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All Episodes

The Montpelier Happy Hour — 204 episodes

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Title
1

News Roundup with Randolph T. Holhut: H.995 education bill, lawmakers retire, Brattleboro and Hinsdale debate bridges

2

Act 181, Primary Candidates, and the Legislative Session without End with John Walters

3

REBROADCAST: Housing and Land Use

4

Uneven Impacts? Vermont's Act 181 Tier 3 and Rural Communities

5

News roundup with John Walters: Staying optimistic (really)

6

REBROADCAST: Mike Pieciak and Supporting Vermont's Businesses Through Positive Regulation

7

Vermont's Annual Town Meeting, more than just a meeting - OR - How do we define ourselves?

8

A promotion, a budget address, and cost shifting with John Walters

9

What Vermont's municipalities need in 2026

10

State of Working Vermont report 2025: Vermont's economy is the same but different

11

Vermont's Legislature returns to Montpelier. Education is Gov. Scott's top priority.

12

December 1 Education Tax Rate Letter with Rep. Emilie Kornheiser

13

A Deeper Look at the School District Redistricting Task Force Report

14

News roundup with John Walters

15

Randy Holhut on Windham County's local news ecosystem, the VDP's new chair, and BCTV turns 50

16

A reading of H.91

17

Rep. Leslie Goldman on the 2025 Legislative Session

18

Rep. Christopher Morrow on the 2025 Legislative Session

19

Campaign finances, campaign 2026, community news, and why they all matter

20

REBROADCAST: Public policy, systems, and us

21

Chaos, building alliances, and AI in newsrooms

22

Sen. Nader Hashim shares his take on the 2025 Legislative session

23

Three Reps weigh in on their first 2025 Legislative session

24

REBROADCAST: Preparing for the first of many firsts

25

Catching up on the news with John Walters

26

Rep. Michelle Bos-Lun on the 2025 Legislative Session

27

Rep. Mollie Burke on the 2025 Legislative Session

28

Sen. Wendy Harrison on the 2025 Legislative Session

29

The veto of H.91

30

Fixing the squeeze in Vermont's education funding

31

Three perspectives on the new biennium

32

Tax policy and the dirty words of 2025

33

Our Political Ancestor: Governor Deane Davis

34

Preparing for the first of many firsts

35

What we talk about when everything feels like work

36

December 1 education tax letter

37

REBROADCAST: Civic Yarn: Ep1 – Rep. Jill Krowinski and Sen. Becca Balint

38

"A lurch to the right and the weird": A post-elections conversation

39

REBROADCAST: COVID, elections, uncertainty, and all the feels

40

All the November 5 Feels

41

Reference Based Pricing, a possible tool for reducing healthcare costs

42

Negative mailers, being nice, and what's different about campaign 2024?

43

Voting styles and political parties in Vermont

44

Health Care in Vermont: The Office of the Health Care Advocate

45

Health Care in Vermont: Care, not just treatment

46

REBROADCAST: Health care - we all need it. But can we all afford it?

47

Is Vermont's State Hazard Mitigation Plan effective?

48

2025 Vermont Housing Needs: Make sure you're solving the problems that actually exists

49

One Big Puzzle: Brattleboro's 2024 Crime Data

50

Spicey and hopeful political nihilists

51

Esther Charlestin: Systems change and moving forward together

52

2024 Primary wrap-up and the soothing sound of Phil Scott's voice

53

Primary 2024: Zon Eastes

54

The Myth is a Myth and Other Stories of Vermont and Hippies

55

Primary 2024: Emilie Kornheiser

56

Primary 2024: Amanda Ellis-Thurber

57

Primary 2024: Emily Carris Duncan

58

Primary 2024: Ian Goodnow

59

Primary 2024: David Gartenstein

60

The 2024 veto session... as described on social media

61

REBROADCAST: Seeking the (many) single solution to the housing crisis

62

Crafting good policy and learning the value of strong relationships

63

Listening to constituents and casting unique votes

64

Viewing the 2024 Legislative session from the outside and the inside

65

2024 and the Legislative session of doing hard things

66

Campus violence. Revenge porn. And. Hope.

67

Taxes and paying for civilization

68

The Degree of the Crisis has Increased

69

A municipal perspective on 2024 legislation

70

The State of Vermont can't be just any employer

71

State Auditor Evaluates State's Role in EB-5 Fraud

72

Balancing Act: Caring for vulnerable people and a state's willingness to spend

73

The State of Working Vermont. Thumbs up? Thumbs down?

74

Badges of Corruption

75

The quiet significance of Annual Town Meeting 2024

76

Education funding, conscious choices, and defaults

77

Intersecting crises

78

Preparing for the Presidential Primary and building civic muscles

79

Reflecting on 50 years at the Women's Freedom Center

80

REBROADCAST: Checking in on the state of Vermont's rural internet

81

Finding more pieces for the housing puzzle

82

Updating the definition of abuse

83

Keeping eyes and ears on the State House

84

Welcome 2024's Legislative Session!

85

Goodbye 2023! Hello 2024

86

Funding Vermont's Future with 3%

87

Health care - we all need it. But can we all afford it?

88

Understanding Vermont's potential 18.5% education tax increase (hint: it might be less)

89

Is Vermont's regulated cannabis market living up to expectations?

90

Episode 250!

91

Funding to mitigate disasters

92

Opiates and moving past approaches that don't help

93

The myths of rural Vermont

94

Vermont's lawsuit against Meta

95

REBROADCAST: Rural Issues in a rural state

96

REBROADCAST: H.57, the power of witnessing, and flipping the wage script

97

Is impeachment the best path to accountability?

98

Dams, overpayments, and running state government

99

Our Political Ancestor Philip H. Hoff

100

Our Political Ancestor Gov. William H. Wills

101

Our Political Ancestor Gov. John E. Weeks

102

Our Political Ancestor Gov. Frederick Holbrook

103

Our Political Ancestor Gov. Thomas Chittenden

104

REBROADCAST: Welcome to Themepark Vermont

105

Flooding 2023 - The crisis is over. Now the hard work.

106

Flooding 2023: Rebuilding isn't enough

107

REBROADCAST: A budget that meets people's needs

108

REBROADCAST: Civil debate, or the lack thereof

109

Shaping the Future one data point at a Time

110

S.5: Reducing Vermont's greenhouse gas emissions and keeping heat affordable

111

Post cross-over, what is happening with Paid Family Medical Leave

112

Town Meeting Roundup 2023

113

REBROADCAST: 2019 Moving Beyond Winners and Losers

114

Online sports betting in Vermont

115

Seeking the (many) single solution to housing

116

Shield Laws and their role in Reproductive Liberty

117

Fatal partners

118

A budget that meets people's needs

119

Designing policy as if it's New Year's Day 365

120

A return to paid family medical leave and MLK

121

New Senator at Week 1

122

Housing, child care, rural communities, and 2023

123

Vermont needs a new normal and goodbye 2022!

124

Taxes as infrastructure

125

Checking in on the House Committee on Human Services

126

Checking in with Gov Ops

127

Seeing slavery in the Vermont Constitution

128

Abolishing Slavery in Vermont

129

Candidate interview with Brenda Siegel

130

Candidate Interview with Rick Morton

131

When the flood of money dries up

132

Candidate Interview with Tim Wessel

133

Candidate interview with Charlie Kimball

134

Protecting our personal data

135

Candidate Interview: Michael Pieciak is running for State Treasurer

136

Capping off the 2021-2022 Legislative biennium

137

Welcome to Themepark Vermont

138

What didn't happen during the Legislative session?

139

REBROADCAST: A reading of the Vermont Constitution, part 1

140

Act 250 and a history of land use in VT

141

Building a Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Vermont

142

COVID relief for homeowners and other conversations about housing

143

Supporting Reach Up in the time of COVID

144

Everything that's old is new again

145

Town Meeting 2022: Vermont in miniature

146

Is it time to switch from pandemic planning to endemic planning?

147

Special rebroadcast of 'Legislating Morality: Drugs' and remembering David Poses

148

What's up with the vetoes?

149

An update on Vermont state pensions

150

Can a tax credit reduce child poverty?

151

Redistricting and what changes it may bring

152

Welcome 2022 and a new Legislative Session

153

A reading of the 1997 court decision Brigham v. State

154

A reading of Gov. Madeleine M. Kunin's 1985 inaugural address

155

Municipal mask mandates

156

Determining demand, fees, and licenses for Vermont's recreational cannabis market

157

An update on the She-cession

158

Pulling on the Many Threads of Vermont's Education Funding System

159

Rural issues in a rural state

160

Preparing for ARPA - a local perspective

161

Guides to welcoming refugees into rural communities

162

Redefining dignity and the nature of work

163

The state of emergency housing after the end of the state's emergency order

164

Public Health lessons for Vermont: take 2

165

Hybrid meetings, unemployment, and observing Labor Day

166

Reading and reflecting on the Vermont Constitution (part 2)

167

A reading of the Vermont Constitution, part 1

168

So, you want an energy grid powered by renewables?

169

Finding a first home in a second home market

170

Building Vermont's Climate Action Plan

171

What is up with technology in Vermont?

172

The long process of voting

173

A veto for a new rental housing bill

174

Fairness, lawsuits, and the future of Vermont's education voucher system

175

Local control, yes! Well, maybe?

176

Public health decisions in a pandemic and the need for equity

177

Cannabis in Vermont, where are we now?

178

ARPA funding and changes in Vermont's health insurance market

179

Summing up the Legislative (Zoom) session

180

A proposal for the future of Vermont

181

Because taxes pay for things we like. Right?

182

Voting rights for 16 & 17 year olds and Town Charters

183

Finding the best way forward with prison reforms

184

Lighting the legislative Christmas tree on fire and other adventures in revising tax code

185

A windfall of money and future sustainability

186

Long-term funding issues and their immediate pains

187

Community broadband and the last mile

188

Land sovereignty: what it is and what it is not

189

Transitioning to a low carbon future

190

Reviewing progress at the legislative midpoint

191

Reducing Harm and Building Connection

192

Civil debate, or the lack thereof

193

Supporting Older Vermonters with dignity

194

Expanding child care takes more than adding programs

195

How to recover from a pandemic

196

Taxes, fairness, and sustainability

197

When staying home is not staying safe

198

Navigating a remote legislature, the 2021 edition

199

Welcome 2021!

200

New leadership looks towards new biennium

201

NPAs and increasing citizen participation in government

202

The ongoing protections of civil liberties

203

A new biennium in an ongoing pandemic

204

The elections happened, now what?