Think Out Loud

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.  

Michael Pollan, best-selling author exploring food, culture, and consciousness, joins to unpack what it feels like to be a mind. He talks about inner experience sampling, plant sensing and sentience, neural correlates versus panpsychism, why current AI likely lacks true consciousness, and how meditation and tech fasts shape presence. Short, curious, and wide-ranging.

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.