46: Veterans Need Natural Healing

The power of this story can impact veterans and non-veterans alike.

An immensely brave veteran and human, Javier Romo, turns his back on the mainstream VA medical system and finds freedom from his trauma with natural ways of healing. After struggling for years with prescription drugs, alcohol use and criminal activity to suppress his pain, he knew he needed dramatic changes and leaned in to exercise, lifestyle changes and a healthy diet as the catalyst for well-being, with much success. He now spends his time leading other veterans and being a positive role model to improve their quality of life and find purpose.

Originally aired on August 30, 2022 on KPOV’s Curiosity Lab

45: Voices Calling For Change

It takes an army of people from all different kinds of backgrounds to solve complicated societal issues.

Gun control activism continues to gain momentum as younger and older generations are coming together to lift their voices and draw national attention to the issues that taunt them daily. Adults are now reaching out to youth protesters to add support and organizational assistance and highlight the challenges faced when inspired youth feel ignored. Yet grassroots organizations to collegiate-educated leaders remain hopeful and band as one to fight for widespread change.

Originally aired on June 8, 2022 on KPOV’s Youth Radio Hour

44: Vulnerable To Violence

As we learn about the animal psyche, we can better understand our own humanity.

From rescuing rabbits and tortoises to studying PTSD in elephants in Africa, animals are in desperate need of our compassion to harness healthy relationships within their own communities and beyond. The fact is that every sentient being can undergo trauma and the lasting effects are devastating for them and for the continuation of inter-species understanding. It is within our power to limit their exposure to human-created violence and in turn heal the long-standing karma between the hunter and the hunted.

Originally aired on September 28, 2021 on KPOV’s All Things Vegan

43: Doula Drawn To Death

Any experience of death is life-enriching.

Virtually every conversation we have about death is actually about life and can positively alter the way we perceive our time, the people we spend it with and our all-around life experience. If we can be more involved in the end-of-life process with loved ones, it can give us the renewal to honor life and chase unfulfilled dreams. This amazing discussion reveals that we must face our own mortality in order to live the most realized versions of ourselves.

Originally aired on January 4, 2023 on KPOV’s The Wednesday Point

42: Water Goes Where Money Flows

Trending consolidation puts more and more power into the hands of fewer people.

As clean drinking water continues to become a scarce resource around the world, it is baffling to understand why we are endlessly giving away water “rights” to those who do not have the best for the planet in mind. Columbia Insight is bringing awareness to water allocation issues and pushing for big changes in decision-making procedures to this life-sustaining commodity. Environmental protection organizations are calling to slow down in order to comprehend the type of use efficiency it’s going to take to ensure the health of our global community into the future.

Originally aired on February 16, 2022 on KPOV’s The Wednesday Point

41: Blood On Their Hands

The growing number of fatal shootings has changed the way these kids think about going to school and the responsibility of lawmakers.

Students hold lawmakers accountable for continued school shootings and call for gun control laws to be implemented in Oregon. Open-hearted youth share perspectives they hold on second amendment rights, the availability of military-grade weapons to the public and arming their teachers while continuing to grapple with their own emotions and daily fears. It is scary and exhausting, but they are committed to bringing awareness to and not letting lawmakers forget about the chronic gun problems in society today.

Originally aired on June 8, 2022 on KPOV’s Youth Radio Hour

40: Respond Rather Than React

We don’t have to be perfect during hard times with children, but we can be present and curious.

Helping students succeed socially and emotionally is the end-goal for parents and teachers, but we all run into tough times one way or another during the process. The best thing we can do for children and ourselves is to stay calm and connected in order to remain regulated and ready to teach. We must demonstrate to kids how to use these skills, be empathetic and create a sense of accountability if they are to develop and practice problem-solving skills that will ultimately benefit all of humanity.

Originally aired on September 13, 2022 on KPOV’s Curiosity Lab

39: Life's Messy, Live Happy

If you’re bored with life, it’s probably because you’re not willing to be out in the mess of it.

Most negative feelings we experience are about things that never happen and can be described as self-imposed suffering. Cy Wakeman gives timeless strategies for making subtle shifts in moving through the world to raise your level of daily contentment. We cannot prevent adverse human experiences, but we can become skillful at emotionally processing them. We must feel our feelings instead of intellectualizing them to truly embrace the juiciness of life.

Originally aired on August 3, 2022 on KPOV’s Open Air

38: From Taboo To Yahoo

Laugh, Dance and Love Freely Again

Topics our grandmothers would frown upon are taking the spotlight in this important discussion about women’s sexual, urinary and reproductive health. Incontinence, pain during sex and other dysfunctions prevent women from having a healthy and life. The good news is that treatment is approachable and there are options to support the body to be at its best. Working with the body to help heal itself, or regenerate, can bring the spark back to the bedroom and create comfort in social situations so you can laugh, dance and love freely again.

Originally aired on November 18, 2022 on KPOV’s The Friday Point

37: Pain Shared Is Pain Halved

We can get through tough stuff and we don’t need to do it alone.

During any traumatic time in life, Dr. Elena Lister encourages everyone to be open, honest and share their experience with trusted loved ones in order to ease their pain. This is especially true with children, who are instinctively very perceptive of and continually seeking guidance from their role models. The best way to arm the youth for the future is to face the tough stuff by having real conversations and courageously learning to heal together as a community.

Originally aired on August 31, 2022 on KPOV’s Open Air

36: Slow Down, Show Up, Let Go

We have all been inadvertently affected by the mainstream portrayal of sex.

Sex is an exceedingly interesting yet provocative part of life, experienced by most, but discussed very little in mainstream conversation. Author of the book Too Busy To Get Busy, Dr. Jane Guyn gives a holistic approach to “bedroom talk” and implores individuals and couples to continue to explore, be authentic and co-create in their shared sexual connections. She explains how we can get out of our heads and into our bodies, remove associated stress and erase preconceived ideas to define our own unique needs and desires.

Originally aired on November 4, 2022 on KPOV’s The Friday Point

35: Dignity Is My Lens

Habitat For Humanity and Mellissa believe in a world where everyone has the right to a home.

Presenting part three of our series examining the housing crisis in Central Oregon, featuring Mellissa Kamanya, Grants Director for Bend-Redmond Habitat. She shares her own family’s struggles with housing instability and the programs and promise of Habitat for Humanity as one solution to our community’s difficulties. Infusing hope and enabling transformations makes this organization a community gem.

Originally aired on November 17, 2022 for KPOV’s Critical Conversations

34: The Couple's Conversation On Racism

No place is exempt from racism.

A swath of such challenging experiences from Virginia to Central Oregon, as told by interracial couple KPOV DJ Teryl Young, and his wife, Kim, have truly put them through the wringer. These are real stories from real people in our community who are confronting real issues on racism right now. Stereotyping, white supremacist ideals, racial targeting, superficiality, microaggressions, whitewashing; with conversation comes progress.

Originally recorded on August 8, 2022 for KPOV’s Critical Conversations

33: Future's So Bright, Gotta Buy Shades

Part 2 of our in-depth interview series with Bend-Redmond Habitat For Humanity and the examination of the housing crisis in Central Oregon.

After the life-changing opportunity to own her own home came to fruition through the support of Bend-Redmond Habitat for Humanity, Jodie is glowing. All she ever wanted was stability for her children to thrive and was able to access custom support to make it a reality; and through the sweat equity program, community builds community. She now makes her living as a real estate agent and helps pass the torch for others to shine brightly into their futures.

Originally aired on November 10, 2022 on KPOV

32: Something To Squawk About

To care about the well-being of other sentient creatures does not make you a trader of your ‘own kind’.

Understanding what it means to be earthlings, animals and then humans is the center of this discussion with Debra Merskin and Carrie Freeman, animal rights activists and authors in the field. Non-human animals must have equal and proper representation in the media to both honor and respect, with accuracy, these other communities of species. In re-empowering the notion of animality, we are all someone, never something.

Originally aired on August 10, 2021 on KPOV’s All Things Vegan

31: Housing From The Heart

Just the possibility of owning a home provided the opportunity to hope and dream as a family again.

This is part one of our series examining the housing crisis in Central Oregon. The Hohman’s walk us through the process of how they first started volunteering for and, ultimately, buying a house in partnership with the Bend-Redmond Habitat For Humanity. Moving into their own home was life-changing, offering space for their family to flourish, creating a positive ripple effect and opening up endless possibilities in their lives. It’s a Hand-Up, not a Hand-Out.

Originally aired on October 20, 2022 on KPOV

30: Cancelling Rape Culture

We must all do our part in passing along progressive messages of gender-equality.

Every culture is learned through observation of what is socially acceptable and allowed on a “normal” basis. In her book, No More Excuses, How To Dismantle Rape Culture, Amber Keyser unpacks the disconnect in America between what we say and what actions are ultimately tolerated. When amplified and carried into adulthood, this dangerous level of cultural conditioning leads to a lifetime of unhealthy sexual relationships.

Originally aired on October 31, 2019 on KPOV’s The Friday Point

29: That Which Does Not Happen Here

“This should be a wakeup call that racism is alive and well in Central Oregon.” - Josie Stanfield, activist/resident in Prineville, Oregon

This emotional interview takes place within days after Barry Washington Jr. was murdered in downtown Bend, Oregon. KPOV Station Manager, Bruce Morris, and Josie Stanfield have an exploratory discussion into the circumstances surrounding Barry’s final evening, what constitutes a hate crime and how microaggressions and fears propel deeply-rooted white supremist behavior.

Originally aired on October 19, 2021 on KPOV’s The Thursday Point

28: Chomping Responsibly

She hasn’t drank out of a plastic bottle in 7 years to do her part in stopping the destruction of the environment.

Food is just food, until one day, it means more. And it was in this fashion that everything changed for Paige Parsons Roache when she took on the sustainability/veganism movement and balanced out the pleasures of her life to allow animals to have theirs. Now she is a full time vegan lifestyle advocate, connecting like minded foodies at Unchained TV and bringing vegan cooking content to the world.

Originally aired on February 22, 2022 on KPOV’s All Things Vegan

27: When Activism Runs In The Family

Juniper grew up wanting to be like and admiring her role models.

In the Rook family, activism is a civil duty passed down between generations. Juniper, and her mother, Kelsey, share trials and tribulations of leading such a bold, yet vulnerable life, giving insight into some of the impacts and challenges of using their voices to push for social and political change. Juniper reads her letter to the Redmond School Board in which she pleas for safer schools.

Originally aired on March 22, 2022 on KPOV’s The Tuesday Point