Staving Off a "Maple-pocalypse"

Ryan McLaren: Hope Over Nihilism

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2246311/fan_mail/new] Ryan McLaren [https://www.mclarenforvermont.com/], a former top aide to Sen. Peter Welch, is running for lieutenant governor. He faces Molly Gray and Esther Charlestin in the August Democratic Party primary. The winner will face incumbent John Rodgers, a Republican, in November. McLaren, 40, says his campaign is focused on hope, housing and health care and his "opponent in this race is nihilism, the sense (people have) that nothing matters."  He suffered a spinal cord injury skiing in 2017 that resulted in partial paralysis.

Molly Gray Wants Her Old Job Back

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2246311/fan_mail/new] Molly Gray [https://www.mollyforvt.com/], a former lieutenant governor, wants her old job back and is in a three-way primary for the Democratic Party nomination. The winner will face incumbent Lt. Gov. John Rodgers, a Republican, in November. Gray, 42, was elected as lieutenant governor in 2020 and lost a bid in 2022 for Vermont's lone seat in the U.S. House in the primary to Becca Balint. Since then, she's served as executive director of the Vermont Afghan Alliance.

Who Is Amanda Janoo?

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2246311/fan_mail/new] Amanda Janoo [https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandajanoo/], an economics and policy expert, is running for governor. She faces child care advocate Aly Richards [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2246311/episodes/19124025] for the Democratic Party nomination. The primary will be in August. Janoo, 38, grew up in Strafford, Vermont, lives in Burlington and works with the Wellbeing Economy Alliance [https://weav.network/].

Aly Richards: 'Put Me In, Coach'

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2246311/fan_mail/new] The former chief executive director of Let's Grow Kids is seeking the Democratic Party nomination for governor [https://alyforvt.com/]. Richards, 40, will face economist Amanda Janoo in the Democratic Party primary in August for the chance to run against Republican Gov. Phil Scott, who will be seeking his sixth two-year term.

Warped Masculinity

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2246311/fan_mail/new] Vermont investigative journalist Jasper Craven's new book "God Forgives, Brothers Don't: The Long March of Military Education and the Making of American Manhood" [https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/God-Forgives-Brothers-Dont/Jasper-Craven/9781668087190] explores how the military and its training institutions have shaped the meaning of manhood and fueled toxic masculinity.