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Description
Oregon Discussion is a no-nonsense podcast that pulls back the curtain on Oregon’s government, policies, and spending. With a rotating cast of legislators and policy experts, this podcast exposes wasteful spending, bureaucratic overreach, and hidden inefficiencies that impact Oregonians every day.
From the state budget crisis to agencies creating rules without oversight, Oregon Discussion takes a deep dive into the policies shaping Oregon’s future. Whether it’s out-of-control taxes, reckless regulations, or the growing power of unelected bureaucrats, we ask the tough questions and hold government accountable.
50 Episodes
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Mike McLane sits down with longtime ODOT employee Mary Dirksen to discuss what Oregon’s transportation funding fight looked like from inside the agency. They cover layoff notices, workforce uncertainty, turnover, government bureaucracy, Measure 120, and what Oregon still needs to resolve before the next transportation package.
Mike McLane and Shelly Boshart-Davis are joined by Courtney Bangs to discuss Oregon’s new state forest management plan and Habitat Conservation Plan. The episode examines timber revenue, county budgets, endangered species policy, carbon credits, forestry jobs, and whether Oregon taxpayers may be asked to fund a system that used to pay for itself.
Mike McLane and Shelly Boshart-Davis are joined by Dr. Angela Plowhead to discuss Oregon’s mental health crisis, including provider shortages, youth mental health, veteran suicide, parental notification, nonprofit accountability, and the state’s last-place ranking in mental illness and substance use prevalence. The episode asks why Oregon is spending so much while outcomes remain so poor.
In this episode of Oregon Discussion, Mike McLane sits down with his son Ben McLane, a veteran wildland firefighter, to discuss Oregon’s devastating fire season and what it reveals about forest health, firefighting capacity, fuel loads, and community preparedness. The conversation covers incident management, pyrocumulus fire behavior, rural fire response, homeowner mitigation, and why Oregon may need to prepare as if this is the new normal.
Mike McLane and Shelly Boshart-Davis are joined by Jacob Vandever to discuss Oregon’s housing and homelessness crisis. The episode examines housing supply, land use restrictions, Portland’s affordable housing struggles, homelessness spending, HB 3115, and why Oregon’s current approach is not producing the results taxpayers were promised. 02:03 – Welcome to Oregon Discussion 03:16 – Housing Policy Is Making the Crisis Worse 04:31 – Meet Jacob Vandever 07:04 – Watching Housing Policy Fail Ove...
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