WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Audio Archives show

WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Audio Archives

Summary: Audio archives of spoken word broadcasts from Community Radio WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill & 102.9 FM Bangor, Maine

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  • Artist: Community Radio WERU FM 89.9 Blue Hill and 102.9 Bangor, Maine
  • Copyright: © 2003-2008, All rights reserved, Salt Pond Community Broadcasting (WERU FM)

Podcasts:

 Hear Again 8/8/13 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 0:08:38

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell Know what a bit is in computer jargon, or a byte? If not, here’s an episode for Notes from the Electronic Cottage from April of 2000 that might help.

 WERU News Report 8/7/13 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 0:29:59

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Today we bring you part 2 of a 2-part special, with all the latest news on the escalating crisis in Fukushima. We start with a recap of recent news: Monday afternoon we spoke with Dean Wilkie, one of the founders of www.simplyinfo.org, a website that has become a clearinghouse of information about Fukushima, with strict standards for accuracy. The website’s associated chat room has drawn experts in related fields, who are monitoring the situation in Fukushima and attempting to keep the public informed. Long time Maine-based activist Nancy Allen is among the participants. Dean Wilkie has three decades of experience in the nuclear field, working at a Department of Energy test reactor in Idaho, in reactor operations, management, construction and plant engineering. Today we pick up where we left off yesterday: Another member of the simplyinfo collective is Nancy Foust, the research team leader. She talked about how the project got started, and how they work to verify the validity of the information offered on their website:

 WERU News Report 8/6/13 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 0:30:48

Producer/Host: Amy Browne On this anniversary of the US atomic bombing of Hiroshima, another nuclear crisis is escalating in Japan, this time at Fukushima. Today we bring you part 1 of a 2-part special, with all the latest news on the crisis. Arnie Gundersen, a nuclear expert, and former high-level nuclear industry executive, now with Fairewinds Energy Education, described several areas of serious concern at Fukushima in the recent film Forty Good Years and One Bad Day (excerpt aired with permission) FMI: http://fairewinds.org Long-time Maine activist Nancy Allen has joined with others in a group that is compiling, verifying and distributing information at www.simplyinfo.org Her concern about the current crisis can be traced back through the years to her childhood, and Hiroshima: Monday afternoon we spoke with Dean Wilkie, one of the founders of simplyinfo.org. He has three decades of experience in the nuclear field through his work at a Department of Energy test reactor in Idaho, working in reactor operations, management, construction and plant engineering

 Outside the Box 8/6/13 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 0:05:26

Producer/Host: Larry Dansinger “If Guns Were Outlawed”

 Word in Edgewise 8/5/13 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 0:05:14

Producer/Host: R.W. Estela Engineer: Allison Watters

 U.S./El Salvador Report 8/3/13 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 0:05:02

Producer/Host: Kathleen March Transcript: This is Kathleen March with WERU’s US-El Salvador Report. This week we discuss the demand by opposition party ARENA that Munguía Payés, Funes’ Minister of Defense, resign. The report has been prepared in collaboration with Radio Sumpul and US-El Salvador Sister Cities. ARENA acaba de pedir al presidente Mauricio Funes, la destitución inmediata del ministro de la Defensa Nacional, David Munguía Payés, porque lo acusa de politizar y aprovecharse de su relación con la Fuerza Armada al criticar a Norman Quijano, candidato presidencial. Munguía Payés utilizó términos como “cínico y mentiroso” para referirse a Quijano, quien ha criticado la tregua con las pandillas. Jorge Velado, presidente del Consejo Ejecutivo Nacional (COENA), exigió la dimisión de Munguía Payés acompañado de los diputados del partido diciendo: “Lo que es absolutamente intolerable es la flagrante violación al mandato constitucional plasmado en el artículo 211 de la Constitución, que ordena que la Fuerza Armada es una institución permanente al servicio de la nación, es obediente, profesional, apolítica y no deliberante”. Por su parte, Munguía Payés agregó que había intentado mantener a la Fuerza Armada separada de la política, pero se vio “obligado a reaccionar ante las declaraciones irresponsables” del candidato Quijano. En cambio, ARENA ha acusado a Munguía Payés de ser “el promotor de la negociación con las pandillas” y dice que ha autorizado al exviceministro Douglas Moreno a llevar a cabo esas negociaciones. Afirma Velado: “Si el presidente no reacciona, nosotros queremos llegar hasta las últimas consecuencias y porque se cumpla la Constitución de El Salvador”. El líder de COENA se refirió también a la acusación del fiscal general, Luis Martínez, el cual ha denunciado a Munguía Payés por haber creado barreras en varias ocasiones para llevar a cabo varios operativos contra pandilleros. El ministro de la Defensa ha sido interrogado de nuevo por el sector militar del parlamento y a la vez fue acusado de usurpar funciones a las autoridades de Seguridad Pública. En cuanto a esta acusación, Munguía ha sido respaldado por el presidente Funes. Munguía Payés ha declarado a los medios de comunicación que esta es una petición que será dirigida al presidente de la República y que por lo tanto Funes es quien va a hacer públicas las declaraciones. Quijano dijo que respeta personalmente a Munguía Payés pero que critica el trabajo del Ministro de Seguridad. “Sus expresiones bastante groseras contra este servidor transgreden y traspasan el límite que debe tener quien está al frente de una institución que nació, eminentemente, apolítica”, son palabras de Quijano. También dijo Quijano que Munguía Payés es el primer ministro de la Defensa, después de los Acuerdos de Paz, que expresa posturas políticas al frente de la Fuerza Armada. Algunos creen que estas posturas violan la obligatoria apoliticidad de la Fuerza Armada salvadoreña. Quijano se niega a dar su opinión sobre las acciones que mantiene el alcalde de de Ilopango y miembro del partido político de ARENA, Salvador Ruano. Por su parte, Ruano trabaja con las pandillas de su municipio. Quijano en este caso cita la autonomía municipal que tienen los jefes de comuna. Según ARENA, el artículo 211 de la Constitución de la República declara que la Fuerza Armada será una institución “obediente, profesional, apolítica y no deliberante”. Como consecuencia, Munguía Payés habría actuado en contra de la Constitución. This has been Kathleen March with WERU’s US-El Salvador Report. This week we discussed the demand by opposition party ARENA that Munguía Payés, Funes’ Minister of Defense, resign. The report was prepared in collaboration with Radio Sumpul and US-El Salvador Sister Cities.

 Earthwise 8/3/13 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 0:05:16

Producer/Host: Anu Dudley “The Tree Find Exercise”

 Awanadjo Almanack 8/2/13 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 0:06:59

Producer/Host: Rob McCall Studio Engineer: Denis Howard “High Summer”

 RadioActive 8/1/13 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 0:29:19

Producer/Host: Meredith DeFrancesco Issue: Environmental and Social Justice Key Discussion Points: a) This week thousands of fast food workers across the US went on strike for better wages, calling for a $15 per an hour wage and the right to unionize. The Fast Food Forward campaign began in NYC and has spread across the country. Fast food workers also went on strike in NYC this past November and April, b) In June, The Left Forum in NYC hosted a panel titled “Foundations of Economic Justice: Low Wage Workers Forward”. It was organized, moderated and recorded by Richard Hill of WPKEN, Bridgeport, CT and Between the Lines producer Scott Harris. (http://www.btlonline.org) c) Two of the panelist were current KFC workers. They gave their perspectives as fast food workers active in a movement for better wages. Two other panelists gave academic analysis on the current state of an economy based on low wage workers. Guests: A) Michael Zweig, professor of Economics at Stony Brook University; director of the Center for the Study of Working Class Life; author of book The Working Class Majority (Cornell). B) Shanita Simon, KFC worker; NY Communities for Change http://www.nycommunities.org/ C) Catherine Ruetschlin, policy analyst at Demos; author of November, 2012 report: Retail’s Hidden Potential — How Raising Wages Would Benefit Workers, the Industry and the Overall Economy http://www.demos.org/sites/default/files/publications/RetailsHiddenPotential_Demos.pdf http://www.demos.org/about-demos D)Joseph Barrera, KFC worker; New York Communities for Change http://www.btlonline.org/leftforumcoop.html http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/29/fast-food-workers-strike-wages

 Nature’s Remedies 8/1/13 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 0:02:36

Producer/Host: Tim Hagney “Sulphur”

 WERU News Report 7/31/13 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 0:27:25

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Segment 1: A coalition of environmental, health and civic groups called the Alliance for a Clean & Healthy Maine, are calling on Governor LePage to ask 10 major food manufacturers to disclose which of their products contain the toxic chemical bisphenol-A (also known as BPA). At a press conference in Bangor this morning, they expressed disappointment with the governor’s veto of legislation regulating the chemical. Governor LePage has dismissed the dangers of BPA, with his infamous statement about it only maybe causing women to grow “little beards”, but scientists & researchers that study the issue, confirm the concerns expressed at this morning’s rally. We spoke with some of them in 2010, when they were in Maine giving expert testimony at a public hearing on BPA. Today we take you to the rally in Bangor, and listen to what the scientists we interviewed in 2010 had to say. Segment 2: Peacetime, produced in cooperation with the Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine. This week we speak with Doug Allen, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Maine, and Education Coordinator at the Peace and Justice Center, about their upcoming annual commemoration of the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

 WERU News Report 7/30/13 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 0:31:30

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Join us today on a chemical mystery tour of the area surrounding Sears Island. This afternoon we joined Ron Huber and Harlan McLaughlin of “Friends of Penobscot Bay”, as they led a hike along the shoreline, pointing out significant areas of concern. On the site of the GAC chemical company, there are old buildings and storage facilities that are crumbling on site, leftover from previous owners

 Healthy Options Special 7/30/13 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 0:58:19

Host: Cynthia Swan Program Topic: Music and Health Key Discussion Points: a) How does music affect the brain? b) How can music help us learn? c) How can music help us heal? Guest: Alan Wittenberg alan@surrymusictherapy.com

 U.S./El Salvador Report 7/27/13 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 0:04:57

Producer/Host: Kathleen March Transcript: This is Kathleen March with WERU’s US-El Salvador Report. This week we again discuss the serious effects of cliimate change in El Salvador. The report has been prepared in collaboration with Radio Sumpul and US-El Salvador Sister Cities. El clima de El Salvador es cada vez más preocupante: es uno de los países más áridos de Centroamérica. En la última década se ha visto un aumento de 1.3º C de temperatura aunque la tierra en general ha visto un aumento 0.8º C en el último siglo. “En El Salvador ya estamos experimentando esa variabilidad climática extrema”, dijo el ministro de Medio Ambiento y Recursos Naturales, Hermán Rosa Chávez. Entre 2009 y 2011 en El Salvador hubo 3 acontecimientos climáticos que dejaron daños y pérdidas económicas de casi 1,300 millones de dólares. Esto equivale al 6 por ciento del Producto Interno Bruto (PIB). Rosa Chávez explicó que se ha bajado el número de muertos; sin embargo, no se ha podido reducir las pérdidas económicas. “Hemos reducido las muertes, pero las pérdidas económicas son gigantes y van a seguir creciendo y crecerán todavía más si no avanzamos seriamente en adaptación”, ha observado el ministro. Los países al norte de Centroamérica están en las zonas con mayor índice de riesgo climático global. En comparación, Costa Rica y Panamá son menos vulnerables, y el efecto es mayor en países como Guatemala y El Salvador, según el ministro de Medio Ambiente. Rosa Chávez ha descrito algunos programas que están implementando para restaurar el país. Uno de ellos es el “Programa Nacional de Restauración de Ecosistema y Paisajes (o PREP)”, cuyo objetivo es transformar el campo cultivable y recuperar ecosistemas que se encuentran en estado crítico. Esto significará de hecho restaurar la mitad de el país, y supone trabajar con un millón de hectáreas. En cambio, Costa Rica es uno de los países de la región con menos vulnerabilidad en cuanto a la situación climática. La viceministra costarricense, Tania López, habló del trabajo que están haciendo para solventar un poco esta situación. Explicó el Programa de Producción Sostenible que colabora con el Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo. En este programa se incentiva a las personas para que vayan conscientizándose y utilicen apropiadamente los recursos naturales. También dijo López que el tema climático es un tema que debe afectar a las políticas públicas y que en cuestiones de cambio climático la mitigación y la adaptación van juntas. Afirmó ella que “Nosotros estamos completamente convencidos que lo que hagamos en mitigación va a tener un efecto muy importante en adaptarnos de mejor forma a todo lo que estamos sufriendo”. López lo dijo muy claramente: “El cambio climático es un tema que empieza por decisiones personales”. Todos los participantes del encuentro saben que hay cosas que no resultan completamente claras, y que también hay certezas. Una de esas certezas es el hecho de que el Calentamiento Global continuará, que habrá cada vez más variabilidad climática y que crecerán a pasos agigantados las pérdidas y daños en la región. Participaron en el diálogo que tuvo lugar a comienzos de este mes representantes de Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, El Salvador y también los de México y Estados Unidos. This has been Kathleen March with WERU’s US-El Salvador Report. This week we discussed once again the serious effects of cliimate change in El Salvador. The report was prepared in collaboration with Radio Sumpul and US-El Salvador Sister Cities.

 Talk of the Towns 7/26/13 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 0:57:50

Producer/Host: Ron Beard, University of Maine Cooperative Extension Engineer: Amy Browne Program Topic: Conversation with Roxana Robinson about her new novel Sparta, telling the story of a young Iraq War marine veteran and his “homecoming” Key Discussion Points (list at least 3): a) Your new novel reflects on both the sending forth and the homecoming we provide for our young soldiers, invoking parallels to the historical Sparta… what inspired you to take up this story? b) Sparta is told through the experience of Conrad Farrell, and his family—his mother, Lydia, Marshall, his father, his younger siblings, Jenny and Oliver… introduce us to this middle class, white, college-educated family, and the community where they live. c)When Conrad is a senior in college, he comes home one weekend in the Spring of 2001 and announces he is joining the Marines… his mother, who grew up during the Vietnam War, has assumed that our national memory would prevent us from future entanglements… d)Conrad serves two tours of duty in Iraq, as an officer. He unit is deployed in Ramadi and Haditha. His training serves him well. He looks out for his men… he writes to the parents of those who are killed… one of his men, Anderson, saves his life… in April 2004, while traveling the east west road in Ramadi, an IED explodes under their HUMVEE… Conrad cradles Olivera in his arms but can’t save him. As members of a Quick Reaction Force, he and his men search a roadside house and encounter a family killed by another Marine patrol, in retaliation for an exploded IED on the passing road. What in his training allows him to cope, relatively well, as a Marine, and as an officer? e)Conrad reflects on the importance of mail f)He is discharged, and lives in a new, bifurcated world: Conrad is living on two planes, the world of blood and sand, in Iraq, and the green normalcy of his home… it proves very difficult to keep these from spinning out of control… how did these various worlds and planes reveal themselves in the interviews you did with Marines and others? g)Through Conrad’s experiences and thoughts, we discover some of what all soldiers encounter when they return home. As you researched the book, what did you discover about how unprepared soldiers are for their homecoming and how unprepared we are to welcome them home… h)What other parallels struck you between historic Sparta and our own world, both the culture Marines and the culture that sends them in to battle? i)What happens to our national memory about going to war? The echos of our national memory about World War II seem to be different than for Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan… what might account for these differences? j)Sparta tracks the arc of the war in Iraq… what did you learn ( as historian) about our execution of that war that wasn’t obvious from encountering it in nightly headlines? k) Sparta opens with an epigraph from Simone Weil… would you describe how you came across that line, why it resonates, …The man who does not wear the armour of the lie cannot experience force without being touched by it to the very soul. Guest: Roxana Robinson, author of Sparta, published by Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2013 ISBN 978-0-374-26770-4

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