Sometimes a Great Podcast

Season 1, Episode 41 — Jan. 14, 2026 27:24  In this week’s episode of The Big Picture , we head to the Portland waterfront — fountains running, music drifting, Pride unfolding nearby — for a conversation about what community engagement really looks like when it moves beyond offices and into lived spaces. Bethany and Shenika are joined by Priscilla Peduzzi, a retention and recruitment champion with...

Season 1, Episode 39 — January 12, 2026 18:34 This week’s episode takes the calm, procedural tone of a pre-flight safety briefing and applies it to the systems that quietly keep ODHS moving. From leadership updates and federal clarity to policy changes and behind-the-scenes operations, these are the details that don’t look dramatic—until they suddenly matter. No turbulence expected, but plenty to...

Season 1, Episode 39: Jan. 5, 2026 30:03 min In the first episode of 2026, The Big Picture heads to the North Clackamas ODHS office for a grounded, human conversation with Moy Lemus, an eligibility worker whose story reminds us what trauma-informed care looks like in real time. Moy walks through a moment that began as a routine domestic-violence application and quickly became a crisis — a client l...

Sometimes a Great Podcast: Discover ODHS Season 1, Episode 38 — Jan. 5, 2026 15:26 Fresh calendars. Old deadlines. And a Hall of Justice that never really closed. This week’s episode kicks off the new year SuperFriends-style — with leadership changes, clarified federal facts, and a full lineup of behind-the-scenes systems that quietly keep ODHS steady. From district transitions to digital safety,...

In this special year-end episode, The Big Picture becomes a road story — one told in miles, conversations, and quiet moments between destinations. Drawing from more than 10,000 miles traveled across Oregon for ODHS Communications, Bethany reflects on fear, visibility, and the slow, sometimes unexpected ways trust is rebuilt. What begins as a meditation on movement — from Astoria to Brookings, Burn...

Season 1, Episode 36: Dec. 29, 202537:54 It’s the final episode of 2025, and we’re rolling out the metaphorical red carpet for the very first SAG-Ps Awards — the only award show where the swag is pizza, the carpet is hallway tile, and the performances are real people doing real work when no one’s watching. Recorded with a live District 10 judging panel, this episode celebrates the stories that mad...

Season 1, Episode 34: Dec. 22, 2025 With calendars creaking and inboxes begging for mercy, this week’s episode captures that unmistakable end-of-year ODHS energy — part urgency, part care, part quiet humor holding it all together. From critical SNAP updates to stories of community support, steady leadership, and holiday generosity, this episode closes out the year the way ODHS does best: informed,...

You may be hearing questions about Medicaid data sharing and immigration enforcement. In late November, CMS announced a federal policy that could allow limited Medicaid and Marketplace data sharing with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Oregon is actively challenging that policy in court, and a judge has ordered CMS not to share this data while the case continues. That court order has now...

Season 1, Episode 32: Dec. 15, 2025 18:07 This week, we’re rolling into the holidays Mystery Machine–style, cruising foggy Oregon roads with a full cast of Scooby-inspired stories — from compassionate holiday moments to agency-wide reminders that keep our teams safe, steady, and informed. We’re talking festive decorating do’s and don’ts, a federal update that cuts through the rumor fog, and a Velm...

The federal government has proposed changes to the public charge rule—used by immigration officers to decide whether someone seeking a visa or green card may depend heavily on government support—but the rules have not changed , and the 2022 public charge rule remains in effect . Most ODHS benefits do not count toward public charge; currently, only Medicaid-funded long-term care in a nursing home a...

Season 1, Episode 31: Dec. 10, 202530 min, 28 sec. What’s inside The Big Picture This week, The Big Picture heads to Corvallis for a conversation with benefit eligibility worker and Mi Gente ERG chair Umberto Nation , who breaks down what ERGs are really meant to do. He explains how they began as a way to bridge communities who often view government as distant, and the ODHS staff who share their c...

Season 1, Episode 30: Dec. 8, 2025 19:31 This week, we’re cranking the dial all the way into 1990s radio nostalgia — where big-hearted updates meet big-haired energy, and every announcement lands like a power ballad hitting its final key change. From seasonal well-being tools and inclusive recruitment support to ERG community building and statewide planning for Oregon’s older adults, we’re spinnin...

On November 24, the Governor’s Office received a new letter from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). In this letter, USDA repeated a request that Oregon provide specific SNAP eligibility information for every household member dating back to Jan. 1, 2020.  The request includes personal information, such as names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, immigration status, income details, an...

Season 1, Episode 29: Dec. 3, 2025 28 min, 21 sec. What’s inside The Big Picture This week’s episode brings us to the Newport storefront office on the Oregon coast, where Bethany sits down with OEP eligibility workers Perla Garcia and Susan Reed for a candid conversation about serving families in a season shaped by HR-1, federal shutdown fears, and fast-shifting benefit rules. Perla and Susan desc...

Season 1, Episode 28: Dec. 1, 202519 mins. 41 secs. From a moving office party to maintaining statewide momentum, this edition heads out with a full itinerary: one “Transformation”al December deadline, and a travel-themed tour through four examples of the Magnificent Seven: the new Milton-Freewater office, fresh ERG membership updates, ODHS in the Veteran’s Day Parade, and a statewide Stand Down r...

Season 1, Episode 27: Nov. 25, 2025 34 min, 38 sec. What’s inside The Big Picture This Friendsgiving edition of The Big Picture brings together author and journalist Nico Lang, whose book American Teenager follows transgender youth and their families, and Keya Rolston, OEP Change Leader and PFLAG organizer in Prineville—“Prideville” for the weekend. Nico shares stories like Jack and Auggie’s famil...

Season 1, Episode 26: Nov. 24, 2025 18 mins. 18 secs. From mystery casseroles to meaningful clarity, this Friendsgiving edition of Sometimes a Great Podcast serves up a full table’s worth of updates — two deadline reminders for December 1, one reassuring Fact of the Week, four policy dishes, and a closing reflection inspired by the Hundred Acre Wood. What’s Inside Deadline: ODHS (3:48) New Workday...

As of this week, "Incoming Director Liesl Wendt" is now simply "Director." In recognition, one of non-America's most famous fake coaches wanted to offer his congratulations.

Nothing about SNAP recertification has changed in Oregon. People should continue following their normal reporting and renewal schedule unless ODHS contacts them directly. Most households renew every 12 months with a 6-month report, while older adults and people with disabilities who have no earned income renew every 24 months with a 12-month report. Any additional reviews or reporting requirements...

The Big Picture: “I feel it, too,” Jessica Ventura, director of OIRA Season 1, Episode 25: Nov. 19, 2025 30 min What’s inside The Big Picture  This week’s episode features Jessica Ventura, Director of the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Advancement, whose lived experience shapes her leadership in this moment of heightened fear and uncertainty. Jessica crossed the border at age five, grew up undocu...

Season 1, Episode 24: Nov. 17, 2025 21 mins. 54 secs. From the first jolt of Monday caffeine to the last refill that gets you through a long afternoon, this week’s episode is brewed for anyone running on grit, heart, and a little extra espresso. Each story percolates with warmth and resilience — from Oregon’s SNAP shutdown response to updates from Trauma Aware that kept our teams steady through un...

FACT of the Week November 12, 2025 1 Min. 41 sec. Summary:  This week’s information comes from the priority alert originally sent on Monday, November 10, featuring the latest status of November SNAP benefits. To start with the essentials: a federal court ordered the release of 100 percent of monthly benefits, and ODHS moved quickly to issue funds to all eligible Oregonians on November 7. Over the...

Season 1, Episode 21: Nov. 5, 2025 35 min What’s inside The Big Picture This week’s episode of The Big Picture: The Voices of ODHS is the conclusion of an intimate, forward-looking conversation with Bree Scarborough , a mother rebuilding stability for her family; Victoria Neil , her Child Welfare permanency worker; and Christine Warner , her Family Coach from Self-Sufficiency Programs. Bree shares...

Season 1, Episode 20: Nov. 10, 2025 18 min From brushstrokes of service to bold lines of compassion, this week’s episode paints a portrait of progress across ODHS. Under the theme Resilience in Five Movements , each story adds color and texture — from statewide food-support coordination to preparedness, safety, and care. Join Bethany in a solo studio session where art meets action, and every strok...

Four Minutes for the Fed: Nov. 7, 2025 Governor Tina Kotek announced that all Oregonians receiving SNAP benefits now have access to their full November allotments following a federal court order requiring the Trump Administration to release 100% of national SNAP funding. When the court issued its ruling yesterday afternoon, Governor Kotek immediately directed the Oregon Department of Human Service...