by Politics Between Us
Two Generations. One running conversation about politics, purpose and how to live a good life. A political dialogue across a thirty-year age gap. <br/><br/><a href="https://politicsbetweenus.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast">politicsbetweenus.substack.com</a>
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Publishing Since
3/3/2026
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May 28, 2026
<p>Welcome to the final episode of the first season of Politics Between Us.</p><p>Today, we’re joined by one of the most talked-about political candidates in the country: <strong>Graham Platner</strong>, who is running for U.S. Senate in our home state of Maine.</p><p>We get into the contradictions people keep trying to pin on him — and why he thinks those questions say more about the limits of our political imagination than they do about him.</p><p>We also dig into what “political revolution” actually means to him, why his anger comes from love, and what it has felt like to discover that simply being a genuine person in politics is somehow shocking to the people who cover it.</p><p>Finally, we have an honest conversation about gender: Betsy Sweet ran for U.S. Senate in Maine on nearly identical politics and got called a witch, while Platner became a national phenomenon. And we even talk about Governor Janet Mills — but you’ll have to listen to hear that yourself.</p><p><p><strong>Subscribe for free and join the Politics Between Us conversation:</strong> </p></p><p><strong>Background Reading</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://politicsbetweenus.substack.com/">Politics Between Us Substack</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://politicsbetweenus.substack.com/p/maybe-the-witch-was-right-betsy-sweet">Maybe the Witch Was Right: Betsy Sweet on Love & Politics in the Maine Senate Race</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://politicsbetweenus.substack.com/p/ive-got-your-back-politics-december">I’ve Got Your Back Politics (Luca DeAngelis)</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://substack.com/home/post/p-194904969">Graham Platner’s Bet on Horizontal Power</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://time.com/article/2026/05/20/graham-platner-profile/">Time Magazine Cover</a></p><p>Politics Between Us is created by Alison Beyea and Luca DeAngelis. Produced by Steven Jackson. Research by Jeff Sanders.</p><p><strong>This Substack is a personal project. Alison and Luca are both employees of Colby College, but the views and opinions expressed here are entirely our own and do not represent those of Colby College or any other institutions with which we are affiliated. This publication is not produced, sponsored, or endorsed by the College.</strong></p><p><strong>Keywords:</strong> Graham Platner, Susan Collins, Maine Senate race, 2026 Senate primary, Janet Mills, Marine Corps, populism, political revolution, gender and elections, authenticity in politics, community organizing, labor movement, civil rights, women’s suffrage, Maine politics, campaign finance reform, Betsy Sweet, Bernie Sanders.</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://politicsbetweenus.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">politicsbetweenus.substack.com</a>
May 20, 2026
<p>Welcome back to Politics Between Us and Episode 5 of Mud Season. This week, we’re joined by <strong>Betsy Sweet</strong>, an important Maine political activist and human rights advocate, two-time candidate for statewide office, and friend of presidential candidate Marianne Williamson.</p><p>When Betsy ran for the U.S. Senate in 2020 on a platform of healthcare for all, campaign finance reform, and heart-centered politics, Chuck Schumer’s operation went around Washington calling her a witch. A reporter actually called her to ask if it was true. Her response: “If I am, I’m a very bad one — I would’ve taken care of this a long time ago.”</p><p>Now Graham Platner is running on almost the exact same platform — and he’s on MSNBC. And no one is calling him a witch.</p><p>That tension is at the heart of this conversation. We get into what it means to be a woman in politics, and what the electorate might be ready for now that it wasn’t ready for in 2020. We cover what the media keeps missing about Platner’s campaign and why Betsy is one of his loudest champions. Plus: we explore why a message of love and empathy might be exactly what this moment calls for, even if it takes a while for people to take you seriously.</p><p>Stick around for AGEBAIT, where Luca brings Alison a clip of James Talarico — the Democratic Senate candidate in Texas making waves talking about religion, meaning, and community. Is a turn toward faith what the left needs to make sense of these incoherent times?</p><p><strong>Background Reading</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://politicsbetweenus.substack.com/">Politics Between Us Substack</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://politicsbetweenus.substack.com/p/ive-got-your-back-politics-december">“I’ve Got Your Back” Politics (Luca DeAngelis)</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://politicsbetweenus.substack.com/p/all-you-need-is-love">All You Need Is Love (Alison Beyea)</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.transformarticles.com/p/witches-at-the-polls?hide_intro_popup=true">Witches at the Polls (Marianne Williamson)</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@talarico4life/video/7580433451476733239?_r=1&_t=ZT-96Sq3uNcrPh">James Talarico on Religion</a></p><p>Politics Between Us is created by Alison Beyea and Luca DeAngelis. Produced by Steven Jackson. Research by Jeff Sanders.</p><p>This Substack is a personal project. Alison and Luca are both employees of Colby College, but the views and opinions expressed here are entirely our own and do not represent those of Colby College or any other institutions with which we are affiliated. This publication is not produced, sponsored, or endorsed by the College.</p><p><strong>Keywords:</strong> Betsy Sweet, Graham Platner, Susan Collins, Maine Senate race, heart-centered politics, women in politics, gender and elections, civil rights, Marianne Williamson, James Talarico, religion and politics, populism, Maine politics, community organizing.</p><p></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://politicsbetweenus.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">politicsbetweenus.substack.com</a>
May 8, 2026
<p>Welcome back to Politics Between Us and Episode 4 of Mud Season. This week, we’re joined by <strong>Faiz Shakir</strong> — longtime political strategist, Founder of More Perfect Union, former ACLU National Political Director, and Campaign Manager for Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign.</p><p>Faiz has spent more than two decades thinking about what American politics gets wrong — and what it might still be capable of getting right. His starting point was the Iraq War, but his deeper frustration is with the gap between ordinary people and the politicians that claim to represent them.</p><p>In this episode, we talk to Faiz about class consciousness, why the Democratic Party can feel like a closed club, and what it would mean to actually open the doors. That takes us from Bernie Sanders to Zohran Mamdani, and then of course, to Graham Platner and the U.S. Senate race in Maine.</p><p>With Janet Mills out of the primary, the Maine Senate race has changed fast. Faiz makes the case for why Platner can beat Susan Collins — not by running to the middle, but by running directly against money in politics, private equity, corporate power, and the feeling that Washington has stopped listening to working people.</p><p>Plus: Is this really a generational fight? Faiz isn’t so sure. He argues the real divide is between politicians who have been captured by corporate interest and politicians who are still listening and connected to regular people.</p><p>Stick around for Agebait, where Luca usually brings Alison a piece of internet culture to test her knowledge. This week, we switch things up: Alison brings something to the table — the idea that younger men increasingly want to date older women.</p><p><strong>Background Reading</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://medium.com/@fshakir/why-i-am-running-for-dnc-chair-b6d595ae4057"><strong>Why I Am Running For DNC Chair</strong></a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.mainepublic.org/politics/2026-04-30/janet-mills-drops-out-of-race-for-us-senate"><strong>Janet Mills drops out of race for US Senate</strong></a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000010840121/why-young-men-want-to-be-with-older-women.html"><strong>Why Young Men Want to Be With Older Women</strong></a></p><p><strong>Politics Between Us is created by Alison Beyea and Luca DeAngelis. Produced by Steven Jackson. Research by Jeff Sanders.</strong></p><p><strong>This Substack is a personal project. Alison and Luca are both employees of Colby College, but the views and opinions expressed here are entirely our own and do not represent those of Colby College or any other institutions with which we are affiliated. This publication is not produced, sponsored, or endorsed by the College.</strong></p><p><strong>Keywords:</strong> Faiz Shakir, Bernie Sanders, More Perfect Union, ACLU, Graham Platner, Susan Collins, Maine Senate race, Zohran Mamdani, money in politics, Democratic Party, working-class politics, economic justice, populism.</p><p></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://politicsbetweenus.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">politicsbetweenus.substack.com</a>
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Two Generations. One running conversation about politics, purpose and how to live a good life. A political dialogue across a thirty-year age gap.
<br/><br/><a href="https://politicsbetweenus.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast">politicsbetweenus.substack.com</a>
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