 20th, 2016

9:45

Ho ho ho! It’s time again for the annual seasonal update from the Keen family!

In certain American subcultures, there’s a long holiday tradition of …

Nicholas is Waiting

December 16th, 2016

8:23

As some of you may remember, last year I did a pledge drive. It was called the Shwag Pledge Drive. I gave away a number of prizes to extremely lucky

Lentils Suck

November 30th, 2016

11:29

“That’s the thing about lentils, if they were going to soften, they would have already fucking softened. Honestly, you’d be better off waiting for …

Hot Bird. Again.

November 24th, 2016

3:27

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Here is hunter Barry Forbes talking about turkey hunting again. I could listen to Barry Forbes talk about turkey hunting …

Charlie Hunter Paints Outside

November 10th, 2016

20:30

 

Charlie Hunter is a plein air painter, which is a fancy way of saying he paints outside. His paintings of Vermont are stark and evocative and …

The Special Olympics Are Awesome

October 25th, 2016

17:59


A couple weeks ago my son and I volunteered at the soccer Special Olympics in Northfield, VT. The athletes came from all over the state and the …

Jim Rooney

October 18th, 2016

25:49

Today, an interview with songwriter and Grammy winning record producer Jim Rooney. He and his wife Carol live in an old farmhouse in Sharon, Vermont, …

When the Food Runs Out

September 24th, 2016

31:15


More and more Vermonters can’t afford groceries by the end of the month. The paycheck isn’t enough. The food stamps won’t stretch. And they’re …

Jubal. Tail End of the Old School.

September 9th, 2016

15:27

I met Jubal Durivage through my boyfriend, Gordon. Gordon and his two partners, Robby and Hilton, own a small hydroelectric plant way up near the Canadian border. It was pretty rundown when they bought it, and over …

Driving around with Susan

August 22nd, 2016

32:43

Last summer I interviewed my friend Susan Randall, a private investigator. Susan trained me as an investigator, and we’ve spent whole days driving …

Police Log, Bunk Bed Dispute Edition

August 10th, 2016

3:48

It’s hot here in central Vermont, and there’s a whole lot of crime going down. Here’s a sampling of calls to the police, as reported in the Times …

Peter Schumann, Advisor General

July 30th, 2016

33:49

This is a conversation with Bread and Puppet founder and director, Peter Schumann…a conversation in which I ask him over and over again to answer questions that don’t really have answers, about what makes a great …

The Neighborhood

July 2nd, 2016

9:40

The kids of Randolph, Vermont describe their neighborhood as a place with three purple houses. They tell me there’s a shortcut through the woods …

Last Chapter

June 9th, 2016

23:09

Rob Mermin and Bill Morancy lived in neighboring apartments in Montpelier, Vermont. They were best friends.  And when Bill was diagnosed with terminal cancer, he asked his best friend to help him die.

In 2013, …

Six Parents. Six DCF Stories

May 20th, 2016

38:22

Last winter I made a show about working for the Department of Children and Families and I’d promised to make a show about what it’s like to be a parent whose had to work with this state agency, which is responsible for …

Aunties

May 8th, 2016

5:09

Here’s another show from my friend Larry Massett’s brain. The story is called Aunties, and it’s from his soon-to-be-released podcast, Lick The Crickets. Lick the Crickets is a podcast that’s been coming soon for quite …

Leland, the Almost Middle School Edition

April 26th, 2016

11:49

Leland Kennedy lives one hill over from me in East Calais, Vermont. I interviewed Leland last year when he was ten, and I’ve received some letters from listeners wondering what he’s up to and what he’s been thinking …

Police Log, Stolen Pie Edition

April 21st, 2016

3:12

I have been remiss in reporting on calls to the local police. I apologize. Here is a sampling of reports to the Barre and Montpelier police in the …

Jesse

April 8th, 2016

23:40

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/257971136″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

Muskrat Trapper

March 25th, 2016

13:52

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/255017739″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

A Beer with Ben Hewitt

March 2nd, 2016

35:58

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/249825433″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

Berned in Reno

February 29th, 2016

11:30

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/249471566″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

The Test

February 7th, 2016

15:28

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/245930720″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

Inside DCF

January 24th, 2016

44:35

It has been a very troubling few years at Vermont’s Department of Children and Families. In 2014 there was a string of child deaths in …

Day Before Christmas Police Log

December 24th, 2015

3:23

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/238953388″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

Seasonal Update

December 16th, 2015

7:57

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/237865316″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

A Conversation with M.T. Anderson

December 9th, 2015

31:28

M.T. Anderson is the author of Feed, winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, as well as The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, which won the National Book Award. Whether it’s crafting a dystopian future, writing …

Hot Bird

November 25th, 2015

3:49

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/234650376″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

Our School

November 19th, 2015

22:55

The recent school consolidation bill promised to lower our taxes. Then it promised equal opportunity for all kids. It’s unclear how it will deliver …

In Case of Emergency

November 13th, 2015

5:40

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/232885186″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

The Schwag Raffle Draw!

November 6th, 2015

6:15

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/231822021″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

The Green River Stories

October 22nd, 2015

25:43

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/229606253″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

Schwag

October 15th, 2015

8:20

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/228542605″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

Pretend You’re the Grownup

October 9th, 2015

29:52

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/227656999″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

Press 4

October 1st, 2015

5:31

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/226435328″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

Jessamyn West. Technology Lady.

September 25th, 2015

39:57

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/225531902″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

Farewell Mark Johnson

September 11th, 2015

31:12

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/223397407″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

Police Log Summer 2015

September 3rd, 2015

2:40

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/222225987″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

Love Life

August 24th, 2015

23:31

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/220715911″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

Fred Webster

August 15th, 2015

39:07

If you throw a rock from Fred’s porch and you have a pretty good arm, you can almost hit Canada. He lives way up in Coventry, Vermont, and when I drove up to his place, I found him covered in paint, in one of his …

Bison Selfies

August 7th, 2015

10:24

This summer there have been five bison attacks in Yellowstone National Park, the result of visitors taking selfies with bison in the background. …

A Long Day on the Road

July 31st, 2015

15:38

“In the cathedral, priests with long black beards and scarlet robes are gliding through the shadows…I feel faint. It’s the heat, the fatigue, frustration — whatever, but there’s a lump in my throat and my eyes are …

Vermont Private Eye

July 26th, 2015

26:43

This is an interview with a very old friend of mine, and the person who trained me as a private investigator. She taught me everything from basics …

Homeless

July 18th, 2015

27:09

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/215213074″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

Kendall Wild, A Toast

July 11th, 2015

25:45

kuKendall Wild worked for nearly half a century at the Rutland Herald and he’s a legend in Vermont journalism. He died on April 2, 2015. By all accounts he was eccentric, competitive, and utterly committed to getting …

Drag Out

July 11th, 2015

13:53

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/214270716″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

Soccer Mom

July 5th, 2015

24:14

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/213298322″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

Three Weeks

June 24th, 2015

31:28

For the last couple years, in addition to producing this show, I’ve also been doing interviews for an organization called The Wake Up to Dying Project. The basic goal of the project is to encourage people to think and …

Cats on Boats

June 11th, 2015

7:24

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/209841412″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

Another Day Older

June 3rd, 2015

16:03

I was meeting a friend at a coffee shop and a song came on the radio that I hadn’t heard since I was in my late twenties. It reminded me of a time when I’d stay up all night long with friends, talking and drinking …

Police Log, May 2015

May 22nd, 2015

3:35

It’s time again for a sampling from the Barre and Montpelier police logs, as reported in the Times Argus. This month there were a number of …

Private Investigator

May 6th, 2015

12:12

Radio production and private investigation have a lot in common. You ask questions, find out what happened, and try to figure out why. This is a show I made with Larry Massett for NPR’s Hearing Voices in 2011. None of …

Three Things I Learned at School

April 13th, 2015

4:22

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/205325448″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

A Night on Mount Shasta

April 9th, 2015

25:24

Larry Massett was driving up through northern California toward Oregon and ended up spending a little more time at Mt. Shasta than he’d had in mind, …

Michael Chorney, Music Inventor

April 2nd, 2015

50:50


Michael Chorney is a self taught musician, arranger and composer. If you asked me what genre of music he makes, I’d have no idea. All of them? None of them?

He spent years mastering different musical genres in both …

After the Forgetting

April 2nd, 2015

58:47

This is a show about love, family and dementia. Part one features a show I made in 2008 about one family’s experience living with an elderly mother’s progressive dementia. Part two features an interview with one of the …

Why Cooking Sucks

April 2nd, 2015

10:14

This is an essay about cooking and all the shame and rage and frustration that can accompany this art. Writer Sarah Miller describes her desire to be loved and appreciated for her fig galettes, and her decision to quit …

Shannon

March 24th, 2015

9:33

Today, a true story about two strangers who meet and talk very late one night on a northbound NYC subway. The story is from Otto Trautz, and was …

Eyes on the Sky

March 19th, 2015

3:30

Into Tuesday we’ll see gusty winds, an early morning cold front east of Route 2 and a massive low pressure system delivering winter-like …

The Oligarchy of Participation

March 4th, 2015

4:24

Welcome to The Mudroom. This is a commentary from Hilton Dier of Middlesex, Vermont. He proposes that much of Vermont politics is really about who …

Ed Epstein, A Life in Art

March 2nd, 2015

49:11

Ed Epstein is a portrait artist of some renown in these parts. But painting has comprised only a fraction of Ed’s artistic life. As a kid in the fifties he hitch hiked across the country with only a banjo and a few …

Here’s a Song For You

March 2nd, 2015

4:23

Tonight I was driving home from Montpelier with my son, and we were both happy because today really did feel like maybe spring will come this year, and we were listening to Miriam Bernardo sing. It was a recording I …

Police Log, March 2015

March 1st, 2015

3:09

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/195178661″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

More Poopy Old People

February 23rd, 2015

7:49

A couple months ago I ran a commentary by Marc Estrin called Poopy Old Man. In this commentary, he talks about feeling increasingly invisible to the …

Object of My Affection

February 15th, 2015

15:21

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/191291077″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

Police Log

February 2nd, 2015

2:37

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/189626294″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

Leland

January 27th, 2015

9:34

From my house, if you take a left through the woods, then a right up a dirt road, and then another right up another dirt road, you come to a really …

Piano Practice

January 21st, 2015

4:55

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/187185013″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

Solidod, An Apache Original

January 8th, 2015

50:47

This is a show produced by Larry Massett, for NPR’s Hearing Voices. It features remarkable stories from Solidod, the last remaining member of her …

Big Job

December 26th, 2014

59:37

This week’s episode is about one of life’s hardest and most humbling jobs. Parenting. You’ll hear stories about potty training, power struggles, living with teenagers, character-driven parenting, and negotiating new …

Truck

December 26th, 2014

7:47

We live in a place where trucks are a kind of passion. It’s not overt. It’s an understated, Vermont kind of passion. According to TheCarStarter.com, Vermonters sometimes heat up when you get them talking about Ford vs. …

Poopy Old Man

December 24th, 2014

6:00

We are all busy getting older, for better and for worse. Here is an unvarnished perspective on aging by author Marc Estrin.

Marc Estrin is a writer, …

Buy Nothing Day

December 18th, 2014

6:31

Welcome to The Mudroom, a joint commentary series of Rumble Strip Vermont and The Dooryard.

In time for the holidays, we bring you a commentary about …

A Vermonter’s Lament

December 12th, 2014

5:00

I don’t know what you’d call this. A commentary? A riff? An agricultural lament?

This is how Alan LePage started his show a few weeks ago, and I …

The Eyes of Sibiu

December 7th, 2014

17:30

This is a story produced by my friend Larry Massett. A few years ago Larry took a trip with public radio personality Andre Codrescu. Andre grew up in Romania in times of hardship. After twenty years as an American …

Gold, Frankenstein and Myrrh

December 7th, 2014

5:05

From the Saviour’s conception to offerings of gold, Frankenstein and myrrh, six year old Erin Magill of Moretown, Vermont tells her version of the …

Magic: The Gathering

December 3rd, 2014

11:08

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/179849504″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

Rock Lottery

November 11th, 2014

3:25

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/176331320″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

Raw Tape

November 7th, 2014

18:32

This is an unedited interview I did with a young man in Barre, Vermont in 2011. He gave me permission to use this tape, but I’ve chosen not to use his name in order to protect his privacy. I’ll call him ‘O’.

I had …

Peace, Love and Occupation?

November 6th, 2014

5:21

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/175689933″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

Jamie Cope in Black and White

October 24th, 2014

36:49

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/173664668″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

Town

October 10th, 2014

22:03

Town is a sound exhibit that I produced for the Kent Museum in Calais, Vermont. It weaves together personal stories and memories about growing up in Calais, and natural sounds recorded around town.

There’s no start or …

My Son Teaches Me a Game

September 15th, 2014

4:35

This is a raw recording of my son teaching me how to play a card game called Magic. Does anyone know what he’s talking about? Please advise.

And featuring a picture of a cruel pinata in Hancock, Vermont, crafted by my …

The Taxidermists

September 12th, 2014

22:53

Rodney and Theresa Elmer are a taxidermy power duo in Northfield, Vermont. In this interview, they talk about the art and psychology of mounting …

Strange Days

August 25th, 2014

22:27

The farther you go from home, the stranger things get.

Here is a story by Larry Massett about the life and work of Paul Bowles.

This program …

Vermont Health Disconnect

August 17th, 2014

7:07

Jessamyn West studies and writes about the digital divide and she solves technology problems for a living. This summer she found herself unemployed, …

Thunder Road

July 19th, 2014

11:57

For generations of Vermonters, Thursday nights in the summer have meant one thing….Thunder Road.
This quarter mile short track opened in 1960 and it’s home to some of the most passionate drivers and fans you’re likely …

Night Dreams of Another Life

July 14th, 2014

6:23


Welcome to The Mud Room, a joint commentary series from Rumble Strip Vermont and The Dooryard.

A late night shopping cart reminds Marc Estrin of a song from Schubert’s song cycle, Winterreise (Winter Journey).

Marc …

A Man of Wealth and Taste

July 10th, 2014

3:23

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/158099219″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

The 17 Dollar Tomato

June 10th, 2014

5:43

Welcome to The Mud Room, a joint commentary project of Rumble Strip Vermont and The Dooryard.

In this first commentary we bring you Walt Amses, a writer and former educator in North Calais, Vermont. The essay is called

The Milk Bowl

May 2nd, 2014

11:23

For generations of Vermonters, Thursday nights in the summer have meant one thing….Thunder Road.
This quarter mile short track opened in 1960 and it’s home to some of the most passionate drivers and fans you’re likely …

Boring Man

April 1st, 2014

10:11

Everyone’s heard about Burning Man, the counter-cultural festival held every summer in Black Rock City Nevada. Sex, drugs, monumental …

Woodstove

March 27th, 2014

13:32

I went to a friend’s house the other night and she led me into her den where her best wood stove was and she sighed and said, ‘And this is where I live.’

It’s been a long winter and a lot of us have spent the better …

Dry Wall

February 5th, 2014

10:59

A dry wall is built with no mortar. The stones are carefully selected and they interlock and gravity holds them in place. The Great Wall of China was …

Mortality Tales

January 20th, 2014

24:13

For the last year I’ve been conducting interviews about death and dying for The Wake Up to Dying Project–a project that encourages people to think, and talk about death and dying.  The goal is to help people be a …

Jack’s Buck

November 28th, 2013

10:26

Here is one final deer story, recorded this year after youth hunting weekend. Jack Fannon, 12, went out hunting on his parents’ land in Calais, with friend, mentor, and hunter safety instructor Bob Raskevitz. Here’s …

Alan LePage

October 9th, 2013

39:34

Alan LePage has been an organic vegetable gardener in central Vermont for over thirty years–long before anyone cared much about organic farming–long, long before words like ‘sustainable’, ‘local’, ‘artisinal’ started …

Geof Hewitt

September 12th, 2013

49:37

An interview with poet, teacher, and reigning Vermont poetry slam champion, Geof Hewitt. In this interview, Geof talks about a lifetime of writing …

That Song

August 14th, 2013

30:40

This is a show about songs, and stories about songs. You’ll  hear about sack races, summer camp, love lost and found–and the songs that marked these events. There is some Meat Loaf this hour. There is brave singing and …

Prisoner of Zion

August 3rd, 2013

45:46

This week features radio producer and writer Scott Carrier, reading from his book, Prisoner of Zion. This program was produced by Larry Massett for …

Prisoners of War

July 19th, 2013

56:01

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/140254783″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” …

Road Scholars

June 7th, 2013

49:42

This week’s episode of Rumble Strip is about the high art of Vermont road maintenance, and the diplomacy required to (almost) please everyone.  It features interviews with East Montpelier road foreman Mike Garand and …

Miriam Bernardo

May 23rd, 2013

1:01:59

Singer Miriam Bernardo talks about what can go right, and wrong—onstage. She talks about how she puts a life together as a musician in central Vermont, and what it feels like to sing, and live—wide open. And? We get to …

Colin McCaffrey Talks Shop

May 9th, 2013

58:47

In the maiden voyage of Rumble Strip Vermont, musician and producer Colin McCaffrey discusses the expectation of inspiration in a cup of tea, music …

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