Bruce is an activist, advocate, and public speaker who has covered a host of issues around the state and nationally. A Mexican-American with an array of lived experiences, including overcoming addiction, and incarceration.Bruce has worked in various capacities serving vulnerable populations and communities. He currently serves on the board of Maine Equal Justice and is a commissioner on Maine’s Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous, and Tribal Populations. However his primary position and job is working at Maine Boys To Men as the Executive Director. The organization’s mission is to end all forms of male violence and self-harm and to advance gender equity by supporting the development of self-aware, empathetic boys and men.Prior to joining Maine Boys to Men, Bruce was the Co-Executive Director of Maine Inside Out, an organization that uses theatre for social change in schools, prisons, and in the community.

In a May 2024 op-ed in the Portland Press Herald, Tony Payne, a former Maine Republican Party executive director, wrote: "Although some Republican conservatives don’t harbor these views and behaviors, they have failed miserably in denouncing the antics and actions of Trump and his followers, who would rather grandstand for more power and political donors than govern. The party of Abraham Lincoln is dead and forgotten." In this special 2024 Election episode, host Marpheen Chann discusses Maine politics, the danger of Donald Trump, and why he's voting for Kamala Harris on Tuesday, November 5th, 2024. ABOUT THE GUEST Tony Payne, now an Independent, is an active community leader and former Maine Republican Party executive director. Tony has served as a member and former Chair of the University of Southern Maine Board of Visitors and as a board member of Pine Tree Watch/Maine Center for Reporting in the Public Interest. He has previously held board positions with Atlantic Bank, the Maine Education Loan Authority, The Portland Club, and several other organizations. In 1998, he chaired the Legislative Task Force that studied the State Employee Workers’ Compensation System. With over 30 years in politics, Payne was a GOP primary candidate for the Maine First Congressional District in 1992 and was elected to the Falmouth Town Council in 2006, serving two terms. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Hobart College and is a graduate of the Institute for Civic Leadership. In 2003, he received the Edward L. Bernays Award, the top honor from the Maine Public Relations Council.

Author and Podcast Host Marpheen Chann sits down with Coco McCracken, author of The Rabbit and forthcoming debut memoir GOOD & LOUD. Topics: Coming-of-Age, Music, Canada, Books, Asian American.

Author and Podcast Host Marpheen Chann welcomes Sophia of the @BeyondTheMekong instagram account and Khmer American. Topics: Khmer Culture, Books, Cambodian Authors, Diaspora.

Author and Podcast Host Marpheen Chann talks with Ellie Sato, a Democratic activist, candidate for state representative, dancer, and Japanese American. Topics: Running for office, Stop Asian Hate, Politics, Model Minority Myth.

Author and Podcast Host Marpheen Chann sits down with Putsata Reang, author of Ma and Me, journalist, and educator. Topics: Cambodia, LGBTQ+, Culture, Family.

Author and Podcast Host Marpheen Chann interviews Jaed Coffin, author of Roughhouse Friday, Contributing Editor for DownEast Magazine, and writing professor at UNH in Durham, NH. Topics: Goldfish, Time, Masculinity.

We talk about queer placemaking and community in this podcast episode with special guest Dr. Theo Greene, associate professor of Sociology at Bowdoin College and author of an upcoming book titled Not in MY Gayborhood: Gay Neighborhoods and the Rise of the Vicarious Citizen, which explores the persistence of iconic gay neighborhoods in Washington, DC, through acts of ephemeral placemaking by nonresidential community actors (vicarious citizens).   Outside the classroom, Greene enjoys extending his research for the Common Good. In addition to sitting on the Board of Advisors for “The Corner,” the Whitman-Walker Health Cultural Center, Greene also sits on the Board of Directors for the Frannie Peabody Center and the Equality Community Center.  

Maya Williams, Portland's Poet Laureate and author of a recenlty published collection of poems called "Judas and Suicide," joins me on the podcast to talk about a whole range of topics, all orbiting around the big topics of life, death, and poetry. TW: There is discussion of suicide, suicidal thoughts, and ideation in this episode. If these topics are triggering or sensitive for you, you have option to opt-out of listening to the show. If you are struggling and seeking help, please call or text 988. About Maya Williams: Maya Williams (ey/em, they/them, and she/her) is a religious Black multiracial nonbinary suicide survivor who is currently an Ashley Bryan Fellow and the seventh Poet Laureate of Portland, Maine . Maya's debut poetry collection, Judas & Suicide, is available through Game Over Books .

In this episode I welcome my new friend Alphanso, better known as @ForeverAlphanso on TikTok and Instagram where he's garnered hundreds of thousands of followers with his hot takes on housewives and popculture. We talk about social media, building an audience, creating content, how to take care of yourself and your mental health as a content creator or influencer, and then we get into a little bit of the DRAMA with Tasha K.