Think Out Loud

A new report from OHSU’s Gender Clinic found that 75 percent of transgender and non-binary youth in Oregon have not received medical care for their transition. We talk with Kara Connelly, medical director of OHSU’s Doernbecher Children's Hospital Gender Clinic, and Jess Guerriero, a social worker for the OHSU Transgender Health Program, about the survey and healthcare for trans youth.

Paramedics at American Medical Response have been learning defensive tactics since July to better prepare for violent outbursts from patients having mental health crises. American Medical Response operations manager Rob McDonald, who has taken the trainings and was part of their development, sits down with us to talk more about the program.

Former Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice has written a new memoir called "Tough Love: My Story of the Things Worth Fighting For." We spoke to her this past weekend at the Portland Book Festival.

Portland City Commissioner Nick Fish keeps a gavel in his office from the Nixon impeachment hearings. It belonged to his father, Hamilton Fish Jr., who served on the House Judiciary Committee in 1974 and was one of six Republicans who voted to approve articles of impeachment. Commissioner Fish joins us to look back on his father’s role in the impeachment process following the Watergate scandal.

In 2018, the city of Portland passed an ordinance that required inspectors to be present “during demolition activities” for houses. The rule was meant to prevent lead dust from spreading when older homes were demolished. But freelance journalist Daniel Forbes found that the city has failed to analyze how often inspectors were onsite when buildings were destroyed. Forbes joins us to discuss his reporting, which was recently published in Willamette Week.

A recent state-by-state comparison of premature birthrates in the U.S. put Oregon at the top of the list, with lowest premature birth rate. But looking more closely, those rates remain high for Oregon women of color. We’ll dig into the factors at play with the head of Obstetrics at Oregon Health and Sciences University, Aaron Caughey, and ask why the U.S. has a relatively high rate overall compared with other developed countries.

A West Linn paper mill that went out of business in 2017 has a new investor. The Willamette Falls Paper Company re-opened in August and now employs over a hundred people. We talk with Ken Peterson about his investment and how the company is experimenting with alternatives to wood pulp.

Feral cats are taking over the City of Grants Pass. City Councilor Valeria Lovelace talks to us about efforts to control the overpopulation.

Earlier this year, Jones Hollister filed a petition in court to legally change their gender to nonbinary. The judge in Lane County denied the petition. Hollister has appealed the decision. We hear from them and their lawyer, Lorena Reynolds.

An Oregon doctor is accused of implanting more than 100 patients with unnecessary pacemakers at Grande Ronde Hospital in La Grande, Oregon. A whistleblower alleged the cardiologist Emilia Arden took kickbacks and bribes from device maker sales representatives in a federal lawsuit filed last month. Portland Tribune reporter Nick Budnick fills us in.

We listen back to an interview from last spring with one of Oregon’s most celebrated writers and thinkers, Barry Lopez. His new book, “Horizon,” knits together his decades of travel all around the world. It’s a book full of wonder and sadness, hope and despair, about the natural world – and the way humans are changing it.

As Veterans Day approaches, we listen back to a conversation between Conrad Wilson, and guests who have served in the military about what the phrase “thank you for your service” means to them. We’re joined by Judy Johnston, a retired army staff sergeant who served in the Vietnam War, Robert Stearns, an Iraq War veteran who served as a combat infantryman from 2006-2007 and deployed during the surge, and Juan Velez, who served as U.S. Navy as a Petty Officer 3rd Class before he was honorably discharged in 2016.

We discuss some of this week’s big news with George Rede, Lori Chavez-Deremer and Eric Ward.

The Portland Parks Bureau is rolling out new permit limits and requiring insurance for those providing free food to those in need in public parks, including volunteers with the ad hoc group Free Hot Soup. We talk with bureau director Adena Long and with volunteers with Free Hot Soup, Susie Snortum and Austin Bennington, who feed hungry people in Director Park downtown.

The Bend Bulletin and the Redmond Spokesman newspapers are under new management and, as of September, the papers have a new editor. Gerry O'Brien is the former general manager and editor of the Herald and News in Klamath Falls. We'll ask him about his vision for covering central Oregon.

The Washington State Historical Society has hired a tribal liaison to help make sure that the stories they tell about Washington state history include a tribal perspective. Michael Finley, who has served on the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation tribal council, explains what he hopes to do in this new role.

The Portland-based nonprofit Alliance for Coffee Excellence has played a foundational role in improving the quality of the coffee we drink, and the compensation that coffee farmers receive for their crops. Susie Spindler is one of the founders of the group.

The documentary “Nailed It,” produced by filmmaker Adele Pham, sets out to answer the question: Why are so many nail salons run by people of Vietnamese heritage? Pham grew up in Portland, and back for several screenings of the film this week.

This election, Washington state voters were asked to decide whether to continue to ban affirmative action in the state. They were also asked to weigh in on an initiative to limit car tab fees - which would have a major effect on transportation funding. OPB Olympia reporter Austin Jenkins fills us in on the election results.

Scientists have a moral obligation to clearly warn humanity of any catastrophic threat...” begins a statement just published in the journal BioScience. The statement is signed by more than 11,000 scientists and its lead authors are Oregon State University professor of ecology William Ripple and post-doctoral researcher Christopher Wolf. We hear from Ripple and Wolf about their strong statement on what they are calling a “climate emergency.”