City Cast DC

Latest Episodes:

'Your City Could Be Better': How Austin is Succeeding at Affordable Housing — Presented By City Cast DC Mar 29, 2026

Show notes

More affordable housing is needed in places like DC. Some cities, however, are doing better than others at meeting this need. Austin, Texas, for example, is building more affordable housing than any other American city right now — 50% more, by some measures, than the second most successful city. However, this fast-growing city is also seeing a shortage in housing that middle- and lower-income residents can afford. City Cast CEO David Plotz talks with City Cast Austin podcast host Nikki DaVaughn about this paradox, the city’s affordable housing successes, and where Austin’s still falling short. Plus, how far is too far to walk to a neighbor’s house?

Is there something your city is doing that we should be talking about? Email David now!

We’re also on Instagram: @yourcitycouldbebetter

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Public Safety Politics, The Cornhole Killer, A Streetcar Named Defunct Mar 27, 2026

Show notes

WAMU’s Alex Koma is here to talk about the DC mayoral race, where public safety has suddenly become an issue, the quadruple-amputee cornhole champion accused of murder, and the end of the DC streetcar. Plus, in a members-only fourth segment, more on how much DC’s local police should tell the public about how the feds use deadly force in our city.

Want some more DC news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter Hey DC. You can text us or leave a voicemail at: (202) 642-2654. You can also become a member, with ad-free listening, for as little as $10 a month.

Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE

Why Does DC Have So Many Traffic Circles? Mar 26, 2026

Show notes

Traffic Circles — they’re the secret to getting around DC. Back in December, we talked with city planner Dan Reed about how we wound up with all these circles on the map, and about what’s going to become of them. With Cherry Blossom traffic about to swamp the city, we’re rerunning it again now to give you a leg up on the tourists.

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How Elon Musk’s DC Hyperloop Project Failed Mar 25, 2026

Show notes

Everyone hates sitting in traffic. But what if you could skip the gridlock entirely and travel underground in a high speed pod instead? That was the vision behind Elon Musk's Hyperloop and back in 2017, Musk claimed he had secured official government approval to bring it to DC. It never happened. Tech journalist Matt Ribel is here to explain the bizarre story of how one of the most hyped transit promises in recent memory quietly collapsed.

Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE.

DC's Housing Crisis, National Guard Controversy, Betting Bar Bust Mar 24, 2026

Show notes

We’re talking about the draft DC land-use map that is enraging YIMBYs, a slew of new town-gown fights between local Washington and the Trump administration, the Polymarket Bar flop. And in a members-only fourth segment: Should DC’s minimum-wage go up to $25 an hour? The question is about to be on the ballot, and people have thoughts.

Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE

Inside Julia Child's DC Mar 23, 2026

Show notes

Julia Child is a lot more associated with Paris, or maybe Cambridge, Massachusetts, than with DC. But the legendary cook and writer actually spent some of her most important years in a little house in Georgetown, scrounging for ingredients in the much less foodie city of the 1950s. Her Washington years are the subject of a story in the new issue of Edible DC, and the magazine’s editor, James Whitman, is here to tell us all about it.

Want some more DC news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter City Cast DC. You can text us or leave a voicemail at: (202) 642-2654. You can also become a member, with ad-free listening, for as little as $10 a month.

Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE.

'Your City Could Be Better': Could a Nevada Brothel Help Redefine Labor Standards Nationwide? — Presented By City Cast DC Mar 22, 2026

Show notes

The unionization efforts of sex workers in Nevada might have implications for gig workers in DC. At Sheri's Ranch, a legal brothel 45 minutes outside Las Vegas, some of the workers are seeking both recognition as employees and union representation. City Cast CEO David Plotz talks with former City Cast Las Vegas podcast host, current contributor, and longtime Nevada attorney Dayvid Figler about why sex workers are considered independent contractors, what sparked this legal battle, and what happens if they win. Plus, what's different about neighborhoods in Las Vegas?

Mentioned on the show:

Could a Pahrump Brothel Union Set a New National Standard for Labor Laws? (City Cast Las Vegas)

Is there something your city is doing that we should be talking about? Email David now!

We’re also on Instagram: @yourcitycouldbebetter

Looking to advertise on Your City Could Be Better? Check out our options.

Mayoral Forum Chaos, Fed Workers Chopped, Fake Tornadoes Mar 20, 2026

Show notes

We’re talking about a fracas at a DC mayoral forum, the new changes that make it easier for Trump to fire career federal workers, and the windstorm that wasn’t. Plus, in a members-only fourth segment, we’ll get into the case of the cop-killer seeking clemency that may be the next home-rule standoff.

Learn more about the sponsors of this March 20th episode:

Folger Shakespeare Library

DC Environmental Film Festival

Nace Law Group

Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE

A Top Architecture Critic Says Trump 'Will Destroy' Washington Mar 19, 2026

Show notes

Between the East Wing of the White House, the proposed Arc de Trump, and whatever’s going to happen to the Kennedy Center, it’s no secret that our first real estate developer president is poised to have a big impact on how our city looks. But what are all of these individual projects going to do to the city as a whole? According to one of America’s foremost architecture critics: Nothing good! We sat down with Paul Goldberger, the longtime New York Times and New Yorker critic who wrote a blistering essay about the Trump effect on DC’s delicately balanced city scape.

Please see below for tomorrow's sponsor show notes:

Learn more about the sponsors of this March 19th episode:

Folger Shakespeare Library

DC Environmental Film Festival

Nace Law Group

Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE.

Kids Are Playing Hooky — Is That Driving Up Youth Crime? Mar 18, 2026

Show notes

DC just had another weekend of controversy around out-of-control behavior by huge groups of teens, this time around the Navy Yard. Allegations of youth lawlessness have been front and center in DC for a few years, often tied to the related question of school truancy. Back in August, we talked about this with the Washington Post’s Lauren Lumpkin and Robert Samuels.

Learn more about the sponsors of this March 18th episode:

Folger Shakespeare Library

DC Environmental Film Festival

Nace Law Group

Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE.

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