Word of Mouth

Counties are the "forgotten" part of government, but why do they matter?

Here begins the story of a flower, a tale of identity, pride, and hubris.

New Hampshire like every other state has its own Supreme Court. It’s not the all-powerful arbiter of justice that the name would imply. A primer on the New Hampshire Surpreme Court from Civics 101: NH. Then, the controversial start to our Constitution.

This week for our ongoing series Only in New Hampshire, we answer a listener's question about gun laws in New Hampshire.

In the early 1940s, an inventor from Berlin created a container made of refined polyethylene, an odorless, non-toxic plastic that would revolutionize food storage. Then, a mystery in the woods involving a beloved New Hampshire product from Outside/In .

This is the fourth and final episode of “The Rules Are Different Here,” a four-part series on mass incarceration in New Hampshire. Listen to the full series here. Annie Wrenn is middle-aged with blond hair she wears with bangs. She’s a little over 5 feet tall. And on first sight, you’d never guess she’s a prison guard. “One of our nicknames is floorwalker because that’s what we do we walk the floors of the prison. Cell to cell, unit to unit, tier to tier, however you wanna explain what the

Before any bill can become a law in New Hampshire, it has to have at least one public hearing, where anyone can show up and talk to their lawmakers face to face. You can tell them what you think about the bill. A lot of people have never testified at a public hearing—it’s confusing to figure when they happen and where and how to participate. So, to demystify the whole thing, Civics 101: New Hampshire is breaking down how they work. Then an office you've likely never thought that much about if

Town meetings are a New Hampshire institution. It’s where all the year’s business is voted on by citizens in town halls, gyms, and community centers around the state. But for the uninitiated, town meeting can be confusing. Civics 101: New Hampshire helps break it down. Then, Sam Evans-Brown introduces us to pirate trails.

Three years ago, Samuel and Rachel purchased a wooden crate manufactured by inmates at the New Hampshire State Prison, but they wondered: was it ethically made? This is the third episode in our four-part series on mass incarceration in New Hampshire. Explore the full series here.

When you visit the state house in Concord, you might notice some well-dressed people sporting bright orange name tags: lobbyists. What do lobbyists do and how does lobbying work? Then we’re going inside drug court, a program designed to divert people with substance use disorders from prison.

This is the second episode of “The Rules Are Different Here,” a four-part series on mass incarceration in New Hampshire. Listen to the first installment , or explore the full series . Recovering from opioid addiction can take months or years, in part because the disease is not only a physical dependence but also a mental health disorder. Anxiety and depression frequently coincide with addiction. Getting incarcerated for opioid-related charges presents a daunting challenge: navigate the

Every town seems to have one. A obelisk. A cannon. A guy on a horse. But one New Hampshire town has something a little different. Producer Asher Brown brings us the story of the missile in Warren as part of our Only in New Hampshire series. Listen to the story:

Bill Blanchard was just a kid when he first came into contact with law enforcement. "Going Inside" is the first installment of a four-part series,"The Rules Are Different Here: A Series on New Hampshire's Prisons and Jails." The full series is available here.

Civics 101: New Hampshire, our local look at how state government works, brings us a look at the governor. Not our current governor specifically, but the office of the governor itself. What does the NH state governor do? And what makes our governor position different than in other states? Then, a thought experiment: How fast could people go before the combustion engine and other technologies drastically increased the speed of the human race? And how did they pull it off?

Nashua is the most diverse city in New Hampshire, with the state’s largest population of foreign-born residents. Today on Word of Mouth, we’re exploring how immigrants decide to build a life in Nashua… and what that has meant for them and for the city. Then, we’re going way back in time to look at how Magna Carta shaped the American democratic project.