The Evergreen

Honey may be one of the weirder things you’ll see in a science lab. But researchers at Washington State University Vancouver say honey is key to what they’re working on: faster, cleaner computers.    OPB’s science reporter Jes Burns learned about their research - including the effort to make computer chips work more like human brains - and gives us an inside look. You c...

Carolyn Arntson and Denise Hatch have spent the past few years sorting through thousands of old cardboard boxes abandoned at Oregon funeral homes with one goal in mind: to find the remains of veterans, and get them interred at Willamette National Cemetery. OPB general assignment reporter Joni Auden Land has been following these women on their journey and tells us how the two sifted through boxes o...

June is officially Pride month, but queer celebrations spill over into July – Portland Pride is this weekend. And of course, queer visibility shouldn’t be limited to one month of the year; it’s important all the time. Pride is about celebrating queer communities and it’s also a chance to learn about queer history. We bring you two intergenerational conversations about the i...

Oregon has a unique history with cults — remember Rajneeshpuram , the inspiration for the docuseries Wild Wild Country? A spiritual group known as TwinRay is based in Ashland, Oregon. The leaders dress in all white and charge thousands of dollars for online classes. Are they a cult? OPB reporter Leah Sottile fills us in on the details. You can read her recent article on TwinRay here .  ...

Hi! It’s Jenn Chávez, host of The Evergreen. When I’m walking around, I often wonder about the lives of people I see at work, in different professions. What made them want to have that job in the first place? Is it hard? Do they see themselves doing that forever?   Lucky for me, I have the perfect job to ask people those questions. For our latest “At Work With”...

Water rights are super confusing. In the face of ongoing drought , farms, homes, wildlife and commercial users like golf courses and resorts are all competing for this precious resource. OPB’s Central Oregon Bureau Chief Emily Cureton Cook joins us to help shed some light on the situation and what changes could be on the horizon.   For more coverage on Oregon’s struggle with droug...

Last week, we introduced you to OPB’s Class of 2025 project , where we are following a class of kindergarteners on their journey all the way through high school. The idea stems from a goal Oregon set more than a decade ago – a 100% high school graduation rate by 2025.    As the Class of 2025 has grown, so has Oregon. That once tall order of a 100% high school graduation rate...

Over a decade ago, former Oregon governor John Kitzhaber announced an aspirational goal to improve the state’s low-ranking high school graduation rate. His mission: a 100% graduation by 2025.   If successful, Oregon would catapult its rock-bottom national ranking to the top. It was a very ambitious goal. And so back in 2012 - when ‘Call Me Maybe’ was the song you heard every...

NBA Hall-of-Famer, Portland Trail Blazers legend and Northwest icon Bill Walton died recently at the age of 71. He’s known as one of the most beloved Blazers of all time, credited with leading the team to its first NBA Championship in 1977. He’s also remembered as a freewheeling sportscaster, a devoted Deadhead, a young activist, a bike-lover and so much more. It’s clear from the...

The U.S. Supreme Court is currently considering a case out of Grants Pass that asks whether cities can punish people for living outdoors if there’s not enough shelter space for them to go to instead. Clinton Triangle, a large, low-barrier, outdoor shelter in Southeast Portland, is supposed to be the city’s model for how to serve chronically homeless Portlanders, and allow the city to e...

A case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court centers around this question: can cities punish people for living outdoors if there’s no other place for them to go? The court’s ruling, which is expected as early as June, could change homelessness policy nationwide — and it all started in Grants Pass, Oregon. Street Roots Newspaper reporter Jeremiah Hayden spent time in Grants Pass...

Everyone who was in the Pacific Northwest on May 18, 1980 has some kind of story about the Mount Saint Helens eruption. OPB producer Ian McKluskey recently revisited that fateful day with some people who remember it very well for both personal and professional reasons. We talk with Ian about unearthing lost stories from Mount St Helens.    For more Evergreen episodes and to share your vo...

A water pollution crisis has been unfolding in Eastern Oregon for decades. Contamination of the Lower Umatilla Basin’s groundwater with excess nitrates — a naturally occurring chemical also found in fertilizer — has meant residents of Morrow and Umatilla Counties who get their water from private wells are struggling to access clean drinking water. Though the issue has been a know...

Dani Rowe has been the artistic director for Oregon Ballet Theatre for a little over a year now. She is the first woman to be named permanent artistic director of the organization in its 35-year history. Rowe brings her experience as a dancer, a choreographer and a mother to bear in her new role. Oregon Art Beat producer Geneva Chin profiled Dani Rowe and brings us some insights.  For more Ev...

If you’re drinking a beer anywhere in the Pacific Northwest, chances are it’s an IPA. Whether you’re grabbing something from the cooler at your local convenience store or choosing a pint at a pub, you’re sure to find a wide selection of this hoppy, crisp style of beer. The letters stand for India Pale Ale, but the IPAs widely available today actually have a strong connectio...

You might have a lot of different ideas in your head about what could drive a family into homelessness, but one thing you might not think of: childcare.  On today’s episode, we’re talking about Oregon’s childcare crisis : how expensive it is for parents and guardians, how hard it can be to find and how providers are struggling with staffing shortages and limited space. ...

You’ve probably heard about fish ladders and other mechanisms to help adult salmon get upstream past dams. It turns out that on the Willamette River, more than half of baby salmon die on their way downstream past the dams trying to get to the ocean. The US Army Corps of Engineers, the federal agency that operates the dams, has proposed building massive and costly fish collectors to try to sa...

Have you ever walked by someone doing an interesting job and wondered: What does their day look like? Who do they meet throughout the day? What made them want to have that job in the first place?    This curiosity sparked a new series we’re calling “At Work With.” Every month, we’ll talk to a Pacific Northwesterner who does something cool – and ask them your...

Oregon has the highest rate of unaccompanied, unsheltered homeless youth in the nation, according to some recent federal data. But in some ways, these young people are invisible. They might be couch surfing or living out of a car, and many face homelessness when they age out of the foster care system. But these might not be the people you think of when you think about people experiencing homelessn...

After decades of advocating, tribal members cheered as a blast at JC Boyle Dam this year kicked off the process of drawing down the reservoirs behind three Klamath River dams.  The removal is expected to restore the river and reopen spawning habitat that salmon haven’t been able to reach for more than a century. OPB science reporter and editor Cassandra Profita brings us the perspective...

On the Oregon-California border, four Klamath River dams are coming out in the country’s largest dam removal project. It will reopen hundreds of miles of salmon habitat and restore  thousands of acres of land, some of which could be returned to Native American tribes. It’s giving some along the river new hope - and leaving others, like farmers, uncertain about their future. ...

Oregon onced required counties to take care of their unhoused residents. The relief institutions, known as “poor farms,” provided food, medical care, even burial services for those without a home. How does that compare to today's support for people living in poverty? We take a deep dive into the history of poor farms, and also try to understand the complex systems in place to support p...

The Portland Art Museum is highlighting Black Artists of Oregon collectively for the first time. The exhibition captures Black diasporic experiences in the Pacific Northwest, dating back from the 19th century to present day. That means stories full of love, joy, anger and darkness from almost 70 Black artists. The exhibition is up until March 31.  Featuring:  Intisar Abioto,  artist...

Oregon voters passed Measure 110 in 2020, decriminalizing the possession of specific amounts of illegal drugs and directing more money towards drug treatment. This new law coincided with a sharp rise in overdose deaths linked to illegal fentanyl. Now, many people are questioning the efficacy of Measure 110 and Oregon lawmakers are considering major changes to the law. OPB reporter Conrad Wilson sp...

Drag has a rich history in the Pacific Northwest. We hear about the legendary drag queen Darcelle XV, who had been an entertainer for more than five decades when she died last year at the age of 92, and the queens who are carrying on her legacy of love and laughter. We round out the episode with two Pacific Northwest queens who have competed on RuPaul’s Drag Race, and say that the culture of...