After Two Wars and PTSD, He Became an Oyster Farmer. Why is He Running for Senate?

Graham Platner has never run for elected office before. He’s a war veteran, an oyster farmer, and now he’s running in a Democratic primary to eventually unseat Senator Susan Collins of Maine. He’s ahead in the polls, but he’s also been criticized for Reddit comments from his past and recently covered up a tattoo that looks suspiciously like a Nazi symbol (a connection he denies knowing about ). Last week, before the recent attacks on Iran, Anna sat down with Graham to discuss his unlikely outsider campaign. They also talk about his upbringing in rural Maine, his military experience (and current anti-war stance), and what politicians need to do to actually help working people today. This episode was produced by Cameron Drews and Daisy Rosario. You can see a longer, video version of this interview at youtube.com/slate . Get more Death, Sex & Money with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of DSM and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts.

You can listen to After Two Wars and PTSD, He Became an Oyster Farmer. Why is He Running for Senate? online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

After Two Wars and PTSD, He Became an Oyster Farmer. Why is He Running for Senate? is an episode from Death, Sex & Money by Slate Audio.

This episode is 1:28:05 long.

This episode was published on Mar 3, 2026.

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