May 21: Art Glass Apocalypse, Scott Pemberton, Bonsai Murai, Katie Chase - a podcast by Oregon Public Broadcasting

Bask in the glorious variety of Portland's spring musical offerings, then head to the hills with a book and a yen for natural beauty. Be here now, this week on State of Wonder.

1:00 GLASSAPOCALYPSE NOW - Spectrum Glass of Woodinville, WA, one of the top art-glass makers in the region, has announced that it will cease production in the next 75 days. Art glass has had it rough lately; earlier this year Portland companies Bullseye and Uroboros came under fire when the state Department of Environmental Quality revealed that they were releasing dangerous levels of cadmium and arsenic into the air. And now Oregon DEQ finds Bullseye has been spewing unhealthy levels of lead, and puts production on ice for ten days. We get reaction.

10:38 Waterfront Blues Festival to Charge Entry - The Waterfront Blues Festival, an annual benefit for the Oregon Food Bank, will celebrate its 29th year this July—and charge for tickets for the first time. Entry to the festival has traditionally been a suggested donation of $10 and two cans of food. In 2013 the festival experimented with charging entry for its Sensational Sunday; this year the entire event will require a cover.

14:40 Scott Pemberton - Guitarist Scott Pemberton's musical education involved stints in several of the Rose City's influential music scenes, ranging from jazz to grunge. That background has produced a unique style that melds those genres, plus funk, blues, and hippie jam vibes. Pemberton's style is called "Timber Rock," and so is his latest album.

18:54 The PSU Chamber Choir - The PSU Chamber Choir has triumphed in international choral competitions and even cuts records. Their next album will be the first American recording of Latvian composer Eriks Esenvalds’ work, and the ensemble will celebrate its 40th anniversary with a concert this May, slated to include the US premier of Esenvalds’ “First Tears.”

27:40 Friends of Noise - Portland's music scene, hemmed in by strict OLCC regulations and a tradition of bar-based venues, has long had to live with a glaring lack of all-ages shows and venues. Now a community group, Friends of Noise, has appeared on the scene hoping to change all that. They have big plans, but creating venues that cater to underserved sections of the city's youth won't necessarily be easy.

33:04 Katie Chase, author of "Man and Wife" - It’s a cliche that children are full of questions, but certain types of questioning—far from the innocent realms of “why is the sky blue?”—mark the end of childhood. Katie Chase, whose new book “Man and Wife” came out this month, has produced a short story collection that balances largely on the edge of that turning point. Chase won the Pushcart Prize in 2008.

40:11 Bonsai Mirai - Bonsai, the practice of pruning and shaping small trees, is an ancient Japanese art. But make no mistake, it isn't just the sculptures that are alive. The tradition of bonsai is alive, too, and constantly evolving. Aaron Scott takes us to Bonsai Mirai, a bonsai school and nursery in the hills just west of Portland, to learn more.

47:44 Nu Shooz - If you were in Portland in the mid-80s, you will probably recognize Nu Shooz's electronic-dance-meets-R&B song "I Can't Wait," which reached #3 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart in 1986. If you weren't, you still might; the song has permeated pop culture since, making appearances in Girl Talk's "No Pause," the "Grand Theft Auto IV" soundtrack, and even Target commercials. This year the husband-and-wife duo behind Nu Shooz, Valerie Day and John Smith, released a new album. It's called "Bagtown," and it is quite a departure from their 1980s output.

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