Purplish

We pick things up right where we left off with Purplish live: “The Great Colorado Ballot-O-Rama.”

This week three more reporters sweat it out in the host seat, breaking down tricky ballot measures on topics like penalties for fentanyl crimes, social issues and ballot questions about ballots. Plus, a bonus round and the ultimate burning question: who will be named the hot seat champion?

Have more questions about the ballot?

Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided, in part, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Purplish’s producer is Stephanie Wolf. Sound design and engineering by Shane Rumsey. Public affairs editor is Nicole Vap. The theme music is by Brad Turner. Other music in this episode comes from Universal Production Music. Megan Verlee is CPR News’ executive producer of podcasts.

Some special shout outs to Rocky Mountain PBS’ Mark Montour-Larson, Sarah Newberry and the entire tech team. Also thanks to CPR’s Brittany Werges, Cayla Montoya-Manzo and Hazel Feldstein, and all of the CCNA reporters who took the heat during the event: CPR’s Dan Boyce, The Colorado Sun’s Jennifer Brown, KUNC’s Kyle McKinnon and CPR’s John Daley.

Editor’s note: Once the ballot is set, many of these numbers will change. So while we talk about ballot initiatives like 85 during the live event, the corresponding number you see on your ballot will be different as it becomes a proposition or amendment. But the core issues reporters discussed from the hot seat remain the same.

This year’s ballot is lengthy, very lengthy, and packed with thorny topics.

To help you sort through such a dense ballot this fall, the Purplish team has a little fun explaining the complex and difficult questions you’ll have to answer. 

Purplish’s live event at the Buell Public Media Center in downtown Denver is a game show (ish) in which reporters from the Colorado Capitol News Alliance took turns answering burning questions about the ballot in the Purplish hot seat. The goal: to help you better understand the many questions on Colorado’s ballot. Questions like, “Should Colorado increase penalties for fentanyl crimes or raise revenue or enshrine the right to hunt and fish into the state constitution?”

This episode of Purplish features part one of “The Great Colorado Ballot-O-Rama.” This is too much fun to pack into one episode. So we’ll have part two out next week. Enjoy!

Do you have more questions about the ballot?

Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided, in part, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Purplish’s producer is Stephanie Wolf. Sound design and engineering by Shane Rumsey. Public affairs editor is Nicole Vap. The theme music is by Brad Turner. Other music in this episode comes from Universal Production Music. Megan Verlee is CPR News’ executive producer of podcasts.

Some special shout outs to Rocky Mountain PBS’ Mark Montour-Larson, Sarah Newberry and the entire tech team. Also thanks to CPR’s Brittany Werges, Cayla Montoya-Manzo and Hazel Feldstein, and all of the CCNA reporters who took the heat during the event: CPR’s Dan Boyce, The Colorado Sun’s Jennifer Brown, KUNC’s Kyle McKinnon and CPR’s John Daley.

Editor’s Note: After our Aug. 24 taping, Colorado lawmakers reached an agreement with the backers of Initiative 175 and the question was pulled from the November ballot. The section on that measure has been removed from the podcast and broadcast versions of “The Great Colorado Ballot-O-Rama.”

Additionally, once the ballot is set, many of these numbers will change. So while we talk about ballot initiatives like 195 or 232 during the live event, the corresponding number you see on your ballot will be different. But the core issues reporters discussed from the hot seat remain the same.

Purplish hit the road for a 1,600-mile-plus trip around the state, from Lamar to Greeley and Grand Junction, to rural areas and city centers. Voters shared what they’re worried about and what’s motivating them to head to the polls this November with especially high stakes because control of Congress hangs in the balance.

CPR’s Bente Birkeland and Caitlyn Kim hear from voters in the most competitive, or arguably competitive in some cases, congressional districts in the state. They also discuss the Republican and Democratic candidates vying for those votes, and where there’s the greatest chance of a potential upset. 

Catch up on our latest coverage:

Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided, in part, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Purplish’s producer is Stephanie Wolf. Sound design and engineering by Shane Rumsey. Story editing from Nicole Vap. The theme music is by Brad Turner. Other music in this episode is courtesy of Blue Dot Sessions. 

Editor’s note: A previous version of this audio misstated Republican congressional votes on Argentine imported beef. That has been updated. 

For years, Buc-ee’s has been eyeing a parcel of land off Interstate 25 at Monument Hill to build its second Colorado location. 

The travel plaza chain, in late August, made a significant step toward realizing that ambition. Following a packed and, at times, heated public hearing, county commissioners helped set the stage for Buc-ee’s to build on that parcel of land.  

The story of Buc-ee’s, Monument Hill and Palmer Lake has been through many twists and turns. The Purplish team updates you on where things stand now and revisits its documentary from last fall: “How a possible Buc-ee’s travel plaza has divided one Colorado town.”

Catch up on our latest coverage:

Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided, in part, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Purplish’s producer is Stephanie Wolf. Sound design and engineering by Shane Rumsey. Story editing from Nicole Vap. The theme music is by Brad Turner. Other music in this episode is courtesy of Blue Dot Sessions. Megan Verlee is CPR News’ executive producer of podcasts.

A state lawmaker shared her harrowing account of an alleged sexual assault during a Lyft ride. Her personal experience inspired legislation in 2025 to further regulate ride-hailing companies like Lyft and Uber in the state. Other survivors came to the State Capitol to share their stories and support the legislation. That bill did not become law after the governor’s veto. But lawmakers tried again the following year, and parts of the pared-down version take effect this month.

Uber has publicly said the vast majority, 99.9%, of its rides happen without incident. But when taking scale into account, and how many rides occur each day, that fraction of a percent can add up. 

Emily Steel, an investigative reporter for the business desk of The New York Times, has covered this issue extensively. Her reporting into Uber revealed that, between 2017 and 2022, the ride-hailing company received a report of sexual assault or misconduct nearly every eight minutes on average. 

She joins CPR’s Bente Birkeland to share her reporting, including a recent investigation about how Uber’s legal team is approaching the mounting number of civil suits against the large company.  

Dig deeper into the scope of this issue here in Colorado and across the country:

Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided, in part, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Purplish’s producer is Stephanie Wolf. Sound design and engineering by Shane Rumsey. Story editing from Nicole Vap. The theme music is by Brad Turner. Other music in this episode is courtesy of Blue Dot Sessions. Megan Verlee is CPR News’ executive producer of podcasts.

Since it became a state 150 years ago, Colorado’s political identity has always been hard to pin down. It’s been a lot of things at once, a place of contradictions that, at times, puts the state at the forefront of change including women’s suffrage and civil rights. At other times, political power rested with those interested in turning back the clock. 

As the state marks its 150th statehood anniversary, CPR’s Bente Birkeland and Arlo Pérez Esquivel examine two significant chapters in Colorado’s political history that exemplify this push and pull, while also asking what those periods tell us about the present political moment. 

Live Event:

Do you want to watch an episode of Purplish get made? Join us for a live event, “The Great Colorado Ballot-O-Rama.” Get answers to your burning questions about the proposals and issues you’ll see on your ballot this fall from reporters from across the CCNA network, who will sit down in our hot seat, with CPR's Bente Birkeland and Jesse Paul from The Colorado Sun hosting. Look for tickets here.

Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided, in part, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Purplish’s producer is Stephanie Wolf. Sound design and engineering by Shane Rumsey. Story editing from Nicole Vap. The theme music is by Brad Turner. Other music in this episode is courtesy of Blue Dot Sessions. Additional reporting from Colorado Matters' Hayley Sanchez and CPR’s Stephanie Wolf. Megan Verlee is CPR News’ executive producer of podcasts.

Progressives sailed through Colorado’s primary elections in late June, including a once-in-a-generation upset for a Democratic Socialist who ousted a longtime incumbent in Denver in a race that grabbed national headlines. There was an upset of a different kind in the Democratic race for governor with a U.S. Senator losing to the state’s Attorney General, while the GOP race was too close to call on primary night. In a big election year, with all of the top statewide elected offices up for grabs, and control of Congress on the line, there is a lot to dissect about what this primary means for the November midterms and the future of Colorado politics.

CPR’s Bente Birkeland, The Colorado Sun’s Jesse Paul and CPR’s Caitlyn Kim discuss what the shakeups illustrate about the state of politics in Colorado.

Catch up on our latest primary election coverage:

Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided, in part, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Purplish’s producer is Stephanie Wolf. Sound design and engineering by Shane Rumsey. Story editing from Nicole Vap. The theme music is by Brad Turner. Other music in this episode is courtesy of Blue Dot Sessions. Additional reporting for this episode from Sandy Battulga, Ishan Thakore, John Daley, Allison Sherry, Kiara DeMare, Ben Markus, Molly Cruse and many others in the CPR newsroom. Megan Verlee is CPR News’ executive producer of podcasts.

The Colorado State Capitol Building opened its doors in November 1894. A grand neo-classical monument in the West, it used local materials to capture some of the feel of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Over the decades it’s become, like many statehouses across the country, a trove of artwork, history and curiosities. The building is also the frequent site of protests, rallies, celebrations and a variety of other public events, a “People’s House,” if you will. 

In this repeat episode of Purplish, which first published last fall, we shift the conversation from the consequential laws and debates that happen in the state’s seat of power to the building itself. CPR’s Bente Birkeland and Stephanie Wolf travel from top to bottom to explore what’s on its walls and in its halls — and phone a friend for a rare look into what’s down below the basement. Their reporting reveals that the building, and its many collections, open up bigger conversations, not just about history but about the state right now. 

Read more of our reporting:

Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided, in part, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Sound design and engineering by Shane Rumsey. The theme music is by Brad Turner. Other music in this episode is courtesy of Blue Dot Sessions. Megan Verlee is CPR News’ executive producer of podcasts.

Congressional races across the state are heating up: with the gloves coming off in the Democratic primary for Colorado’s newest, and swingiest, district; other longtime Colorado Democrats facing challenges from more progressive candidates; and a Republican freshman trying to defend his seat from his right flank.

CPR’s Bente Birkeland and Caitlyn Kim, along with Kiara DeMare and Rae Solomon, discuss who’s on the ballot, as well as the dynamics of these races and what it says about politics right now.

Catch up with our latest coverage:

Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided, in part, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Purplish’s producer is Stephanie Wolf. Sound design and engineering by Shane Rumsey. The theme music is by Brad Turner. Other music in this episode is courtesy of Blue Dot Sessions. Megan Verlee is CPR News’ executive producer of podcasts.

Colorado released former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters on parole June 1 from a women’s state correctional facility in Pueblo. She was less than two years into a nearly nine-year sentence for her role in tampering with county voting machines months after the 2020 presidential election, part of an effort to search for election rigging. Peters, who has become a hero among some MAGA voters, wasted no time repeating claims that Democrats are using technology to steal elections. 

The decision to free Peters early has potentially upended Gov. Jared Polis’ final months in office, enraging his political allies and disheartening defenders of the election system.

CPR’s Bente Birkeland and Tom Hesse dig into this long and complicated tale, from the original plot to access Mesa County’s election equipment, to the pressure campaign President Donald Trump launched to free her and Polis’ recent clemency decision. They also discuss what her early release could mean for elections and politics in the state, and elsewhere, going forward. 

Catch up on our latest coverage:

Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided, in part, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Purplish’s producer is Stephanie Wolf. Sound design and engineering by Shane Rumsey. The theme music is by Brad Turner. Other music in this episode is courtesy of Blue Dot Sessions. Additional reporting from CPR’s Kevin Beaty, Sam Brasch, Anthony Cotton and Ryan Warner. Megan Verlee is CPR News’ executive producer of podcasts.