City Cast Denver

Latest Episodes:

Dang, Bud. Are You a Denver Foo, or What? Aug 04, 2022

Show notes

Denver is home to many neighborhoods, cultures, and people. But lately, our host Bree Davies has been stuck on a certain kind of Denverite: the Denver Foo. Thanks to the @DenverFoos303 Instagram account, you can stay up-to-date on where local Edgars get their Polo shirts, what’s really going down in LoDo after let-out, and who serves the best tacos on a paper plate in the city. Bree sat down with Benny, one of the guys behind the IG account, to talk about what makes a true Denver Foo, what this particular subculture says about Denver, and why this account is an appreciation — not an appropriation — of a certain style of Mile High human.

More news you can use in our daily City Cast Denver newsletter. Read and subscribe: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

Give a shout out to the Denver Foo in your life on Twitter, bud: @citycastdenver

Leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬

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Real Talk on Buying a House with Theo Wilson Aug 03, 2022

Show notes

The journalist and community organizer Theo Wilson is fresh off a high-profile new gig, hosting his own show for the History Channel. On “I Was There,” Theo explores the history you know from an angle you don’t know. So we invited Theo to give the “I Was There” treatment to an issue many Denverites are dealing with in different ways: our housing crisis. It turns out Theo is in the market to buy a home himself, and he’s got tons of insight from history, his research into other housing models around the world, and his own personal experience to help point us in the right direction.

Theo mentioned that he is taking advantage of a new housing equity program called the Dearfield Fund. Check out our episode from March 9 with another beneficiary of the program and one of the folks who designed it to learn more.

Craving more Denver news? Subscribe to our daily newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

Leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬

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Is Colorado’s Cannabis Boom Finally a Bust? Aug 02, 2022

Show notes

For the first time in the history of legal weed, sales are falling. It’s an unthinkable turnaround for an industry that was once seen with limitless potential, and it’s going to mean a loss of tax revenue for all the public services funded by cannabis sales. So why are weed sales dropping? Ricardo Baca is the founder and ceo of Grasslands, a cannabis-focused PR agency. He’s been digging into the numbers, and he sees more than what’s on the surface. Host Bree Davies sits down with the veteran cannabis journalist-turned-weed biz insider to parse out what, exactly, is going on with cannabis in Colorado.

Oh, and- We’re doing another food battle! This time, it’s a showdown between Denver’s favorite sandwich chains: Snarf’s vs. Cheba Hut. So which colorful sub-maker will reign supreme? Or is there another local sandwich maker that deserves a spot in this battle? Leave us a voicemail with your take, name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬

Bree mentioned Mutiny Information Cafe’s GoFundMe, which you can support here.

Get all the Denver news you need, plus event listings and more fun tidbits and bobs in today’s CCD newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

Hang out with us on Twitter @citycastdenver

Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:

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Ballot Trip: How Big Money Wants to Change Psychedelics Aug 01, 2022

Show notes

***This is the third episode of a four-part series on the future of psychedelics in Colorado. To hear the whole story, you can find part one here and part two here.

Recently, news broke that at least one of the dueling campaigns to get a psychedelics measure on the November ballot has been successful. This means Colorado voters will decide on Initiative 58, also known as the Natural Medicine Health Act, which is the one that aims to to legalize psychedelics, but also regulate their distribution at licensed “healing centers.” It’s a controversial proposal with big money behind it. This time on BALLOT TRIP, investigative journalist Chris Walker explores the origins of this scheme, including its surprising financial backer, and looks at how a similar initiative is already playing out in Oregon.

We’ve got all the news you need to start your week right here: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

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:

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Will Free Bus Rides Clear Up Denver's Smog? Jul 29, 2022

Show notes

It’s been all over the news: RTD is going FARE-FREE for the entire month of August! Our elected officials pushed for the transit agency to adopt a month of no-cost rides in an effort to combat Denver’s chronic smog problem. But the move also comes as the metro area grapples with a decades-old traffic congestion issue that many think could be solved if car drivers would just fundamentally change everything they know about their own transit habits. Today on the show, producer (and bike-loving) Paul Karolyi sits down with host (and unabashed single-occupant car driver) Bree Davies and special guest, retired public radio heavyweight (and public transit lifer) Jo Ann Allen to get deep on RTD.

Don’t miss Jo Ann’s new column for the Denver Post! The first one is out now, and it’s all about Black generational wealth. We are also delighted to recommend Jo Ann’s podcast, Been There Done That!

Paul mentioned a couple of articles about RTD’s month of free fares: this one from the Washington Post profiling a Denver bus driver, and this one from friend of the show Nate Minor for CPR about the time RTD offered free fares in the 70s.

Looking for something fun to do this weekend? We’ve got you covered in today’s newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:

Control Group Productions presents THE END
How to Buy a Home podcast

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Can Fake Meat Take Over This Cow Town? Jul 28, 2022

Show notes

After our episode yesterday with Planterra CEO Darcey Macken, City Cast Denver’s resident vegetarian, producer Paul Karolyi, and “flexitarian” host Bree Davies were itching to talk more about protein. Today on the show, Paul and Bree discuss their experiences with non-meat, plant-based, and animal-alternative options in Denver and tackle the big question: does the Mile High’s reputation as a literal cow town still hold true? Or are we a city that can celebrate an array of culinary, veg-friendly options that go beyond the “meat and potatoes” stereotype of our past?

If this episode has you hungry, check out today’s City Cast Denver newsletter, where editor Peyton Garcia digs into her fave dish at Tamayo. Read and subscribe: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

Tell us your fave vegetarian/non-meat restaurant or menu item on Twitter: @citycastdenver

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:

Denver Film presents Summer of Soul
How to Buy a Home podcast

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Why a Global Meat Company is Going Plant-Based in Denver Jul 27, 2022

Show notes

Plant-based protein is all the rage, with Beyond- and Impossible-branded products popping up in grocery stores and on fast food menus across the country. But there’s a plucky new local startup, Planterra, angling for its share of this new market, and they’ve got a not-so-plucky parent company lurking behind the scenes, armed with data and know-how from running a global “protein” business. That company? JBS, the largest meat producer in the world. Producer Paul Karolyi sits down with Planterra CEO Darcey Macken to hear all about JBS’s first step into the plant-based arena, starting with a production plant here in Denver.

For more on Planterra’s business plans, here’s the Denver Business Journal story where we first learned about the company.

All Coloradans can expect TABOR refunds in the mail soon. Wanna know why? We’ve got a full breakdown in today’s newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

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:

The How to Buy a Home Podcast
Denver Film presents Film on the Rocks: Summer of Soul

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

Should Dogs Be Able to Party Leash-Free in Denver? Jul 26, 2022

Show notes

Denver is a dog city, that’s for sure. But what happens when dogs run free at one of many informal “dog parties” popping up in parks across the city? Host Bree Davies sits down with producer Erin O’Toole and newsletter editor Peyton Garcia to talk about park-roaming dogs and their scofflaw owners, the controversy around these so-called dog parties, and some reader comments about the great off-leash dog debate.

What do you think about all the off-leash dogs running amok in our parks? Leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬

Check out our morning newsletter to find out more of what’s going on in the city. Read and subscribe here: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

Catch our tweets @citycastdenver!

Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:

The How to Buy a Home Podcast
Denver Film presents Film on the Rocks: Summer of Soul

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

Ballot Trip: Can We Legalize Psychedelics Without Colonizing them, Too? Jul 25, 2022

Show notes

Cannabis has been legal in Colorado for close to a decade. In 2019, Denver decriminalized psilocybin. Soon, voters will be asked to consider changes in the regulation of psychedelics statewide. But before Colorado has the chance to capitalize on this latest potential drug policy shift, some experts are sounding the alarm. Will historic inequities that followed other legalizations play out with psychedelics, too?

In the second episode of Ballot Trip, a new four-part series from City Cast Denver, award-winning investigative reporter Chris Walker digs into the potential impacts of plant medicine legalization. He talks with plant medicine healers, ancestral knowledge keepers, and advocates who fear that if the legalization and decriminalization of psychedelics isn’t laid out carefully, communities could be harmed.

As Chris mentioned in the episode, here are Kuthoomi Castro’s resources for listeners interested in decolonization work in the psychedelics space: Dr. Rocio Rosales Meza, a Seer, Medicine Woman, Counselor, and Educator, and Puma Fredy Quispe Singona, an Andean Medicine Man.

This reporting is supported by the Ferriss-UC Berkeley Psychedelic Reporting Fellowship.

More news you can use in newsletter form. Read and Subscribe: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

Have psychedelics helped you? Tell us about your experience on Twitter: @citycastdenver

Has Denver Lost its Mojo? Jul 22, 2022

Show notes

There are many narratives about Denver — we’re a boom n’ bust town, we’re a weed town, we’re, well (in the eyes of one rural Colorado politician), a “toilet bowl.” Earlier this week, Mayor Hancock shared his own, albeit bland, narrative of the Denver he’s been in charge of for the last 11-plus years. Over at Westword, editor-in-chief Patty Calhoun and the crew pondered that same narrative and asked: has Denver lost its mojo? On the show today, host Bree Davies sits down with Patty and Westword staffer Conor McCormick-Cavanagh to discuss what makes Denver worth celebrating, and what we can do to put that pep back in our Mile High step.

Check out Westword’s latest cover story contemplating the mojo question from Patty, Conor, and a slew of other great writers.

Listen to our episode from earlier this week where Paul and Bree discuss Mayor Hancock’s final State of the City address. (Conor did a great summary of the speech for Westword, too!)

Looking for cool stuff to do this weekend? Editor Peyton Garcia’s got you covered. Read and subscribe to the City Cast Denver newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

We are on twitter: @citycastdenver

Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:

Colfax Ave. BID presents Independents Day
Denver Film presents Film on the Rocks: Summer of Soul

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

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