OPB's Think Out Loud to broadcast from the Democratic & Republican Conventions

OPB's daily call-in program, Think Out Loud, will broadcast on-the-ground reports from the Democratic National Convention in Denver August 25-28 and Republican National Convention in Saint Paul September 1-4.

Think Out Loud will follow the stories and the people from the Pacific Northwest at these historic political events. Online Host David Miller will provide live updates and observations as well as conduct interviews with delegates and political leaders from our region as they weigh in on the presidential campaign.

In addition to Miller, Think Out Loud Senior Producer Sarah Rothenfluch will attend the Democratic Convention, and Bend-based reporter Ethan Lindsey will attend the Republican Convention, to report stories that will help illuminate how these national political events will reverberate through our region.

Tune in to Think Out Loud weekdays at 9-10am (rebroadcast at 9 weeknights), online at opb.org/thinkoutloud and hear news reports throughout the day on OPB.

An OPB Original Production: Independent Films Featured on OPB's Oregon Lens

The work of some of the Pacific Northwest's most talented independent producers is showcased over four nights on Oregon Lens, a yearly special on Oregon Public Broadcasting now in its tenth season. Tune in to the stations of OPB August 11-14 at 10pm to see a diversity of surprising and challenging work.

"I'm always excited about the opportunity to share the incredible work of our local independent filmmakers," said Steve Amen, executive producer and host of the series. "The series gives our viewers, who may not have access to Portland's theaters and micro-cinemas, the opportunity to see the kind of innovative filmmaking for which this area is becoming known."

First up on Monday, August 11 is Nuclear Acrobat, a short documentary about a Portland woman who gave up a career as a rocket scientist to join the circus. (Filmmakers: Wen Lee, Rebecca Purice and Steven Wilsey) Also airing is 7,500 Miles to Redemption, a powerful story about regained purpose, self-worth and humanity for inmates at the Oregon State Penitentiary. The producers spent four years following members of the prison's Asian Pacific Family Club as they helped guitarist Tinh Mahoney realize his dream to build a school in his native Vietnam. (Filmmakers: Emiko Omori and Tinh Mahoney) In Bow, see why Portland's own world-class bow maker, Michael Yeats, is one of those rare artists who works intimately with the nature of wood to create one of a kind bows. (Filmmaker: Peter Gold) Finally tonight, Psychic Numbing: When Our Intuition Fails explores psychologist Paul Slovic's life-long research revealing the flawed nature of human judgment and how these faults have contributed to perhaps the most disturbing trend in human history -- a legacy of genocide. (Filmmakers: Desiree Aflleje and Emese Foss.)

On Tuesday, August 12 our summer series continues with Reinventing Ed's Coed. This entry is a fun look at a film made 80 years ago by University of Oregon students with a camera borrowed from Cecil B. DeMille. It's a comedy about student life, including dating, fraternities and trouble making. A silent movie, it was a victim of bad timing (since talking movies appeared around the same date), bombed and was soon forgotten. This project tells the story of the film -- how it was made and how it was reinvented. (Filmmakers: John Rosman and Eric Rutledge)

Next is Bass Driven. Known internationally, Gaia Tribe is a party promotion company founded by brothers Andrew and Neko Mataus. House music, a genre of electronic music, powers the gatherings. The events take place once a month in various venues across Eugene. Andrew focuses on the bass-driven music while Neko focuses on the ambience, or what he calls "Spaceshaping." Together, the brothers have transformed the electronic music scene in Eugene. (Filmmakers: Sloane Cameron and Catie Ciciretto)

We also highlight the work of Cinema Syndicate, a group of rogue filmmakers sworn to uphold the sword of comedy and good, clever writing despite their lack of budget and professional key grips. This year's examples include: Love & Sappiness-- A woman brings her boyfriend home to meet her family for the holidays. The holiday? Arbor Day. The boyfriend? Not exactly a tree hugger. Red Letter Day-- An amusing look at "Hatuchama," a secret society... blah blah blah. See what it has to do with an infomercial from 1986. Maybe. In Pick Up, Audrey, a somewhat pathetic lovelorn Internet dater, pursues her last-ditch effort at romance via the prison pen-pal system.

Also, Meet the Freegans. Steve is an educated man. A school teacher. A homeowner. He also enjoys eating food from dumpsters. (Filmmaker: Travis Shields) Feeling Cingular: iPhone | iCan't is a first-person case study on whether someone could create a consumer-activist online video that could influence corporate ethics when companies fail to provide proper redress to legitimate problems. (Filmmakers: Justin Callaway and Luis Aguirre)

Among Wednesday's films is Finding Thea which examines the life of Thea Christiansen Foss, a Norwegian immigrant to Tacoma and the inspiration for the fictional character "Tugboat Annie." (Filmmakers: Nancy Bourne Haley and Lucy Ostrander) Sharks: Stewards of the Reef takes you on a voyage of underwater discovery to explore tropical reefs and dive with sharks. This 30-minute documentary describes the relationship between these top predators to the oceans and coral reef ecosystems while examining the habitat destruction and over fishing that are causing Pacific reef shark populations to plummet. (Filmmakers: Holiday Johnson, Christopher Johnson, David McGuire and Christopher L. Jenkins)

On Thursday, our fourth and final night, Finding Normal presents a gritty sojourn into a world of addiction and recovery. It is also a story of hope as we learn about an Oregon mentor-run program that has about a 70-percent success rate, often with people who have failed multiple times in recovery. Documentary producer Brian Lindstrom follows a group of Portland drug addicts and their rehab counselors trying day-by-day to keep themselves clean, sober and together. (Filmmaker: Brian Lindstrom)