Brave Little State

McKayla Baker has two dogs, Casey and Nettles, who for years she took to the same local veterinary clinic — until a few years ago, when she noticed changes like extra fees and recommendations for expensive treatments. She found out that the clinic she thought was still independently owned had been acquired by a big corporation backed by private equity. That got her wondering:To what extent has private equity quietly consolidated Vermont's veterinary market? And what are the primary hidden risks for pet owners like me?Click here for photos and a full episode transcript.Update 9/16/26: Before publication, we contacted McKayla’s vet to give them an opportunity to respond to the concerns she raised in the story. The practice didn’t respond until after publication. They did not address the specific treatment decisions McKayla described, but said while the practice is part of a larger network, clinical decisions remain with its local veterinarians and care teams — and added that being part of a network provides additional resources and treatment options. Further resources: SEARCH: Private Equity Vet SEARCH: Independent Vet LISTEN: "Loving Their Pets to Debt," from The Daily LISTEN: "Should You Trust Private Equity to Take Care of Your Dog?" from Freakonomics Radio LISTEN: "A pro-worker experiment in private equity," from NPR's Planet Money READ:Plunder: Private Equity's Plan to Pillage America, by Brendan Ballou This episode was reported by Josh Crane. Editing and production from the rest of the BLS team: That’s Burgess Brown and Sabine Poux. Our intern is Sarah Bokelberg. Our executive producer is Angela Evancie. Theme music by Ty Gibbons; other music by Blue Dot Sessions.Special thanks to Zoe McDonald and Francis Wong, Kathleen Lanphear, Pam McCann, and Kim and Scott Martin.As always, our journalism is better when you’re a part of it: Ask a question about Vermont Sign up for the BLS newsletter Say hi on Instagram and Reddit @bravestatevt Drop us an email: [email protected] Make a gift to support people-powered journalism Tell your friends about the show!

Vermont is home to tons of peculiar road names. Every year, you nominate your favorites — and we crisscross the state looking for answers. Dive right into our exploration of Green Dolphin Drive in South Burlington. Wade into the origin story of Butternut Gutter in Arlington. And crack open our investigation of Old Shincracker Lane in Baltimore (and, yes, that’s Baltimore, Vermont). If you’re craving even more weird road name stories, explore all eight previous installments in this annual road names series. You can also submit your favorite road name for consideration in the future!Also – get a wicked cool limited-edition BLS Road Names tote bag by supporting our work for $10/month. Click here to get started.This episode was reported by Burgess Brown, Sarah Bokelberg and Josh Crane. It was produced and edited by Sabine Poux. Angela Evancie is Brave Little State’s Executive Producer. Our theme music is by Ty Gibbons; other music by Blue Dot Sessions.Special thanks to Mikaela Lefrak, Karen Jamiel, Maddison Potter, Al Farrington, Missy Marcell, Rick Hecht, Amanda Gustin, Steve Picazio, Gail Weisse, Sandy Rich, Carla Westine, Andy Kolovos, Theo Avent, Ellen Clattenburg, Josh Morse, Marla Krueger, Dale Bergdahl and Katie Dixon.As always, our journalism is better when you’re a part of it: Ask a question about Vermont Say hi on Instagram and Reddit @bravestatevt Drop us an email: [email protected] Make a gift to support people-powered journalism Tell your friends about the show! Brave Little State is a production of Vermont Public and a proud member of the NPR Network. 

Today, instead of chasing down leads and crisscrossing the state to satisfy your curiosity about one Vermont story or another, we’re going to indulge your curiosity about the show itself. A few months ago, the BLS team welcomed friends and fans to Northern Stage in White River Junction for an event we called “Behind the Mic with Brave Little State.”  We lifted the hood on how we make the show, dissected all-time favorite episodes and answered questions from the audience. We even revealed a mortifying “blooper” (eek!).We had a great time, so we decided to share a (lightly condensed and edited) recording from the event with all of you!To mark a decade of BLS, we’re releasing a limited edition tote bag! It features original art with some of our favorite Vermont road names from episodes past. To get one, support our work for $10/month. Click here to get started.Sign up for our (free) newsletter to get updates about future events.This episode was edited and produced by the BLS team: Burgess Brown, Sabine Poux and Josh Crane. Our intern is Sarah Bokelberg and our executive producer is Angela Evancie. Theme music by Ty Gibbons.Special thanks to Amy Zielinski, Jason Smoller, Joshua Davis, Milena Zuccotti, Rachel Thomeer and everyone who joined us for a special evening at Northern Stage.As always, our journalism is better when you’re a part of it: Ask a question about Vermont Say hi on Instagram and Reddit @bravestatevt Drop us an email: [email protected] Make a gift to support people-powered journalism Tell your friends about the show! Brave Little State is a production of Vermont Public and a proud member of the NPR Network. 

Bethel, Vermont is home to a rare geological treasure: a brilliant granite that’s often described as the whitest in the world. The stone has been quarried there for generations and sent as far as Paris and Abu Dhabi. Two local residents want to know: Why is this stone found in Bethel, of all places? And is it found anywhere else?Thanks to Bennett Law and Owen Daniel-McCarter for the great questions. Click here for photos and a full episode transcript.For more on granite in Vermont, here are some suggested resources: Vermont Stones/Italian Bones (2016) by Bill Johansen, published by the Bethel Historical Society A three-part series about the Woodbury Granite Company by Paul Wood in The Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association, 2021 “How has the geology of Vermont affected its character?” (Brave Little State, 2017) “Meet Giuliano Cecchinelli, Barre's last Italian stone carver” (Vermont Public, 2023) This episode was reported by Sabine Poux. Editing and production from the rest of the BLS team: That’s Burgess Brown and Josh Crane. Our intern is Sarah Bokelberg. Our executive producer is Angela Evancie. Theme music by Ty Gibbons; other music by Blue Dot Sessions.Special thanks to Gail Wiese, Timothy Rath, Laurie Grigg and Denise Guilmette.As always, our journalism is better when you’re a part of it: Ask a question about Vermont Sign up for the BLS newsletter Say hi onInstagram and Reddit @bravestatevt Drop us an email: [email protected] Make a gift to support people-powered journalism Tell your friends about the show! Brave Little State is a production of Vermont Public and a proud member of the NPR Network. 

Last year, a listener question inspired us to spend 12 whole hours at a park-and-ride lot in Richmond. This year, we posted up at another Vermont mainstay – a popular ice cream shop near the beaches of Lake Champlain, in Colchester. The Village Scoop is the kind of place where, if you stay put long enough, you can watch a whole Vermont summer unfold in one day. So, we arrived hours before the shop opened and stayed long after the last customer was served.During our marathon day there,  we got a real taste of Vermont summer at its peak, in all its sweltering, melting glory.Click here for the web version of this episode, including photos and a full transcript.This episode was reported and produced by Josh Crane, Sabine Poux and Burgess Brown. Our intern is Sarah Bokelberg. Our Executive Producer is Angela Evancie. Theme music by Ty Gibbons; Other music by Blue Dot Sessions.Special thanks to Catherine Hurley, Scott Waterman, Chelsea Blais, Hannah Smiley, Emma Foss and Meg Hershman.As always, our journalism is better when you’re a part of it: Ask a question about Vermont Sign up for the BLS newsletter Say hi onInstagram and Reddit @bravestatevt Drop us an email: [email protected] Make a gift to support people-powered journalism Tell your friends about the show! Brave Little State is a production of Vermont Public and a proud member of the NPR Network.