Think Out Loud

What happens when rural areas become more urban, and towns become cities? North Plains is one of the fastest growing cities in Washington County. Resident Ariel Goodwin and Mayor Teri Lenahan tell us how the community prepares for and responds to growth.

In the past 20 years, the small Eastern Oregon town of Umatilla has increased its population by 47 percent. This is partially due to the creation of 100s of new jobs at local data centers. We hear from Umatilla’s City Manager David Stockdale about the town’s revitalization.

Last week, professional driver and TV personality Jessi Combs died in Oregon’s Alvord desert trying to break her own land-speed record. She was 39, and known as “the fastest woman on four wheels.” We talk with her friend Darren Fretz with Warn Automotive, an Oregon company specializing in four-wheel drive systems. And we talk to her colleague Valerie Thompson, who is recognized as the world’s fastest female motorcycle racer.

We often think of evolution as a biological process that takes thousands or millions of years. But new research in the journal "Science" indicates that our commercial fishing practices are causing dramatic evolutionary changes in a number of fish species we have come to rely on. We talk with University of Oregon biology professor David Conover who pioneered this research.

We continue our series of conversations about the present and future of I-5 with architect and urban planner George Crandall. He is opposed to freeway expansions and was a vocal critic of the Columbia River Crossing. Crandall was also part of the opposition to the Mt. Hood freeway, which was planned but never built through Portland in the 1970s.

Mr. Wolf’s Class” is a series of graphic novels for middle grade readers by Portland elementary school teacher Aron Nels Steinke. He and his wife, Ariel Cohn, won an Eisner award for their book "Zoo Box" in 2014. We talk with Steinke about teaching and about creating graphic novels for kids. Steinke is reading at Powell’s City of Books 2pm on Saturday, September 7.

New businesses are popping up along the historic blocks of Portland’s Chinatown. Many — like vintage apparel shop Laundry — want to honor the neighborhood’s history. We hear from the young entrepreneur Chris Yen who started Laundry and the chair of Portland's Old Town Association Helen Ying about Chinatown’s revitalization.

We continue our series of conversations about Interstate 5 with Chris Olxley, senior vice president of venue operations for the Portland Trail Blazers.

Animal rights and environmental activists are appealing after their case was dismissed by a federal judge in Portland earlier this month. In their lawsuit, the Animal Legal Defense Fund and Seeding Sovereignty claim that they have a constitutional “right to wilderness” that is being violated by the federal government’s failure to do more to combat climate change. Constitutional lawyer Matt Kalmanson joins us to provide some analysis of the case.

We discuss some of this week’s biggest headlines with Eric Ward, Kerry Tymchuk and Laura Gunderson.

Public health researchers have found that ACEs, or Adverse Childhood Experiences, have a huge impact on later health and well being. Pediatricians, social workers and teachers are trying to figure out just how to respond appropriately and effectively to these damaging childhood traumas.We listen back to our conversation with national expert Nadine Burke Harris, author of “The Deepest Well;” RJ Gillespie, pediatrician at The Children’s Clinic; Amy Stoeber, child and adolescent psychologist; Sue Skinner, pediatrician at The Children’s Center; Ellen Baltus, social worker in the North Clackamas school district and Fariborz Pakseresht, Director of Oregon’s Department of Human Services.

The Portland non-profit PHAME, which works with adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, partnered with local arts organizations to create a rock opera. PHAME students wrote, composed and act in the rock opera, “The Poet’s Shadow.” We talk with Jenny Stadler, the executive director of PHAME, and Anne-Marie Plass, one of the actresses in the opera.

Oregon recently joined Washington and California in banning the sale of eggs from caged chickens. The law goes into effect in 2024. Proponents say the legislation will improve the quality of life for chickens, but some farmers have concerns about the new law. We hear from Humane Society Vice President for Farm Animal Protection Josh Balk and Wilcox Farms President Brent Wilcox about what cage-free egg production means for chickens and farmers.

Four dams along the Klamath River in Southern Oregon and Northern California could start to be removed as soon as 2022. The project would be the largest dam removal project in American history and is estimated to cost $434 million. We get an update from Klamath River Renewal Corporation CEO Mark Bransom.

How does American Sign Language interpretation help people who are deaf and hard of hearing enjoy music and other live performances? What are these experiences like for people who are hard of hearing if they don’t have an interpreter? We talk about deaf culture and the arts with Rian Gayle, an ASL music translator who is deaf, Aimee Miller, a community educator and music lover, and Amanda Hays, an ASL interpreter who grew up with a deaf parent.

We discuss the latest regional business news with Suzanne Stevens, editor of the Portland Business Journal.

An article in this month's Oregon Humanities Magazine focuses on women who love skateboarding. They face some challenges that their male counterparts don't have to think about, including stereotypes and safety issues at skate parks. We hear from Jordan Hernandez the author of that article and from a mother and daughter who are both passionate about skating.

Homeless people often pick up cans and bottles to make some money off of the deposits they get for returning them to a grocery store. Now, a new program called Ground Score is paying them to do this work cleaning up after outdoor events and keeping trash off the beaches along the Willamette River in Portland. We hear from Taylor Cass Talbott, development coordinator for Ground Score and Christine Alix, who gets paid by the program to pick up and sort trash.

We’ll hear about the role the St. Francis dining hall plays in the community. It’s one of the oldest soup kitchens in Portland. It serves about 100 hungry people — many experiencing homelessness — every day, but its future is uncertain. We talk with parishioner Jerry Harp and Seraphie Allen, a policy advisor with the mayor’s office to hear how the issues are getting resolved

Traditional archaeologists dig up ancient artifacts, then place them on public display. Indigenous communities say these methods can be at odds with cultural preferences to honor and keep artifacts where they are found. We hear from a Burns Paiute tribal member about her efforts to “decolonize archaeology” with tribal students in a recent Malheur County field school.