Jason Schwartz welcomes Ames and Mary Anne Anderson—beloved Maui musicians known as Simple Pleasures—onto the Maui Neutral Zone for a heartfelt conversation about music, community, and healing. The Andersons share their journey from California to Maui, their creative partnership, and powerful songs born from recent years, including the Lahaina fire tribute Ghost Wind of Lahaina and the bilingual anthem Gracias Señor. The episode celebrates gratitude, cultural inclusion, and the aloha spirit, highlighting how music can unite communities during difficult times. It’s an intimate, uplifting reflection on love, resilience, and the power of saying “thank you.”
Maui Neutral Zone (MNZ), founded and hosted by Jason Schwartz, is a long-running community based public affairs talk show dedicated to elevating local voices examining critical issues facing Maui and Hawaii, exists for one simple reason: to create a space where the people of Maui can honestly talk about what’s happening, why it’s happening, and – most importantly – what we choose to do next.
Over the years, we’ve covered :
Fires – lived experience and credibility gaps and recovery challenges,
Housing and homelessness and displacement – exploring affordable housing, land stewardship, and community first alternatives,
Environmental and public health concerns – toxic exposure, land misuse and environmental oversight, sustainability, highlighting public and grass root responses when conventional systems fall short,
Governance and civic accountability – policy, power and public trust,
Healing arts, Music, Visual arts, Cultural continuity and accountability to our Hawaiian host culture.
Local economy and tourism- economic impacts , tourism effects, and cooperation
Maui Neutral Zone was not designed to inflame fear or cause division – but to document truth, elevate local voices, and keep the focus on solutions. We feel that when perspectives hear “each other”, compassion and empathy and “better understanding of each other” will propel us towards mutually beneficial solutions.
We believe something very simple: That awareness is the first step…but action is the goal.
Started in 1991, it is the backbone of a 3-1/2 decade vision of a self-sustainability model, with Maui County being It!
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