Think Out Loud

Since 2015, the number of whales who get tangled in West Coast fishery equipment have increased from ten per year to upwards of 50. Oregon fisheries have new plans to understand and stop whale entanglement, but some anglers worry the rules could hurt their industry. We learn more from Oregon marine expert Caren Braby and longtime commercial fisherman Bob Eder.

As Portland’s population grows — bringing more cars, more traffic, and more greenhouse gas emissions — what’s the future of the biggest interstate that cuts through the heart of the city? This summer, we’re having a series of conversations about Interstate 5. Next up: Chris Outen, a city driver for FedEx Freight shares his decades of experience as a professional driver in the Portland area.

The first big fire in Oregon this wildfire season has now consumed over 11,000 acres. OPB reporter Emily Cureton tells us about the Milepost 97 fire.

Portland filmmaker Heidi Yewman joins us to talk about her own experience with gun violence and her new documentary film about the subject. “Behind the Bullet” explores the impact of gun violence through stories of four people who pulled a trigger.

Like many schools around the nation, Portland Public Schools have been dealing with racist and hateful incidents. OPB education reporter Elizabeth Miller tells us how these incidents are affecting students and parents, and what the district is doing to address the problem. And Nichole Watson, developer of racial equity and community partnerships for the Portland Association of Teachers, tells us how the union is responding.

We get opinions and analysis of some of the week’s big stories on our news roundtable. This week we’re joined by former Republican representative Jason Conger, director of Oregon State University’s Center for the Humanities Christopher McKnight Nichols, and Portland State University associate professor of urban planning Marisa Zapata.

The Mazamas are celebrating 125 years in the Northwest. The nonprofit mountaineering organization was established at the summit of Mount Hood on July 19, 1894. The Mazamas encouraged members to mark the quasquicentennial anniversary with a climb, of course, and they’ll continue the celebration with an open house event July 28. Mazamas library and historical collections manager Mathew Brock fills us in on the rich history of the organization.

When Cody Sheehy was six years old, he got lost in the woods. Sheehy grew up in the Wallowa Valley of eastern Oregon, so the woods he got lost in were vast. But the six-year-old decided that he would find his way out. So he followed a forest road and walked around 20 miles to the nearest town. Oregon writer Emma Marris wrote about Sheehy in Outside Magazine. Sheehy tells us how the episode affected his later life.

Hotter, drier summers in Oregon are killing Douglas firs and some other native Oregon tree species, according to the Oregon Department of Forestry. Since 2012, Oregon has experienced a drought each summer, and climate scientists only expect the state to become hotter and drier. Oregon Department of Forestry forest pathologist Sarah Navarro tells us what that means for Oregon’s trees.

The federal farm bill passed last year legalized the cultivation of hemp. In Oregon, the number of licensed hemp growers has tripled, and they are planting five times more acres than last year. We’ll talk about the benefits and pitfalls of this new industry with Sunny Summers, cannabis policy coordinator at the Oregon Department of Agriculture, Jay Noller, director of Oregon State University’s Global Hemp Innovation Center, and Ken Iverson, co-owner of Iverson Family Farms.

As Portland’s population grows, bringing with it more cars, more traffic, and more greenhouse gas emissions, what’s the future of the biggest interstate that cuts through the heart of the city? This summer, we’re having a series of conversations about Interstate 5. We’ll hear from policy-makers, activists, and community members. On this installment, we hear from Aaron Brown, a leader of the No More Freeways PDX campaign.

Buzzfeed News reporter Joseph Bernstein profiled conservative media contributor Andy Ngo who was covering the June 29 demonstrations in downtown Portland. Ngo was attacked in the protests, and subsequently hospitalized. The protests saw clashes between Antifa, a far-left, anti-fascist group that has engaged in violence and Patriot Prayer, a far-right group that attracts white supremacists and has engaged in violence.

In the late 1800s, a horse flu spread quickly across North America. That meant humans had to do the work of horses — pulling carts and trams across cities. How did that event lead to the derivation of the word “oops?” And what can we learn about human behavior from looking at animal diseases? Oregon State University associate professor Raymond Malewitz has an idea.

Dawn Alexander, a fifth grade teacher at Tom McCall, recently won a National Agriculture in the Classroom award. She tells us how she teaches young students about agriculture, and why that’s important.

We get opinions and analysis on some of the week’s biggest news from Dan Lavey, Jim Moore, and Barbara Dudley.

As Portland's population grows, bringing more cars, more traffic, and more greenhouse gas emissions, what’s the future of the biggest interstate that cuts through the heart of the city? This summer, we're having a series of conversations about Interstate 5. We'll hear from policy-makers, activists, and community members. On this installment, we hear from Mike Alexander, a board member for the nonprofit Albina Vision Trust and former president and CEO of the Urban League of Portland.

Mike Selberg’s Cannon Beach Distillery has flourished since opening in 2012, garnering dozens of awards for his craft liquors. Despite this, he is preparing to sell or close the distillery this year. He says Oregon’s liquor laws put local businesses at a disadvantage.