{"podcast":{"title":"Muddy Waters","slug":"muddy-waters-7079451","podcast_index_feed_id":7079451,"rss_url":"https://anchor.fm/s/1039add24/podcast/rss","website_url":"https://charleschuckellis.substack.com/podcast","image_url":"https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/staging/podcast_uploaded_nologo/43454481/fcdb685e762879bd.jpg","author":"Charles \"Chuck\" Ellis","episode_count":188,"summary":"Where I discuss by myself and with special guests things going on in our political world here in Maine as well as discussing national and at times global issues. I'm not muddying the water but helping you understand how muddy the water is and helping you chart a path forward. charleschuckellis.substack.com","last_synced_at":"2026-07-09T12:17:16.550300+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/muddy-waters-7079451"},"episode":{"title":"Ep. 165 You Can Make a Difference: Maine Dad Takes On Failing Schools & Local Government Waste","slug":"ep-165-you-can-make-a-difference-maine-dad-takes-on-failing-schools-local-government-waste","published_at":"2026-04-15T20:44:13+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/muddy-waters-7079451/ep-165-you-can-make-a-difference-maine-dad-takes-on-failing-schools-local-government-waste","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/muddy-waters-7079451","url":"https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/charles-ellis9/episodes/Ep--165-You-Can-Make-a-Difference-Maine-Dad-Takes-On-Failing-Schools--Local-Government-Waste-e3hvco9","audio_url":"https://anchor.fm/s/1039add24/podcast/play/118517961/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-3-15%2F422150988-44100-2-5a985a619904.mp3","summary":"Matthew Leggett from Lebanon, Maine joins Chuck Ellis to share how he got involved in local politics after seeing wasteful spending on a new fire station and major problems in his children’s school district.From sky-high school taxes (82% of the town budget) and declining academics to heavy emphasis on DEI and gender ideology over basic skills, Matt explains why he started showing up, organizing parents, and pushing for better candidates.A practical, motivating conversation about why local involvement matters, how conservatives can overcome the “I’m too busy” barrier, and simple steps anyone can take to help flip school boards and protect Maine kids.#Maine #Education #ParentalRights #SchoolBoard","meta_description":"Matthew Leggett from Lebanon, Maine joins Chuck Ellis to share how he got involved in local politics after seeing wasteful spending on a new fire station…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":4888,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/muddy-waters-7079451/episodes/ep-165-you-can-make-a-difference-maine-dad-takes-on-failing-schools-local-government-waste/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/muddy-waters-7079451/ep-165-you-can-make-a-difference-maine-dad-takes-on-failing-schools-local-government-waste.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}