BIFF turns 22 

Frequency co-founder Jeff Rozic sits down with Boulder International Film Festival (BIFF) co-founder Kathy Beeck ahead of the 22nd event — and the last one before Sundance comes here next year. 

“It's everybody's festival”

What makes BIFF special? Collaboration, Beeck says: BIFF partners with local musicians and nonprofits to pull more people into the experience. 

Story above all

How do you get a film into BIFF? By telling a great story. “ That's what we look for more than anything else.”

BIFF 2026: April 9-12

Learn more and get tickets

April 8, 2026

This podcast is made possible by listeners and local businesses. You can sponsor an episode of The Frequency.Reach our growing audience of highly engaged listeners. Email [email protected]

Sources - Headlines:

Half of NOAA staff face furloughs

https://boulderreportinglab.org/2026/04/02/half-of-staff-at-boulders-noaa-global-monitoring-lab-face-furloughs-as-funding-freeze-drags-on/

U.S. Forest Service to close research stations that research wildfire

​​https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/03/climate/forest-service-research-stations.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Y1A.G88k.rIupHYiSkZ8O&smid=url-share

https://www.fs.usda.gov/about-agency/reorganization

Dark Horse auctioning off decor

https://bid.rollerauction.com/auctions/24945/landing

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1DwP1psbje/

CU profs, students sound the alarm on AI deal

Featuring Aaron Gluck, PhD student in computer science and member of iSAT, the National AI Institute for Student-AI Teaming; and Lori Emerson, professor of media studies

Open letter: Google Doc

Get involved

Contact [email protected]

News coverage of Coloradans who died by suicide in connection with AI use:

• denverpost.com/2025/09/18/character-ai-bots-teens-suicide/
• cbsnews.com/news/chatgpt-lawsuit-colordo-man-suicide-openai-sam-altman/

Bonus content

Listen to the full interview with Aaron Gluck + Lori Emerson at Patreon.com/BoulderFrequencyPod.

One More Thing

excerpt from:

Bernie Sanders talks to Claude YouTube video
Music by Kelly Garry

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Produced by BVHz in partnership with The Mountain Ear

Independent, local journalism for Boulder County

Our team

Journalist + producer: Shay Castle

Audio producer + music: Kelly Garry

Additional support provided by Jeff Rozic

*Find bonus content and support us on Patreon

Colorado child care crisis, Boulder vacancy tax proposal, No Kings rally and water restrictions

April 1, 2026

This podcast is made possible by listeners and local businesses. You can sponsor an episode of The Frequency.Reach our growing audience of highly engaged listeners. Email [email protected]

Headlines

Vacancy tax proposed for empty homes, businesses

• huduser.gov/portal/publications/pdf/CMARtables_BoulderCO_24.pdf
• bouldervacancytax.org/

BoCo towns eye water restrictions amid drought

• Erie: Mandatory no outdoor watering until early April 
• Boulder: No restrictions yet; could be implemented “on or around May 1” 
• Front Range roundup from Denver 7

BVSD info + engagement sessions on enrollment declines, school closures

Links, RSVP + more info: bvsd.org/current-topics/declining-enrollment/connect-with-us-on-this-important-topic

Main Story

Colorado’s Child Care Crisis, from Boulder’s Point of View

“Childcare to me is a collective benefit… it’s an essential infrastructure.”
 That’s Karen Manahan of Boulder Day Nursery, and it’s the framing for this week’s main story.

Colorado’s child care system is under enormous strain:

•  Families struggle to find care at all 
•  Licensed care in Boulder County costs about $19,000 per child annually, the highest in the state 
•  Child care workers remain underpaid 
•  Providers are financially fragile 
•  Federal funding that helps families afford care is under threat 

This week, Shay introduces a new four-part reporting series on child care in Colorado, produced with journalist Andrea Steffes Tuttle and funded by Gary Community Ventures..

As Andrew puts it:

Andrea and Shay also hope to turn the reporting series into a print zine that can reach community spaces beyond traditional newspaper audiences. If you’d like to help fund that project, they’d love to hear from you.

Bonus content

Listen to the extended interview with Andrew Hyde at Patreon.com/BoulderFrequencyPod.

Listen to the full interview with Karen + Mary of Boulder Day Nursery at Patreon.com/BoulderFrequencyPod.

Next Week

Shay looks at a CU artificial intelligence deal that critics say could seriously threaten the privacy of students and faculty across campus.

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Produced by BVHz in partnership with The Mountain Ear

Independent, local journalism for Boulder County

Our team

Journalist + producer: Shay Castle

Audio producer + music: Kelly Garry

Additional support provided by Jeff Rozic

*Find bonus content and s

NCAR Uncertainty, Police Oversight, and Andy Mann on Ocean Conservation and Storytelling

March 25, 2026

Support

This podcast is made possible by listeners and local businesses. You can sponsor an episode of The Frequency.Reach our growing audience of highly engaged listeners. Email [email protected]

Police oversight chair cleared after union complaint
Boulder’s police watchdog panel chair has been cleared of wrongdoing, the city attorney’s office says.

Complaint by police union unfounded. BRL

The latest: Fight to save NCAR

• UCAR sues to stop dismantling of NCAR. Colorado Sun
• CU Boulder submits proposal to run NCAR with 2 other universities. BRL

Lafayette to name those in unmarked graves
Lafayette will install a plaque naming about 200 people buried in unmarked graves at the city cemetery.

The effort follows years of work by local historians and residents. Many of those buried were Hispanic and Latino community members with descendants still in the area.

Feature

Andy Mann on ocean storytelling, conservation, and bringing it all to the stage
Later in the episode, Jeff Rozic talks with Andy Mann, an Emmy-nominated director, National Geographic photographer, musician, and co-founder of SeaLegacy.

Mann discusses his path from working in Boulder restaurant kitchens and climbing around Flagstaff to building a career in photography, filmmaking, and conservation storytelling. He shares how Boulder shaped his early life, how National Geographic assignments helped turn his focus toward ocean conservation, and why he believes storytelling can help drive real-world environmental change.

He also talks about recent work in Iceland with a group of musicians creating conservation-inspired music, a major marine protection effort in Chile, and his evolving live performance project, The Helmsman, which blends songs, stories, and visuals from a life spent documenting the natural world.

Mann will perform April 23 at Chautauqua Community House with Grammy-nominated songwriter Reed Foehl.

andymann.com

instagram.com/andy_mann/

Bonus content

Listen to the full interview at Patreon.com/BoulderFrequencyPod.

Next week

A look at Colorado’s child care crisis

One More Thing:

"Full Moon Fight"- Andy Mann 
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Produced by BVHz in partnership with The Mountain Ear

Independent, local journalism for Boulder County

Our team

Journalist + producer: Shay Castle

Audio producer + music: Kelly Garry

Additional support provided by Jeff Rozic

*Find bonus content and support us on Patreon

Erika Mahoney, daughter of victim, talks grief, healing and the power of storytelling - March 18, 2025

Boulder looks for alternatives to Flock
City will start competitive bidding process this month; looks to form a task force of data + technology experts. Read more

Longmont moves ahead with downtown campus, transit hub
City Council OK’d 3 agreements that could eventually result in a campus for Front Range Community College at First and Main, plus a new bus station + parking garage. Read more from the city and Longmont Times-Call 

Court tosses Superior airport noise lawsuit

But a case over the use of leaded airplane fuel can move forward, a judge ruled. Read more from Boulder Daily Cameraand see Superior’s response

• Research Lyons mayor + trustee candidates. Lyons Recorder; Colorado buys 3,000-acre ranch next to Eldora. Colorado Sun

Daughter of King Soopers shooting victim on grief, healing and the power of storytelling

Erika Mahoney, a Boulder-born journalist, lost her father, Kevin Mahoney in the 2021 King Soopers shooting. She created Senseless, an 8-part podcast, to explore the impact of losing her father in such a sudden, violent and public way.

Listen to Senseless

On Lemonada Media, Spotify, Apple and wherever you get your podcasts

Boulder Strong Day of Remembrance

4-4:30 p.m. Sunday, March 22, Museum of Boulder, 2205 Broadway

Bonus content

Listen to the full interview with Erika at Patreon.com/BoulderFrequencyPod.

Next week

Frequency co-founder Jeff Rozic interviews award-winning storyteller and National Geographic photographer Andy Mann

One More Thing

"SF Meditation" - Kelly Garry

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Produced by BVHz in partnership with The Mountain Ear

Independent, local journalism for Boulder County

Our team

Journalist + Producer: Shay Castle

Audio Producer + Music: Kelly Garry

Additional support provided by Jeff Rozic

March 11, 2026

This week’s episode is sponsored by the Dairy Arts Center’s most dynamic night of the year—PEEK—returns April 23, 2026 with the Crystal Ball Gala. Tickets are on sale now at thedairy.org.

Police union files complaint against watchdog

• Cops accuse member of oversight panel of bias for statements about historically over-policed communities and lack of faith in the review process. Read more from Boulder Reporting Lab

Lafayette may revisit plaque for unmarked graves

Some 200 people were buried in unmarked graves in the Lafayette Cemetery in the early 1900s.

The cemetery was closed to burials after human remains were discovered in a plot being prepared for another person. The city is mapping the entire cemetery, a project now six weeks overdue. Read more from 9News

Related: Racism and Discrimination at the Lafayette Swimming Pool, 1934. An opening reception for the exhibit is 5-7 p.m. Friday, March 13 

Measles outbreak grows in Broomfield

• 7 kids connected to 2 schools infected; unvaccinated students, staff told to stay away for 21 days. The Colorado Sun

Get paid $500 to fire-proof your home

• Learn more and apply by October 8: bouldercounty.gov/news/500-wildfire-mitigation-rebate-opens-two-months-early/

Boulder TimeBank + the power of alternative economies

What is your time worth? On Boulder’s TimeBank, it’s worth just as much as anyone else’s. 

What is TimeBanking?

• An exchange of goods, skills or services: Spend an hour editing or petsitting, get an hour to “spend” on whatever other members are offering
  
  
  

Visit timebankboulder.org to learn more and sign up

Listen to the full interview with Heather at Patreon.com/BoulderFrequencyPod.

Next week

Shay is joined by Erika Mahoney, a journalist and daughter of King Soopers shooting victim Kevin Mahoney. 

One More Thing

Excerpt from Rich Roll Podcast ep 951
Music by Kelly Garry

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Produced by BVHz in partnership with The Mountain Ear

Independent, local journalism for Boulder County

Our team

Journalist + producer: Shay Castle

Audio producer + music: Kelly Garry

*Find bonus content and support us on Patreon

March 4, 2026: All headlines

Fire at Boulder’s Chautauqua

The Bluebell Fire burned 1.5 acres before being extinguished the same day. More than 100 firefighters responded. 

CU student journalists ‘not guilty’ in covering Palestine protest

Three student journalists were initially barred from campus and faced code of conduct charges for covering an October 2025 protest against military contractor Lockheed Martin. The demonstration was the third such event in which students faced disciplinary action from the university. Read more from the Daily Camera

BONUS CONTENT: An interview with Palestine Legal Defense Fund attorney Zoha Khalili about CU’s troubling pattern of punishing pro-Palestine activities. Listen at Patreon.com/BoulderFrequencyPod.

Boulder releases draft Comprehensive Plan

The Comp Plan guides Boulder’s decision-making for the next 15-20 years. Read the draft and comment by April 6.

GO: Comprehensive Plan Open House: 4:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 10, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder

Bill to curb Flock cameras watered down

Senate Bill 70, sponsored by Boulder’s Judy Amabile, would allow law enforcement to search a person’s location data up to 72 hours in the past without a warrant, and would continue to allow controversial data-sharing across jurisdictions. Read more from BRL

GET INVOLVED: March 7 demonstration against Flock, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. How to participate

BONUS CONTENT: Listen to an interview with local cybersecurity professional Andrew Gentry at Patreon.com/BoulderFrequencyPod.

Caribou Current Issue #2 Launch Party

7:30-9:30 p.m. Thursday, March 5

4720 Table Mesa Drive F100

New issue out March 5. Go to CaribouCurrent.com 

One More Thing

“A Tattoo of a Candle” by A Place for Owls

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Produced by BVHz in partnership with The Mountain Ear

Our team

Journalist + producer: Shay Castle

Audio producer + music: Kelly Garry

This episode is sponsored by Jill Grano. This week’s episode is sponsored by Jill Grano. Visit JillGrano.com for more information about Jill's award-winning real estate work and her support of organizations throughout our community, including the Gayla, I Have a Dream Foundation, and KGNU.

This podcast is made possible by listeners and local businesses. You can sponsor an episode of The Frequency. Reach our growing audience of highly engaged listeners. Email [email protected]

Boulder v. Big Oil lawsuit heading to Supreme Court

The City of Boulder and Boulder County have been suing Exxon Mobil and Suncor since 2018 over local impacts of fossil fuel-driven climate change.

Now, it will be up to the Supreme Court to decide if those companies should pay for the damage they’ve contributed to, or if they have immunity from state-level harms — as the companies themselves are arguing.

1. Read more from Colorado Sun
2. See the County + City responses

Kimbal Musk dated woman likely abused, trafficked by Jefferey Epstein

Musk, owner of The Kitchen and Boulder-based drone company Nova Sky Stories, was revealed to have sent and received 100+ emails to and from Jeffrey Epstein and his associates, as we reported earlier this month.

New reporting from The Denver Post connects Musk directly to a victim of Epstein, directly contradicting Musk’s previous statements.

1. News sparks protest outside Musk’s Boulder restaurant
2. Musk quietly resigned from the board of Burning Man

More news:

Erie’s town manager fired abruptly; Happy 10th Birthday to The Colorado Sound

ICE is present in Boulder County and has detained local residents, Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said in an interview this week.

ICE activity could increase if Trump targets Colorado for opposing his policies, Dougherty believes.

ICE en el Condado de Boulder: Conozca sus derechos

Daniel Pariente, intérprete en la oficina del fiscal de distrito del condado de Boulder, Michael Dougherty, habla con la periodista Rossana Longo-Better sobre qué hacer si ICE se presenta en su casa o negocio y los recursos para ayudar a prepararse.

El Condado de Boulder

Recursos para inmigrantes

1. Folletos y guías sobre recursos de inmigración
2. Servicios legales
3. Capacitaciones y apoyos de organizaciones aliadas
4. Tarjetas rojas

Preparación familiar/conozca sus derechos

Ordene copias en ingles o español

Consulado mexicano

Consultas migratorias gratuitas

12-1 p.m. los viernes

Recursos para mexicanos en EE.UU.

This episode is brought to you by Dairy Arts Center and their signature event: the Crystal Ball Gala. PEEK returns April 23 with readings, immersive art, cuisine and cocktails.

Claim your place before the moment passes. Tickets on sale now at thedairy.org.

This podcast is made possible by listeners and local businesses. You can sponsor an episode of The Frequency. Reach our growing audience of highly engaged listeners. Email [email protected]

Dark Horse’s last day

The iconic restaurant will close March 14 — its 51st anniversary. Rather than relocate while the property is being redeveloped, its owners have decided to shut the beloved bar down. Read their farewell message

‘We will never build FasTracks’

So said the chair of the RTD board in a recent meeting, according to a report from CPR. Front Range residents have been paying for trains since 2004, but a promised train to Boulder and Longmont is nowhere in sight.

The money isn’t there, and RTD should focus on transportation needs for the next 25 years, board chair Patrick O’Keefe says.

NCAR-operated super-computer moves to new operator

The super computing center in Cheyenne, Wyoming will be operated by an unnamed third-party, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced last week. The change comes as NSF seeks to restructure NCAR and potentially move some of its functions — such as weather forecasting — and facilities to private ownership. Read more from Daily Camera.

Colorado sees lowest snowpack in 40 years

That’s according to an analysis by Russ Schumacher, director of the Colorado Climate Center. There are still a few weeks left for snow; that’s typically when the state gets the most snow. But, as Russ wrote, “the odds of rebounding to near normal peak snowpack conditions are dwindling.” Read more.

Boulder City Council wants to keep exploring 500-acre expan