Think Out Loud

When a patient infected with a communicable disease like the Coronavirus gets sick in Oregon, county health officials are on the front lines to respond. Dr. Jennifer Vines, Deputy Health Officer at the Multnomah County Health

The trial of Jeremy Christian continues, and the defense presents its case this week. Christian is charged with stabbing three men, killing two, on a Portland MAX train in May 2017. OPB’s Meerah Powell is covering the trial and joins us for an update.

The family-run timber company Hyla Woods prioritizes the health of its forests over profits. Peter Hayes, the forester for Hyla Woods, wants more timber companies to consider climate change prevention in their policies. Hayes is a supporter of cap and trade legislation, and joins us to discuss his thoughts on the timber industry and climate legislation.

Portland singer LaRhonda Steele and longtime activist Karen Haberman Trusty have teamed up to tell the story of the civil rights movement in a unique way. They mix songs and spoken word in live performance and on a new album called “Spirit Of Freedom.” But they say the project is more than just history — it’s meant to inform modern movements like Black Lives Matter. Their CD release party will be held Sunday afternoon at the Center for Spiritual Living where Steele serves as the director of music.

Professional outdoor adventurer Colin O’Brady has a new book about his much-lauded solo trip across part of Antarctica in 2018. It’s called “The Impossible First.” Adventure and travel writer Aaron Teasdale covered the trip as it was happening for National Geographic Magazine. But now, Teasdale’s latest article in the magazine looks deeper into the claims made by O’Brady in promoting the project and the subsequent book. We talk with Teasdale about his reporting.

Historian David Blight published a new biography of Frederick Douglass in 2018, on the 200th anniversary of his death. We spoke to Blight last spring when he was in town for a symposium at Linfield College.

Oregonian Christopher Marley is the artist behind OMSI’s “Exquisite Creatures” exhibit, on display until the end of February. We listen back to a conversation with Marley about his unusual approach to animal preservation and how he draws inspiration from the natural world. The conversation was recorded last fall.

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof grew up in rural Yamhill County. Years later, he found that about a quarter of the children who rode the school bus with him had later died in adulthood from drugs, alcohol, suicide or accidents. We talk with Kristof and his wife Sheryl Wudunn about the lives of poor, rural Americans in their new book, “Tightrope.”

After 26 years of leading the Portland Baroque Orchestra, Artistic Director Monica Hugget will step down this year. Hugget has built the period orchestra into the third largest in the country. We talk to Hugget about history and the future of baroque music in Portland.

The Portland Winter Light Festival creates over 100 illuminated art installations each year. It's free to attend. The festival team says its goal is to build community by combining art and technology while invigorating Portland during one of the rainiest months of the year. The 5th annual PWLF will take place February 6-8, 2020. We hear from Alisha Sullivan, the festival's new executive director.

CORRECTION: Contrary to what Dave Miller said on the air, under the proposed cap-and-trade bill, there would be full refunds for new increases of the cost of fuel for off-road agriculture & forestry operations. That would apply to things like actual logging or farming. But logging transport trucks — like the one driven by our guest — wouldn't get those refunds. We regret the error.As Oregon lawmakers gather in Salem for the 2020 legislative session, a group that came together during the last session is organizing a rally. Timber Unity made a big splash in Salem driving logging trucks and carrying signs opposing cap-and-trade legislation, and supporting the Republican lawmakers who walked out to protest the bill. We hear from one of Timber Unity’s founding members about his hopes for the 2020 session.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced that the Portland Police Bureau is in substantial compliance with the 2014 settlement agreement that was meant to reform police use of force against people with mental illnesses. Mayor Ted Wheeler joins us to discuss the reforms the city has implemented and what comes next.

The Oregon Historical Quarterly has published a special edition called “White Supremacy & Resistance.” The issue evolved as a reaction to the racial violence that resulted in two murders on a Portland MAX light rail line in 2017. Articles explore white supremacy in the formation of Oregon and its state constitution, as well as the history of violence to dominate and control non-white populations, from indigenous peoples and African Americans to east Indian, Chinese and Japanese immigrants. We talk with one of the guest editors of the issue, emeritus professor of Black Studies at Portland State University Darrell Millner, and with independent historian Johanna Ogden.

Cities in Oregon have struggled for years with the growing needs of people experiencing homelessness. Now the Oregon legislature could take up the issue. House Speaker Tina Kotek, a Democrat from Portland, is calling for lawmakers to allocate $100 million to increase shelter capacity and build navigation centers in Eugene and Salem. We get the latest on the legislature's approach to housing and homelessness from OPB political reporter Lauren Dake.

The nonprofit group Southern Oregon Climate Action Now has certified over 30 people to be Master Climate Protectors. The class is modeled on the Master Gardener program, and teaches participants the science behind climate change. Alan Journet is a former biology teacher, and the co-facilitator of Southern Oregon Climate Action Now.

We listen back to a conversation with Portland author and screenwriter Jon Raymond about his 2017 book, “Freebird.” The novel is a family drama set in Los Angeles.

Roughly a million Oregonians are going to need new IDs to comply with the federal Real ID Act that goes into effect October 1. But the DMV can't start issuing Real ID-compliant licenses until July. The state is encouraging people to get or update their passports instead. We talk with Oregon Department of Transportation communications manager Tom Fuller about all the things the agency is doing to avoid even longer DMV lines and chaos at the airport later this year.

The Seattle writer G. Willow Wilson has written for some of the world’s best known comic book series, including the X-Men, Superman, Wonder Woman and Ms. Marvel. Last fall, OPB’s April Baer spoke with Wilson about her latest novel, “The Bird King,” in front of an audience at the Portland Book Festival.

Author Tim O’Brien is best known for his book “The Things They Carried,” about the Vietnam War. His latest book, “Dad’s Maybe Book,” is a compilation of anecdotes and reflections on becoming a parent in late middle age, and what he wants his young children to know about him before he dies. This conversation was recorded in front of an audience at the Portland Book Festival last fall.

Last week, the Jordan Cove Energy Project withdrew its application for a state permit. It’s unclear what this means for the controversial liquified natural gas project on the Oregon coast. We talk with Jefferson Public Radio news director Liam Moriarty, who has been reporting on this.