# Rumble Strip

Rumble Strip is a Vermont focused Society and Culture podcast, created by Erica Heilman, featuring uncommon conversations with everyday people. The show covers true life portraits of "road-crew workers, defense attorneys, farmers, Vermont’s mental-health-care system, taxidermists" and numerous rural subjects.

## Production

Growing up in Charlotte, Vermont, Heilman would observe her father chatting thoughtfully with his neighbor, and she felt inspired to want to speak with people the way her father did. After her time as a freelance television producer in New York City, Heilman found herself working as a private investigator which led to her interviewing people about their lives.
Heilman started out creating the episodes in her spare time, between working as a single mother with a part time job, releasing episodes weekly. Within the first two years of creating the show, Rumble Strip gained notoriety for lacking a clear narrative arc and defying easy categorization, as Heilman was primarily focused on creating a show about "the ephemera of trying to survive". The show garnered a loyal following as Heilman interviewed a variety of subjects, from prisoners to librarians, to salon owners recounting their days in the Vietnam War. She credits word of mouth as the main driver of the show's success.
In 2022, 99% Invisible featured Rumble Strip as a show about life in Vermont, but also about "life in general".

## Reception

In 2021, the episode "Finn and the Bell" won a Peabody Award, "for its tender treatment of a community in grief, and for embodying the power of local storytelling".
The NYTimes included Rumble Strip in their "Best Podcasts of 2022", calling it a "majestic, long-running and hard-to-classify series".
The show has received acclaim for its thorough and sensitive approach toward commonly difficult or controversial subject matter, such as gun control, death with dignity laws, and suicide.

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Duration | Release date |
| 1 | Colin McCaffrey Talks Shop | 0:58:47 | May 9, 2013 |
| 2 | Miriam Bernardo | 1:01:00 | May 23, 2013 |
| 3 | Road Scholars | 0:49:42 | June 7, 2013 |
| 4 | Prisoners of War | 0:56:01 | July 19, 2013 |
| 5 | Prisoner of Zion | 0:45:46 | August 3, 2013 |
| 6 | That Song | 0:30:40 | August 14, 2013 |
| 7 | Geof Hewitt | 0:49:37 | September 12, 2013 |
| 8 | Deer Hunting | | March 17, 2014 |
| 9 | Thunder Road | 0:11:57 | July 19, 2014 |
| 10 | Vermont Health Disconnect | 0:7:07 | August 17, 2014 |
| 11 | Strange Days | 0:22:27 | August 25, 2014 |
| 12 | The Taxidermists | 0:22:53 | September 12, 2014 |
| 13 | My Son Teaches Me a Game | 0:4:35 | September 15, 2014 |
| 14 | Town | 0:22:03 | October 10, 2014 |
| 15 | Jamie Cope in Black and White | 0:36:49 | October 24, 2014 |
| 16 | Peace, Love and Occupation? | 0:05:21 | November 6, 2014 |
| 17 | Raw Tape | 0:18:32 | November 7, 2014 |
| 18 | Rock Lottery | 0:03:25 | November 11, 2014 |
| 19 | Magic: The Gathering | 0:11:08 | December 3, 2014 |
| 20 | Gold, Frankenstein and Myrrh | 0:05:05 | December 7, 2014 |
| 21 | The Eyes of Sibiu | 0:17:30 | December 7, 2014 |
| 22 | A Vermonter's Lament | 0:05:00 | December 12, 2014 |
| 23 | Buy Nothing Day | 0:06:31 | December 18, 2014 |
| 24 | Poopy Old Man | 0:06:00 | December 24, 2014 |
| 25 | Truck | 0:07:47 | December 26, 2014 |
| 26 | Big Job | 0:59:37 | December 26, 2014 |
| 27 | Piano Practice | 0:04:55 | Jan 21, 2015 |
| 28 | Leland | 0:09:34 | Jan 27, 2015 |
| 29 | Police Log | 0:02:37 | Feb 2, 2015 |
| 30 | Object of My Affection | 0:15:21 | Feb 15, 2015 |
| 31 | More Poopy Old People | 0:07:49 | Feb 23, 2015 |
| 32 | Police Log, March 2015 | 0:03:09 | Mar 1, 2015 |
| 33 | Here's a Song For You | 0:04:23 | Mar 2, 2015 |
| 34 | Ed Epstein, A Life in Art | 0:49:11 | Mar 2, 2015 |
| 35 | The Oligarchy of Participation | 0:04:24 | Mar 4, 2015 |
| 36 | Eyes on the Sky | 0:03:30 | Mar 19, 2015 |
| 37 | Shannon | 0:09:33 | Mar 24, 2015 |
| 38 | Why Cooking Sucks | 0:10:14 | April 2, 2015 |
| 39 | After the Forgetting | 0:58:47 | April 2, 2015 |
| 40 | Michael Chorney, Music Inventor | 0:50:50 | April 2, 2015 |
| 41 | A Night on Mount Shasta | 0:25:24 | April 9, 2015 |
| 42 | Three Things I Learned at School | 0:04:22 | April 13, 2015 |
| 43 | Private Investigator | 0:12:12 | May 6, 2015 |
| 44 | Police Log, May 2015 | 0:03:35 | May 22, 2015 |
| 45 | Another Day Older | 0:16:03 | June 3, 2015 |
| 46 | Cats on Boats | 0:07:24 | June 11, 2015 |
| 47 | Three Weeks | 0:31:28 | June 24, 2015 |
| 48 | Soccer Mom | 0:24:14 | July 5, 2015 |
| 49 | Drag Out | 0:13:53 | July 11, 2015 |
| 50 | Kendall Wild, A Toast | 0:25:45 | July 11, 2015 |
| 51 | Homeless | 0:27:09 | July 18, 2015 |
| 52 | Vermont Private Eye | 0:12:11 | July 26, 2015 |
| 53 | A Long Day on the Road | 0:15:38 | July 31, 2015 |
| 54 | Bison Selfies | 0:10:24 | Aug 7, 2015 |
| 55 | Fred Webster | 0:39:07 | Aug 15, 2015 |
| 56 | Love Life | 0:23:31 | Aug 24, 2015 |
| 57 | Police Log Summer 2015 | 0:02:40 | Sep 3, 2015 |
| 58 | The Defense | | Sept 10, 2015 |
| 59 | Farewell Mark Johnson | 0:31:12 | Sept 11, 2015 |
| 60 | Jessamyn West. Technology Lady. | 0:39:57 | Sept 25, 2015 |
| 61 | Press 4 | 0:05:31 | Oct 1, 2015 |
| 62 | Pretend You're the Grownup | 0:29:52 | Oct 9, 2015 |
| 63 | Schwag | 0:08:20 | Oct 15, 2015 |
| 64 | The Green River Stories | 0:25:43 | Oct 22, 2015 |
| 65 | The Schwag Raffle Draw! | 0:06:15 | Nov 6, 2015 |
| 66 | In Case of Emergency | 0:05:40 | Nov 13, 2015 |
| 67 | Our School | 0:22:55 | Nov 19, 2015 |
| 68 | Hot Bird | 0:03:49 | Nov 25, 2015 |
| 69 | A Conversation with M.T. Anderson | 0:31:28 | Dec 9, 2015 |
| 70 | Seasonal Update | 0:07:57 | Dec 16, 2015 |
| 71 | Day Before Christmas Police Log | 0:03:23 | Dec 24, 2015 |
| 72 | Inside DCF | 0:44:35 | Jan 24, 2016 |
| 73 | The Test | 0:15:28 | Feb 7, 2016 |
| 74 | Berned in Reno | 0:11:30 | Feb 29, 2016 |
| 75 | A Beer with Ben Hewitt | 0:35:58 | Mar 2, 2016 |
| 76 | Muskrat Trapper | 0:13:52 | Mar 25, 2016 |
| 77 | Jesse | 0:23:40 | April 8, 2016 |
| 78 | Police Log, Stolen Pie Edition | 0:03:12 | April 21, 2016 |
| 79 | Leland, the Almost Middle School Edition | 0:11:49 | April 26, 2016 |
| 80 | Aunties | 0:05:09 | May 9, 2016 |
| 81 | Six Parents. Six DCF Stories | 0:38:22 | May 20, 2016 |
| 82 | Last Chapter | 0:23:09 | June 9, 2016 |
| 83 | The Neighborhood | 0:09:40 | July 2, 2016 |
| 84 | Peter Schumann, Advisor General | 0:33:49 | July 30, 2016 |
| 85 | Police Log, Bunk Bed Dispute Edition | 0:03:48 | Aug 10, 2016 |
| 86 | Driving around with Susan | 0:32:43 | Aug 22, 2016 |
| 87 | Jubal. Tail End of the Old School. | 0:15:27 | Sept 9, 2016 |
| 88 | When the Food Runs Out | 0:31:15 | Sept 24, 2016 |
| 89 | Jim Rooney | 0:25:49 | Oct 18, 2016 |
| 90 | The Special Olympics Are Awesome | 0:17:59 | Oct 25, 2016 |
| 91 | Charlie Hunter Paints Outside | 0:20:30 | Nov 10, 2016 |
| 92 | Hot Bird. Again. | 0:03:27 | Nov 24, 2016 |
| 93 | Lentils Suck | 0:11:29 | Nov 30, 2016 |
| 94 | Nicholas is Waiting | 0:08:23 | Dec 16, 2016 |
| 95 | Seasonal Update from the Keens! | 0:09:45 | Dec 20, 2016 |
| 96 | Benedict Arnold's Leg | 0:29:15 | Jan 3, 2017 |
| 97 | Dunkin’ Donuts | 0:16:49 | Jan 31, 2017 |
| 98 | Deep Stealth Mode | 0:20:22 | Feb 14, 2017 |
| 99 | Your Neighbor | 0:16:49 | Feb 24, 2017 |
| 100 | Judge Cashman | 0:21:17 | Mar 8, 2017 |
| 101 | The Wildlife | 0:21:55 | Mar 22, 2017 |
| 102 | Hunger is Boring | 0:18:30 | April 3, 2017 |
| 103 | Robert Ford Last Ambassador | 0:34:23 | April 13, 2017 |
| 104 | We Are Sending You Light | 0:18:09 | April 28, 2017 |
| 105 | Leland is Almost Done Seventh Grade | 0:12:15 | May 11, 2017 |
| 106 | An American Life | | May 25, 2017 |
| 107 | Crime and Punishment Under Trump | 0:19:24 | June 7, 2017 |
| 108 | Police Log, Burning Lawn Chairs Edition | 0:03:05 | June 19, 2017 |
| 109 | Sylvan Esso is a Good Band | 0:31:00 | June 29, 2017 |
| 110 | Plain Life | 0:17:44 | July 8, 2017 |
| 111 | Mind Windows | 0:11:44 | July 28, 2017 |
| 112 | Waitress | 0:46:49 | Sept 1, 2017 |
| 113 | Hill Farm | 0:19:26 | Sept 24, 2017 |
| 114 | Catastrophe and Grace | 0:22:30 | Oct 16, 2017 |
| 115 | The Museum of Everyday Life | 0:16:13 | Oct 28, 2017 |
| 116 | Rowell | 0:09:39 | Nov 14, 2017 |
| 117 | Scott's Nature | 0:10:25 | Dec 5, 2017 |
| 118 | A Good Death | 0:14:39 | Dec 14, 2017 |
| 119 | Seasons Greetings From Liz and Jerry! | 0:10:43 | Dec 21, 2017 |
| 120 | Hitchhiker | 0:34:35 | Jan 10, 2018 |
| 121 | Emergency | 0:26:55 | Jan 16, 2018 |
| 122 | Learning the Trade | 0:21:22 | Feb 9, 2018 |
| 123 | Son Lux | 0:22:18 | March 3, 2018 |
| 124 | Problems, Episode 1: Grout and the Contra Dance | 0:10:49 | March 21, 2018 |
| 125 | Driving Around With Susan. Again! | 0:12:27 | March 29, 2018 |
| 126 | A Tribute to Greg Sharrow | 0:10:10 | April 4, 2018 |
| 127 | Carl. A Different Breed of Cat | 0:16:41 | April 24, 2018 |
| 128 | Shaggs’ Own Thing: The Story of the Wiggin Sisters | 0:30:42 | May 10, 2018 |
| 129 | Police Log, Gancy's Cows Edition | 0:03:27 | May 24, 2018 |
| 130 | Problems, Episode 2: Open Mic | 0:08:16 | June 7, 2018 |
| 131 | Leland. It's a Porcupine! | 0:11:20 | June 28, 2018 |
| 132 | Thomas Talks About Coming Out. Twice. | 0:14:26 | July 20, 2018 |
| 133 | Amelia Drives Around | 0:24:56 | Aug 10, 2018 |
| 134 | One of Those Teachers | 0:19:39 | Aug 23, 2018 |
| 135 | Let's Pull the Damn Woman Card | 0:22:33 | Sept 11, 2018 |
| 136 | Graffiti Photographer | 0:11:37 | Sept 28, 2018 |