Creative Maine 2/19/26: Maine Theater Initiatives

Producer/host: Adina Salmansohn
Other credits: Theme music written and performed by Ariel Chapman.

A monthly show exploring Maine‘s culture, art and crafts that enrich our lives and bring us joy.

This episode covers some innovative theater happening in Maine, including presenting and teaching Financial Literacy through the circus; Gilbert and Sullivan Operettas, updated; and a new youth theater program Downeast at the Milbridge Theatre and Community Arts Center.

Guest/s:
Lisa Leaverton, Chief Collaborator, Circus of Finance – inquirewithinproductions@gmail.com
Deirdre McArdle and Deiran Manning – winterharbormusicfestival.org gilbertsullivanmaine.org
Kimberly Laine, Executive Director, Milbridge Theatre and Community Arts Center – milbridgetheatre.org [email protected]

About the Host:
Adina Salmansohn started learning to play the trombone at the age of 8.  Her undergraduate years were at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with Robert F. Boyd of the Cleveland Orchestra.  After returning to her native New York, she played freelance in the NY Metro area, including multiple orchestras, big bands, and a 17 year stint with The Soundview Brass Quintet, which she founded in 1980. In addition, she had a busy career as an arts administrator, directing and teaching in Community Arts schools, light opera companies, and season programming for other non-profit organizations. Adina founded the Hudson School of Creative Arts in inner-city Yonkers, NY.

After her second child was born, she returned to school, and earned a degree in Culinary Arts from the Culinary Institute of America. Her family then moved to the Chicagoland area, where she became Principal Trombone of the Skokie Valley Symphony Orchestra, and also served as a board member and Personnel Manager for many years.  In that time, she also taught Culinary Arts in high school.  She earned a Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies from Northern Illinois University in 2018. Upon retirement, she and her husband moved to Orland, Maine; she came out of retirement to teach in the JMG program. She performs with the Bangor Band, where she has been a Board Member at Large for four years, and is a member of a trombone quartet based at The University of Maine, The Bear Bones.

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Climate & Community 2/19/26: Coastal and Marine Resilience in Maine with Dr. Hillary Smith (Part 2)

Host: Wilson Haims

This week: This week Climate and Community continues last week’s conversation with Dr. Hillary Smith, an interdisciplinary social scientist and professor at the University of Maine and the College of the Atlantic. In this segment, we learn more about the intended impact of the Dr. Smith’s research on incorporating green crabs into Maine’s seafood economy and how women involved in working waterfront industries are adapting to climate change. Listen to hear Hillary’s advice on how you can support local coastal climate resilience throughout the state!

About the Host:
Wilson Haims is from Portland, Maine and earned her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from Wellesley College in 2023. Upon graduating, Wilson contributed to climate and conservation-related field work, policy and community engagement work in New England and the Pacific Northwest. Now, Wilson is the Manager of Community Engagement and Resilience at A Climate to Thrive and spends her time hiking, running, making art and cooking on Mount Desert Island.
 
Johannah, Beth, Wilson, Gus, Alison and Angie are the team at A Climate to Thrive, a nonprofit working to build a model of community-driven, solutions-focused climate action. Since its origins around a potluck table as concerned neighbors gathered to take action on climate change, A Climate to Thrive, or ACTT, has been supporting solutions on Mount Desert Island and beyond since 2016. Learn more at www.aclimatetothrive.org.

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Around Town 2/19/26: Local News, Culture and Events

Host/Producer: Amy Browne

Brook Minner and Emily Burnham from the Maine Women’s Lobby stop by to invite listeners to the 2026 Hot Ticket Hootenanny: A Very Feminist Variety Show, Thursday, February 26, 2026. 7-9 PM, Next Generation Theatre, Brewer Tickets are available on their website and at the door

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

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World Ocean Radio 2/18/26: The Wrong Side of History

Host: Peter Neill
Producer: Trisha Badger

ABOUT THIS EPISODE
A recent report by InfluenceMap, a UK-based think tank that tracks pertinent climate trends, declared that 32 companies emit more than half of the world‘s CO2 emissions. Negative consequences of changing climate are measured by air quality, extreme weather, pandemic, ocean acidification, freshwater pollution, financial inequity, social unrest, and the concentration of wealth in the hands of very few to the detriment the millions of us otherwise. We can sustain the ocean, or we can corrupt it. Who will be on the wrong side of history?

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.

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Around Town 2/18/26: Local News, Culture and Events

Host/Producer: Amy Browne

In Augusta today, the legislature’s Committee On Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services will be taking comments from the public on a slew of bills related to healthcare in Maine, including:

LD 2189, which, if passed, would “require a hospital to provide at least 120 days’ notice prior to the termination of maternity or newborn care services or of a change in the level of care a hospital provides for maternity and newborn care services”, and

LD 2197 which would prohibit the licensure of any health care entity that “enter(s) into any arrangement with a real estate investment trust for the sale and leaseback of the health care entity’s main campus or primary location to the real estate investment trust”

5 Consequences of Private Equity’s Expansion in Health Care Services, Brian Keyser, Alexandra Thornton, Claire Koyle, Oct 30, 2025, Center for American Progress

And a story from the Maine headlines, 100 years ago today…

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

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Relationship Rewind 2/17/26: Real Love Respects

Host: Carrie Clark and Jazz Bradley at NextStep Domestic Violence Project. NextStep 24/7 Helpline: 1(800) 315-5579
Theme Music for the show donated by local musicians Megan Light and Nathan Spears.

Relationship Rewind: Rewinding relationships in popular media and breaking down behaviors based in power, control, and abuse.

This episode:
1. Discussing relationships in the media showing respectful, loving behavior and open communication.
2. Discussing the impacts seeing healthy relationships in the media can have one young people in real life vs. some of the abusive behaviors we typically discuss.

Guest: NextStep attorney Eileen Reilly

FMI:
www.nextstepdvproject.org
www.loveisrespect.org

About the hosts:
Alli Williamson is the youth educator and advocate for NextStep Domestic Violence Project based in Hancock and Washington County, ME. She teaches young people from Kindergarten to College about what power and control looks like in friendships and relationships, what resources are available to support those experiencing this, and how we can work to make our schools and communities safer and more equal spaces where abuse may be less likely to happen.

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Outside the Box 2/17/26: “More Reasons to Be Cheerful”

Producer/Host: Larry Dansinger

About the host:
Larry Dansinger (no pronouns) of Bangor came to Maine in 1974 and has been here ever since. Some of Larry’s activities since then: Done community organizing on numerous issues through INVERT and then Resources for Organizing and Social Change (ROSC), committed civil disobedience several times, grown a garden yearly since 1977, joined various food cooperatives and two men’s groups, refused to pay federal income taxes for war, lived on a community land trust for 23 years, and met a wonderful partner whom Larry has loved for over 40 years. Larry has produced Outside the Box features on WERU since 2007 and continues to look for unique ways of seeing almost any problem or situation.

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Around Town 2/17/26: Local News, Culture and Events

Host/Producer: Amy Browne

John Jurcheck of the Counter Current Collective is here with a suggestion for your weekend plans (yes, we’re already thinking about the weekend). THey’ll be presenting Tögal – A world premiere original work- on Friday and Saturday (2/20 and 2/21) at 7pm at the UU Church in Belfast. Click here for more info and tickets

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