This podcast captures life and community like no other. Erica Heilman is an incredible interviewer, bringing out the best, most insightful answers to the most important questions.

Brilliant interviews with ordinary people in Vermont.

I started listening after I heard Finn and the Bell, broadcast on Radiolab. I love the way you interview. Thank you for doing the What class are you? Interviews. I’m sending this to Bernie Sanders, I think he should hear this. In addition, I absolutely love your 50th birthday episode! Your song was amazing. I smiled all the way through & even tried to sing along.

Erica is going to be responsible for me packing up my Subaru and moving to Vermont, if it ever happens. I love this show, and I absolutely love telling folks to check it out. Thank you!

Pleas keep going. These are invaluable , the Real America. Everyone so eloquent. God bless

I would recommend this podcast to anyone. Erica is amazing as an interviewer and the very human details her subjects provide are life affirming and moving

I listen to a lot of podcasts and this is my absolute favorite. The stories are so raw, so real and often very moving. It feels homemade but not in a cheesy or cheap way. It is charming and thought provoking!

When you want to get to know your neighbors but don’t. This is the place to go.

This is by far my favorite podcast and I listen to many many podcasts including This American Life which is hard to talkhard to top. I love the style and subject matter I love the sort of Lofi Barebones format. the host has a very pleasant and commanding voice while still remaining low-key. It is just so thoughtful and impactful. Thank you!

You know those interviewers who are so great at what they do that even the most mundane seeming stories turn out to be fascinating. Well, now you do. Hats off to Erica for producing this treasure. Ten stars. Scott carrier of home of the brave got me interested.

One of my favorite podcasts and podcasters. Humble and direct, heart breaking and heart warming every single time.

BUT …. I’m listening back to very old episodes and I’m wondering if the Problems series with the two people talking is meant to be a joke? Or a skit? I’ve never heard two more insufferable people in my life! The woman with her “precious” daughter and the way she grills the guy about not having women in his act. My god, I would have exited that interview in no time. And then the guy talking about the water pressure on the solar shower?!?! I’m listening to this series like a car crash I can’t look away from. So cringe I’m embarrassed for both of them. Glad they’re only temporarily living in my headphones. But with all that said, I can honestly say this is my favorite podcast of all time and I can’t get enough! Thank you for what you do (except this Problem series 🥴)

If you only have time to listen to a few stories, make them the Civic Standard and the Civic Standard and the 100 year flood. If you want to be inspired by a real cryer…Finn and the Bell. The most heartwarming, painful, intense and loving story of community I have ever had the pleasure to listen to. Whenever someone asks me for a podcast recommendation (I listen to many) Rumble Strip is always first on my list. Also, the “East Hill Tree Farm” jingle is one of the all time jingles ever.

I came upon this podcast and your town meeting episode. I live on an island in Maine, which is much like Vermont. It is rural, poor, underpopulated in the winter months, etc. We all have to pitch in to run the town government and everything else that needs to happen. Anyway, your podcast inspires me about life. It’s raw, it’s hard but it’s worth it. It’s real, like your podcast. Thanks so much for doing it.

I don’t know how I came across this podcast, but I savor every episode. Hearing the accents and the stories of places and folks in my birth state makes me laugh, cry, and everything in between. I think Erica is one of my top two favorite podcast interviewers. The queries, the way she allows the conversation to take its course - so good. There’s a little hubris involved on my part for the fact that I was able to make my big sister aware this podcast as she lives in state and had never heard of it! Keep it going and I will continue to work my way through the episodes past and future.

I’ve been working my way backwards in time through every episode since I discovered this remarkable podcast, each one a little treasure.

So glad I stumbled across this rumble strip! Each episode takes me far away to somewhere so authentic and grounding. You introduce us to people we don’t know but love. I am a dog person and will never listen to Taylor Swift’s “Lover” the same way. I so appreciate you! Many thanks!

First review I have ever written. Because it is amazing

This is my favorite podcast to listen to when I just want to feel like I’m with family. What an amazing show. The way Erika talks to everyone and everyone has respect for each other, it makes you feel good about humanity!

I love listening about life in a place so far from my daily life.

The best of what podcasting can be. Hardscrabble like hill farm soil. Touching, honest and unflinching.

Really great stories, small yet huge all at once. I love the sense of place but if you don’t want a bunch of people moving to Vermont, watch out! There’s a few of these I’ve listened to more than twice because they are so great.

This little gem of a podcast is as good as it is possible to get. Sturdy and yet fragile as a robin’s egg, it’s human and humane and just simply lovely. I don’t live in Vermont, but I wish I had neighbors like Erica has. All of us should. The world would be better for it. I’d love to have a coffee in the morning or a whiskey in the cab of a truck of an evening with the whole kingdom. You should listen closely.

I grew up in Vermont, and despite years in Miami, it still feels like home to me. This show captures what makes Vermont so wonderful: the feeling of community, the individuality, the quirks, the human scale, the spirit of connection and practicality, the sense of connection. Uniquely Vermont, but also universally human.

I listened to a lot of podcasts on my long commutes. This one is truly excellent. I love how concise the conversation is. So many podcasts have lots of chatter and filler but not this one! So many moving stories. Some are short, some are long, some are absolutel tear jerkers. I am plowing through all 200+ . Thank you Erica!

Stories about community that expose our shared humanity. The Police Log Fanny Pack Edition episode stole my heart.

All the episodes are so good, so worth a listen. This one encapsulates them all, is a good gateway; though just randomly picking one works too. Just start listening.

Somehow this podcast finds interesting characters and situations that shine light on the variety of iOS and downs within the human experience. As a Vermonter who hasn’t lived in the state for many years it offers me a nostalgia of hear from people similar to (and very different from)those I grew up with.

Authentic, often moving, thoughtful. Always worth a listen.

I found Rumble Strip through the link from This American Life to the episode Finn and the Bell. Which is heartbreaking and delicate and profound. But now I’ve been jumping around and listening to episodes that catch my attention and I have to say, The Civic Standard may be one of my all time favorite podcast episodes ever. I’ve listened more than once and shared it with several friends. Maybe it’s my theater background but even if I didn’t have that, this story of a community project that brings so many together with humor and excitement, is like a balm for my heart. Part of what I think I’m really appreciating about Erica Heilman as an interviewer and storyteller is that I don’t hear any agenda in the way she asks questions, just attention and curiosity. She’s so direct but sometimes when people are direct it’s really a way to be forceful and let your own opinion be highlighted. She is genuinely interested in the people in her community and it really shines through and makes me feel like I know Hardwick too. Thanks for a unique and thoughtful project. I’m working my way through the back catalogue and always happy to see a new episode in my feed.

That’s what I think about this podcast. It should be required listening!

A must listen and follow. You bring joy to the world. ❤️

Always love seeing new episodes pop up. Really makes my day. So well presented, thought provoking, often hilarious, often taking us deep. Keep up the amazing work! And thanks.

This show makes my day. It’s thoughtful and speaks beautifully to what’s it is to be in community.

Truthful fascinating beautiful perfect

Erica does an amazing job talking to people and people trusting her! Every episode is quality!!! Sometimes I go back and listen again, it’s that good! THANK YOU ERICA FOR YOUR EXCEPTIONAL WORK!

Just saw link on Reddit to Finn story. Moving. Subscribing rare for me to get away day to day grind.

I have only heard three of your shows, Erica, and I’m going to take my time, savoring them all. I grew up on a 4th generation farm by a small Iowa town - and my career blessed me with knowing a wide range of fascinating, simple, generous people. The stories you share have the voices and values of down-to-earth people who are Home to me. Thank you for sharing them.

I don’t think I’ve ever written a review for a podcast but I had to for this one. The beautiful simplicity of it, the moving stories of everyday people, the breadth of the topics it covers… I especially loved the episode with Vaughn the hairdresser and was so moved I had to park my car and really pay it my full attention. Thank you for making this podcast. It feels important, especially now.

Erica Heilman uses compassion and curiosity and creates a conversation about things and people we should hear and know. Rumble Strip is a treasure.

I very recently discovered this podcast, and it is already my all time favorite podcast. I think it’s because the stories are just so human. Thank you so much for really putting so much heart and love into each segment.

There’s something about the tone of this show that puts me there. It’s always attentive, curious, and respectful. I feel the pace of small town Vermont life, even when it’s not about that. Makes me want to move to a small town in Vermont (don’t worry Vermonters, it will remain a dream)

Beautiful and moving. These stories are heart wrenching and glorious. I feel so lucky to have found this. Thank you!

I am so happy I found this podcast and that there are so many lovely episodes to enjoy/binge! It actually made me start looking for homes in Vermont 😂. Finn and the Bell, Civic Standard, Puppy Diaries…I can’t get enough. But seriously I need more Chris and Beth!!!!

I sincerely hope that both you and Jay will continue to bring us all of the wonderful stories that highlight our humanity, our compassion, our foibles, and everything in between. I have always loved the Moth, so it comes as no surprise that Jay had a hand in helping you to bring your show to the world. Thank you for sharing Rumble Strip with us!

Erica Heilman knows how to listen - to people, to her environment. Her ear for generous pauses that allow someone to gather his thoughts, or weigh her words, is something I’ve never encountered before - or maybe most podcast and radio producers just edit those pauses out? Every time I listen to an episode of Rumble Strip I come away hopeful for humanity - that we *can* still have community, that we can see each other and speak with each other face to face. Listening to her interviews is a privilege.

From my suburban existence, this provides a window to life as it once was, and life as it is—-in a place that is contemporary, yet far removed from what most of us have become. What makes this special is that Erica allows herself to become part of the story…not just a dispassionate narrator. She is learning along with us and doesn’t shy away from some self-reflection along the way. It is humanity in a nutshell, and makes me pine for things I’m missing.

Each episode is extraordinary in its simplicity and depth. I grow with each listen. Thank you Erica for your thoughtful and heartfelt approach to this podcast.

I listen to a huge volume and variety of podcasts, so I was especially surprised to find a show that hit me this hard out of the blue. It is entertaining, interesting, and moving, which is always a pleasure to encounter. But what sets Rumble Strip apart is how these shows make me feel about humanity and community. They’re beautiful and give hope.

I’m increasingly impressed and encouraged by humanity when I listen to your podcast. Recently I stumbled on your prize winning story about Finn (and therefore now forever changed) on Radio Lab. I have found myself listening all of my free moments since. I live a very different life in Denver than rural Vermont. It’s warmly reminding me to create more community, even if just in my circles, since I live in a city. Anyway, thank you for sharing your vulnerability and extracting it from people of all ages and walks of life and sharing that too. Also, the sounds in the background make my dog howl and it brings me even more joy.