Opb's State Of Wonder

Bask in the glorious variety of Portland's spring musical offerings, then head to the hills with a book and a yen for natural beauty. Be here now, this week on State of Wonder.1:00 GLASSAPOCALYPSE NOW - Spectrum Glass of Woodinville, WA, one of the top art-glass makers in the region, has announced that it will cease production in the next 75 days. Art glass has had it rough lately; earlier this year Portland companies Bullseye and Uroboros came under fire when the state Department of Environmental Quality revealed that they were releasing dangerous levels of cadmium and arsenic into the air. And now Oregon DEQ finds Bullseye has been spewing unhealthy levels of lead, and puts production on ice for ten days. We get reaction.10:38 Waterfront Blues Festival to Charge Entry - The Waterfront Blues Festival, an annual benefit for the Oregon Food Bank, will celebrate its 29th year this July—and charge for tickets for the first time. Entry to the festival has traditionally been a suggested donation of $10 and two can

Summer came early this year, and it has us already dreaming of weekends at the beach or up in the mountains, kicking back in a hammock with a book between our hands. So we put together a show to highlight some of the season's top reads, in case you're thinking of packing your knapsack and heading for the hills (or at least the park)."Every Anxious Wave" by Mo DaviauMo Daviau is a former college radio DJ who dreamt up her novel, "Every Anxious Wave," over the turntable. It centers around a middle-age dive bar owner named Karl Bender, who’s only kind of hung up about the loss of his glory days playing guitar in an indie rock sensation. When a super-smart friend opens up a wormhole in the space-time continuum, Karl does what any self-respecting middle-aged hipster would do: he starts going back in time to see his favorite shows. And he meets his match, a brainy physicist named Lena.Remembering Katherine Dunn, the author of "Geek Love" - 11:34We remember writer Katherine Dunn with Willamette Week editor and publi

In honor of Mothers everywhere, we have several stories about new projects being brought into the world this week: a film project that's all about learning from the past, the Eugene Symphony's three ambitious new compositions, and a play that takes us across the boarder. Plus, Charles Bradley sings tribute to his own mom.Into the Beautiful NorthAn adaptation of Luis Alberto Urrea’s bestselling novel “Into the Beautiful North” premieres at Milagro Theatre this week. The story follows three women from a small town in Mexico—a town with a total male population of zero. Immigration to the US has lured their community's men away, but our heroines, spurred on by the classic western flick “The Magnificent Seven,” are determined to bring back at least half a dozen of the good ones.Rough Waters for Arts Central - 4:50For twenty years, the Bend-based nonprofit Arts Central has brought arts education to central Oregon under the leadership of executive director Cate O’Hagan. Last month, though, O’Hagan quit after coming

This week on State of Wonder, Maurice Sendak goes to the opera, retro-tinged indie pop with Radiation City, darkness and light with photographer Holly Andres, and Snohetta's big plans for Portland's James Beard Market and Willamette Falls, and the Portland Ballet.Mauric Sendak Goes to the Opera - 0:00Maurice Sendak is beloved for his emotionally stormy and distinctive children’s books like "Where the Wild Things Are" and "In the Night Kitchen," but the Portland Opera is giving us a chance to appreciate his lesser-known work — as a passionate fan of and set designer for opera. The Portland Opera's general director, Christopher Mattaliano, worked with Sendak on his first opera, "The Magic Flute," in 1981 and is restaging it May 6-14 for the first time in over a decade. Mattaliano tells us about his friendship with Sendak and how the great artist simply loved opera.Radiation City - 7:30Local indie-pop band Radiation City's lineup was famous for featuring two couples...and infamous for its in-fighting. So when co

This week on State of Wonder we have stories of love, loss, law and looking back.Full story: http://www.opb.org/radio/programs/stateofwonder/segment/prince-protests-pnca-pica-new-building-bradford/The Passing Of The Purple OneWe can’t quite believe we’re once again eulogizing a musical icon, but music fans have been thrown into mourning after Thursday’s news about the death of Prince. We talk with the DJ Rev Shines and musicians Farnell Newton and Tony Ozier about the role the legend played in their musical paths, as well as look at some of the ways Prince pushed gender, genre, and the world at large.Reflecting On Art And LossHost April Baer reflects on the loss of Oregon painter Rick Bartow, the death of Merle Haggard, and the passing of her own father. Sometimes art is the conduit to grief.Meet The BradfordsAs a single mother in New York City, Katherine Bradford raised two children and pursued the life of a painter. She succeeded at both activities. One of those children grew up to be the Portland author an

To prep for Design Week Portland, we're listening back to our guest curator show with user experience (UX) designer Elena Moon. She has this fantastic way of explaining what works and why, and she’s going to lead us through her own work and the designed world, from parking meters to space ships.User Experience 101 - 01:08We kick off with a quick primer on UX. Whether you’re talking about everyday objects or brand new apps, solid design is anything but accidental. Elena explains why some brands stand out. Take Uber, for example. Whatever you may think of the company’s business practices, the interface of the Uber app is a gold standard for how to serve up visual information.Portland’s Parking Meters: Design Fail? - 05:04We explore how design is in play in even the simplest of tasks. Elena and April scout out a hub of meter activity in the Pearl District and speak with some of the people who maintain the meters, technicians Anto Bayu Aji and Molly Twoohey.How to Teach Grandmothers to Install Solar Panels - 15:2

This week's show is filled with joy and sorrow, because there're always two sides to every coin.The Passing of an Oregon Giant - 1:03Last week the beloved artist Rick Bartow passed away. His boldly colorful, emotive and idiosyncratic works featured creatures on the cusp of the material and the spiritual world, like stories and myths made flesh. Seinabo Sey - 12:49Swedish performer Seinabo Sey's powerful, soulful delivery betrays the complicated uncertainty that lies beneath the surface of her music. She won the Swedish Grammy for Best Newcomer last year and another this year for Best Pop Song, and her performance at the Grammys, where she invited dozens of black women on stage, drew comparisons to Beyonce. Sey came to the OPB studio to perform and talk about why she'd do anything Beyonce told her to, even though the Queen Bey might learn a thing or two from Sey.Joined Voices - 24:52Last year, Phoebe Flanigan reported on the unique melding of indie rock bands and the choirs of Camas High School known as Joined

Hear the Dandy Warhol's new record early at a dive bar near you; get moved by BodyVox's big collaboration with A-list non-dancers; tune in to an opbmusic session with the Thermals; meet Oregon's new poet laureate and more. BodyVox Brings Its A-Team - 1:01The dance company BodyVox does not do normal, choosing instead to push boundaries of genre and form. So how are they pushing forward with their new performance, “The Pearl Dive Project”? How about asking eight top-tier artists to choreograph for them. Only thing: none of the artists are actually dancers. Instead, they're folks like Pink Martini singer China Forbes, Oregon Symphony music director Carlos Kalmar, and visual artist Malia Jensen.Elizabeth Woody Names New Oregon Poet Laureate - 9:40Governor Kate Brown has appointed Elizabeth Woody as Oregon’s next poet laureate. Her mandate: to represent the poetic powers, to encourage the reading and writing of poetry, and to be our mirror, reflecting on public life. Woody’s maternal family is part of the Confeder

One of the prime movers we have to thank for Portland’s incendiary comedy scene is Shelley McLendon. She’s the mastermind behind Bad Reputation Productions, which has staged hilarious adaptations of movies like "Road House" and "The Lost Boys." She's a member of several of the city’s top sketch groups, including the Aces and the Liberators. She’s the proprietress of the Siren Theater, a new downtown venue dedicated to the comedy and the zanily theatrical.And she's our guest curator this week, taking us on a voyage through her world of comedy.Sisters of Comedy: Shelley & Wendi McLendon-Covey - 0:00It just so happens that Shelley isn’t the only one with the funny gene in the McLendon family. Her sister is Wendi McLendon-Covey, who you might know from “Bridesmaids,” "The Goldbergs," “Reno 911,” or any number of other movies and TV shows. We got the two in the studio to talk about the roots of their comedic talents, playing Twister with Christian co-eds, making out with Nicholas Cage, and the time Shelley gre

Thao & the Get Down Stay Down on opbmusicThao & the Get Down Stay Down's latest release, A Man Alive, is a striking alliance with tUnE-yArDs' electropop virtuoso Merril Garbus, where the band stretches its sound in inventive ways. Host April Baer spoke with Thao about working with Garbus, the band's new direction and how her relationship with her father propelled the direction of the album. Margaret Malone Gets Nominated for a PEN/Hemingway - 9:00This week, PEN New England revealed that Portland author Margaret Malone is a finalist for this year's PEN/Hemingway award, given to first books of fiction in honor of Ernest Hemingway. Malone's short story collection, People Like You, tells the stories of regular people (mostly women) who do petty, dark and often hysterical things.Oregon Libraries Check Out...3-D Printers? 15:26A growing number of public libraries, including Multnomah County and Eugene, are trying something new: letting patrons use their library cards to access cutting-edge creative tools, i

We have binders full of stuff for you today. As it turns out, many are full of women.Qcut And The Quest For Jeans That Fit -A new Oregon start-up is hoping to provide relief from long, torturous hours of finding jeans that fit. Owner Crystal Beasley, a former Mozilla software developer, has developed an algorithm that pairs users with the right blue jeans out of a selection of some 300 different fits. We learn about some of the potential behind the new technology.PDX Women In Tech -A recent report from SmartAsset.com lists the top towns for women in tech. Of 58 American cities, Portland placed dead last. Megan Bigelow of Jama Software, Kaset Tonsfeldt of Young Lions Collective, Amanda Brooks of 24 Seven Inc. help us imagine what a truthful tech job posting would sound like. Hint: it's not pretty (despite it paying to be pretty).The Environmental Photojournalism Of Gary Braasch -Environmentalist Gary Braasch died this week while documenting coral bleaching on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. OPB News' Kate Davi

We’re laughing on the outside and crying on the inside this week.The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Brings Copyright Law Into the 21st Century - 00:59The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation announced this week it will no longer charge copyright fees except for commercial uses (did you know artists can sue you for posting a photo of their work online?). Producer Aaron Scott explains why this is a big deal and speaks with Rauschenberg's son, who just so happens to be Portlander Christopher Rauschenberg, a photographer and co-founder of Blue Sky Gallery.Bullseye Glass Update - 5:05The air emissions story that began at two Portland art-glass makers has boiled over into state government and soon into the court room. Oregon’s top environmental administrator and an air quality regulator stepped down this week. Earthfix's Tony Schick stopped by to give us an update.The Electric Poetry of Robin Coste Lewis - 11:05Robin Coste Lewis won the National Book Award last year for her debut poetry collection, Voyage of the Sable Ve

We are up to our eyeballs this week in Interesting.00:58 Stēla ComicsDigital comics are big business. Sales in 2014 topped $100 million dollars — and that was before Amazon acquired the main online marketplace Comixology last year. But have you ever tried reading a digital comic book? It's not easy. Which is why the start-up Stēla is developing brand new titles written and drawn to be read on a smart phone, and instead of charging per issue, they're offering it as a monthly subscription. A Netflix for comics? We say yes.5:51 Harrow CountyPortland comic artist Tyler Crook and writer Cullen Bunn are the dark masterminds behind "Harrow County," a beautiful new comic series that tells the story of Emmy, a teenage girl growing up in a small Southern town with a spiritual connection to the deceased town witch. The graphic novel collecting Harrow County’s first year, “Countless Haints,” was just nominated for a Bram Stoker Award, and there's a TV adaptation in the works. Read more.15:47 Harper Lee RememberedAuthor H

The arts news is coming in size XL this week.Glass HousesIn Southeast Portland, residents continue to reel from news that they've been exposed to unhealthy levels of heavy metals in the air. As we reported last week, environmental regulators admitted they didn't know how much cadmium and arsenic were coming out of the Bullseye Glass facility. That is, until experimental testing using moss revealed this pollution hot spot. A lot of people have been asking how environmental rules allowed these pollutants to go undetected for years. EarthFix reporter Cassandra Profita looked into this, and into how the glass businesses are responding.Is Law Enforcement: A Laughing Matter? 5:42Hillsboro's Police Department is trying something new to improve the quality of its training.: officers are working with improv performers from Portland's Curious Comedy Theater. The Curious team usually goes for laughs, but there's nothing even remotely funny about the scenes they were acting out at the police training facility in Hillsbo

We are all feeling positively giddy because of everyone sending their nickles and dimes during pledge week. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU.Portland's Brittle Glass HouseOne of the world’s top makers of art glass is reeling after revelations that its plant in Southeast Portland has been emitting vastly more cadmium and arsenic than previously known. Bullseye Glass suspended production of some products this week, and a second Portland-based glass-maker, Uroboros, followed suit. Earthfix's Cassandra Profita fills us in, and we talk with some of the artists who use Bullseye.Master of the Stone Mosaic - 11:50Jeffrey Bale is a designer and stone artist whose mosaics will keep you gazing at the ground for hours. His dizzying and intricate spirals and organic patterns have attracted high-end clientele and rave reviews from the New York Times and reams of landscape design publications. Bale lives in Portland and is the subject of an Oregon Art Beat profile this week.How Do You Make a Grammy-Nominated Remix? 15:55Port

It's pledge week, people! Of course we're putting out the good china: one of the season's most sumptuous films, a new way to look at a Portland icon, and the unveiling of the Portland 2016 Biennial artists.Portland's Second Largest Art Museum to Close - 1:14Pacific Northwest College of Art is folding Oregon's 79-year-old Museum of Contemporary Craft into a new Center for Contemporary Art and Culture, laying off most employees, and selling the building. We hear some background and hopes/fears for the collection.Disjecta Announces the Portland2016 Artists - 5:22Curator Michelle Grabner announced the names of almost 40 top shelf contemporary artists who will be featured in Disjecta's Portland2016 biennial this summer (see the full list). Among them: the sculptor and conceptual artist Tannaz Farsi, who is the subject of a gorgeous Oregon Art Beat profile this week.Todd Haynes on "Carol" and Bowie - 9:07One of Portland's brightest cinematic minds talks about his new Oscar-nominated film, "Carol," and reflects on t

This week we moderated a candidates' forum hosted by the Regional Arts and Culture Council and the Creative Advocacy Coalition. The purpose was to talk with candidates for mayor and council about hot issues like Portland's arts tax, city funding for arts organizations and projects, equity in the arts, affordable artist housing and more.Here's a breakdown of what we asked them with some highlights.02:16 What arts and creative work have you checked out over the past two months?07:10 What's your vision for Portland's future? And how do arts and culture fit into that?"We’re this close to a city that can be fantastic." —Stuart Emmons21:40 What candidates will commit to regarding funding RACC's arts work."As mayor, I’m committing to increasing funding for RACC." —Jules Bailey"I’m not going to promise every group that we’re going to increase their budget. You can look back at my past performance and see that I am a champion of the arts." —Ted Wheeler27:43 The 2015 budget surplus: why none of the $49 million dollars

This week we welcome user experience (UX) designer Elena Moon as our guest curator. She has this fantastic way of explaining what works and why, and she’s going to lead us through her own work and the designed world, from parking meters to space ships.User Experience 101 - 00:00We kick off with a quick primer on UX. Whether you’re talking about everyday objects or brand new apps, solid design is anything but accidental. Elena explains why some brands stand out. Take Uber, for example. Whatever you may think of the company’s business practices, the interface of the Uber app is a gold standard for how to serve up visual information.Portland’s Parking Meters: Design Fail? - 04:13We explore how design is in play in even the simplest of tasks. Elena and April scout out a hub of meter activity in the Pearl District and speak with some of the people who maintain the meters, technicians Anto Bayu Aji and Molly Twoohey.How to Teach Grandmothers to Install Solar Panels - 14:19UX isn’t just for software. Elena talks ab

This week on State of Wonder: Oregonians mourn the death of a legend (including some who shared his stage), a Portland artist helps reboot DC Comics’ Dr. Fate, and a blind but colorful painter in Wallowa County.The Many Lives of Davie BowieDavid Bowie’s decades of recording, filmmaking and trendsetting led many to feel he was super-human, immortal, even alien. Of course, he was all too human, dying this week at age 69 after an 18-month struggle with cancer. The outpouring of love and grief online and across the world is staggering, and Oregon is no exception.[image: 011616_david-bowie-and-dandy-warhols,right,300x390,5698388dd073400035a111b3] We decided to go in search of how Bowie changed our small neck of the solar system. We talked with the Dandy Warhols about playing with Bowie; heard from Grandfather's Jason Lydle about finding out Bowie was a fan; caught up with Matt Sheehy, who covered "Let's Dance" on the "Late Show With Stephen Colbert"; spent some time with fans singing Bowie-oke; and learned about B

Uppity Women and Then Some...This week's show features trailblazers, plus a couple of lookbacks at stories from last year, with updates on what happened after the tape stopped rolling. Kelly Sue DeConnick and Taki Soma talk about collaborating on this month's special issue of Bitch PlanetLauren Redniss lets us in on her process for the stunning graphic novel-cum-collage book, "Thunder and Lightening".Oregon Story Board - an incubator for creative tech projects - gets a new lease on life ... and a new lease! Comedy legend Lily Tomlin talks about recent projects and her upcoming one-woman show in Portland.Revolution Hall packs 'em in! The story behind Portland's newest mid-sized venue.