City Cast Denver

It’s 2024! Maybe you’ve joined a gym or made some new year’s resolutions. But what are you doing for fun? From live concerts by candlelight and a long-awaited restaurant re-opening to a new immersive art (and cocktails) experience, we’ve got lots of great ideas to help you relax and enjoy the new year in Denver. Join Host Bree Davies, newsletter editor Peyton Garcia, and producer Paul Karolyi to plot out your perfect January in the city. 

Here are links to our picks: 

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Could you guess a Denver institution based only on how its haters described it in a 1-star review? Play along with producer Olivia Jewell Love, returning guest JD Lopez, and producer slash quizmaster Paul Karolyi in this first edition of our 1-star review game show. 

For more from JD, you can hear him share his ice cream obsession on our ice cream battle episode from July, or interview local creatives on his podcast Left Hand Right Brain. 

This episode originally aired on September 13, 2023.

For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver at denver.citycast.fm.

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What do you think? Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: 720-500-5418‬

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• Meow Wolf

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CPR climate reporter and EV owner Sam Brasch says there is “no better state in the country to buy an electric car than Colorado,” thanks to all the state incentives and rebates available here. Host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi sat down with Sam over the summer to break down all the discounts, his personal experience owning a Chevy Bolt, and the complicated politics of EVs.

Learn more about our state’s EV incentive programs.

This episode originally aired on July 31, 2023.

For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver at denver.citycast.fm.

Follow us on Instagram: @citycastdenver

Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver

What do you think? Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: 720-500-5418‬

Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:

• Meow Wolf

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Mike Johnston made a lot of big promises when he was on the campaign trail earlier this year — like ending homelessness in his first term. So how’s he doing so far? Back in May, host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi talked with the now-mayor about his plan for downtown, his idea to build “micro-communities” for people experiencing homelessness, and much more. This was right before the runoff, and we’re bringing that conversation back now to see how it sounds on the other side of the election.

Johnston mentioned Stephen Brackett’s proposal to create an Office of the Night Mayor. Bree talked to Stephen back in April about what a night mayor is and more of his big ideas for the future of Denver’s nightlife. 

We caught up with the mayor again in October to talk about his first 100 days in office. You can also check out our very first interview with him earlier in the election cycle.

This episode originally aired on May 18, 2023.

For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver at denver.citycast.fm.

Follow us on Instagram: @citycastdenver

Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver

What do you think? Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: 720-500-5418‬

Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:

• Meow Wolf

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It’s been exactly one year since the Denver Post published a blockbuster three-part investigation uncovering an international criminal conspiracy involving the Denver Art Museum. While the DAM removed one of the co-conspirators’ names from its Arts of Asia gallery earlier this year and has returned some of the stolen relics, the story behind Denver’s Emma Bunker, or “The Scholar” as she was known, and how those looted antiquities ended up at the DAM still warrants an explanation. Producer Paul Karolyi spoke to reporter Sam Tabachnik about his globetrotting investigation and how his revelations have rocked the Denver art world. 

This episode originally aired on December 5, 2022. 

Bree mentioned Tabachnik’s recent reporting on the DAM’s recent decision to remove Emma C. Bunker’s name from a gallery and their quiet repatriation work since his initial investigation. 

For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver at denver.citycast.fm.

Follow us on Instagram: @citycastdenver

Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver

What do you think? Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: 720-500-5418‬

Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:

• Meow Wolf

Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise

The Colorado Supreme Court made international headlines this week when it ruled that former president Donald Trump will not be allowed on our state’s 2024 primary ballots. With an appeal to SCOTUS imminent, we’re talking about why this happened here in Denver, the fragile state of our democracy, and all the ripple effects across Colorado. Producer Paul Karolyi and host Bree Davies are joined by our politics and green chile correspondent, Justine Sandoval, to break down the local GOP and Democrat responses to the Trump ruling and round up the rest of the week’s news, including a pressing question posed by a new report from our friends at Westword: Does “Blucifer” belong to the estate of the artist or the taxpayers? Finally, our predictions for Denver in 2024. 

Bree mentioned another piece by Luis Jiménez Jr., “End of the Trail (with Electric Sunset),” which was part of the DAM’s Desert Rider show earlier this year, and the original by James Earl Fraser.

What do you think about Blucifer’s ubiquitous likeness? Has the demon horse transcended his creator’s vision? Or should the Jiménez estate control his likeness? Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: 720-500-5418‬

For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver at denver.citycast.fm.

Follow us on Instagram: @citycastdenver

Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver

Support City Cast Denver by becoming a member: membership.citycast.fm/Denver

Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:

• “All Stars: American Artists from The Phillips Collection” at the Denver Art Museum

Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise

Twenty-one years after Northsider Jose Ramirez ventured into Centennial to open the first Los Dos Potrillos in 2002, his sons Luis and Daniel have expanded the business across the ‘burbs, with a dream of becoming the “Shake Shack of Mexican food.” Host Bree Davies sat down with the Ramirez brothers earlier this year before they opened their new fast-casual spot in Northglenn to talk about the state of Den-Mex in 2023. 

This episode originally aired on January 25, 2023.

For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver at denver.citycast.fm.

Follow us on Instagram: @citycastdenver

Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver

What do you think? Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: 720-500-5418‬

Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:

Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise

After Rep. Lauren Boebert’s “Beetlejuice” moment back in September, Liberals across the country gleefully jeered and cheered as she tried to spin the media narrative back in her favor. But now that the dust has settled, Boebert is back on the offensive. So what are her electoral chances in the Congressional District 3 Republican primary in June? And if she wins, could she beat the likely Democratic candidate, Adam Frisch, in November? Join host Bree Davies, producer Paul Karolyi and returning guests Ian Silverii and Jason Bane — co-hosts of the liberal Colorado politics podcast Get More Smarter — to look back on Boebert’s big year, including some very fresh dirt from the UK tabloids, and predict her electoral future. 

Bree quoted two editorials from the Denver Gazette; one about Boebert and one about Trump. She also mentioned yesterday’s news about the Colorado Supreme Court barring former President Donald Trump from the CO primary next year over his role on January 6.

For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver at denver.citycast.fm.

Follow us on Instagram: @citycastdenver

Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver

What do you think? Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: 720-500-5418‬

Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:

• “All Stars: American Artists from The Phillips Collection” at the Denver Art Museum

Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise

Mayor Mike Johnston has less than two weeks left to bring almost 500 people off the street into housing if he wants to hit his self-imposed target. At least, that’s what his housing dashboard says now. Westword editor Patty Calhoun joins host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi to talk about “deception” and “gaslighting” allegations from Kyle Clark of 9News and the growing criticism facing the mayor. Plus, why is Denver DA taking a look at the burgeoning gray market for psilocybin now? 

Did you love Jarrod Walker’s “Christmas in Colorado” and want to hear more locally made holiday tunes? Here’s the list that Patty mentioned. Patty also talked about Westword’s reporting on psilocybin entrepreneur Darren Lyman.

For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver at denver.citycast.fm.

Follow us on Instagram: @citycastdenver

Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver

What do you think about Mayor Johnston and House1000? We want to hear your concerns, questions, celebrations, or whatever else you have to share! Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: 720-500-5418‬

Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:

• “All Stars: American Artists from The Phillips Collection” at the Denver Art Museum

Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise

Denver is on track to see more people evicted from their homes this year than any time since 2008. But with the Mile High minimum wage steadily rising and a fairly stable economy, what’s going on? Host Bree Davies sits down with Melissa Mejia, policy director for the Colorado Economic Defense Project, to talk about the eviction crisis, how more than $60 million in new funding from the city and state is going to help, and why stopping evictions is about more than just keeping people off the streets. 

Bree mentioned the Denver Post’s coverage of evictions in the city this year. 

For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver at denver.citycast.fm.

Follow us on Instagram: @citycastdenver

Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver

What do you think? Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: 720-500-5418‬

Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:

• “All Stars: American Artists from The Phillips Collection” at the Denver Art Museum

Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise