Portland Book Week celebrates more than 80 independent bookstores in the region

Portland filmmaker Vu Pham explores family story, Vietnamese diaspora through documentary

Vu Pham, an independent filmmaker based in Portland, is working on a documentary film about his mother’s murder, which took place when he was a young child.   Pham and his mother fled Vietnam by boat in 1981. The film, Sea Rose Ashes, explores Pham’s journey learning more about his mother’s past and making efforts to take restorative justice pathways with her murderer. Pham joins us to discuss his journey and his current film.

Oregon couple uses social media sketches for healthcare education, advocacy

The U.S. healthcare system is notoriously complex — something as simple as a doctor’s visit has the potential to generate mysterious bills and endless calls to insurance companies. An Oregon couple is attempting to give voice to those frustrations through comedy sketches on social media.   Dr. [https://www.instagram.com/docglauc/] and Lady Glaucomflecken [https://www.instagram.com/ladyglaucomflecken/] — otherwise known as Will and Kristin Flanary —  began making TikTok videos during the COVID-19 pandemic. Will is an ophthalmologist and two-time cancer survivor. Kristin supported Will through those diagnoses and, more recently, provided 10 minutes of CPR after he suffered a sudden cardiac arrest in his sleep.   The couple has used their personal and professional experience to tackle topics such as private equity in healthcare, unrealistic expectations placed on medical students, and providers’ struggles to balance the needs of their patients with the requirements of insurance companies.   In addition to social media, the two host a podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/knock-knock-hi-with-the-glaucomfleckens/id1659572053] and create educational resources for clinicians [http://glaucomflecken.com/content/30-days-of-healthcare/] and “co-survivors [https://glaucomflecken.com/about/lady-glaucomflecken/resources/],” or people who support a loved one through a traumatic illness or medical crisis.   Will and Kristin Flanary join us to talk about healthcare advocacy and the role that humor can play in it.

Washington union supports workers and their families after deadly Longview mill disaster

The Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers [https://www.awppw.org/] in Vancouver, Wash. is the union that represents the nearly 400 workers who were working at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. when a chemical tank ruptured at the paper mill last month. Eleven employees died, all of whom were union members.    AWPPW has been coordinating relief efforts, including donations, to support and assess the needs of victims and their families [https://www.opb.org/article/2026/06/04/longview-washington-paper-mill-disaster-chemical-spill/]. Last week, the union announced it had reached an agreement with Nippon Dynawave to secure full pay until at least Aug. 8 for workers who are unable to or were instructed not to work. Those who are scheduled to work will receive an additional three hours of pay for each shift they work.    A federal investigation into the cause of the rupture is currently underway and being led by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board. Josh Estes, a spokesperson and former local union president at AWPPW, says the union supports the demands for answers and accountability from victims and their families to ensure that a tragedy like this doesn’t happen again. Estes joins us to share the union’s focus on supporting workers and their families and the importance of this industry on the local economy.

How should creative writers use AI?

As artificial intelligence becomes ubiquitous, artists and writers are creating their own guiding principles for where and how they use the technology in their creative practices and their work. Tracy Hoagland is the chair of the Portland chapter of Willamette Writers, and by day, she works in the tech industry with AI. She says she doesn’t use AI in her writing practice, but has to consciously separate the two areas of her life. Jessie Kwak is an author and ghost writer based in Portland, who uses AI to supplement her writing work. They both join us to discuss their own ethos around AI in the world of creative writing.

For first time, tribal representative joins Governor’s Fire Service Policy Council

In 1991, James Hall joined the Umatilla Tribal Fire Department [https://ctuir.org/departments/public-safety/fire-station/] as a volunteer firefighter on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Eastern Oregon. Today, Hall is the fire chief of the agency, leading its response to structural fires, wildland fires and calls for ambulance transportation services in a coverage area spanning hundreds of square miles.    In February, Hall was appointed by Governor Tina Kotek’s Office to serve a three-year term on the Governor’s Fire Service Policy Council [https://www.oregon.gov/osfm/about-us/Pages/Governors-Fire-Service-Policy-Council.aspx], making him the first tribal representative to serve on the council in its history. A bill [https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2025R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/SB860/Enrolled] passed by the Oregon Legislature last year made changes to the council’s membership, including a requirement that one of its members be a fire agency representative from one of Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes.    Hall shares his recent work on the council and efforts to advocate for all tribal fire agencies in the state.