Portland Press Herald Podcast

About the partnership No news organization is more invested in the health of the Gulf of Maine and the region’s residents than the Portland Press Herald and The Boston Globe. So, as the gulf’s warming waters pose an increasingly existential threat to Maine’s signature industry, lobster, we joined forces to take a hard look at the climate crisis unfolding on our shores. We descended on the island of Vinalhaven, one of Maine’s busiest fishing villages, and turned loose reporters, photographers and videographers from both news organizations to learn firsthand the challenges, stresses, and fears of those facing this uniquely perilous time for lobstering. The problems posed by the warming waters were sometimes subtle — the slow migration of whales and lobsters, the gradual rise in sea levels. The tensions and stakes were glaring. Climate change gravely threatens the nation’s richest fishery and the communities that depend on it. The result is The Lobster Trap, presented here today. It is a story of a group of Main

After 33 years at the Portland Press Herald, reporter Meredith Goad is retiring and moving back to her childhood home of Tennessee. She talked with food editor Peggy Grodinsky about how the food and drinks scene in Portland, and Maine, has exploded over the 15 + years she has chronicled it, from Sam Hayward’s 2004 James Beard Foundation award for Best Chef Northeast (the first such award for Maine) to the growing farm-to-table movement, through the trials and tribulations for Maine’s restaurants and other food establishments  during the COVID-19 pandemic. Find out what she’ll miss – and won’t – about eating in Maine, and just see what happens if you ask her about her favorite restaurant.

Since Robert Indiana’s death in 2018, Portland Press Herald arts reporter Bob Keyes has been covering the complicated saga surrounding the “LOVE” artist’s life and legacy. But there were more notes and conversations than what made it into print. During the pandemic, Bob spent much of his downtime putting the vast knowledge he’s amassed into his first book, “The Isolation Artist,” released Sept. 7. 

An evening of live conversation with Cynthia McFadden, the senior legal and investigative correspondent for NBC News. She is a Lewiston native who graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude from Bowdoin College. McFadden was interviewed by Portland Press Herald reporter Kelley Bouchard.

Sam Sifton is the assistant managing editor of The New York Times, overseeing culture and lifestyle coverage. He is the founding editor of NYT Cooking and writes a food column for The New York Times Magazine. Based in New York City, Sifton has spent time in Maine every year of his life. His love of the state and its food heritage frequently shows up in his popular NYT Cooking email newsletter. Formerly the newspaper’s national news editor, culture editor and chief restaurant critic, Sifton is the author of the forthcoming “The New York Times Cooking No-Recipe Recipes,” as well as “See You on Sunday: A Cookbook for Family and Friends” and “Thanksgiving: How to Cook It Well.” Portland Press Herald restaurant critic Andrew Ross leads the conversation with sign language interpretation by MJ Grant.

Abdi Nor Iftin is a reporter and the author of “Call Me American,” a memoir of his immigration to the United States. Growing up in Mogadishu, Somalia, Iftin learned English by watching action movies. When U.S. Marines landed in the 1990s to get involved in the civil conflict, Iftin felt it was an arrival of real-life action heroes and grew fascinated with American culture. Sporting hip-hop clothes and dance moves, he became known as “Abdi American.” In 2006, as conflict again emerged in Somalia, Iftin risked his life posting secret dispatches to NPR. He eventually fled to Nairobi, Kenya as he became a target. In an eventual stroke of luck, he won entrance to the U.S. in the annual visa lottery, though his route to America—which was documented on the radio show This American Life—did not come easily. Iftin is now a US citizen. His naturalization ceremony took place in Portland on Jan. 17, 2019. He lives in Yarmouth and writes a regular column for the Forecaster. He is also working on a documentary about his li

Daniel and Marcia Minter are a Portland power couple in the arts, advertising, culture and history scenes. In 2019 they co-founded the Indigo Arts Alliance, a non-profit dedicated to the creative cultivation of artists of African descent. Daniel Minter is an internationally exhibited artist, visual storyteller and illustrator. His artwork reflects abiding themes of displacement and diaspora, ordinary and extraordinary blackness, spirituality in the Afro-Atlantic world, and the creation and recreation of meanings of home. He has illustrated over a dozen children’s books, was twice commissioned to create stamps for the U.S. Postal Service and co-founded the Portland Freedom Trail. He teaches at the Maine College of Art. Marcia Minter is a seasoned creative professional who has spent her career as an executive creative director for some of the world’s most iconic brands, including an extended time as Vice President Creative Director with L.L. Bean. Marcia is a dedicated arts advocate and community leader, deeply

Meir lived in space for 205 days on the International Space Station. She conducted three spacewalks with crewmate Christina Koch of NASA, for a total of 21 hours and 44 minutes outside of the ISS. Meir has a Ph.D. in marine biology. She contributed to hundreds of experiments in biology, Earth science, human research, physical sciences and technology development while onboard the orbiting laboratory. This interview was recorded in June 2020.  Video is available at: https://youtu.be/swiDaA2jy1w

Timothy Simons grew up in Readfield and attended University of Maine in Orono, where he discovered his love of acting. He then worked in the Chicago theater scene before moving to Los Angeles. In just a few years, he landed his breakout role on HBO’s “Veep,” starring as the lovingly hated Jonah Ryan alongside Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tony Hale. Now, Simons has amassed nearly two dozen film and television credits, including the limited series “Looking for Alaska” on Hulu, “The Hustle” opposite Rebel Wilson and Anne Hathaway and voicing characters for “Robot Chicken,” “Big Hero 6: The Series” and “Ralph Breaks the Internet.” He is currently developing his own comedy for HBO, about a man who runs an assisted suicide business.

Like A Boss is a live Q&A business event where you can hear insightful, first-hand accounts of the realities of running a business. Portland Press Herald CEO and Publisher Lisa DeSisto interviews local CEOs and business leaders for a behind the scenes look at their career paths, the ups and downs of running their businesses and the trends shaping them. About Liz Cotter Schlax Liz assumed leadership of United Way of Greater Portland in January 2015. As President & CEO, she guides United Way’s strategies that achieve community change in the areas of education, financial stability, and health to improve people’s lives.

A live panel discussion with our Sunday columnists – Greg Kesich, Bill Nemitz, Victoria Hugo-Vidal and Jim Fossel – for their views on what will happen on Election Day. Conversation starts at 7:00 p.m. Bill Nemitz is the award-winning metro columnist for the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. He has been writing about Maine news and Maine people for more than 40 years. Jim Fossel is a conservative activist and political observer who lives in Gardiner. He has been writing his column about Maine and the nation in the Telegram since 2017. Victoria Hugo-Vidal, The Maine Millennial, adds her unique voice and observations of life as a young adult making her way in the nation’s oldest state. Her columns appear each Sunday in the Telegram. Greg Kesich has been the editorial page editor for the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram since 2011. He weighs in each week under his own byline with “The View From Here” column.

  Congrats to small businesses on making it this far. Now join us on Oct. 21 to learn what tax, accounting and operational issues you should consider before year’s end. How about a primer on the more than a dozen grants and programs that could help your business now? Or a checklist to assess your financial health, especially if you’re considering big moves like deciding whether to close temporarily? On the panel: Dan Gayer, Baker Newman Noyes Steve Veazey, SCORE Mark Delisle, Maine Small Business Development Centers Sarah Guerette, Director and Senior Business Adviser, Coastal Enterprises Inc. Discussion was moderated by Business Projects Editor Carol Coultas. More info: https://www.pressherald.com/2020/09/30/making-it-work-how-small-businesses-can-close-the-books-on-2020/

Like A Boss is a live Q&A business event where you can hear insightful, first-hand accounts of the realities of running a business. Our CEO and Publisher Lisa DeSisto interviews local CEOs and business leaders for a behind the scenes look at their career paths, the ups and downs of running their businesses and the trends shaping them. About Clayton Rose Clayton S. Rose, who was inaugurated as Bowdoin’s fifteenth president on October 17, 2015, has consistently underscored the value and essential importance of a liberal arts education for living lives of meaning, for thoughtful engagement in civic life, and for satisfaction and success in work.

Over his 47 years in broadcasting, Bill Green became a household name in Maine, starting as a sportscaster in Bangor to hosting 19 seasons of his own Saturday magazine show, the last episode of which aired last fall, when he retired. This interview was online live on September 15, 2020.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins and Democrat Sara Gideon traded shots over health care, money in politics, judicial nominees and President Trump’s reelection campaign during a fast-paced first debate of Maine’s closely watched Senate race. Appearing together for the first time, alongside independents Lisa Savage and Max Linn, Collins and her well-funded opponent were more respectful than the barrage of negative advertising that is filling Maine’s television airwaves. Story: https://www.pressherald.com/2020/09/11/health-care-money-in-politics-highlight-lively-u-s-senate-debate/

Portland Press Herald Publisher and CEO Lisa DeSisto interviews Tony Shurman at the Portland House of Music in Portland Maine on February 28, 2020. Shurman is President and CEO of Jasper Wyman & Son (“Wyman’s”) the second largest brand in the retail frozen fruit category in the U.S. with its most notable product being wild blueberries. Founded in 1874, Wyman’s is a family-owned business headquartered in Down East Maine with an ongoing commitment to environmental stewardship, corporate social responsibility and product innovation. Prior to joining Wyman’s in 2017, Tony ran the Post Foods breakfast cereal business which includes brands such as Honey Bunches of Oats, Grape Nuts, Pebbles, and Post Shredded Wheat. Earlier in his career he worked in brand management roles in the gum/mint’s category as well as in consumer healthcare. He has experience working across geographies including Japan, Europe, and the U.S. Tony lives with his wife and two sons in Yarmouth, Maine

John Cariani is an actor and a playwright from Presque Isle. His first play, “Almost, Maine,” which he describes as “a love letter to northern Maine,” premiered at Portland Stage in 2004 and opened off-Broadway in 2006. It has since become one of the most frequently produced plays in the United States and has been translated into nearly 20 languages. As an actor, he is best known for his “Law & Order” character, forensics tech Julian Beck, whom he played from 2002 to 2007 and frequently shows up in reruns. He was nominated for a Tony Award for his role as Motel the Tailor in the 2004 Broadway revival of “Fiddler on the Roof” and played Itzik in “The Band’s Visit,” which won the Tony for best musical in 2018. Other plays he has written include “Cul-de-sac,” “Last Gas” and “Love/Sick.” Fifteen years after the premiere of “Almost, Maine,” the play and Cariani will return to Portland Stage from Jan. 15 to Feb. 2 before he heads to Broadway for a revival of “Caroline, or Change.”

Brother Arnold, as he calls himself, spoke in Portland before a sold-out crowd Tuesday about his life as one of the last three living Shakers in the world. He lives at Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village in New Gloucester, the sole remaining active Shaker community. Arnold Hadd, who joined the Shakers more than 40 years ago at just 21 years old, spoke with eloquence, expertise and humor as part of the Portland Press Herald’s MaineVoices Live series, which is held at One Longfellow Square. Brother Arnold fielded questions from the audience and interviewer Press Herald Food Editor Peggy Grodinsky that ranged from “Do Shakers vote?” (yes, but they don’t talk politics) to how he came to — and was willing to — give up a so-called “normal” life and all it entails (career, belongings, having a family, sexual relations, etc.) to live a religious, communal life. Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village was established more than 200 years ago and was one of three Shaker communities in Maine. Today, it encompasses a museum, library, m

News Center Maine meteorologist Keith Carson talked Tuesday, October 29 about the places he traveled working for The Weather Channel, the problem with the term bomb cyclone and the reason he hasn’t pursued a career in comedy in front of a sold-out crowd at One Longfellow Square in Portland. Carson was interviewed on stage by Portland Press Herald reporter Gillian Graham in the latest installment of the newspaper’s event series, Maine Voices Live. Raised in central Massachusetts, Carson’s first job as a meteorologist was at what is now IBM’s The Weather Company. He then spent two years at WPTZ-TV in Burlington before moving to Portland in 2010 to work at News Center Maine. In 2013, he was recruited by The Weather Channel, where he worked alongside Al Roker and Jim Cantore, covered major weather events and accumulated a ton of frequent flyer miles before returning to Maine – and Channel 6 – in 2016.

This is a recording of the Portland Press Herald Business Breakfast, November 6, 2019 HR Drives Culture - creating an appealing place to work. HR used to just process payroll checks and handle employee benefits. But today, the ability to attract and retain workers is a priority for Maine businesses. And that has transformed HR into a driver of corporate culture. About the moderator: Hosted by Business editor Carol Coultas. Carol Coultas has been practicing journalism in Maine since the mid-‘80s and focusing on business journalism since 2003. She’s been the business editor at the Press Herald, overseeing an award-winning staff, since 2014. About the panelists: Cynthia Murphy, Senior Program Director, Workforce Solutions, CEI Cynthia helps companies develop workforce solutions, including working with employers to create a people strategy that delivers a competitive advantage. She also has extensive experience helping marginalized job seekers find work. David Pease, Senior Vice President, Director of Talent, Di