Think Out Loud

Charles Yu has written a lot about the nature of reality, how we understand what is real, and the assumptions we make about each other and the universe we live in. Yu’s first novel, “How to live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe,” follows a time machine repairman who is searching for his father who is lost in time and memory. His latest book, National Book Award winning “Interior Chinatown,” takes place in a Chinese restaurant that’s also the set for a police procedural TV show and a sendup of stereotypes of Asian American characters. Yu spoke to us on February 29, 2024 in front of an audience of students from Ida B. Wells High School.

The Alcan 5000 Rally isn’t the kind of car race you might think of. It runs from Kirkland, Washington over 5,000 miles up to the Arctic Circle over 11 days. It’s what’s known as a time-speed-distance rally, where following the course, maintaining the right speed and arriving at checkpoints on time is what matters the most. Portlanders Andy and Mercedes Lilienthal placed first in their class and second overall this year. The couple, who are both automotive journalists, have been obsessed with TSD rallies for years. They join us to talk about their win

Last year, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center [https://www.ic3.gov/AnnualReport/Reports/2024_IC3Report.pdf] received nearly 18,000 reports of confidence/romance scams that resulted in losses of more than $672 million. Perpetrators of romance scams [https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/scams-and-safety/common-frauds-and-scams/romance-scams] typically find their victims online, often through social media. They use a fake persona to deceive victims into trusting them or believing they’re interested in them romantically while making gradually increasing demands for money, which is usually sent by wire or cryptocurrency. The FBI says there was a record $9.3 billion in losses in the U.S. last year from scams involving cryptocurrency.    Romance scams can be especially costly for victims. The Columbian [https://www.columbian.com/news/2025/oct/02/romance-scams-skyrocket-in-clark-county-victims-lose-an-average-of-112000-to-scammers/] recently reported that between January 2021 and November 2024, Vancouver residents who were victims of romance scams lost an average of $112,000, according to the Vancouver Police Department. Sgt. Jay Alie, who oversees the VPD’s Property Crime Unit, says that while many romance scam victims are over the age of 60, people in their 30s and 40s have also fallen for them. Alie’s investigations of romance scams have widened beyond Vancouver to reveal other victims across the U.S. who’ve been ensnared in them, acting as middlemen to launder money for scammers they also believed they were in relationships with.   Sgt. Alie joins us for more details about these scams as they grow more sophisticated and shares how to protect yourself or vulnerable loved ones from them.

Earlier this month, Eugene paused the use of its automatic license plate reader cameras. They use AI to capture a car’s characteristics, like model and color, and can be used as a tool by law enforcement.   Local officials said the cameras have helped close more than 60 cases. But opponents of the technology say it can be used for mass surveillance, since the system is linked to a nationwide network.    Some residents say they’re concerned the technology could be abused under the Trump Administration and used to target people like immigrants, organizers and those seeking an abortion.    Rebecca Hansen-White is a KLCC reporter and has been covering this issue for the outlet. She joins us with details about the system.

According to reports [https://creatingafamily.org/adoption/resources/open-adoption/] from U.S. adoption agencies, only 5% of domestic infant adoptions in recent years were completely closed, meaning no contact between the adoptee and their birth parents. Research suggests [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2638763/] that some level of openness tends to benefit adoptive families, birth parents and adoptees [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2928480/], but navigating those relationships still presents a host of challenges.   Author Nicole Chung [https://nicolechung.net/] has documented her experience growing up as a Korean American adoptee in a white family in Southern Oregon in her two memoirs, “All You Can Ever Know” and “A Living Remedy.” [https://www.opb.org/article/2023/04/14/think-out-loud-author-nicole-chung-a-iving-remedy-grief-forgiveness-health-care-system/] Her own adoption was closed, but she recently wrote about [https://www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/10/open-adoption-birth-mother-child-contact/684418/] the intricacies of open adoption for The Atlantic. She joins us to talk about her reporting.