Stories often emerge from scribblings in notebooks. But we also find them tumbling out of pantries, rolled amid rumpled shirts in suitcases and spewing forth from text messages with friends. This week we feast on offerings from brilliant writers and one man who’s spent 50 years honing his songwriting craft. Mohsin Hamid’s Mystical Exits —1:35 We knew author Mohsin Hamid’s novel, “Exit West,” was going to be a good read. His prior best-sellers create emotionally rich worlds that create pathways b...
Apr 07, 2018•51 min
We’ve got one hot read for you imagining an alternative future for American women, plus news from Portland and Central Oregon. Shuck off those gardening gloves and sit a spell!
Mar 31, 2018•53 min
Just in time for the last excruciatingly gray days of March, we’ve found a slew of artists making wonderfully reflective work, directing our energy toward each other. Dive in for restorative thinking from Laura Veirs, a blast of curative chlorophyll in a pop-up installation, and a long-awaited local staging of the hottest ticket on Broadway.
Mar 24, 2018•49 min
This week on "State of Wonder," we get live music from Helio Sequence and Kelli Schaefer, travel the country with photographer Holly Andres, look at the design of prosthetic limbs, and harness the powers of karaoke to learn a language. Karaoke Has A New Role: Teaching Tool - 1:33 What’s the best way to learn a language? Some people might take a class or read a book, but our vote goes towards music, which is exactly what Salish teachers are using to introduce their Native American language to new...
Mar 16, 2018•51 min
This week on "State of Wonder," we’re going to dive deep with "The Walking Dead" creator Robert Kirkman into the worlds of zombies and caped crusaders; immerse ourselves in the music of Portland's newest breakout star, Haley Hendrickx; and take one last trip to Una Gallery for its final show. Accusers of Sherman Alexie Go On Record - 1:15 The #MeToo movement continues to hit the literary world. Writer Sherman Alexie issued a statement this week responding to allegations of sexual harassment circ...
Mar 10, 2018•51 min
This week on "State of Wonder," we talk to the creators of "Everything Sucks" and Allison Janney about her Oscar-nominated turn in "I, Tonya," and meet Portland's new creative laureate.
Mar 03, 2018•53 min
A spectacular live show from the 21st annual Fisher Poets Gathering in Astoria, where a unique way of life gives rise to truly unique poems, songs, and stories. One writer describes Fisher Poets as "stories of immigration, indigenous oppression, indigenous wisdom, horrific sexism, of wanton cruelty to creatures of earth, of balance and respect for all life/ Fishing stories are abortion stories, life stories, love stories, hate stories, death stories. They are funny, sad, and stupid. They are tim...
Feb 24, 2018•53 min
The squeeze on Portland's real estate market has sent artists scampering for affordable space. On Feb. 28, Portland city leaders will bring a year's worth of research to bear with two dozen recommendations aimed at preserving the arts spaces that remain and clearing a path for the studios, galleries and venues of tomorrow. We’re going to spend this hour looking at those recommendations and getting some innovative ideas that are not in the plan. Towne Storage - Where Are They Now? There are many ...
Feb 17, 2018•53 min
Our valentine to you, dear members, this week includes musical inversions with The Shins' James Mercer, who remixed one great Shins album to make another. We also hear from veteran actor Joe Morton of "Scandal", check out fun fiction with illustrator-turned-author Keith Rosson, and hear about the epic new 5.5-hour play at Artists Rep.
Feb 02, 2018•38 min
This week on "State of Wonder," we remember the life and legacy of the ground-breaking writer Ursula K. Le Guin, and then we talk with Oregon's three Grammy nominees: Portugal. The Man, The Decemberists' side project Offa Rex, and Randy Porter and Nancy King. Remembering Ursula K Le Guin Portland lost a living legend this week. Ursula K. Le Guin passed away on Monday at the age of 88 in her Northwest home. Her writing not only spanned genres, it tore down the barriers that separated them, helpin...
Jan 27, 2018•53 min
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...
Jan 20, 2018•52 min
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 Proposals So 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 R...
Jan 13, 2018•51 min
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.
Jan 11, 2018•14 min
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 Theatre The 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, ...
Jan 06, 2018•51 min
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".
Dec 29, 2017•53 min
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".
Dec 29, 2017•53 min
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 “...
Dec 21, 2017•50 min
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 - 1:24 This 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...
Dec 16, 2017•51 min
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 - 1:32 Another 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 th...
Dec 09, 2017•51 min
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 epi...
Dec 02, 2017•51 min
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 Aw...
Nov 21, 2017•52 min
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 t...
Nov 18, 2017•51 min
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 o...
Nov 12, 2017•51 min
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.
Nov 03, 2017•53 min
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 - ...
Oct 26, 2017•51 min
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.
Oct 25, 2017•7 min
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 thro...
Oct 21, 2017•51 min
Oct 13, 2017•51 min
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.
Oct 06, 2017•53 min
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 - 1:05 Playwright 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...
Sep 30, 2017•36 min
