
OHSU Hospital, 2019. (OHSU/Kristyna Wentz-Graff)
OHSU launches new gun violence prevention research center
When Oregon Health & Science University's new gun research collaborative launched in May, it was the culmination of the research that director Kathleen Carlson had centered her career around. We talk with Carlson about the new center and her research focus moving forward.
Today's show
What the Supreme Court’s EPA decision means for Oregon
New wildfire risk map has implications for Oregon homeowners
Citizen science project is helping Washington scientists refine water supply models
Effort building to create a methamphetamine stabilization center in Portland
Featured stories

Portland-based Black Resilience Fund wants to provide guaranteed basic income and build community connections
The Black Resilience Fund started during the pandemic to offer emergency relief to Black Portlanders. Now, the program is shifting to a guaranteed basic income model.

‘Leave No Trace’ documents sexual abuse by Boy Scouts of America
A new documentary features a hundred years of Boy Scouts of America history and the claims of more than 82,000 former scouts who reported they were sexually abused by troop leaders. Portland director Irene Taylor produced the film, with Willamette Week investigative reporter Nigel Jaquiss and Ron Howard’s Imagine Films.

Nonprofit behind Klamath River dam removal offers plan for allocating water to fight wildfires in region
We learn more about the Klamath River Renewal Corporation's plan.

Oregon teachers reflect on the last year
Students may have been back in classrooms this year, but it was still a difficult time for educators across the country. We talk to three teachers about the challenges both students and teachers faced this last year.

New book in ‘Lowriders’ series for kids focuses on climate change
"Lowriders to the Rescue” is the fourth book in a series of graphic novels for kids by Portland author Cathy Camper and illustrator Raúl The Third.
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How a lack of sexual assault nurse examiners is affecting Oregon’s North Coast
There are no certified sexual assault nurse examiners based on Oregon’s North Coast. This means for those who choose to report their assault, they will likely need to travel to Portland for an examination.
How a Portland police killing nearly 80 years ago still reverberates today
Street Roots reporter Melanie Henshaw shares her investigation into a nearly 80-year-old police killing of an innocent Black man in Portland, and how the killing still reverberates today for his relatives.
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Oregon author Lidia Yuknavitch’s new book ‘Thrust’ travels in time
We hear from Oregon author Lidia Yuknavitch about her new novel, "Thrust," which features a time-traveling young girl, a talking turtle and the Statue of Liberty.

Oregonians react to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling overturning the constitutional right to abortion
The Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade was not a surprise after a draft opinion eliminating the right to abortion was leaked in early May. We talk with guests and your calls live on the air about your personal experience with abortion. How access to abortion has affected you? Our in-studio phone number is 1-888-665-5865.
Federal dollars aid in protecting Oregon’s farmland
We learn more about federal funding being used to help preserve farmland through regional land trusts.

REBROADCAST: Claudia Rankine
We listen back to an interview with award-winning poet Claudia Rankine in front of a live audience at Literary Arts.

REBROADCAST: Leni Zumas on “Red Clocks”
We listen back to a 2018 conversation we recorded with Portland author Leni Zumas about her novel, "Red Clocks."

Oregon caregiving stories: How those caring for loved ones at home are coping
Whether you're caring for aging parents or disabled children, taking care of family members at home can be extremely challenging. Family caregivers work long hours, often unpaid. We will hear from a woman who cares for a disabled family member with developmental disabilities, an adult child caring for an aging parent and a caregiver fighting for change at the Oregon Legislature. We’ll also meet people whose work it is to help these caregivers navigate the system and to get support.

REBROADCAST: Cathy Park Hong explores Asian American identity in ‘Minor Feelings’
As the daughter of Korean immigrants, Cathy Park Hong found writing poetry to be freeing — an empowering way of escaping the invisibility of Asian American identity. Then, as a professional poet, it became clear that the literary world expected Hong’s identity to be both a part of, and a limitation to, her work. This cognitive dissonance is one of the “Minor Feelings” addressed in her book of essays of that name.

Many Oregon music festivals return after pandemic pause
OPB Music Director Jerad Walker joins us to talk about some of the bands and artists he's most excited to hear live on stage as the weather gets warmer.
REBROADCAST: Nikki Giovanni + Black Comedians
In honor of Juneteenth, we listen back to two conversations filled with humor and joy today. We spoke to poet and writer Nikki Giovanni in 2014 when her book ‘Chasing Utopia’ came out. And in the summer of 2020, in the beginning of the pandemic, and the middle of the racial justice uprising, we spoke to three local Black comedians about how writing jokes can be a way to process traumatic events, challenge social norms, and build community through laughter.
New grant program aims to improve access to higher education for Oregon tribal members
The Oregon Tribal Student Grant program aims to help members of the nine federally recognized Native American tribes in Oregon who are attending eligible colleges or universities in the state.

New play celebrates Kent Ford, co-founder of Portland’s Black Panther Party
The Vanport Mosaic and Confrontation Theatre is presenting a solo play, “Walking Through Portland with a Panther: The Life of Mr. Kent Ford. All Power!” Ford co-founded the Black Panther Party’s Portland chapter in the 1960s and continues to be a civil rights activist.

New documentary honors the 50th anniversary of Title IX with the story of former University of Oregon basketball coach
This month marks the 50th Anniversary of Title IX, the federal law which prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities. A new special from NPR marks the anniversary by telling the story of former UO women’s basketball coach Jody Runge, who pushed to make that promise of equity a reality for the university's women’s basketball team.
Group engages trans and nonbinary people to guide research
Gender-affirming medical care is often determined by doctors and researchers who are not transgender. The Transgender and Non-Binary Allied Research Collective (TRANS-ARC) aims to change that.