Smarter and Harder

  • Home
  • Smarter and Harder

Smarter and Harder A podcast hosted by Eli Small and Tim Eisenhart. Exploring issues in Portland, Maine that we deem important to talk about.

$19/hr ?! Did we really just vote that in? Eli discusses the effects of this one from several prospectives. More post...
07/11/2025

$19/hr ?! Did we really just vote that in? Eli discusses the effects of this one from several prospectives. More post-election chat.

Eli gives Tim an economics lesson in the effect of a $19/hr minimum wage.   Election results and thoughts. 

With better than 50% of our PPS students accepting free/reduced lunch paired with the government shutdown, SNAP benefits...
31/10/2025

With better than 50% of our PPS students accepting free/reduced lunch paired with the government shutdown, SNAP benefits will be disappearing until it opens up again. In the interim, PPS is stepping up with a fundraiser to help support the needs our families in the city. Please consider donating what you can. See the link below.

Students can't focus on learning if they are hungry. The families of many Portland Public Schools students struggle at times with food insecurity. A donation to the PPS Food Fund supports mini-grants to educators to address food insecurity in their schools or to the new Halal School Meals Network.

Dr. Ryan Scallon stops into the studio to give an update/status of PPS. Amongst many other items discussed are the '25...
31/10/2025

Dr. Ryan Scallon stops into the studio to give an update/status of PPS. Amongst many other items discussed are the '25-26 school year start up, HS consolidation update, '26-27 budget, effect of SNAP disappearing (see the fundraising link), and Yonder pouches.

Dr. Scallon gives us a rundown of the '25-'26 start-up successes, school consolidation update, budget and Yonder pouches.

https://www.buzzsprout.com/242425/episodes/17895602
23/09/2025

https://www.buzzsprout.com/242425/episodes/17895602

Eli talks about a new Portland business vacancy tax.   Tim tries to keep up with Eli and continues to fail.    Also, Yonder pouches for students.   Is it the right direction for preparing kids for the future?

Loads to talk about! Eli forces Tim to read an article about how soft parents are getting. Respected OOB police office...
01/08/2025

Loads to talk about! Eli forces Tim to read an article about how soft parents are getting. Respected OOB police office detained by ICE. Portland Music Festival. Enjoy!

Lots to talk about today.   Soft parents are creating soft kids.   An OOB cop is detained by ICE.   Portland Music Festival in Payson Park - could be good?   

Eli and Tim are BACK! Enjoy!
24/07/2025

Eli and Tim are BACK! Enjoy!

He’s smart and he’s not

Sports writer, Michael Hoffer, sits for an interview to talk about the next phase of his coverage of Maine high school s...
19/04/2025

Sports writer, Michael Hoffer, sits for an interview to talk about the next phase of his coverage of Maine high school sports. Meet the man who writes the treasured stories about the accomplishments of our community's high school athletes.

Beloved high school sports writer, Michael Hoffer, has launched his website www.hoffershighschoolsports.com.   He comes to the Smarter and Harder studio to discuss the next phase of his unique and masterful coverage of Maine high school ...

Tim and Eli get to discuss the Portland, ME Public Schools budget with superintendent Dr. Ryan Scallon.
01/04/2025

Tim and Eli get to discuss the Portland, ME Public Schools budget with superintendent Dr. Ryan Scallon.

Tim is excited about the budget...for once.   Eli and Dr. Scallon use big words in their discussion of this year's budget.  

Eli and Tim attempt to take on the complicated issue of trans athletes in Maine high school sports. Also, bonus materia...
12/03/2025

Eli and Tim attempt to take on the complicated issue of trans athletes in Maine high school sports. Also, bonus material on the need for the Maine Principals Association.

Tim does not like the MPA.  Eli makes some sense of the complicated issue of trans athletes competing in Maine.  

Lots of crazy to talk about! Eli and Tim discuss parents behaving badly at sporting events, Trump/Musk shaking up gover...
14/02/2025

Lots of crazy to talk about! Eli and Tim discuss parents behaving badly at sporting events, Trump/Musk shaking up government, budgets and the halftime show at the Super Bowl. Crazy times!

Eli and Tim bounce around a bunch of topics.  From parents behaving badly to Trump turning federal gov't on it's ear, to budget concerns.   Crazy times!

Address


Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Smarter and Harder posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

  • Want your business to be the top-listed Media Company?

Share