PODCAST

Sometimes a Great Podcast

Oregon Department of Human Services

Catch up on this week"s news from Discover and listen to interviews of staff from around the state.

government

All Episodes

00:26:49

The Big Picture: An OEP Connection in Madras, Even at...

Sometimes a Great Podcast ·

2026/02/11

Season 1, Episode 47 — February 202626:50 minThis episode travels to Madras for a conversation with Alexander Perez, an Oregon Eligibility Partnership worker whose understanding of public service is shaped deeply by place. Alexander talks about choosing life east of the mountains — drawn by a slower pace, affordability, and a sense of rootedness — and how that grounding carries directly into the way he approaches his work. Community, for him, is not limited to geography. It is something you

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00:12:42

We’re goin’ backstage at the Pod!

Sometimes a Great Podcast ·

2026/02/09

Season 1, Episode 47 — February 9, 2026 12:39This week’s episode steps behind the curtain. Instead of spotlight moments, the focus is on preparation — the decisions, coordination, and quiet work that have to be in place before anything visible can happen. The tone is purposeful and lightly playful, tracing how leadership, policy, data, and logistics move into alignment long before the lights come up.Deadline: ODHS (3:50)Acacia McGuire Anderson selected as new ODDS DirectorThe 2026 short legislative

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00:32:19

The Big Picture with OEP PhD: “No One Knows Everything”

Sometimes a Great Podcast ·

2026/02/04

Season 1, Episode 46 — Feb. 2, 202632:19This episode heads to Brookings for a conversation with Chris Bailey, an eligibility worker whose route to ODHS runs through higher education — including a research PhD and years spent studying how people learn hard things. Chris didn’t arrive here because he stopped caring about systems. He arrived because he wanted his work to stay close to people, close to real needs, and close to the kind of day-to-day service where patience and attention matter as much as

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00:16:51

A Quieter Episode, On Purpose

Sometimes a Great Podcast ·

2026/02/02

Season 1, Episode 46 — February 2, 202616:51This week eases off the fast cuts. After a full stretch of long days, the episode slows its pace deliberately—offering updates, reassurance, and context without the usual sprint. It’s steadier by design, built to let information land without pressure, and to remind listeners that the work continues even when the weeks feel heavy.Deadline: ODHS (6:15)Launch of Immigration Law Basics required training for all state employeesUpcoming Plain Talk Lunch &

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00:32:01

The Big Picture: An Introduction to “Fitch Perfect”

Sometimes a Great Podcast ·

2026/02/02

Season 1, Episode 45 — Jan. 28, 202631:50This episode introduces a new recurring feature—playful in name, serious in intent—and uses it as a doorway into a bigger question: how lived experience travels. Not as a credential, not as a label, but as a set of hard-earned tools that help ODHS staff connect with people whose lives may look nothing like theirs. The tone swings between joking warmth and deep reflection, with one clear throughline: the work is personal, but the impact is broader than

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00:16:23

What a Feelin’! It’s time for an 80’s mon-pod!

Sometimes a Great Podcast ·

2026/02/02

Sometimes a Great Podcast: Discover ODHSSeason 1, Episode 44 — January 26, 2026We’ve got some cold weather humor to battle that January fatigue, and a reminder that every place has something that can ruin your weekend—sometimes with teeth. It’s a full montage of movement, momentum, and surviving the eye of the tiger in a conversation about staying in motion—physically and mentally—as a way to keep forward progress alive during the hardest stretch of winter.Deadline: ODHS (5:01) The checklist

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00:31:58

The Big Picture: Homeward Bound — Newport

Sometimes a Great Podcast ·

2026/01/21

\The Big Picture: Homeward Bound — NewportSeason 1, Episode 43 — Jan. 21, 2026 31:00In this week’s episode of The Big Picture: The Voices of ODHS, Bethany and Shenika head to Newport, Oregon, recording live from La Roca — where the sounds of lunch, conversation, and community create the backdrop for a deeply human conversation about belonging, service, and trust. This installment of the ongoing Homeward Bound series focuses on ODHS staff who lead not just through their roles, but through sustained

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00:15:32

Pod-KEA: No Assembly Required!

Sometimes a Great Podcast ·

2026/01/20

Season 1, Episode 42 — January 20, 202615:32This week’s episode is assembled in the classic IKEA style: minimal text, maximum confidence, and one extra screw you’re going to think about all day. We move through the calm, load-bearing updates—leadership and mentoring pathways, federal clarity, and the behind-the-scenes tech shifts that keep ODHS standing straight. There’s a little plane travel, a little donation-bin archaeology, and just enough Swedish to remind us we’re all learning

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00:27:24

The Big Picture of Resource Family Retention

Sometimes a Great Podcast ·

2026/01/20

Season 1, Episode 41 — Jan. 14, 202627:24 In this week’s episode of The Big Picture, we head to the Portland waterfront — fountains running, music drifting, Pride unfolding nearby — for a conversation about what community engagement really looks like when it moves beyond offices and into lived spaces. Bethany and Shenika are joined by Priscilla Peduzzi, a retention and recruitment champion with ODHS, whose work centers on meeting potential resource families exactly where they are: geographically,

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00:27:24

The Big Picture of Resource Family Retention

Sometimes a Great Podcast ·

2026/01/14

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00:18:34

Please direct your attention to the center pod!

Sometimes a Great Podcast ·

2026/01/12

Season 1, Episode 39 — January 12, 2026 18:34This week’s episode takes the calm, procedural tone of a pre-flight safety briefing and applies it to the systems that quietly keep ODHS moving. From leadership updates and federal clarity to policy changes and behind-the-scenes operations, these are the details that don’t look dramatic—until they suddenly matter. No turbulence expected, but plenty to note before takeoff. So fasten your seatbelt, and remember the exits may be behind you (and hopefully not

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00:30:03

SAGP's The Big Picture: An interview with OEP: “Doing...

Sometimes a Great Podcast ·

2026/01/07

Season 1, Episode 39: Jan. 5, 202630:03 minIn the first episode of 2026, The Big Picture heads to the North Clackamas ODHS office for a grounded, human conversation with Moy Lemus, an eligibility worker whose story reminds us what trauma-informed care looks like in real time. Moy walks through a moment that began as a routine domestic-violence application and quickly became a crisis — a client learning her abuser had been released from prison while sitting at the desk.Rather than focusing on

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00:15:26

Meanwhile, in the Pod of Justice!

Sometimes a Great Podcast ·

2026/01/05

Sometimes a Great Podcast: Discover ODHSSeason 1, Episode 38 — Jan. 5, 202615:26Fresh calendars. Old deadlines. And a Hall of Justice that never really closed. This week’s episode kicks off the new year SuperFriends-style — with leadership changes, clarified federal facts, and a full lineup of behind-the-scenes systems that quietly keep ODHS steady. From district transitions to digital safety, financial protection, and year-end accuracy, this episode is all about starting 2026 informed, prepared,

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00:14:19

The Big Picture of My Oregon Home

Sometimes a Great Podcast ·

2025/12/31

In this special year-end episode, The Big Picture becomes a road story — one told in miles, conversations, and quiet moments between destinations. Drawing from more than 10,000 miles traveled across Oregon for ODHS Communications, Bethany reflects on fear, visibility, and the slow, sometimes unexpected ways trust is rebuilt.What begins as a meditation on movement — from Astoria to Brookings, Burns to Enterprise — becomes a deeper exploration of belonging. Bethany shares how fear once shaped her

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00:37:54

It’s Time to Pod the Curtain! It’s Time to Pod the...

Sometimes a Great Podcast ·

2025/12/29

Season 1, Episode 36: Dec. 29, 202537:54It’s the final episode of 2025, and we’re rolling out the metaphorical red carpet for the very first SAG-Ps Awards — the only award show where the swag is pizza, the carpet is hallway tile, and the performances are real people doing real work when no one’s watching. Recorded with a live District 10 judging panel, this episode celebrates the stories that made us stop, rewind, and say, “That mattered.” From cross-program teamwork to trauma-informed care,

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00:19:35

T’was the Pod Before Christmas

Sometimes a Great Podcast ·

2025/12/22

Season 1, Episode 34: Dec. 22, 2025With calendars creaking and inboxes begging for mercy, this week’s episode captures that unmistakable end-of-year ODHS energy — part urgency, part care, part quiet humor holding it all together. From critical SNAP updates to stories of community support, steady leadership, and holiday generosity, this episode closes out the year the way ODHS does best: informed, grounded, and still showing up for one another. And yes — we finish with a Writer’s Round-Up that might

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00:02:02

That's The FACT Thursday: Court order extends data...

Sometimes a Great Podcast ·

2025/12/18

You may be hearing questions about Medicaid data sharing and immigration enforcement. In late November, CMS announced a federal policy that could allow limited Medicaid and Marketplace data sharing with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Oregon is actively challenging that policy in court, and a judge has ordered CMS not to share this data while the case continues. That court order has now been extended through January 5, 2026, meaning CMS is not legally allowed to share Medicaid or

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00:27:51

Deputy Director Dana Hittle” “Finding Hope in a Hard...

Sometimes a Great Podcast ·

2025/12/17

Season 1, Episode 33: Dec. 15, 202528 min, 12 sec.What’s inside The Big PictureThis week, The Big Picture heads to the Barbara Roberts Building in Salem for a conversation with Acting Deputy Director Dana Hittle — the “Medicaid whisperer” whose work sits at the center of some of ODHS’ most complex decisions. Dana talks about Medicaid as a living structure that shapes who gets care and who risks falling through the cracks, and what it’s like to lead through HR1: shifting federal guidance, new work

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00:18:06

Jinkies, Scoob! It’s a podcast!

Sometimes a Great Podcast ·

2025/12/15

Season 1, Episode 32: Dec. 15, 2025 18:07This week, we’re rolling into the holidays Mystery Machine–style, cruising foggy Oregon roads with a full cast of Scooby-inspired stories — from compassionate holiday moments to agency-wide reminders that keep our teams safe, steady, and informed. We’re talking festive decorating do’s and don’ts, a federal update that cuts through the rumor fog, and a Velma-level spotlight on staff whose courage, clarity, and lived experience keep ODHS moving with heart. And

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00:04:21

That's the FACT Thursday: Proposed changes to the...

Sometimes a Great Podcast ·

2025/12/11

The federal government has proposed changes to the public charge rule—used by immigration officers to decide whether someone seeking a visa or green card may depend heavily on government support—but the rules have not changed, and the 2022 public charge rule remains in effect. Most ODHS benefits do not count toward public charge; currently, only Medicaid-funded long-term care in a nursing home and TANF cash assistance are included, and the proposal does not add new programs. People can still safely

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