Think Out Loud

Author and journalist Annalee Newitz looks at the history of psychological operations in their book, “Stories Are Weapons: Psychological Warfare and the American Mind.” It explores misinformation, propaganda and how the stories we hear can manipulate us. The book also features a chapter on the work the Coquille Indian Tribe has done to undo damage these operations did to some Oregon tribes in the past. “Think Out Loud” host Dave Miller spoke with Newitz in front of an audience at a Powell’s Books event on June 4, 2024.

“Think Out Loud” wanted to hear how people are navigating the dating scene right now. So we gathered a panel of “experts” to help us break it down.     Sarah Ruby Armstrong is the creator of Dating Profile Tune-Ups, Playdates and Kissing Booth Social Club. Taylor Kravitz is a licensed marriage and family therapist, the CEO of Empowered Fulfillment Therapy, and an adjunct professor at Lewis & Clark College. Margaret Bagan is a marketing specialist in Portland and served as our resident dating single.    They bravely joined us in front of a live audience at Portland’s Revolution Hall to talk about the highs and lows of modern dating.  

The city of Bend is considering changing its building code to require fire-resistant roofs, siding and other materials in new homes. As reported in the Bend Bulletin, the proposal comes after a surge of interest in wildfire preparedness assessments after the devastating Los Angeles wildfires in early 2025. The Bend City Council is set to consider the measure at its meeting on April 1.    Melissa Steele is the city’s Deputy Fire Marshal for Wildfire Preparedness. She joins us to talk about how using fire-resistant materials could make Bend more resilient in the face of more frequent and intense wildfires.

For the first time, Clatsop Community College in Astoria is offering a course on the spike in recent years of book bans and challenges. The 10-week course launches on March 30 and will explore the reasons why titles such as “The Bluest Eye,” “Looking for Alaska” and "The Perks of Being a Wallflower” are being targeted in school districts or public libraries. The course will also cover TV shows and movie adaptations of novels that have also been targeted to restrict their viewing in school classrooms and public libraries.    The course is being taught by Kama O’Connor, a writing and English instructor at CCC who also writes romance novels under the pen name Kristine Lynn. O’Connor says whereas in previous years most book bans originated by individuals, the bans and challenges today are increasingly arising from religious and conservative organizations that are targeting works they find objectionable, including those with romantic themes or feature characters who are people of color or identify as LGBTQ+.    O’Connor joins us for more details about the course and her personal motivations for teaching it.  

An ambitious plan to develop a shipyard at an under-utilized industrial area near Astoria has come into question recently. Several lawsuits claim that a shipyard project at Tongue Point isn’t living up to promises made to partners, the community and the state. Among other claims, the lawsuits say a boat lift intended to help inspect and repair up to 50 boats a year has only lifted two vessels, even as the project has received $21 million in state funding and a 15-year break in local property taxes. KMUN news director Katie Frankowicz joins us to explain.

The Portland Arts Tax was passed by voters in 2012. It requires those 18 or older to pay the city a flat $35 dollars, if they make $1,000 or more a year and live in a household above the federal poverty line. Residents pay online or by mail separate from their other taxes.  Since it was enacted the tax has drawn criticism for the collection mechanism and how the funds were distributed to public school districts, and large and small arts organizations. As OPB recently reported, the tax has generated a fund of $9 million that has not been spent, even as many local arts organizations lost federal grant funding and are in dire need. Today the city released a new audit of the tax, with recommendations for improvement. We sit down with Audit Services Director KC Jones to get the details.

Since 2022, homeowners have been able to get up to 30% off the cost of installing solar panels through a federal tax credit. But President Trump rolled back those incentives as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The residential credit officially expired on Dec. 31, 2025. The administration also changed how it defines the start of construction for large-scale wind and solar projects, meaning developers have less time to access federal tax credits for those projects.   Angela Crowley-Koch is the executive director of the Oregon Solar and Storage Industries Association. Eric Hansen is the owner of True South Solar, a solar installation company based in Ashland. They both join us to talk about how the rollback of federal incentives are reshaping Oregon’s solar energy industry.  

When the Oregon legislative session kicked off last month, state lawmakers had just five weeks to tackle a slate of priorities. One of those was a plan Democratic state and local leaders championed to keep the Portland Trail Blazers’ prospective new owners from moving the beloved basketball team out of Rip City. Lawmakers in Salem moved closer to that goal with the passage of SB 1501 in the final days of the session. The bill received bipartisan support and allows the state to borrow $365 million by issuing bonds to help pay for the costly renovation of the Moda Center, the aging arena that’s home to the Blazers. The public financing plan has several conditions including: the Blazers’ sale to its new ownership group, led by Tom Dundon, gets approved by the NBA; the team agrees to a 20-year Moda Center lease; and the City of Portland and Multnomah County must also pitch in hundreds of millions of dollars for the renovation. Joining us for a discussion about the public financing plan are Oregon Senate President Rob Wagner, who sponsored the bill, and Dewayne Hankins, President of Business Operations for the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America is holding a free one-day conference in Portland on Wednesday designed for patients, families and caregivers. One of the keynote speakers is the co-director of the state’s only Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Oregon Health and Science University’s Kevin Duff. He says early detection recommendations have changed over recent years and with the emergence of new drugs, many early stage patients can experience dramatically improved outcomes — so catching the disease early is critically important. Duff joins us in studio to discuss the details.

This Friday, a production of “Guys and Dolls” is kicking off at Washougal High School’s performing arts center. But what makes these upcoming performances of this beloved musical different is the cost of admission. It’s entirely pay-what-you-can, which means that cost will not be a barrier for anyone interested in seeing this high-tempo tale of gamblers, grifters and showgirls.   That philosophy is at the heart of Columbia Theater Arts Foundation, the nonprofit theater company staging “Guys and Dolls.” CTAF launched its first production last October, with five performances of “Sound and Music.” According to Michael McCormic Jr., the executive artistic director of CTA Foundation, attendees paid an average of $12 a seat for those nearly sold-out shows. McCormic, who is also starring in “Guys and Dolls,” says that ticket sales cover about half of the cost of CTAF’s productions, with the rest paid for by individual donations and corporate sponsors.    The Columbian recently profiled CTAF and its pay-what-you-can pricing model, which McCormic says is unique in the Portland metro region among theater companies. He joins us to discuss his vision for making theater more accessible in Southwest Washington where few municipal performing arts venues exist.   

A new resource center for trans, nonbinary and gender-diverse communities is opening soon in Ashland. The nonprofit Rogue Trans will offer a free clothing closet, activities, classes and more at the center. An open house was held March 14, and a grand opening celebration is planned for May. Maeve Woulfe is the executive director of Rogue Trans. She joins us to talk about the importance of creating safe spaces for queer communities in Southern Oregon.

 Portland resident Kelli Caldwell’s mother suffers from severe mental illness and episodes of psychosis. She also had access to multiple firearms and other weapons. As her mother's mental illness progressed, the responsibility fell on Caldwell and her family to remove the weapons so her mother wouldn't harm herself or others. Caldwell tried appealing to law enforcement, social services, healthcare agencies and courts for help in removing weapons from her mother’s possession. But help has rarely become available to her.   Caldwell recently wrote about her decades-long journey navigating systems of law enforcement, social services and healthcare agencies for The Marshall Project. She joins us for more details. 3/11 A recent essay in The Marshall Project chronicles a Portland resident’s decadeslong struggle navigating legal systems to remove firearms and other weapons from her mother, who suffers from severe mental illness and psychosis. The author joins us to share more.

Washington state lawmakers concluded the 60-day short legislative session in Olympia yesterday. One of the closely watched bills they passed imposes a state income tax of 9.9% on households earning more than $1 million annually. The so-called millionaires’ tax garnered a record-breaking 25-hour debate on the House floor. Gov. Bob Ferguson is expected to sign the legislation which would not go into effect until 2028.    Scott Greenstone, a politics reporter at our partner station KUOW and co-host of the “Sound Politics” podcast, joins us to discuss the bill and other key developments in the session.   PROMO: 3/13 Washington lawmakers concluded the 60-day short legislative session yesterday, including a highly debated income tax on millionaires passed after a record-breaking 25-hour debate. We’ll hear from a reporter with our partner station, KUOW, with more.

 Portland Public Schools Superintendent Kimberlee Armstrong announced this week the district may need to close five to 10 of its 74 elementary, K-8, middle and alternative schools -- by the fall of 2027. Steadily declining student enrollment and rising costs are tied to the funding crunch, which amounts to $50 million for the next 2026-2027 academic year.  And now, the district recently discovered a $10 million dollar budget gap for this year. The district is moving forward with staff cuts and other reductions to shore up the current budget by June 30. We sit down with Armstrong to get more financial details and what she sees as the way forward. 

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is the first Black woman ever confirmed to the highest court in the land, and a consistent and clear voice of dissent on it. She's also the author of a memoir, “Lovely One,” which was picked as this year’s choice for the Multnomah County Library “Everybody Reads” program. We talk to Justice Jackson in front of an audience of Portland high school students.

Many concert venues rely on alcohol sales for revenue, meaning people under age 21 are often left out of shows. Not so at The Off Beat. Portland nonprofit Friends of Noise opened the venue in the Kenton neighborhood last fall and held a grand-opening show headlined by Team Dresch last month.   André Middleton is the executive director of Friends of Noise. Clara Kornelis is a musician and a booker for The Off Beat. They join us to talk about the importance of creating an all-ages space for young performers and live music fans.  

Last month, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office began testing drones to respond to traffic crashes, crimes or other emergencies deputies might be dispatched to following a 911 call. Skydio, a California-based drone manufacturer, has provided the county with two of its drones and the “Drone as First Responder” software platform that it markets to law enforcement agencies across the nation.     A team of sheriff’s deputies who are FAA-certified drone pilots have been assigned to work on Washington County’s DFR trial program, which is expected to end in mid-April. The pilots work in shifts listening to incoming emergency dispatch calls. A pilot can respond to a call by remotely launching a drone, which has a range of roughly three miles, from its base in Aloha to the scene of an emergency to collect evidence or assess a crash site minutes before the arrival of deputies or other first responders. The DFR drones have responded to more than 90 calls for service since Feb. 20.    Matt Frohnert, a lieutenant in the patrol division of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, joins us to share more details about the program.  

Last month, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office began testing drones to respond to traffic crashes, crimes or other emergencies deputies might be dispatched to following a 911 call. Skydio, a California-based drone manufacturer, has provided the county with two of its drones and the “Drone as First Responder” software platform that it markets to law enforcement agencies across the nation.     A team of sheriff’s deputies who are FAA-certified drone pilots have been assigned to work on Washington County’s DFR trial program, which is expected to end in mid-April. The pilots work in shifts listening to incoming emergency dispatch calls. A pilot can respond to a call by remotely launching a drone, which has a range of roughly three miles, from its base in Aloha to the scene of an emergency to collect evidence or assess a crash site minutes before the arrival of deputies or other first responders. The DFR drones have responded to more than 90 calls for service since Feb. 20.    Matt Frohnert, a lieutenant in the patrol division of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, joins us to share more details about the program.  

Researchers at Oregon State University are using satellite imaging to measure damage in Iran. The Conflict Ecology Lab works to assess the effect peace and conflict have on land. The lab has previously done work around Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan. Jamon Van Don Heok is an associate professor of geology and geopolitical sciences at OSU and leads the lab. He joins us to share more on what he’s seeing.  

 Morgellons disease is a rare skin condition described by intense itching, burning and crawling sensation underneath the skin. Many living with the condition also experience painful sores and, as a 2024 study found, have a lower quality of life. Oregon Health and Science University Dermatologist Jesse Keller is one of the authors of that study. He was also recently featured in an article about the condition in Undark. Keller joins us to share more on what Morgellons disease is and what he hears from the patients he treats.  

 As a company, Oregon-based Nike has previously said that the average factory worker in the 13 countries it has contracts with is paid twice the amount of the local minimum wage. Past reporting from ProPublic found that less than 1% of Cambodian workers made that. Now, a new story from the publication, in partnership with The Oregonian/OregonLive, found that workers in Indonesia also do not reach that standard. On top of that, the reporting found that Nike is also shifting much of its manufacturing to parts of the country that are less-developed and where workers make much less. Rob Davis is a reporter covering the Northwest for ProPublica. Matt Kish is the business reporter for The Oregonian. They join us to share more on what their reporting revealed.  

Oregon foster kids now have a state “Bill of Rights,” which Oregon lawmakers passed nearly unanimously with only a single House member voting no. The legislation was vetoed by the governor last year but modified this year to address her concerns. The Oregon Foster Children’s Bill of Rights expands protections for children and youth in the state’s care, including assurance that kids can still see their siblings even when removed from their family of origin, and that they can bring precious possessions with them — among other protections. We talk with OPB Politics Reporter Lauren Dake to get more details about the legislation and how it’s expected to affect the lives of some of the most vulnerable children in the state.  

The city of Hoboken, New Jersey, has had no traffic deaths for nine years straight. This streak is no fluke. It’s the result of  focused efforts by the city’s planners and concerted leadership from elected representatives. Portland and other cities in Oregon are making some progress in their efforts to reduce these same kinds of deaths, which transportation planners like Lake McTighe say are largely preventable. McTighe is the principle transportation planner for Portland’s regional government Metro. She also manages its Safe Streets for All program, which aims to reduce deaths and serious injuries from traffic crashes. We sit down with McTighe to hear about the best practices that Hoboken and some other cities in the U.S. and other countries have used to eliminate traffic deaths — and get an update on the region’s progress toward that goal.

According to a new investigation from ProPublica, the U.S. Forest Service knew for years that firefighters were wearing clothing containing “forever chemicals” for years. Abe Streep, a reporter at ProPublica, joins us to discuss his story.

There’s a course being taught at the University of Oregon that’s unlike any class offered there before — and possibly the first of its kind in the nation, according to UO. Now in its second year, the course on hostage diplomacy is attracting undergraduates interested in pursuing careers in journalism, public relations and advertising.    The students hear from guest speakers, including family members of current and former hostages and experts who’ve helped negotiate the release of hostages and journalists who have been wrongfully detained by foreign governments. In the spring, students travel to Washington, D.C. to meet with Congressional staffers, U.S. State Department officials and NGOs like The James W. Foley Legacy Foundation and HostageUS.    The course is being co-taught by Jason Rezaian, the 2026 Eric W. Allen Faculty Fellow at UO and The Washington Post’s Director of Press Freedom Initiatives. While reporting in Tehran for The Washington Post, Rezaian was arrested by Iranian authorities in 2014 and wrongfully imprisoned for 544 days before the U.S. government secured his release in January 2016.   Rezaian joins us, along with three UO students who share their experiences with the course: Maren Fullerton, a senior double majoring in advertising and political science; Taylor Parker, a sophomore double majoring in advertising and cinema studies; and Aishiki Nag, a senior double majoring in political science and global studies.  

When you open your eyes in the morning, become aware of the world around you and have your first thoughts about the day ahead … what exactly is happening inside your brain and body? What are the actual mechanisms of consciousness? And how did we go from single celled organisms to conscious beings? Or, for that matter, are single celled organisms conscious? All of these questions and more are addressed in Michael Pollan’s new book “A World Appears.” We talk to Pollan in front of an audience at Revolution Hall in Portland.

PeaceHealth Oregon has decided to use the Atlanta-based company ApolloMD to staff its emergency departments in Lane County, ending a decadeslong contract with Eugene Emergency Physicians. The decision led the group to hold a no-confidence vote in PeaceHealth leadership, which the hospitals’ medical staff supported overwhelmingly. In a statement, PeaceHealth said it selected ApolloMD based on “Lane County’s future emergency medicine needs and the type of resource required to meet increasingly high patient volumes and medical complexity.” Margaret Pattison is the emergency department medical director at PeaceHealth RiverBend in Springfield and a member of Eugene Emergency Physicians. She joins us to talk about the decision and how the group is responding.

Snowpack in the West is facing a historic drought, and new research from the University of Washington shows that forest thinning with modern tools cannot only reduce wildfire risk, but it can also increase the snowpack in winter by up to 30%. The researchers suggest this could help recover lost water and safeguard future water supply.   Forest thinning involves shredding and mulching small trees, shrubs and brush -- vegetation that is least resistant to fire. Creating more gaps between trees opens up sections of the forest floor that are shaded by the remaining forest. Snow that's on shaded ground faces less sun exposure, preserving snowpack more efficiently than when the snow is caught by trees. Cassie Lumbrazo, a research scientist at the University of Washington and the University of Alaska Southeast, joins us to explain the wide range of benefits these thinning methods can have on forest ecosystems and the impact these findings could have during a record-low year for snowpack in our region.

An unassuming house in Southeast Portland’s Buckman neighborhood was recently added to the National Register of Historic Places. Once known as “Juniper House,” the building served as one of the first end-of-life care homes for AIDS patients in the Pacific Northwest in the late 1980s. An OPB documentary at the time explored the lives of some of the patients in Juniper House and the neighboring Assisi House, which provided a range of care for patients with HIV/AIDS. Jan Weyeneth is one of the co-founders of Juniper House. Cayla McGrail is a former associate project manager for Portland’s LGBTQ+ Historic Sites Project, which sponsored the house’s listing. We first spoke with Weyeneth and McGrail in April 2025 about Juniper House and the importance of documenting queer history in Portland.

Rodger Deevers knows he’s a lucky man. He’s a financial advisor in Eugene with all his basic needs met — and then some. But in 2023, after he and his wife took a vacation to the island of Curaçao off the Venezuelan coast, he wanted to bring some of the sense of community and vibrant public art back to the Eugene-Springfield area — and contribute to area nonprofits.  He says he didn’t know quite how to begin, so he just started with an idea for one mural, at nonprofit NextStep Recycling, and decided to see if people were interested in helping him paint it. Dozens of people showed up — and the nonprofit was thrilled to have a mural on a space that would otherwise have remained unadorned. Deevers calls the project Lucky Enough Social Club, and now has a system of sorts, and volunteers who show up to paint. But he does most of the legwork, outreach and designing of the mural, in collaboration with whatever nonprofit is getting painted. He says he’s seen the transformative power of creativity in the people who show up to volunteer, and calling attention to mental health and suicide prevention is one of the biggest motivations driving him. We first spoke with Deevers in July 2025 about the creation of the club and how he hopes to see it grow in the future.

Lakayana Yotoma Drury is an educator, social entrepreneur, community advocate, writer, poet, filmmaker—and now an editor-in-chief. He’s published a new magazine-formatted publication with a collection of essays, poems, and photographs he calls a “defiant anthem of Black joy and resilience against a backdrop of gentrification, community violence, miseducation, and white supremacy.” It’s called “503” and Yotoma Drury says the magazine is dedicated to Portland youth and also describes it as a “love letter to Portland.” We sit down with him to hear more about this new collection and its compelling themes — including Black history and stories, educating Black children and youth, and “Black Portland transplants” and their relationship to historic Black Portland.

The Trump administration attacked Iran over the weekend, bringing the US into a now widening conflict in the middle east. Airstrikes have killed leaders and senior officials in Iran, including the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.    Gatherings were held in Portland over the weekend to both protest and celebrate the military action in Iran. On Saturday, protesters gathered to condemn the US involvement in a war in Iran. On Sunday, hundreds of Iranian people in Portland gathered to celebrate the death of Khamenei, and to support the US and Israel’s military action against the Iranian government.   Samira Sahebi is the secretary of the board of directors at Free Iran PDX, a community support organization for Iranians living in Portland. Sahebi joins us to discuss the Iranian community in Oregon’s response to the ongoing conflict.

 The Tualatin High School co-ed cheer team entered this competition season with the pressure of defending the state title they won last year. In response to that pressure? The team not only took first place at the state championships in Oregon City, but one week later, took home first place in the USA Spirit Nationals championship. They competed in the Advanced Co-Ed Varsity Large division, against varsity teams from across the US.   The team had just a few days to alter their routine for the national championships before they traveled to Anaheim, California, to compete for the national title.   Crystal Corona, the team’s coach, has been with the team at Tualatin High School for the last five years. She’s seen the class of 2026 through their entire high school careers. One of the team’s seniors is Elizabeth Klups, who said her role was “to keep the team calm” through their fast-paced competition season. Corona and Klups join us to discuss the wins and what it means to represent Oregon on a national stage.  

The Columbia River Gorge Commission oversees land use and stewards both economic development and conservation efforts within the National Scenic Area. Robert Liberty served as the Multnomah County appointee to the commission since 2015, and was most recently reappointed in 2023. But he resigned earlier this year with more than a year to go in his term, citing “the gentrification of working lands with luxury homesites for the wealthy” and “the anti-conservation, pro-development interest of some of the Commission members,” among other reasons.

Oregon lawmakers must end the legislative session by March 8th. Bills are still moving through chambers, but several major issues remain unsettled, among them balancing the state’s general fund budget and solving transportation funding. OPB political reporter Dirk VanderHart joins us to talk about the key bills and developments in Salem as the session nears its end.

 U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., said President Trump’s decision to launch an attack on Iran “shreds our Constitution, which assigns decisions of war to Congress.” As of March 2, at least six U.S. Service members have been killed in the military operation. The House and Senate are set to vote this week on bipartisan war powers resolutions, which would limit Trump’s ability to take military action — in Iran and around the world — without Congressional approval. Though the measures are bipartisan, those supporting and opposing the Trump-ordered attacks on Iran are split along party lines, with Democrats opposing and most Republicans supporting them. We hear from Merkley, a long time member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, about what he and other Democrats are doing to prevent further war and bloodshed in the region.

La Pine Library is hosting a free event this Saturday, “Not Your Mama’s Cheddar,” as part of Deschutes Public Library's monthlong exploration of fermentation, decay and rot. Teri Tith is leading Saturday’s event, drawing on her extensive knowledge about cheese and years of experience working as a cheesemonger at Market of Choice in Bend to help educate the public about this delicacy, including cheddar, her personal favorite.    But to say Tith is a cheese expert is an understatement. She’s a Certified Cheese Professional, which she was awarded in 2023 by the American Cheese Society. Tith earned that distinction by working more than 4,000 hours in the cheese industry, and she also had to pass an exam testing her knowledge on the production, distribution and science of cheese.    Tith also holds a Level 3 certification in wine from the Wine and Spirits Educational Trust, which she says has helped inform the kinds of wines she selects for wine and cheese pairing events at tasting rooms in Bend. While most people know about the natural pairing of cheese and wine, most don’t know about the pairing possibilities of cheese and sake, an alcoholic beverage made from fermented rice. Last autumn, Tith offered cheese and sake pairing classes and is now pursuing a Level 2 certification to boost her knowledge of this traditional Japanese beverage.    Tith joins us to share more details and insights into artisanal cheeses made in Oregon and beyond.  

Navigating substance use disorder can be especially difficult for those who are pregnant. As reported in InvestigateWest, state data shows that mental health conditions and substance use disorder were the leading causes of pregnancy-related deaths in Oregon from 2018 to 2021. And a study from OHSU found that the rate of opioid use during pregnancy has more than doubled over the last decade.   Those with substance use disorder are often reluctant to seek prenatal care due to stigma around their addiction, and drug treatment centers often turn away pregnant patients due to potential health risks. Efforts like Project Nurture and Nurture Oregon aim to integrate behavioral health and perinatal care by connecting pregnant clients with peer support, social services and other resources.   Diana Smith is the clinical lead for Project Nurture at Legacy Health. Sarah Bovee is a perinatal peer mentor and doula for Project Nurture. They join us to talk about providing simultaneous prenatal care and treatment for substance use disorder.  

National guidelines recommend a routine screening for anxiety and intimate partner violence in adolescent girls and women. But the screenings are rarely implemented across clinics in Oregon, according to a new study from Oregon Health and Science University.    The study cites reasons such as provider discomfort, lack of awareness and challenges to workflow as reasons these screenings aren’t being implemented. Amy Cantor, a researcher and OHSU family physician, was the senior researcher on this study. She joins us to share her findings and how the research led to new, tangible tools that providers can use in the screening process.  

It’s tough to be a craft brewer these days, whether that’s in Oregon or elsewhere in the nation. Shifting consumer demands, including for non-alcohol beer, along with rising costs and market saturation have contributed to declining craft beer sales in recent years. In Oregon, the abrupt closure of Rogue Ales last November after nearly 40 years was a stark reminder that even iconic brands aren’t immune to the industry’s struggles.    It’s against this backdrop that four Central Oregon breweries and a cidery recently announced the formation of the Oregon Beverage Collective. The new partnership includes Cascade Lakes Brewing Company, Silver Moon Brewing, Crux Fermentation Project, GoodLife Brewing Company and Tumalo Cider Company. The OBC aims to share resources and manage rising costs for supplies and ingredients. Crux’s production facility in Bend will now be responsible for brewing most of the OBC’s craft beverages. Crux Fermentation Project has also been acquired by the Rhine family, which owns Cascade Lakes Brewing.    Andy Rhine, co-owner of Cascade Lakes Brewing and President of OBC, says the collective will allow each of the brands to retain its own identity while fostering new collaborations between them. Rhine joins us, along with Steve Augustyne, CEO of OBC and owner of Silver Moon Brewing, to share what this collective model offers for both brewers and consumers.

A veritable gold rush appears to be opening up, not in the dusty hills of California but in the deep seabeds of the Pacific Ocean that’s being driven by an insatiable global demand of critical minerals that power our electric cars, smartphones, computer chips and more. While manganese, nickel, cobalt and other critical minerals are currently being mined on land, they could also be extracted by mining seabeds in locations like Gulf of Alaska seamounts or near the U.S. territories of American Samoa and the Mariana Islands.    Last April, President Trump issued an executive order directing federal agencies to fast-track the review and issuing of exploration licenses and commercial recovery permits for seabed minerals.   The Metals Company, based in Canada, has applied for an exploration license and commercial recovery permit in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, a massive band of the Pacific Ocean stretching between Hawai’i and Mexico that is thought to be rich in deposits of critical minerals. Last May, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management approved a request from California-based Impossible Metals to begin a leasing process to explore for deep-sea minerals off the coast of American Samoa.  Despite these companies’ claims that deep-sea mining is a more ethical and environmental alternative to terrestrial mining, it is rife with uncertainty and poses grave risks to the health and biodiversity of the deep ocean, according to Astrid Leitner, an oceanographer and assistant professor in the College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University. She joins us to share more details, including the research she has done on deep sea ecosystems in areas the Trump administration is now interested in opening up to mining.

Home Forward, the housing authority for Portland and Multnomah County, is the largest provider of affordable housing in the state. Reporting from Willamette Week has found that the agency has an unusually high vacancy rate and takes, on average, half a year to fill vacant units at some of its properties. The lack of rental revenue from empty units is making it difficult for the agency to pay off its debts. Sophie Peel is a reporter for Willamette Week covering Portland City Hall and neighborhoods. She joins us with more details about her investigation into Home Forward.