City Cast DC

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No Roommates, In-Unit Laundry – A Look At The National Guard’s Expensive New D.C. Digs Jul 29, 2026

Show notes

The National Guard is sticking around — and, like a lot of people who decide to stay in D.C., they’re about to pay through the nose for real estate. City Cast’s Alyssa Fowers and Emma Uber looked through the contract and crunched the numbers and they’re here to explain what it means that the troops are about to pitch up in some of the city’s buzziest neighborhoods.

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.

We’re doing our annual survey to learn more about our listeners. We’d be grateful if you took the survey at dc.citycast.fm/survey—it’s only 7 minutes long. You’ll be doing us a big favor. Plus, anyone who takes the survey will be eligible to win a $250 Visa gift card–and City Cast City DC swag.

Learn more about the sponsors of this July 29th episode:

DC Public Library

DC Department of Behavioral Health

District Bridges

Library of Congress

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

D.C. Workers' Ample Leave Is Costing You Millions Jul 28, 2026

Show notes

D.C. taxpayers — you — spent $220 million last year on overtime for public-safety agencies in D.C. How did this happen? According to a new report from D.C. Auditor Kathy Patterson, agencies are chronically understaffed, so bosses need to pay overtime to get the job done. How did we get here? And what does it mean? Kathy’s here to explain.

Learn more about the sponsors of this July 28th episode:

DC Public Library

DC Department of Behavioral Health

District Bridges

Library of Congress

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

The People Who Date AI Jul 27, 2026

Show notes

Our co-host Bridget has just published an audiobook that starts with her own journey into an AI relationship — and then examines the phenomenon through a range of others. As she notes, it’s a particularly ubiquitous thing in D.C., even if we don’t talk much about it.

Learn more about the sponsors of this July 27th episode:

DC Public Library

DC Department of Behavioral Health

District Bridges

Library of Congress

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

‘Your City Could Be Better’: The Trick to Getting People To Volunteer — Presented By City Cast DC Jul 26, 2026

Show notes

It’s not a given that every Washingtonian will chip in to help their community. In this episode, City Cast CEO David Plotz talks with writer Taylor Lahey about how functional incentives could be the missing link in traditional systems of donations and volunteering. Inspired by a waste exchange program in Curitiba, Brazil, Lahey is working to create circular systems that effectively incentivize donations and just as effectively get them into the hands of those who need them. When investment and morale are low, sometimes an unconventional approach is the right way to go.

Want to hear your question on an upcoming episode of Your City Could Be Better? Submit your city dilemmas for our upcoming call-in show by using our Google Form: https://forms.gle/45X33jhGHf8BYDM5A

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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D.C. Boycotts DoorDash, Why the Forrestal Building Must Die, and D.C.'s Best Screens for The Odyssey Jul 24, 2026

Show notes

We’re talking about D.C. versus DoorDash, the D.C. building everyone wants to demolish, and the best way to see The Odyssey. Plus, in a members-only segment, the latest on Metro’s plans for the new RFK stadium.

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.

Learn more about the sponsors of this July 24th episode:

⁠DC Public Library⁠

⁠DC Sustainable Energy Utility⁠

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

The Country Town for D.C.'s Horsey Set (and JD Vance) Jul 23, 2026

Show notes

Virginia Horse Country looms large in the DC imagination — a preppy land beyond the suburbs you may hear about from time to time. Especially lately, because Vice President JD Vance is moving there, to a 500-acre estate in Middleburg. The Washington Post’s Paul Schwartzman is here to explain what the place means.

Learn more about the sponsors of this July 23rd episode:

DC Public Library

DC Sustainable Energy Utility

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

The D.C. Housing Authority Cyberattack That Went Under the Radar Jul 22, 2026

Show notes

To get public housing in DC, you need to cough up a lot of data about yourself. Which makes it a particular problem when the public housing authority is hacked — and when they don’t tell anyone about it. Reporter Suzie Amanuel has been covering the story and is here to explain.

Learn more about the sponsors of this July 22nd episode:

DC Public Library

DC Sustainable Energy Utility

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

Forty Years of Heavy Metal Parking Lot Jul 21, 2026

Show notes

The movie Heavy Metal Parking Lot turns 40 this year — and feels weirdly contemporary. The basic setup is this: A couple of guys showed up at the parking lot of a Judas Priest show outside DC and just let cameras run as the tailgaters go wild. The difference: The cringe behavior didn’t wind up on social media, but instead became part of an underground art film that slowly became a cult classic. The filmmakers Jeff Krulik and John Heyn are here to tell the story of the metal show and what happened next.

If you enjoyed this interview with Richard Reyes-Gavilan, the Executive Director for DC Public Library, learn more here.

Learn more about the sponsors of this July 21st episode:

DC Public Library

DC Sustainable Energy Utility

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

These Guys Fixed the 311 App. D.C. Told Them To Stop Jul 20, 2026

Show notes

D.C. has an app that lets citizens request services and report problems around town. And this spring, it just stopped working. Our guest Josh Jacobson worked with a colleague to build their own. You’d think the city would be grateful. You’d be wrong. Josh is here to explain.

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

DC Public Library

DC Sustainable Energy Utility

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

‘Your City Could Be Better’: Why Are Chattanoogans ‘Doing It Their Damn Selves’? — Presented By City Cast DC Jul 19, 2026

Show notes

Sometimes it can feel like DC is two (or more) steps behind the needs of its neighborhoods. Enter the residents of Chattanooga, Tennessee. What Chattanoogans don’t have, they make up for in advocacy, whether by showing up to city council and organizing for change or just doing things themselves. City Cast CEO David Plotz sits down with creator and city lover Hope Henchey about how she and her neighbors are sneakily and secretly fixing up their city. You’ve heard of the Nashville bench builders — now get ready for the Chattanooga pothole fillers, sidewalk layers, and (literal) trail blazers.

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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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