Season 5 coming soon
The Maine Question podcast from the University of Maine returns with season five kicking off September 23, 2021. Researchers, innovators and problem-solvers from UMaine will once again discuss their latest scientific inquiries and creative activities. We’ll also learn what drives their work and how it affects the Pine Tree State and beyond.
Transcript
Researchers, explorers, problem solvers. They are the people who share their stories and their passions on The Maine Question podcast from the University of Maine.
Season 5 of The Maine Question will debut on September 23.
I’m Ron Lisnet and I am thrilled to bring you the stories of the research and creative achievement happening at Maine’s research university and the stories behind the people who do this work.
In our first episode we look at the outbreak of Browntail Moth which plagued Maine in the summer of 2021 with entomologist Angela Mech who studies all manner of bugs and pests that invade our forests and cause health problems for people.
Angela Mech: Right now in North America there are about fifteen hundred non-native insects that feed on our plants and cause damage and about a third of those are in our forests. So about five hundred species are in our forests that aren’t native to our area. And if you think about it not all of them are bad. If there were four hundred and fifty really, really bad insects we wouldn’t have enough entomologists in the country.
Later in season 5 we’ll be looking at the state of mental health and wellness in Maine’s rural areas with professor of psychology Jeff Hecker who is part of a team studying the challenges people there are facing.
Jeff Hecker: There are common health problems that are common around the United States but the rates of those problems are even higher in the state of Maine. Like obesity, opioid abuse, diabetes and higher death rates from common conditions like heart disease and cancer.
We are lining up more stories to tell about the work happening at UMaine on topics that affect all of us in Maine and beyond and the people who tackle the issues.
You can find The Maine Question podcast in a number of spots- Apple and Google podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify and SoundCloud. And, new this season, all episodes of The Maine Question can be found on UMaine’s Facebook page.
We hope you’ll check our podcast out and consider subscribing!