Last year, Richard Ford published a book called "Let Me Be Frank With You." It’s the fourth book he’s written about his most famous protagonist, the New Jersey-dwelling former sportswriter, Frank Bascombe. One of these books, "Independence Day," won the Pulitzer Prize.

We talk to him about his celebrated career and what keeps drawing him back to Frank.

0:00: Intro
2:00: Author Daniel H. Wilson, who brought us “Robopocalypse,” talks about the launch of his new mobile game, “Mayday! Deep Space!” with collaborator of Nick Lambert from Mountain Machine Studios.
11:00: Pulitzer Prize and PEN/Faulkner Award winner Richard Ford talks about his new book “Let Me Frank With You,” which catches up with his most famous character, Frank Bascombe. We also talk about Ford’s approach to social issues.

Quality time with two people who've rocked the comics world in 2014. They curated our show, suggesting topics and talking about the trends shaping the industry.

0:00: Intro
1:10: Mac Smiff of We Out Here debriefs on the year in Portland’s hip hop scene.
12:40: Portland’s Independent Police Review reports on hip-hop and police relations.
19:15: Cellist Nancy Ives walks us through her process of composing music.
28:55: Hector Hernandez inherits the tradition of the great Mexican muralists, like Diego Rivera.
33:45: Justin Simien chats on Live Wire about his film, “Dear White People”.
38:50: Gary Ferguson explores how nature helped him grieve after his wife’s death.

•0:00: Intro
•1:10: Wild gets its Portland premier! We were there on the red carpet, and we’ll hear from Cheryl Strayed on what’s next for her.
•18:00: Imago Theatre tells us how holiday show Frogz changed its entire history.
•23:25: Shawn Levy talk about the many faces of Robert DeNiro.
•31:00: Sallie Ford and her blasting new band play at an opbmusic session.
•33:45: KMHD‘s A Jazz Life takes us through a jam session with John Coltrane
•39:00: Mic Crenshaw debriefs on his recent trip to Africa and new sounds coming from hip-hop in Kenya, South Africa and elsewhere.


Image: scene from "Frogz"
Photo credit: April Baer

Portland MC Mic Crenshaw just returned from his second trip for the Afrikan Hip Hop Caravan - a series of summit meetings he helps facilitate to talk about the evolution of the form. This year's trip included stops in Cape Town, Harare (Zimbabwe), Arusha (Tanzania), and Nairobi (Kenya).
*Since this story broadcast, Mic is making plans for a third trip, with Rasheed Jamal. Info here: http://tinyurl.com/p56b4uw

Cheryl Strayed talks about the process of turning her book 'Wild' into a movie.

"The Enclave" looks at the lives of those affected by violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo.