PODCAST

Think Out Loud

Oregon Public Broadcasting

OPB"s daily conversation covering news, politics, culture and the arts. Hosted By Dave Miller.

news

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20:04

Portland Voices Rock non-audition choir provides a...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/11/19

The very first Voices Rock choir started in Denver in 2014 by a music teacher who heard from her students’ parents and her own friends that they wished they had some kind of musical outlet. Jill Teas obliged with a small group of adults who met for several weeks, rehearsing popular songs and performing them at local bars. But the no-audition “come one, come all” ethos of the choir quickly spread to other Colorado cities. And after a few years, Teas chose to

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19:44

Oregon grandparents share lived experiences to...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/11/19

Grandparents for Vaccines is a nationwide nonprofit that aims to educate the current generation of parents about vaccine-preventable diseases. Launched in September, the group has produced videos of grandparents describing what it was like to endure or witness their friends, classmates and relatives battle illnesses such as polio, measles and pertussis before vaccines for them existed.The group’s launch comes amid rising vaccine skepticism fueled by misinformation about

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12:48

State lawyers blame parents in some negligence and...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/11/19

Over the past decade, the Oregon Department of Justice has tried shifting blame to parents in wrongful death and negligence claims against the Department of Human Services , new reporting from The Oregonian/OregonLive shows. The publication found 10 cases where this was happening. But in half of those, parents were not accused of any crimes yet were still sued by the state . Sami Edge is the assistant breaking news editor for the Oregonian. She joins us to share more on why this

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27:58

NW Classical Theatre and Coffee Creek Theatre present...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/11/18

It's not the first time that the Northwest Classical Theatre Collaborative has performed at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, the state’s only women’s prison. But the November performances of the Greek tragedy “Elektra” does mark the first time that the play has been selected and performed by the women in custody themselves. Patrick Walsh is the executive artistic director of the Northwest Classical Theatre Collaborative. He and production manager

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14:34

Portland artist Marie Watt wins prestigious Heinz award

Think Out Loud ·

2025/11/18

Every year the Heinz Family Foundation awards $250,000 to six “changemakers” whose work transforms lives and communities. This year Portland artist Marie Watt is one of the winners. Watt is a multidisciplinary artist and a citizen of the Seneca Nation, Turtle Clan, with German-Scot ancestry. We talk to Watt about her work, the award and the project she’s working on now in neon.

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10:32

Coast Guard helicopter removed from Newport, raises...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/11/18

The Newport Fishermen’s Wives, a nonprofit organization focusing on building community and improving safety in the local fishing industry, faced a long legal battle in 2013 to ensure Newport’s Coast Guard helicopter would stay in the coastal town. Recently, the helicopter was removed from Newport and relocated to North Bend, with no public warning or preliminary risk assessments.Its relocation is linked to the rumors of a possible new ICE facility in the coastal

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13:13

Mental health conditions, substance use disorder...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/11/17

Mental health conditions, including substance use disorder, caused more pregnancy-related deaths in Oregon between 2018 and 2021 than any other factor. That’s according to the state’s Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee, which assesses deaths that occur during pregnancy, childbirth and the first year postpartum. As reported in InvestigateWest, nearly all of the deaths attributed to mental health conditions were deemed potentially preventable by the

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18:52

Members of the Interfaith Movement for Immigrant...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/11/17

The Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice began more than 20 years ago as an extension of the Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition. Its shorthand is IMIrJ (pronounced “emerge”) with the r standing for refugee. IMIrJ has become an independent nonprofit, drawing “faith communities and people of conscience” into the effort to protect the civil rights and well-being of immigrant families. Members and volunteers provide accompaniment for immigrants to

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20:46

Retired Eugene air traffic controller shares insight...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/11/17

The longest government shutdown in U.S. history ended last Wednesday, but many federal workers, including air traffic controllers, are still waiting to receive full backpay. The government shutdown left roughly 13,000 air traffic controllers without pay for 43 days, leading many to take on second jobs. Many say the shortages during the government shutdown only amplified current issues caused by a long-term staffing shortage. Lyle Clingman, a retired air traffic controller from

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16:52

Portland artist wins World Fantasy Award for her...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/11/14

Earlier this month, Liv Rainey-Smith became the first Oregonian to win a World Fantasy Award for “Best Artist.” Rainey-Smith now joins a pantheon of World Fantasy Award-winning writers and visual artists that includes Stephen King, Edward Gorey and fellow Oregonian Ursula K. LeGuin. Oregon ArtsWatch recently profiled Rainey-Smith, whose achievement is all the more notable for the thousand-year-old artistic craft the Portlander specializes in. Rainey-Smith uses

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13:51

Ashland recycling center first in series of new...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/11/14

Oregon lawmakers passed the Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act in 2021, but the changes just went into effect on July 1, 2025. It’s a sweeping, multi-pronged approach to reduce waste, and many of the changes the law drives are the responsibility of producers and manufacturers. New recycling centers are one element of the Act, the first of which came online this fall. At the RecycleOn Center in Ashland, more kinds of plastic can be recycled, along with

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22:06

Private donation helps Southwest Washington Head...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/11/14

Vancouver-based Educational Opportunities for Children and Families serves more than 400 participants enrolled in Head Start. The free federal program provides child care, early learning, nutrition and health screenings for low-income children and their families. Nearly 300 children in Southwest Washington either lost access to their Head Start programs or had their hours cut back on Nov. 1 because of the government shutdown, which ended on Wednesday evening. On Monday,

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53:27

REBROADCAST: Jackson County works toward wildfire...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/11/13

In 2020, the Almeda Fire ripped through Jackson County. The catastrophicblazedestroyed more than 2,600 homes between Ashland, Talent, Phoenix and Medford, according to Jefferson Public Radio. The “Think Out Loud” team traveled to Southern Oregon during the spring of 2025 and talked to residents about how they’re thinking about fire in their communities now. In Ashland, the city and the forest are tied together. The watershed, which provides the source of

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52:07

Nonsense, absurdity and irony in the novels of...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/11/12

Percival Everett has made a career out of exploring the nature of absurdity. You may have become aware of Everett in the last few years when his novel “Erasure” was adapted into the movie “American Fiction” in 2023, or when his book “James” won the Pulitzer prize last year. But Everett has written 24 novels since 1983 along with several books of poetry and short story collections, each of them tackling a different genre of writing and a

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51:50

New poetry collection tackles aging, illness and love

Think Out Loud ·

2025/11/11

Floyd Skloot’s newest collection of poetry, "Dancing in the Cosmos, New & Selected Poems, 1973-2024," covers the span of his career, including the best of his previously published poems and a section of new poems about his experience living with Parkinson's disease. We spoke to Skloot along with his daughter, the author Rebecca Skloot, in front of an audience at Powells.

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21:41

Solutions for reducing gun violence should be...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/11/10

A new report in the Journal of the American Medical Association lays out a range of evidence-based initiatives to reduce firearms deaths in the U.S. by 2040. The article comes out of a large interdisciplinary conference earlier this year that was chaired by researcher Fred Rivara, pediatrics professor in the University of Washington’s Medical School. He says professionals in the fields of public health, criminology, public policy and gun manufacturing discussed what has

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21:10

‘Recent Tragic Events’ comes full circle for...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/11/10

Twenty years ago, Third Rail Repertory Theatre launched itself onto the Portland theatre scene with a production called “Recent Tragic Events,” set just after the attacks of 9/11. That play, written by Craig Wright, put Third Rail Rep on the map, winning a number of local theatre honors. While many theatres have come and gone in that time, Third Rail is among those that were able to survive the pandemic and other economic pressures. It’s celebrating 20 years by

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9:48

Portlander shares perspective on restored SNAP...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/11/10

Last Friday morning, Oregonians were able to begin accessing their full monthly benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program after a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to fully fund the federal food aid program which serves more than 42 million Americans. But many of those households face new uncertainty after the Supreme Court granted on Friday night the Trump administration’s emergency appeal of the ruling. In a statement, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek

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13:16

What are the dangers of working for ICE? Report...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/11/07

The leading cause of death for Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers is COVID-19 followed by cancer linked to the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center,according to a Mother Jones report. ICE data reviewed by the outlet showed that deaths and assaults at the agency are not outsized compared to other law enforcement, despite the Trump administration’s claims that their work is exceptionally dangerous. Noah Lanard is a reporter for Mother Jones and covered the story

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38:33

Downtown Portland is getting more foot traffic, but...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/11/07

New data from Downtown Clean & Safe shows a growing number of pedestrians visiting Portland’s downtown. Compared to last year, the total number of visitors from January to August was up by 5.6%, making it the strongest year for downtown since the pandemic. But those numbers still have not caught up to what they were pre-lockdowns -- and are still just half of what they were in 2019. We’ll hear from various community leaders to hear how they view downtown. Todd

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Think Out Loud

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