Speaking In Maine

Monday, March 31, 2025

Ambassador Douglas Lute is the former United States Ambassador to NATO. Appointed by President Obama, he assumed the Brussels-based post in 2013 and served until 2017. During this period, he was instrumental in designing and implementing the 28-nation Alliance responses to the most severe security challenges in Europe since the end of the Cold War. His talk, "The Future of NATO," was recorded for broadcast on January 13, 2025.

James Bosworth is the founder of Hxagon, a company that provides political risk analysis and bespoke research in Latin America. With over 20 years of experience researching and writing about Latin America, he assists financial institutions, investors, and analysts at corporations operating throughout the Western Hemisphere understand current events, potential scenarios, and risks to monitor. His talk, "Mapping Latin America's Current Politics," was recorded for broadcast on December 9, 2024.

In this talk hosted by the University of Maine's Mitchell Center in Orono, Cat Biddle and Zeke Kimball explore the relationship between Maine’s schools, rural communities, and future. Their talk,"Education as a Rural, Public Good: Preparing Maine’s People, Families, Schools, & Communities for the Opportunities of Tomorrow" was recorded on November 25th, 2024.

Jeremy Konyndyk is president of Refugees International. A committed humanitarian advocate and seasoned emergency operator, he has served in senior appointments in two U.S. administrations and in a range of U.S. and overseas NGO leadership positions. His talk, “Refuge At Risk: Can Humanitarian Law Survive 21st Century Geopolitics?” was recorded for broadcast on October 15, 2024.

John Lee is a senior fellow at Hudson Institute. He is also a senior fellow (non-resident) at the United States Studies Centre and adjunct professor at the University of Sydney. From 2016 to 2018, he was senior national security adviser to Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop. In this role, he served as the principal adviser on Asia and for economic, strategic, and political affairs in the Indo-Pacific region.

Tuesday, September 24, 2024

Jeffrey Rosen, president & CEO of the National Constitution Center, speaks with Judith S. Goldstein, founder and executive director emeritus of Humanity in Action, Inc.

Speaking In Maine returns to the 2024 COA Summer Institute at College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor. Today we’ll hear from Joe Scarborough, co-host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe and former US Representative, in conversation with former US Ambassador and board chair of The International Foundation for Electoral Systems William C. Eacho. They will discuss “Challenges to Democracy: Media, Misinformation, and the Rise of Authoritarianism.” This conversation was recorded for broadcast on July 31, 2024.

Tuesday, September 10th, 2024

Dr. Elizabeth (Beth) Cameron is a Professor of the Practice and Senior Advisor to the Pandemic Center at the Brown University School of Public Health. She also serves as a senior advisor for global health security at the U.S. Agency for International Development and is a Practitioner Senior Fellow of the Miller Center at the University of Virginia. Her talk, “National Security in an Age of Pandemic Threats,” was recorded for broadcast on July 29, 2024.

Ambassador Lawrence Butler devoted four decades as an American and international diplomat to deterrence, crisis management, conflict prevention, and promotion of human rights and democracy. He currently helps train U.S. Army units preparing to serve in Europe, the Middle East, and Korea. He served two decades on the front lines of Cold War diplomacy before playing pivotal roles in ending conflicts in the Balkans and Northern Ireland, and then engaged himself in the Middle East and Afghanistan. His talk, “NATO at 75 - Relevant, Obsolete, or Dangerous?,” was recorded for broadcast on July 8, 2024.