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This week on the Get More Smarter Podcast, we already make the joke about the actor Jeff Bridges in the intro to the interview but we’ve got the Chairman of Colorado’s powerful Joint Budget Committee -- State Senator Jeff Bridges -- on the show to explain the insane math problem that is the Colorado state budget. The economy is rolling along, unemployment is low, and revenue is more than enough to meet spending obligations, so why are we about to cut $1.2 billion from the state budget? Senator Bridges makes it make sense in this interview-only episode.

That’s it for this episode! If you loved watching and/or listening to it as much as we loved recording it, you can thank us by subscribing to the pod wherever you listen, following us over on New Old Twitter AKA Bluesky, subscribing to our shiny new channel on YouTube, smashing that subscribe button on our Substack, and sharing this episode with your friends, your enemies, and your 8th favorite Member of Congress from Colorado! THANK YOU so much for listening, and we’ll see you next time!

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This week on the Get More Smarter Podcast, Sam Silverii is three weeks old, which is five days younger than the Trump Administration, and even he knows what’s going on in DC is bonkers. We check in with our 8th favorite soon-to-be-one-term member of Congress, who has spent his time in Washington hiding when he’s not too busy doing Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s bidding. And we check in on the Colorado Legislature, where State House Republicans literally show their asses in defense of the January 6th rioters who Trump pardoned for some indefensible reason.

But first...Jason Bane sat down with the House Assistant Democratic Leader, Colorado’s own Joe Neguse, to ask him what Democrats in Congress can and will do to stop Trump and Musk’s wrecking ball, and what you -- yes you -- can do to help. 

That’s it for this episode! If you loved watching and/or listening to it as much as we loved recording it, you can thank us by subscribing to the pod wherever you listen, following us over on New Old Twitter AKA Bluesky, subscribing to our shiny new channel on YouTube, smashing that subscribe button on our Substack, and sharing this episode with your friends, your enemies, and your 8th favorite Member of Congress from Colorado! THANK YOU so much for listening, and we’ll see you next time!

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This week on the Get More Smarter Podcast, Jason Bane is joined by guest host Megan Burns as we continue to keep you updated on what you need to be watching as the Trump administration floods the zone with nonsense. Gabe Evans may be earning a new nickname, while Lauren Boebert just keeps on doing Lauren Boebert things. We’ll also discuss the good and the bad in the state legislature; and we’ve got more “groans” as Colorado Republicans continue playing silly games.

That’s it for this episode! If you loved watching and/or listening to it as much as we loved recording it, you can thank us by subscribing to the pod wherever you listen, following us over on New Old Twitter AKA Bluesky, subscribing to our shiny new channel on YouTube, smashing that subscribe button on our Substack, and sharing this episode with your friends, your enemies, and your 8th favorite Member of Congress from Colorado! THANK YOU so much for listening, and we’ll see you next time!

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This week on the Get More Smarter Podcast, President Trump hasn’t even  been in office for two weeks, and he’s already breaking most of the country. Our seventh favorite member of congress is making some really dumb decisions, and so is our eighth favorite member – though that’s a lot more predictable. Sen. Michael Bennet is verbally destroying every Republican in his path…Christy Powell has some interesting campaign finance numbers for us…and the Colorado Republican Party continues to find new ways to embarrass itself. It’s almost impressive.

That’s it for this episode! If you loved watching and/or listening to it as much as we loved recording it, you can thank us by subscribing to the pod wherever you listen, following us over on New Old Twitter AKA Bluesky, subscribing to our shiny new channel on YouTube, smashing that subscribe button on our Substack, and sharing this episode with your friends, your enemies, and your 8th favorite Member of Congress from Colorado! THANK YOU so much for listening, and we’ll see you next time!

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We have a bonus episode this week on the Get More Smarter Podcast: Jason Bane sits down with Corey Hutchins, who oversees the Journalism Institute at Colorado College, advises the Colorado Media Project, and serves on the board of the state chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Each Friday, Hutchins publishes "Inside the News in Colorado," a must-read look into how the media landscape in our state is changing...for better or worse. Hutchins tells us about the new normal for local press; how and where people are getting their news; and how Colorado media outlets did something unprecedented in their 2024 political coverage.  

That’s it for this episode! If you loved watching and/or listening to it as much as we loved recording it, you can thank us by subscribing to the pod wherever you listen, following us over on New Old Twitter AKA Bluesky, subscribing to our shiny new channel on YouTube, smashing that subscribe button on our Substack, and sharing this episode with your friends, your enemies, and your 8th favorite Member of Congress from Colorado! THANK YOU so much for listening, and we’ll see you next time!

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This week on the Get More Smarter Podcast, as the Trump regime enters its first week and begins to lay the groundwork for the worst shit imaginable, Colorado’s Democratic leaders ready themselves for the fight while Colorado’s Republicans write letters of support. We check in with our 7th and 8th favorite members of Congress from Colorado...who are quickly getting tied for 8th place. Also, our 100th favorite Colorado State Legislator does something predictably insane.

But first, he studies oligarchies, kleptocracies, and other malformed governments, and he’s here to help us wrap our heads around what the next four years could be like in the United States as the tech oligarchy and the federal government collapse into one supervillianesque entity. Professor Thomas Pepinsky from Cornell joins us to talk about the greatest grift of all time happening right in front of our eyes.

That’s it for this episode! If you loved watching and/or listening to it as much as we loved recording it, you can thank us by subscribing to the pod wherever you listen, following us over on New Old Twitter AKA Bluesky, subscribing to our shiny new channel on YouTube, smashing that subscribe button on our Substack, and sharing this episode with your friends, your enemies, and your 8th favorite Member of Congress from Colorado! THANK YOU so much for listening, and we’ll see you next time!

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This week on the Get More Smarter Podcast, the battle for the soul of the Colorado Republican Party is beginning. Who will be the unluckiest Coloradan to get the worst job in the state? Then, the Colorado Senate Republicans have plans! And a bunch of crinkly dollar bills! And, about half the seats in the State Senate they would need to do anything about it!

Next, some men will  literally intimidate witnesses to get a drunken rapist put in charge of the pentagon instead of going to therapy and our 7th favorite member of Congress from Colorado kicks off his problem-solving independent-streaking district-voting career as a member of the US House of Representatives by falling straight in line with his party right away. But first, CHOO CHOO, WE’RE TALKING TRAINS and buses and other transit things in our interview today because we have Chris Nicholson on the pod; the newest member of the Regional Transportation District Board joins us to talk about how to win a down ticket race, what RTD is going to do with all the money the voters just gave them, and more!

That’s it for this episode! If you loved watching and/or listening to it as much as we loved recording it, you can thank us by subscribing to the pod wherever you listen, following us over on New Old Twitter AKA Bluesky, subscribing to our shiny new channel on YouTube, smashing that subscribe button on our Substack, and sharing this episode with your friends, your enemies, and your 8th favorite Member of Congress from Colorado! THANK YOU so much for listening, and we’ll see you next time!

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This week on the Get More Smarter Podcast, the 2025 legislative session begins dies initii, which is not a thing but we’re going to make it a thing; with hundreds of millions in TABOR Budget Cuts looming, a big bill making it easier for workers to form a union setting up a showdown with the first floor, and the same ol BS from the House GOP MiniMinority, we’re in for 120 days of antics at Colfax and Sherman. Then, We dig a bit deeper into the 2026 statewide races (even though it’s 2025) and see who’s rumored to be running where. We also come up with a GOP fantasy ticket...sort of. Finally we check in with our 7th and 8th favorite members of Congress from Colorado, who are about as useful as you might imagine.

That’s it for this episode! If you loved watching and/or listening to it as much as we loved recording it, you can thank us by subscribing to the pod wherever you listen, following us over on New Old Twitter AKA Bluesky, subscribing to our shiny new channel on YouTube, smashing that subscribe button on our Substack, and sharing this episode with your friends, your enemies, and your 8th favorite Member of Congress from Colorado! THANK YOU so much for listening, and we’ll see you next time!

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This week on the Get More Smarter Podcast, it’s 2025, so why does it feel like 1861? At least one of us is coming to you live on tape from our Nation’s Capitol where a very different kind of storming of the Capitol is happening on this election certification day, and in case you’re just waking up from a coma, yes, the American voters in their infinite wisdom elected Donald Trump president again, for reasons we are still unclear on.

Then, we discuss who the real President of the United States is going to be in a few weeks, and why having the richest man in the world handpick the leader of white nationalist parties across the globe is a pretty concerning development. And, even though the Democratic Primary for Colorado’s statewide offices is over 17 months away, we’ve got TWO candidates for two of the state’s top spots that have already announced, one with a minor conflict of interest to disclose for the pod! Finally, we check in with soon-to-be-one-term Congressman Gabe-ish Evans as he bombs his first interview after being sworn in to a seat he’s just keeping warm for the 2026 Democratic Nominee; no need to get any books on those shelves because you’ll be moving back home before you know it. 

That’s it for this episode! If you loved watching and/or listening to it as much as we loved recording it, you can thank us by subscribing to the pod wherever you listen, following us over on New Old Twitter AKA Bluesky, subscribing to our shiny new channel on YouTube, smashing that subscribe button on our Substack, and sharing this episode with your friends, your enemies, and your 8th favorite Member of Congress from Colorado! THANK YOU so much for listening, and we’ll see you next time!

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This week on the Get More Smarter Podcast, "Deportation hamburgers," our podcast’s year in review, and the return of the Liberty in Laundry act. Oh, and the podcast makes international news! But first, Operation Aurora: Is it just a fun 2024 campaign slogan gimmick thing OR the actual beginning of rounding up tens of millions of human beings for the crime of trying to build a better life for them and their families, just like Elon Musk did! We’ll try to find out as we interview Dave Perry, editor of the Aurora Sentinel and longtime progressive editorial voice in the third largest and first most diverse city in the state. 

That’s it for this episode! If you loved watching and/or listening to it as much as we loved recording it, you can thank us by subscribing to the pod wherever you listen, following us over on New Old Twitter AKA Bluesky, subscribing to our shiny new channel on YouTube, smashing that subscribe button on our Substack, and sharing this episode with your friends, your enemies, and your 8th favorite Member of Congress from Colorado! THANK YOU so much for listening, and we’ll see you next time!