At the start of 2023, OPB began taking a deep look at the biggest social and economic challenges facing Oregon today — their origins, their impacts and possible solutions.

Oregon leaders have promised to ensure that every child graduates on time by 2025. OPB has followed a group of students from kindergarten as they start their educational journey toward high school. These are some of their stories.

Oregon regulators are supposed to safeguard sustainable water supplies, but instead officials managing groundwater have fueled crises and inequities, leaving the state ill-prepared to meet the growing challenges of human-caused climate change and drought. Is it too late to stop a race to the bottom?

OPB explores our region's relationship with its forests. That relationship has been evolving for 30 years — ever since a mild-mannered bird called the northern spotted owl landed on the endangered species list.

OPB's coverage of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The Trump administration describes Portland as “city under siege.” Protesters and journalists who regularly show up at the nightly demonstrations agree a siege is happening. But over 14 days, federal law enforcement has increasingly become the occupying force.

Chemawa is supposed to offer an academic home preparing students for college or careers in a safe and stable place. But an OPB investigation found the school is breaking its promise.

In commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), OPB is joining with other public media partners around the country to promote inclusion for people with intellectual and physical disabilities.

On The Road is "Think Out Loud’s" radio road trip series: conversations with wanderers, tourists, and residents along Oregon’s and Washington's backroads and highways.

People in the Pacific Northwest talk about the role race plays in their daily lives.

The history of the native people of Oregon and how they went from possessing 100 percent of the state’s land to nearly none of it.  

Nearly 50 years after the end of combat operations in Vietnam, Oregonians remain deeply affected by the events of those times. OPB and PBS explore the war with two new documentaries. 

The secret history of the U.S. military’s environmental legacy in the Northwest.

Beverly Cleary is an award-winning author whose books for children have become classics.

A magnitude 9.0 earthquake off the Northwest coast could hit at any time. How can we prepare for this impending and unpredictable disaster?

OPB's Oregon Field Guide" led an expedition into the heart of an uncharted gorge.

People in the Pacific Northwest talk about the role race plays in their daily lives.

Get ready, Oregon. A total eclipse on Aug. 21 is expected to bring upward of a million people to the state.

"Think Out Loud" travels to cities and towns across the state to hear about how policy issues affect Oregonians at home.

The world is a fascinating place — and in many ways, the most interesting aspects of it are often in our backyards. In the Pacific Northwest, this is especially true. We’re a land of oddities and weirdness. Join us as we explore the people, places and backstories that make the Northwest what it is.

Communities across the Northwest were shocked recently to discover dangerously high lead levels in their water. How did this happen, and what’s being done to fix the problem?

OPB's coverage on the transportation of oil by rail in the Northwest.

Explore the neighborhood, politics and music behind Portland's brief, brilliant jazz age.

Oregon has become something of an international center for surrogacy. In this five-part series, OPB's Kristian Foden-Vencil explores why this is the case, especially for gay Israeli couples.

Wrongdoers are profiting from their deadly exploitation of Northwest wildlife, from elk and deer to sturgeon and shellfish. But law enforcement and private citizens are out to stop these crimes against nature.

Nearly 15 years ago, Oregon had the highest rate of hunger in the nation. Today, the percentage of people facing hunger is nearly as high as it was in 2000.

Oregon is at the forefront of the nation's health care reform. OPB's Kristian Foden-Vencil looks at how those changes are affecting Oregonians.

Once a month, "Think Out Loud" heads to a different town in Oregon or Southwest Washington to find stories that go beyond the daily news.