A LOVING TENSION; A PROGRESSIVE HOPE

That's what Jefferson and Joe Smith bring to the Portland airwaves via XRAY FM and to the world through the wonders of the Internet.

It's pretty simple really. They follow the current news headlines and talk about the things that they find interesting and these days there's PLENTY to talk about. Like most talk show types, both Jefferson and Joe have opinions. Joe is a liberal curmudgeon and Jefferson is a has-been up-and-comer.

The numbers don't lie. Between the 2 of them, they've got:

• 1 house, 1 baptism, 1 head of hair and 1 appearance in the March on Washington (yeah, the one with Martin Luther King Jr.)

• 2 law degrees, 2 separate stints as cattle herders, 2 terms served as rural county district attorneys and 2 heartbreaking political losses

• 4 marriages and 4 presidential meet-ups

• 5 years in state legislature

• just over 100 years of combined age (skewed mostly in one direction)

• a 350 point LSAT combined score

• almost 3.5 million views on Ted.com of how to properly use a paper towel

The mass consolidation of media has a profound effect on what we see and hear on a local level. It leads to a decline in support for local artists and local venues, promotion of community advocacy, in the ability to engage civically with our government and those who seek to be elected to it. 

XRAY changes that. And this year has made that more important than ever before. 

This year, while the world has been in turmoil, we've been busy

• giving back to local artists who've lost gigs due to COVID-19

• lifting up hundreds of nonprofits and Black-owned businesses with free spots on air

• educating our community about the privileges they have and how to support their neighbors with our Annual Juneteenth & International Women's Day Teach-Ins

• launching Portland's only daily local news podcast to keep our community in-the-know while apart

• supporting the ongoing civic advocacy, education, and functioning of City Club of Portland when no other radio station would

• interviewing 100+ local candidates (more than any other media outlet) to ensure democracy doesn't die in the distance. 

• and bringing joy and connectedness to the people of Portland.

We are proud to be independent and driven by the purpose of amplifying the best and most distinctive of Portland. Our resources are directed toward supporting the people who support us, and that includes you. By becoming a supporting member of XRAY, you are adding to the resources that help amplify Portland, and Portland’s own artists, venues, activists, innovators, educators, and the community members who make this city run. As a listener named John recently said, "I'm really grateful to live in a city with XRAY." And we're really grateful to live in a city with you.