Think Out Loud

After three city council meetings, a dozen rounds of deadlocked voting and hours of debate, the 12 councilors on Portland City Council have officially elected a new council president and vice president. Jamie Dunphy, representing District 1, was elected as the new council president with Olivia Clark, representing District 4, as vice president. Both were notably reluctant to take on the role. As president, Dunphy will be in charge of running council meetings, appointing city committee leaders and will serve as the middle-man between the council and the mayor’s office. Dunphy and Clark both join us to share more on their priorities for the coming year.

Kwame Alexander has written many books and picture books for children, tackling a range of different topics. In 2022, his book, “The Door of No Return,” was published as the first installment in a trilogy starting in Ghana in the 1800’s. The book is written as a series of poems, following a young boy, Kofi, who is eventually captured and sold into the slave trade. Kwame Alexander joined us for a conversation recorded at the Portland Book Festival in 2022 to talk about the 10-year process of working on this book.

In October 2025, more than 30 farmworkers were arrested outside Woodburn, OR in a raid by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It was one of ICE’s most aggressive enforcement actions that year in Oregon. But it was also one of the moments that led the state’s largest farmworker union to launch a series of monthly boycotts in protest.   Why? Immigrant labor fuels the state’s economic engine, and so do their dollars: 2023 data show immigrants in Oregon hold about $14 billion in spending power and contribute more than $5 billion in taxes. The boycotts, which kicked off in December, urge immigrants to refrain from economic activity, including working, shopping and going to school.   Reyna Lopez is the president and executive director of Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN). She joins us to talk about the first day of boycotts, as well as the goals they hope to achieve.

Surro Connections was once a reputable surrogacy agency that operated out of Camas, Washington. The company helped match surrogates with prospective parents and facilitated communication and payments between them. But the agency abruptly closed late last year, leaving clients without access to the tens of thousands of dollars needed to pay the surrogates carrying their children. The whereabouts of the company’s founder, Megan Hall-Greenberg, are unknown. Investigative health care reporter Sarah Kliff talked to clients, surrogates and former employees of Surro Connections for the New York Times. She joins us with more details about the closure and the largely unregulated surrogacy industry in the U.S.

In 2024, former Oregon state Treasurer Tobias Read unveiled a plan to make the state’s public employees retirement fund investments achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Last September, Gov. Tina Kotek signed into law the Climate Resilience Investment Act which directs the Oregon Treasury to pursue profitable clean energy investment opportunities and reduce fossil fuel holdings in the retirement fund, which is valued at more than $100 billion.    A new report released this week by the Oregon State Treasury details the progress Oregon is making to reduce the climate impact of its investment portfolio. It found, for example, a more than 50% decrease in the climate intensity of its investments between 2022 and 2023. Investments in renewable energy, EV charging, carbon credits and battery materials also doubled to $2.4 billion between January 2022 and June 30, 2025.     Oregon state Treasurer Elizabeth Steiner joins us to share more details and discuss the uncertainties lying ahead as the state tries to balance its pension system obligations with climate-cutting goals despite the Trump administration’s embrace of fossil fuels.

Irish author Colm Tóibín has written short stories, essays, plays, articles and memoirs. But he’s best known for insightful novels such as “Brooklyn,” which follows Eilis Lacey as she emigrates from her home in Ireland to New York City. When she returns to Ireland for a family member’s funeral, Eilis finds herself caught between the comfort of home and the obligations of her new life in America, forcing her to decide between the two.   Tóibín’s most recent novel, “Long Island,” revisits that story more than 20 years later. Eilis flees to Ireland after her life in America is upended and once again grapples with desire and her sense of duty.   Tóibín joins us in front of a live audience of students at Portland’s Grant High School to talk about both books and his extensive body of work.  

Ryan Carpenter, Estacada superintendent focused on inclusive, community-centered schools. Jeffrey McGee, director of an alternative Portland school championing CTE and individualized plans. Ann Ishimaru, UW professor researching equity and school leadership. Kali Thorne Ladd, CEO of the Children’s Institute advocating early childhood investment. They discuss measuring success, multiple measures beyond tests, community partnerships, proficiency grading, and supports across transitions.

Author David Grann often writes about obsession. His stories feature people doing extraordinary, and often dangerous or morally questionable, things in pursuit of ambitious goals. He’s the author of the books “Lost City of Z,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and “The Wager.” Grann is also obsessive himself - about the research and details he puts into his books. We talk to Grann in front of a group of students at Nelson High School in Happy Valley.

A new study from Oregon Health & Science University found that air pollution can impact adolescent brain development. The analysis indicated that exposure to common air pollutants is associated with accelerated cortical thinning in areas of the brain responsible for language, mood regulation and socioemotional processing. Researchers observed changes even in children who were exposed to pollution at levels the Environmental Protection Agency considers safe.    Calvin Jara is an otolaryngology resident at OHSU and the study’s lead author. He joins us with more details about how these changes could affect children’s physical and emotional health.

The Oregon Department of Human Services recently evaluated the first phase of a pilot program that gives $1,000 a month to youth experiencing homelessness. So far, the direct cash transfer program is producing promising results, including significant reductions in youth homelessness and improved mental health outcomes for participants. Now, early into its second phase, the program is riding the tailwinds of the first.    Matt Rasmussen is the program manager for the Youth Experiencing Homelessness Program at the OD HS. He joins us to talk about the successes and challenges of the first pilot phase and aspirations for the second. Gabi Huffman, a youth consultant and former recipient of direct cash transfers, also joins us to share her experience with the program.