This week’s edition of NYSV is a bit heavy on audio content and what we might call “human interest stories” — the inspiring features that are a staple of print journalism. Not the most earth-shattering content, but it’s an important aspect of a balanced news diet, especially when our plates are so often loaded down with heavy, indigestible fare.

There are quite a few podcasts in Vermont. The best are worth including in your regular rotation, and the others occasionally rise to that level. We’ve got some great examples this week, starting with (I think) the most gifted audio reporter in the state, Erica Heilman.

“Health Insurance is Hard.” That’s the title of Heilman’s latest “Rumble Strip” podcast. It’s more of an impressionist study in the frustrations of health care. And you can tell she’s an artist because she manages to get through an 18-minute story about bureaucratic hell without ever invoking the word “Kafkaesque.”

You could say this is about her friend Justin Lander’s effort to get health care without going bankrupt — or crazy. But it’s not a narrative. Heilman weaves together Justin’s words, exasperating voice mail, real live customer service staffers providing no actual customer service, and extensive use of the wallpaper “music” that serenades you while you’re on hold. It’s meant to be calming, but in Heilman’s piece it manages to be infuriating. Bernie was right: Medicare for all. (Bonus! The podcast opens with a rough-hewn but completely apropos “jingle” for her sponsor, East Hill Tree Farm.)

The Immense Impact of the Pandemic. Recently I spotlighted Mark Johnson’s interview with journalist and author Garrett Graff about the twin dangers of Donald Trump: the creeping authoritarianism and the undermining of the federal government. The new edition of Johnson’s :802 News” podcast again features Graff, this time talking about his latest book Life Became Very Blurry: An Oral History of Covid-19 in Vermont. The interview made me realize how much I’d forgotten about the pandemic’s profound effects on us all — and how much it still resonates in our lives today.

Middlebury College and the Vermont Humanities Council Deal with Trump. Here’s something I haven’t done before and will rarely do again: recommend a podcast I haven’t heard yet. What can I tell you, it was a busy week. But Kevin Ellis is a good and lively host, and his two latest guests have important stuff to say. On the Friday edition of Radio Vermont’s “Vermont Viewpoint,” available as a podcast, Ellis spoke with Middlebury’s Jay Parini about Trump’s attacks on higher education*, and with Christopher Kaufman Illustrup of the Vermont Humanities Council about how the Council is dealing with a loss of federal funding that accounts for 42% of its budget. I do plan to listen soon, and I recommend you do the same.

*Listed on the podcast page as “Trump attacks on high educations.” I don’t think Ellis writes his own headlines. At least I hope he doesn’t.

Speaking of Trump, it seems inevitable that some of this weekly feature will deal with Trump’s effects on Vermont. So here we go.

UVM Forestry students feel the pinch. The Vermont Cynic brings us a story about how federal cuts are affecting current and former students in the University of Vermont’s forestry program, who have traditionally seen the U.S. Forest Service as a likely future employer. The story also features a UVM alum who works for the Forest Service. He’s been whipsawed back and forth since Trump took office in what feels like “psychological warfare.” It’s left him fearful of the future — and honestly, not all that sure he even wants to stay there if he’s given the opportunity.

Papers, please. The Dartmouth reports that international students at the college are being told to carry proof of their immigration status with them wherever they go. It might not completely protect them from being swept up and sent off to parts unknown, but it will probably help. Gee, who else under what fascist regime were told to carry their papers with them whenever they were out in public?…

Resilience? We don’t need no stinkin’ resilience. From The Hardwick Gazette, we learn that the town is losing a federal grant that would have paved the way for a flood mitigaiton project on the Lamoille River, which slices right through downtown Hardwick. Under noted dog-killer Kristi Noem, the Department of Homeland Security has classed such mitigation programs as “wasteful and ineffective” and canceled them completely, leaving many Vermont communities at the mercy of ever-more-frequent major floods.

Okay, enough of that. I’d like to close out this week’s NYSV with some stories that might bring a smile to your face and a warm feeling in your heart.

Jim Douglas loses again. Schadenfreude alert. The Middlebury Campus reports that former governor Jim Douglas has been turned aside on every issue raised in his court battle to restore the name “Mead” to the campus chapel. Why Douglas feels so strongly about the reputation of a long-dead former governor and Middlebury president who was an enthusiastic (and influential) proponent of eugenics, I don’t know. But Douglas’ lawsuit was thoroughly defeated in Superior Court, and he is uncertain whether he will appeal to the Vermont Supreme Court. Despite his brave-sounding words, I think he knows he’d get his ass kicked. Again.

Middlebury football player eyes NFL draft. Pretty remarkable story, also from the Campus, about Thomas “The Tank” Perry, a 315-pound lineman on Middlebury’s Division III football team who might be taken in the NFL draft. If so, he would be only the second Middlebury athlete to achieve that honor. And the first was a placekicker. Very impressive for a small-college interior lineman to gain this level of recognition, whether or not he is drafted.

Senior athlete dominates global competition and smashes records. From the Shelburne News, we learn of Flo Meiler, a 90-year-old Shelburne resident who took home eight gold medals and set four world records in her age bracket at last month’s Masters Indoor World Championships in Gainesville, Florida. Meiler “regularly competes in 10 events,” but her favorite is the pole vault. The rest of us will continue to groan theatrically whenever we get up out of our easy chairs.

Lift ev’ry voice and… you know. Maggie Cleary of Morristown thought there might be some interest in getting together some townsfolk to sing. Turns out there was a lot more interest than she could have dreamed of. The News & Citizen reports that “a staggering crowd” showed up for the first rehearsal of the as-yet-unnamed community choir. They do have an experienced director, Lisa Leopold, a music teacher at the local elementary and middle schools, and they’re planning to hold concerts this summer.

Art for the Peep-ul. From The Commons, we hear of the Putney Library’s annual Peeps Diorama contest, which is exactly what the name says. Entrants have to construct dioramas featuring Peeps candies, now available in an eye-watering selection of colors. The library’s webpage has a large color photo of a past entry in case you’re curious. And there’s still time to enter! The deadline is next Saturday April 26, all entries will be on display the following week, with winners announced on Tuesday, May 6. I’m extremely tempted to make the long drive down there just to revel in Peep-inspired art. Truly a tonic for our troubled times.

Well, that was a long one. There’s a time about halfway through every week when I wonder whether I’ll find enough material for this feature. So far, I’ve found more than enough every time.