Opb's State Of Wonder

This week on "State of Wonder," there are birds everywhere. We say goodbye to "Portlandia" as it enters its final season, hear new music from the Portland band Mimicking Birds, meet the Michelangelo of animal art, and raise a toast with MK Guth. Time to Hang up Your Bird Stencil and Say Goodbye to "Portlandia"“Portlandia” began its final season this week. Since its premiere in 2011, the sketch comedy show sometimes feels like it’s come to define Portland — or at least a particular cross-section of the city. It put us on the map as the capital of earnest urbanism at a time when words like “artisanal” and “locavore” were sweeping the nation. It was an image Portlanders embraced, but then came to struggle with. Muralist on 82nd Avenue Faces Backlash for Depicting Diversity - 13:4282nd Avenue is a marker for a diverse community that defies Portland’s reputation as one of the whitest cities in America. Reporter Ericka Cruz Guevarra met with Asian-American artist Alex Chiu whose mural depicting diversity was met w

This week on "State of Wonder," exclusive sessions with singer-songwriter Josh Ritter and the epic band Typhoon, new ideas to preserve Portland's arts spaces, musician Laura Veirs branches into podcasting and children's books, and more.City Council Seeks to Preserve Arts Spaces with New ProposalsSo many Oregon cities are going through catalytic change because of rising real estate costs, and the front-line casualties include galleries, stages, clubs and artist studios. Most recently, Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland proposed selling half its building. At a work session this week, Portland City Council showed signs it may be ready to take action with a list of about two dozen recommendations for preserving arts and creative space, ranging from creating a new zoning category for creative spaces to an arts concierge in City Hall and giving arts groups priority pick of surplus city real estate.Former RACC Director Eloise Damrosch on the Future of Portland Arts - 4:19In the seventeen years that Eloise Damrosc

Kyle Morton and his band join us for an opbmusic studio session in front of a live audience. The new record, "Offerings" is the tale of a disturbing personal journey , tracking personal and cultural memory loss.

This week on "State of Wonder," the comedian Maria Bamford on her hit Netflix series, author Daniel Handler on his best-selling "Series of Unfortunate Events" books, and the man who pretty much invented the photography book, Robert Frank.Hard Times For Artists Repertory TheatreThe year got off to a hard start for Portland’s oldest theater, Artists Repertory. Founded in 1982, the mid-sized company performs high-octane work by hot playwrights, tackling subjects like racism, the Great Recession, and climate change. As OPB’s April Baer reports, the company announced plans to sell half its building to retire its debt and set it on a sustainable path, as well as the departure of its managing director.Comedian Maria Bamford - 6:38Comedian Maria Bamford is cruising back through Oregon next week for shows at Eugene’s McDonald Hall Jan. 12 and at Portland's Revolution Hall Jan. 13. She’s been cranking out the work lately. Last year she released a Netflix special, "Old Baby," where she's performing in front of all diff

Best-selling novelist Tom Perrotta has a flair for finding humanity in talks about thinking through the social and spiritual dimensions of inetrnet porn for his bittersweet satire, "Mrs. Fletcher". We also discuss famous film and video adaptations of his other works, like "Election" and "The Leftovers".

Best-selling novelist Tom Perrotta has a flair for finding humanity in talks about thinking through the social and spiritual dimensions of inetrnet porn for his bittersweet satire, "Mrs. Fletcher". We also discuss famous film and video adaptations of his other works, like "Election" and "The Leftovers".

Twenty years ago, Elliott Smith opened a door into a hypnotic new world. The album “Either/Or,” released on Kill Rock Stars, marks a turning point in Smith’s transition from Portland rock journeyman to international star. This time had enormous consequences for Smith personally and professionally, but it also gave us heart-stopping music that continues to inspire fans and musicians all over the world.Last March, we sat down with Smith’s friends, peers, and a live studio audience to talk about “Either/Or” and Smith’s legacy.Smith’s ultra-reflective songwriting and well-honed recording style represent an apex of the DIY sound that made Portland’s name during its intensely fertile 1990s. His music continues to inspire people like Frank Ocean, Ben Gibbard, Wayne Coyne and many others.Our Guests Larry Crane of Jackpot Recording Studio was a longtime friend and collaborator and has assumed the role of archivist of Smith’s catalogue. He tells us about what he’s observed of the record through the years, leading up

This week on "State of Wonder," we discuss the legacy of former mayor and arts booster Vera Katz, the best music of 2017, and get a glimpse into Portland's past through the photos of Minor White.Remembering Beloved Former Mayor, Vera Katz - 1:24This week, Former Portland Mayor and Oregon House speaker Vera Katz died. A trailblazer who steered Portland into an unprecedented period of growth and vitality (see: Pearl District, South Waterfront, East Bank Esplanade, etc), she always had her eye on how arts and creativity could enrich public life.We look back on Katz's legacy and then sit down with two arts leaders who worked during Katz tenure: Eloise Damrosch, the long-time head of the Regional Arts and Culture Council, and Linda K. Johnson, a dancer, choreographer, and teacher who brought many projects to life inside and outside the public sector, including an Artist-in-Residency program in the early days of the South Waterfront.The Year In Jazz With KMHD - 16:35We’re going to take some time to look back at the

This week on "State of Wonder," we talk to Todd Haynes about his newest film, "Wonderstruck," and the fall of Harvey Weinstein; we explore Christian Scott aTunde Adjua's groundbreaking contemporary jazz; and discover the story of a painting that saved a family's lives during the Holocaust.Embers, the Iconic Portland LGBT Bar, Closes Its Doors - 1:32Another landmark of old Portland has closed. The downtown bar and dance club Embers opened almost half a century ago when the world was — to say the least — a very different place for gay men and lesbians. Last week club managers announced on social media that owner Steve Suss had suffered a massive stroke and that Embers must close almost immediately. Kevin Cook, who performs as Poison Waters, took part in the final party as one of the club’s hall of fame drag performers and talked with us about the club's legacy.Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah Stretches Jazz: 5:15Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah's newest three-LP release, “The Centennial Trilogy,” includes post-bop ha

This time we live in is a feast of audio storytelling. You can find a podcast for any interest, from Harry Potter to stories of death-defying survival, and it turns out Oregon is a hotbed of homemade shows. In fact, several enterprising producers have joined forces to host the first-ever Portland Podcast Festival on Dec. 2 at the Hawthorne Theater.We’re taking this as an opportunity to talk to them about their shows, and to spotlight some more of our favorites made in Oregon. On this week’s episode:Minority Retort - 1:30Jason Lamb’s morning drive drops as part of the XRAY-FM feed feature conversations that reflect what’s going on in communities of color — often featuring stand-up artists Lamb’s met hosting the monthly “Minority Retort” comedy showcase. Funemployment Radio - 5:31Greg Nibler and Sarah X Dylan have chops honed by years in the trenches of terrestrial radio. But when they turned their powers to podcasting, freed from the constraints of 3-5 minute breaks, their creativity found a fifth gear. Voted

This week on "State of Wonder," some of the Northwest's most prominent writers come together to share stories and memories of the man the "New Yorker" called "the Portland sage."It’s hard to imagine a more quintessentially Northwest writer than Brian Doyle. He was not from Oregon, but he was of Oregon.His tales of off-kilter small towns played out in an Oregon where the land and the animals speak, sometimes metaphorically, sometimes literally. He was famously nominated for eight Oregon Book Awards in four categories, before finally winning one.No less than the writer Ian Frazier immortalized Doyle’s place in the literary landscape in a 2016 poem for the “New Yorker,” writing: "The Brian Doyle, the Portland sage;/His writing's really all the rage."Brian Doyle died in May after developing a brain tumor.Several hundred people attended a memorial for him Sept. 21, including some of the region’s most prominent authors. Listening to them talk, we fell in love with Doyle anew, and wanted to share the event with you.

This week on 'State of Wonder,' we bring you the second show we recorded live at Wordstock, this time with the culture writer Chuck Klosterman, who pulls back the curtain on his celebrity profiles, and two ace authors, who discuss their thrilling new novels.Want more books? Check out the first show we recorded at Wordstock this year, with the creators of the hit podcast and novels "Welcome to Night Vale" and the seriously hilarious poets Morgan Parker and Tommy Pico.Chuck Klosterman Explains the 21st Century of Pop Culture - 1:26What do Taylor Swift, Tim Tebow, and the search for free will in “Breaking Bad” have in common? They are all pop culture casualties of Chuck Closterman, one the keenest critical minds writing today. Growing up in North Dakota, Klosterman cut his teeth in the Midwest before heading to New York to write for the “New York Times,” “GQ,” “Grantland,” and practically everyone else. His 2003 essay collection “Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low-Culture Manifesto” launched him into the cultur

Wordstock — Portland's book festival — is that most wonderful of days, when Oregonians’ book lust reaches a fever pitch, culminating in increased secret police presence at book signings, reader mobs storming the gates of Powell’s, and more mayhem.We talked to a slew of fantastic authors at this year's event: Tom Perrotta, Katie Kitamura, Chuck Klosterman, and more. We'll serve these up on our podcast in the coming weeks, but for now, feast on this live show, recorded at noon with four writers on the vanguard."Welcome to Night Vale" with Creators Jeffrey Cranor and Joseph FinkFor the past five years, the creators of the runaway hit podcast, "Welcome to Night Vale" have spun tales of a fictional Southwestern desert town, where people live side by side with the supernatural. Hooded figures, shadowy government agencies, and ravenous ghosts abound— but also girl scouts, coffeehouses, and a community radio station. “Night Vale” is about finding humanity, seated right there next to unspeakable horror at the local di

Crawl inside this week and prepare to be dazzled: we visited an installation made by the team behind some of rock’s most amazing live shows, science powers up spellbinding poems by Samiya Bashir, and why comic book publishers are retooling their business model to fit the book-format market.

Gather round all you ghoulies and goblins. "State of Wonder" is going to channel up some ferocious wonders on this week’s episode. We’ve got picks for some of the best scary films, an interview with the producer behind a new podcast about one Portland’s most eerie urban legends, and then we’re heading to the cemetery for one of the most original takes on the after-life since Dante’s Inferno, George Saunders’ first novel, the Man Booker Prize-winning “Lincoln in the Bardo.”Movies to Scare You - 1:24Once you have your outfit and your candy on lockdown, the only essential left pending for Halloween is some good-quality scary movies to watch. John Rosman, enterprise producer on OPB’s digital team, got to talking about what to watch with horror aficionado Geoff Todd, editor at large at the popular film blog Film School Rejects. You may have seen the amazing Twitter feed he created, One Perfect Shot.The Polybius Conspiracy - 7:58Maybe you heard the rumors about a mysterious arcade game seen in Portland in the 80’s

Eminent Puerto Rican artist discusses his show at Linfield College. Themes of rain and deluge took on a horrific resonance after Hurricane Maria hit, weeks before opening.

A Man, A Woman, And A Talking Robot Head Walk Into A Desert ...The opening night film is a sumptuous sci-fi fable about a guy, a girl and a robot head hiking across a desert looking for a mythical lake. “Everything Beautiful Is Far Away,” starring Julia Garner and Joseph Cross, premiered this year at the LA Film Festival, where it won the U.S. Fiction Cinematography Award. It’s not hard to see why: filmed entirely in the Imperial Sand Dunes in Southeastern California, the characters wander through hills of white sand against a backdrop of blue sky with colors and lighting so soft and delicate that Garner’s porcelain skin simply glows. The pacing is patient, the dialogue spare, but the whole film is such a potent meditation that when the characters stare straight into the camera, we are more than happy to just lose ourselves in their eyes.We sit down with the writer and director Pete Ohs.The Do's And Don'ts Of Screenwriting With Jon RaymondJon Raymond will be the first to say that he accidentally stumbled into

This week on “State of Wonder,” we talk Sleater-Kinney and “Portlandia” with Carrie Brownstein, get a preview of the Bend Film Fest, paint some eyeballs with ocularist Fred Harwin and more.

This week on 'State of Wonder,' the writer behind 'Angels in America' and the movies 'Lincoln' and 'Munich' on writing for today, the head of Portland Center Stage on the hit musical 'Fun Home' and more.Tony Kushner Finds the Humanity in the Epic - 1:05Playwright Tony Kushner is a fearless explorer of spaces where the personal meets the political. His two-part masterpiece, "Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes," kicked down the door to a discussion of the AIDS epidemic, and his screenwriting work on films like "Lincoln" and "Munich" manage to find the most internal, human stories in mammoth historical events. Kushner is headed to Oregon to deliver the keynote speech at the Oregon Arts Summit on Oct. 6, and we got him on the phone to talk about what he's working on now, including a play about President Trump (maybe) and a new take on "West Side Story" with his regular collaborator, Steven Spielberg.Painter Arvie Smith Wins the Governor's Art Award for Lifetime Achievement - 8:53To celebrate the