Think Out Loud

“Think Out Loud” continues our monthly conversations with Meg Samples, general manager of member-supported KMHD Jazz Radio. Each month, we’ll hear about artists to add to your playlist, along with concerts and community events to attend. 

In October, that includes a concert by the pioneering, alternative hip-hop group Digable Planets. The trio is currently on tour for the 30th anniversary of their landmark album, “Blowout Comb,” which they’ll play in its entirety at Revolution Hall in Portland on Oct. 21. Kiefer, a Grammy Award-winning producer and pianist from L.A., will also visit Portland for a performance on Oct. 17 at the Star Theater and Starlight Lounge. Kiefer has become a KMHD staff favorite for his ability to blend jazz improvisation with hip-hop beats. Jazz fans won’t want to miss a performance by Buster Williams at The Jazz Station in Eugene on Oct. 25. The legendary octogenarian bassist has performed with jazz giants such as Sarah Vaughan, Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock.

Metro has been acquiring land to create green spaces in the Portland metro area since the 1990s — and its collection of natural areas, trails and parks has now grown to over 20,000 acres. Metro-managed natural areas and parks include the Smith and Bybee Wetlands in North Portland, Cooper Mountain Nature Park in Beaverton, and Oxbow Park on the Sandy River. John Blasher, the parks and nature director of Oregon Metro, joins us to discuss this milestone and break down how and why Portland’s regional government creates these parks and conservation areas.

The Portland-based group Seffarine blends traditional music from Morocco and Southern Spain with jazz and other contemporary genres. Their upcoming album, “Abaraz,” explores the music of Southern Morocco and the Arab and West African music that influenced it. The album was inspired by the band’s residency in Mhamid El Ghizlane, an oasis at the edge of the Sahara Desert where the landscape is rapidly shifting due to climate change. 

Nat Hulskamp and Lamiae Naki are the founders of Seffarine. We’ll talk with them about the new album and their upcoming shows at the PRAx in Corvallis on Oct. 14 and at the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts in Beaverton on Oct. 16, which will feature clips of interviews with the musicians they met in Mhamid El Ghizlane.

More often than not located in a dark basement, walls hidden behind a massive collage of musical ephemera dating back a few decades, young adults sorting records and CDs: It’s the local college radio station!

In 1948, when the FCC was making an attempt to promote new FM radio, they created the Class D radio license, which allowed stations to operate with less expensive equipment and making the campus station more accessible. Now, they’re mini-hubs of music, talk and sports culture on college campuses, and the students that steward the stations can be found fighting to keep the medium alive.

We’ll hear from three students from campus radio stations across Oregon: Maddie Brabo, the general manager of KPSU at Portland State University, Miles Sadler, the music director of KBVR at Oregon State University, and Sam Pollis, the music director of KWVA at the University of Oregon in Eugene. They join us to discuss how the medium has evolved, what place it has on campuses today and their personal interest in keeping the medium interesting and accessible for their communities and peers.

The Clark County Youth Commission allows young people to offer their input to the county council about the issues youth are facing and how to address them. While their work typically focuses on mental health, the commission has also explored violence prevention, youth homelessness, community resilience and other topics. As reported in The Columbian, commission members created two murals to represent last year’s topic, relationships and mental health.

Hunter Bledsoe, Shaunak Deshpande and Evan Decker all serve on the Clark County Youth Commission. They join us to talk about the biggest concerns they have for young people in Southwest Washington and some possible solutions.

Immigrants’ rights advocates are reporting a rise in the number of arrests by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement in the Portland metro area in the last week. Immigration arrests peaked in November of 2025 with “Operation Black Rose.” They decreased dramatically earlier this year but numbers surged again in the summer. The Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition told OPB that there was a “sharp uptick” of arrests Tuesday. And advocates fear that another federal enforcement operation is coming. OPB’s Public Safety reporter Troy Brynelson has been following this story and joins us to share more details.