Allen Gilbert, executive director of the Vermont ACLU, discusses threats to privacy and civil liberties and the ways that Vermont is becoming “a surveillance state.” And Gar Alperovitz talks about practical alternatives to capitalism in the U.S. and his new book, What Then Must We Do? Straight Talk About the Next American Revolution.
Allison Hooper, founder of Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery, talks about the rewards and challenges of farming in Vermont and being a woman farmer. Pete Johnson, the farmer-owner of Pete’s Greens discusses sustainable ag, GMOs, and his vision for a state that sustains itself on local agriculture. Kathryn Blume talks in our closing minutes about Vermontivate, a community sustainability game.
Sweatshops, worker’s rights, fair trade and the Bangladesh garment factory disaster, with Barbara Briggs, assistant director of the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights. In our second half we talk with Candace Page, recently retired after 30 years as a reporter with the Burlington Free Press, about her life in Vermont journalism.
We join the global hunt for the perfect cup of Joe and learn how coffee can be used to promote social change with Lindsey Bolger, “a celebrity superstar in the coffee world” and Senior Director of Coffee for Keurig Green Mountain, and Rick Peyser, Keurig Green Mountain’s Director of Social Advocacy and Supply Chain Community Outreach.
A May Day special live from the Vt State House on Vermont’s hidden workers: Undocumented Mexican workers Oliver Lopez and Danilo Lopez talk about their life in Vermont, their role in the economy and the importance of being able to drive a car legally. We are also joined by Brendan O’Neil of Migrant Justice and Mary Gerisch, president of the Vermont Worker’s Center. Dan Barlow of VBSR also updates us on pending legislation.
Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, discusses what makes a business socially responsible, his Stamp Stampede campaign to get money out of politics, the boycott campaign against Ben & Jerry’s over ice cream sales in Israel and the Occupied Territories, his thoughts on Occupy Wall Street, and humor in organizing. We also talk with Falko Schilling of VPIRG about the campaign to require labeling of genetically engineered food.
Judy Wicks, VBSR’s 2013 Spring Conference keynote speaker, socially responsible business pioneer and founder of the White Dog Cafe in Philadelphia, talks about her work, life, and her new memoir, Good Morning, Beautiful Business: The Unexpected Journey of an Activist Entrepreneur and Local Economy Pioneer.
Larry Plesent, founder and CEO of Vermont Soap and Anna Barrett, owner of Way Out Wax, talk about the trials, tribulations, and satisfaction of running businesses consistent with their values.
Vermont Land Trust leaders Gil Livingston and Elise Annes tell the remarkable story of how skiers and land conservationists teamed up to preserve one of Vermont’s most cherished (and endangered) skiing & hiking stashes, the $1.8 million purchase of Bolton’s backcountry. They are joined by Ann Gotham, head of Friends of Bolton Nordic and Backcountry, and 90 yr-old ski pioneer Clem Holden.
Rob Williams, talks about the new book he edited, “Most Likely to Secede.” We also speak with Lynne Goodson, from VBSR’s Local First Vermont program, about their annual Buy Local coupon book and localfirstvermont.org
Mary Powell, CEO of Green Mountain Power and one of the few female energy company executives in the country, talks about Vermont’s renewable energy initiatives, the controversies over wind and nuclear power, and women and leadership.
Vermont Secretary of Education Armando Vilaseca discusses education reform, the battle over school funding, and his background as a Cuban immigrant coming to Vermont. The last part of the show include VBSR’s Dan Barlow discussing the hot issues pending in Vermont legislature at the midterm break.
How Vermont is exporting energy innovations to the world — the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation Story: Our guests are Beth Sachs, VEIC founder; Scudder Parker, VEIC consulting director; and Jim Merriam, director of Efficiency Vermont.
Forty years after the landmark Supreme Court decision Roe v Wade that legalized abortion, we look at abortion in Vermont before and after legalization. We speak with Dr. Emma Ottolenghi, a founding physician for the Vermont Women’s Health Center, which opened in 1972 and was among the first places to offer safe and legal abortions in Vermont; Rep. Jill Krowinski, Vermont State Representative and director of public affairs for Vermont for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England; and Lynn Paltrow, executive director of National Advocates for Pregnant Women and a senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project, who discusses the state of abortion rights today.
Former Vermont Gov. Madeleine Kunin is our guest for the hour. Kunin was Vermont’s first and only female governor and the first Vt. governor to serve three terms (1985-1991). She went on to become the Deputy Secretary of Education and Ambassador to Switzerland in the Clinton Administration, and is now the Marsh Professor at UVM. She reflects on what inspired her to run for governor, talks about her latest book, “The New Feminist Agenda,” and offers her insights into the challenges confronting women in work and politics, death with dignity, equal pay for women, how to break the political gridlock in Washington, and her legacy. (Kunin interview starts at 4:00 following a legislative update from VBSR policy manager Dan Barlow)
What is Victoria’s dirty secret? We discuss the global campaign to get toxins out of clothing with John Deans, director of Greenpeace Detox Fashion campaign. Greenpeace recently got Victoria‘s Secret (as well as Levi’s, Nike, Adidas, and 14 major global clothing brands) to remove toxins from their clothes. In the second half of the show I talk with Jeffrey Hollender, founder of Seventh Generation, co-chair of Greenpeace and a pioneer in sustainable business, about his second act after parting ways with the company he founded. He reveals his plans to launch a new company later this year, one that embodies the highest principles of social justice, equality, and transparency.
Casey Sheahan, CEO of Patagonia, talks about the next industrial revolution, which includes corporate transparency, human rights, stopping climate change, and fly fishing. Paul Cillo of the Public Assets Institute also joins us to talk about the state of the Vermont economy.
“School to life” programs in Vermont — innovative efforts to connect students with jobs. We speak with:
Author and activist Bill McKibben talks about climate change, the fossil fuel corporate divestment campaign, a proposed wind moratorium in Vermont, and the Boston Red Sox.
Vermont Conversation 