Think Out Loud

We talk to the named plaintiff, Kelsey Juliana, in the climate change lawsuit that was dismissed by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. We also talk with Andrea Rodgers, senior attorney with Our Children’s Trust, the group that filed the Juliana case — and others around the country — in an effort to force the federal government to address the policies that contribute to the climate crisis.

OPB and the Northwest News Network spent a year documenting the rising death toll inside county jails across Oregon and Washington. The findings of that investigation have been staggering: More than 300 people died in the past decade, jails are struggling to keep suicidal inmates safe and death rates are on the rise even as communities try to slow mass incarceration. In this audio documentary, public media journalists Conrad Wilson and Austin Jenkins compile the best of their reporting and tell new stories that reveal who is dying in jail, why they’re dying and who is being held responsible.

The Washington legislative session kicked off this week and lawmakers have a lot on their plates. Homelessness, gun control, and the potential expulsion of a state representative are all looming large as the 60-day session gets under way. OPB reporter Austin Jenkins joins us.

Since a 2008 law change, class action law firms from around the country have poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into Oregon politics. Some of those same firms wind up winning the rights to represent the state in large lawsuits. Recipients of the money — largely Oregon treasurers and attorneys general — say donations haven’t influenced the state’s choices, but evidence suggests the law firms’ generosity has its perks. OPB political reporter Dirk VanderHart joins us to talk about his reporting.

South Salem High School encourages inclusiveness by pairing students who are disabled and students who are not disabled together to play sports. We talk to two students, Gabby Baker and Jackson Campbell, and Brennan Young the coordinator for the program.

Author Min Jin Lee’s latest novel, “Pachinko,” was a finalist for the National Book Award. It’s an epic story about four generations of one family through migration, heartbreak, oppression, financial success, and trauma. Think Out Loud talks to Lee in front of an audience at Franklin High School in Portland.

Facebook has bought property in the small coastal town of Tierra del Mar to use as a landing site for an undersea cable connecting the U.S. and Asia, but residents are concerned the cable would change the character of the Oregon town. We’re joined by Tierra del Mar homeowner Jeff Bryner, and Nicole Starosielski, an associate professor of media, culture and communications at New York University.

We talk with Malheur county public health nurse and emergency preparedness coordinator, Angie Gerrard. We hear about the reasons behind the county’s high rates of heart disease and the approach that public health workers are taking to combat the problem.

A former student is suing Catlin Gabel, claiming the prestigious Portland private school failed to protect her from sexual abuse. Kim Wilson was in the sixth grade when she says her math teacher abused her repeatedly. Her lawsuit comes after an independent report found several instances of sexual misconduct by former Catlin Gabel employees. The Clackamas County Sheriff’s office recently opened an investigation into the allegations. OPB education reporter Elizabeth Miller joins us to go over the latest developments in this story.

In a recent piece for The New York Times, Southern Oregon-based writer Emma Marris laid out her five-step plan to deal with the stress and guilt many people associate with the climate crisis. She argues that we need to fight for systemic change, rather than feeling shame about our own carbon footprints.

In December 2019, the Salem city council voted to ban tent camping in the city. But the ban has backfired, leaving people sleeping in downtown Salem without shelter. Business leaders have threatened to leave downtown if the issue isn’t resolved. We hear from Salem Mayor Chuck Bennett and Jimmy Jones, executive director of the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency.

A former foster care child herself, Deb Stone worked to locate and place children with family members instead of in the system as a Court Appointed Special Advocate. Now, she uses her experience in genealogy to locate relatives of the unclaimed dead. Cases can take between 15 minutes and two years to solve. There are five people she still hasn’t located relatives for. In her unpublished book, Stone dives into the details of 12 cases, including a Jonestown survivor and a woman who was kidnapped at birth.

We get opinions and analysis on some of the biggest regional news stories of the week from Jim Pasero, Zakir Khan and Camilla Mortensen.

We talk to two apple detectives about their search for types of apples thought to be extinct. E.J. Brandt is a Vietnam veteran who currently works as an emergency medical technician. David Benscoter is a retired FBI agent and IRS criminal investigator. They are both part of The Lost Apple Project.

When she was sworn in to the Washington Supreme Court earlier this week, Raquel Montoya-Lewis became the first Native American justice in the state’s history. Montoya-Lewis was formerly a superior court judge in Whatcom County. We talked to her in December.

After a U.S. airstrike killed Iran’s top military official last week, tensions between the two countries have escalated. Iranian Americans have been left with anxieties and questions about how conflicts between the countries could impact them and their families. We talk with two Iranian Americans in Portland, Siamak Shirazi and Nina Khanjan.

Dogs and cats that have been tested on in labs must be put up for adoption after the tests, thanks to a new Oregon law. That law is the work of a Beaverton fifth grade class, who proposed the idea for the so-called “Beagle Bill.” We talk with Elmonica Elementary School teacher Courtney Yeager, whose class started the project, and her former student Ethan Pak.