PODCAST

Think Out Loud

Oregon Public Broadcasting

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

news

All Episodes

18:47

Oregon’s NuScale Power receives regulatory approval...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/07/15

This spring the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved a design from Oregon’s NuScale Power for a 77 megawatt nuclear reactor. The company is already underway designing for a site in Romania and says they have received interest from numerous U.S. companies. Amazon has said they want to build small scale nuclear reactors along the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest to power AI data centers. We talk to José Reyes about the company’s design and their vision

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29:56

Portland's Chamber Music Northwest presents 55th...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/07/14

The 55th annual summer music festival by Chamber Music Northwest is now underway. This year’s theme is Echoes of Bach, featuring the composer's work and dozens of other masterpieces from other eras that resonate with it. For decades, the nonprofit was led by the renowned clarinetist David Shifrin. In 2020, pianist Gloria Chien and her husband, violinist Soovin Kim, were named as artistic directors. We first talked with them in 2021, the year they received the Chamber Music

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23:19

Facing funding woes, some Oregon transit agencies...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/07/14

Public transit agencies across the state may soon be seeing some changes in services as some face funding troubles. The Federal Transportation Administration recently made revisions to its agreement with rural transit agencies, requiring them to comply with federal immigration enforcement action, contradicting Oregon’s sanctuary state law. This dispute has left some federal reimbursements in limbo for agencies. At the same time, House Bill 2025, which would have raised

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27:30

REBROADCAST: Portland artist Jenny Conlee’s new...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/07/11

If you’ve seen live music in Portland over the last couple of decades there’s a decent chance you’ve seen Jenny Conlee on the accordion or keyboard. She may be best known for her work with The Decemberists, with whom she’s played for the last 23 years. She has also played with Casey Neill and the Norway Rats, Jerry Joseph, Little Sue, The Minus Five, Stephanie Schneidermanor Ashley Flynn. We spoke with Conlee in April 2023 for the release of her solo

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25:14

REBROADCAST: An inside look at accordions and what it...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/07/11

We revisit a conversation we first aired in April 2023 which was the first installment of our series on people’s professions. We’ll learn what it takes to do different kinds of jobs and how these professions change us. David Beer is Portland’s Squeezebox Surgeon. He has studied the inner workings of accordions in Italy and at A World of Accordions Museum in Wisconsin. He operates on all different kinds of free reed instruments. He shares with us how he got into

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51:35

Oregon Country Fair in Veneta celebrates art, music...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/07/10

"Fair," as those who attend regularly call it, began in 1969 as a simple fundraiser for an alternative school. But over the last 56 years, it has turned into a veritable Oregon institution. Its mission is to create “experiences that nourish the spirit, explore living artfully and authentically on earth, and transform culture in magical, joyous and healthy ways.” In 2013, “Think Out Loud” went to the Oregon Country Fair and broadcast a show live from just

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52:28

REBROADCAST: Ann Patchett’s new novel focuses on...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/07/09

Ann Patchett’s latest novel is set during the pandemic, but it is also set in the past. The main character, a mother of three adult daughters, tells her children the story of her own youthful romance with a man who is now a famous movie star. The story is told over long days picking cherries on their family farm, where everyone has gathered together for the lockdown. Though the central story revolves around the mercurial movie star, the real focus of the book is the

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52:56

In Jackson County, residents prepare for future wildfire

Think Out Loud ·

2025/07/08

In 2020, the Almeda Fire ripped through Jackson County, destroying homes and ecosystems. The “Think Out Loud” team traveled to Southern Oregon recently and talked to residents about how they’re thinking about fire in their communities now. Mountain View Estates, a manufactured home park in Talent, was destroyed by the Almeda Fire. Now, it’s a nationally recognized Firewise Neighborhood. Steve Thorpe lives there. Tucker Teutsch is the executive director of

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52:19

How Lincoln County residents are approaching the...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/07/08

The entire state of Oregon is facing a housing crisis, and the coast – where second homes and short-term rentals can skew the market – is no exception. “Think Out Loud” traveled to Lincoln County recently to talk about solutions.We had a series of conversations about different approaches residents and organizations are taking to create more units, more affordability and more stability so that existing homeowners can stay in their homes. We started in

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52:08

REBROADCAST - Classicist Mary Beard explains what we...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/07/04

Even though the Roman empire came to an end thousands of years ago, we still tell stories about the emperors who ruled during that time. From Caligula, who threatened to make his horse a senator, to Nero, who killed his own mother and set fire to the city to make room for his palace, classicist Mary Beard argues that the stories we tell about the Roman emperors might say more about us than they do about the emperors themselves. We spoke with Beard in October 2023 about her

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22:26

Portland nonprofit helps fulfill ‘musical last...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/07/03

Swan Songs Portland has a simple but powerful mission: to provide free, intimate concerts for people at the end of their lives and pay local musicians to perform them. The nonprofit fulfilled its first concert request last autumn when it hired a mariachi band to play for a person terminally ill with cancer, surrounded by her friends and family. It is the first affiliate of Swan Songs, which was founded in Austin, Texas 20 years ago.Currently serving Multnomah, Washington and

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13:41

Why hundreds of millions in federal relief for 2020...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/07/03

Oregon got a huge federal grant after the devastating 2020 Labor Day fires left thousands of people without homes, as Nigel Jaquiss reported for the Oregon Journalism Project, but most of it still remains unspent. In Southern Oregon, Representative Pam Marsh, D-Ashland, has been talking with the Oregon Housing and Community Services, the state agency in charge of getting the money to people who need it. The director of OHCS, Andrea Bell, says all the money is now committed to

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16:42

Oregon Democratic Rep. Maxine Dexter on Medicaid cuts...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/07/03

After a marathon session on Wednesday night, Republican lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives are poised to pass a massive tax and spending bill which President Trump has said he wants to sign on July 4. On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate passed their version of the bill after a tie-breaking vote from Vice President JD Vance. The bill passed by the Senate is expected to add $3.3 trillion to the federal deficit, according to the Congressional Budget Office, while making steep

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12:27

What the Mississippi River can learn from the...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/07/02

Last week, stakeholders from the Upper Mississippi River toured the Columbia and Snake River to see what is similar and different from the two water systems. Last year, stakeholders from the Pacific Northwest visited the Mississippi in this continued collaboration between the two rivers. Michelle Hennings is the executive director of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers. Gary Williams is the executive director of the Upper Mississippi Waterway Association. They both join

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22:14

How cuts to federal research funding are impacting...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/07/02

Over the last few months, the Trump administration has directed federal agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation to cut funding for research with any connection to “diversity,” “equity” or “gender ideology.” The cuts have forced researchers across the country, including in Oregon, to stop their studies or scramble to locate alternative funding.We’ll hear from three researchers whose federal

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17:54

What comes next for Portland-area’s homeless services...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/07/02

Last week, the Metro Council decided it would not ask voters to extend a regional homeless services tax on the November ballot. The Supportive Housing Services tax, which is set to expire in 2030, applies to residents in Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties making more than $125,000 a year (or more than $200,000 for couples filing jointly). Businesses making more than $5 million annually are also subject to the tax which helps fund programs in the tri-county area to help

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14:18

Oregon Democratic Senator on transportation bill he...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/07/01

When Oregon lawmakers convened in January to kick off the 2025 legislative session, among their top legislative priorities was a transportation funding fix for the state’s aging bridges, highways and roads. But the Democratic supermajority failed to get a transportation package over the legislative finish line when the session adjourned on Friday night.Democrats waited until the last month to unveil HB 2025, which would have generated nearly $12 billion over the next

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15:17

What the future of the Blazers looks like after...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/07/01

The NBA draft started last week, and free agency just began. For the Blazers and their fans, some new faces will hit the court, and others will say goodbye. Yang Hansen, a 7-foot-1 center from China, is the Blazers’ newest rookie and was No. 16 in the overall draft. The Blazers also recently parted ways with center Deandre Ayton after a slew of “bad ways,” including tardiness, tantrums and skipping rehabilitation appointments, as first reported in The Athletic

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12:21

CAHOOTS navigates local cuts

Think Out Loud ·

2025/07/01

CAHOOTS, the Lane County program that’s been a model for mobile crisis services around the country, has been facing challenges at the local and federal level. Services in Eugene came to an end earlier this year as the city managed a budget shortfall. Lane County offers crisis services that are funded through Medicaid, but CAHOOTS also specialized in homeless and community outreach. While CAHOOTS is no longer serving Eugene, its contract with Springfield has been renewed

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11:20

ODFW releases draft management plan for Southern...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/07/01

Last year, Oregon added the Southern Resident orca to the state’s endangered species list, giving it added protections nearly two decades after it was federally listed under the endangered species act in 2005. Now, a new draft management plan has been released by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to help whale numbers. Currently there are 73 Southern Resident orcas traveling in three pods along the west coast. About 48 whales within two of those pods spend time

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