OPB Politics Now
"OPB Politics Now" is a weekly podcast that takes a deep dive into the hottest political topics in Oregon and the Northwest. Every Friday, OPB’s political reporters and special guests offer in-depth analysis, discussion and insight into candidates, events and issues.
Deschutes County political maps spark debate, plus groundwater contamination in Eastern Oregon
Homelessness in Portland and taxes in Oregon take center stage
Oregon education report card: Budget woes, enrollment issues and Trump effect
Newport fights potential ICE facility, plus Trump’s National Guard legal defeat
Portland's camping ban, suburban ICE raids and election recap
Food assistance and health insurance stuck in government shutdown limbo
Talking Tina Kotek: The National Guard, reelection and her first term
Portland’s ICE protest brings frogs, naked cyclists and right wing streamers
OPB Politics Now: President Trump's push for the military in U.S. cities ramps up in courts, streets
President Trump targets Portland
Inside one of Portland’s new homeless shelters
Who needs shots? Vaccines drive a wedge between Oregon and the feds
Why 2 Oregon lawmakers bucked their political parties
Oregon's road funding special legislative session sputters at its midway point
The politics of Gov. Kotek’s special session on transportation funding
Oregon's timber counties brace for losses after Trump's Big Beautiful Bill
Oregon Democrats say federal cuts hurt the vulnerable, Republicans blame Democrats
Portland wrestles with how to respond to Trump administration
Explaining Oregon’s farm stand rules kerfuffle
Federal immigration raids are shaking the Northwest
Senator Jeff Merkley is running for reelection, plus special session scuttlebutt
Oregon Legislature wraps up a busy session punctuated by a transportation package failure
Salem drama reaches fever pitch as sine die looms
What Oregon lawmakers have, have not done on education issues this session
What the Big Beautiful Bill would mean for Oregon’s healthcare system
Oregon legislative session is almost over - what have they done?
The rise, fall and return of cap and trade in Oregon
An inside look at how OPB covers the Oregon Capitol
Oregon’s revenue forecast shows economic slowdown
Unpacking Portland Mayor Keith Wilson’s first budget
The rise of placeholder bills in Oregon’s Legislature
Dan Handelman’s life, work and the vacuum his death leaves in advocacy world
How Oregon businesses are reacting to Trump’s tariffs
Oregon’s legislative session hits the midway point
Is the Pacific Northwest entering an era of dam removal?
Melissa Fireside’s sudden rise and downfall in Clackamas County
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek stops by OPB
A deep dive on Oregon’s education system
Why Portland and Multnomah County’s budgets are so bleak but Oregon’s is stable?
‘What’s the plan?’ Oregonians push back at politicians town halls across the state
Recapping Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s confirmation hearing
A legislative check-in one month into the Salem session
Tina Kotek’s climate legacy – so far
How Trump’s federal funding freeze landed in Oregon
The second Trump administration and the Pacific Northwest
Previewing Oregon’s 2025 legislative session
Portland’s new City Council begins 2025 with drama, intrigue
Who is Keith Wilson?
Exit Interview: Earl Blumenauer
Exit Interview: Ted Wheeler
Paying for wildfires
Christine Drazan’s return, plus Portland city councilors jostle for power
Recapping the election results with Think Out Loud
Portland’s new political era has arrived
A big night for Republicans, but not in Oregon
How Portland’s campaigns have changed, plus the ballot box fires
These Oregon legislative races could determine the balance of power in Salem
A deep dive on Deschutes County and Bend politics
OPB Politics Now’: Previewing your 2024 ballot
Analyzing Oregon’s attorney general, secretary of state and treasurer races
A deep dive into Oregon’s 5th Congressional District
Oregon’s vaunted vote by mail system has a rare error
Why Greg Walden is so important to Republican campaigns
Why Oregon’s Republican Party is so focused on the tiny Libertarian Party
The promise and peril of drug recriminalization in Oregon
A sheriff, a mayor and the ongoing effort to enforce homeless camping bans
How the new Portland City Council will work
Governor Tina Kotek interview
The Washington primary
Oregon and the changing presidential race
Peter Courtney played influential role in making Oregon what it is today
Transportation funding woes hit Oregon and Portland’s central city
U.S. Supreme Court rules in Grants Pass case that people experiencing homelessness can be punished for sleeping in public
Oregon’s coastal mountain biking trail is a hopeful nod to the future
New leaders of Oregon’s Planned Parenthood push to dissolve the political arm of their organization
Oregon’s long history of failing foster kids, plus a legislative leadership shakeup
Is progressivism on life support in Portland?
Some major takeaways from the 2024 May primary election
Big money flows into 2 Oregon Congressional races
A progressive prosecutor, a proxy fight and the bitter battle to be Multnomah County's DA
What Tina Kotek did – and didn’t – say about the first spouse
Should politics be a family affair, plus harm reduction in Eastern Oregon
3 top candidates for Oregon's 3rd Congressional District
The tale of two homeless communities: Right 2 Dream Too and Clinton Triangle
Portland tries again to ban certain activities tied to homeless camps
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek’s wife wants a larger role, does that matter?
Environmental takeaways from Oregon’s legislative session
Who is Rene Gonzalez, plus will the latest homelessness plan actually work?
Recapping the 2024 Oregon Legislative session
Will cities take advantage of Kotek’s housing bill?
Threat of ballot measures spurs action in Salem
Campaign finance reform emerges as unlikely presence in Salem
Why some Portland police struggle with use of force and what experts say
A political lightning round ahead of the Legislative session
Is Oregon’s drug decriminalization experiment nearing its end?
Oregon’s land use laws and the Kotek’s housing push
What to make of Tina Kotek’s first year as Oregon’s governor
The political stories to watch in 2024
Why Oregon’s kicker tax rebate just keeps growing
The political and business reaction to Kotek’s downtown Portland task force
OPB Politics Now: Oregon keeps struggling with foster care
The political fight over K-12 education funding is just getting started
Portland's police oversight controversy continues
Tribes, a proposed destination resort and treaty rights collide
The politics of the PPS strike
Oregon's battle over pumping gas refuels, plus Portland City Council transition drama
What happens when an Oregon town's government implodes
How homelessness became a statewide crisis in Oregon
Why Democrats are now willing to tackle Measure 110 reforms
Fentanyl, overdoses and Measure 110 in the spotlight
A deep dive into the unusual and personal Paul Holvey recall
Ted Talk: What can Wheeler accomplish as a lame duck?
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler talks about his future
Portland public drug use ban awaits state action, Bybee Lakes gets more public cash
Oregon’s ‘kicker’ hits a new record
The task force to save Portland met for the first time, but will it work?
The sex work vetoes and the Portland leader who lived and worked from Vegas
The costly Capitol renovation, plus Kotek’s task force to save Portland
Intel growing, gas pumping, Congresswoman Hoyle testifying
The union battle in Lane County
Why the effort to unwind Portland’s government overhaul unraveled
The Newport mayor’s Facebook posts, plus Portland City Hall happenings
OPB Politics Now: Portland's continuing struggle over homelessness policy
OPB Politics Now: Oregon legislators wrap it up
A topsy-turvy end to the 2023 legislative session