The New York Times
Andrea Morales/The New York Times
A Total Solar Eclipse Leaves The Nation in Awe
Darkness descended, the summer air caught a quick chill, Venus and some stars appeared in the near-night sky and, in Depoe Bay, Ore., one of the first places to fall under the shadow, a flock of confused sea gulls began to call out.
Even humans — who knew what was going on — were left to hunt for words to describe the spectacle.
Beth Nakamura/Press Pool
Oregon Man Accused of Deadly Anti-Muslim Tirade Continues Rant in Court
An Oregon man charged with murdering two people who had tried to intercede during the man’s anti-Muslim tirade spoke out at an arraignment on Tuesday, calling for “death to the enemies of America” while apparently defending his actions as a form of “patriotism.”
Gillian Flaccus/Associated Press
Three Men Stood Up to Anti-Muslim Attack. Two Paid With Their Lives.
An Army veteran, a recent college graduate and a student who once won a poetry contest by condemning prejudice stirred up by the Sept. 11 attacks intervened as a man screamed anti-Muslim insults at two women in Portland, Ore., on Friday.
In the days that followed, the three men were hailed as heroes.
99% Invisible
The Athletic Brassiere
Among the most important advances in sports technology, few can compete with the invention of the sports bra. Following the passage of Title IX in 1972, women’s interest in athletics surged. But their breasts presented an obstacle.
Bouncing breasts hurt, as women getting in on the jogging craze found out. Then some friends in Vermont had an idea to stitch a couple jock straps together to build a contraption to keep things in place.
Their creation revolutionized women’s participation in sports and launched what’s become a multi-billion-dollar industry.
KNKX's Sound Effect
From KNKX 88.5, Sound Effect is your weekly tour of ideas, inspired by the place we live. Each week's show explores a different theme.
The editorial board of the Oak Street Reporter — (from left) Anmol Patel, Sita Niemann, and Cian McKeown.
The Oak Street Reporter
At the edges of the things we know, there are “the woods.” And so often, we find ourselves there, feeling our way, sometimes blindly, through undefined landscapes.
There’s something jarring, yet liberating, about the moment when you realize that so many of the people around you are doing the same. Parents, politicians, career “experts” — all, on some level, blazing an uncertain path through uncharted territory.
Nigel Jaquiss is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist at Willamette Week in Portland. He’s spent his career exploring the woods — mapping them out for others to follow. But he says the job is not without hazards.
“We get lost all the time as reporters,” says Jaquiss. “And sometimes you go down paths that are dead ends. Sometimes you go down paths that might lead you to the equivalent of a cliff or to a scary monster.”
Jaquiss lives in Southeast Portland, along a quiet road called Oak Street. And about six months ago a new news outlet sprung up, just a few blocks from his house. It’s a hyper-local bimonthly called the Oak Street Reporter, piloted by three enterprising young journalists: Cian McKeown, Anmol Patel, and Sita Niemann. They feature daily news, as well as regular columns centered around topics like social justice and the environment.
The catch? They’re all in elementary school.
The Everest Effect
On the morning of May 25, 2006, Myles Osborne was poised to become one of the last climbers of the season to summit Mount Everest. The weather was perfect, and it seemed nothing would stop his team. Then a flapping of orange fabric caught his eye. He believed it to be a tent—until the fabric spoke: “I imagine you’re surprised to see me here.”
The speaker was Lincoln Hall, who'd been reported dead the night before. He was gloveless, frostbitten, and hallucinating—but alive. Osborne's expedition was faced with a dilemma: would they stay and help Hall, giving up the summit and endangering their own lives? Or finish this once-in-a-lifetime journey that had been years in the making?
XX Factor
A series hosted by author and Outside contributor Florence Williams — and produced by me — that shines a spotlight on kickass women doing kickass stuff in the outdoors.
Slate's Placemakers
All communities face certain challenges. On Placemakers, we bring you stories about the spaces we inhabit, and the people who shape them.
Mighty Tieton
It's no secret that climbing rents are driving many creative entrepreneurs out of popular urban centers. When Seattle book publisher Ed Marquand stumbled across an abundance of cheap real estate in a struggling small town not far from the big city, he thought he may have found a solution to the problem. But will Marquand be received as a knight in shining armor or a colonizer come to conquer and pillage?
Download on iTunes here.
Felt DeCoded
The Felt DeCoded exhibit at the Museum of Craft and Design in San Francisco represents a comprehensive collection of work by Janice Arnold. Her work is informed by wool as a raw fiber, intrinsic in the practice of making felt.
I produced a series of interviews with the artist to accompany her exhibit.
Cave of Memories
Janice Arnold's "Cave of Memories" is fragile and ethereal — webby and spider-like. As though it could tear in a strong breeze.
It's meant to be that way. It's memento mori — an ode to the three years she took away from art to care for her dying parents.
"Because there's this fragility to life. And there are times it feels like your life is falling apart. Just like when you lay these very wispy fibers together."
But the felt holds. As do our memories.
Slice of Life
The merging of wood and wool — two living fibers joined in what Janice calls a healing act.
"It's more art for art's sake. I've always worked on a much larger scale... I don't know why. Maybe it's because I'm tall and I always want to feel small. So I'm looking at the world in another way. And that's — when I make things that are large, it makes me small."
Felt Pelt
Janice has been a vegetarian since she was 18 years old — and she always felt sad to see animal hides being used as decorative objects.
But then she learned she could make faux pelts from wool. "It felt like it was the skin of an animal — only the animal survived!"
Now she makes everything from giraffes to zebras to cows.
OPB News
Oregon Public Broadcasting: giving voice to the community, connecting Oregon and its neighbors, illuminating a wider world.
Find more stories I reported for OPB here.
Oregon's Complicated History With Rent Control
Rent control is complicated and it takes different forms. But the basic idea is that it protects tenants by imposing limits on what landlords can charge.
So why does the state of Oregon have a ban on rent control in the first place?
41 Days: An OPB Documentary On The Oregon Occupation
What started as a community protest in support of a pair of local ranchers, father and son Dwight and Steven Hammond, ended with an Internet live stream of a 27-year-old Ohioan contemplating suicide — and finally surrendering.
One man died, and 25 other people are charged with crimes related to the occupation.
But how did we get here? In the days after the occupation, OPB put together an hour long documentary that pulls on some of the station's best reporting to unpack what happened.
Family Of Iraqi Refugees Arrive In Portland Amid Legal Battle Over Trump's Travel Ban
In February, an Iraqi family of five landed at the Portland International Airport. According to the ACLU, they’re the first refugees to arrive in Oregon since Jan. 27, when President Trump issued his controversial travel ban.
A crowd of people toting signs, stuffed animals and balloons were there to welcome the family to the Rose City.
Think Out Loud
What is Think Out Loud? We sometimes call ourselves the radio show that listens. Or the show that's talking about what the Northwest is talking about. Or maybe: the radio show with a Northwest heart, a global head, and internet fingers.
Find more shows I produced for Think Out Loud here.
Represented: Oregon's Housing Affordability Crisis
Across the state, Oregonians who rent are struggling to find and keep their homes. This year, some state lawmakers are putting forward bills they hope could help to solve that problem. We hear from voices on all sides of the issue.
On The Road: Hoofing It On Portland's Sandy Boulevard
Pull up a map of Portland’s urban core, and you’ll see a tidy checkerboard of right-angled roads. The city’s blocks pack together like snugly fit teeth. Its streets run crisp lines — north to south, east to west. The system’s simple, elegant.
And then there’s Sandy Boulevard.
Between A Dock And A Hard Place
A conflict has been simmering on the Willamette River for some time now. It's between people who are living on boats anchored in the Portland area, and others who live on or near the waterway. These "aquatic squatters" say they’re not doing anything wrong, but the state says many of them are breaking the law.
State of Wonder
OPB's State of Wonder features interviews and reporting on the latest in visual arts, theater, music, literature, culture and more. It's playful, lighthearted and sometimes irreverent; pointed, curious and informative.
Find more stories I produced for State of Wonder here.
Portland Playhouse Takes On 'The Simpsons' — And The Apocalypse
The show starts off with a group of friends around a campfire. They're hanging out, drinking beers, and trying to remember the details of a Simpsons episode called Cape Feare. It's utterly pedestrian — until a twig snaps, and suddenly cast members draw guns and knives.
Hunt For 6-String Treasures Ends At Portland's Black Book Guitars
As a vintage guitar collector and owner of Black Book Guitars, Nate Fasold is a master excavator. He's dogged, detail-oriented and knows how to stay the course. In fact, treasure hunting runs in the Fasold family.
'Joined Voices': A Truly Original Performance
It's no secret that the northwest is a hot scene for indie music — but many don't know that it's also home to some top-notch high school choirs. The choir director at Camas High School in Clark County, Washington is bringing those worlds together with a project he calls 'Joined Voices.'
Transom, Fall 2014
Transom channels new work, voices, and ideas into public media through the Internet and workshops. Our goal is to be useful and inspiring. Transom is a performance space, an open editorial session, an audition stage, a library, and a hangout. Our purpose is to pass the baton of mission and good practice in public media through tools, philosophy, and technique.
She Is Mighty
By day, Lynne Duquette Perera is a wedding planner, a photographer, a wife, and the mother of two-year-old twins. But on Monday and Friday evenings, Lynne laces up her roller skates and transforms into Lulu Nori Morse – fearless co-founder of Cape Cod Roller Derby.
Reinventing DIY on Cape Cod
Doug Butler is something of a Renaissance man: he’s an inventor, a tailor, an engineer. And whether he’s imagining gadgets from the future or reconstructing items from the past, he’s always making something. For Transom and WCAI's Creative Life series, I took a peek inside Doug’s workshop.
KUT News
KUT News is committed to investigating and delivering Austin-centric news and information. We strive to make every story meaningful by uncovering deep insights and integrating unique perspectives from our community. And we don’t just report the news, we also bring the culture, music and people that define the Austin experience to our news coverage.
Find more stories I reported for KUT here.
On My Block: Voices from District One
In 2012, the city of Austin carved out ten new voting districts in a bid to restructure the city's political system. KUT News wanted to take a close look at these new districts, starting with Austin's only African-American majority neighborhood, "District One."
I joined a small team of KUT reporters in asking residents of District One a single question: what’s the one thing that would make life better on your block?
This project was shortlisted for the 2014 Online Journalism Award.
Where Do We Grow From Here?
Debate over whether urban farms contribute to the gentrification of Austin’s eastside was prolonged in October 2013, when the Austin City Council decided to postpone a decision on changes to the city's urban farm rules.
Before City Council's decision, I took a look at the issue from two standpoints: an examination of the gentrification debate, and a look at one urban farm in action.
Power for Parkinson’s Inspires Patients to Step Into An Active Life
With a vibrant live music scene, a bustling tech sector and a top-flight university, Austin seems like an oasis for young people. However, the seemingly youthful Texas capital isn't wasted on the young. The Austin-Round Rock area has the fastest growing population of people between ages 55 and 64, and the third-fastest growing for those 65 and over, according to U.S. Census data.
I went behind the scenes of one organization that’s helping to address the needs of Austin’s aging community.
