  Gamma-ray blazars are among the most extreme astrophysical sources, harboring
phenomena far more energetic than those attainable by terrestrial accelerators.
These galaxies are understood to be active galactic nuclei that are powered by
accretion onto supermassive black holes and have relativistic jets pointed
along the Earth line of sight. The emission displayed is variable at all
wavelengths and timescales probed thus far, necessitating contemporaneous
broadband observations to disentangle the details of the emission processes
within the relativistic jets. The very high energy (VHE; $E\ge$100 GeV) photons
emitted by these sources are detectable with ground-based imaging atmospheric
Cherenkov telescopes such as VERITAS. As these photons propagate extragalactic
distances, the interaction with the diffuse starlight that pervades the entire
Universe results in a distance and energy dependent gamma-ray opacity, offering
a unique method for probing photon densities on cosmological scales. These
galaxies have also been postulated to be potential sources of ultra-high-energy
cosmic rays, a theory which can be examined through deep gamma-ray observations
of sources which probe moderate gamma-ray opacities. Within this work, I will
highlight ongoing research regarding the broadband emission from
VERITAS-observed VHE blazars, as well as the potential to use them for
cosmological insight.
