Food Chain

A group of local photographers known collectively as PhotoForce turn their lenses toward Oregon’s fight against hunger in this Portland Monthly photo essay.

Team Trauma

They’re the subject of TV melodramas, they see us on our worst days. We asked the emergency room doctors of our Top Docs list to tell us what it takes to work in the ER, what they love about their job, and which patients they’ll never forget. These are their stories.

By Randy Gragg and Kasey CordellWith contribution from Brian Barker

Jesus's Favorite City

Despite a reputation as one of the “least-churched” regions in the country, Portland is a breeding ground for liberal Christianity. We sat down with a few of Portland’s liberal church avant-garde and had a conversation about the value of religion.

By Randy Gragg, Martin Patail, and Rachel Ritchie

Branch Science

Oregon State University researcher Steven Strauss wants to engineer genetically-modified trees that could change the world and help the ecosystem. His obstacle? A legion of anti-GMO environmentalists.

By David Wolman

Questions of Faith

Christopher Hitchens’s 2007 book God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything has made him arguably the nation’s most notorious atheist. Already renowned as a political columnist for Vanity Fair, Slate, and other magazines and known for his frequent punditry on the talk-show circuit, Hitchens’s barbed manifesto against religion has earned him debates across the country, often with the very fundamentalist believers his book attacks.
But as a precursor to his upcoming January 5 appearance for Literary Arts at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland Monthly invited Hitchens to an encounter more befitting the Rose City: a conversation with a liberal believer—Marilyn Sewell, the recently retired minister of the First Unitarian Church of Portland. A former teacher and psychotherapist and the author of numerous books, Sewell, over a 17-year stewardship, grew Portland’s downtown Unitarian congregation into one of the largest in the United States.

Made in Portland

The so-called “Nike of China” Li Ning moves into the Nike of America’s hometown with its first stateside store.

By Jason Cohen

PDX Index: Sin

Largest lottery jackpot? Old Town prostitution numbers from 1911? Origin of Portland’s first strip club? Index has you covered.

By Meghan Hilliard

The Perfect Party

Reefer, right wingers, cowgirls, vampire lovers, and toll bridge activists hit our table this month.

Class V Career

Local adventure filmmaker collective the Epicocity Project explores the world’s most wild waterways.

By Ivan Miller

Kitzhaber: Sequel or Rerun?

Oregon’s guv-in-boots takes a long hard look at another tenure in Salem.

By Randy Gragg

Start A Beer Cellar

Don’t just reach for a cold one—reach for an old one. Here’s how to start your own beer cellar to age some of the regions best brews.

By Ashley Gartland

Land of the Lost

4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42: if you recognize these numbers, you should check out our look at Lost’s ties to Portland, and maybe even sample some of our Lost party favors.

By Randy GraggWith contribution from Brian Barker

RoboCop

Robotic animals take down poachers.

With contribution from Brian Barker

Off Hours

Look for the city with Han Solo, eat a Fat Elvis, go Rose Bowling this month in Off Hours.

The Lunatic, the Lover, and the Poet

We review Myrlin A. Hermes’s take on Hamlet, where Horatio finds himself falling for the Prince of Denmark.

By Veronica Martin

Worldly Bird

There’s a lot more to fried chicken than the traditional dish we associate with the American South. A quick tour of Asia reveals enchanting alternatives.

By Mike Thelin

Noble Rot

Despite a move from its old-world digs, Noble Rot still brings the comfort food that Portlanders love.

By Mike Thelin

Mantra Espresso & Wine Bar

Mantra Espresso & Wine Bar brings some downtown glamor north of the Columbia.

By Kasey Cordell

Cellar Notes

Though the wines from Burgundy are the benchmark for pinot noir, some Oregon wines have narrowed the gap.

By Condé Cox

Moving Through the Landscape

Cycling couple Tim and Sue Butler wanted a house that reflected their love of the outdoors and avid cycling lifestyles. Path Architecture was there to help.

By Amara Holstein

Mr. Tea

After a short retirement, Steve Smith, the founder of Tazo, is back with a new assortment of teas that bring tastes from around the world to Portland.

By Rachel Ritchie

Alpine Bliss

Have your dinner table brim with the flavors of Bavaria, Alto Adige, Austria, Hungary, Germany, and Alsace with alpine delights such as a hearty mushroom gratin.

By Eva Hagberg

Vox Populi

What are the most tiresome Portland stereotypes? How spiritual is the city? What’s the deal with Kitzhaber? We asked you, and here are your answers.

Roll Models

Local boutique Mickle & Mod gives a whole new meaning to the term “street fashion.”

By Meghan Hilliard

The Hitchens Transcript

The complete interview between the renowned atheist Christopher Hitchens and Unitarian minister Marilyn Sewell

Bank On It

Our “Food Chain” photo essay continues in this web-exclusive slideshow.