Humanities Commentaries on VPR
Each month, VHC’s Executive Director Peter Gilbert presents commentaries on Vermont Public Radio that examine current and past events from a humanities perspective.
Read or listen to Peter’s commentaries by clicking on the links below.
Peter's Commentaries Have Been Compiled into a New Book
Peter Gilbert Publishes I Was Thinking . . . Travels in the World of Ideas
“In what appears to be a paradox, Americans may have become more opinionated and yet less confident in their capacity to think for themselves. Could that be in part because Americans are reading less? And engaging less with the world of ideas?”
So asks Vermont Humanities Council Executive Director Peter Gilbert in the introduction to this collection of more than sixty lively essays adapted from his frequent commentaries on Vermont Public Radio. I Was Thinking is a perfect book for anyone who enjoys ideas and loves learning. Learn more about I Was Thinking . . .
Recent commentaries
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| The Campfire (5-20-13) |
Harvard professor emeritus Edward O. Wilson is regarded as one of the world’s preeminent biologists, sociobiologists, and naturalists. An entomologist, he’s the world’s leading authority on ants. In his recently published book, The Social Conquest of Earth, Wilson describes how “eusocial” species have become the dominant species on earth. |
| 1937 Guide to Vermont (5-3-13) |
Seventy-five years ago, a summer visitor to the state would most likely have consulted the Guide to Vermont, published in 1937 by the Federal Writers’ Project—part of FDR’s Works Progress Administration. Today the Guide offers an intriguing look at how much Vermont has changed since that time, and how much it’s stayed the same. |
| Marooning the Heroes (4-22-13) |
Years ago commentator and Vermont Humanities Council executive director Peter Gilbert came across an old book buried in the stacks of Dartmouth’s library. The incident it tells about isn’t historically important, but it’s certainly memorable and perhaps important in other ways. |
And enjoy these timely reflections pulled from the archive
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| Memorial Day (5-25-07) |
This Memorial Day commentator Peter Gilbert will be in his family's hometown of Dorset. Each year, there's a brief ceremony in the church before the parade to the cemetery, where the honor guard's three-volley salute and the playing of taps literally brings home the meaning of the day. |
| Ghost Soldiers (5-29-06) |
The celebrated author Dorothy Canfield Fisher is not the only famous member of her family. As we observe Memorial Day 2006, commentator Peter Gilbert has the story of her son, James, one of Vermont's greatest World War Two heroes. |
Peter's VPR Commentaries by year
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2013 Commentaries
2012 Commentaries
2011 Commentaries
2010 Commentaries
2009 Commentaries
2008 Commentaries
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2007 Commentaries
2006 Commentaries
2005 Commentaries
2004 Commentaries
2003 Commentaries
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