OPB Audio

Gluesenkamp Perez and Braun neck-and-neck in race for Southwest Washington swing district, OPB poll finds

2 years in, Oregon still has no electric vehicle fast-charging stations through a $52 million federally funded program

Between AI chatbots, social media influencers and websites offering medical advice, it can be difficult to parse the vast amount of health information online. It also presents a challenge to physicians and other healthcare providers who are fielding questions from patients based on what they’ve read online. Kristin Whitman is the head of information and learning services at the Oregon Health & Sci...

At a time when many rural hospitals are either closing or merging with larger, urban health systems, a group of Oregon hospitals want to try something different. Eleven hospitals and health systems are asking for state approval to form a clinically integrated network. They say the partnership will allow them to share resources while maintaining their independence. Landon Dybdal is the CEO of Lake...

The future of a new homeless shelter in Grants Pass is in question after the shelter and the organization providing wraparound services ended their working agreement. Under the terms of a lawsuit settlement, Grants Pass is required to provide space for 150 unhoused people in the city, which the shelter is meant to fulfill. The shelter, known as Parker’s Place Village, is required to provide case m...

The Major League Baseball playoffs began on Tuesday. As fans around the nation watch the action, one lifelong fan of the sport in Sisters is busy fielding emails or answering calls to see if he might be available to talk baseball, or rather, baseball cards. Michael Blesius is the owner of Sports Card Ink, a store in downtown Sisters that specializes in vintage baseball cards and is open for just a...

Mazama Energy, a Texas-based geothermal company, has recently secured more than $135 million to dig deeper and harvest heat for renewable energy. Project Ceres, which the funding will be put toward, is a horizontal well development in Central Oregon and could generate more than 15 megawatts of power next year. That’s enough to power 4,500 homes. OPB climate reporter Monica Samayoa joins us to shar...

The poll shows Republican state Sen. Christine Drazan with a slim lead over Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek, though it was within the survey’s margin of error.

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...