Building community in the Upper Valley of NH and VT through the media arts. | | Weekly Highlights // August 7, 2025 | | Please note: JAM will take a break from weekly newsletters for the rest of August. We invite you to "un-mediate" with us to the extent possible. THANK YOU for a great summer of media arts creativity, and see you in September! | | | | |
Every day, we make countless media choices —what to share, what to watch, how long to scroll… These small choices shape how we connect, learn, identify, and take care of ourselves and others. At JAM, we're believe being a good digital citizen isn’t just about following rules – it’s about thinking for yourself, being kind, and using media and technology in ways that support your well-being and your community. But how?
JAM is committed to being your partner in cultivating digital media literacy and healthier media habits with resources gathered in our new Digital Media Literacy Toolkit. Take Plato's Quiz to test your media literacy! Follow JAM's new Healthy Media Habits Blog, starting with Maria Hebling's "The Media: A Beast We Can't Tame?" Take a listen to Mediated Lives podcast with Upper Valley guests in conversation with JAM Ex. Director Samantha Davidson Green, or explore case studies, discussion guides, and strategies to smoke out mis- and disinformation.
We’re all part of the digital world. Why not help make it a better one? We're in this together, so please share resources you find or create with maria@uvjam.org!
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JAM's Digital Citizenship and Media Literacy initiative is made possible in part through support from
the Dartmouth Center for Social Impact, the Jane B Cook 1992 Charitable Trust, and the Couch Foundation.
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@ JAM Podcasts & Audiobooks
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JAM Podcast
NEW! EPISODE 10: Season 1 wraps up by sweating it out (for good!) with Positive Tracks’ Founder and CEO Nini Meyer! Take this episode on your next walk, scoot, or dribble as high school friends (shoutout Hanover High) Samantha and Nini have a cathartic chat about physical activity as a means for social change, youth empowerment, mental health, and better media habits. This episode is JAM-packed with emotional electrolytes and digital-age wisdom for all ages.
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JAM Podcast
NEW! Roadside Vermont is about historical monuments and plaques that are all too easy to drive by. Host Kelby Greene travels to all 14 VT counties to discover history hidden in rural roads.
EPISODE 2: Community historian Paul Heller shares how Wildersburg was renamed in 1793. Two men offered their hometown names—but neither would concede. Victory in a brawl gave one the right to name Barre, well, Barre!
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@ JAM & Briggs Opera House
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JAM event
Tue Aug 12 5:30-7:30PM
FREE @JAM
Join us for our Annual Meeting! Highlights will include the 2024 Annual Report, Youth Media Advisory Board, Board and community advisory committee renewals, 2025 progress report, WRIF 2026 info, and snacks from Cappadocia Café!
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Film screening
Thu Aug 21 7-9PM
FREE @JAM
Join us for a screening of American Movie, a cult film chronicling the efforts of newspaper delivery man Mark Borchardt to complete his horror film Coven. Discussion follows! Presented in partnership with Upper Valley Food Co-op Doc Club.
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fJAM event
Fri Sep 5 8-9PM
FREE @Lyman Point Park
Enjoy an outdoor screening of hyperlocal short films by Chico Eastridge, Quinn Thomashow, Malik Terrab, Kealin Rooney, Noah Mauchly, Kai Hamalainen, Jordyn Fitch, and the JAM High School Film Intensive. FREE! BYO bug spray and blankets.
| | ...and check out the Lebanon Opera House's annual NEXUS music & arts festival FREE for all in Colburn Park 8/7-8/10. Look out for JAM filming! | | JAM events are made possible in part by grants from VT Humanities, VT Arts Council, NH Charitable Foundation, the Couch Family Foundation, the Jane B. Cook 1992 Charitable Trust, and by contributions from community members like you! | | | |
Film event @ Briggs Opera House
Thu Aug 21 @6PM & Fri Aug 22 @8PM
FREE @BOH – Seating limited, seat reservation recommended
Boys and young men are struggling. This 45-min documentary film set in rural VT features the influential work of Richard Reeves, educators and mentors working to help them shape better futures.
JAM Club alum and Hartford Middle Schooler Kai Snyder Hamalainen's short doc "What Happens When Boys Start a Feelings Group" will precede Gone Guys.
| The Briggs Opera House (BOH) welcomes community groups. Learn more here. | |
NEW! Youth after-school programs
Sep 15 - Nov 19
Registration now open
Register for JAM’s after-school media ed clubs NOW! With JAM Club, kids explore action cinematography, podcasting, and scripted filmmaking. At Animation Club, kids experiment with animated mediums.
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FALL Adult media ed
Sep 6 - Nov 25
Registration now open
This fall, take your media skills to the next level! Intended for adults (16+), these courses range from film editing, screenwriting, podcasting, drone cinematography, songwriting, and more!
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Music education
Rock out on a Hungarian music adventure with Upper Valley music school, Tuck’s Rock Dojo! Through a cultural exchange with a Hungarian music school, 6 students from Tuck’s Rock performed 3 shows, including one at the National Drum Day Fest. Watch the full performance, TV interview, and tour movie.
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Local personalities
Dive into the first episode of “Local Lens,” a new JAM series featuring everything from local events, protests, and neighborhood gems. HHS graduate (‘22) and JAM Summer Production Intern Drew Boyce produces and hosts the show, interviewing the owner of WRJ’s fabled Main St. Museum, David Ford, on Piano Night!
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Media education
You'll be on the edge of your seat watching "Warm Regards - Bitter Hatred", the murder mystery film created by JAM's high school film intensive campers! Working from a script penned by JAM college intern Anna Flaherty, these talented high schoolers led all aspects of a film shoot to produce this suspenseful whodunnit.
| | Pictured: Norwich Selectboard 7/23/25 | | This week's civic highlight: Watch the Norwich Selectboard discuss rules for dogs in their proposed animal control ordinance and respond to finance committee requests. Tune into JAM's coverage of this or your town's government and school board meetings live or pre-recorded @ UVJAM.ORG/WATCH | | |
How does my gift help JAM?
When you make a gift to JAM – Junction Arts & Media, your donation enables JAM to empower all Upper Valley residents to have a creative voice, actively participate in local democracy, and find joy and belonging in the Upper Valley community. JAM is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Your gift may be tax-deductible.
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