OPB Audio

A course at Portland Community College is currently being taught where students use styrofoam, clays, paints and their imaginations to create “haunted” charcuterie boards adorned with fake moldy cheeses, unappetizing crackers and rancid-looking slices of deli meats. Olivia Vavroch, a Portland artist, teacher and theater designer, is teaching the Halloween-themed class. The Portland Mercury recentl...

Tape Op is an independently published magazine about the art and science of recording music founded 30 years ago and edited by Portland music producer and studio owner Larry Crane. The magazine features interviews with the skilled technicians and creative minds who help bands and artists realize their vision in the recording studio. The albums they’ve worked on span decades and genres, from hip-ho...

Some of the biggest issues facing the Democratic party on the national level are showing up in races in Oregon’s Washington County: immigration enforcement, data centers and a growing progressive movement challenging the establishment.

More than 2,500 zoo and aquarium professionals will gather in Portland this week for the annual Association of Zoos and Aquariums conference. The nonprofit organization is dedicated to advocating for the advancement of zoos and aquariums, as well as being the accrediting body for high-standards of care for animals. Dan Ashe is the president and CEO of the AZA. He joins us to discuss the role of zo...

Public school districts across the region are facing dropping enrollment, financial strain, budget cuts and layoffs. Many districts are considering school consolidation and closures as a solution. While on paper, school closures might be the best solution to preserve resources and balance budgets, it’s often a personal matter to parents, teachers and administrators, and the broader community. Two...

Data centers, ICE and the DSA-- Election tensions rise in Washington County

The state’s reborn WNBA team had a losing record of 17-27, but players still won the state over with their personality and grit.

An investigation into Portland Public Schools has now reached a tipping point and is being handed off to the Oregon Department of Justice. At the center of the investigation is Procedeo, a Texas-based firm contracted by PPS to oversee the 2025 school construction bond — a contract worth more than $60 million and paid for with taxpayer money. We speak with Willamette Week's Joanna Hou, who broke th...

There’s nothing predictable about Portland's second ranked choice council race.

George Saunders’ biting, imaginative short stories and novels have made him one of America’s most celebrated authors. His 2017 novel “Lincoln in the Bardo,” which won the Man Booker Prize, follows Abraham Lincoln as he grapples with a host of spirits following his son’s death. In his most recent novel, “Vigil,” Saunders returns to the afterlife to explore corporate greed, climate change and the na...

Menopause is one of the biggest transitions women go through, and for some, the most difficult. For many, it’s a challenge to get medical care and other support during those years. That’s because research and education about menopause and perimenopause has been severely lacking, as well as the cultural space to center women’s experiences — particularly around menses, perimenopause and menopause. O...

After years of work, city leaders are hoping to approve a map before a looming January 1 deadline.

Retiree Christina Maier moved from Portland five years ago to Tollgate, a subdivision two miles west of Sisters surrounded by the Deschutes National Forest. She quickly set to work helping her community improve its wildfire resiliency, starting with her own home. Nearly two years ago, it became the first home in Oregon to receive a Wildfire Prepared Home designation by the Insurance Institute for...

Freddy Trujillo has a long history in Portland. Originally from California, he moved to Portland in 1993 and has made a name for himself as a bassist. He has performed with Richmond Fontaine and the Delines, but his latest work is a solo project. “Ave Trujillo,” his fifth solo album, will be released Friday. It is shaped and inspired by his love of avian creatures and birding, which he uses to tel...

The Trump administration's approach to immigration enforcement has been multi-pronged: detentions and rapid deportation, warrantless arrests, the deployment and attempted deployment of the National Guard, and in some cases lethal force. All of these tactics have been challenged in courts. In Oregon, civil rights groups and immigrant advocates won a significant victory in February, when a federal j...

Host Dave Miller and senior producer Allison Frost read some of your recent feedback on topics we've taken up on our show.

When you hear the term sex education, you might think of classes for kids in public schools. But what Charla Hathaway means by that is far broader. She’s an author with a PhD in human sexuality, and she also became a sex worker for a short time at age 55. She’s now 78, and over the last two decades, Hathaway has given a wide variety of classes and workshops about intimacy, touch, sensuality and se...

Today is the last game and the official end of the season for the Rose City’s WNBA team the Portland Fire. After more than two decades since the team folded, the return of the Fire made it the 15th team to be a part of the WNBA. While the team did not make play-offs, they did better than expected and won the hearts of many fans. Tonight they will face the Golden State Valkyries at the Moda Center....

On average, more than 3 calls a day are made to 911 that report someone who may be trying to end their life at a Portland bridge. That’s according to new reporting from the Oregonian/OregonLive.com. In Goose Hollow, the Vista Bridge saw five suicides in one year, leading to a bridge barrier being built in 2013. These barriers are often fences or netting aiming at preventing suicides. But why can’t...

For decades, most of the US didn’t give much thought to the bitter, purple leaves mixed into their salad greens, but that once obscure vegetable is having a moment. Now a new book about radicchio explores its history, science and culture, and has recipes highlighting the many ways to eat it.

In a close race, both candidates say going to the rodeo is a must.

Frederick Law Olmsted, best known for designing Central Park in New York City and Prospect Park in Brooklyn, is regarded as the pioneer of modern landscape architecture. The Olmsted firm went on to design over 6,000 landscapes in North America under general guiding principles of creating accessible green spaces and preserving nature. A colleague of the Olmsted brothers, Emanuel Mische, went on to...

In Europe, dogs have been used for centuries for their keen sense of smell to locate prized black and white truffles which can fetch hundreds or thousands of dollars a pound depending on their variety. In Oregon and the Pacific Northwest, using dogs to sniff out truffles is relatively new and growing in popularity. There are even training classes and an annual truffle dog contest held at the Orego...

In 2024, two civic organizations began partnering on a yearly survey to gauge how residents in Portland felt about some important elements that contribute to quality of life in a city. North Star Civic Foundation and the Oregon Values and Beliefs Center asked more than 1,200 Portland adults how effective they feel local government is, whether they feel represented and what services they think shou...

What does a typical day in the life of a psychic look like