Bryan Allen is a lifelong Lower Bucks County resident, a father of three, and a dedicated public servant who has spent more than three decades fighting for the community that raised him. Now he wants to take that fight to Harrisburg. Bryan joins me today to talk about why he is running to unseat Republican incumbent state Rep K.C. Tomlinson.

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ALSO LISTEN TO:

• Democrat Tim Hayes Wants to Flip a Bucks County State House Seat from Red to Blue
• Why We Need ‘AI for the People’, with Congressman Ro Khanna
• These 3 Central Bucks Parents Started a ‘Revolution’ to Save Their School District from Moms for Liberty and Other Right-Wing Extremists
• A Look at Bob Harvie’s ‘New Fair Deal for Working Families’ and the Chance to Flip PA-01, with Cyril Mychalejko and Kevin Mahoney
• Filmmaker Robert May Discusses His New PBS Documentary Series ‘Bucks County, USA’

Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music.

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• @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social
• @cmychalejko.bsky.social

Robert May is a producer/director of independent films whose projects have collectively garnered over 40 awards including the Oscar, Bafta, Independent Spirit Award and Human Rights Award, to name a few. He produced documentaries the Fog of War, about former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, Kids for Cash, about a scandal involving judges in Wilkes Barre receiving kickbacks for sending kids to a private prison, among other films.

His latest, which airs on PBS on Sunday, is Bucks County, USA, a five-part documentary series May co-produced with filmmakers Jason Sosnoff and Barry Levinson. The series, filmed over 4 years, covers what the New York Times dubbed “The School Board Wars” in Central Bucks School District. He spoke with me to talk about his filmmaking career, Bucks County, USA, and how he hopes this new docuseries can help a community once at war with each other heal, and maybe even actively try to listen and talk to each other like friendly neighbors – despite deep political differences.

Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart

READ:

• BCCC Embarrasses Itself With Decision to Cancel Special Community Prescreening of PBS Docuseries ‘Bucks County, USA’
• It Takes A Village: Expelling Right-Wing Extremism From Bucks County School Districts
• CBSD Neighbors United Was a Revolution in Central Bucks School District

ALSO LISTEN TO:

• These 3 Central Bucks Parents Started a ‘Revolution’ to Save Their School District from Moms for Liberty and Other Right-Wing Extremists
• Anti-Fascist, Dystopian YA Novel Inspired by Central Bucks School District
• Unmasking Moms for Liberty’s Extremism, with Olivia Little and Diana Leygerman
• Raising a Transgender Child in an Increasingly Transphobic Country and School District, with Brett Freeman
• Fighting for Students’ and Teachers’ Rights in Central Bucks School District, with ACLU’s Witold Walczak
• The Christian Right’s Crusade for Power and War on Democracy, with Katherine Stewart
• Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider on Their New Book ‘The Education Wars: A Citizen’s Guide and Defense Manual’

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This special episode of The Signal Podcast brings listeners inside a dynamic, solutions‑focused conversation about civic engagement, community care, and the everyday actions that strengthen democracy. Recorded live at a joint event hosted by the Bucks County Beacon and Doylestown Action League, the discussion explores what participation really looks like—and why showing up matters.

Moderator Connor O’Hanlon guides a powerhouse panel of leaders whose work spans civic education, mental health advocacy, trauma‑informed care, and political engagement. Join him and featured panelists Lauren Cristella, Amy Widestrom, Ariel Virk and Nick Emeigh for an in-depth and actionable conversation. Together, these experts unpack the barriers that keep people from participating, the cultural narratives that shape our sense of agency, and the practical steps anyone can take to build healthier, more connected communities.

This is an energizing, grounded, and deeply human conversation about the power of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

Links:

Bucks County Beacon - News. Government. Politics.

Behind the Beacon | The Bucks County Beacon

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-bucks-county-beacon-turns-5-tickets-1989228969396?aff=oddtdtcreator

Kevin Mahoney takes over the mic for a conversation with Cyril Mychalejko, the editor-in-chief of The Beacon and the regular host of The Signal. We take a close look at Democrat Bob Harvie's "New Fair Deal for Working Families" - a 12 point plan for "Restoring the Promise of the American Dream in the 21st Century." I think it's fair to say that Cyril and Kevin have some questions for the Harvie campaign and some thoughts on what's needed if Democrats have a shot at defeating the always slippery, deep-pocketed, yet vulnerable Republican Brian Fitzpatrick in this year's mid-term elections.

NOTE: At one point in the conversation Cyril misspoke regarding health care spending. He said that the US spends half as much on insurance than other countries. What he meant to say was that OTHER COUNTRIES spend half as much as the U.S. per person on health. For clarification, here's the relevant article from Peterson-KFF:

• "How does health spending in the U.S. compare to other countries"

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• @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social
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Marlene Pray (she/her) is a queer activist, sexuality educator, and community organizer whose work spans over three decades of LGBTQ+ advocacy, anti-racism, and social justice movement-building. She founded and directs the Rainbow Room, Bucks County’s LGBTQ+ youth center at Planned Parenthood Keystone, which has been a lifeline for queer youth in the region for 24 years.

A PhD candidate in Human Sexuality Education, Marlene has trained educators, organizations, and communities across the country on LGBTQ+ inclusion, racial equity, and youth empowerment. Her public service includes serving on Doylestown Borough Council, where she championed the borough’s LGBTQ+ anti-discrimination ordinance, and she continues to lead through board roles with the NAACP and NAMI Bucks County. Marlene lives in Doylestown and brings her whole self to the work — as an organizer, mother, homicide survivor, and earth-based celebrant committed to collective liberation.

She joins me today to kick off Pride Month, to talk about its history as a riot, as protest, and as a demand, and what the fight for LGBTQ+ rights looks like today.

Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart

ALSO LISTEN TO:

• How Local Journalism and Pro-Democracy Reporting Can Protect Main Street from Hate and Political Extremism, with Phil Williams
• Journalist Jordan Green on Why the Neo-Nazi Movement Is an Escalating Threat to US Democracy
• The History of Fascism and Anti-Fascism in America, with Bill Mullen and Christopher Vials

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• @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social
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Welcome, welcome everybody to a special edition of The Signal from the Bucks County Beacon. Today guest host Kevin Mahoney talks with Cyril Mychalejko, the editor-in-chief of the Bucks County Beacon, about this week’s primary elections. We’ll take a look at the results and focus on two of the contested Democratic primaries: the PA 01 House race to face Brian Fitzpatrick in November, and the PA 16th State Senate race that will challenge Moms for Liberty darling, Jarett Coleman. What do the results mean in November's mid-terms?

We’ll also take a little stroll down memory lane as Cyril celebrates his fourth anniversary with the Beacon! That’s right, Cyril basically has the equivalent of a presidential term with the Beacon - and what a few years it has been.

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"I believe if we just give the AI revolution to tech billionaires we're going to have political unrest in this country." Ro Khanna is a Bucks County native who is a U.S. Representative in California’s 17th District. He is also vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Last month he wrote an article in The Nation, “AI for the People”, which laid out his vision “for an AI revolution that works for the many not just the billionaires.” He joins us today to talk about why he is an an AI-democratist, his policy vision for regulating this disruptive technology, and why we cannot allow Big Tech oligarchs to build a society where “AI ‘progress’ is defined by their wealth rather than by our democracy.”

Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart

READ:

• AI for the People, by Congressman Ro Khanna
• “The Nation” Is Siding With Humanity, by Katrina vanden Heuvel and John Nichols
• What We Need to Ask Ourselves About AI, by Senator Bernie Sanders
• As AI Breathes Down Our Necks, It’s Time for a Luddite Renaissance, by John Nichols

ALSO LISTEN TO:

• Reading George Orwell in Trump’s America, With Laura Beers
• How Local Journalism and Pro-Democracy Reporting Can Protect Main Street from Hate and Political Extremism, with Phil Williams

Tim Hayes is an Army National Guard Veteran, Dublin Borough Council President, and Environmental Legislative Manager running for State Representative in Pennsylvania’s 143rd District. He joins us today to talk about growing up in Bucks County, his dedication to public service, and why Republican Shelby Labs has failed her constituents.

Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart

READ:

• TIM HAYES: State House Bill Seeks to Protect Pennsylvania Communities from Data Center Impacts
• Three Bucks County Republican State Lawmakers Voted to Keep Pennsylvania’s Minimum Wage at $7.25 Per Hour
• Here’s How Bucks County State House Lawmakers Voted on Three Gun Safety Bills
• Pennsylvania House Passes 4 Bills to Protect ‘Obama Care’ for Pennsylvanians. Here’s How Your Bucks County Lawmakers Voted
• Bucks County Republican State Representatives K.C. Tomlinson and Craig Staats Vote Against Free Lunch for K-12 Students

ALSO LISTEN TO:

• What Did Sheriff-Elect Danny Ceisler’s Victory and Bucks County Democrats’ Blue Wave on Election Day Teach Us?

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Follow us on BlueSky:

• @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social
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