BikePortland Podcast
By Pedaltown Media Inc
BikePortland PodcastAug 31, 2021
EP-07: Behind the Scenes with Cast of Bike Play
BikePortland's Maritza Arango sat down with three members of the cast; Kristopher Mahoney-Watson, Nick Fenster, and Noelle Eaton. They shared how the play comes together, their best memories, biggest mix-ups, and they even shared a live rendition of the theme song. Don't miss this fun episode!
---
- Bike Play on IG: www.instagram.com/bikeplay/
- Bike Play 2021: The Resurrection full video! youtu.be/D35vr3rToew
Ep-06: State Rep Khanh Pham at Youth vs ODOT Rally
In this episode we hear from Oregon State Representative Khanh Pham. Pham was just elected to office back in November and represents House District 46 which stretches from Interstate 84 to Mt. Scott and from about Laurelhurst Park to just east of I-205.
She's garnered several headlines on BikePortland recently for her leadership in calling on the state of Oregon to invest more in 82nd Avenue. Pham lives in the Jade District and brings a lot of personal understanding and urgency around 82nd Avenue's many problems to her job as a legislator.
Known primarily for her work as an environmental justice organizer with the nonprofit Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO) and the successful campaign for the Portland Clean Energy Fund, Rep Pham is becoming a leader on the transportation front as well. It's just the latest sign of how the tremendous challenge of fighting climate change is creating broad coalitions of activists that are connecting dots between the environment, social justice, energy use, and Oregon's largest source of greenhouse gases — transportation.
On Wednesday September 1st, Pham spoke at a protest of youth climate activists who've been rallying in front of Oregon Department of Transportation headquarters in downtown Portland for 5 months now. Through her mask - emblazoned with a bike and the words "Viet Nam" in honor of her home country — Pham gave a rousing speech and then I was able to chat with her for a few minutes afterwards.
First you'll hear her speech, which I've edited a bit for clarity, then you'll hear our short interview.
__
Show notes:
- Full episode transcript (via Rev) - https://www.rev.com/transcript-editor/shared/3gpRwpjwCZ-_lN5_OLwyJ7Jjjv7hUdfXwLDlkUaROtYhzugRqT_0UJV2dZ1dR3x-j_YEqZJ6u_MyAX9YDQ3UYarQGL0
- Rep Pham Official Website - https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/pham
- Rep Pham on Twitter - https://twitter.com/KhanhPhamForOR
- An op-ed on House Bill 3055 - https://bikeportland.org/2021/06/21/guest-opinion-stop-the-freeway-widening-slush-fund-333961
Ep-05: Ride Organizer and School Principal Nichole Watson
This episode is a conversation with Prescott Elementary School Principal Nichole Watson.
I first met Nichole in June 2020, during the height of the racial justice protests and just a few months into the Covid outbreak.
I was on the Black Girls Do Bike Ride and Nichole was one of the co-organizers of the event. When I first met Nichole at that ride we had a great chat and I loved what she said about why it was so important for Black people — and especially Black women and especially "curvy" Black women as she described herself — to get outside and "take up space" on the street.
I've talked to so many bike people over the years and I have sort of a radar for whether or not someone "gets it". Nichole definitely gets it.
That's why I wasn't too surprised when several months after that ride in June 2020 she popped up again as the organizer of Prescott Pedal, a ride and community event she led as principal of Prescott Elementary School.
When Watson and I spoke during that ride, she talked about cultivating a culture around bicycling at Prescott and the nearby Parkrose neighborhood and why she felt having the school community ride bikes together was such a vital part of her work. And that work has become even more relevant given that just over a week ago, violence between white supremacist groups and anti-fascist activists erupted in Parkrose. I asked Nichole about that violence and about why cycling is such a priority to her during a conversation we recorded from her desk at Prescott Elementary School.
Thanks for listening. If you liked what you heard, please leave a review so others can find this podcast more easily. and make sure to subscribe so you don't miss the next one. Thank you to BikePortland subscribers who make this content possible. Until next time, you can find the BikePortland Podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, and wherever else you like to listen.
Nichole is on Instagram at @nyk_watson
___
PDF of episode transcript available here https://bikeportland.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/ep-05-nichole-watson-pod.pdf
Ep. 04 - Voices from the Climate Crisis: Youth vs. ODOT
BikePortland's Jonathan Maus attended a recent protest in front of ODOT headquarters. In this episode he interviews several of the participants, one of whom is a 15-year-old activist and another is a candidate for Oregon governor. Don't miss the full report and images from the event on BikePortland.
Ep. 03 - Community Activist Hami Ramani
In just a year since moving to Portland, Hami Ramani (@HamiRamani on Twitter) has become a formidable voice on the local bike scene. He leads the weekly PSU Farmers Market Ride and is a constant presence online (and off) as an agitator for better bikeways. He's also active with BikeLoud PDX. We talked about why he moved to Portland, his impressions of our bikeways, how he enraged haters on Twitter for saying bad things about big trucks, and more.
Ep. 02 - Aaron Brown and Anti-Freeway Activism
In this episode, we'll get into the weeds of anti-freeway activism.
You may have heard the story of how Portlanders successfully turned back the Mt. Hood Freeway plan and removed a major downtown highway in the 1970s. About 40 years later, activist rallied again to fight the Columbia River Crossing, a plan to widen I-5 between Portland and Vancouver.
The latest fight is being waged against the I-5 Rose Quarter project — right in Portland's backyard. Despite a state that is literally on fire due to climate change, and the fact that the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions in Oregon comes from transportation, the Oregon Department of Transportation wants to add lanes to I-5 between Interstate 84 and the Fremont Bridge.
But standing between ODOT and their $800 million project is a plucky, all-volunteer nonprofit named No More Freeways.
In this episode, I interview one of their leaders, a 33-year-old community organizer named Aaron Brown. He's spent four years building an opposition campaign against ODOT's project that includes thousands of followers, hundreds of donors, three lawsuits, and a lot of snarky tweets.
We talked about how he became the face of the freeway fight, why he doesn't trust ODOT, what it will take to stop building freeways, how he's navigated racial tensions around his activism, and more.
Ep. 01 - Transgender Activist Molly Cameron
In our first episode since 2016 (!), BikePortland editor and publisher Jonathan Maus talks with Molly Cameron, the Portland-based professional cycling team manager and newly-minted transgender rights advocate who just founded RIDE, (Riders Inspiring Diversity & Equality). In this wide-ranging interview, Molly shares her views on anti-transgender legislation sweeping the US and how the cycling industry should respond to it. She also shares her personal story of being discriminated against when she first arrived in Portland, how she balances community expectations, and the deep sense of duty she feels to help transgender people and other marginalized groups.