How did we change in 2020, and what does 2021 have in store as the nation, we hope, gradually emerges from the pandemic? Reporter Lizzy Acker shares perspectives from The Oregonian/OregonLive's readers.

It’s finally time to turn the page on 2020 and look ahead to what 2021 will bring. Reporters Kale Williams and Lizzy Acker and visual journalist Dave Killen joined host Andrew Theen to talk about the tumultuous year.

As 2020 comes to a close, more Oregonians are struggling to pay for their housing. This week on Beat Check with The Oregonian, reporter Jamie Goldberg talks about the challenges facing renters, homeowners and business owners. The state Legisla...

The first healthcare workers in Oregon were vaccinated against COVID-19 on Wednesday, a historic moment in the pandemic that’s killed more than 1200 Oregonians in less than a year.On this episode, we hear from one of the first Oregonians to receive ...

When a serial stalker terrorized multiple families with young daughters earlier this year, a Northeast Portland neighborhood did what the Portland Police Bureau couldn’t – they banded together and tracked down a suspect, who was ultim...

Cole Herrington, the 20-year-old man who survived what experts and observers say was likely a great white shark attack Dec. 6, talks to The Oregonian/OregonLive about his surreal encounter.Herrington spoke with Noelle Crombie from his hospital bed a...

It’s been a hard year — but for tens of thousands of Oregonians, these are desperate times. And amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the ensuing recession and the state’s wildfires, help has been even harder to find. On this episode, journalists highlight some ...

At nearly two dozen Oregon workplaces that would later suffer major COVID-19 outbreaks, state regulators got an early heads up in the form of complaints from workers or their representatives. State officials inspected just two of these factories, priso...

More than 95,000 people filed sex-abuse claims against the Boy Scouts of America before a key deadline passed last week in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. It's an astonishing figure that, according to victims' attorneys, exceeds the ...

If you thought COVID-19 was in the rear view mirror, you’re wrong. Now, Oregon faces its toughest restrictions since March as cases spike across the state, threatening to overload the healthcare system. On this episode, investigative reporter Brad Schm...

Winter is coming, and with it, huge questions for Portland’s already struggling food and bar scene. On this episode of Beat Check with The Oregonian, restaurant reporter and critic Michael Russell talks about the state of the restaurant indust...

Oregon voters overwhelmingly approved Measure 110, decriminalizing small amounts of heroin and other street drugs. Now what? On this bonus episode, The Oregonian and OregonLive’s Noelle Crombie talks about Measure 110, how this isn’t the first...

All eyes were on the top of the ticket Tuesday, but in this election night episode, journalists from The Oregonian/OregonLive discuss the potential impact of down-ballot races in Oregon and the Portland metro area.You can support this podcast and our ...

Oregonians love vote-by-mail. Do we actually how it works?On this episode, politics editor Betsy Hammond talks about the nitty gritty details behind our vote by mail system and the task ahead for much of the rest of the country at states are now try...

Finally, ballots have arrived — or are arriving imminently — at Oregonians' mailboxes.On this episode, politics reporters Hillary Borrud and Everton Bailey Jr. discuss the big stories and issues they are tracking this year. We talked about the Po...

Businesses across the state are locked into a new normal — and any true economic revival could be years away. But things could actually be much worse.On this episode, reporter Mike Rogoway talks about the latest unemployment figures and the overall ...

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and challenger Sarah Iannarone faced off in their first televised debate this week, making their final pitch to voters before ballots start arriving in mailboxes next week. Wheeler and Iannarone discussed their stances on pol...

As Oregon starts the monumental task of digging out from the most destructive fires in recent history, Phoenix and Talent, two small towns sandwiched between Medford and Ashland, face an unbelievable challenge. On this episode, reporters Noelle Crombie...

A pandemic, months of racial justice protests and devastating fires haven’t stopped TriMet’s buses and trains from running. But where does the transit agency go from here?On this episode, a conversation with TriMet general manager Doug Kelsey about ...

After a tumultuous and frightening week of catastrophic wildfires, Oregonians finally have a chance to breathe — literally and figuratively. But for thousands of families, here is no home to go back to. On this episode of Beat Check with The O...

The cost from the wildfires raging across our state, in damaged property and lives lost, will be unprecedented for Oregon. But the strong winds that stoked the flames and pushed the blazers toward populated areas? Forecasters saw those coming. And the ...

Fran Howe and Larry Tripoli built their dream home 13 years ago in Gates, about 35 miles east of Salem along the Santiam River. The couple could see the river, trees and nothing else from their big windows overlooking rural Marion County's majesty...

On the latest episode of Beat Check with The Oregonian, videographer and photographer Brooke Herbert talks about her documentary exploring the first 100 days of protests in Portland since George Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis.Support this podcast an...

In April 2019, the star of a headlining show at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival went out to dinner with donors – then drinks with friends in downtown Ashland. Tony Sancho was intoxicated when police encountered him. Instead of detox, he ended up in cou...

It’s strange isn’t it? Time flies, and time also drags on, and on and on – like Groundhog Day when you’re in a pandemic.Oregon's first confirmed case of COVID-19 occurred six months ago this week. The Oregonian/OregonLive's Aimee Green loo...