2023 SEASON
PAST EVENT
A Conversation About the Radical Acts of Reading & Writing with Accomplished Maine Authors Lily King & Susan Conley
September 19, 2023
Both Lily and Susan said they read books while they write – books that feed their souls within the creative world they inhabit for that particular work. They described writing as “long and hard” but when they can take characters to a moment of intensity, passion… joy and the reader goes with them, there is nothing like it.
PAST EVENT
From Words to Reality: The Impact of the Supreme Court Ruling on Affirmative Action in College Admissions
August 22nd, 2023
Citing diversity in college education as important to national security, our panel pointed to the recent Supreme Court decisions and other practices as impediments to the important role in secondary education of a diverse peer group, and were concerned the impact will be felt for years to come.
PAST EVENT
INVALUABLE LESSONS OF CARRYING ON IN THE FACE OF GREAT TRAGEDY
July 18, 2023
NBC News foreign correspondent, Martin Fletcher, left us with a message of hope despite sharing tales of people he met in the grips of the most harrowing circumstances, describing the most elemental human quest as a search for peace and quiet.
PAST EVENT
FAR FROM HOME: A DISCUSSION WITH ASYLUM SEEKERS IN MAINE
April 25, 2023
Our goal was not to solve the problems in the asylum process – and we know they exist – but to meet six new Mainers who faced harm at home and who made their way from Angola, Cuba, Ukraine and other countries to Maine where they have dreams of making a home for themselves and their families and to contribute to Maine in roles such as nurses, accountants, geologists and engineers.
PAST EVENT
LOOKING BACK OVER A YEAR OF WAR IN THE UKRAINE: PROGRESS, PROGNOSIS AND PREDICTIONS
May 30, 2023
With the war in Ukraine approaching a stalemate, our panel of military and diplomatic experts explained the paths to potential resolution guided by recent history of the "ends" of global conflicts.
2022 SEASON
PAST EVENT
DR. NIRAV SHAH, PROF. KARA PALAMOUNTAIN, MODERATED BY DR. DORA ANNE MILLS
August 17, 2022
Maine’s own Dr. Dora Mills provided the framework for us to peak inside the work and lives of Dr. Nirav Shah and his wife Prof. Kara Palamountain as they coped with the emerging Covid pandemic in Maine and abroad, in a discussion full of humor and sagacity. And hear about the moment they fell in love with Maine.
PAST EVENT
ADM GREGORY JOHNSON, SUSAN THORNTON MODERATED BY HAROLD PACHIOS
July 22, 2022
Admiral Johnson and retired senior U.S. diplomat Susan Thornton did not pull punches in their predictions about the difficult path the Ukrainians face in their war with the Russians. They reminded us that it will be a long cold winter that will challenge NATO allies’ resolve to remain united in their sanctions against the Russians and military support for the Ukraine army. A unifying theme that inspires Americans not to flag in their support is not evident. How long will the conflict last? How will it end? Listen to the recording below.
PAST EVENT
SENATOR ANGUS KING
May 27, 2022
Sen. King, Maine's first independent US Senator, helped unravel the mystery that is the operation of the US Senate, both in its function and dysfunction. He revealed to us that he still can't quite believe that he goes to work each day in the splendor that is the US Capitol, in what he called one of the most interesting jobs in the world.
PAST EVENT
HEATHER COX RICHARDSON
October 12, 2021
Heather Cox Richardson speaks about Maine’s leadership role in the formation of our democracy and all of our responsibility to ensure its future.
Please note we experienced sound difficulty with the first several minutes of the video recording, but it resolves thereafter.