Category: Womens Windows Interviews

WERU Special 5/31/17: Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

Producer/Host: Linda Washburn
Engineer: John Greenman

Program Topic: The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

Key Discussion Points:
a) The Equal Rights Amendment was introduced in 1923. Why was it introduced?
b) 94 years later the ERA languishes- why?
c) What has jump-started interest in the ERA?
d) Are there ways other than a Constitutional amendment to bring equality to women?

Guests:
Posie Cowan, founder of Equal Rights Maine, from the Blue Hill Peninsula
Kathleen Bonk (Brooksville and DC) was involved with ERA ratification starting in 1972, then worked with Betty Ford and Alan Alda on the ERA Countdown Campaign as Communications Chief and is now on the steering committee for the current federal ERA drive.

To learn more about this topic:
Equal Rights Maine at equalrightsmaine.org (local organization)
Equal Means Equal: Why the Time for an Equal Rights Amendment is Now by Jessica Neuwirth, The New Press, 2015.
Why We Lost the ERA by Jane J. Mansbridge, University of Chicago Press, 1986.
Posie’s connection to the suffrage movement: And on to the ERA:
bangordailynews.com/2016/03/28/the-point/my-great-grandmother-fought-for-womens-equal-rights-im-still-working-on-her-dream/?ref=relatedBox
visit www.eracoalition.org and www.equalrightsamendment.org.

WERU News Report 3/23/11

Producer/Host: Amy Browne
Contributor: Marge May

**NOTE: There are a few seconds of hissing sound at the beginning of this audio file before the show starts.**

Segment 1: Local Food and Community Self-Governance Ordinance of 2011

These ordinances have now been passed in Penobscot and Sedgwick, and been defeated in Brooksville voters by a margin of just 9 votes. The town of Blue Hill will be voting on the issue on April 2nd. For some background on the movement, WERU’s Marge May spoke with a local farmer Heather Retberg, owner of Quill’s End Farm in Penobscot. (Note: This interview originally aired on WERU’s “Women’s Windows”)

Segment 2: Local News Headlines
As hundreds of workers rallied in support of unions in Augusta yesterday, Governor LePage has ordered that a mural depicting labor history in Maine, be removed from the lobby of the Department of Labor. He has also ordered that conference rooms bearing the names of heroes of the labor movement be renamed…
At a statehouse news conference earlier today, sportsmen, lake advocates, and experts on wildlife, water quality and fisheries decried legislative attacks on Maine’s natural heritage (LDs 1, 156, 159, 219, 341, 434, 872, 888, 1022 and 1031)…
A group of small business owners and the Maine Small Business Coalition, held a press conference in Portland yesterday, ahead of the Maine Bureau of Insurance’s public hearing on Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield’s proposed rate increase on individual health insurance plans…
Animal Welfare Advocates to plan to Lobby State Legislators at the Capitol Tomorrow…

Segment 3: LePage TV
Governor LePage– well known for avoiding talking to media or attending debates when he was on the campaign trail, now has his own TV show. “Inside the Blaine House”, which premiered this week, is hosted by Chamber of Commerce employees and stars the Governor himself… (Time Warner Cable TV and www.MaineVOD.com)

Women’s Windows Interview: Sonali Kolhatkar 3/20/11

Producer/Host: Marge May (aka Magdalen)

Topic: Malalai Joya denial of entry into the U.S.

Who is Malalai Joya an what is her role in Afganistan? Why was she denied entry into the U.S. for here 5th visit to this country?

Guest: Sonali Kolhatkar: journalist, activist, co-founder and director of the Afghan Women’s Mission in the U.S.

Weekend Voices 1/23/10

Executive Producer/Host: Amy Browne

Contributing Producers: John Greenman, Marge May

Segment 1: John Greenman brings us excerpts from community members participating in a talking circle held recently, on the topic of Martin Luther King and “Reconciliation”

Segment 2:  Marge May talks with Malalai Joya: activist, social worker, member of the Afghan Parliament, and author of the new book: “Woman Among Warlords.”   FMI: www.Malalaijoya.com , www.Afghanwomensmission.org   (This interview originally aired on “Women’s Windows on 1/10/10)

Voices 4/28/09

Producer/Host: Amy Browne
Contributors: Cathy Melio, Linda Washburn
Segment 1: “Artist’s Voice”, produced in collaboration with the Center for Maine Contemporary Art
Segment 2: The second annual Midcoast Maine Women’s Health Conference, to be held May 15-16, Point Lookout, Northport, Maine:
Linda Washburn (Women’s Windows) interviews Holly Noonan, spokesperson for the conference, regarding it’s history and this year’s program. What activities will participants find at this year’s conference? What are the primary health concerns of Maine women?
What grassroots resources are available to women who want a proactive role in their own health care? What does the future hold for women’s health care in Maine?
FMI: Holly Noonan, spokesperson for the Midcoast Maine Women’s Health Conference, Contact info for the Conference: 930-2694; womenshealth@wchi,com, For Holly: holly@mindbodynutrition.net
(This interview, in an expanded version, originally aired on “Women’s Windows”, a program combining women’s music and spoken word, which airs every Sunday from 8-10pm on WERU)

Voices 4/21/09

Producer/Host: Amy Browne
Contributors: Linda Washburn, Anneli Sundqvist
Segment 1: Making Every Vote Truly Count: A States’ Compact For Electing The President By National Popular Vote. What is it? Will it Work? Can the Electoral College process be replaced by a truly popular vote for President and Vice-President? Can a compact among States authorize a popular vote for President and Vice-President and will this means be more successful than a Constitutional Amendment to eliminate the Electoral College? What would be the pros and cons for having an Interstate Compact for the National Popular Vote?
Guest: Ann Luther, Co-President of the League of Women Voters Maine
For more information about a national popular vote:
www.lwv.org
www.nationalpopularvote.com
Cato Institute http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=9708
Common Cause
http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=1695007 and
Fair Vote http://www.fairvote.org/?page=1950.
(This segment originally aired on Women’s Windows, a program that airs every Sunday evening from 8-10pm)
Segment 2: Anneli Sundqvist, now the manager of the Deer Isle hostel, embarked on an overland journey from the middle east to her childhood home in Sweden a few years ago, and along the way she recorded her observations. These segments originally aired on public radio in Sweden, and we’ve been re-airing them here on Voices with Anneli’s permission

Women’s Windows Interview 3/29/09

Producer/Host: Marge May
Topic: An interview with Rachel Kauder Nalebuff, Editor of the collection of stories: “My Little Red Book” ; published by Twelve Books, 2009
How do girls experience their first periods today and how are these experiences different from those of a generation or so ago? How can parents and the culture at large provide a more supportive environment so that girls have sufficient information about their bodies and do not react with shame to this very natural event? What is the average age of onset today and how has that changed in the last 25 years? Is the change that has occurred well-known?

Women’s Windows Interview: Vagina Monologues 3/15/09

Host: Magdalen
Guest: Nicolette Yerxa: organizer, director, actor for the production

Topical summary: Vagina Monologues and VDAY project history; the problem of domestic violence in Maine; organizations in Maine that aid victims of DV and strive to end DV; new monologues in VM; details of the upcoming performance, March 20th and 21st at 7p.m. and March 22nd, at 2p.m., at the Maine Grind, 192 Main Street, Ellsworth, Maine. Tickets are available at the Grasshopper Shop and at the door. WERU is a co-sponsor. For more information: www.nextstepdvproject.org or WERU (207)-469-6600

Please join WERU in our support for The Next Step Domestic Violence Project, for Downeast Sexual Assault Services, and for women all over the world who have experienced violence.

The Vagina Monologues is a collection of pieces on a particular topic performed by an all-female cast. It is very funny at times, very explicit at others, but it is always powerful. Performances are organized yearly by women all over the world in order to raise money and awareness in their own towns.

Each year the author, Eve Ensler, chooses a place in the world or a population of women who need help and need to be heard. This year the spotlight is on the Democratic Republic of Congo. Over 300,000 women and girls in the DRC have been tortured or raped as a systematic tactic of war. Ninety percent of the money earned through this performance will go directly to local organizations and 10 percent will go to the national V-Day organization for the work they are doing in the DRC.

The Next Step Domestic Violence Project and Downeast Sexual Assault Services serve both Washington and Hancock Counties in their work to end violence against women and girls. Women from both counties have worked together on this project to support vital services for those who need them in their own communities.