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Explore our coverage of government and politics.

On The Eve Of Impeachment Trial, Revisiting A History Of Whistleblowers In America

A two-photo collage with the cover of "Whistleblowers" on the left and a profile picture of Stanger on the right.
Book cover courtesy of Yale University Press
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Photo by Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons
Allison Stanger's book "Whistleblowers" was published in September 2019. "Vermont Edition" listens back on a history of whistleblowers in America.

The U.S. House officially voted to send articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the Senate Wednesday, and an impeachment trial could begin as early as Tuesday.

But you might be forgiven if you forgot this all started back in August with a whistleblower's complaintabout a phone call between Trump and Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky. The complaint was major news, but speaking out against government impropriety isn't new in American politics. 

Vermont Edition listens back to a conversation with Middlebury College professor Allison Stanger from September discussing her latest book, Whistleblowers: Honesty in America from Washington To Trump

Stanger, who's on leave this year from Middlebury and is working as a senior fellow at Harvard University’s Edmund J. Safra Center for Ethics, said that despite our laws, whistleblowers often face relation for speaking up. 

Also, we listen to back to a conversation about impeachment in American history. More than 45 years ago, President Richard Nixon was more than halfway through his second term when he became the first American president to resign.

Back in 2014, on the 40th anniversary of Nixon's resignation, Vermont Edition spoke with Kenneth Davis, author of the popular Don’t Know Much About… series of books, for a history and civics lesson on impeachment.

Broadcast on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020 at 7 p.m.

Jane Lindholm is the host, executive producer and creator of But Why: A Podcast For Curious Kids. In addition to her work on our international kids show, she produces special projects for Vermont Public. Until March 2021, she was host and editor of the award-winning Vermont Public program Vermont Edition.
Matt Smith worked for Vermont Public from 2017 to 2023 as managing editor and senior producer of Vermont Edition.
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