Think Out Loud

Founder of Human Access Project retires, reflects on advocacy and work

More than a decade ago, Willie Levenson had his heart set on swimming in the Willamette River. In his own words, he got carried away. He is the founder, executive director and ringleader of the Human Access Project, an advocacy group that dedicated its efforts to change Portlanders’ relationship with the Willamette. Over the years they have pushed for city beaches and swimming docks, held annual community events and more. And after being with the organization since its inception in 2010, Levenson is stepping down and retiring. He joins us to share more on his initial vision for the Human Access Project and its future as he steps away.

Portland food assistance organization opens free food market

Sunshine Division [https://sunshinedivision.org/], a Portland food relief organization, has opened a new food pantry that takes the form of a free grocery store. People in need can sign up for a time slot to come to the market and choose the groceries that best fit their household’s needs. It’s a model that Sunshine Division says was most requested by the people they serve. Kyle Camberg, Executive Director of Sunshine Division, joins us to explain why.

Meet the Indigenous explorer who walked across America before Lewis and Clark

Lewis and Clark are often thought of as some of the earliest explorers of the western U.S. But more than a century before, Moncacht-Ape [https://moncacht-ape.com/], a Yazoo explorer, reached the Pacific Ocean mainly by foot. The Indigenous explorer’s accounts were documented by French colonists, but were often dismissed as being untrue. But as featured in an article in Outside Magazine [https://www.outsideonline.com/culture/essays-culture/moncacht-ape-indigenous-explorer/], historians and explorers may have been looking at the accounts all wrong.    Mike Bezemek, author of “Mysteries of the National Parks [https://mikebezemek.com/mysteries-of-the-national-parks/],” wrote about his experience following the Yazoo explorer’s trail in the documented accounts and argues that Moncacht-Ape’s accounts are true. Bezemek joins us to share more on his journey and who this Yazoo explorer was.

Portland artist and US Air Force veteran chronicles the experience of Black military service members

In just a few weeks, our nation will commemorate the 250th anniversary of its independence. As we approach this historic milestone, “Think Out Loud” hears from guests whose life experiences and personal histories illuminate different aspects of what it means to be an American.   For the second installment of this series, we’ll hear from Ebony Frison, a Portlander, artist, and U.S. Air Force Veteran. After her time in the military, her art has largely included archiving photographic work by Newton Carroll. Carroll was a Black American military photographer whose work depicted  military members from segregated U.S. Army units during World War II.   What she found in those nearly 90-year-old images, was faces and expressions and experiences of those service members that mirrored her own time in the military. Her ongoing series, “Black Valor,” uses archival photos and documents to log her family’s connection to the U.S. Military and chronicles stories and images of Black life that are missing from official historical narratives.

OHSU Doernbecher head physician on the challenges of providing neonatal care

Recent reporting from InvestigateWest [https://www.investigatewest.org/oregon-health-science-university-shelved-plans-to-expand-its-overcrowded-newborn-intensive-care-unit-nurses-fear-babies-wont-get-needed-care/] found that overcrowding in the neonatal intensive care unit at Oregon Health & Science University is raising concerns among staff and patients. Plans to expand capacity by building a new wing of OHSU’s Doernbecher Children’s Hospital have largely stalled despite rising demand [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41372-026-02619-8] for neonatal intensive care nationwide.   Dana Braner is the physician in chief at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. He joins us to talk about the challenges hospitals are facing in providing neonatal and pregnancy care.