This week on Schmidt Show PDX, Mike is joined by guest co-host Steph Routh for a timely and emotional episode.

We begin by remembering the late Representative Hoa Nguyen — her life, her leadership, and what her loss means for our community. From there, Steph walks us through how Oregon fills a vacant legislative seat, breaking down the appointment process in plain language and offering a smart idea to make that process more democratic and transparent.

In the second half of the show, we sit down with Xander Schultz, co-creator of Defiance.org. We dig into:

• What collective action really looks like today

• Why strong democratic institutions still matter

• Historical protest movements that actually worked — and what we can learn from them now

If you care about how power works, how people organize, and how to build a more just democracy, this episode is for you.

• Remembering Rep. Hoa Nguyen

• How Oregon fills a vacant legislative seat — and how it could work better

• The story behind Defiance.org

• Collective action, solidarity, and shared interests

• 💌 Subscribe to our Substack for episodes, extras, and show updates: https://schmidtshowpdx.substack.com

• ▶️ Like, subscribe, and share Schmidt Show PDX on your favorite podcast platform

• 🔁 Send this episode to a friend who cares about democracy, protests, or Oregon politics