Coastal Conversations Radio Program

November 8, 2018

A public affairs radio program on WERU Community Radio, Coastal Conversation is supported by Maine Sea Grant, in partnership with co-hosts at Schoodic Institute and The First Coast.

What is Coastal Conversations?

Coastal Conversations is a public affairs program that explores current issues facing Maine’s coastal communities through conversations with people who live, work, and play on our coast. From fisheries to tourism, from energy to environment, from economy to ecology, Coastal Conversations goes beyond the social media sound bites, probing deeply into complex issues facing our coast and the creative solutions Maine people are using to solve them.

Tune in to WERU Community Radio (89.9 FM in Blue Hill and streaming online at WERU.org) from 4:00 to 4:30 PM on the fourth Friday of each month.

Audio archives (podcasts) of past shows, studio guest lists, and more, are available by show topic below. Podcasts are also available at http://archives.weru.org/category/coastal-conversations/

2024 Program Topics

October 25, 2024: The River Herring Network
September 27, 2024: Marine Debris
August 23, 2024: Aquaculture Part II
July 26, 2024: Aquaculture, Part I
June 28, 2024: Swan’s Urchins
May 24, 2024: A Day at SEA
April 26, 2024: Managing Future Forests
March 22, 2024: Changing Acadia
February 23, 2024: Southwest Harbor
January 26, 2024: Storm Response

Why this radio program?

Maine’s coast is ground zero for issues that are critical to the state’s future. Today’s coastal issues are complex, simultaneously tied to global trends while very local in their impacts.

And the coast is changing. For example, our waterfronts are increasingly slammed by storms. Our fishing industry faces a worrisome future. Our tourists increasingly demand wifi before we can deliver. Demographic changes along the coast sometimes clash with traditional values. Affordable workforce housing in coastal towns is ever more scarce. And potential new coastal industries are confronted with unexpected hurdles.

At the same time, Maine’s people, be they scientists, decision-makers, or neighbors, are at the forefront of innovation when it comes to solving complicated coastal issues. Our schools are spearheading hands on marine education. Our fisheries leaders are experimenting with collaborative management approaches. Our waterfront industries are looking towards cooperation, not just competition. Our research community increasingly branches out of academic silos. Solutions on our coast are multi-faceted, innovative, collaborative, and uniquely Maine.

These kinds of issues need a forum. The challenges are plenty but Maine’s coast is a place where people like to learn from each other and share their successes, resources, and ideas. Coastal Conversations helps listeners make sense of the hot button issues on our coast, and learn about the critical, homegrown approaches to solving them.

About this radio program

Coastal Conversations is produced with help from the University of Maine Sea Grant Program, whose mission is to support Maine’s coastal communities through research, outreach, and education. In partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Maine, Maine Sea Grant brings marine science to Maine people. Coastal Conversations is a direct offshoot of Talk of the Towns, a popular WERU public affairs program hosted since 1993 by Ron Beard, now retired from the University of Maine Cooperative Extension. Talk of the Towns still airs on the second Friday of each month.

As of 2024, Coastal Conversations is supported by Maine Sea Grant, in partnership with Schoodic Institute and The First Coast.

Join us from 4:00 to 4:30 PM on the fourth Friday of each month on WERU Community Radio, 89.9 FM in Blue Hill and streaming online at WERU.org.

Our show’s theme music, “A Following Sea,” was composed and performed by Paul Anderson.

Have a program idea? Contact Natalie Springuel

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