Conversations from the Pointed Firs 3/6/26: Dan Bartlett

Host: Peter Neill
Producer: Spencer Albee
Music by Casey Neill (Mock Turtle Music)

Conversations from the Pointed Firs is a monthly audio series with Maine-connected authors and artists discussing new books and creative projects that invoke the spirit of Maine, its history, its ecology, its culture, and its contribution to community and quality of life. Airs the first Friday of every month from 4-5pm. Online at pointedfirs.org.

The history and activities of Masonic lodges in Maine.

About the host:
Peter Neill is founder and director of the World Ocean Observatory, a web-based place of exchange for information and educational services about the health of the ocean. In 1972, he founded Leete’s Island Books, a small publishing house specializing in literary reprints, the essay, photography, the environment, and profiles of indigenous healers and practitioners of complimentary medicine around the world. He holds a profound interest in Maine, its history, its people, its culture, and its contribution to community and quality of life.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Around Town 3/6/26: Local News, Culture and Events

Host/Producer: Amy Browne

Maine AFL-CIO rally at the Statehouse for affordable childcare Part 1 of 2 (Part 2 will air Monday morning, 3/9/26 at 8am)

About the host:
Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices, Maine Currents and Maine: The Way Life Could Be, Amy also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and Maine Association of Broadcasters awards for her work in 2017 and 2021.

Theme music: BreakBeat Chemists I, 2015
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International License

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The Maine Monitor Radio Hour 3/5/26

Host: Kate Cough, Editor at The Maine Monitor.

The Maine Monitor Radio Hour is a collaboration between WERU-FM and the Maine Monitor, the nonpartisan, independent publication of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting.

This month: This episode covers how tariffs have affected Maine’s loggers and sawmills, the debate over whether federal immigration agents can wear masks or otherwise conceal their identities and how that compares to rules for local police, and more.

Guests:
Sean Scott, religion, society and politics reporter for The Maine Monitor and Report for America corps member.
Emmett Gartner, environmental reporter for The Maine Monitor.

FMI:
themainemonitor.org/loggers-tariff-impact/
themainemonitor.org/sawmill-tariffs-boom-or-dust/
themainemonitor.org/forest-pests-diseases-outlook/
themainemonitor.org/immigration-agents-identification-concerns/
themainemonitor.org/faith-leaders-discuss-helping-mainers/

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Around Town 3/5/26: Local News, Culture and Events

Host/Producer: Amy Browne

Maine CD1 Congresswoman Chellie Pingree speaking to the House Agriculture Committee Tuesday as they debated “The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026”

About the host:
Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices, Maine Currents and Maine: The Way Life Could Be, Amy also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and Maine Association of Broadcasters awards for her work in 2017 and 2021.

Theme music: BreakBeat Chemists I, 2015
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International License

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Healthy Options 3/4/26: Hospice Volunteers of Waldo County

Host/Producer: Rhonda Feiman
Co-Producer: Petra Hall
Technical Assistance: Joel Mann

Healthy Options: For Well-being & Being Well

This month:
Hospice Volunteers of Waldo County is community-based, with neighbors helping neighbors. They work closely with volunteers, families, and healthcare partners in their mission to help ensure that no one in Waldo County is alone when facing serious illness, end-of-life decisions, or bereavement.

Their services include educational resources on grief, death, and dying; support for caregivers working with those at the end of life; workshops on end-of-life issues and advance care planning, and also, grief support services to anyone who has experienced the loss of a loved one, whether or not that person has received hospice care.

Guest(s):
Flic Shooter, the Executive Director of Hospice Volunteers of Waldo County.

FMI:
Hospice Volunteers of Waldo County: hospicevolunteersofwaldocounty.org

Hospice Volunteers of Waldo County Resources: hospicevolunteersofwaldocounty.org/resources

The Conversation Project: theconversationproject.org

About the host:
Rhonda Feiman is a nationally-certified, licensed acupuncturist practicing in Belfast, Maine since 1993. She primarily practices Toyohari Japanese acupuncture, using gentle and powerful non-insertion needle techniques, and also utilizes Chinese acupuncture and herbology. In addition, Rhonda is a practitioner of Qi Gong and an instructor of Tai Chi Chuan in the Yang Family tradition.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

World Ocean Radio 3/4/26: Ocean, Water and War

Host: Peter Neill
Producer: Trisha Badger

ABOUT THIS EPISODE
We are at war. There can be nothing good about it. Climate crisis, drought, sources of fresh water at risk, population growth, nuclear weapon development, our preoccupation with oil, the passage of the Strait of Hormuz threatened with closure and interrupting supply chains, maritime insurance cancelling coverage in war zones. Water and oil are functions of the climate-ocean connection. Thru our indifference to them we are acting against the best interest of all mankind. What is happening?

WORLD OCEAN RADIO
5-minute weekly insights dive into ocean science, advocacy and education hosted by Peter Neill, lifelong ocean advocate and maritime expert. A catalog of more than 730 episodes offering perspectives on global ocean issues and solutions, and celebrating exemplary projects. Available for RSS feed and broadcast by college and community radio stations worldwide via Exchange.prx.org and Audioport.org. Visit WorldOceanObservatory.org for the full catalog, searchable by theme.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Around Town 3/4/26: Local News, Culture and Events

Host/Producer: Amy Browne

Healthy Peninsula fundraiser for their health programs, featuring the Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers “The Legend of the Banana Kid” at the Blue Hill Town Hall Theater for two shows on March 7, 2026 (10:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.)

The Singing Journalist (Andrew Revkin) event we covered last week is happening tomorrow (Thursday) evening, 6:30-7:30pm, at the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor.

The public is invited to attend the Second Annual Community Ramadan Iftar and Dinner on Friday evening in Bangor. Guests will gather to break the fast at sunset (5:30 PM) and share in an evening of reflection, fellowship, and connection. Ramadan is a sacred month observed by Muslims worldwide, centered on fasting, prayer, gratitude, and compassion. The Second Annual Community Ramadan Iftar and Dinner is happening on Friday, March 6, from 5:00–9:00 PM at the Cross Insurance Center. Admission is free, but registration is required.

About the host:
Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices, Maine Currents and Maine: The Way Life Could Be, Amy also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and Maine Association of Broadcasters awards for her work in 2017 and 2021.

Theme music: BreakBeat Chemists I, 2015
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International License

Podcast: Play in new window | Download