Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 April 2016
Many nearby galaxies show optical evidence for low-luminosity AGNs that are far less luminous than classical Seyfert nuclei and QSOs. LINERs, the most common variety of such emission-line objects, comprise ~ 1/3 of nearby galaxies, and may serve as an important “missing link“ between normal and Seyfert galaxies. To shed light on the physical origin of LINERs, which remains controversial, we are conducting a high-resolution continuum survey of a representative sample of galaxies using the VLA to search for compact radio cores. We additionally discuss the dramatic radio variability in the LINER nucleus of M81.