Think Out Loud

Portland Trail Blazers aim to keep season alive with possible trip to NBA playoffs

The Portland Trail Blazers will face off against the Phoenix Suns tonight in the NBA play-in tournament, which kicks off today. The Blazers ended the NBA regular season on Sunday with a 42-40 record and are the number 8 seed in the Western Conference. If they beat the Suns, the Blazers would make it to the NBA playoffs for the first time in five years. But even if the Blazers lose tonight, they could still punch their ticket to the playoffs with a victory over the winner of the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors play-in game.  Mike Richman is the host of the “Locked on Blazers” [https://www.youtube.com/c/lockedonblazers] podcast. He joins us to preview tonight's game and recap the major developments of the Blazers’ season.

Why Portland General Electric and Pacific Power customers are getting another rate hike in April

Beginning April 1, two of Oregon’s largest utilities increased their rates for residential customers. Portland General Electric raised rates by 5%, and Pacific Power’s rates went up by nearly 3%. These rate hikes are on top of others in recent years — since 2020, PGE’s residential rates have gone up nearly 60%.   Usually, rate increases arise in November, but due to the Fairness & Affordability in Residential Energy Act, passed last year, utilities can no longer increase rates during winter months, when utility costs are often at their peak. However, this April rate hike has hit at another challenging time for consumers, with gas prices in Oregon soaring due to the war in Iran. We'll hear details about these increases from Kristin Sheeran, the Vice President of Policy and Sustainability for PGE, and Bob Jenks, the executive director of the Oregon Citizens’ Utility Board.

Portland OB-GYN's new book focuses on the labor and delivery experience

In Jennifer Lincoln’s [https://www.drjenniferlincoln.com/] work as an obstetrics hospitalist, she met many new parents who were fearful and felt uninformed about the labor and delivery process, even when arriving at the hospital for their own births. She’s quick to note, however, that this gap in understanding isn’t due to patients being lazy, or their lack of interest in learning, but due to brief prenatal visits and the often overburdened system of maternal healthcare in the U.S.   A 2024 report [https://www.marchofdimes.org/maternity-care-deserts-report] by March of Dimes, a nonprofit focused on maternal and infant health, found that over 35% of counties in the U.S. are considered maternity care deserts [https://www.npr.org/2024/09/10/nx-s1-5101902/35-of-u-s-counties-dont-have-an-adequate-place-in-which-to-give-birth-report-finds], and labor and delivery units are being stretched thin [https://www.npr.org/2026/04/02/nx-s1-5760928/rural-hospitals-are-figuring-our-how-to-restructure-after-medicaid-cuts], especially in rural areas. [https://www.opb.org/article/2026/02/09/think-out-loud-maternity-care-rural-hospitals/]   Lincoln was finding that patients weren’t given enough time with their healthcare providers to dive into all questions about the complexities of the labor and delivery process, and often turned to resources like TikTok and Instagram to hear from other mothers and get their questions answered.  Her work as an obstetrician and ability to distill complex topics on reproductive and maternal care led Lincoln to write “The Birth Book: An OB-GYN’s Guide to Demystifying Labor and Delivery.” [https://www.drjenniferlincoln.com/books]She joins us to discuss the book which covers the labor and delivery experience from prenatal visits to postpartum care.

Amid ICE threats, Portlander organizes safe soccer tournament for immigrant and refugee girls

Som Subedi’s daughter, a fifth-grader, was concerned about attending her soccer practice for fear of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials raiding the public practices and games. She was worried her father would be targeted by ICE officers. Subedi assured her daughter that he is, in fact, a U.S. citizen, by showing her his Real I.D. card and passport.   Subedi is originally from Bhutan, and after spending nearly twenty years in a refugee camp in Nepal, he moved to Portland in 2008 and eventually obtained citizenship. Upon seeing his identification, his daughter was still convinced that because of her father’s appearance and accent, she wouldn’t be able to see him after her soccer practice was over.   This inspired Subedi to organize the recent Refugee and Immigrant Girls’ World Cup Soccer Tournament [https://www.opb.org/article/2026/03/31/a-world-cup-for-immigrant-girls-uses-the-joy-of-sport-to-counter-ice-fears/], inviting the young athletes to compete in a safe environment, as fear and anticipation of federal immigration enforcement activity has burdened youth sports across the U.S.   Subedi joins us to share more about the tournament, and his efforts to remove cultural, linguistic and financial barriers for immigrant and refugee youth and create a safe and welcoming environment for them.

What prediction markets can tell us about Oregon’s GOP gubernatorial candidate

Over the last year, prediction markets have grown into a multibillion-dollar industry [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-04-09/how-prediction-markets-are-blurring-the-line-between-trading-and-betting]. Prediction markets, such as sites like Polymarket, Kalshi and Robinhood, allow bettors to put down money on the likelihood of an event happening — including for political races in Oregon. Market sites show users are placing their bets [https://www.opb.org/article/2026/04/13/oregon-governor-primary-race-predictions-polls/] on who the Republican candidate will be for Oregon’s governor. OPB politics reporter Dirk Vanderhart covered this story. He joins us to share more.