Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Joel Mann The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Claire Fox, Ruth Eveland, Michael Fisher, Claire Fox, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Ann Luther, Rick Lyles, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O’…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Joel Mann The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Ruth Eveland, Michael Fisher, Claire Fox, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Ann Luther, Rick Lyles, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O’Brien, Leah …

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Michael Fisher, Claire Fox, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Ann Luther, Rick Lyles, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O’Brien, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, and Linda Washburn. De…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Michael Fisher, Claire Fox, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Ann Luther, Rick Lyles, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O’Brien, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, and Linda Washburn. De…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Michael Fisher, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Ann Luther, Rick Lyles, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O’Brien, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, and Linda Washburn. Democracy Foru…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Michael Fisher, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Lisa Leaverton, Ann Luther, Rick Lyles, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O’Brien, Maryann Ogonowski, emerita, Lane Sturtevant, Lea…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Michael Fisher, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Lisa Leaverton, Ann Luther, Rick Lyles, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O’Brien, Maryann Ogonowski, emerita, Lane Sturtevant, Lea…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Michael Fisher, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Lisa Leaverton, Ann Luther, Rick Lyles, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O’Brien, Maryann Ogonowski, emerita, Lane Sturtevant, Lea…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Michael Fisher, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Lisa Leaverton, Ann Luther, Rick Lyles, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O’Brien, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, and Linda Washburn…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Michael Fisher, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Lisa Leaverton, Ann Luther, Rick Lyles, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O’Brien, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, and Linda Washburn…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Michael Fisher, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Lisa Leaverton, Ann Luther, Rick Lyles, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O’Brien, Maryann Ogonowski, emerita, Lane Sturtevant, Lea…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Michael Fisher Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Lisa Leaverton, Ann Luther, Judith Lyles, Rick Lyles, Wendilee O’Brien, Maryann Ogonowski, emerita, Lane Sturtevant, Leah…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Lisa Leaverton, Ann Luther, Rick Lyles, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O’Brien, Maryann Ogonowski, Pam Person, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, Lin…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Lisa Leaverton, Ann Luther, Rick Lyles, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O’Brien, Maryann Ogonowski, Pam Person, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, Lin…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Lisa Leaverton, Ann Luther, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O’Brien, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, Linda Washburn Democracy Forum: Participatory …

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Lisa Leaverton, Ann Luther, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O’Brien, Pam Person, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, Linda Washburn Panel moderator: Jo…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Ann Luther, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O’Brien, Maryann Ogonowski, Pam Person, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, Linda Washburn Democracy Forum:…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Ann Luther, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O’Brien, Maryann Ogonowski, Pam Person, Lane Sturtevant, Leah Taylor, Linda Washburn Democracy Forum:…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics Taxation without Representation: Should DC be a State? What rights of self-determination do DC residents now enjoy? How are their rights now constrained? What are the obstacles to DC stat…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics Issue: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics Key Discussion Points: The courts as protectors of democracy Judicial philosophy and…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics Key Discussion Points: Local news and local democracy. What is a “news desert”? Does Maine have them? What happens in towns that have no institutional news coverage? Does it affect self-g…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Key Discussion Points: libraries and democracy privacy protection intellectual freedom and censorship informed citizenry, challenges and threats from book bans to funding Guests: Rich Boulet, Director, Blue Hill Public Library Alexandra Hinrichs, Children’s Author and Middle School Librarian at Leon…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine We’ll talk about anger and intimidation in the public sphere, especially in local politics. Where is this coming from? What is it that puts schools and elections in the bull’s eye? What measures should officials take? What can ordinary people do? Can we still have deliberative democracy? Guests: Pat…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine -How Facebook has transformed our political life. It’s not just Facebook, is it? -How has it polarized our political identities? -How has it become so central to our community and political life? -What threats does it pose to democracy? -What did the Facebook Papers tell us? -What are the possible s…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine We’ll talk about the political philosophy and history of public education in America. What is the role of public education in sustaining our fragile republic? How did public education develop and evolve over time? What has been or should be the role of public education in creating a shared civic ent…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Freedom of Religion, Freedom from Religion: Politics and Religion in America -What is the constitutional foundation of the separation of church and state? -Why is it important? -Is freedom of religion in the Bill of Rights? How did the doctrine emerge and develop from the prohibition on the establis…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine We talk about trust and distrust in government. What is the history of distrust in government in the US? How has it been weaponized in the last half-century? What do we lose when we have a blanket distrust in government: who loses and who gains? What motivates strategic attempts to weaken government…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine We’ll talk about the history and the future of the two major parties, How parties change and evolve, how/why they splinter. Are the parties too strong or too weak? Are the two major parties in this moment so polarized that the system itself is undermined? Has the modern two-party system made us ungo…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Protest: Good Citizenship at Work? We talk about whether protests are a legitimate, if not necessary, form of civic participation. Are protests good citizenship or are they civil disorder? Is protesting effective in changing public policy? Are nonviolent actions more effective than those that involv…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine We talk about the historical and contemporary link between labor organizing and expanding political rights like voting. -Is union organizing an important, if not essential, tool in building a vibrant democracy? -Has the diminution of labor unions contributed to the politics of resentment? -Has it pr…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Key Discussion Points: Whether this is one of the most divided moments in American history. How have these fractured moments come up in our prior history? What role is the emergence of multiracial democracy playing in this current divisive moment? What role has race played in the divisions of the pa…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Participatory Democracy: Is that for real? Conspiracy Theories in American Politics We’ll talk about the political and social conditions that give rise to conspiracy movements. Why are people drawn to these ideas? What are the conditions in civil society that are feeding into these trends? How have …

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine -Our information ecosystem and how it’s contributed to this very divisive moment in American politics: -How did it go wrong, can we fix it? -What role do mis- and dis-information, social media, media silos, and alternative realities play in fostering extremism? -How are these issues playing out righ…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine We’ll talk about the political divide in the aftermath of the 2020 general election. Do we share any common ground? What happened at “America in One Room” in 2019? And what does it mean for American in 2021. What lessons can we learn about American democracy and its future? Guests: Larry Diamond, Se…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Participatory Democracy: Election Reflections 2020 We will talk about the November 3 general election What just happened here in Maine and around the country What went right, what went wrong What it says about the future of our democracy Guests b: Shelly Crosby, Orono Town Clerk and president of the…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Research into voter motivation; How new information can affect the way people form political opinions, make political choices and, ultimately, take political actions; How research into voter motivation might be relevant in the 2020 General Election. Guests: Yanna Krupnikov, Associate Professor in th…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Who Votes, Who Can’t, and Who Won’t? We talk about voter participation in marginalized communities Structural/ systemic/ institutional barriers to voting, and motivational barriers to voting. Guests: Maulian Dana, Penobscot Nation Ambassador Michael Kebede, Policy Counsel, ACLU of Maine Chryl Laird,…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine NOTE: This is a rebroadcast of a program that originally aired on 11/15/2019 We’ll talk about new political science research into policy feedback effects How public policy design affects people’s sense of themselves as citizens and their propensity to participate. What this means for legislators and…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Who won the Maine primaries and why. How did Maine elections work under COVID restrictions? What does it all mean for the high-stakes election in November? Guests: Matthew Dunlap, Maine Secretary of State b) Amy Fried, Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of M…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine The Electoral College, is it working as intended—and by the way, what was intended?— What issues have emerged over time, is Popular Election of the President a solution, and where does the National Popular Vote Compact fit in? Guests: Saul Azunis, Saul Anuzis is principal and managing partner of Coa…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine We will talk about ranked choice voting (RCV) in the upcoming July and November elections in Maine RCV developments in other states The possible effect of a people’s veto and a pending law suit, and more. Guests: John Brautigam, senior advisor and counsel to the League of Women Voters of Maine. www.…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Prerecorded April 15, 2020 using ZOOM meeting technology hosted by LWVME We will talk about how the continuing COVID-19 emergency might change voting procedures in Maine’s upcoming primary election What steps are being taken to protect the election, election workers, and the voting public. What vote…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Engineer: Amy Browne -How is the presidential primary going to work, -How will delegates to national conventions be apportioned and selected, -What role will municipal caucuses continue to play, -What will be the differences among the parties. Guests: Kenneth Palmer, Professor Emeritus of Political …

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Engineer: Amy Browne We talk about the upcoming decennial census How it’s going to work Problems on the horizon The consequences for Maine and the nation. Guests: Margo Anderson, Distinguished Professor Emerits of History and Urban Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, author of the book…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Engineer: Amy Browne Key Discussion Points: We’ll talk about new political science research into policy feedback effects How public policy design affects people’s sense of themselves as citizens and their propensity to participate. What this means for legislators and advocates Guests: Amy Fried, Pro…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Engineer: Amy Browne Program Topic: Hate and Fear in Politics: How fear and anger endanger democracy Key Discussion Points: We talk about hate and fear in politics and whether they undermine democracy: How panic and fear make space for abandoning the rule of law and the regular order; How when we de…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Engineer: Amy Browne We talk about the lies in politics and the politics of lying, Historical examples, and current practice. How is the present moment in American politics different from others in our history? Or is it? What are the consequences for democracy? Guests: Dallas G. Denery II, Professor…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Engineer: Amy Browne This month, back by popular demand, we’ll talk more about practicing politics and democracy at the most personal level, in local government. What are the characteristics of the towns that have the most civic participation? How can community members help create a culture of inclu…

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Engineer: Amy Browne We talk about practicing politics and democracy at the most personal level, in local government, and the unusual experience we enjoy in the form of the New England town meeting. Does the town meeting still work? Is participation up or down? Is partisanship creeping in? Is money …

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Engineer: Amy Browne What do those words mean: republic and democracy? What do people mean when they say, “We’re not a democracy; we’re a republic,” in the context of different policy debates. Is there a particular subtext implicating minority rights, even minority rule, and possibly states’ rights …