Think Out Loud

An outbreak in cicadas has lead to an increase of Western cicada killers in Central Oregon. Their 2-inch-long bodies can be alarming to those who don’t know anything about the insects. Jennifer Andon, a professor at Ohio State University Extension, tells us more about the giant wasps.

The Ashland City Council is considering an ordinance that would allow police officers to demand someone’s name and date of birth if they suspect that person has committed a violation. We hear from Ashland Police Chief Tighe O’Meara about why he believes the ordinance is necessary. And Lauren Regan, executive director of the Civil Liberties Defense Center, tell us her concerns about the ordinance.

A recent survey of tech workers by Portland Women in Tech found that white workers were more likely to believe that company diversity initiatives were working and their companies valued diversity, while people of color and transgender employees were less likely. We talk with Megan Bigelow, founder and president of Portland Women in Tech, and Dawn Mott, a software developer.

We talk with Augustana Lutheran Pastor Mark Knutson about the community vigil the church is hosting Tuesday evening, following the latest mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton.

We talk with retired long-haul truck driver James Crowe who teaches his trade to students in a new driving school program at Clatsop Community College. Crowe says the program is growing and aims to help meet the statewide and nationwide shortage of truck drivers.

Springfield pediatrician Lauren Herbert recently visited immigration facilities near the U.S.-Mexico border with Sen. Ron Wyden. Herbert was troubled by conditions she saw for detained migrants including overcrowded holding rooms, babies separated from families and traumatized children. She tells us more.

The Oregon Army National Guard is deploying 1400 soldiers to five different countries: Djibouti, Jordan, Kosovo, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. The 41st Infantry Brigade Command Team is holding town hall meetings this week to answer questions from soldiers, families, and employers who will be impacted when the bulk of the troops deploy this fall. Col. Eric Riley is the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team commander. He joins us to talk more about the upcoming deployment.

For over 40 years, a stretch of the Columbia River along Bradford Island has been polluted with toxic chemicals. The Oregon DEQ says locally-caught, resident fish are not safe to eat, but some local residents and fishermen are eating the fish anyway. We talk to an attorney trying to hold the United States government accountable for the pollution and a Yakama Nation Tribal Member who owns a fishing business in the area.

Every year, thousands of people take on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), hiking 2,650 miles from Mexico to Canada. We speak to two PCT hikers who connected on the trail and have relied on each other to push themselves to continue hiking — even after one of them had to be defibrillated twice.

This week, we learned that the Bend Bulletin will be sold to an Oregon-based company. And Jefferson Public Radio recently revealed that Sinclair Broadcasting is a major investor in the company that owns the Medford and Ashland newspapers. What does this news mean for Oregon media? Damian Radcliffe is a journalism professor at the University of Oregon. He joins us to talk about what ownership changes mean for local journalism.

We get analysis and opinions on some of the week’s big stories from our news roundtable. Joining us this week are: Rick Thomas from Quinn Thomas; KLCC news director Rachael McDonald and writer Naseem Rakha.

Pop culture critic and bestselling author Chuck Klosterman has a new collection of stories called "Raised in Captivity." The Portland writer joins us to talk about the surreal vignettes he refers to as "fictional nonfiction." Chuck Klosterman is reading at Powell’s on Tuesday, August 6 at 7:30pm.

The federal government is buying up food that U.S. farmers are unable to find export markets for because of high tariffs. Some of that food is ending up at the Oregon Food Bank. Jeff Kleen, Public Policy Advocate for the Oregon Food Bank, explains what they’re doing with the extra food. And Sharon Thornberry, Rural Communities Liaison for the Oregon Food Bank, tells us how they get food to people who need it in rural counties.

Notorious Portland concert promoter Larry Hurwitz murdered his employee Tim Moreau nearly 30 years ago. Veteran Portland reporter Jim Redden has followed the case since 1990. In June, Redden published 28 “chapters” of his early Hurwitz case coverage for the first time ever online. Redden fills us in on Hurwitz’s post-conviction life, and tells us why he is still writing about Hurwitz today.

The Chinook Indian Nation recently bought a piece of land called Tansy Point near Astoria. The site was near where an LNG terminal had been proposed and was historically tribal land. Chairman Tony Johnson joins us tell us about the significance of this deal and the lawsuit the tribe has against the federal government related to official recognition, which comes with funding and other benefits.

Earlier this week, President Trump tweeted his support for the idea of legally designating Antifa as a terrorist organization. Hate crime researcher Randy Blazak joins us to talk about it.

Organizing a circus is no easy task. Ring-leading a month-long floating circus in a boat down the Willamette River is even harder. We ask Jason Webley, a performer and organizer with the Flotsam River Circus, how his traveling performance experiment from Corvallis to Portland is going this summer.