Opb's State Of Wonder

A New Book Aimed at Elementary AstronomersThe Baker City writer and illustrator Nancy Coffelt teamed up with publisher Elaine Cuyler to create her new book, “The Big Eclipse,” which uses charming animal characters and goofy jokes to help kids learn about the eclipse. Coffelt and Cuyler blew through all the books in their first printing and are filing orders with a second.Umbraphile and Author David Baron - 7:37David Baron is a former NPR science correspondent and the author of a new book, “American Eclipse,” which tells the story of an eclipse that captured the nation’s attention way back in 1878. At that time, the celestial event offered US scientists one of their first chances to demonstrate that America was a science powerhouse to rival Europe. But Baron isn’t just someone who writes about eclipses — he also chases them, traveling around the world to see the rare events.Tips and Tricks for Photographing the Eclipse - 15:25Portland-based astro-photographer Jake Breed gives us a demonstration of best practic

A New Collaboration for The Decemberists: Offa RexThe Decemberists may have finally met their match. The band has been collaborating with British singer Olivia Chaney to reinterpret tradition Scottish, Irish and English songs under the name Offa Rex — a reference to an Anglo-Saxon king. The resulting album, “The Queen of Hearts," comes out July 14 and is produced by local whiz Tucker Martine, and you can see Off Rex perform live July 23 at the Aladdin Theater.Kinetic Sculpture Racers Pedal On at Revamped DaVinci Days in Corvallis - 11:37This weekend, Corvallis celebrates the return Da Vinci Days: the festival where art and science mix. It started 29 years ago in the spirit of Leonardo DaVinci — a man as much about math as Mona Lisa. Da Vinci Days includes a full-three day schedule this year filled with live music, lectures, poetry readings, and a competition that may best embody the ingenuity and play at the festival’s heart: the Grand Kinetic Challenge, a race over land and water in handmade vehicles. Gall

This weekend Corvallis celebrates the return DaVinci Days: the festival where art and science mix. It started 29 years ago in the spirit of Leonardo DaVinci — a man as much about math as Mona Lisa. At this festival you’ll be able to listen to live music, check out a lecture on 3D printers, hear poetry readings and ask an astronomer for star-watching tips — all in the same day. DaVinci Days includes a full-three day schedule this year. Finances forced organizers to suspended operations for 2014 and 2015. One event kept chugging, even when DaVinci Days was on hiatus — it’s a competition that may best embody the ingenuity and play at the festival’s heart. The Graand Kinetic Challenge is a race over land and water in handmade vehicles. We sent Liza Yeager out to answer the question: who is a kinetic sculpture racer? We also talk to board member Steve Clark about the festival's return.

The Decemberists may have finally met their match. The band has been working with British singer Olivia Chaney under the name Offa Rex — a reference to an Anglo-Saxon king. Their album, released on July 14 and produced by local whiz Tucker Martine, is called “The Queen of Hearts.”

Devil-may-care side trips to imaginary cities, soul-searching conversation with graphic novelist Teva Harrison, and moments of wonder with Portland's premier soul interpreter.

Maria Semple on "Today Will Be Different" - 1:23The world of Maria Semple's imagination is a glowing place. Her characters rocket off on madcap adventures; they collide at high speed; they teeter on the edge of emotional cliffhangers. Some passages crackle with the comedic snap she honed writing for TV shows like “Arrested Development” and "Mad About You," but at the center of her stories are quiet emotional truths. Semple’s last novel was the "New York Times" best-seller “Where’d You Go, Bernadette?” — a merry chase on the trail of a formidable heroine that's currently being adapted into a movie starring Cate Blanchett, Kristen Wiig and Billy Crudup. This year she’s back with another kind of caper, "Today Will Be Different," which in turn will be made into an HBO limited series starring Julia Roberts and written by Semple.Rabih Alameddine on "The Angel of History" - 17:05Rabih Alameddine possesses the kind of multifaceted mind we all aspire to. His career has spanned engineering, painting and writing, and h

This week on "State of Wonder," singer Beth Ditto breaks out from her band Gossip, the Slants gets their big day at the Supreme Court, and we look back on Thara Memory's complicated legacy.After Years of Fighting, The Slants Prevail at the Supreme Court - 1:23This week the United States Supreme Court cleared the way for the Portland dance rock band the Slants to register a trademark for its name — something the Patent and Trademark Office had previously rejected, claiming it was derogatory. The Slants argued that their name reclaimed a racist slur, but the case also sets a permissive precedent for how the federal government handles trademarks using offensive language. It's prompted celebration from some groups—such as a well-known Washington football team—that use objectionable terms unironically.Oregon Ballet Theater Centers Women Choreographers at Choreography XX - 6:33It’s not at all rare for major ballet companies to go whole seasons without performing a single work created by a woman. Oregon Ballet Theat

This week on “State of Wonder,” shake off your June gloom with the magical animals of "Autumnlands," the music of Animal Eyes, the monumental sculptures of Lee Kelly, the drag art of Kaj-Anne Pepper, and all that jazz at new music joint Jack London Revue.Ghost Ship Fallout: Portland Art Spaces Grapple with News of Indictments in Oakland - 2:48Prosecutors in Oakland, California have sent shock waves through the art world, filing criminal charges last week against two artist-administrators from the Ghost Ship warehouse. Thirty-six people died when the building caught fire during an electronica show last December. We hear about the case and then check in with a trio of Portland artists — designer Faith Jennings and metalworkers Richard Cawley and Gustav Sculptor — who work in warehouse art collectives about what effect the tragic fire has had on local creative spaces.Behind the Curtains at Portland's New Home for Live Jazz - 15:05Filling the void left by the closure of Jimmy Mak's, the Jack London Revue has offi

Into the Mystic: this week, artist Grisha Bruskin and writer Lidia Yuknavitch lead us along their paths for spiritual truth. Bruskin - fresh off the Venice Biennale, makes huge tapestries are the centerpiece of a a new museum in Portland. Yuknavitch has one of the hot reads for summer: a re-imagining of Joan of Arc as a savior for a dystopian future. Also: Robin Bacior's dark, lithe melodies for an Aquarian summer, and we catch up with a philanthropist who's creating museums at Northwest colleges and universities. Turn on, lean in, and bliss out.

To say it was a tough week… doesn’t really seem to cover it. Portland is still reeling from the stabbing that badly shook up the city’s sense of relative safety and tolerance. Book lovers said a painful goodbye to one of the strongest and most prolific regional writers. Today we offer up thoughts for strength and solidarity, as we ponder how community is pulling people together in all manner of tough situations.

Grab your passport and sunglasses because we are going on an intercontinental adventure.We will journey to the amazon to discover the secret history of Wonder Woman, hop over to New Orleans to hear the funk-soul of Tank and the Bangas, and fly home to Portland to hear about the clown that inspired "The Simpsons" character Krusty the Clown.Could Holograms Bring the Universe to a Classroom Near You? - 24:55A virtual trip to the pyramids? An interactive hologram of the solar system? Virtual reality has the potential to transform the classroom and how we learn everything from history to astronomy to engineering. A unique local partnership between Oregon Story Board, Intel and Clackamas Community College received a prestigious grant from Microsoft to create and test an educational curriculum for the company's mixed reality Hololens, which allows users to see and interact with holograms laid over the real world. They found that the potential to help students understand complex systems like the automatic transmissi

In anticipation for Wordstock 2017, which announced its return on Nov. 11, we take a step into the time machine and revisit last year's wordsmiths. The big news is that the subject of one of their books, a musician you might know from the soles of his shows, is coming to Oregon.Peter Ames Carlin on Paul SimonPeter Ames Carlin has written about some of the most iconic musicians of the 20th century — Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson — and his new book is no exception.Paul Simon soundtracked the 1960s, together with his soul mate, frenemy and long-time musical partner, Art Garfunkel. But as Carlin’s book “Homeward Bound” shows, the road to Graceland was strewn with contradictions, and the man who gave us some of the sweetest harmonies of the 20th century was not the guy you would want to cross over song royalties. But if he's someone you want to see, you can catch Paul Simon in all his glory at the Les Schwab Ampitheater in Bend on June 24.Lindy WestHow exactly is it Lindy West end

We're digging deep this week into all of your burning questions.What does it take to craft gigantic puppets for Broadway? Does art history as we know it need a drastic makeover? And how exactly did a small record label in Vancouver, Wash. come across new music from Prince that has them in a battle with the Purple One's estate?Local Puppet Legend Michael Curry Conjures the Myth of Persephone with the Oregon Symphony - 1:24This weekend, the Oregon Symphony will wade into the wonderful world of puppets with a production of "Persephone" (May 13–15). For the first time, it’s collaborating with Michael Curry, the puppet master behind the animals in the Broadway production of "The Lion King," as well as Olympic opening ceremonies and other massive events. OPB's Molly Solomon takes us to Curry’s massive warehouse in Scappoose, Oregon to see his magical operations.Shaking Up The Classics at Oregon Shakespeare Festival - 3:30For our money, the hottest ticket at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival this spring is a show with

Want to be transported to another place? A place where the sun hides behind the moon, where horror and history collide in a famous old hotel on top of a mountain, where The Underground Railroad is an actual steam engine on an actual underground track, and where the enslaved animals in the Flinstones finally get their due? Take a listen this week and be whisked away to another realm.

It’s Design Week in Portland! The week when all of the makers, the tallest and the smallest, get together to talk about the looks they love, the technology they’re using, and the newest concepts and products they're dreaming up. From streetwear to downtown Portland to sporting goods to candy, everything's on the drawing board.We started out the festival last week with a live Think Out Loud show at the Redd, an old industrial building in Southeast Portland that's serving as DWP's headquarters. This week, we're packaging some of those interviews together with new reported stories from the rest of the fest.JavHack: Reimagining Sports Ergonomics - 5:48You might not think the javelin needs innovation. It worked for four-hundred thousand years of human history, right? But track and field athletes are always pushing the limits. We spoke with record-breaking javelin thrower Tom Petronoff about the need for a new design vision and the time he almost speared Alberto Salazar. You can see videos of some high-class javeli

Twenty years ago, Elliott Smith opened a door into a hypnotic new world. The album, “Either/Or”, released on Kill Rock Stars records, 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.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 1990’s. His music continues to inspire people like Frank Ocean, Ben Gibbard, Wayne Coyne, and many others. How is that an artist whose inner life was so tumultuous put together some of the most meticulously-crafted music to come out of Portland? And what memories does “Either/Or” preserve of a time before Portland’s turn in the national s

Spring Break is upon us, and we are embarking on an adventure. We will be slaying beasts in the fantastical world of novelist Laini Taylor (that have surprising real world parallels), exploring the haunted house of YouTube superstar Sunshine Girl, traveling to SXSW to discover infectious new bands, and trekking to the grand opening of the Portland Japanese Garden.The Portland Japanese Garden Unveils World-Class Expansion - 1:23The Portland Japanese Garden was already considered one of the best in the world, but now it stands to become a cultural institution on a whole other level. After undergoing more than seven years of planning and months of construction, the garden is opening its new expansion and Cultural Village on Apr. 2.The Eugene Ballet And Composer Kenji Bunch Find Beauty In The Snow Queen - 6:57On Apr. 8–9, the Eugene Ballet Company will premieres a work years in the making: a new adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s "The Snow Queen," with a modern score by Portland-based composer Kenji Bunch. Y

This week we are all about change. From feminist art wikipedia editing parties to a young composer calling for a revitalization of classical music, Portland artists and musicians challenge the canon. March Sadness Update - 00:57Last week we introduced you to March Sadness: the tournament of heartbreakers, grim reapers, and other incredibly sad songs to get you through the end of winter. We asked you to vote on which tracks you found most gut-wrenching, and we are down to the final two: "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" by the Pogues and Johnny Cash's "Hurt." Musician Feud Transforms into Classical Concert - 2:36In 2015, composer Tristan Bliss wrote a scathing article about chamber group 45th Parallel's “Forbidden Music” show, a classical concert that featured music that had been outlawed for religious and political reasons. Bliss tore apart the concert for its lack of risk, and director Greg Ewer fired back that Bliss compose something better. So he did (or at least he tried).Rasika Dance Overcomes Trave

Questions? We've got questions: What if you could look inside a building before it is even built? How is it that sad songs actually make you happy? If you could own a haunted armoire, would you stand in line in the rain for eight hours? Would you have liked science class more if it involved bubbles? And what happens when a symphony teams up with a tech company?

This week, a transformational garden yields find treasures, a dance company whips a classic into an ebullient, glamorous new form, and we sway with two bands that double-dog-dare you to peg their eclectic styles.