Think Out Loud

The movie "Ask for Jane" is out this week (10/1) on Amazon Prime and other digital platforms. The film is about a network of Chicago-area activists called "Jane" who helped women to get abortions before it was legalized in the landmark Roe v. Wade case. We listen back to our interview with one of those activists, the Portland poet and educator Judith Arcana.

How do Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers use social media and online tracking tools to find people in the country illegally to arrest? We talk to reporter McKenzie Funk, who just published an investigative story in the New York Times about ICE officers in the Pacific Northwest.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has issued a 4-year sanction against Alberto Salazar, the head coach of the Nike Oregon Project after a panel determined he violated multiple anti-doping rules.

As technology and access to information has changed, school librarians have shifted their priorities to teaching students online media and research literacy skills. We hear from long-time Eugene high school librarian Julie Vignoul about how she teaches students to find literature and navigate credible information.

There is a 37% chance of a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake off the coast of Oregon in the next 50 years. It could be as big as a magnitude 9.0, which would have a significant, lasting impact on the entire region. We're examining how critical infrastructure could fare in a big quake. Today: Portland's water pipes. Our guest is Mike Stuhr, director of the Portland Water Bureau.

Earlier this year, the Yurok Tribe in Northern California passed a resolution declaring legal rights of personhood for the Klamath River. It’s the first river in North America to be given this designation. The tribe is hoping it will lead to better protection for the river. We find out more from Amy Cordalis, general counsel for the Yurok Tribe.

A new study found that nearly half of all sage grouse wearing GPS transmitters end up dying. Is the science more important than the individual creature being studied? Lee Foster, sage grouse coordinator for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, gives us his take. And he’ll explain how the iconic birds are doing in Oregon right now.

Two national leaders in the Black Lives Matter movement are in Portland to talk about policing and how they think the city and Portland Police could improve the contract that’s currently up for negotiation. We hear from DeRay Mckesson and Samuel Sinyangwe about Campaign Zero and what changes they hope to see in Portland’s next police contract.

Lisa Daugaard has been working for years on a paradigm shift in law enforcement in Seattle and beyond. While she has seen some success, it hasn’t been easy and she was seriously considering quitting not so long ago. Then, she got an unexpected call from the MacArthur Foundation with the news that she’d been selected as one of the 2019 fellows (also known as “genius grant” recipients). We hear from Daugaard about her work and what the MacArthur grant means to her.

If a person charged with a crime is too mentally ill to aid in their own defense, the state must provide them with enough treatment to get them ready for trial. This can be done at the county level, or a judge can send defendants to the overcrowded state hospital. A new investigation in the Eugene Weekly found that Lane County sends more people to Oregon State Hospital, and that the numbers have been increasing. Reporters Gina Scalpone and Emily Goodykoontz tell us about the impacts of this system.

In 2019, Oregon librarians received more formal requests to remove library material than in any previous year. We hear from Marion County librarian Jackie Mills about how she responds to library patrons who take issue with her books.

Jacqueline Woodson is the author of “Harbor Me,” “Miracle’s Boys,” and many other books for children and young adults. Her bestselling memoir “Brown Girl Dreaming” is written in verse and in 2015, the Poetry Foundation named her the Young People’s Poet Laureate.

Oregon's current climate plans don't take into account how the state's forests could help the state reach its goals. The Oregon Global Warming Commission wants to change that. We'll talk with Vice Chair Catherine Macdonald about how to manage Oregon’s public lands to absorb more carbon. The world’s oceans are warming at twice the rate they were two decades ago. And their ability to absorb excess carbon dioxide is increasingly limited. That’s according to a new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. But the oceans also offer us a lot of opportunities to reduce carbon emissions, says OSU professor Jane Lubchenco. Lubchenco is in New York this week presiding over meetings as part of international Climate Week.

Grand Ronde Tribal Council Chairwoman Cheryle Kennedy received an award from the National Indian Health Board last week for her work in public health. Kennedy joins us to discuss her career, and health care in Native American communities.

This year, Washington State passed a bill that would allow public utility districts to produce and sell hydrogen fuel. The idea is that surplus electricity from hydropower dams could be used to split water molecules to make hydrogen. If it works, the Pacific Northwest could become a hub for hydrogen fuel production, according to Ken Dragoon, Executive Director of the Renewable Hydrogen Alliance.

One of the country’s biggest publishers recently announced that it will limit the number of electronic copies of a book that libraries can purchase. The publisher says library users are cutting into its profits. Libraries say access to books and information shouldn’t be limited. Vailey Oehlke [VAY-ley ELL-key], Director of Libraries for Multnomah County, explains how libraries deal with e-books.

The Klamath Falls Air National Guard base Kingsley Field may lose $10 million in a Trump administration proposal to divert Pentagon funding for border wall construction. We hear from the 173rd Fighter Wing’s Commander Col. Jeffrey Edwards about what happens at the base, which is the only training site for F-15 C pilots in America.

Oregon State University history professor Christopher McKnight Nichols fills us in on the history of presidential impeachment and precedents for what kind of information gathering from foreign governments could be grounds for impeachment.

Bea Johnson has been called “the priestess of waste-free living.” Johnson is originally from France and currently lives in California with her husband and two kids. The family has been living a waste-free lifestyle since 2008 and Johnson is the author of Zero Waste Home, which is also the name of her popular Instagram account. Now, she’s embarking on a year-long road trip to promote her ideas and some of her first stops are in Oregon. Bea Johnson is speaking at the Ashland Springs Hotel at 6pm on September 25 and at the Bend Senior Center at 7pm on September 27.

Eugene School District Superintendent Gustavo Balderas grew up in eastern Oregon as the child of migrant farmworkers. Now, he's worked in education for nearly 30 years, and is known as a statewide leader in educational equity. He was recently named Oregon's Superintendent of the Year.