TICKETS $15

Doors 6:30 p.m.; Event 7 p.m.
Select Showtime to Purchase Tickets

Click here to learn more about accessibility at the Tomorrow Theater. 

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THE EXPERIENCE

Tough Shit is an onstage conversation about the most challenging questions Portlanders are facing. We’ll bring together four people with very different experiences of and perspectives on the city to talk through some shit with help from the audience and a moderator. The questions will be tough, and this shit will not be resolved in one night; We expect to leave with more questions than answers, plus some renewed hope for the future. And if not, well….

Speakers include Leah Sottile, Jonathan Maus, Kimiko Matsuda, and Heart Free Pham, and the conversation will be moderated by Adam Davis of Oregon Humanities.

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ON STAGE:

Leah Sottile

Leah Sottile is the author of two books: Blazing Eye Sees All and When the Moon Turns to Blood. Her journalism has been published by The Washington Post, The New York Times Magazine, Playboy, Rolling Stone, Outside, the BBC, The Atlantic and High Country News, where she is a correspondent. She is the host of the podcasts Hush, Burn Wild, Two Minutes Past Nine and the National Magazine Award-nominated series Bundyville. She is the co-founder of The Western Edge, reporting from and living in Portland.

Jonathan Maus

Jonathan Maus is a community journalist and publisher/owner of BikePortland, an independent news company founded in 2005. His work combines advocacy and journalism and spans from original reporting to photography, videos, events and podcasts. He’s been named one of the “50 Most Influential Portlanders” by Portland Monthly magazine and has won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and local advocacy organizations. He lives in North Portland and dreams of being a basketball coach.

 

Kimiko Matsuda

Kimiko Matsuda is a cultural strategist, curator, and community builder with more than two decades of experience at the intersection of brand, arts, and civic engagement. From leading global businesses at Nike to shaping Portland’s cultural landscape through The Idea Factory and the upcoming International Women’s Sports Film Festival (May 2026), Kimiko is known for convening unlikely collaborators and translating bold ideas into meaningful public experiences. Her work centers storytelling as civic infrastructure—bringing people together across sport, culture, and community to imagine and build what’s next for Portland and beyond.

 

 

Heart Free Pham

Heart Free Pham is a lifelong Portlander and disillusioned millennial who has worked as a community organizer for the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, a railroad conductor, and an English teacher in Spain, Thailand, and China. He ran for Portland City Council in 2024.

 

 

 

 

 

Adam Davis, Moderator

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HOSTED BY: Oregon Humanities

Oregon Humanities is committed to bringing people together across differences of background, experience, and belief. Each year, we offer hundreds of public conversations and programs across the state, train and support dozens of discussion facilitators, and award grants and fellowships that help people connect, reflect, and cultivate a stronger sense of agency in their communities. In our magazine and on our website, we publish stories that explore the thoughts, perspectives, and experiences of Oregonians. Our long-term hope is that the work of Oregon Humanities will make broad and significant contributions to a more cohesive, inclusive, and imaginative democratic culture.