What Is the Democracy Dispatch Podcast by Vermont Conservation Voters?
Democracy Dispatch is Vermont Conservation Voters' (VCV) weekly podcast about the Vermont State House. New episodes launch every Monday during the Vermont Legislative Session, hosted by VCV's Justin Marsh with other team members joining. Each episode recaps what happened at the State House the week before and previews what to expect in the week ahead, plus interviews with legislators and environmental allies on policy affecting air, water, open space, democracy, and quality of life.
What each episode covers
The format is a legislative-week briefing plus deeper policy conversation:
- Recap of the prior week at the Vermont State House
- Preview of the coming week in the Legislature
- Interviews with legislators and environmental allies
- Policy deep dives on air, water, open space, democracy, and quality of life
Because it runs on the session calendar, the podcast is seasonal rather than year-round — expect weekly episodes while the Legislature is in session.
Where to listen
VCV lists the show on these services:
- Spotify
- Apple Podcasts
- Google Podcasts
- iHeart Radio
- TuneIn
- Podchaser
You can also browse past episodes on the VCV site's All Episodes page.
A sample episode: the 2026 Session Shakedown
The latest episode listed is the 2026 Session Shakedown (Jun 8, 2026), described as the season finale. VCV Executive Director Dan Fingas joins Justin Marsh to review the year's major environmental priorities — climate action, housing, clean water, and transportation — and to discuss the session's biggest debates, including the controversy surrounding Act 181, plus what advocates will be watching next year.
That episode is a useful entry point if you want a single-sitting overview of a full session rather than week-by-week updates.
How it fits into VCV's broader work
Democracy Dispatch sits alongside VCV's other accountability tools. The organization works with major environmental groups to identify pressing issues, publishes an Environmental Common Agenda of legislative priorities, and then produces an Environmental Scorecard to hold lawmakers accountable for votes on those priorities. Its stated mission is electing pro-democracy and environmentally friendly candidates and then holding elected officials accountable for decisions affecting air, water, wildlife, land, communities, and democracy.
If your goal is tracking how lawmakers voted, the Scorecard is the direct source. If your goal is understanding the week-to-week debate behind those votes while the Legislature is in session, Democracy Dispatch is the companion.