The Evergreen

Portland may not be known as a hub of hip-hop on par with New York or Los Angeles, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been a hotbed for sonic experimentation and incredible talent for decades. 

We had all the elements: historic Black neighborhoods in Northeast Portland, jazz dripping out of clubs, funk bands, block parties, dances, and plenty of good ol’ fashioned youthful angst. So why isn’t Portland hip-hop bigger?

Marlon “Vursatyl” Irving, a long-time Portland rapper and founding member of the Lifesavas hip-hop group, says local nightclubs and venues discriminated against artists, denying artists access to performance spaces

“It was hard for us to get into clubs,” he says. “I think had there been more racial diversity in Portland, and just more understanding about hip-hop culture at the time that the foundation was being laid, we would've got to hear some of the greatest, we would've had recordings from the greatest, we would've seen their careers blossom.” 

On this week’s episode, we hear from pioneers and new wave artists about Portland hip-hop, why it isn’t bigger and what keeps it going. 

A special thank you to J Jackson, who produced the documentary “Beyond the Beats” in collaboration with OPB’s Oregon Experience, KMHD Jazz Radio, and Albina Music Trust. 

For more Evergreen episodes and to share your voice with us, visit our showpage.

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In the U.S., there are about 100,000 monkeys, baboons, and other primates living in captivity to support scientific research. About 5,000 of them are at OHSU’s Oregon National Primate Research Center. That’s where researchers do experiments on monkeys to try to get clear data about things like cannabis use during pregnancy, and to find cures for diseases like HIV. Animal rights activists have argued for decades that the center should be closed. And they’re gaining momentum with support from Oregon’s governor and some lawmakers. In addition, scientists who oppose using animals in research argue that the practice has become obsolete and is hindering, not helping the effort to find cures. 

OPB health reporter Amelia Templeton recently visited the Oregon National Primate Research Center and talked to a lot of smart people on all sides of this complex topic. She joins us to share her reporting. 

Don’t forget to check out our many podcasts, which can be found on any of your favorite podcast apps:

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Timber Wars Season 2: Salmon Wars

Politics Now

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And many more! Check out our full show list here.

Meet Irene Gilbert, a 76-year-old retired state employee, former gun store owner and avid elk hunter from La Grande, Oregon. She’s a citizen activist, who considers herself an environmentalist, and is on a mission to keep wind turbines and transmission towers from blighting the rural landscape. 

She’s using regulations originally set up to address concerns about nuclear power plants in Oregon to oppose renewable energy projects. She has filed more challenges to energy projects than any other individual in the state. And some renewable energy advocates say the processes Gilbert uses could be one reason that Oregon is lagging behind almost every other state when it comes to green energy projects. 

OPB investigative reporter and editor Tony Schick joins us to talk about the story he recently did for OPB and ProPublica featuring Gilbert and examining Oregon’s renewable energy challenges. 

Don’t forget to check out our many podcasts, which can be found on any of your favorite podcast apps:

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Timber Wars Season 2: Salmon Wars

Politics Now

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And many more! Check out our full show list here.

Five years ago, for some Oregon residents, the world burned down. A severe windstorm and dry conditions saw out-of-control fires explode around the state on September 7th and 8th in 2020. They raged through communities like Gates, Detroit and Otis in Northwest Oregon, and Talent and Phoenix in Southern Oregon. What became known as the Labor Day Fires burned more than four thousand homes and more than a million acres of land in Oregon, making 2020 the state’s most destructive wildfire season on record.

So, what do you do? When a catastrophe strikes? When your community turns to ash? When you lose things that made you who you are?

OPB environmental reporters Cassandra Profita and April Ehrlich covered the 2020 fires in different parts of Oregon, Cassandra for OPB and April for our news partner, Jefferson Public Radio. They both join us this week to talk about fire recovery: what makes it so hard, how it changes us, the ways we help each other, and what recovery even means.

On the morning of May 15, 2025, officers from multiple local, state and federal agencies raided the West Coast Game Park Safari and seized more than 300 animals. The park had a wide variety of animals, including lions and other big cats, capybaras, camels and a chimpanzee. They also had chickens, sheep, llamas and goats. People had been complaining about dangerous conditions at the park for years and the U.S. Department of Agriculture cited them for violating the Animal Welfare Act numerous times. Law enforcement also found over 80 grams of meth, eight grams of cocaine, 44 guns, and $1.6 million. 

Justin Higginbottom is a reporter for Jefferson Public Radio based in southern Oregon, and he joins us to share what he’s learned about the raid and what led up to it. His stories come to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.

For more Evergreen episodes and to share your voice with us, visit our showpage.

Follow OPB on Instagram, host Jenn Chávez and Oregon Field Guide.

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Don’t forget to check out our many podcasts, which can be found on any of your favorite podcast apps:

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Timber Wars Season 2: Salmon Wars

Politics Now

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And many more! Check out our full show list here.

It’s the summer. The days are longer, and the nights are hotter. 

It’s the perfect time to talk about romance, specifically romance novels. They’ve become so popular in recent years, with over 39 million copies sold in 2023, according to The New York Times.  

That doesn’t exclude the Pacific Northwest. Here, we’ve also seen a rise in romance books being checked out of libraries. In the Portland metro area alone, we have two bookstores dedicated to romance books.

On today’s episode, OPB’s Crystal Ligori and Sukhjot Sal warm our hearts by telling us how the genre got so popular and why they love it so much. 

For more Evergreen episodes and to share your voice with us, visit our showpage.

Follow OPB on Instagram, and follow host Jenn Chávez too.

You can sign up for OPB’s newsletters to get what you need in your inbox regularly.

Don’t forget to check out our many podcasts, which can be found on any of your favorite podcast apps:

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Timber Wars Season 2: Salmon Wars

Politics Now

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And many more! Check out our full show list here.

“At Work With” is a series in which we talk to Pacific Northwesterners with cool jobs and ask them your questions about what it’s like to do what they do. In our latest episode, we bring you along as we go to work with a bike bus captain, a tattoo artist and a coastal lifeguard.

Let us know who you want to hear from next! You can also send us questions you have for our next “At Work With” interview. Email us at [email protected] or visit our web page to submit questions.

For more Evergreen episodes and to share your voice with us, visit our showpage.

Follow OPB on Instagram, and follow host Jenn Chávez too.

You can sign up for OPB’s newsletters to get what you need in your inbox regularly.

The land where the Willamette and Columbia rivers meet has been home to dozens of different Native nations since time immemorial. For thousands of years, tribes such as the Multnomah, Wasco, Cowlitz, Clackamas and many, many others created communities here. Since settlers first forcefully occupied this land in the mid-1800s, the city of Portland has failed to build trust with sovereign Tribal leaders and Indigenous residents. 

In 2017, Portland created a Tribal Relations Program to bridge the relationship between Tribal governments and the city and to strengthen city government ties to its Native communities. It was a trailblazing program at the time, but in the years since it’s had three different managers and has been without a leader for months.

OPB reporter Alex Zielinski recently teamed up with Nika Bartoo-Smith, a reporter for Underscore Native News and ICT, to dig into the city of Portland’s relationship with tribal governments and Native communities. They join us to talk about what they’ve found. 

For more Evergreen episodes and to share your voice with us, visit our showpage.

Follow OPB on Instagram, host Jenn Chávez and Oregon Field Guide.

You can sign up for OPB’s newsletters to get what you need in your inbox regularly.

Don’t forget to check out our many podcasts, which can be found on any of your favorite podcast apps:

Hush

Timber Wars Season 2: Salmon Wars

Politics Now

Think Out Loud

And many more! Check out our full show list here.

The 1930s were a golden age of aviation, as famous pilots like Amelia Earhart made flights once thought impossible and inspired new curiosity about the skies. At the time, more and more women were learning to fly in the Pacific Northwest. In fact, some of the first Chinese American women ever to earn pilots licenses grew up in the same tight-knit Chinese community in Portland.

On this week’s show, we learn about two of these barrier-breaking pilots: Hazel Ying Lee and Leah Hing. Their passion for flying cemented their roles in the history of a country which sought to exclude them. We’ll hear how they’re remembered today - by their loved ones, by Portlanders, by Americans - at a time when so much history is intentionally being forgotten.

Watch the OPB “Oregon Experience” video about Hazel Ying Lee, “Her Name Means ‘Hero.’”

For episodes of The Evergreen, and to share your voice with us, visit our showpage.

Follow OPB on Instagram, and follow host Jenn Chávez too.

You can sign up for OPB’s newsletters to get what you need in your inbox regularly.

Don’t forget to check out our many podcasts, which can be found on any of your favorite podcast apps:

Hush

Timber Wars Season 2: Salmon Wars

Politics Now

Think Out Loud

And many more! Check out our full show list here.

Where do you go to find community when you’re older? 

That’s a question OPB’s Winston Szeto wanted to answer, specifically for senior communities of color. 

The Yat Sing Music Club was founded in 1942 by Chinese immigrants in Portland, Oregon. The club was started to raise funds for China’s defense against Japan during World War II. 

Over 80 years later, Yat Sing preserves Cantonese opera through ongoing rehearsals and community outreach. The club is particularly important for the older generation. This is a space where they can be themselves and celebrate their culture. 

There’s a similar experience at Ikoi no Kai, a senior meal program in Portland that opened in 1979. It offers a space for local Japanese Americans coming together over food and connection. 

In Oregon, the need for social connection is more important than ever. The latest census data says the state ranks among the highest in the country for residents who report feeling lonely. 

OPB’s Winston Szeto researched this topic by looking into these two groups — and why it's important to focus on those rarely covered in the media: seniors. 

Check out OPB’s Oregon Experience documentary on the Yat Sing Music Club and story on Ikoi no Kai. 

For more Evergreen episodes and to share your voice with us, visit our showpage.

Follow OPB on Instagram, and follow host Jenn Chávez too.

You can sign up for OPB’s newsletters to get what you need in your inbox regularly.

Don’t forget to check out our many podcasts, which can be found on any of your favorite podcast apps:

Hush 

Timber Wars Season 2: Salmon Wars

Politics Now

Think Out Loud

And many more! Check out our full show list here.