OPB Politics Now

As 2025 comes to a close, the OPB Politics Now team is taking a look at the top political stories of the year. It was a year. We saw the Trump administration return to power, Mayor Keith Wilson and a new government enter the scene in Portland, and Democratic state officials fumble and stumble through a legislative session. On the latest episode of OPB Politics Now we’ll discuss the big stories of 2025 and the year ahead. Find the show anywhere you get your podcasts.

The redrawing of political maps is perhaps one of the most intensely political acts elected officials undertake. In Central Oregon, the effort is prompting the familiar outcry of gerrymandering. On this week’s OPB Politics Now, we’re heading east of the Cascades. We’ll discuss the redrawing of the Deschutes County maps and the contaminated groundwater water in Eastern Oregon. Find the show wherever you get your podcasts.

On the latest livestream episode of OPB Politics Now, reporters Dirk VanderHart and Alex Zielinski talk about two of the biggest topics in Oregon politics - the state’s handling of the overall business climate and Portland Mayor Keith Wilson’s long shot effort to end unsheltered homelessness. If you have questions please share them and we will try and answer as we go.

As the school calendar shifts into holiday mode, many public school students are about to be out of the classroom for a long time.  And as families brace for time off, educators are bracing too – for potential budget cuts. And that’s as Oregon’s education system remains one of the worst performing in the nation.

On this week’s episode of OPB Politics Now, reporters Lauren Dake, Ellizabeth Miller and Tiffany Camhi discuss some major education issues facing Oregon’s K-12 system and higher education world. 

Plus, if you have not checked it out, they discussed Miller’s Class of 2025 project, an OPB endeavor that was 13 years in the making. 

The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown is entering a new chapter in Oregon. A judge has permanently blocked the president from sending the National Guard to protect the ICE building in Portland. But the legal fight may not be over. And now, the federal government may be looking to the Oregon coast to run a new immigration facility. On the latest episode of OPB Politics Now, we recap the last week of developments surrounding ICE in Oregon. Find the show anywhere you get your podcasts.

On the latest live stream edition of OPB Politics Now, reporters Dirk VanderHart, Alex Zielinski and Holly Bartholomew discuss a range of political topics. Portland is finally enforcing its ban on homeless camping. How is that playing out? Plus, a rise in Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity is shaking the Willamette Valley. We discuss what that looks like in suburban communities. Also, we hit on some election results. Find the show anywhere you get your podcasts.

Hundreds of thousands of Oregonians who help fill their pantries thanks to the federally funded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program could be cut off from the program. I’m Lauren Dake. On this week’s OPB Politics Now we will take a deeper about what will happen to some of the most vulnerable as the government shutdown continues. Find the show wherever you get your podcasts. 

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek says she’s making progress on some of the state’s most pressing problems. But even some of her most ardent supporters seem skeptical and the Democrat is eyeing a likely reelection effort. On the latest episode of OPB Politics Now, reporters Dirk VanderHart and Lauren Dake discuss their recent reporting on Kotek. They talked to dozens of people about how she’s doing. Republicans and Democrats. Lawmakers and lobbyists. And an interesting theme emerged, it seems most everyone thinks she will win another term, but not as many are sure she deserves one. Find the show anywhere you get your podcasts.

Oregon is still waiting for a court to decide whether or not President Trump can send National Guard troops into Portland. But as that battle plays out in court, the fight for Americans’ hearts and minds continues in South Portland.

On one side are conservative media personalities and streamers, who’ve been granted eye-popping access to Trump administration officials as they broadcast a vision of ongoing protests as violent and dangerous. On the other: protestors who are actively lampooning that narrative with nudity and frogs – and a lot more.

On the latest episode of OPB Politics Now, reporters Dirk VanderHart, Alejandro Figueroa and Erik Neumann discuss those competing visions.

From Portland to Chicago to Texas - President Trump's pushes for military forces in American cities is ramping up in the courts and in multiple American cities. On the latest episode of OPB Politics Now, we talk with public media reporters in Chicago and Houston about the situation there. WBEZ's Arcaceli Gómez-Aldana and The Texas Newsroom's Lucio Vasquez join us to discuss the situation in their communities, how immigration is at the center of it all and what the politics are from their two states.