Episode 32

Chaos, building alliances, and AI in newsrooms

August 8, 2025: Randy Holhut, news editor with Vermont Independent Media, and John Walters, the journalist behind The Vermont Political Observer, join today's discussion. They share thoughts on Gov. Phil Scott's approach to working with the Trump Administration and US Rep. Becca Balint's efforts to build alliances across the aisle. 

Being journalists, we must also discuss the state of Vermont's newsrooms. That there are positives and challenges will surprise no one. But what about the use of AI-generated articles? 

Theme music by Red Heart the Ticker: http://rhtt.net

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The Montpelier Happy Hour
A show about how things in the State House shake out for the rest of us

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About your hosts

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Olga Peters

Producer and host Olga is a journalist by day and a screenwriter by night. On the Montpelier Happy Hour she combines a newshound's doggedness with a fiction writer's sense of "what if...".
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Emilie Kornheiser

Regular contributor Emilie Kornheiser represents Windham District 2-1 in the Vermont House of Representatives (that’s Brattleboro.) She always appreciates an opportunity to unpack the stories that drive us and hopes her gravestone will read “she asked good questions.” You can find more about her and her work in the legislature at emiliekornheiser.org.