Think Out Loud

Angie Schmitt says that the rising number of pedestrian deaths in American cities is a product of inequality. Schmitt, the former editor of Streetsblog USA, visited Portland this week to talk about pedestrian deaths and what’s causing them. She joins us.

Last year’s Pulitzer prize-winning novel, “The Overstory,” takes place largely in the forests of the Pacific Northwest. In fact, the trees themselves are almost like characters in book. Author Richard Powers discusses his book, his life, and what forests can tell us about humanity.

Oregon’s first recovery high school started its school year this September. Harmony Academy is for students who are in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. So far, the school has about a dozen students and expects its enrollment to grow. Tony Mann, co-founder of Harmony Academy, and the school’s recovery coach, Ian Nisley, tell us about the school.

When Keelia Carver’s 4-year-old son Max died, she wanted to take his body home to bury him on the family’s ranch. She says state and hospital authorities stood in her way and she didn’t know her rights under Oregon law. Now Oregonians like Carver who want to take a do-it-yourself approach to funerals have a new resource. Oregon Funeral Resources & Education is a website aimed at educating people about their legal rights and providing practical "how to" information about home funerals. We hear from Carver, who worked on the website and has become a home funeral advocate, along with Holly Pruett, a home funeral guide who also worked on the website.

With vaping deaths nationwide and an Oregon ban on flavored vaping products, consumers have questions. The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) is holding daily meetings to figure out the answers. The agency has released new rules that go into effect Tuesday, which will cover everything from enforcement to what exactly constitutes a flavor. We’re joined by the OHA’s Dean Sidelinger and the executive director of the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, Steve Marks.

What can observations of the earth from space tell us about the weather patterns and climate change? Former NASA Scientist Michael Freilich will answer that question in his talk on the Oregon State Cascades campus, called “There is no ‘Planet B’.”

The Native American sketch comedy group, the 1491s, initially said “no” when the Oregon Shakespeare Festival approached them about writing a play. But eventually the 5 member group relented, and tackled Native American history with humor in the play “Between Two Knees.” Bobby Wilson is a member of the 1491s and Robert Franklin is the Native American Student and Community Center at PSU, which is sending students down to Ashland to see the play.

We conclude our series of conversations about the present and future of Interstate 5 with Kris Strickler, the incoming director of the Oregon Department of Transportation (pending state senate confirmation). We'll focus on the stretch of the highway that cuts through Portland, including the planned expansion in the Rose Quarter and the ongoing process to replace the bridge over the Columbia.

Amanda Giese is the star of the show, “Amanda to the Rescue,” which premiered last year on Animal Planet. Giese began rescuing animals more than a decade ago, and founded Panda Paws Rescue in Washougal, Washington to help some of the most medically challenged animals find their forever homes. We spoke to Giese last year. The second season of her show starts tomorrow night.

We hear opinions and analysis on this week’s headlines from Eric Fruits, Mark Garber and Naseem Rakha.

In her latest novel, Portland writer Karen Thompson Walker explores the terrifying possibility of a world altered by a highly contagious disease. The disease causes people to fall into a seemingly endless sleep. We’ll listen back to a conversation with Thompson Walker about her book, “The Dreamers.”

Filmmaker Irene Taylor Brodsky grew up with deaf parents. One of her previous films documented her parents getting cochlear implants. Irene Taylor Brodsky explores her son’s deafness, deaf culture and the idea of finding one’s creative voice in her new film: “Moonlight Sonata: Deafness in Three Movements.

Oregonian Christopher Marley is the artist behind OMSI's new "Exquisite Creatures" exhibit. We sit down with Marley to hear about his unusual approach to animal preservation and how he draws inspiration from the natural world.

We listen back to a conversation between April Baer and Portland writer Leni Zumas about her book “Red Clocks.” The novel centers around the lives of four women in a small coastal town in Oregon. It's set in an America under a political administration that has taken away most reproductive rights and reserved adoption for married, opposite sex couples only. The novel won a 2019 Oregon Book Award.

How are the extremely charged political climate and current presidential impeachment proceedings playing out among students in Oregon high school social studies classrooms? We talk with two long time teachers, Burns High School’s Jake Thomson and Peter Edwards at Beaverton High School.

Shortly after Colette Peters took over as director of the Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC) in 2012, she commissioned a study of Oregon correctional officers to assess their mental and physical health. Seven years later, DOC has an employee wellness center at each of the state’s 14 prisons. We talk with Peters about what has changed as a result.

Lead has been removed from paint, gasoline and plumbing, but not from bullets. When scavengers eat animals that have been shot with lead bullets, it can poison them. Leland Brown is a lifelong hunter who has been hired by the Oregon Zoo to teach other hunters the benefits of using non-lead bullets.

California just passed a law that allows college athletes to hire agents and make money for endorsements. Whitney Wagoner, Director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon, will tell us about the effect this California law might have in Oregon.

The oldest hardware store in Portland just celebrated its 140th year in business. Chown Hardware opened in September 1879, before there were cars and even the light bulb, when F.R Chown started his family business. We’ll discuss the history, present and future of the company with the current president and CEO, Kyle Chown.

In 2008, Oregon banned companies from forcing most workers to sign non-compete job agreements. New research suggests the law increased wages and job hopping for Oregon workers. We hear from researcher Michael Lipsitz about what noncompete agreements are, why companies use them, and how Oregon’s workforce has changed since they were banned.