Audio producer and former public radio journalist launches election year podcast focused on Maine voters

Unorganized Territory, a new bi-weekly podcast launching March 10th, puts the voices of Maine voters at the center of the battle for control of Congress in 2026.

U.S. Senator Susan Collins, a Republican, is in the toughest re-election fight of her career, and the U.S. House seat representing Maine’s interior, more rural counties is up for grabs, after Democrat Jared Golden announced his intention to leave Congress after four terms.

Both races are likely to impact which party controls Congress for the final two years of President Trump’s 2nd term, and the high stakes have put Maine in the national political spotlight.

“Maine reporters, national media and political podcasts are providing comprehensive coverage of the candidates and their campaigns; their policy positions; their fundraising, advertising and voter outreach strategies; the latest polls and candidate debates, and the millions of dollars from away, flowing into Maine from political action committees on both sides,” said Unorganized Territory’s creator, audio producer and journalist Jay Field. 

“Unorganized Territory believes there’s also space—and an important need—in the media landscape for reporting and storytelling that focuses exclusively on those on the receiving end of all of this attention, Maine’s voters.”

Hard work, resilience and resourcefulness have been woven into the fabric of family and civic life in Maine for generations and have shaped the state’s historically pragmatic approach to politics. 

Twice a week, on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, Unorganized Territory features independent-minded Maine voters, in their own words, on the roots of their personal engagement with politics and choices in elections; how community pride and sense of place shape their political views; key issues in the 2026 midterms including economic uncertainty and affordability concerns, rising health care costs and housing insecurity; and President Trump, his norm-busting 2nd term and the impact his policies are having on Maine people. 

Storytelling formats on Unorganized Territory vary episode to episode and include non-narrated segments featuring voters telling their own stories; conversations between host Jay Field and individual voters or small groups of voters; small group conversations between voters and more traditional, reported pieces.

Maine’s electorate is narrowly divided, split between roughly equal numbers of registered Republicans, Democrats and Independent or Unenrolled voters. 

A major objective of Unorganized Territory is to encourage more listening and understanding across electoral and cultural divides in one of the most polarizing times in our nation’s history since the Civil War.