Brave Little State: All Vermont, all the time

The Premise (from Apple Podcasts):

What if you could decide what stories Vermont Public Radio should be covering, before they're even assigned? That's the idea behind Brave Little State.

Series or standalone:

Standalone

Begin listening to:

Any episode

Format:

Listeners submit questions which the VPR hosts then report on

Sound/production quality:

Very good

Rating/age suitability:

Fine for all, but kids aren't as likely to be interested in most topics

Approximate length of episodes:

20 minutes

Curricular ties:

Some topics might work well in middle or high school classrooms, but the topics are pretty specific

Similar recommended pods:

For hyperlocal reporting of a different region, check out Inside Appalachia

Podcast Librarian’s Review:

I recently returned from a trip to Stockbridge, Vermont, and this was one of the podcasts I listened to prior to the trip. I find I enjoy these more localized podcasts on occasion, especially if I’m headed somewhere I haven’t been before. BLS is especially cool because the topics are crowd-sourced; listeners send in their questions about Vermont-specific topics, and the VPR reporters research and deliver the stories. It’s such a simple concept to let listeners decide the content, but this is the first time I’ve heard about a podcast/radio program that does this. Because of the open-ended nature, episodes includes topics related to business, science/environmental issues, social issues, history, the economy, and more. I listened to a few episodes about the Vermont accent, why many Vermonters work several jobs, and the housing crunch in cities like Burlington. There are many more episodes that sound interesting; only a few seem like they would be exclusively of interest to locals. With episodes that are under 30 minutes and a professional but lighthearted reporting style, BLS is worth checking out if you are a Vermont resident, planning a trip to Vermont, or just want to hear how other people live. By the way, Vermont Public Radio has lots of other great shows, including Jolted, which I recently reviewed. ⠀