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Vermont Public Docs

Vermont Public

Special series and audio documentaries from Vermont's public media source.

Vermont Public

Special series and audio documentaries from Vermont's public media source.

Vermont Public
12hr 15min
Thumbnail for "The Arts that Shape Us #2: Tibetan Music and Dance".
For Tibetan-American artist Migmar Tsering, music and dance are inextricably linked to being Tibetan.Migmar first learned traditional dance in the village of Langkor in the county of Tingri. He was…
June 18, 202534min 9sec49.03 MB
Thumbnail for "Coming of age — and coming out — in the time of civil unions".
July 1st, 2025 marks the 25th anniversary of civil unions in Vermont. This legal alternative to marriage was the first of its kind in the United States. In the Vermont Supreme Court case Baker v.…
June 30, 202526min 25sec38.12 MB
Thumbnail for "The Arts that Shape Us #1: Barre Stone Carvers".
Since at least the 1870s, people in central Vermont have cut, chiseled, hoisted, polished, and carved local granite, creating monuments, statues, and especially memorial grave markers. The granite…
June 18, 202535min 39sec51.12 MB
Thumbnail for "The Afghan Women of Brattleboro #6: Tremendous Journey".
“There is a lot of change from the beginning up to now, and we are still learning every day.”The experience of resettling in Brattleboro has changed not only the Afghan women who had to rebuild the…
May 12, 202537min 4sec35.62 MB
Thumbnail for "The Afghan Women of Brattleboro #5: Home Lives".
“My daughters will be raised in America, so their lives will be different from mine.”Some Afghan women in Brattleboro left their country because their husbands had jobs connected to the Afghan mil…
May 12, 202525min 3sec24.11 MB
Thumbnail for "The Afghan Women of Brattleboro #4: Like a Stone".
“Many of us who are here in Brattleboro ... we had a good life in Afghanistan.”Afghan women in their 40s and 50s grew up surrounded by war. They went to school off and on, depending on how much vio…
May 12, 202525min 51sec24.88 MB
Thumbnail for "The Afghan Women of Brattleboro #3: Another Page".
“I grew up with all these stories, all this history. How can I accept in one night, everything is changed?”Many young women who came of age during Afghanistan’s 20 years of democracy went to high sc…
May 12, 202524min 54sec23.98 MB
Thumbnail for "The Afghan Women of Brattleboro #2: Arrival".
“Is any place in the United States of America called Vermont?”As Afghan women left their country and embarked on a journey halfway around the world, they mourned their losses: family, homes, car…
May 12, 202522min 46sec21.93 MB
Thumbnail for "The Afghan Women of Brattleboro #1: One Backpack".
“The day the Taliban took control of our country, how much we cried no one can imagine.”When the fundamentalist Taliban seized power in 2021, Afghan citizens were shocked and terrified. They fled th…
May 12, 202519min 23sec18.69 MB
Thumbnail for "The only primary care doctor in Island Pond".
Dr. Bob Primeau is the only primary care doctor for miles. He has spent his entire career taking care of patients from the day they’re born until the day they die. But his field is changing, and P…
April 29, 202520min 33sec19.75 MB
Thumbnail for "Exposed".
Homeless Vermonters face many deadly risks. But the state doesn't track how many have died, or what kills them. A first-of-its kind analysis by Vermont Public and Seven Days identified at least 82…
February 5, 202517min 37sec42.34 MB
Thumbnail for "The Heartbreak Hotel".
The Heartbreak Hotel
October 8, 202427min 18sec26.22 MB
Thumbnail for "Two Vermont voices reflect on the Israel-Hamas war".
"Uncomfortable conversations need to happen." Raneen Salha and Sarah White discuss their thoughts, feelings and personal connections to the war between Israel and Hamas.
July 30, 202428min 38sec41.2 MB
Thumbnail for "Trials & Tribulations: A week inside Vermont's busiest courthouse".
Trials & Tribulations: A week inside Vermont's busiest courthouse
May 28, 202411min 54sec17.16 MB
Thumbnail for "Recognized: An Update".
Two Abenaki First Nations are continuing to call for Vermont institutions not to work with state-recognized tribes, and to reconsider the process that led to the state recognizing those groups as Abenaki tribes. Those nations — Odanak and Wôlinak — are receiving a mixed response.
March 26, 202417min 42sec25.51 MB
Thumbnail for "Remembering John Harrison".
John Harrison traveled Vermont as a preacher in the 1880s. A racist name in town records preserved his memory. Note: This story contains sensitive material, including racial slurs. Please listen with care.
January 22, 202423min 21sec33.65 MB
Thumbnail for "What class are you? Ashley Messier".
What class are you? Ashley Messier
January 19, 20247min 38sec11.02 MB
Thumbnail for "What class are you? Susan Randall".
What class are you? Susan Randall
January 19, 20245min 23sec7.77 MB
Thumbnail for "What class are you? Garret Keizer".
What class are you? Garret Keizer
January 19, 20247min 55sec11.42 MB
Thumbnail for "What class are you? Stephanie Robtoy".
What class are you? Stephanie Robtoy
January 19, 20246min 39sec9.59 MB
Thumbnail for "What class are you? Irfan Sehic".
What class are you? Irfan Sehic
January 19, 20246min 54sec9.95 MB
Thumbnail for "Recognized: Chapter Three".
Recognized: Chapter Three
October 19, 202338min 6sec36.5 MB
Thumbnail for "Recognized: Chapter Two".
Recognized: Chapter Two
October 19, 202341min 33sec40.04 MB
Thumbnail for "Recognized: Chapter One".
Recognized: Chapter One
October 19, 202337min 21sec35.78 MB
Thumbnail for "The hotline that helps immigrant dairy farmworkers".
University of Virginia researchers say the complaint line run by the grassroots workers’ rights program Milk With Dignity improves conditions for both farmworkers and farm owners. But the program currently only covers one-fifth of Vermont’s dairy industry.
August 17, 202312min 1sec17.31 MB
Thumbnail for "The last Italian stone carver in Barre".
The last Italian stone carver in Barre
June 7, 202320min 18sec19.47 MB
Thumbnail for "Update: One Year Later [JOLTED]".
How the events of last year changed Vermont schools and law enforcement. Also - where's Jack?
March 14, 201915min 56sec15.3 MB
Thumbnail for "Part 5: Threat Assessment [JOLTED]".
How do you know if a young person is plotting a school massacre? And what do you do then?
September 27, 201829min 46sec28.58 MB
Thumbnail for "Part 4: The Reversal [JOLTED]".
How a Republican governor who had been rated "A" by the NRA decided that Vermont, one of the most gun-friendly states in the nation, needed gun control laws.
September 20, 201824min 53sec23.89 MB
Thumbnail for "Part 3: Thought, Or Crime? [JOLTED]".
When does planning a school shooting become attempted murder? The question went all the way to the Vermont Supreme Court.
September 13, 201827min 49sec26.71 MB
Thumbnail for "Part 1: The Shooting That Didn’t Happen [JOLTED]".
Jack Sawyer’s journal contained a startling confession. It landed him in jail, and sent shockwaves through the state of Vermont.
September 6, 201818min 41sec17.94 MB
Thumbnail for "Part 2: How We Got Here [JOLTED]".
Who is Jack Sawyer, and why did he want to kill his former classmates?
September 6, 201833min 28sec32.13 MB
Thumbnail for "JOLTED: Podcast Trailer".
Coming September 6 from Vermont Public Radio.
August 22, 20182min 15sec2.16 MB

The Arts that Shape Us #2: Tibetan Music and Dance

Thumbnail for "The Arts that Shape Us #2: Tibetan Music and Dance".
June 18, 202534min 9sec

For Tibetan-American artist Migmar Tsering, music and dance are inextricably linked to being Tibetan.

Migmar first learned traditional dance in the village of Langkor in the county of Tingri. He was born there almost 3 decades after the invasion of Tibet by communist China in 1950.

Since the 1950s, the Tibetan diaspora has expanded, with multiple groups of Tibetans relocating to India and later the U.S., Canada, Australia, and some European countries. Under the United States 1990 Immigration Act, 1,000 Tibetans living in exile in India, Nepal, and Bhutan were chosen via lottery to receive U.S. visas.

In 1993, Vermont became one of 25 resettlement sites in the U.S. Migmar arrived to Vermont in 2011 and soon began teaching traditional music and dance to kids in Vermont's Tibetan American community.

The Arts that Shape Us is a podcast by Vermont Folklife, produced with support from Vermont Public's Made Here Fund. Hosted by Mary Wesley, it’s devoted to exploring the state’s cultural heritage and what different local artforms say about the past and present of Vermont.

Thumbnail for "The Arts that Shape Us #2: Tibetan Music and Dance".
The Arts that Shape Us #2: Tibetan Music and Dance
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