Producers' Choice: The Best 'Think Out Loud' Conversations Of 2017

As 2017 comes to a close, the staff of OPB's "Think Out Loud" look back on some of their favorite conversations from the past year.

Sexual Assault Reporting

“We talked to Carrie Hull in the middle of the nationwide 'Me Too' conversation. It seemed new allegations about sexual harassment and assault were coming to light every day. It was, in some ways, encouraging to see. But it was also devastating that victims had been afraid to come forward for so long because they feared no one would believe them.

"Carrie Hull is someone who is trying to change that. Her work with police departments to better respond to sexual assault started when she was a detective in Ashland. After her program was implemented, Ashland police officers saw immediate results in the number of sexual assault victims willing to talk to police. Now, Carrie is working to bring the program to law enforcement agencies across the nation.

"In the middle of this societal reckoning, Carrie’s program provided some answers for how we can do better by sexual assault survivors." — Samantha Matsumoto

Libraries

“The team came up with the idea of creating a portrait of a single location in the same way we’ve been creating the portrait of parts of Oregon with our 'On The Road' series. We wanted somewhere that people from all walks of life encounter each other on a regular basis.

"Multnomah County’s downtown library seemed like the obvious choice. Dave Miller and I got to spend a whole day there last spring — from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. — talking to patrons, librarians and even going on a behind-the-scenes tour. We talked to kids on a field trip, people playing chess, people looking for very specific books, people just browsing and people who were there because they had nowhere else to go.

"At one point, we were talking to the security guard who was serving as an elevator operator. He had come to the U.S. from Eritrea a few years ago and had an interesting story, but as we were talking to him, the elevator was going up and down as people were getting on and off.

"At one point, a disheveled young man got on the elevator playing his guitar. It was the kind of incredible moment that can only be captured in an audio story. This show was so much fun to put together as a producer!” — Sage Van Wing

The Chapin Family

“When we arrived at the Chapin’s house in Camas, Washington — about an hour’s drive north and east of our Portland studios —  the place smelled like chocolate chip cookies. Angie Chapin, a single mother of four, has two neurotypical daughters and two sons on the autism spectrum.

"I remarked on her immaculately kept home. She thanked me but was quick to add that the state of order was in large part due to her sons’ needs for everything to be in the same place as consistently as possible. It was a small thing but a huge thing and just a tiny taste of what we’d learn when we sat down with her and three of her four children, 16-year-old Imani, 12-year-old Kaliq and 10-year-old Asjia.

"Their 14-year-old brother Mekhi has severe autism and is mostly non-verbal. We sat talking in their living room where our cords and microphone stands had taken over, and they just let us into their world, discussing their relationships, their strengths and some of their most personal struggles. I felt my own world expanding as I listened, my heart a little bigger than before.” — Allison Frost

Peter Courtney

“Peter Courtney is a character. He’s even described himself that way. As longtime Oregon Senate president and the longest serving state lawmaker, he’s become a mainstay of Oregon politics. But he’s not originally from here. (He’s from West 'by God' Virginia.)

"We’ve had Courtney on the show many times to talk about specific political issues, but thought it would be fun to sit down for a more in-depth interview with him to find out more about his path to the Oregon Capitol. We did the interview in Courtney’s office at a big table where he conducts meetings and does most of his legislative work. He was both generous with his time and skeptical about why we’d want to talk to him at length about his life.

"The interview was full of memorable radio gems — from his history as a troublemaker when he worked as a law clerk to the fact that he doesn’t believe in 'happiness.' (By his own admission, Courtney is a bit of an Eeyore.) The interview ended on an appropriately spicy note with Courtney telling Dave, 'I don’t think I need any more questions out of you!' with a wry laugh and a twinkle in his eye.”  — Julie Sabatier

 Bruce Campbell (Who Lives In An Airplane)

“One of the more unexpected professional moments of 2017 happened in a remote clearing in unincorporated Washington County. We’d gone there to interview Bruce Campbell, an idiosyncratic engineer who lives in a Boeing 727 that was towed to his patch of land. You drive up a steep hill, make a few tight switchbacks and BOOM: There’s a huge plane!

"The afternoon was surreal enough — a conversation about aeronautics, Japanese culture, techno-futurism and slippers, half of it conducted in the cockpit and half in Campbell’s makeshift living area in the cabin. And then we heard a knock on the plane’s door. Three young men in white button-downs, neckties and nametags were there: Elders Argyle, Merrill and Hill. They were Mormon missionaries who’d heard about the plane in the woods,and had to see for themselves.

"I asked if they were allowed to just check out cool stuff, as opposed to having to talk to certain people. The answer? 'If he’s interested, he’s interested.'” — Dave Miller