Democracy Forum

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: We’ll talk about the value of a nonpartisan, professional civil service in sustaining a functioning democracy. We’ll cover the struggle to depoliticize the civil service...

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: We’ll talk about taxes and democracy. Everyone complains about paying taxes. But what if we need taxation if we want the benefits of democracy? If democracy costs money, who s...

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: Mass surveillance constitutes a threat to free speech. Commercial and government surveillance infrastructure has grown and continues to grow, encompassing license plate reader...

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: Maine has some of the best-run, highest-turnout elections in the country. We want to hold onto that, so we’re taking election threats seriously. We’ll talk about how elections...

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: We’ll talk about how civic courage and neighborliness create solidarity under stress. How are communities under pressure holding it together? — in Minneapolis, in...

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: We’ll talk about how wealth and income inequality undermine democracy. Does extreme income inequality lead to right wing authoritarianism? How does that work? Is that pl...

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: We’ll talk about the continuing concentration of executive power in the office of the President of the United States. What has been the historical precedent? How unusual...

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: We’ll talk about the two ballot questions that appear on the November 4 state ballot in Maine. How does the citizen initiative process work in Maine. What are the two ba...

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: We’ll talk about free speech, chilled speech, and self-censorship — historically in the U.S. and currently. We’ve been producing this radio show for over 20...

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: We’ll talk about the federal administration’s actions on election security, voter access, and confidence in elections. Staff changes at the Cybersecurity and Infra...

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: We talk about civil liberties, habeas corpus, due process, and immigrant detentions and deportations. While ordinary life goes on for most of us, some Mainers are living in fe...

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: The effects of the federal administration’s policies on health and science research and delivery nationally and here in Maine. Guest/s: Art Blank, Former CEO, MDI Hospit...

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: Many of us are not yet feeling the heat from the dramatic policy changes coming out of the new federal administration – life goes on. But some of us are getting hurt. An...

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: This month we’ll talk about civil resistance and how civil disobedience have succeeded or failed historically, seeking context for our current moment. What worked in the past,...

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: We want to talk about private equity, what is it? Does private equity contribute to wealth and income inequality, erode confidence in shared services and institutions, and und...

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: For much of our nation’s history, invoking “states’ rights” has meant opposing the federal government’s efforts to abolish slavery and enforce ra...

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: This month, as we do each election year, we will reflect on the recent election: what just happened here, and why? What does it mean for Maine? Guest/s: – Nicholas Jacob...

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Amy Browne Discussion held on Saturday, September 28, at the Moore Center in Ellsworth by the League of Women Voters – Downeast. Audio by Linda Washburn Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: Answering questions about...

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: We preview the upcoming elections and provide information about the ballot questions, which races will use ranked choice voting, how and when to vote, etc Guest/s: Randy Billings, politi...

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: We want to talk about propaganda: its manifestations in U.S. history and currently, its hallmarks, its sponsors, its uses and effects. Guest/s: Michael Franz, Professor of Government and Lega...

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 Taylor, and Linda Washburn. Democracy Forum: Parti...

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, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Ann Luther, Rick Lyles, Judith Lyles, Leah Taylor, and Linda Washburn. Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouragin...

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’Brien, Kathy Stark, Leah Taylor, and Linda Washbur...

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 Taylor, and Linda Washburn. Democracy Forum: Parti...

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. Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouragin...