Maine For Keeps

Welcome to Maine For Keeps, hosted by Jonathan Bush. Each week, we're sitting down with real Mainers - from small business owners fighting to survive, to industry leaders and innovators, to working folks trying to make ends meet - for raw, unfiltered conversations about:→ The real stories of what's killing Maine jobs (like the 174 we just lost at the cement plant)→ How Maine's smartest businesses are finding ways to win despite the obstacles→ Why "environmental protection" often hurts both business AND the environment

Maine For Keeps is a business podcast hosted by Jonathan Bush, with 22 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Jonathan Bush hosts Maine For Keeps, a business show with 22 episodes published.

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  Maine For Keeps

  Where Did All the Money Go? Alec Porteous on Maine’s Exploding Budget

  Oct 7, 202545 minS0

  <p>Alec Porteous has run the numbers. He’s been the CFO of Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services. He’s been the Commissioner of Administrative & Financial Services, the state’s top budget job. He’s been the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Business Officer at the University of Southern Maine.</p><p><br></p><p>And now? He’s sounding the alarm.</p><p><br></p><p>In this episode, we dig into Maine’s budget explosion and what Alec sees as the most under-discussed risk to our future.</p><p><br></p><p>We cover:</p><p>- Why Maine’...

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  Maine For Keeps

  The Crime Surge No One Wants to Talk About in Maine with Lt. Nick Goodman

  Sep 30, 202535 minS0

  <p>Lt. Nick Goodman has been a cop in Portland for over 20 years.</p><p><br></p><p>He’s run narcotics stings. Solved cold cases. Led Portland’s SWAT team through high-risk raids and manhunts. He’s watched the city change, from a place where gunfire made headlines to a place where “another shooting” barely raises eyebrows.</p><p><br></p><p>This episode is a raw, unfiltered look at what public safety in Maine actually looks like today (and what it will take to turn things around).</p><p><br></p><p>We cover:</p><p><br></p>Why Portla...

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  Maine For Keeps

  How Maine Can Fix Education Before It’s Too Late with Stephen Bowen, Former Commissioner of Education

  Sep 23, 202544 minS0

  <p>Stephen Bowen has seen the future of education, and he’s seen what happens when we ignore it.</p><p><br></p><p>As Maine’s former Commissioner of Education and now Executive Director of the Hoover Education Success Initiative at Stanford, Stephen brings a rare perspective: deep local roots combined with a national, bird’s-eye view of what actually works.</p><p><br></p><p>In this episode, he lays out a bold, actionable vision for how Maine can rescue its schools, support its students, and rebuild its economy.</p><p><br></p><p>We cover:</p><p><br></p...

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  Maine For Keeps

  Former Governor of MA, Charlie Baker, on How to Make a State Work

  Sep 16, 202545 minS0

  <p>Charlie Baker has a reputation for making big, complex institutions actually work. As governor of Massachusetts, he was consistently ranked the most popular governor in America, running one of the bluest states as a Republican without getting bogged down in partisanship. Today, he’s the president of the NCAA, steering college sports through its most turbulent era.</p><p><br></p><p>In this conversation, Baker shares the same pragmatic playbook that guided him through both roles: results matter more than rhetoric, and time is money. If it takes five years to permit housing or six years to approve en...

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  Maine For Keeps

  How Former Governor Mitch Daniels Turned Indiana Around (and What Maine Can Learn)

  Sep 9, 202546 minS0

  <p>Mitch Daniels has worn a lot of hats: Governor of Indiana, President of Purdue University, and before that, business executive and federal budget director. But through it all, he’s carried a reputation for doing the hard, unglamorous work of making institutions perform better.</p><p><br /></p><p>In Indiana, Daniels balanced the budget after years of deficits, capped runaway property taxes, and launched one of the boldest infrastructure programs in America without raising taxes. At Purdue, he froze tuition for 11 years straight while expanding access and research, proving that higher education doesn’t have to keep getting more...

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