Speak Up with Laurel Libby

Laurel Libby
  • 5.0 (9)
  • Politics
  • Updated Biweekly

Speak Up with Laurel Libby is on a mission to give everyday folks the insight and confidence to speak up and make their voices heard, in Maine and beyond. Each episode breaks down the issues of the day… separating fact from fiction, translating policy into plain language, and connecting local challenges to the national conversation. Through interviews, deep dives, and practical guidance, Speak Up empowers everyday citizens to become educated, get engaged, and take action for a stronger, freer future.

Episodes

  1. May 26

    The Unlikely Alliance to Protect Mainers' Privacy

    Government surveillance... creepy, intrusive, and unconstitutional! Automated license plate readers are spreading quietly across Maine towns, scanning and logging every car that drives past, innocent travelers included. Laurel sits down with two leaders from the ACLU of Maine, Policy Director Michael Kebede and Policy Fellow Alicia Rea, to unpack how Flock cameras work, what they actually capture, and why Mainers across the political spectrum are pushing back. In this episode: How Flock's automated license plate readers scan every passing car and build a "mosaic" of where you have been, from doctor's appointments to churches to protestsWhy Michael Kebede argues that ubiquitous, government-controlled cameras erode the Fourth Amendment's warrant requirement What Flock's trademarked "vehicle fingerprint" technology captures: make, model, color, bumper stickers, and aftermarket parts How Maine's 21-day data retention rule works, and why the camera company is not bound by it The towns that fought back: Sanford and Wells Why a bipartisan two-thirds majority in both chambers defeated LD 1457, the turnpike speed-camera bill How Maine's 2019 facial recognition ban, which Kebede drafted, blocks Flock's "Condor" product The wrongful-arrest cases that lead the ACLU to call facial recognition "dangerous when it works"Dig deeper:ACLU of Maine: aclumaine.org Kathleen Tomaselli's reporting on surveillance cameras in Houlton: https://www.bangordailynews.com/2026/02/13/aroostook/aroostook-government/houlton-surveillance-cameras-data-joam40zk0w/ Subscribe to Speak Up with Laurel Libby:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@laurel_libby Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/75Y2G40k0gWwFH6cncgiuW?si=2e9b9fe49f114a51 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/speak-up-with-laurel-libby/id1870102672 Follow Laurel:X: https://x.com/laurel_libby Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaurelLibbyMEHouse Learn more about Lead Maine's work at www.LeadMaine.com

    58 min

  2. May 20

    What REALLY Happens to Your Ranked-Choice Ballot??

    Maine's June 9 primary will use Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV), and a lot of voters are still not sure how it works. Here's the solution!We recorded our in studio Lead Maine event, "Ranked Choice Voting Decoded," where Trent England, founder and executive director of Save Our States and co-chairman of the Stop Ranked-Choice Voting Coalition, and Maine GOP Executive Director Jason Savage walked through exactly how to fill out a ranked-choice ballot, what happens to your vote in each round of counting, and how to make sure your voice is heard.We won't tell you who to vote for, or even whether to rank... after you watch this video you'll have with the information you need to decide for yourself!Learn about: What RCV is, and why it keeps getting more complicatedThe mistakes that get a ballot thrown out, and how to avoid themWhat "exhausted ballots" are, and how they shrink the majority needed to winHow multiple rounds of counting can change the winnerWhere RCV applies in Maine this year, and where it does notMaine's primary is June 9. Early voting and absentee voting are already open. You can request an absentee ballot online or pick one up at your town office, which gives you time to research the candidates before you vote. Lead Maine opposes ranked-choice voting and supports its repeal, but this event was built to be practical. The goal is a confident voter, however you choose to mark your ballot.NOTE: The primary for governor uses ranked-choice voting. The general election for governor does not.

    1h 8m

  3. May 12

    Who's Funding the War on Our Energy Future?

    The same week the Maine Legislature passed the data center moratorium (which would later be vetoed), American Energy Institute dropped a report showing $39 million in foreign funding behind the groups pushing for the policy. That's not a coincidence. Jason Isaac has spent years tracing the money behind America's energy debate, and what he's found connects your electricity bill, the attempted shutdown of billions of dollars of investment in Maine, and a coordinated campaign to train federal judges with debunked climate science, all the way back to the same set of foreign-funded organizations.Jason Isaac is the founder and CEO of the American Energy Institute and host of the High Carbon Lifestyle podcast. A fourth-generation Texan, he served four terms in the Texas House of Representatives on the Energy Resources and Environmental Regulation Committee, and spent years working in technology-driven logistics and operations before that. He has testified before the House Ways and Means and House Judiciary Committees and has been published in Fox News, Fox Business, The Hill, The Daily Caller, and Bloomberg Law. His current work focuses on exposing the foreign-funded infrastructure behind America's energy and data policy battles.Follow Jason Isaac: x.com/ISAACforEnergy facebook.com/isaacfortexas/ Jason Isaac's Substack & High Carbon Lifestyle podcast: jasonisaac.substack.com SUBSCRIBE & SHARE Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/75Y2G40k0gWwFH6cncgiuW?si=2e9b9fe49f114a51 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/speak-up-with-laurel-libby/id1870102672 Web: leadmaine.com/podcast

    1h 26m

  4. Apr 28

    She Stood in Second. A Boy Stood in First

    Rohen Brown was 18 years old, running the last race of her high school career, when she stepped onto the Western Conference Championship podium in second place. The athlete in first was a male who had been competing in her races for years.Rohen is 19 now, studying political science at the University of Southern Maine, and serving as Lead Maine's first intern. This November, Maine voters will have a say on a ballot initiative to protect girls' and women's sports. But right now, through May 7, Mainers can comment on how that ballot question is worded. What you'll hear in this episode: Why Rohen grieved more for the girl who came in 31st than for her own lost placements, and what a lack of fairness in girls' sports actually costsWhat it felt like to stand on the Western Conference Championship podium in second place during the final race of her senior year, with St. Dominic's closing behind her and college aheadWhat female distance running culture in Maine has been, and how that changed when the atmosphere around her races turned chargedWhat she'd tell a young Mainer who feels politically alone, doesn't know where to start, and is spending too much time on social media looking for answersSubmit your comment to Maine’s Secretary of State regarding a clearly-worded ballot question to Protect Girls’ Sports before May 7: www.leadmaine.com/protectgirlssports

    36 min

  5. Apr 14

    Envisioning Patient-Centered Medicine

    What happens when a doctor has time to actually know their patients? Dr. Zev Myerowitz has spent over a decade in Maine's healthcare policy debates. But his real argument is practical, built from years running one of New England's largest integrative musculoskeletal practices.In this conversation, Dr. Zev walks through the economics that broke primary care, why direct primary care clinics are opening across Maine faster than anyone predicted, and what happens when you flip the insurance-driven model on its head. He also explains the hidden mechanism behind Maine's provider shortage, one most people don't talk about.You'll also hear from two Family Nurse Practitioners and Direct Primary Care providers, Courtney Muldoon and Rachel Baillargeon from Live Life Family Practice, on what patient-centered care actually looks like for Mainers in Oxford County.This is a conversation about healthcare policy that starts with a simple question: what if patients and providers were on the same side of the table??📌 Subscribe to Speak Up with Laurel Libby for conversations on Maine policy and civic engagement.🌐 Learn more about Lead Maine: https://leadmaine.comFollow Dr. Zev on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drzmyerowitz

    1h 38m

  6. Mar 31

    Should Young Mainers STAY or GO??

    I met Parker Brownrigg on a flight. He's 26, grew up in Lewiston, graduated Maine Maritime, and paid off over $100,000 in student loans before his 27th birthday. He also can't buy a house in Maine. We talked about why ‒ and what it says about where our state is headed.

    41 min

  7. Mar 17

    Lessons from the Mississippi Miracle

    Mississippi policymakers prioritized science-based reading over the last decade and saw the nation's greatest gains in reading scores as measured by the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as the Nation's Report Card. Meanwhile, Maine has been spending more and more on K-12 education, not empowering families, losing student enrollment, and falling to some of the worst NAEP results ever.This week, Laurel sits down with Rebekah Staples, a Mississippi-based public policy consultant who served as policy director for Governor Haley Barbour and senior advisor to Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves. During her time in state government, she worked on education funding, budget reform, workforce development, and government efficiency initiatives. She holds an MBA from Vanderbilt University and currently runs her own consulting firm. FSStrategies.com/our-story

    57 min

  8. Mar 3

    How Funds for Lewiston Shooting Victims Went MISSING

    Amy Sussman is a wife, mother, longtime Mainer, and aunt of Max Hathaway, a victim of the tragic October 2023 shooting in Lewiston. Max was 35 at the time, a father of two with another on the way, and that day received his business degree from the University of Southern Maine. Amy has spent much of her free time tracking down how the money was spent that was raised for the Lewiston shooting victims, finding out that the way it was dispersed, while legal, was likely unethical or improper. Laurel sits down with Amy in-studio to discuss where the money went (or didn't), and how a situation so tragic for the survivors and victims' families was made even worse.

    54 min

  9. Feb 17

    The REALITY of Ranked Choice Voting | Episode 3 with Jason Snead

    Laurel brings on Jason Snead to discuss the absurdities of Ranked-Choice Voting, how the national movement for RCV has stalled (thankfully!), and what Mainers can do to push back on this extreme form of election manipulation in our state. Maine is one of only two states (with Alaska) that use RCV for any statewide elections.Jason Snead is the Executive Director of the Honest Elections Project. He previously spent a decade at The Heritage Foundation as a senior policy analyst, where he managed the development of the Heritage Election Fraud Database and became a recognized expert on election integrity, criminal justice reform, and technology policy. He holds a master's in public policy from George Mason University.HonestElections.org | @HonestElections | @JasonWSnead | @StopRCV Network Keywords: politics, elections, voting, ballots, maine, alaska, ranked choice voting, RCV, election integrity, transparency, voter ID, SAVE Act, honest elections project

    51 min

  10. Feb 3

    Who Spent All the Money?? Episode 2 with Dr. Vance Ginn

    Who spent all the money?? Dr. Vance Ginn joins Laurel for a discussion on the good, the bad, and the ugly of state budgets, what makes for real economic prosperity, and what Maine can learn from states that are cutting taxes and enabling people to flourish. Vance Ginn is a free-market economist, founder of Ginn Economic Consulting, and host of the Let People Prosper Show podcast. He served as chief economist at the White House Office of Management and Budget during the first Trump administration and previously at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Dr. Ginn is a senior fellow at Americans for Tax Reform, and his economic commentary has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, and Washington Post. Follow Dr. Ginn on X @VanceGinn and keep up with his work on VanceGinn.com

    48 min

  11. Jan 21

    Speak Up with Laurel Libby Ep. 1 | Mary Katharine Ham

    Laurel and special guest, Mary Katharine Ham, discuss the issues that hit close to home, and how the government that's closest to us affects us the most. From the cost of energy to the state of education, the answer to the question, "How can we CHANGE the future?" has a surprising answer... tune in for the inaugural episode and simultaneous Lead Maine launch!

    41 min
  12. Preview Speak Up and Lead Maine... Launching January 20th with Mary Katharine Ham as our special guest!

    Season 1, Episode 1 Trailer

    Preview Speak Up and Lead Maine... Launching January 20th with Mary Katharine Ham as our special guest!

    Join Laurel and Nick, Lead Maine's new Policy & Comms Director, for a preview of what's around the corner with our upcoming launch and beyond!

    6 min

Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
9 Ratings

About

Speak Up with Laurel Libby is on a mission to give everyday folks the insight and confidence to speak up and make their voices heard, in Maine and beyond. Each episode breaks down the issues of the day… separating fact from fiction, translating policy into plain language, and connecting local challenges to the national conversation. Through interviews, deep dives, and practical guidance, Speak Up empowers everyday citizens to become educated, get engaged, and take action for a stronger, freer future.

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