Podcasts about This Way Out

This week on This Way Out: in the second installment of our special Pride Month collaboration with Los Angeles' Get Lit – Words Ignite, young poets respond to the voices of James Baldwin and Urvashi Vaid with original spoken-word performances that bridge generations of LGBTQ history, literature, and activism. Plus, a Rainbow Rewind featuring Patricia Nell Warren and Harvey Fierstein, and in Newswrap: the Netherlands' ban on conversion therapy, a Trump administration lawsuit targeting the world's leading transgender health organization, cuts to LGBTQ veterans' health programs, Niger's expanding crackdown on LGBTQ people, and an openly gay referee making FIFA World Cup history. Featured speakers:, James Baldwin, Brian Sonia-Wallace, Urvashi Vaid, Allison Leiva-Reyes and Alina Sadibekova Credits: Associate Producer/Host Lucia Chappelle, Producer Brian DeShazor, News writer Jeb Backe, feature producer Brian DeShazor, NewsWrap reporters, Ava Davis and Nico Raquel, music by Raye and Kim Wilson

In a special Pride Month feature produced by Brian DeShazor, young poets from Los Angeles-based Get Lit – Words Ignite respond to the words of LGBTQ trailblazers across generations. After listening to archival recordings by James Baldwin, Audre Lorde, and Quentin Crisp, the poets James Mondares, Candi aka Vonne, and Samantha Rios created original spoken-word pieces inspired by those voices and their enduring messages. The result is a moving intergenerational conversation that connects LGBTQ history, literature, and activism with the experiences of today's emerging writers, demonstrating how the power of queer storytelling continues to inspire new generations. This week on This Way Out, NewsWrap reports on growing concerns over proposed cuts to LGBTQ+ health research and federal grant programs under a new Trump administration plan. We also mark the tenth anniversary of the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, follow protests by transgender rights activists in the United Kingdom over new public-facility restrictions, report on a neo-Nazi disruption of Pride events in Athens, Georgia, and celebrate Broadway history as Qween Jean becomes the first openly transgender Tony Award winner. Featured speakers: Zohran Mamdani, Bruce Villanch, Brian Sonia-Wallace, James Baldwin, James Mondares, Audre Lorde, Candi aka Vonne, Quentin Crisp Samantha Rios Credits: Associate Producer/Lucia Chappelle, Producer/Host Brian DeShazor, News writer Jeb Backe, feature producer Brian DeShazor, NewsWrap reporters, Joe Boehnlein and Melanie Keller, music by Raye and Kim Wilson.

This Way Out celebrates Pride Month with a special look at the power of visibility, community, and resistance. Then, This Way Out visits Los Angeles' historic Founders Metropolitan Community Church for the unveiling of the Rainbow Liberation Steps, a permanent public art installation honoring LGBTQ+ freedom and liberation. The dedication ceremony features community leaders, activists, faith leaders, and members of the congregation reflecting on the continuing struggle for equality and inclusion. NewsWrap reports on Colorado's successful effort to restore its ban on conversion therapy, a federal appeals court ruling blocking the Trump administration's transgender military ban, Pride activists marching forward in Hungary despite government opposition, and Ghana's parliament approving a sweeping anti-LGBTQ law. Finally, This Way Out takes to the streets of Los Angeles to ask a timely question: What would you say to someone who believes Pride is no longer relevant? The answers reveal why Pride continues to matter for LGBTQ+ people and their allies around the world. Featured speakers: Nithya Raman, Phillip Ray De Blieck, Gerald Garth, Lucia Chappelle Credits: Associate Producer/Lucia Chappelle, Producer/Host Brian DeShazor, News writer Jeb Backe, feature producer Brian DeShazor and Lucia Chappelle, NewsWrap reporters, Tanya Kane-Parry and Michael Taylor Gray, music by Maggie Szabo and the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles, the Porland Lesbian Choir and Kim Wilson All this on the June 8, 2026 Edition of This Way Out!

Was Barney Frank a political hero, a lightning rod—or both? Following the death of the trailblazing gay former Congressmember on May 19, Lucia Chappelle explores the triumphs, tensions, and contradictions behind one of the most influential and debated LGBTQ political figures in U.S. history. Included are recollections from Andy Humm, Ann Northrop of GayUSA and journalist Karen Ocamb (Substack: LGBTQ+ Freedom Fighters). Archive audio from This Way Out archives. And in a Rainbow Rewind, Sir Ian McKellen reflects on coming out. This week's NewsWrap on This Way Out reports on a rise in drug-resistant Shigella infections disproportionately affecting queer men, as health experts urge prevention without stigma. Missouri LGBTQ+ advocates celebrate the defeat of dozens of anti-queer bills during the state's legislative session, while activists worldwide mark IDAHOBIT amid both ongoing criminalization and notable legal victories for LGBTQ+ people. In the U.S., a federal judge temporarily blocks the transfer of transgender women to men's prisons, and the House advances a controversial “Don't Say Trans” bill targeting transgender students and schools. We also close with a milestone from Leeds, where newly installed Lord Mayor Stephen Holroyd and his partner Simon Mapals make local LGBTQ+ history. Credits: Associate Producer/Lucia Chappelle, Producer/Host Brian DeShazor, News writer Jeb Backe, feature producer Lucia Chappelle, NewsWrap reporters, Marcos Najera and Melanie Keller, music by the Klezmatics and Kim Wilson

In part two of her series on the global rise of anti-LGBTQ laws, This Way Out's Ebony Joseph explores how criminalization and political hostility are creating a growing public health crisis for queer communities worldwide. Advocates say laws targeting LGBTQ people not only fuel stigma and violence, but also discourage people from seeking HIV prevention, mental health care, and other essential services. The report highlights countries where fear of arrest or public exposure keeps people from accessing clinics, while anti-LGBTQ rhetoric increasingly spreads from government policy into everyday life. The story also examines the impact of the Trump administration's cuts to U.S. foreign aid programs, including the dismantling of USAID and restrictions on funding tied to “gender ideology.” Former USAID officials and global health advocates warn that the loss of support for LGBTQ-focused HIV outreach programs could have devastating consequences, especially in countries where queer people already face criminalization. Despite growing hostility, organizers and activists continue building local networks of care and resistance, insisting that queer and trans lives deserve dignity, safety, and access to healthcare. NewsWrap: Botswana amends penal code removing anti-LGBTQ+ provisions which previously criminalized same-sex relationships, United States Trump Administration release 2026 Counterterrorism Strategy defining major terror groups including “violent secular political groups” with ideologies that are “anti-American, radically pro-transgender,” Zambian RightsCon is abruptly cancelled with officials claiming the event does not align with the country's “national values,” Pennsylvania legislators amend Pennsylvania Human Relations Act prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, Isaac Ranson, a transgender man, joins Minnesota Aurora FC soccer team as the first openly trans player, but must play with women's team because of his gender assigned at birth— and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by John Dyer the 5th and RET (News Writers Ebony Joseph and Jeb Backe, News Producer Brian DeShazor). Author Armistead Maupin reads from Tales of the City from September 10, 1990 on This Way Out in the Rainbow Rewind.

In part one of a two-part series, This Way Out's Ebony Joseph examines a growing global wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation—from Africa to Eastern Europe and Central Asia—where governments are increasingly criminalizing queer identity under the guise of “morality,” “tradition,” or child protection. Featuring insights from Neela Goshal of Outright International, Gurchaten Sandhu of ILGA World, and Polish advocate Annamaria Linczowska, the report connects these laws to political power plays, colonial legacies, and rising authoritarianism, while highlighting their real-world consequences—from increased violence to the silencing of advocacy. Despite legal shifts in some regions, the piece underscores the ongoing struggle for safety, visibility, and basic rights, and the critical role of grassroots movements in pushing back. Featured speakers: Phil Thoman, Pope Leo XIV, Father James Martin, Steven Reigns, Ebony Joseph, Neela Goshal, Gurchaten Sandhu, Annamaria Linczowska In NewsWrap: Russia escalates its campaign against LGBTQ communities, as courts label advocacy groups “extremists,” a U.S. appeals court upholds West Virginia's ban on Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming surgeries, raising concerns about broader limits on transgender healthcare nationwide, transgender Idaho residents sue the state over what some are calling the harshest bathroom ban in the country, human rights groups issue travel warnings ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America citing risks for LGBTQ people and other marginalized communities, and Pope Leo XIV weighs in on same-sex marriage, emphasizing unity over doctrine as debate continues within the global Church—and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Joe Boehnlein and Tanya Kane-Parry (News Writer Ebony Joseph, News Producer Brian DeShazor). Credits: Associate Producer Lucia Chappelle, News Producer/ Host Brian DeShazor, News Editor Ebony Joseph, feature report Ebony Joseph producer, NewsWrap reporters Joe Boehnlein and Tanya Kane-Parry, music by Joy Oladokun and Kim Wilson.

This Way Out's Brian DeShazor talks with Out Opera and Broadway actor Zachary James about his roles in Philip Glass' Akhnaten, Broadway, and being out on stage. In addition to his current role as Amenhotep III in the Olivier and Grammy-Award winning production of Akhnatan, he's played roles as Lurch in The Addams Family on Broadway, Abraham Lincoln in The Perfect American, Hades in the West End production of Hadestown. James was named one of the 30 most influential LGBTQIA+ artists in Opera by Operawire. And in NewsWrap: Hungary's anti-LGBTQ law ruled illegal as a new leader faces pressure to reform, the U.S. Supreme Court takes up a religious rights clash over queer families, Australia lifts blood donation restrictions for gay and bi men, Tennessee declares “Nuclear Family Month” to counter Pride, a trans custody case sparks international intervention, and a Trump photo-op goes off-script. Reported this week by Michael LeBeau and Michael Taylor Gray. Those stories and more when you find “This Way Out" for the week of April 27, 2026. Join our family of listener-donors today at thiswayout.org/donate/.

National Poetry Month revisits the 1979 March on Washington with poetry from the rally stage recited by Allen Ginsberg, Paula Gunn Allen, and Audre Lorde. Audre Lorde also reads a poem to close the program from 1980 recorded at a feminist event in New York City. (Produced by Brian DeShazor) Music by Elizabeth Clyde and Blackberri And in Newswrap: Hungary's political shift as Viktor Orbán is unseated by Péter Magyar, an Australian court allows trans exclusion at lesbian events, Montana affirms transgender legal recognition, and the Pride flag is restored at Stonewall National Monument. All this on the April 20, 2026 Edition of This Way Out!

This Way Out's founding Coordinating Producer Greg Gordon is honored in “In Memoriam Part 2,” continuing a legacy that helped shape international LGBTQ radio. This tribute features voices from across his life and work, reflecting on his impact as a journalist, historian, and community storyteller (Part 2 of 2, produced by Lucia Chappelle and Brian DeShazor). And in NewsWrap: India swears in its first openly queer Member of Parliament amid ongoing trans rights rollbacks, Belarus criminalizes LGBTQ “propaganda,” U.K. veterans seek justice over historic service bans, U.S. schools face new challenges to transgender protections, Los Angeles schools come under federal scrutiny in a trans student case, a judge condemns conversion therapy, and the queer blues legacy of Ma Rainey is celebrated—plus more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Marcos Najera and Sarah Montague (News Editor Ebony Joseph, News Producer Brian DeShazor). All this on the April 13, 2026 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at thiswayout.org/donate/.

This Way Out's founding Coordinating Producer leaves a legacy of historic LGBTQ audio that begins more than a decade before the only internationally syndicated queer radio show debuted. This memorial tribute features his exclusive 1979 interview with San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk and “Diminished Capacity,” his documentary on the aftermath of Milk's assassination, and coverage of the first LGBTQ March on Washington (Part 1 of 2, produced by Lucia Chappelle and Brian DeShazor). And in NewsWrap: the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down Colorado's ban on conversion therapy for minors, rebellious protests in India on International Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV) after the president signs a law that erases trans rights, the Trump White House denounces the Biden administration's support of TDOV, New South Wales is still waiting for the release of the Sackar Report on hate crimes, queer Kenyan activists are launching a voter registration campaign, a trio of trans athletes win third place in the Oceanside, California Ironman race, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Ava Davis and John Dyer V (News Editor Ebony Joseph, News Producer Brian DeShazor). All this on the April 6, 2026 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at thiswayout.org/donate/.

Danni Hoshino brings us a preview of her Transgender Day of Visibility single release, “Alright”! The veteran folk-rock musician surprised everyone — not least herself — when she came out as a transgender woman in 2022, just weeks before her planned wedding. Gender identity wasn't the only thing that changed. She relocated, became Light Bird on stage, and began working on a soul-baring new album that's expected out in June (interviewed by David Hunt). Birthday wishes to the multi-award-winning Rachel Maddow, the first openly lesbian prime time news anchor in the United States, multi-award-winning David Hyde Pierce, best known for his portrayal of psychiatrist “Niles Crane” on the popular sitcom “Frasier,” and multi-award-winning Black and gay science fiction writer memoirist, and critic Samuel R. “Chip” Delany, known for groundbreaking works like “Dhalgren” and “Babel-17” — all in the Rainbow Minute, along with some memorable dates (written by Sheri Lunn, produced by co-host Brian DeShazor. And in NewsWrap: India's transgender people are stripped of their rights under a new law that upends their legal recognition process, the International Olympic Committee's revived “sex testing” process for all women] effectively bans trans and intersex women from competing in Women's Events, CBS Studios and Paramout Plus are pulling the plug on allegedly “too woke” Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Michael Lebeau and Nico Raquel (News Editor Ebony Joseph, News Producer Brian DeShazor). All this on the March 30, 2026 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at thiswayout.org/donate/.

“It is the woman who has to speak, and it's not only the woman Anaïs who has to speak, but I who have to speak for many women.” So says the Cuban-French essayist and novelist in this 1966 reading from the first volume of “The Diary of Anais Nin,” presented in commemoration of Women's History Month by poet Steven Reigns, Chair of the Anaïs Nin Foundation (produced by Brian DeShazor). Warm remembrances for the March birthdays of Alexandra Billings, the first female transgender actor to portray “Mama Rose” in “Gypsy,” and gay playwright Tennessee Williams, recalling his first meeting with Marlon Brando (courtesy of the Pacifica Radio Archives). More queer milestones include the birthday of ACT-UP, its Bisexual Health Awareness Month, and International Transgender Day of Visibility is March 31st (a Rainbow Rewind written by Sheri Lunn and produced by co-host Brian DeShazor). And in NewsWrap: India's anti-trans proposal sparks protests, New South Wales acts to stop dating app ambushes, Olympics “sex testing” plan outrages human rights advocates, Trump's new visa rules call neutral “X” passports “gender fraud,” California and New York lead U.S. states fighting Health and Human Services for trans kids' care, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Melanie Keller and John Dyer V (News Editor Ebony Joseph, News Producer Brian DeShazor). All this on the March 23, 2026 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at thiswayout.org/donate/.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne The 3rd No Kings Day is coming up on March 28th FMI re No Kings Day FMI re No Kings Day events in Maine The Digital Security Discussion Group at the Witherle Memorial Library in Castine meets tonight from 5 to 6 pm. This week’s topic is This month’s topic is the Pros and Cons of Digital Surveillance and ID Verification. Moderated by Tom Lamontanaro. In person in the Downstairs Community Room at the Witherle, and over Zoom. To request the zoom link, email kathryn@witherlelibrary.net 36th Maine Women's Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony coming up this Saturday, March 21st, at the University of Maine at Augusta, starting with a reception at 1 p.m., followed by the induction ceremony at 2 p.m. The 2026 inductees are Alane O'Connor, Director of Perinatal Addiction Medicine at MaineHealth Maine Medical Center “who has been in the forefront of addiction medicine in the state”, and the late Frances Perkins, U.S. Secretary of Labor under President Franklin Roosevelt “and architect of New Deal programs that Americans rely on today”. Live and online. RSVP if you plan to attend, by emailing mainewomenshalloffame@gmail.com. FMI: Maine Women’s Hall of Fame website Snow date is March 22 The League of Women Voters – Downeast is hosting an in-person and online discussion on county government in Maine, on Saturday in Ellsworth. Panelists will be Kate Cough, Editor at the Maine Monitor; John Wombacher, Hancock County Commissioner; and Nina Milliken, Hancock County Budget Committee and House Representative for District 16. The event is free and open to the public, Saturday from noon to 2pm at the Moore Community Center in Ellsworth Register here for the zoom link Questions may be submitted in advance by email to downeast@lwvme.o 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 The post Around Town 3/18/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

In a genre-bending story about a quest to conquer evil and save the world, the young-adult characters of Kestrel Gaian's “The Boy From Elsewhere” take a trek through the multiverse where nothing is quite what it seems. The poet, playwright, essayist, composer and author discusses the importance of queer visibility in young adult fiction in a conversation with This Way Out's David Hunt. And in NewsWrap: Senegal's National Assembly almost unanimously passes a bill to double the punishments for same-sex sexual activity, a Kenyan court convicts two assailants in a gay assault and extortion case, a U.S. federal appeals court issues a precedent-setting ruling against Medicaid-funded gender-affirming surgery, a Kansas judge refuses to block the invalidation of transgender people's government identification and the ban their use of public bathrooms, the New Hampshire House passes extreme trans bathroom ban, Trump demands Congress add anti-trans laws to the SAVE America voter suppression bill, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Ret and Michael Taylor Gray (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the March 16, 2026 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at thiswayout.org/donate/.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne An update on Belfast resident Lawrence Reichard’s upcoming trip to Colombia where he plans to meet with the family of one of the fishermen identified by the US government as a drug trafficker and killed while out on his boat. Earlier report with links to Lawrence Reichard’s writing 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 The post Around Town 3/17/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne Berit Becker from the Ellsworth Public Library is here with information about the Indie Lens Pop-up documentary film series that kicks off on Saturday, March 21st at 2pm with The Inquisitor: The Life and Legacy of Barbara Jordan. There are 2 more films in the series, to be shown in April and May – Berit will be back later to say more about those. For more information and to register to attend 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 The post Around Town 3/16/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne Maria Girouard, co-founder of the Sunlight Media Collective, stops by to invite you to a showing of two of their short documentaries [Environmental Justice: An Age-Old Saga: Penobscot Nation Takes a Stand Against Juniper Ridge Landfill (2025), and It’s Not Just Us: Penobscot Nation Puts Environmental Justice to the Test (2026)] on the battle to protect the Penobscot watershed from the Juniper Ridge landfill, just upriver from Indian Island. The event will take place tomorrow (Saturday 3/14) at 2pm at the Sockalexis Arena on Indian Island. No tickets 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 The post Around Town 3/13/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne Big changes to LD2176 as the state legislature’s Judiciary Committee holds a second public hearing 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 The post Around Town 3/12/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne Loaves & Fishes internet cafe is now open to the public The Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor is currently accepting donations for the 56th Annual Booksale. Call or text Ruth at 207-610-2355 for more info Maine Bicentennial news in the local papers 50 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 The post Around Town 3/11/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Anti-LGBTQI hate crimes are on the rise in Australia. In New South Wales nearly 200 violent incidents have been reported since 2023, many involving men lured by gay dating apps (Michael Brown reports from Sydney). Plus: we announce the passing of This Way Out Co-founder and Coordinating Producer Greg Gordon. And in NewWrap: Russian repression strikes again with the designation of the LGBTQ+ advocacy group Coming Out as an “extremist organization,” “deviant culture” is how a new Deputy Minister in Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's government wants to refer to LGBT people, Maryland parents who sued their local school district over LGBTQ-themed storybooks are now one and a half million dollars richer, the international music, art and cultural festival KOLFEST is being targeted by Kyrgyzstan officials based on its alleged promotion of LGBTQ life, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Marcos Najera and Ava Davis (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the March 9, 2026 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at thiswayout.org/donate/.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne Ashley Megquier, Outreach Coordinator for Friends of Sears Island, is here with a run down of the activities they have planned this month – for all ages 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 The post Around Town 3/10/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne Maine AFL-CIO rally at the Statehouse for affordable childcare Part 1 of 2 (Part 2 of 2. Part 1 aired Friday, 3/6/26) 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 The post Around Town 3/9/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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 The post Around Town 3/6/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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 The post Around Town 3/5/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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 The post Around Town 3/4/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Award-winning Egyptologist Dr. Colleen Darnell of Lost Treasures of Egypt explores diverse expressions of love, gender, and identity woven into the civilizations of the ancient Nile in conversation with Brian DeShazor. And in NewWrap: Wendy Faith and Alesi Diana Denise face life in prison in Uganda for kissing “in broad daylight,” increasing the penalty for what it calls “unnatural acts” in Senegal is the goal of a bill introduced by Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, the gay dating apps Grindr and Blued are now blocked in Malaysia, the drug trials that provided transgender minors in the United Kingdom with the only way to get puberty blockers have been paused, two Kansas trans men are filing suit to stop the state from revoking all government documents that reflect corrected gender identities, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Melanie Keller and Tanya Kane-Parry (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the March 2, 2026 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at thiswayout.org/donate/.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne Jud Esty-Kendall from the Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine is here with an invitation to join the P&J center and a coalition of social justice groups for “Singing In Solidarity”, Saturday, 3/7/26, 3pm-5(ish) at Saint John’s Episcopal Church on French Street in Bangor 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 The post Around Town 3/2/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne Indivisible Bangor Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the Twentieth Century, March 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th at 7 p.m. at the Thomas S. Gates, Jr. Community Center, 105 Eden Street, Bar Harbor Tickets are free but you must register in advance at this link The University of New England Online (UNE Online) College of Professional Studies is offering new, 100% online certificate programs for those interested in careers in the cannabis industry. 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 The post Around Town 3/3/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne LD 1822, An Act to Enact the Maine Online Data Privacy Act Find Your State Senator (includes contact info) OUT Maine is hosting the 3rd annual Rainbow Gala & Dance Party tonight in Rockland On Saturday, the Stonington Opera House invites you to travel back to a galaxy far, far, away with their free screening of The Empire Strikes Back. Belfast’s Annual Ice Festival is also happening this weekend On Sunday, Great Pond Conservation Trust will hold their monthly meet up at the Joost Family Preserve on Verona Island, for snowshoeing along the shores of the Penobscot. 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 The post Around Town 2/27/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne Following up on yesterday’s report, today organizers of The Consequence of Palestine- (Maine Coalition for Palestine, www.mvprights.org/ -weigh in on the controversy in a press release. Resources included with the press release: “[E]stablished case law pertaining to nearly identical conferences and academic events” provided by organizers “Trump Administration Concedes U.S. Researchers may Talk with Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on Palestine, Despite Sanctions” – “The First Amendment generally forecloses the government from using its sanctions authority to suppress the exchange of ideas—and it certainly prohibits the government from preventing scholars from engaging with one of the foremost experts in their field,” says Xiangnong (George) Wang, staff attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute. “The Treasury Department's concession is a significant reprieve to the many American scholars, journalists, and advocates that have been chilled from exercising their rights because they fear liability under U.S. sanctions laws.” “OFAC SIGNALS POLICY CHANGE ON HOLDING CONFERENCES WITH SANCTIONED SPEAKERS” – “Marking what appears to be a reversal of previous policy, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) determined that US persons can, subject to certain limitations, include sanctioned persons as speakers at overseas conferences without specific authorization.” “The authority granted to the president of the United States under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not authorize the regulation or prohibition of most types of communication that do not involve the transfer of anything of value (50 USC § 1702(b)(1)). The Berman Amendment, added to IEEPA in 1988, stipulates that the president cannot regulate or ban the import or export of “informational materials” to or from adversarial nations or individuals.” “By reversing its stance in the GPE case, and by issuing the letter as part of the public record in the court proceedings, OFAC appears content to publicly clarify and refine its position on this issue: allowing sanctioned individuals to speak at events organized by US citizens is not a service so long as no financial transactions or other exchanges of benefits take place” Letter to Middle East Studies Association from OFAC Media Advisory – The Consequence of Palestine, February 16 Support for Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories: 30 Jewish Organizations: We Support UN Human Rights Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, Independent Jewish Voices, Canada, November 5, 2024 “Jewish Voice for Peace strongly condemns the Trump administration's announcement of sanctions against UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Francesca Albanese. This is a blatantly political attack that seeks to silence Palestinian rights advocates and undermine international law”, social media post “Impunity will end: Francesca Albanese keeps hopeful”, Jewish Voice for Liberation, Wed 28 Jan 2026 Links from Part 1 (aired 2/25/26): “The Consequence of Palestine” Conference Coming to USM, Munjoy Hill News, Portland, 18 February 2026 (NOTE: CANCELLED) Press Statement, US Imposing Sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories Occupied since 1967, Marco Rubio, Secretary of State, 9 July 2025 Report: “Gaza Genocide: a collective crime” by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, United Nations Francesca Albanese, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories Global: European states must retract outrageous attacks on UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, Amnesty International, 13 Feb 2026 They tried to silence her – they failed, Jewish Voice for Liberation, 23 Feb 2025 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 The post Around Town 2/26/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne “The Consequence of Palestine” Conference Coming to USM, Munjoy Hill News, Portland, 18 February 2026 (NOTE: CANCELLED) Press Statement, US Imposing Sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories Occupied since 1967, Marco Rubio, Secretary of State, 9 July 2025 Report: “Gaza Genocide: a collective crime” by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, United Nations Francesca Albanese, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories Global: European states must retract outrageous attacks on UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, Amnesty International, 13 Feb 2026 They tried to silence her – they failed, Jewish Voice for Liberation, 23 Feb 2025 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 The post Around Town 2/25/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Against a backdrop of violent anti-semitic and anti-indigenous attacks and the relaxation of police restraints in response to them, Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras organizers are faced with twin controversies: the withdrawal of the Jewish group Dayenu from the event and demands for the expulsion of the New South Wales Police contingent. Veteran activist Ken Davis explains the situation (Barry McKay reports). New Yorkers defy the Trump administration and replace the rainbow flag the government “disappeared” from the Stonewall National Monument (Paul DeRienzo of WBAI reports). A Black History Month Rainbow Rewind honors Langston Hughes (produced by Sheri Lunn and Brian DeShazor). And in NewWrap: the European Parliament approves a resolution specifically calling for “the full recognition of trans women as women,” HIV-positive enlistees are once again banned from serving in the U.S. military, intersex children are now protected from undergoing unnecessary medical procedures without their informed consent in the Australian state of Victoria, Kansans can now sue if they're upset after sharing a bathroom with a trans person, U.S. Olympic women's ice hockey team captain Hilary Knight leads her team to gold and plans to lead speed skater Brittany Bowe to the altar, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Nico Raquel and Ret (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the February 23, 2026 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at thiswayout.org/donate/.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne The Singing Journalist, Andy Revkin, joins us today with an invitation to his upcoming talk at the Jesup Memorial Library, Thursday 3/5 at 6:30pm “In this evening of storytelling and songs, longtime journalist, author, educator and performing songwriter Andy Revkin will explore the evolution of his dual-path journey aimed at connecting the public with ideas, issues and solutions using any means possible. For decades, Andy Revkin has split his time between prize-winning environmental journalism, mostly for The New York Times, and songwriting, including music featured on NPR and an inaugural album described by the Jambands music magazine as a “tasty mix of roots goulash.” His reporting has taken him from the burning Amazon rain forest to the melting North Pole sea ice. As a musician, Andy was a frequent accompanist of folk legend Pete Seeger at Hudson Valley events and has quickly built a presence in the Downeast Maine folk scene since moving here in 2022.” (Source: Event announcement from the Jesup) 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 The post Around Town 2/24/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne Maine CD 1 Congresswoman Chellie Pingree will boycott Trump’s State of the Union speech on Tuesday and instead participate in a “People’s State of the Union” rally. She joins a growing group which- as of Friday afternoon- included 20 Democrats representing 17 states. The boycott and an alternative “People’s State of the Union” rally are being organized by a coalition including MoveOn. The “People's State of the Union” Rally will be held on the National Mall in DC and livestreamed at MeidasTouch YouTube and MoveOn.org/Live, Tuesday (tomorrow) night starting at 8:30pm The lottery for a spot at Maine’s Camp North Woods (closes March 1st) Union River Center for Innovation highlights small, Ellsworth-area businesses on National Be Heard Day, March 4th. If you would like your business to be featured, the submission form must be completed by February 28th. 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 The post Around Town 2/23/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne LD 395, An Act to Restore Access to Federal Laws Beneficial to the Wabanaki Nation LD 785, An Act to Enact the Remaining Recommendations of the Task Force on Changes to the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Implementing Act Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP) update Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center’s 2026 Youth Mental Health Summit 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 The post Around Town 2/20/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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 The post Around Town 2/19/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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 The post Around Town 2/18/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Was Donald Trump's personal antipathy towards Don Lemon the real reason behind the gay African American journalist's arrest? Lemon made a surprise appearance at the Human Rights Campaign's New York City gala, then spoke out for the First Amendment after his initial court appearance. The pioneering work on sexual liberation of Anais Nin and notable February dates in LGBTQ+ history in the Rainbow Rewind (produced by Sheri Lunn and Brian DeShazor). And in NewWrap: cohabitating same-gender couples in the Philippines can now be recognized as joint owners of property that they acquire during their relationship, trans people in the U.K. can use bathrooms and changing rooms that match their gender identity – except in the workplace, public school officials in the U.K. are being directed to notify parents if their child's behavior suggests that they are questioning their gender identity, New Hampshire's Republican Governor Kelly Ayotte for the second time vetoes a bill to require trans students to use sex-segregated school bathrooms and changing facilities that match their gender assigned at birth, embattled U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi's fiery five-hour joust with minority Democrats culminated in an explosive confrontation with Vermont's lesbian Congress member Becca Balint, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Sarah Montague and Joe Boehnlein (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the February 16, 2026 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at thiswayout.org/donate/.

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 The post Around Town 2/17/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne Presidents’ Day 2026 reading from the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights 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 The post Around Town 2/16/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne World Radio Day 2026 The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) has announced two funding opportunities now open to Maine farmers to support investments in soil health and specialty crop production: Soil Health Implementation Grants and Maine Specialty Crop Minor Equipment Grants Valentine’s Day author talk at the Ellsworth Public Library, “Recipes for a Healthy Heart” with Jane Crosen. “Local author Jane Crosen will share poems, excerpts, and recipes from her new cookbook, Culinary Landscapes: A World of Delicious Discoveries in a Maine Mapmaker's Kitchen” Saturday, February 14th at 2 PM at the Ellsworth Public Library 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 The post Around Town 2/13/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne Voter information update cards from the Secretary of State’s office Rockland’s Emergency Warming Center at the Flanagan Community Center, 61 Limerock Street, will be open tonight and Friday and Saturday nights, from 7pm to 7am FMI or to request transportation, call or text Jessica (207) 230-4258 The next national No Kings protest is on March 28th For more information, updates or to sign up to be involved: Indivisible Bangor and No Kings Maine DOT is holding a public hearing tonight in Orland about plans to address the dangerous intersection at Rt 1 and Schoolhouse Road near the H.O.M.E. Coop, at 6pm at the Community Center gymnasium FMI: Town of Orland (207) 469-3186 or email Selectboard at selectmen@townoforland.org 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 The post Around Town 2/12/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne ACLU of Maine‘s Guide to Legislative Advocacy, online, 6-7pm tomorrow/Thursday. Register here At 7pm tomorrow/Thursday evening: Indivisible joins partner organizations in hosting (online) “Resist and Reimagine: Lessons from MN on Fighting Authoritarianism” Register here Saturday February 21st, Bangor Pride will host its Inaugural Queer Prom: Enchanted Forest, a 21+ celebration of queer joy, creativity, and community connection. 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 The post Around Town 2/11/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

A 1963 conversation with one of the queer pillars of the Harlem Renaissance features Langston Hughes reading his short story, “Thank You, Ma'am” (interviewed by Eve Corey, produced by Brian DeShazor). Alice Walker's birthday and notable LGBTQ February events are celebrated in the “Rainbow Rewind.” And in NewsWrap: the first case against a gay man for violating Uganda's so-called “Kill the Gays” law is dismissed after the damage has already been done, transgender female athletes receiving hormone therapy have no physical advantage over their cisgender counterparts according to new research, fewer transgender people were murdered around the world between October 2024 and September 2025 with the numbers still alarming, a Christian teacher is fighting a losing battle against the Montgomery County Maryland Public School District's policy on using the chosen names and pronouns of her trans and nonbinary students, a record number of proud LGBTQ athletes are competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics, thousands hit the streets of Melbourne on February 1st for the 31st annual Midsumma Pride March, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Michael Taylor Gray and Tanya Kane-Parry (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the February 9, 2026 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at thiswayout.org/donate/.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne Maine CDC Confirms Case of Measles in Maine LD 2071, An Act to Expand Access to Vaccines Approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration by Allowing Pharmacists to Prescribe, Dispense and Administer Vaccines and Require Insurance Coverage LD 2146 An Act to Increase Access to Critical Vaccinations Maine State Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee On Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services 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 The post Around Town 2/10/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne Lynn Boulger, Vice President of Advancement at College of the Atlantic, with details on their annual 24 hour fund-raising challenge which starts tonight at midnight 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 The post Around Town 2/9/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne Cathy Rees, Executive Director and Co-founder of Native Gardens of Blue Hill stops by to talk about Native Gardens of Blue Hill’s 2026 Workforce Training in Landscape & Garden Management – which is now accepting applicants. 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 The post Around Town 2/6/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

An indigiqueer Creating Change keynoter calls for radical inclusion; the E.U.'s rights council urges all member states to ban conversion therapy, Russia declares ILGA “undesirable”, Budapest's mayor is officially charged with criminally allowing last year's LGBTQ Pride march, Missouri's top court upholds the state's ban on pediatric gender-affirming healthcare, and an expelled trans Space Force colonel announces her U.S. congressional run. Those stories and more this week when you choose “This Way Out”. Credits: Hosted this week by Lucia Chappelle and produced with Greg Gordon. “NewsWrap” reported this week by Michael LeBeau and Ava Davis and produced by Brian DeShazor. Jenn Deerinwater feature produced by Greg Gordon with thanks to Cathy Renna and The National LGBTQ Task Force. Theme music: Kim Wilson. Additional music: Paul Simon; Ty Defoe. In our 38th year satisfying your weekly minimum requirement of LGBTQ news and culture!

Zach Wahls for U.S. Senate It didn't take long after his historic 2011 appearance before the Iowa state legislature to testify about his two-mom family for 19-year-old Zach Wahls to take his place as a senator in that body. Now he's running to represent Iowa in the U.S. Senate (produced by Greg Gordon, archival interview by Steve Pride). A bouquet of January birthdays and ONE early movement legal victory are remembered in the Rainbow Rewind (produced by Brian DeShazor and Sheri Lunn). And in NewsWrap: federal guidance on workplace harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity is eliminated by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, U.S. House Democrats claim victory over a raft of anti-transgender riders to major funding bills for the Departments of Health and Human Services, Education and Labor, right-wing Texas federal judge Matthew Kacsmaryk upholds West Texas A&M University's ban on campus drag shows, financial woes force the closure of the organization that produces Tucson, Arizona's annual Pride event, the two heartthrobs of the wildly popular TV series “Heated Rivalry” will carry the flame in the Winter Olympics Torch Relay, and more international LGBTQ news reported this week by Tanya Kane-Parry and Joe Boehnlein (produced by Brian DeShazor). All this on the January, 26 2026 edition of This Way Out! Join our family of listener-donors today at thiswayout.org/donate/.

Christopher Isherwood's own stories of pre-War Berlin; remembering Renee Nicole Good; U.S. top court hears trans student sports ban cases, a new survey confirms pediatric transgender healthcare can be life-saving, Malaysian authorities shut down an empty “gay friendly” hotel, the latest Human Rights Campaign U.S. queer quality of life poll finds deterioration under Trump, and billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott donates 45 million dollars to the queer youth crisis intervention and suicide prevention group The Trevor Project. All that and more this week when you discover “This Way Out”. Hosted this week by Lucia Chappelle and produced with Greg Gordon. “NewsWrap” reported this week by Michael Taylor Gray and Nico Raquel and produced by Brian DeShazor. Christopher Isherwood feature produced by Brian DeShazor with thanks to the Pacifica Radio Archives. Thanks also to Ann Northrup and Andy Humm of GayUSATV.org. Theme music: Kim Wilson. Additional music: Jethro Tull; Joel Grey; Bronski Beat. In our 38th year satisfying your weekly minimum requirement of LGBTQ news and culture!