Profile

Portland Artist Arvie Smith Paints the Black Experience in Blazing Color

As he nears 80, Smith—easily one of the city's most technically skilled painters—confronts race with sardonic humor and fantastic beauty.

08/14/2017 By Rebecca Jacobson

Veggie Love: Vegan Victory

How the Vegans Conquered Portland

Our city is America’s meat-free Shangri-la, built one vegan cronut and jackfruit wrap at a time.

08/14/2017 By Molly Woodstock

History

The Spirit of '77: How the Blazers Won Portland

Forty years ago, a basketball team and a city became one.

05/15/2017 By Casey Jarman Illustrations by Michael Byers

Profile

Jeff Merkley, the Unquiet American

The Oregon politician was a low-key liberal on the Senate’s back benches. Then came Trump.

04/05/2017 By Marty Patail Photography by Andy Batt

Dance

With Fresh Talent and Energy, Oregon Ballet Theatre Makes a Big Leap

OBT was all but pronounced dead near the start of the decade. Now, very much alive, it forges ahead into a bold, ambitious future.

02/20/2017 By Fiona McCann Illustrations by Nick Iluzada

Profile

Male? Female? Jamie Shupe Battles for a Third Option.

Portlander Jamie Shupe is the first person in the US to be legally recognized as nonbinary.

02/20/2017 By Molly Woodstock

The Stand

A Year Ago, Armed Occupiers Seized a Wildlife Refuge in Harney County. This Oregonian Was Ready to Join.

When Kenneth Medenbach joined the Malheur takeover, he had years of experience battling the federal government.

01/23/2017 By Leah Sottile

Longreads

Portland Monthly's Top Longreads of 2016

A trailblazing AIDS researcher. The future of weed. A hidden gorge. The illegal wildlife trade. A radical theory about Portland's origin story. Here are 12 of our best in-depth stories from the past year.

12/22/2016 By Portland Monthly Staff

True Crime

Sandy. Burnside. Two Streets at the Heart of Portland’s East Side—and Three Grisly Murders That Reveal Their History

From Native American trail to car mall, the Burnside-Sandy axis has seen a crime-stained past.

12/20/2016 By Marty Patail

Culture Cheat Sheet: Essay

Portland’s Cultural Exports Might Never Take Over the World. Here’s Why That’s a Good Thing.

Almost famous is just fine by us.

11/14/2016 By Shawn Levy

Skull Games

How One Portland Special Agent Went Undercover to Stop Poaching and Smuggling

Make no mistake: we’re part of the world’s poaching and smuggling epidemic. Meet the Portland investigator battling it.

11/14/2016 By Ramona DeNies

News

The Militia Verdict: 'Not Guilty' Was Just Another Chapter in an Ongoing Oregon Saga

A radical vision of the Constitution and who really owns public lands will be with us for a long time.

11/02/2016 By Leah Sottile

Politics

The Battle of ‘86: How Oregon’s Last Great Election Came Down to One Fatal Mistake

Thirty years ago, Neil Goldschmidt took on Norma Paulus for governor—and the race became a turning point for politics in Oregon.

10/10/2016 By Brent Walth

Gridiron Report

Portland State May Finally Have a Great Football Team

With a brilliant new coach, a wild style of play, and long odds, the Vikings set sail on a new era. But does anyone, like, care?

08/15/2016 By Jason Cohen

PREHISTORY

Does Oregon's Vanished Coastline Hold the Secrets of the First Americans?

Archaeologist Loren Davis has a radical theory about when (and where) humans first arrived on our continent.

06/13/2016 By Benjamin Tepler

PROFILE

Meet the Man Who Reinvented Nike, Seduced Adidas, and Helped Make Portland the Sports Gear Capital of the World

In the 1980s glory days of audacious deals and bold schemes, Rob Strasser was the big man on campus.

06/13/2016 By David Wolman

HIDDEN DEPTHS

How One Man Found an Uncharted Gem in the Oregon Wilderness

Mike Malone came across a hidden gorge near Mount Jefferson. But can you really “discover” a place anymore?

05/19/2016 By Leah Sottile Illustrations by Michael Byers

HISTORY

One History Sleuth’s Radical Theory: Everything We Know About How Portland Began Is Wrong

The pursuit of a shadowy founding father winds deep into Portland’s Deadwood days.

05/19/2016 By Leah Sottile

PROFILE

American Mouth: The Loud Life and Meaty Legacy of Josh Ozersky

A look at the greatest, wildest food writer of his generation.

04/22/2016 By Nigel Duara

POLITICS

Why Portland’s Elected Leaders Keep Failing Despite the City’s Success

Portland is about to elect a new mayor. Again. Maybe this time, it will stick.

03/25/2016 By Zach Dundas