Democracy Forum

Democracy Forum, with host Ann Luther, featuring topics in Maine's participatory democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics.

Democracy Forum is a news podcast hosted by WERU-FM, with 114 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

WERU-FM hosts Democracy Forum, a news show with 114 episodes published.

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  Democracy Forum

  Democracy Forum 9/18/26: Our Two Party System: How’s It Holding Up?

  Sep 18, 202658 min

  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: It’s been five years since we did a show on our two-party system and the future of American democracy. But the topic is still very much of interest. Party membership is declining, and both major parties seem to be suffering from voter frustration and anger. With a functioning democracy hanging by a thread, is the two-party system still the best way to govern? Guest/s: Lee Drutman, Senior fellow in the Political Reform program at New America. Nicholas Jacobs, Goldfarb Family Distinguished Associate Professor of American Government, Colby College. To learn more about this topic: Visit LWVME.org About the host: Ann Luther currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. The post Democracy Forum 9/18/26: Our Two Party System: How’s It Holding Up? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives .

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  Democracy Forum

  Democracy Forum 6/19/26: Pillars of Democracy: Nonpartisan Civil Service

  Jun 19, 20261 hour

  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 going back to the end of the nineteenth century and bringing it up to date. We’re now seeing the ranks of civil servants slashed, with some positions converted into political appointments. Where is this heading? What are the risks? If the “deep state” consists of well educated professionals, are they the natural enemy of autocrats? How is it playing out in this moment? And how is it playing out in Maine? Guest/s: Ryan LaRochelle, Senior Lecturer at the Cohen Institute for Leadership and Public Service at the University of Maine. Rob Shriver, Managing Director of the Civil Service Strong and Good Government Initiatives at Democracy Forward. To learn more about this topic: Visit LWVME.org About the host: Ann Luther currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. The post Democracy Forum 6/19/26: Pillars of Democracy: Nonpartisan Civil Service first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives .

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  Democracy Forum

  Democracy Forum 5/15/26: Pillars of Democracy: Democracy costs money. Who pays?

  May 15, 202658 minS0

  <p>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 should pay for it? Author Vanessa Williamson argues that some of the most important battles that shape our democracy hinge on one issue—taxes. How has that played out in our history. How is it playing out in t...

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  Democracy Forum

  Democracy Forum 4/17/26: Constitutional Crisis: They’re Watching

  Apr 17, 202656 minS0

  <p>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 readers, location tracking, and facial recognition and other biometric data. How do these invasions of privacy threaten free speech? What protections should individuals and civil society adopt to protect civil liberties? Guest/s: Cindy Cohn, Executive Director, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), author of the book...

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  Democracy Forum

  Democracy Forum 3/20/26: Constitutional Crisis: All Hands on Deck to Protect Our Elections

  Mar 20, 202658 minS0

  <p>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 work now and why we should be confident in our elections. But we’ll also talk about what can go wrong and how we can prepare. Guest/s: Shenna Bellows, Maine Secretary of State. Patti DuBois, City Clerk...

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