Think Out Loud

It’s been two years since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Supreme Court decision that overturned the constitutional right to an abortion in the U.S. Since then, 14 states have instituted full bans on the procedure. Now new research shows that states with these bans are seeing fewer residency applications from medical students. Katie Hansen is an administrative chief resident at Oregon Health & Science University. Ian Field is an OB/GYN and the program director for OHSU's OB/GYN residency program. They both join us to share the impact the Dobbs decision has had on schools, communities and healthcare.

 Earlier this month, the U.S. national cricket team defeated Pakistan during a match at the Men’s T20 World Cup. It was a stunning upset and impressive victory for Team USA’s first outing at the World Cup cricket tournament, as the team continues to defy expectations by advancing to the quarterfinals.  The international tournament is also being played on U.S. soil for the first time, a reflection of the sport’s growing popularity here. There’s also now a U.S. major league of cricket with six professional teams, including the Seattle Orcas, kicking off their second season next month. As reported recently by Axios, the Pacific Northwest has been a hub for cricket enthusiasts, thanks to the efforts of amateur cricket leagues in Seattle and Portland that have been organizing games and tournaments among teams for nearly 30 years. Joining us to talk about cricket and its growth in our region is Srini Ramakrishna, the secretary and treasurer of the Portland Metro Open Cricket League, and Satish Naik, the secretary of the Northwest Cricket League and the coordinator of the Seattle region for USA Cricket. 

Smallmouth bass can be found in rivers throughout Oregon. The fish is an invasive species and has a big appetite for salmon smolt. Smallmouth bass have been disturbing ecosystems and compete with other species for food and habitat. The Native Fish Society will host two events on Saturday to raise awareness about the problem. The “bass bashes” will happen on the Molalla River and the Umpqua River. Attendees are encouraged to catch as many smallmouth bass as they can, and the event includes a cookout full of the freshly caught fish. Kirk Blaine and Liz Perkin are the southern and northern Oregon coordinators, respectively, of the Native Fish Society. They join us with more details about the smallmouth bass and the events. 

Five years ago, the Oregon state legislature passed a bill declaring missing Native American women a statewide emergency. The bill also authorized an investigation into the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people, and the release of a report containing recommendations to more effectively respond to it. But as reporting from InvestigateWest reveals, Indigenous activists are frustrated by the lack of progress and a lack of direct engagement by law enforcement with their communities on this issue. Meanwhile, obstacles can exist around filing reports of missing Indigenous persons and sharing information across state, federal and Tribal jurisdictions. Melanie Henshaw, the Indigenous Affairs reporter at InvestigateWest, joins us to share details of her investigation. 

Brit Bennett’s book The Vanishing Half was on a lot of best-of lists in 2020. Though spanning the second half of the 20th century, the novel speaks to questions about race and identity that have been central to national conversations for the last two years. In that novel and her other writing, Bennett deals with the bonds of family, the importance of storytelling, and nature of identity. We spoke to Bennett about her essays and novels in front of an audience of students at Grant High School in Portland in 2021.

Daniel Gibbs dedicated his career as a neurologist to the study of Alzheimer’s and care for patients living with the disease. Then he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s himself. Gibbs says that early diagnosis has allowed him to slow the progression of the disease through diet, exercise and other treatment. A documentary based on the book he wrote about his experience, “Tattoo on my Brain,” is airing on June 22 at OHSU. Gibbs and his wife, Louis Seed, join us to talk about living with Alzheimer’s.

The Oregon Department of Education released its first statewide plan for computer science education late last year. The chief goal is for all K-12 public schools to offer some level of computer science classes by the 2027-28 school year. The plan received some initial funding through the governor’s office, but has yet to receive long-term funding from the state Legislature.   Joanna Goode is the Sommerville Knight Professor in the University of Oregon College of Education. She helped create Exploring Computer Science, a curriculum and professional development program used in schools across the country. She joins us to talk about the work computer science teachers are already doing in Oregon and what it would take to make the state’s plan a reality.    

Nurses in six Providence hospitals around Oregon are going on a 3-day strike at the same time. It’s the largest such nursing strike in Oregon history. Each of the six different bargaining units are negotiating with their employer separately but they say their issues are similar across the board, including staffing ratios and levels and benefits and overall compensation. We hear from Anne Tan Piazza, executive director of the Oregon Nurses Association, and Jennifer Gentry, chief nursing officer for Providence. 

Mitzi Asai Loftus was in elementary school when President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Executive Order No. 9066 sent people of Japanese descent – many of them U.S. citizens – from their homes to “relocation centers,” resulting in the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.  Asai Loftus was born in Hood River on a fruit orchard and spent years of her childhood in the government camps. After leaving the camps, her family returned to Hood River. Asai Loftus spent much of her adult life in Eugene and Coos Bay and now lives in Ashland. She joins us with details of her experiences and her book, “From Thorns to Blossoms: A Japanese American Family in War and Peace.”  

Salem resident Bobby Brown was killed in a shootout with city police in 2022 when he was just 16 years old. As reported in a recent three-part profile published by the Salem Reporter, Brown's birth mother used methamphetamines. When he was born he went into withdrawals and was immediately placed into foster care. He was adopted when he was 4, and later struggled with substance abuse and mental illness, despite repeated efforts by his adopted family to get him help. Reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian joins us to tell us more about Brown's life and how it reflects the gaps in Oregon’s social safety net and mental health treatment system.