community

Designed for living together watches an Oregon cohousing evolve.

At work in the fields of the Lord spends a Sabbath evening in Eugene.

Until proven viable documents the challenges facing innocence projects.

The group examines the nature of collective belief.

Everybody reads profiles a citywide reading project.

environment

Silent spring goes hunting for the missing honeybee.

Dying outside the box digs into the natural-burial movement.

Beyond the pail unwraps a third way of dealing with diapers.

From little acorns is about the greening of Portland.

Good gardens above bestow favors below takes a look at the ecoroof phenomenon.

Doing a number on colors assesses the paint industry.

Gimme an oil change tallies the many ways of fueling a car with oil.

food

Night and day sips a cocktail with Raymond Chandler.

The flavor of wild wanders through huckleberry fields.

The secret life of figs discovers the unexpected in a bowl of fruit.

Stalking the wild truffle spends a day with professional mushroom pickers.

The five stages of pie tackles the emotions of the kitchen.

Into the great wide open samples the diversity of Portland’s food carts.

The call of the wild gets mucky in a cattail marsh.

Sweet and lowdown tastes the meaning of sugar.

A man, a plan is an award-winning story about an unconventional restaurateur.

travel

North coast, family style collects the best of Oregon’s north coast for travelers with kids.

Seattle, old and new compares the metropolis of today with the city of yesteryear.

Off the beaten track in Eastern Oregon samples the edible bounty of the Walla Walla valley.

A cabin in the woods snowshoes in to a Forest Service cabin.

Walking in two worlds checks out Oregon’s museums about the Native American experience.

The Fruit Loop of Hood River tours a fertile orchard region.

Catch the bloom takes a hike in wildflower fields.

Gulf Islands jewel explores a quiet Canadian island.

Astoria visits a changing coastal town.

Under the Ligurian sun hikes the pathways of Italy’s Cinque Terre region.

My Madrona reveals the public and private aspects of a Seattle neighborhood.

literature

The secret of the scam picks apart Internet pundits.

Sisters of mercy uncovers a forgotten smallpox expedition.

On science and humor is an interview with quirky author Mary Roach.

Gore by gaslight delves into the underground world of 1890s Portland.

The Roman intrigues of Steven Saylor profiles a writer known for his historical whodunits.

Qiu Xiaolong and the Chinese enigma interviews an immigrant mystery writer.

Paradise found? is an article about a man who may have found Shangri-La.

essays

The flexitarians parses parenthood.

The sweet hereafter eulogizes a father-in-law.

Respect your elders takes a hard look at how families talk — or don’t — about race.

The wedding test applies a little eyeshadow to the modern wedding.

Good housekeeping scrubs away at the politics of cleaning.

Turf wars rakes up the American lawn.

The great wall uses stone to join, not divide.

Shattered Glass ponders the real Ira Glass.

Hello goodbye is an award-winning essay about life in the Northwest.