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Debating the future of nuclear energy in Vermont

Vermont has a plan to stop using nuclear power by 2035. But Governor Phil Scott says we need to change course.

To discuss the future of nuclear power in Vermont, we're joined by the state’s public service commissioner Kerrick Johnson, and Ben Edgerly Walsh, Climate and Energy Program Director of Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG). Johnson says today’s standards are too inflexible and that nuclear would lower energy costs for Vermonters. But Edgerly Walsh disagrees, saying nuclear power doesn't live up to the hype.

Then: An update on the Yankee Nuclear Plant in Vernon. It was shut down over a decade ago. What’s next for the land and the community? We're joined by Jim Pinkerton, one of two local representatives on the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel. He is also the chair of Vernon’s Planning & Economic Development Commission.

Broadcast live on Monday, March 9, 2026, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.

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Mikaela Lefrak is the host and senior producer of Vermont Edition. Her stories have aired nationally on Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Weekend Edition, Marketplace, The World and Here and Now. A seasoned local reporter, Mikaela has won two regional Edward R. Murrow awards and a Public Media Journalists Association award for her work.
Jon has spent his entire adult life working in broadcast journalism. He began his career in Baltimore at WYPR, and has since been a producer for WHYY, Vox, The Majority Report with Sam Seder, and The Talkhouse. Jon is a lifelong recording artist whose projects include Repelican, The Art Department, and Dungeonesse. He lives with his wife in Panton, Vermont.
Aleah Papes joined Vermont Public as an announcer in October 2024. Raised in the suburbs of New York City, she studied theater and comparative literature at Northwestern University, and later got a master’s degree in journalism from NYU. She has called Vermont home since 2020.