OPB Audio

Last year over 7,000 people gathered on camp chairs and picnic blankets to hear the opera “Carmen” at Peninsula Park in Portland. It was a performance staged by the organization Opera in the Park, which aims to share the love of opera with as many people as possible. This year the organization will bring the Oregon premiere of the world's first Mariachi opera, “Cruzar la Cara de la Luna,” to both...

Nearly 30% of people who experienced homelessness in Clark County last year were children. That’s according to a recent report by the Council for Homelessness, which also found that the percentage of family households stabilized through rent assistance dropped by 5% last year. For families experiencing homelessness in Vancouver, they may have to wait months until a spot becomes available at the fe...

Resources are stretched thin in an already grueling fire season in Oregon.

Public and private universities alike are facing increasing financial strain with rising costs, limited funding and tuition already unaffordable for many. Now two of Oregon’s private universities have decided to merge, in large part to save money. Willamette University and Pacific University are the oldest colleges in Oregon and the entire Western U.S., predating Oregon statehood. Leaders of both...

Glendon Smith is the inaugural tribal liaison for the Oregon State Police. Since 2023, he’s been responsible for establishing relationships with Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes and educating state troopers on how to interact with tribal citizens and other law enforcement agencies. He recently received a public service ambassador award from Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek for his work. Smith joins...

About 100 different industry, government and academic organization are part of the consortium that will spend 160 million over the next 10 years to increase research on and production of semiconductors. These components are vital to virtually every electronic device you are likely to use, from mobile phones to home appliances. Industry and government leaders say it’s vital that the U.S. keep up wi...

Jury finds Nike discriminated against former employee due to her gender

Portland author and investigator Rene Denfeld releases new thriller, ‘The Talking Bone’

The lone minor-party nominee currently headed to the ballot could siphon votes from Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek.

We end the show today with a listener mailbag. Guest host Jenn Chavez and senior producer Allison Frost read some of your comments about the topics from recent “Think Out Loud” episodes.

The Trump administration is rewriting Bureau of Land Management rules to increase the number of cattle and other livestock that can graze on public lands. The rules affect 155 million acres in the West, an area more than two-and-a-half times the size of Oregon. The BLM says the proposal “reflects the Trump administration’s priority to reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens, promote productive worki...

From Journey and the Grateful Dead, to The Strokes and Depeche Mode, Oregon has no shortage of tribute bands. But why perform the music of another artist? Adam Corkery is a guitarist and vocalist for Brown Stallion, a Ween tribute band based in Eugene and Portland. Renée Muzquiz is the lead vocalist and guitarist for Major Tomboys, an all-femme David Bowie tribute based in Portland. She also repre...

Whether you like it or not, street art is a defining component of a city. However, street art has historically been a male-dominated field, which inspired the Portland Street Art Alliance’s Ladies Up Project. With allocated space and canvases, Ladies Up is rooted in empowering the creative expression of female street artists. We’ll hear from Executive Director Tiffany Conklin and artist Kyra Watki...

Why data centers pose an outsized threat to Eastern Oregon’s air quality

For 52 years, citizen-scientists have documented Mt. Shasta’s melting glaciers as the planet warms from climate change. They’ve taken a series of photographs over decades that shows these glaciers shrinking. These citizen-scientists say they’re hoping to reduce “environmental amnesia” by presenting this visual evidence of climate change. Washington journalist and author of “The Earth Said Remember...

An estimated 56% of people turning 65 will need long-term care in their lifetime, according to the AARP. On average, much of the care is done by unpaid caregivers and friends helping with day-to-day activities. But a program in Washington is designed to help provide seniors to get the care they need. WA Cares Fund is the first state-run program for long-term care insurance. It is funded by a manda...

For more than 25 years, the Roadless Area Conservation Rule has helped protect nearly 60 million acres of federal forest lands from logging and new road construction. Last year, the Trump administration announced it would end “the roadless rule,” which it claims would allow for “more flexibility” to reduce wildfire risk and for “responsible timber production.” Senate Republicans attached an amendm...

According to the Oregon Department of Emergency Management, wildfires have burned more than 300,000 across the state so far. Fire officials say that lightning strikes last week ignited dozens of fires which were fueled by dry vegetation, hot weather and windy conditions. An estimated 1,500 Oregonians are under Level 3 — GO NOW! — evacuation orders. Oregon State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple joi...

Washington’s 3rd District could be among the most competitive House seats this fall

Mary Fariba Afsari is an OB-GYN based in Portland, and she’s the author of a new memoir, called "Labor: One Woman’s Work." She tells the story of her practice, and how she came to turn a 31-foot-RV into a mobile women's health clinic. She also weaves her personal narrative with the story of her grandmother in Iran, who died as a young woman from a lack of reproductive healthcare. We'll talk with A...

Earlier this year, Flor Sánchez made the agonizing decision to leave her husband and 6-year-old son behind, and self-deported to Sinaloa, Mexico amid the Trump Administration’s immigration crackdown. As immigration enforcement activity spread earlier this year into Central Washington, where Sánchez worked in the fruit orchards, she made the choice to depart Sunnyside, Washington and leave the U.S....

Portland mass wedding sees dozens exchanging vows

Portland artist Arvie Smith is known for colorful, larger-than-life oil paintings that explore oppression and injustice against Black Americans through symbolism and visual tropes. He’s also a professor emeritus at Pacific Northwest College of Art after a 35-year tenure. His murals can be seen on buildings in North Portland and at the Donald E. Long Juvenile Center, where he spent time teaching ar...

Seattle poet Kathleen Flenniken grew up in Richland and worked as a civil engineer at Hanford in the 1980s. She served as Washington State Poet Laureate from 2012-2014. In her first year as poet laureate, she published a collection called Plume, which deals directly with how her Hanford area upbringing influenced her.  The book explores the history of the site, the death of her best friend's fathe...

Big Portland Bake Show puts a PNW spin on a British baking competition