Think Out Loud

Kwame Alexander has written many books and picture books for children, tackling a range of different topics. His newest book, “The Door of No Return,” is the first in a trilogy starting in Ghana in the 1800s. The book is written as a series of poems, following a young boy, Kofi, who has normal adolescent problem, like a bully of a cousin, and a crush on a girl. He is also eventually captured and sold into the slave trade. Kwame Alexander joins us to talk about the 10-year process of working on this book.

Northwest author Ruth Ozeki’s latest novel speaks about grief and climate change and consumerism and mental illness and the nature of reality itself. It’s not that the book describes those things. It actually talks about them. The book itself is a character in Ozeki’s new novel: “The Book of Form and Emptiness.” Dave Miller talked to Ruth Ozeki at the 2021 Portland Book Festival.

Over half of the world’s population doesn’t know how to swim. But it wasn’t always that way. Swimming has been practiced by humans for thousands of years for fun, health, survival, competition and community. Swimming has also been used by some cultures to differentiate themselves from others - the swimmers from the non-swimmers. OPB’s Paul Marshall talks with Bonnie Tsui, author of “Why We Swim,” and Karen Eva Carr, author of “Shifting Currents: A World History of Swimming,” about what swimming can tell us about ourselves as individuals and as a culture.
And last year, OPB’s Crystal Ligori spoke with Rivka Galchen, author of “Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch,” and A.K. Blakemore, author of “The Manningtree Witches.”

When journalist Hua Hsu was in college, his best friend Ken was murdered in a bizarre turn of events. The next day, Hsu started writing about his friendship with Ken to try to wrap his head around the enormous loss. Over the next 20 years, that writing eventually turned into his latest book, “Stay True.” OPB’s Jenn Chavez talks to Hsu about his childhood growing up as a second-generation immigrant in California, and how that, and the death of his friend Ken, shaped who he is today.
When Melissa Febos was about twelve years old, her body changed, and so did her relationship with the world. Or actually, the world’s relationship with her. The way that society views - and uses and abuses - young women’s bodies is one of the many themes explored in Febos’ new book, “Girlhood.” Febos talks with OPB’s Tiffany Camhi about bodies, consent, mothers, cuddle parties and more.

A young woman in the midst of cancer treatment goes on a road trip in a broken down el camino with her no-good ex-boyfriend. A man working as a ghoul at a sort of halloween theme park learns that his whole life has been a lie. A gay man is forced to come out over and over again to his senile misogynist father. A mother’s moral outrage on behalf of her son goes seriously awry. Two new collections of short stories tell stories about people living on the edge of a society that is failing them. George Saunders’ “Liberation Day” is filled with wry humor, even as his characters are often trapped by their own foolishness. The characters in Jess Walter’s collection, “The Angel of Rome,” are often filled with humor and hope, even as they struggle against poverty and indifference. OPB’s Geoff Norcross talks to Saunders and Walter about the art of writing short stories about our time.

Dystopian fiction has been something of a trend for the last decade. But two new books by Portland authors put an almost humorous spin on the genre. Jon Raymond’s “Denial” is set in a future that looks very much like our own, but after a global reckoning on the dangers of climate change and the fossil fuel industry. His characters stumble through the problems of an ordinary life - illness, love, - while grappling with the question of who is to blame for the problems of the world we have all created. In Mat Johnson’s “Invisible Things,” a spaceship exploring Jupiter discovers a suburban American city populated by 17th century settlers and later abductees. The residents live in a starkly divided world, where half the population denies basic reality. John Notarianni talks to Raymond and Johnson about their books.

Oregon was the first state in the country to ban single-family zoning in all but the smallest cities, meaning duplexes and triplexes can be built next door to single-family homes. The idea is to increase density within cities while preserving land for farms and wilderness in more rural areas. Denser housing could also help to combat climate change, and create more affordable housing to help reduce the number of people living on the streets. That’s the vision of the Yimbytown movement. Last month, Think Out Loud hosted a panel at the Yimbytown conference in Portland to discuss what “Yes In My Backyard” could mean for the future of cities. The guests were Sam Diaz, Executive Director of 1,000 Friends of Oregon; Rukaiyah Adams, Board Chair of Albina Vision Trust; Marisa Zapata, Director of the Portland State University Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative; and Jerusalem Demsas, staff writer at the Atlantic magazine.

As 2022 comes to a close, the staff of OPB's "Think Out Loud" look back on some of their favorite conversations from the past year. Producers Allison Frost, Elizabeth Castillo, Gemma DiCarlo, Rolando Hernandez, and Sage Van Wing joined host Dave Miller in conversation.

On Dec. 8 1922, the city of Astoria was decimated by a fire. It destroyed over 200 businesses and displaced thousands of residents. News spread fast throughout the state as neighboring cities helped provide food and financial aid. With the loss of so many buildings and homes, talks and efforts to begin rebuilding the city began the next day. Chelsea Vaughn is the curator for Clatsop County Historical Society. She joins us to share the history of the fire and how it has reshaped the community.

In November, Portland City Council approved an ambitious tax increment financing plan for the Cully neighborhood. The goal will be to aid in economic development and invest in affordable housing in North East Portland. Edy Martinez is the district manager for Our 42nd Avenue. He joins us to share what makes this plan different from previous urban renewal proposals and his hopes for what this will mean for the community.