Think Out Loud

Susan Sokolowski holds more than 100 patents, most of which she earned during the nearly 18 years she worked as a sports product designer at Nike. One of her favorite patents was for Flyknit, a knitted fabric upper that’s lightweight and provides a sock-like fit on shoes. The inspiration for it came, she says, from conversations she had with women athletes while working as a designer on Nike’s women’s footwear division, which launched in 2002. While at Nike, she also helped design shoes worn by women gymnasts at the 2008 Summer Olympics and track and field uniforms worn by Team USA at the 2016 Summer Olympics. That same year, Sokolowski left Nike to launch University of Oregon’s first graduate program in sports product design.  Sokolowski was named by USA Today as one of its 2025 Women of the Year in recognition for her work championing and designing sports apparel and products made specifically for women such as sports bras and women’s running shoes. She joins us to discuss her trailblazing career and the big trends, challenges and future of this industry, from sustainable fabrics to equipment for athletes with disabilities.

Artificial intelligence is beginning to change the entry-level job market. AI often automates the repetitive tasks that might otherwise allow new employees to learn on the job, and some worry it could eventually replace those jobs altogether. A study from Stanford University found these changes were most likely to affect “AI exposed occupations” such as software development and customer service. Lucas Hellberg is an enterprise reporter for the Daily Emerald newspaper at the University of Oregon and an elections reporting intern for Lookout Eugene-Springfield. He recently wrote about how AI is changing entry-level jobs in Oregon, and joins us with more details.

College newspapers are often on shoestring budget, and at the same time they’re a vitally important source of information — especially for their student readers. At the University of Oregon’s The Daily Emerald and Portland State University’s The Vanguard, reporters have been tear-gassed while covering immigration protests. Though reporters at Oregon State University’s The Daily Barometer have not faced that challenge, the editor-in-chief says the paper would like to be prepared for that situation if it arises. All three papers also cover stories in the community that affect the campus. Managing these competing priorities with limited resources can be a major challenge. We get more details from the editors-in-chief at the University of Oregon, Oregon State University and Portland State University: Tarek Anthony, Jenna Benson and Noah Carandanis.

Next Friday, the 2026 Paralympic Games kick off in Milan Cortina, the same region in Northern Italy which hosted the recently concluded Winter Olympics. Anna Soens is an alpine skier from Bend with incomplete paralysis who earned a spot on the Team USA roster. She will now head to Italy to join more than 650 athletes from around the world vying for victory in nearly 80 medal events.    It is her first time competing in the Paralympics where she has qualified for five events:  downhill, super-G, alpine combined, giant slalom and slalom. The achievement is even more impressive considering that she has only been skiing with the use of adaptive equipment for less than a decade after an accident at a Portland rock climbing gym left her with incomplete paralysis below the hips. In 2018, Soens became the first woman with paraplegia to summit Mt. Hood, which she did with her father, and she is the first person to descend its summit using a sit-ski.    Soens joins us to share her remarkable athletic journey and hopes for her Paralympic races.  

Portland Playhouse in Northeast Portland is currently performing "Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous." The play follows four Black women artists as they confront their own and each other’s evolving definitions of art, protest, and storytelling. Audiences have until March 15 to see performances by Faith Lavon and Ashlee Radney, who play actors of different generations. They join us to discuss the production and its relevance today.  

On October 7, 2023, Liat Beinin Atzili and her husband Aviv Atzili were kidnapped from their home in an Israeli kibbutz. The new documentary “Holding Liat” follows Liat’s family — including members in Portland — in the days and months that followed as they fight for her release and face their own conflicting perspectives on the crisis in Israel and Gaza. Lance Kramer, one of the producers of the film, and Joel Beinin, Liat’s uncle, join us.

The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs were recently recognized by the Wild Sheep Foundation for their ongoing efforts to preserve bighorn sheep populations. They’ve been taking measures to protect wild sheep in Oregon since the 1980s, helping to manage disease and predation.    Austin Smith, general manager of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs branch of natural resources, joins us to discuss what’s threatening the population, and what it takes to protect these animals in Oregon.  

Earlier this month, Oregon Health and Science University released new nationwide data that found low physician participation in Medicaid.  Researchers deemed these physicians “ghost” providers: physicians who are enrolled in Medicaid, but don’t care for even a single patient covered by the federal health insurance program. Those findings also revealed that another third of physicians who are enrolled in Medicaid may be overburdened, with higher-than-average yearly patient volumes. Dr. Jane Zhu, associate professor of medicine at OHSU, joins us with more details.  

The Oregon public defense system has been in crisis for many years. The number of defendants who need representation has far outstripped the number of available public defenders. Previous reports found the state’s system violated Oregonians’ constitutional rights. Earlier this month the Oregon Supreme Court ruled unanimously  that criminal charges against defendants must be dropped if an attorney cannot be found. Oregon lawmakers have passed legislation aimed at alleviating the crisis. We sit down with Ken Sanchagrin, the new head of the Oregon Public Defense Commission, to talk about the progress that’s been made in turning the crisis around and the future of the system.

          According to recent surveys, the number of people who say they are experiencing burnout is on the rise. Dr. Zarya Rubin practices functional medicine in Portland who specializes in identifying and relieving burnout. She started a podcast last year that she both produces and hosts called “Outsmart Burnout.” She says burnout can manifest as physical and mental exhaustion, brain fog, an increase in anxiety and a decrease in productivity. The factors that contribute to this phenomenon can include almost every aspect of life from work and family dynamics to national politics. We sit down with Rubin to hear more, including her recommendations for getting relief - and take your calls. Our call-in number is 888-665-5865.

Last month marked the beginning of a statewide ban on cell phones in Oregon schools. The executive order, issued by Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, prohibits the use of personal devices such as phones, smart watches and earbuds during instructional hours, including lunchtime and between periods. School districts were to adopt policies by October 31, 2025, and enforce the new rules beginning January 1.   Grant High School in Northeast Portland adopted a phone-free policy in 2024. South Eugene High School began implementing its cell phone policy last month.   James Mcgee, principal of Grant High School, and Kee Zublin, principal of South Eugene High School, join us to give us more information on how parents, administrators, students and teachers are adjusting to the new policies.

The Columbia Center for the Arts in Hood River is currently hosting “Black Infinity House,” a free, immersive art exhibit on display for Black History Month until March 29.  The exhibit is arranged into three spaces - an artist’s studio, a living room and a porch – that visitors walk through to experience art made by more than 30 Black Oregon artists whose work spans different genres and generations. It includes fabric art illustrating timeless vistas of the Columbia Gorge; painted portraits of Black, tattooed youth; a series of works made by burning designs and illustrations onto wooden canvases painted with imagery of snakes, skulls, hair and hands; handmade beaded jewelry.   August Oaks, a Hood River-based producer and designer, is the curator of “Black Infinity House,” which he created to celebrate the expansiveness of Black identity. Oaks is also a member of Black in the Gorge, a grassroots organization that started five years ago in Hood River to ease the isolation Black, biracial and multiracial youth and adults can feel living in the Gorge. From organizing the first Juneteenth celebration in Hood River in 2023 to its Black History Month events this year, the group has been expanding its programs and its profile among the communities it serves. Oaks and Black in the Gorge co-founders Evelyn Charity and Stephanie Harris, whose jewelry is featured in the exhibit, join us for more details.

The Black newspaper The Skanner was founded more than 50 years ago by Bernie and Bobbie Foster. It became something of an institution and community organization for Black communities in Portland. The paper went entirely online in 2020 but continued to play a critical role in the lives of many Black Oregonians. Recently, the Fosters announced the paper had shut down as of Jan. 30. We sit down with former reporters for the paper, writers Donovan Scribes and Bruce Poinsette, along with Margaret Carter, the first Black woman elected to the Oregon Legislature in 1984. We hear about their personal connections to The Skanner and get more details about the paper’s importance to members of the community.

Last August, a van carrying seven farmworkers in rural Marion County was stopped by immigration agents. OPB reported on the arrest of the farmworkers, including a man identified as LJPL in court documents. He was arrested even though he had no criminal record and had a pending asylum application. That case and others involving the arrests of workers at dairy farms in Wisconsin and Vermont and a beef processing facility in Nebraska are described in a recent article by Investigate Midwest. The investigation offers a rare glimpse into how the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement tactics are playing out in rural farming communities in different states.    It found, for example, that these arrests happen even when immigration agents know that the individual has no criminal record. Attorneys also face obstacles getting access to their clients to challenge their detentions before they’re moved across state lines or deported. Meanwhile, the immigration raids are leaving employers such as family-owned farms and meatpacking plants scrambling to fill shifts or find reliable, non-immigrant labor for these jobs.   Sky Chadde, senior reporter at Investigate Midwest, joins us to share more details.

Washington state made several changes in the last few years to prioritize keeping kids with their birth families. But a new investigation from KUOW found that over the same time period, more babies and children from families who’ve been investigated by Child Protective Services (CPS) workers have died. Eilis O’Neill, a reporter for KUOW, joins us to talk about the story.

According to its website, The Lavender Network is Eugene’s only LGBTQ+ service and community center. The coalition of five nonprofits offers health care, counseling, a free clothing closet and more to queer communities in Lane County. After renting different spaces around Eugene, the network opened its first permanent space near downtown on Feb. 10.   Laura Henry is the manager of The Lavender Network. She joins us to talk about the importance of creating permanent spaces for LGBTQ+ communities.

Last month, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek signed an executive order creating an interagency council to better support immigrants and refugees in the state. According to the Oregon Department of Human Services, there are more than 400,000 immigrants in Oregon, making up nearly 10% of the state’s population and nearly 13% of the state’s workforce.    The Office of Immigrant and Refugee Advancement at ODHS is leading this new effort which aims to boost coordination and communication between multiple state agencies amid the toll heightened immigration enforcement is taking on communities and the state services they rely on.     According to OIRA director Jessica Ventura, the council had its first meeting last week and aims to deliver a plan by late spring that identifies how to align and boost state programs to support immigrants and refugees while upholding the state’s sanctuary law. Gov. Kotek and Ventura join us for more details about the Interagency Council for Immigrant and Refugee Coordination and to share what they’ve been hearing from dozens of community partners who advocate on behalf of these vulnerable Oregonians.  

Stacey Abrams has published more than a dozen books over the last 25 years. Those include thrillers, romance novels, children’s books and political memoirs and manifestos. That would be a full career for most people, but Stacey Abrams seems to have more energy than most people.   While she has always been a writer, she has also been a tax attorney, a Georgia state lawmaker, the minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives and the first Black woman in U.S. history to become the gubernatorial nominee of a major political party.   Abrams has launched multiple nonprofit organizations and for-profit companies, with a longstanding focus on voter registration and voter’s rights. Her new book is “Coded Justice.” She spoke with “Think Out Loud” host Dave Miller in front of an audience at the 2025 Portland Book Festival.  

Portland author David F. Walker and illustrator Marcus Kwame Anderson have worked together before - on a 2021 graphic novel about the Black Panther Party. This time they’ve teamed up on something a little different: an update of the classic American novel “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” In their version, the escaped slave Jim is more than just Huck’s companion; he’s a fully imagined character. Walker joined us on Dec. 2, 2024 to talk about the work of updating an American classic.  

Much of our understanding about the earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and floods that shaped the geology of the Pacific Northwest comes from Western scientists. But those records almost always overlook the oral traditions of Native American tribes who witnessed those events.   An exhibit at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland looks at the eruption of Mount Mazama, the Ice Age floods and other geological events through the perspective of the Nez Perce and other Columbia Basin tribes. “Heads & Hearts: Seeing the Landscape through Nez Perce Eyes” is on display through Feb. 16.   Geologists Roger Amerman and Ellen Bishop created the exhibit, which originally appeared at the Josephy Center for Arts & Culture in Joseph. They join us to talk about how Native oral traditions can — and should — inform modern science.  

Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-Portland) escorted a family — including a 7-year-old girl — from an ICE detention facility in Texas back to Oregon on Saturday. The Crespo-Gonzalez family was detained last month while bringing their sick child to urgent care. We sit down with Dexter to hear about that experience and her work in Congress focused on ICE funding and policy. OPB reporter Holly Bartholomew covers Portland’s suburban communities as a Report for America Corps Member. We also talk with her about how the family is doing now and the latest developments around federal immigration actions in Oregon.  

In books like “Breathe” and “South to America,” National Book Award and MacArthur “genius” grant winner Imani Perry writes about Blackness in America with clarity, elegance, rage, and joy. Perry is a Professor of Studies of Women, Gender and Sexuality and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University. Her latest book is “Black in Blues,” a meditation on the color blue and its role in Black history and culture. Perry talks to us in front of an audience of students at Woodburn High School.

When Chuck Sams was sworn in as director of the National Park Service in 2021, he became the first Native American to lead the agency. Sams previously served as a member of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council and as executive director of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.   Not long after Sams returned to Oregon after leaving the agency last year, the Trump administration fired nearly 1,000 park service employees without warning. The agency lost nearly a quarter of its permanent staff in the following months.  Sams has denounced the loss of institutional knowledge within the National Park Service. He joins us to share his thoughts.

 Lawmakers are meeting in Salem to discuss and decide the fate of a flurry of bills during Oregon’s short legislative session this year. One of those is a bipartisan bill that would hike the state’s lodging tax at places like campgrounds, hotels and Airbnbs from 1.5% to 2.75%.    The tax increase is expected to raise tens of millions of dollars for wildlife protection, habitat conservation, anti-poaching efforts, combating invasive species and mitigating wildfires. It would also compensate ranchers for cattle killed by wolves.    The bill’s sponsors – Rep. Mark Owens (R-Crane) and Rep. Ken Helm (D-Beaverton)  – join us to share why they support it and why they revived it this year after it died in the final days of last year’s session. Jason Brandt, President and CEO of the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association, also joins us to share his opposition to the bill.  

Logan Patterson graduated in May 2025 from Washington State University’s College of Medicine and is currently a resident at the Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane. During his four years of medical school, he says that he got almost no formal training in end-of-life care, including how to talk with patients and their families about death and dying.       It turns out that his experience is hardly unique, according to a new study Patterson co-authored and recently published with his former colleagues at Washington State University.   The researchers reviewed the two largest medical journal databases to look for papers published between January 2010 and April 2025 about death and dying instruction  in U.S. medical schools. They found only 43 articles on this topic and wide variability on how death and dying is being taught, from a single seminar on advanced care planning to required rotations in hospice and palliative care settings. The researchers argue that U.S. medical schools lack a consistent and evidence-based curriculum for end-of-life care.    Dr. Patterson joins us for more details, including the social and academic challenges of effectively teaching death and dying to students to help prepare them for some of the toughest conversations they may soon be forced to have with their patients.  

In 2024, Oregon State University assistant professor of psychology Steven Sanders created a scale to measure toxic masculinity. Researchers say for masculine behavior to be deemed as “toxic,” it  must be damaging to the person or people around them. But why should we study this? What impacts does it have in our society? Sanders joins us to answer these questions and more.

 Portland filmmaker Jan Haaken has a new short documentary called “SUMUD: A doctor’s report on genocide and survival in Gaza.” “Sumud” in Arabic means “steadfast perseverance.” The film follows Oregon Health and Science University anesthesiologist Travis Melin as he provided volunteer medical care in Gaza in August of 2025. We’re joined by Haaken and Melin who share more about making the documentary -- and what effect they hope the stories in the film will have.

Ten of Oregon’s 34 rural hospitals have no labor and delivery units, and even more are at risk of shutting their doors. This raises concerns for those seeking maternal healthcare in rural areas as residents face high drive times to the remaining providers, limiting their access to prenatal visits and increasing risk in cases of emergency.   Late last month, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek announced $15 million in funding for maternity care in rural hospitals across the state. This will provide payments to rural hospitals with labor and delivery units that have “fewer than 50 beds and may or may not be within 30 miles of another hospital.”   Jeanna Romer is an obstetrician and gynecologist at Grande Ronde Hospital in La Grande. Nora Hawkins is a direct-entry midwife in Wallowa County. They both join us to give us a sense of what that funding might mean, and the general state of obstetric care in Northeast Oregon.    

Like many ideas, it started over a round of drinks. Musicians, Shorty Delgado, James Jones and Joshua Josué were discussing where they stood in the world of music, each of their sounds not classically Country music, Americana and having spanish thrown into the mix, doesn’t make them Tejano either. Thus, Electric Chololand Records was born. An indie-start up record label celebrating Chicano musicians, stories and heritage, with a specialty in Chicano Rock. Delgado is the head of the label, which launched in 2024. Josué is one of the artists under the label whose new album, “Broadcast to the Surf Ballroom,” is a tribute album made up of demos and unfinished songs from artists Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens, two musical inspirations for Josué. Delgado joins us to share more on the record label and its creation. And Josué joins us to discuss his music and share a few songs, with performances from Ben Rice, Nick Skalberg, Marilyn Darrel and Yoshi Sheetz.

The Columbian recently reported that Clark County recorded the highest rate of evictions per capita in Washington state for the third year in a row. In 2025, Clark County landlords filed 2,275 cases to evict tenants, an increase of roughly 33% since 2023.    Washington has passed legislation in recent years to help tenants, including a new law Governor Bob Ferguson signed last May that limits rent increases  to no more than 10% in a year. In 2021, Washington became the first state in the nation to establish a right to free legal counsel for low-income tenants facing eviction. But amid growing need and rising caseloads, the Washington State Office of Legal Aid is seeking $3 million in supplemental funding from lawmakers for the next fiscal year.    Mia Ryder-Marks is a reporter for The Columbian covering homelessness, affordable housing and veterans. She joins us for more details.  

Yabusame is a form of Japanese horseback archery that dates back centuries. The sport has traditionally only been practiced in Japan, but in recent years, students outside the country have been allowed to participate — including in Oregon. As reported in Eugene Weekly, Carey Norland participated in one of the first yabusame clinics outside Japan last summer. He then traveled from Eugene to Japan to compete in the World Yabusame Championships in October.  Norland is now set to become one of the first certified yabusame instructors outside of Japan. He joins us to talk about bringing the sport and its spiritual practice to students in the Pacific Northwest.

The Portland-based Innovation Law Lab was in federal court Wednesday, challenging the ICE policy of arresting immigrants and U.S. citizens without warrants and without due process. If successful, Oregon would join Washington, D.C. and Colorado in preventing this tactic.    From warrantless arrests to unlawful use of force to arresting of journalists and other violations of civil rights, Portland constitutional law scholar Steve Kanter says these federal unconstitutional actions threaten democracy itself. Kanter joins us to put these actions in the context of the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the First, Fourth and Fifth Amendments. Jordan Cunnings, legal director of the Innovation Law Lab, also joins us to share details about the federal court hearing on warrantless arrests in Oregon.    

 The U.S. Forest Service is responsible for over 370,000 miles of roads and around 160,000 miles of trails, much of which are on federal lands. But, a government report from 2013 found that only about a quarter of these trails met safety or maintenance standards. Even more recent, in November an internal report from the agency showed a 100% loss of trail staff and widespread declining morale. What do we lose when we don’t maintain our trails? What do these trails across the country, and in Oregon, tell us about our history? And what challenges do staff and volunteers maintaining these routes face today? Dillon Osleger is a writer and public lands analyst. His forthcoming book “Trail Works” releases in May and he had a recent story in RE:PUBLIC and High Country News. He joins us to answer these questions and more.

If a 10-billion-ton hunk of glacial ice falls into the arctic ocean and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?   Erin Pettit and researchers at Oregon State University were set to find out.   They’ve been studying melting glaciers by dropping hydrophones — specialized underwater microphones — into the water near these massive ice formations. It turns out, glacial ice has a surprising song: Hissing, popping and sizzling of pressurized bubbles bursting, and low rumbling and crackling of glacial calving events. Some of these distinct noises can tell researchers how the formations have changed over time.   Pettit joins us to discuss her research and show us some of the sounds of glaciers she’s collected.  

A vast amount of our built environment is made of concrete. It’s largely affordable, durable and easy to make. It’s also responsible, by some estimates, for roughly 8% of global CO2 emissions.   But the U.S. is also facing a significant housing demand shortage, and since concrete is one of the primary building materials for houses and apartments, scientists are working to make it more sustainable to produce.   Late last year, a research lab at Oregon State University made a breakthrough when they created a more environmentally friendly concrete derived from soil instead of cement. Besides emitting less CO2 during production, it’s strong, dries fast and it can be 3D printed more rapidly.   Devin Roach is an assistant professor of manufacturing and mechanical engineering at OSU. He joins us to share more about how the concrete was made, why it’s useful and the possibilities for commercial use.  

 Last year, when Kaarin Knudson became the mayor of Oregon’s third-largest city, her plan was to revitalize downtown Eugene, build more housing and shrink the city’s roughly $10 million budget gap for the 2025-2027 biennium.    The goalposts haven’t shifted much, except now there’s a growing problem. Knudson says many of her constituents are concerned about federal law enforcement in their communities, especially after a surge in Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity across Oregon last fall.    Now, Knudson’s mayorship has turned into a balancing act: tackling housing supply, transportation infrastructure and public safety, all with the city’s eyes on Knudson and her office as they navigate ongoing federal uncertainty.    Mayor Knudson joins us to reflect on her first year in office and share how she’s thinking about the road ahead  

 Over the weekend thousands gathered to peacefully protest in S. Portland to speak out against  increased immigration enforcement across the country. But demonstrations did not stay peaceful as federal agents near the ICE facility deployed tear gas that traveled several blocks, affecting many who gathered, including families, children and elderly people. Soon after these events, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson released a statement, asking for those who are working for ICE to resign and said that the city will “swiftly” work to enforce an ordinance that passed earlier this month, which would fine the detention center for using chemical munitions. Alex Zielinski is OPB’s Portland city government reporter and joins us with more details.

A few months ago, Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny guest hosted an episode of “Saturday Night Live” where he appeared in a skit as a Spanish nobleman from the Middle Ages wearing an inky blue robe with gold threading on the collar and sleeves. The costume he wore didn’t come from the show’s wardrobe department. Instead, it was shipped overnight by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival Costume Rentals department in Talent.    As profiled in a recent article in Oregon ArtsWatch, for more than 20 years, OSF Costume Rentals has been making costumes and accessories that were created for its productions available to rent by local theater companies, academic institutions, film and photo shoots and TV shows like “SNL.” The vast digital inventory is searchable online and spans more than 30,000 costumes and accessories, from elaborate Elizabethan gowns and silky Regency dresses to velour smoking jackets and butterfly-collared shirts.    OSF Costume Rentals supervisor Celina Gigliello-Pretto and OSF Director of Productions Malia Argüello share how OSF is preserving its costumes and helping other productions reimagine their possibilities.  

The podcast “Conspirituality” digs into the conspiracy theories arising at the intersection of health, wellness and spirituality. As reported in Willamette Week, the show’s three co-hosts combine their expertise in health journalism, psychology and cult research to "discuss the stories, cognitive dissonances, and cultic dynamics tearing through the yoga, wellness, and new spirituality worlds.”  Portlander Derek Beres is one of the co-hosts of “Conspirituality.” He joins us to talk about analyzing and debunking pseudoscience in a time of unprecedented health misinformation.

If you want to see some really old stuff, Portland isn’t a bad place to be. With dozens of antique shops around the city, it isn’t hard to find objects more than a hundred years old.   But from now until March 6, Lewis & Clark College will do you one better: Its special collections department has unveiled an exhibit featuring manuscripts from the Middle Ages, some dating back to 13th century Europe. While rare now in the 21st century, the items on display were once mundane, everyday objects, including legal documents and prayer books with colorful illustrations.   It’s not often that small liberal arts colleges gain access to such rare documents, as larger research institutions and elite universities frequently take priority. In fact, it’s the first time in nearly three decades that a collection this old has made its way to the Rose City. The exhibit, “Shaping the Soul,” is free and open to the public.   At Lewis & Clark College, Hannah Crummé is the head of special collections, and Karen Gross is a medievalist and professor of English. They join us to share more about the manuscripts and their significance today, hundreds of years later.

After the murder of George Floyd, federal law enforcement agencies banned the use of chokeholds during arrests. But new reporting from ProPublica found more than 40 cases where immigration agents used these banned practices, including in Portland. Nicole Foy reported on this story and joins us to share more.

The 2026 Winter Olympics kick off next Friday in northern Italy, with nearly 3,000 athletes from more than 90 countries vying for a medal in events ranging from figure skating to curling. Twelve athletes from Oregon and Washington have qualified for Team USA’s roster competing in Milan, Cortina D’Ampezzo and a handful of other sites where skiing and snowboarding events will be held.     Yoav Dubinsky, an associate teaching professor of marketing at University of Oregon, will also be there to attend matches, do research and help organize an Olympic studies symposium in Naples. Dubinsky is also the operational director of the Olympic Studies Hub, which he helped launch within the UO’s business college in December 2024. It’s part of a network of more than 80 Olympic Studies and Research Centers recognized by the International Olympic Committee.    Although this is the sixth Olympics Dubinsky will attend, which he first did as a former sports journalist, it will be his first Winter Olympics. We’ll talk to him about what events he plans to attend and his research interests, including the marketing and branding opportunities host nations seize on to promote their culture and polish their image with visitors and viewers worldwide.