Think Out Loud

In the Pacific Northwest, county election officials have tried to combat claims of election fraud and concerns over the security of vote counting and elections as a whole. Officials are fielding calls and responding to emails about how votes are processed. We learn more from Dan Forester, the elections manager at Washington County’s elections division, about this effort.

New research from OHSU looked at human tissue to try to understand how many nerve fibers are contained in the clitoris. It seems to be the first time that this has ever been studied (a previous estimate was made using bovine tissue). The study found over 10,000 nerve fibers, which is 20% more than previously thought. Dr. Blair Peters is the author of the study, and an assistant professor of plastic surgery and urology at OHSU. Peters joins us to talk about why more research on the clitoris, and the vulva in general, would help surgeons and scientists to understand that region of the body and how it relates to pleasure.

In mid-October, the Alaska Department of Fish and Wildlife announced that it would be canceling the winter snow crab season. This is the first time the snow crab season has been canceled in the Bering Sea. The state agency says the closure follows declining numbers of the crustacean.

Chuck Jackson is based in Newport and is the chief engineer and senior deckhand for the F/V Atlantico. He joins us to share what this closure means for some of Oregon’s commercial fishers.

Local news outlets in Oregon have shrunk or disappered altogether in recent years, leaving some communities without any source of local news. And misinformation and disinformation are on the rise. A new journalism study out of the University of Oregon’s Agora Journalism Center says large-scale interventions are called for to create a stronger “civic information infrastructure.” We talk with the lead author Regina Lawrence about some of the innovations and interventions happening in the state and elsewhere.

Adam Aminé Daniel – better known by his stage name “Aminé” – is frequently heralded as one of the most successful hip-hop artists to come out of the Rose City. Since releasing the hit 2016 single “Caroline,” the Portland-born rapper has performed at Coachella, made political waves on “The Tonight Show,” earned a Grammy nomination and toured internationally. And on Nov. 9, he’ll return to Portland to make his orchestral debut with the Oregon Symphony. Aminé joins host Dave Miller to talk about the upcoming performance and his career so far.

Like many readers around the globe, Naomi Huffman is a huge fan of “Geek Love,” the novel about circus ‘freaks’ by the Portland author Katharine Dunn. Unlike other fans, Huffman is also an editor. Huffman went looking for more unpublished works by Dunn, who died in 2016. This fall Dunn’s novel “Toad,” written before “Geek Love,” will finally be published, after having been rejected by many publishers. We talk to Huffman about the process of editing Dunn’s draft posthumously, and what the new novel says about the famous writer.

Editor’s Note: We invited both candidates to speak. Mike Erickson declined to participate.
The primaries were flooded with candidates for the newly formed 6th congressional district. Now, Democratic state Rep. Andrea Salinas and Republican businessman Mike Erickson face off in the general election. Salinas joins us with more on why she thinks voters should send her to Congress to represent Oregon’s 6th congressional district.

The National Women’s Soccer Association named Portland Thorns forward Sophia Smith the league’s Most Valuable Player last week. And on Saturday, the 22-year-old Smith scored a goal in the first four minutes of the championship game. The Thorns went on to win 2-0 against the Kansas City Current. The Portland team is the first to win three NWSL championships, and the game was the first to be broadcast in primetime on network TV. Anne Peterson is a sports writer for the Associated Press, covering the Thorns and Timbers and international soccer. She brings us the highlights of the historic win and the challenges of this season - with investigations into the culture of abuse in the franchise and the NWSL league itself.

Third Congressional District candidates Republican Joe Kent and Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez join us for an in-person debate recorded on the evening of October 27 at the Wollenberg Auditorium on the campus of Lower Columbia College in Longview, Washington.