We can rail all we want about the nasty way people deal with each other in politics. But Sarah Schulman says it's not just politics. Schulman is an English professor and a prolific author; her latest book Conflict is Not Abuse examines a culture of scapegoating in modern society. The book examines, among other things, how the behavior of supremacy and the behavior of being traumatized bears some resemblance.

It's not every day a state sells its own forest. But that could happen today (December 13th) when the Oregon State Land Board meets. On the table: the proposed sale of the Elliott State Forest to bring in revenue for the Common School Fund. Lone Rock Timber and the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians joined forces to put in the only bid. Jes Burns of our Earthfix unit has covered the story for a long time now.

Regardless of your own attitude toward the truth, your brain does not lie. At least it CAN'T when it is scanned by medical imaging devices. And the brains of people who use marijuana show reduced blood flow, as reported in a recent study . That's especially true in the hippocampus, the part of the brain involved in Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Daniel Amen of Amen Clinics is the lead author of the study.

Even those of us who consider ourselves tech-savvy can be left in the dust by today's children. The "digital natives" grew up with screens of all sizes in their lives nearly all the time. And keeping up can be daunting for parents, even frightening at times. Devorah Heitner has a Ph.D in Media/Technology and Society from Northwestern University, and is raising a child herself. She advises other parents on how to roll with the changes of the times... and how to set firm limits. Heitner's book is

It took a while, but Medford is ready to break ground on a tiny-house village to house homeless people while they get back on their feet. Hope Village will be located on Columbus Avenue in Medford, on a city-owned piece of property. Rogue Retreat and the Jackson County Homeless Task Force are working together on the village.

There's a good chance the Halloween decorations and supplies were still on the shelves at your local store when the Christmas music started playing on the speakers. The winter holidays can be filled with great joy... and also stress, frustration, and even depression. How to avoid the negatives? Troy Campbell of the University of Oregon has some ideas in this month's installment of "Curious: Research Meets Radio." Dr. Campbell, with degrees in psychology AND marketing, can provide insights into

It is not unusual for a high school to put on a few plays. It's less usual for a high school to put on consistently good plays. And rare indeed is the high school drama program that launches young actors toward Broadway. But that happened consistently, for years, at the Pennsylvania high school Michael Sokolove wrote about in his book Drama High . Sokolove actually attended the school, then went back to write about its unique claim to fame.

The Oakland "Ghost Ship" fire killed 36 people, by the most recent count. It is horrifying to all, but of particular concern to fire officials. Because a similar tragedy could occur in just about anyplace where people gather, if their gathering places are not meant to handle crowds. Ashland Fire Marshal Margueritte Hickman and Grants Pass Fire Marshal Joe Hyatt are among the fire experts in our region asking for public caution.

It costs more than $21,000 a year to put a child in child care in Oregon, on average. Which is a huge chunk of income for young families, and simply not affordable for many. ChildCare Aware of America compiled the reports for all 50 states (California is slightly more than Oregon). CCAA policy chief Michelle McCready visits with details of the report.

The U.S. Air Force was not a good fit for Larry Wardwell. Ditto for working in intelligence, the government kind. LSD showed some possibilities, though... and soon young Larry embarked on a journey that took him around the world in search of higher understanding, at the side of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, among others. Larry Wardwell tells the story in his memoir Confessions of a Closet Yogi .