Arts & Culture
Ari and Lauren Douglas stand outside Congregation Beth Israel during their wedding in Portland, Ore. on June 15, 2025. More people are converting to Judaism following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, local Jewish leaders say.
Conversions to Judaism on the rise in Portland following Oct. 7 attacks, local leaders say
Jewish leaders in Portland say they have seen more people express an interest in converting, a process that can last a year or longer.
Latest Stories
Barbecue is everywhere for the Fourth of July. Here’s its origin story
Barbecue is as American as apple pie — but the origins of the word "barbecue" is in the Caribbean.
America has a major birthday coming up — here’s what to expect for the big 2-5-0
It's the nation's semiquincentennial! July 4, 2026, is the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Here's how the United States of America is planning to party.
‘The Evergreen’: Oregon Country Fair, from hippies to belonging
In this week’s episode, we talk about the Oregon Country Fair and how grew out of a 1960s vision of a better world: a paradise for hippies. But the history of the fair is complex. It takes place on a native ancestral gathering site.
Northern Irish rap group Kneecap plays Glastonbury despite controversy
Irish-language rap group Kneecap gave an impassioned performance for tens of thousands of fans on Saturday at the Glastonbury Festival despite criticism by British politicians and a terror charge for one of the trio.
Authors petition publishers to curtail their use of AI
The open letter and accompanying petition asking publishers "to make a pledge that they will never release books that were created by machines" garnered more than 600 signatures within a few hours.
James Beard Public Market gets $10M from Oregon Legislature
This week, the Oregon Legislature allocated $10 million in lottery bonds for the forthcoming James Beard Public Market in downtown Portland. It's a major step for the food hall that has been decades in the making.
‘Wildfire Days’ is about fighting fire — in the wilderness and in life
Kelly Ramsey’s new memoir, "Wildfire Days," follows her rookie seasons as a wildland firefighter on an elite hotshot crew in the Pacific Northwest. Her story is one of physical endurance, belonging, and personal reckoning, all set against the backdrop of some of the West’s biggest wildfires.
Oregon Country Fair: 5 things that make it one of a kind
The Oregon Country Fair is one of the longest running art and music festivals in the country. Thousands of people gather in a wooded fairyland outside Eugene for this annual three-day celebration, enjoying performers, crafts and food.
Fresh wasabi is hard to get in the US — unless you live in Oregon
Most people are familiar with the green, spicy paste served next to sushi or sashimi, but the vast majority of folks in the U.S. have been eating dyed-green horseradish.
In a first-of-its-kind decision, an AI company wins a copyright infringement lawsuit brought by authors
The ruling opens a potential pathway for AI companies to train large language models on copyrighted works without authors' consent — but only if copies of the works were obtained legally.
