Rural Roots Rising

A monthly podcast created by and for Rural Oregonians who are creatively and courageously building stronger and more vibrant communities for a just democracy!

Help Support the Rural Organizing Project

Rural Organizing Project is committed to keeping this podcast accessible to all and focused on the powerful organizing happening across Rural Oregon. Your support makes that possible! Rural Roots Rising is created by the Rural Organizing Project. All donations in support of Rural Roots Rising Podcast are tax-deductible.

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About the Podcast

Rural Organizing Project produces Rural Roots Rising, a monthly podcast by and for rural Oregonians who are creatively and courageously building stronger and more vibrant communities for a just democracy!

This community media project grew out of the 2019 Rural Caucus & Strategy Session where community leaders from rural and frontier Oregon shared how local media are getting sold to faraway corporations and reflecting less and less of what matters most their communities. Many rural Oregonians are creating, building, and supporting community media including newspapers, magazines, radio stations, and podcasts.

Together we are connecting the dots between the issues that impact rural Oregon, including migration, housing, disaster response, and more. Each episode features voices and organizing lessons from strategic community leaders building the movement for human dignity in Oregon!

Want to share stories from your community? Reach out to us at office@rop.org!

Listen on the Radio!

Support your community radio station and listen to Rural Roots Rising on any of these 20 stations across Oregon:

KBOG 97.9 FM Bandon: Tune in every 4th Sunday at 4:00 pm!

KBOO 90.7 FM Portland: Tune in every 3rd Wednesday at 6:00 pm!

KCIW 100.7 FM Curry Coast Community Radio: Tune in on Thursday June 24th and 6:30 pm, Friday June 25th at 10 am, and Saturday June 26th at 12 pm!

KCUW 104.3 FM Umatilla Reservation Community Radio: Mondays from 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM and Thursdays from 5:00-6:00 PM (Two episodes will air back to back!)

KEOL 91.7 FM La Grande

KEPW 97.3 FM Eugene: Tune in every Saturday at 3:00 pm!

KFSL 99.5 FM Fossil

Coast Community Radio KMUN 91.9 FM (Astoria), KTCB 89.5 FM (Tillamook) and KCPB 90.9 FM (Warrenton): Tune in every 4th Monday of the month at 9:30 am!

KMUZ 88.5 FM Salem: Tune in to Willamette Wake up, 4th Tuesdays at 8 am!

KMWV 98.3 FM Dallas Tune in Sundays at 9:00 am. NEW STATION!

KOHI 1600 AM St. Helens: Tune in Saturdays at 3:00 pm and Sundays at 12:30 pm!

KORC 105.9 FM Corvallis Tune in Sundays at 1030 am. NEW STATION!

KPOV 88.5 FM Bend: Tune in every 4th Friday at 9:30 am!

KSHD 94.3 FM Shady Cove

KSKQ 89.5 FM Ashland: Tune in every 2nd Friday at 1:30 pm and every 4th Wednesday at 11:00 am!

KSOW 106.7 FM Cottage Grove: Tune in Saturdays at 11:00am and Mondays at 1:00pm!

KTUP Radio Poder 98.3 FM Dallas: Tune in every 2nd Thursday at 5:30 pm!

KXCJ 105.7 FM Cave Junction: Tune in Fridays at 5:30 pm!

KXCR 90.7 FM Florence: June 21st at 4:30 pm!

KYAQ 91.7 FM Siletz: Tune in Fridays and Saturdays at 12:30 pm!

Don’t see your local community radio station listed? Give them a call and ask them to air Rural Roots Rising!

Want to play Rural Roots Rising on your station? Email office@rop.org and we will share the links to download!

Season 2

S2, E7: Behind the Scenes With Tea, Toast, and Truth

July 14, 2021

Season 2, Episode 7 Behind the Scenes With Tea, Toast, and Truth This is the Final Episode in Season 2 of Rural Roots Rising! We go behind the scenes of Tea, Toast, and Truth and talk with Ashland Highschool’s Truth to Power Club about how they pair education and action through their podcast and community…

S2, E6: Community Media Spotlight: Tea, Toast, and Truth

June 15, 2021

Season 2, Episode 6 Community Media Spotlight: Tea, Toast, and Truth In our second season of Rural Roots Rising, we’ve been on a state-wide mission toexplore community-based, intergenerational, collaborative, rural media.Join us this month as we feature Tea, Toast, and Truth, a podcast created by Ashland High School’s Truth to Power Club.This podcast is a…

S2,E5: Behind the Scenes with KPOV and The Point

April 14, 2021

Season 2, Episode 5 Behind the Scenes with KPOV & The Point This month’s episode continues our community media spotlight series with a behind-the-scenes interview with KPOV 88.9 FM, High Desert Community Radio station manager Bruce Morris. This episode is the second in a two-part profile of KPOV and features Bruce discussing KPOV’s early history…

S2, E4: Community Media Spotlight: KPOV & The Point

March 15, 2021

Season 2: Episode 4 Community Media Spotlight: KPOV & The Point This month’s episode continues our community media spotlight series by highlighting KPOV & The Point, a daily radio show hosted by a rotating cast of hosts at KPOV 88.9 FM, High Desert Community Radio. This episode is part one of a two-part series! In…

S2, E3: Behind the Scenes with Rural Race Talks

February 15, 2021

Season 2: Episode 3 Behind the Scenes with Rural Race Talks Last month we introduced LaNicia Duke and her call-in program Rural Race Talks on Coast Community Radio. We recommend listening to Community Media Spotlight: Rural Race Talks first. This month’s episode, Behind the Scenes with Rural Race Talks, explores the power of learning in…

S2, E2: Community Media Spotlight: Rural Race Talks

January 15, 2021

Season 2: Episode 2 Community Media Spotlight:Rural Roots Rising Rural Roots Rising is both a podcast and a radio show airing on 19 community radio stations, and it’s also an ongoing experiment in building up our media skills across rural Oregon. In Season 2 we are amplifying rural radio shows and digging into how they…

S2, E1: Behind the Scenes with ROP

December 15, 2020

Season 2: Episode 1 Behind the Scenes with ROP For the last year, we’ve been producing monthly episodes of Rural Roots Rising to share stories of courageous and creative organizing across rural Oregon. But why? To get us rolling on our second season, we pulled back the curtain to share what inspired this show, and…

S1, E13: Hindsight 2020: Telling Rural Stories

November 15, 2020

Season 1: Episode 13 Hindsight 2020: Telling Rural Stories Over a year ago, when ROP committed to making 13 monthly episodes to share organizing stories from across rural Oregon, we had no idea what 2020 would hold! Hindsight 2020: Telling Rural Stories features Monica Pearson with North Coast Progressive Action in Clatsop County, Rita Schenkelberg,…

S1, E12: Blackberries and Ballot Measures

October 15, 2020

Season 1: Episode 11 Blackberries and Ballot Measures: 2020 Election Edition As rumors fly about who can and can’t vote by mail, and threats to a fair election escalate, rural Oregonians are sharing paper and digital STAND Election guides with their neighbors to offer clear information about how people who are displaced by the fires…

S1, E11: It (Still) Takes All of Us

September 15, 2020

Season 1: Episode 11 It (Still) Takes All of Us As rural Oregonians, we’re not new to taking care of each other in a crisis. In the midst of the fear and grief, we’re returning this month to the story of thousands of committed people who joined together across county lines and faiths. By bringing…

S1, E10: Taking Risks

August 15, 2020

Season 1: Episode 10 Taking Risks This month’s episode, Taking Risks highlights the voices of Suzanne Pharr, a renowned community organizer and movement elder, and Zachary Stocks, whose passion to make museums dynamic spaces accessible to everyone brought him into community organizing. Find out when your local radio station is playing Fighting for Rural here…

S1, E9: Fighting for Rural

July 15, 2020

Season 1: Episode 9 Fighting for Rural Fighting for Rural features Kim Schmith, Kelsey Olivera, and Kelly Huang of the Madras Key Club sharing a story of multigenerational small-town organizing for equity! Madras Key Club is working inside the schools to build a more inclusive Jefferson County. You’ll learn about their work celebrating their family’s…

Web Exclusive: Remembering Kent State

July 1, 2020

Web Extra: Remembering Kent State Welcome to the first Rural Roots Rising web extra! As protests of police violence against black Americans continue across the country, we have witnessed large scale police and National Guard deployment, many outfitted with intimidating and sophisticated warfighting gear. Countless videos have shown police officers and the National Guard using…

S1, E8: Black Lives Matter: Voices of Rural Oregon

June 17, 2020

Season 1: Episode 8 Black Lives Matter: Voices of Rural Oregon We are in the midst of a global movement, with Black Lives Matter protests erupting all around the nation and beyond. Rural Organizing Project’s multiracial network of human dignity groups is answering the call. Here in Oregon, rural and small-town communities have hosted over…

S1, E7: Community Radio: Tune In, Speak Out

May 15, 2020

Season 1: Episode 7 Community Radio: Tune In, Speak Out Community-based Radio and other local media help us weather the storms we face, both literally and figuratively. When radio works for the good of all our neighbors, this free, accessible service, fosters the sense of belonging, resilience and connection necessary for survival. And the importance…

S1, E6: Feeding Our Communities

April 15, 2020

Season 1: Episode 6 Feeding Our Communities The spread of COVID-19 and the insufficient response to it, has made it much more difficult to access safe and healthy food, especially for those most vulnerable among us. Feeding Our Communities features Harry MacCormack from Sunbow Farm in Benton County, Oregon and Martina LeForce with Berea Kids Eat in Madison County, Kentucky. Both…

S1, E5: Building An Ever Wider Circle

March 15, 2020

Season 1: Episode 5 Building an Ever Wider Circle Building an Ever Wider Circle features Gwen Trice from the Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center in Wallowa County. Gwen is creating accessible ways for people to grapple with racism in Oregon through learning about the experiences of multicultural loggers who have called Wallowa County home for generations. If you are…

S1, E4: It Takes All of Us

February 15, 2020

Season 1: Episode 4 It Takes All of Us It Takes All of Us shares a story about the power of interfaith organizing and the successes that are possible when hundreds of volunteers join together in a moment of crisis. This month, we follow the story of Navneet Kaur, who took action in support of asylum…

S1, E3: Building Community Power

January 15, 2020

Season 1: Episode 3Building Community Power Building Community Power features Miriam Vargas Corona with Unidos Bridging Community in Yamhill County and Bruce Morris with KPOV, High Desert Community Radio in Deschutes County. They both won victories for human dignity by bringing people together from different segments of their communities. If you are interested in connecting…

S1, E2: Rural Community Building

December 15, 2019

Season 1: Episode 2 Rural Community Building Rural Community Building features Martha Verduzco with Hood River Latino Network in the Columbia River Gorge and Katie Cook with Rural Voices based in Gilliam County. This episode emphasizes a core truth about rural community organizing: breaking isolation by building connections, relationships, and community through organizing is a skill…

S1, E1: Anyone Can be an Organizer

November 15, 2019

Season 1: Episode 1 Anyone Can be an Organizer Anyone Can Be An Organizer features Brenda Flores with Raíces in Stanfield, Umatilla County, Juan Navarro with Here to Stay in the mid-Willamette Valley, and Monica Pearson with Indivisible North Coast Oregon in Astoria, Clatsop County. We talked with each of them about their work for migrant…

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