Think Out Loud

When we look at the night sky, we can see the moon, stars, planets and sometimes even faraway clouds of gas and dust. All that visible matter — the stuff we can see — has a gravitational force, the same way the moon pulls on our oceans and creates the tides. But for decades, physicists have noticed something weird: There’s more gravity in the universe than we should expect. Why?   Physicists think the answer lies with dark matter, an invisible form of matter that accounts for that extra gravity they're observing. University of Washington physicist Alvaro Chavarria helped build a dark matter detector deep below the French Alps. Chavarria joins us to help demystify dark matter, how the detector works and its potential applications.  

From camping gear to gorpcore, consumers may not realize that the functional, tactical and practical clothing worn today has deep connections to the U.S. military. In the latest season of “Articles of Interest,” host and producer Avery Trufelman takes listeners on a journey to learn more about how civilian and military fashion intersect and the ways in which the uniforms of soldiers have influenced the outdoor apparel industry. Trufelman joins us to share more on the history of military gear, the civilian-veteran divide, Portland’s Functional Fabric Fair and more.

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted Friday morning to change its recommendation on hepatitis B vaccines for newborns.    For more than three decades, the agency has recommended that all infants receive a hepatitis B vaccine, regardless of their risk status. Now, the vaccine will only be recommended for infants born to mothers who test positive for the infection or whose status is unknown. The committee’s decision still needs approval from the CDC’s acting director.   A group of researchers conducted a modeling study to assess the impacts of delaying the vaccine. The study has not yet been peer reviewed, but it found that delaying the vaccine by even two months could lead to more than 1,400 preventable hepatitis B infections and more than $222 million in additional health care costs.   Eric Hall is an assistant professor of epidemiology in the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health. He led the study and joins us with more details.  

Since 1999, there have been more than 430 school shootings across the nation. Oregon alone has had eight incidents since 2008, according to CNN. With school shootings being a concern for parents, teachers and students, a new industry around school safety has emerged. Estimated to be worth $4 billion, school shooting preparedness and security is projected to continue to grow. From panic buttons and bullet-resistant backpacks to drill simulations and AI gun detection software, the amount of products and services being sold to schools and districts varies wildly. A new HBO documentary, “Thoughts and Prayers,” takes a look at this industry and follows students, teachers and community members during a mass-casualty event drill in Medford, Oregon. Directors Zackary Canepari and Jessica Dimmock join us to share more about the school security industry.

Jeanne Maddox Peterson was 13 years old when she began teaching dance lessons out of her family’s living room in Astoria.     That was 75 years ago. Today, at the age of 89, Peterson is still teaching students at Maddox Dance Studio, which is now located in Warrenton and offers classes ranging from ballet to tap, hip-hop to acrobatic dance. As first reported by The Daily Astorian, Clatsop County Commissioners honored Peterson last month when they proclaimed Dec. 6, 2025 “Jeanne Maddox Peterson Day” in recognition of her many contributions to the community. That day marks the 50th anniversary of “The Nutcracker” this Saturday in Astoria, which Peterson has been producing annual winter performances of since 1975.     Peterson joins us to talk about her remarkable career, which also includes having worked as a professional dancer for companies in San Francisco and Montreal and producing the Miss Oregon pageant for more than three decades. We also hear from Michelle Kischner Rogers, an instructor at Maddox Dance Studio and one of Peterson’s former students who first took lessons from her at the age of 5.  

Law enforcement agencies across Oregon and Washington use automated license plate readers to identify vehicles and manage traffic. Many of those cameras are run by a company called Flock Safety, which has been criticized for sharing data with immigration officials. A new study from the University of Washington’s Center for Human Rights found that U.S. Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have access to Flock license plate data from at least 18 of 31 law enforcement agencies in WA state. Phil Neff, the coordinator for the UW Center for Human Rights, joins us to discuss the research.

The Ashland Sarcasm Festival is a three-day comedy festival that kicks off this Friday in Ashland. Held in various venues across Ashland, from local bars to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Bowmer Theater, the inaugural festival aims to make the Southern Oregon city a destination for comics on the touring circuit in a place more famous for soliloquies than stand-up.    ASF features headliners like nationally renowned comedian, writer and actor Ron Funches, who graduated from high school in Salem and achieved early success in Portland’s stand-up comedy scene before he relocated to Los Angeles in 2012. But it also shines a spotlight on local and regional talent like Carl Lee, a Medford-based comedian and comedy show producer who is hosting two shows at the festival. There’s also live music, improv workshops, drag queen performances and a celebrity roast of William Shakespeare for the final act.   Funches and Lee join us for a discussion, along with Matt Hoffman, the founder and creative director of Storytown, a local arts nonprofit organizing the Ashland Sarcasm Festival.     

Paul Smith, dean of the Linfield University School of Nursing in Portland, was recently appointed chair-elect of the National League for Nursing. Smith is the first male to ever be elected to the post in the organization’s 132 years.    The National League for Nursing is the oldest nursing organization in the U.S., aiming to create a standardized nursing curriculum since 1893. The organization also advocates for healthcare legislation. Smith joins us to talk about his new role and the responsibility of representing nursing education in the Pacific Northwest on a national and international stage.  

A recently published paper led by an Oregon State University researcher suggests that installing floating solar panels on top of existing reservoirs could have a variety of positive results. Those include cooling the solar panels, allowing for greater energy generation from those panels, and preventing the water in shallower reservoirs from warming to temperatures that are challenging for fish and other aquatic life. According to lead researcher Evan Bredeweg, there are relatively few of these kinds of installations in the U.S., but in countries that have embraced solar and non-fossil fuel energy, they are relatively common. Bredeweg joins us to tell us more about the study and the potential floating solar has for wide-scale adoption.

 The 2024 Lonerock Fire burned over 137,000 acres in Gilliam County, much of it rangeland. Ranchers whose lands were destroyed faced a common yet costly hurdle to wildfire recovery: new fencing. According to the Gilliam County Soil and Water Conservation District, to replace about 300 miles of fence that had burned in the fire would have cost over $9 million. With financial support from Gilliam County, two ranchers, Jason and Anthony Campbell, turned to virtual fencing, which they say is a promising wildfire recovery solution. Now, a year after the fire, they join us to talk about their experience with the technology.