Think Out Loud

Salem-Keizer Public Schools is proposing a slight budget increase for the coming school year. We'll hear from the superintendent to learn more.

We hear from a science teacher and a senior at Prairie High School in Vancouver about their quest to win another statewide championship in esports.

The Portland Pickles give us a preview of its new season and its new soccer team, the Portland Bangers, which debuts its premiere season this month as well.

Washington state Sen. Noel Frame (D-Seattle) joins us to discuss a new bill she sponsored that was recently signed into law that requires clergy to be mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect.

Claire Willett, a Portland-based playwright, artist and grant writer, joins us to share the latest developments.

We hear more about the newspaper from the retiring publisher.

We hear from Curtis Robinhold, the executive director of the Port of Portland, and from Tim McCarthy, the chief operating officer of Harbor Industrial, a maritime services company at the Port’s container terminal.

After the devastating 2020 Labor Day fires, the Oregon Legislature passed a bill that was supposed to lead to more wildfire awareness and resilience. It created a map of areas at high risk of fire. But that map led to a huge backlash from property owners. Now one of the democratic state senators who helped create the map is sponsoring a bill that would repeal it. We’ll talk to Jeff Golden, who represents the Ashland area, about why — and what should happen instead.

The National Science Foundation has terminated grants for research around misinformation. We'll hear from a misinformation researcher to learn about the wider implications.

The North Portland peninsula, which includes the St. Johns and Cathedral Park neighborhoods, could become isolated from the rest of the city after a major earthquake.

Rep. Ricki Ruiz (D-Gresham) joins us to tell us more about the bill and the impact it would have on immigrants and their families.

Founder Derrell Sekou Walker joins us to share the history of the company and preview the upcoming performance. We also speak with two dancers in the troupe, Karida Walker and high school senior Nylah Jae Holt.

Transportation funding is a top priority for Oregon lawmakers this legislative session.

During the last year of the first Trump presidency, M. Gessen wrote a book about what lessons Americans could learn from countries like Russia and Hungary. The book, called “Surviving Autocracy,” draws on Gessen’s own experiences growing up in Russia and the scholarship of European philosophers who have written about modern day authoritarianism. We talk to Gessen in front of a student audience at Grant High School.

There is a bill in the Oregon Legislature that would allow law enforcement more authority to use drones. We'll hear from both sides to learn more.

We hear what TRIO means for Oregonians from the executive director of Oregon TRIO Association, Matt Bisek, and Oregon State University student Brianna Eck.

Between the on-again-off-again tariffs and the cancellation of federal funding, Oregonians across the state are affected by the many changes coming from the federal government. Reporters at the Portland Business Journal set out to take the temperature of business, nonprofit and political leaders across the state, three months into the Trump administration. Elizabeth Hayes, reporter for the Portland Business Journal, joins us to share what they found out.

Researchers at Oregon State University are using cormorants to help measure currents, temperatures and more. We'll hear from the researchers to learn what data has shown about oceans around the world.

Oregon Hospital Association President and CEO Becky Hultberg joins us to talk more about some of the interrelated and complex factors that have led to this state of affairs, and what she sees as possible solutions.

OPB's Portland city government reporter Alex Zielinski shares details about Mayor Keith Wilson's newly unveiled budget for Portland as the city faces a massive budget shortfall.