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

15:49

Health advocates say Portland needs more public toilets

Think Out Loud ·

2025/03/12

The lack of public restrooms remains an issue across the country. In Portland, there are about 17 public restrooms per 100,000 citizens, according to some estimates. When the city placed more than 100 red portable toilets around town in 2020, some residents vehemently opposed their arrival. In 2023, only about 16 of the toilets remained, according to KGW. Public restrooms offer a low barrier place for people to use the bathroom and wash their hands. The Centers for Disease

en-us

9:36

Oregon appeals court declares gun control measure...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/03/12

Measure 114, which was narrowly approved by Oregon voters in 2022, bans the purchase of magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition and requires a permit for anybody purchasing a firearm. The measure never went into effect after it faced a number of legal challenges, but on Wednesday the Oregon Court of Appeals declared the measure constitutional. This overturns a 2023 decision from an Eastern Oregon judge who ruled it violated Oregon law. OPB reporter Conrad Wilson

en-us

52:06

Multnomah County’s ‘Everybody Reads’ author, Javier...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/03/11

As a 9-year-old boy, Javier Zamora traveled over 3,000 miles to be with his parents, who had fled El Salvador to live and work in the United States. Zamora traveled with a group of people who were initially strangers and the various people they paid to help them survive the two month journey. Zamora’s memoir about the experience, “Solito,” is the choice for Multnomah County’s ‘Everybody Reads’ program in 2025. We talk to Zamora in front of

en-us

52:09

Portland author's new graphic novel updates Huck Finn

Think Out Loud ·

2025/03/10

Portland author David F. Walker and illustrator Marcus Kwame Anderson have worked together before - on a 2021 graphic novel about the Black Panther Party. This time they’ve teamed up on something a little different: an update of the classic American novel “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” In their version, the escaped slave Jim is more than just Huck’s companion; he’s a fully imagined character. Walker joins us to talk about the work of updating

en-us

22:24

Portland painter Arvie Smith on his Guggenheim...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/03/07

Portland artist Arvie Smith is known for colorful, larger-than-life oil paintings that explore oppression and injustice against Black Americans through symbolism and visual tropes. He’s also a professor emeritus at Pacific Northwest College of Art after a 35-year tenure. His murals can be seen on buildings in North Portland and at the Donald E. Long Juvenile Center, where he spent time teaching art to incarcerated youth.Despite being in his mid-80s, Smith is far from

en-us

22:19

Talk A Mile pairs police officers with students to...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/03/07

One of the many training programs the Portland Police Bureau requires before officers go out into communities on their own is a simple exercise called Talk A Mile. Police officers are paired with high school students of color and sent off to walk around the track together with four different topics on a note card for each of the four laps in a mile. Justin and Erika Fogarty started the program with a pilot in 2022, which their teenaged son Liam participated in. The Bureau

en-us

8:32

Washington lawmakers consider bill that would...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/03/07

Lawmakers in Olympia are considering a proposal that would create tougher regulations around youth labor in Washington. HB 1644 would set minimum penalties for youth labor violations and prohibit companies with multiple serious safety violations from hiring minors. In 2023, a Washington teen lost both of his legs working on a construction site through a school program. An investigation by Cascade PBS found that public officials and the construction company disregarded safety

en-us

12:47

A look at the key education bills in the Oregon...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/03/06

Oregon lawmakers are once again debating how best to allocate education funding to improve attendance, graduation rates, test scores and other key metrics of success. Meanwhile, parents and educators are pushing to remove restrictions on the amount of money school districts can receive for students with special needs. Lawmakers are also considering a bill that nearly passed last year that would block schools from removing certain books from libraries and classrooms. Natalie Pate

en-us

17:47

Gresham adopts new gun violence prevention initiative

Think Out Loud ·

2025/03/06

There were two gun-related homicides in Gresham in January 2025. That's two too many, says Gresham Police Chief Travis Gullberg. Gullberg is one of the people involved in the city’s new Ceasefire initiative, which brings together community-based organizations, city leadership, law enforcement and public health experts to reduce gun violence through focused outreach. Gullberg joins us, along with Marcell Frazier, violence prevention and community partnerships coordinator

en-us

21:48

A look at Clark County Jail’s opioid treatment program

Think Out Loud ·

2025/03/06

Clark County Jail in Vancouver recently became the first jail in Washington state licensed to provide methadone on-site through a treatment program for opioid use disorder. A team of specialists at the jail also administer naltrexone, another medication approved by the FDA to manage withdrawal symptoms and the cravings associated with drugs like fentanyl. More than half of the jail population in Washington has an opioid use disorder, according to researchers at the University of

en-us

20:09

Aurora Chorus in Portland marks International Women’s...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/03/05

Portland’s Aurora Chorus is an inclusive, non-audition women’s chorus that formed in 1992 with the goal of elevating women’s voices through the art of choral music. Led for much of its history by renowned composer and conductor Joan Szymko , the chorus also emphasizes female conductors and composers as well. Rebecca Parsons has directed the chorus for the last few years and says one way this group is distinct from others is the simultaneous quality of the music

en-us

21:05

Oregon libraries see growing demand for digital books

Think Out Loud ·

2025/03/05

Libraries worldwide broke digital lending records last year as Overdrive, the company that operates Libby and Sora, recently reported seeing more than 739 million borrows of audiobooks, e-books and digital magazines — a 17% increase from 2023. But while many library card holders may be enjoying the latest bestseller at no cost, the bill public libraries pay to provide this service grows just as much as demand. Public libraries do not purchase digital books, but rather the

en-us

11:27

How National Weather Service layoffs could affect...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/03/05

Federal DOGE layoffs and hiring freezes continue to hit Oregon as local offices of the National Weather Service are down to about 30% to 40% of its workforce, the Statesman Journal reports. The NWS plays a critical role in monitoring, predicting and delivering expected weather conditions, as well as issuing warnings about potential weather-related dangers. The NWS isn’t just relied on by the general public, but also by the Columbia River Bar Pilots, an organization

en-us

13:46

Oregon’s bipartisan arts caucus wants structural...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/03/04

The bipartisan Arts and Culture Caucus in the Oregon legislatures has a slate of bills it’s pushing for this session. One proposal would merge two major arts funding organizations: The Oregon Arts Commission and the Oregon Cultural Trust. Another bill would help owners of historic buildings by lowering their assessed tax, while others would allocate funds for grants to artists, art programs and organizations along with money for museums, festivals and arts districts

en-us

38:46

How Oregon businesses are planning to respond to tariffs

Think Out Loud ·

2025/03/04

On March 4, 25% tariffs on imported goods from Canada and Mexico, our nation’s largest trading partners, are expected to go into effect. China will also be hit with an additional 10% hike on its goods entering the U.S. We hear from a broad range of business owners and representatives from different industries in Oregon about the impact tariffs may have on them and consumers. Joining us are Tyler Freres, vice president of sales for Freres Lumber Company; Jeff Stone,

en-us

26:17

Portland’s all-women sax quartet performs music of...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/03/03

The Quadraphonnes, Portland’s all-women sax quartet, will perform the music of the eccentric artist Moondog at the Alberta Rose Theater on March 7. Moondog was a blind street musician in New York City who worked with some of the biggest names in music in the mid-20th century, including Philip Glass, Leonard Bernstein, Charlie Parker and Benny Goodman. We’ll hear more about the show and get an in-studio performance from the quartet: Mieke Bruggeman on baritone

en-us

12:47

What providing services to homeless residents has...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/03/03

It’s been eight months since the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on Grants Pass v. Johnson, which determined that cities can punish unhoused people for sleeping outside, even if they have nowhere else to go. Since then, Grants Pass officials have restricted public camping to two city-owned lots, one of which closed earlier this year. The city council recently voted to reopen the site after Disability Rights Oregon filed a lawsuit alleging that the city’s

en-us

14:49

A golden retriever in Eugene is helping unearth...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/03/03

In Europe, dogs have been used for centuries for their keen sense of smell to locate prized black and white truffles which can fetch hundreds or thousands of dollars a pound depending on their variety. In Oregon and the Pacific Northwest, using dogs to sniff out truffles is relatively new and growing in popularity. There are even training classes and an annual truffle dog contest held at the Oregon Truffle festival. Oregon has four varieties of gourmet edible truffles, but there

en-us

41:34

Portland novelist Karen Thompson Walker explores...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/02/28

Karen Thompson Walker’s last book, "The Dreamers," imagined a mysterious virus that quickly spreads through a small college town and induces perpetual sleep. That book came out just before the covid pandemic changed our collective relationship to viruses. Thompson Walker’s new book, "The Strange Case of Jane O.," also seeks to understand the way our brains work, this time looking at memory. Karen Thompson Walker joins us to talk about her latest novel.

en-us

10:23

Oregon Food Bank continues to see increased need amid...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/02/28

On Tuesday, the House narrowly approved a Republican budget proposal calling for $2 trillion in federal spending cuts. The proposal specifically calls for the House Agriculture Committee to find $230 billion worth of reduced spending, which will be challenging without touching the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. At the same time, cabinet officials in the current administration support limiting what can be purchased through the program. In Oregon, food banks across the

en-us

1,865 results

Think Out Loud

All Episodes

Similar Podcasts

Expres Ráno

Expres FM

PBS News Hour - Full Show

PBS News

CD Voice

China Daily

Israel Today: Ongoing War Report

Noa Levi

Jeffrey Epstein: The Coverup Chronicles

Bobby Capucci