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Democracy Forum

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Democracy Forum 6/19/26: Pillars of Democracy: Nonpartisan 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 the value of a nonpartisan, professional civil service in sustaining a functioning democracy. We’ll cover the struggle to depoliticize the civil service going…

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

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…

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

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…

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

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Democracy Forum 2/20/26: Constitutional Crisis: What Does Civic Courage Look Like?

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 Maine, and…

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Democracy Forum 1/16/26: Constitutional Crisis: Can Democracy Survive Billionaire Economics?

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 playing…

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Democracy Forum 11/21/25: Constitutional Crisis: The Expansion of Presidential Power

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 is…

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Democracy Forum 10/17/25: What’s On Your Ballot?

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 ballot…

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Democracy Forum 9/19/25: Constitutional Crisis: The Penalties for Free Speech

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 years, and this is…

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Democracy Forum 7/18/25: Constitutional Crisis: Will We Still Have Free and Fair 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 the federal administration’s actions on election security, voter access, and confidence in elections. Staff changes at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure…

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