“In the Arena” is a podcast for Mainers interested in a deeper understanding of the political issues facing our state, featuring former TV anchor/reporter Pat Callaghan, former Republican state Sen. Phil Harriman and former Democratic Portland mayor Ethan Strimling.

This week, on Episode 4 of “In The Arena,” Pat, Ethan and Phil look at the Lewiston shootings to understand what happened and explore possible solutions to prevent it from happening again. They address U.S. Rep. Jared Golden’s reversal on his previous opposition to an assault weapons ban, the adequacy of Maine’s yellow-flag law, and what further steps Maine and Gov. Janet Mills should take on gun safety and mental health care.

In their lightning round, the three discuss a bunch of new laws that took effect last week and determine if each is “good, bad or inadequate,” including the law expanding abortion access, allowing gender-affirming care for 16- and 17-year-olds without parental consent, and a cap on application fees for landlords.

Finally, Phil and Ethan make some political predictions and Pat recounts a story about a certain former president and his critique of his wife’s tennis play at Walker’s Point.

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or in your RSS feed.

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