OPB Audio

SNAP cuts, soaring food costs and rising hunger grip Oregon families

Languages have evolved over time, but it is rare when one is just created. Nearly 140 years ago, a Polish linguist did just that. Esperanto was made with the intent to be a universal second language for international communication. It is difficult to measure just how many people speak the language, but it does have speakers across the globe. In the Pacific Northwest, speakers will gather next mont...

Portland entrepreneur Mark Maher says it was around March 2025 when he and his family got to experience firsthand the thrill of smashing ceramic plates, glass vases, TVs and other electronic devices. That experience took place at a friend’s rage room in Boise, Idaho, where customers book sessions to don goggles, gloves and other safety equipment to obliterate objects in a controlled, safe environm...

Oregon’s wildfire season has been severe, resulting in smoky air in communities all over the state. Central Oregon now ranks among the worst air quality in the nation, with wildfire smoke significantly affecting the region. We’ll hear from Crook County Public Health Director Katie Plumb about how people can help keep themselves safe from the smoke.

Nearly 20 years ago, Seattle lost its NBA team, the Supersonics. A combination of new ownership without local ties, an outdated arena and political decision-making saw the Sonics leave after 41 years in Seattle. Sounds familiar doesn’t it? Amidst the disagreements between Portland city officials and Blazers management, Seattle Times reporter Tim Booth joins us to discuss what led the Supersonics t...

The Salem City Council has voted unanimously to begin the process of adopting a data center moratorium. Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has formed a task force to develop statewide regulations for these facilities, and she recently canceled the sale of a piece of state-owned land that the Verrus company was slated to purchase as part of the process of building a data center on the property. Kotek released...

Outdoor camps across Oregon have been severely impacted by poor air quality from wildfire smoke. Camps are being forced to move indoors and cancel camps altogether, resulting in significant financial losses. We’ll hear from Mt. Hood Camp Kiwanis Director Dave McDonald and the camp manager at Central Oregon Community College, Sarah Wolcott, about how their camps are responding to the smoky air.

As blazes rage across Oregon, Mosier explores a proactive approach to fire

The Multnomah County Homeless Services Department was first established in 2016 as the Joint Office of Homeless Services — an office overseeing services provided to people experiencing homelessness in Portland and Multnomah County The agency faced turnover as it transitioned from a joint office to a formal county department in 2024, and its newest leader, appointed in April, is Nathaniel VerGow, w...

For the last 5 years, The Hybrid Gallery in Eugene has welcomed and showcased creatives of all kinds into its space. The art collective has diversified its offerings over the years, adding more classes, groups and space for local bands to play. General manager Geneva Vincent says The Hybrid is providing a safe space, not just for artists but for everyone in the community. Events include weekly ope...

A large botulism outbreak in Klamath Basin wetlands could kill more than 100,000 waterbirds if more water is not sent to the wetlands. The Bird Alliance of Oregon is asking the Bureau of Reclamation to release the water to the Klamath National Wildlife Refuges and says if there is no intervention, the die-off could surpass the one in 2024 when 140,000 birds were killed. We talk with Teresa Wicks,...

Spokane Latino-led groups rally disaster resources in Spanish

A feature on how attendees at the Crook and Baker County fairs are dealing with wildfire smoke.

The Portland Trail-Bladers host their final Beyblade tournament at Portland's Lloyd Center ahead of its closure on Aug 8, 2026. The mall transformed into a community living room over the past few years.

The power of a powwow has been described as a collective heartbeat that draws people together. Celebrants often say they feel unity and freedom as they dance in a circle. Those elements are especially vital for those serving time at the Oregon State Correctional Institution in Salem, where life is spent behind barbed wire and fortified walls. But as KLCC’s Brian Bull reports, for one day each year...

Gov. Kotek’s recent executive order on instructional time — and the process to put it in place — raise questions about the state board’s job.

Mass fish necropsy helps forecast salmon returns in Oregon

Tye Austin is a classical guitarist and composer from Southern Oregon and also the founder and artistic director of Wilder Frets: Classical Guitar in the Wilderness. The two-month-long concert tour that kicked off on Aug. 1 features Austin performing original and traditional classical guitar compositions at 15 state parks and other outdoor locations, from the Central Oregon high desert to the Port...

One of the most watched congressional races in the country is in Southwest Washington, and yesterday’s primary yielded few surprises. Washington’s 3rd Congressional District will be critical for both Democrats and Republicans hoping to control the U.S. House. Out of 435 House seats on the ballot this year, it’s one of only a handful of races political experts say will be a toss-up. Republican stat...

At first, Ada Limón wasn’t able to write poetry during the pandemic. And then she wrote a poem called “The Hurting Kind.” From that flowed the rest of her new book of poems under that same name. We talked to Limón, then the poet laureate of the United States, before an audience in April 2023 at the Literary Arts space in downtown Portland.

In 2019, a 19-year-old man named Zac Brettler died after jumping off the balcony of a luxury apartment in London near the River Thames. Police never came to a conclusion about what led to Brettler’s death. But soon after, it was revealed that Brettler was living a double-life, filled with lies and organized crime in a city changed by extreme wealth. Patrick Radden Keefe dives into this story in hi...

Four years ago, a Portland Jewish family’s home was destroyed in an arson. As they got rid of all their burned belongings, the one thing they couldn’t bear to do was toss out with the rest of the burned remains a 100 year-old Steinway grand piano that had belonged to “Grandma Bess.” Much of it was intact, though not restorable. They reached out to musicians and artists and ultimately found their w...

On August 6, 1945, the U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, killing an estimated 140,000 thousand people. Hideko Tamura Snider was 10 years old at the time of the devastating blast and suffered unspeakable loss. She tells her story and her work for peace and reconciliation in the new documentary “Seeds of Peace.” She recently revised and updated her 1998 memoir “On...

Last year, California and Washington passed laws to make it easier to allow midrise buildings to be built near transit stations throughout the state. Oregon did not. According to Fischer Jemisen, who runs urbanpdx.blog, transit-oriented upzoning in Portland could help answer the ridership recovery issues that TriMet is having. He joins us to share more on the benefits and challenges of transit upz...

Stage magic reached its peak in the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th century, when illusionists such as Harry Houdini and Howard Thurston fascinated audiences with feats of escapism, levitation and more. It had a resurgence in the late 20th century when David Copperfield, Penn and Teller and others brought their acts to television audiences. In the age of reality TV stars and social media infl...