City Cast Denver

Latest Episodes:

Do ‘Gun-Free’ Zones Really Keep Denverites Safer? May 23, 2022

Show notes

Denver City Council voted last week to ban the concealed carry of guns in city buildings and parks, with the goal of making these areas “gun-free” zones, according to City Attorney Kristin Bronson. But Anubis Heru, co-founder of 1770 Armory and Gun Club in Five Points, doesn’t think that’s the answer to the problem of rising gun violence. Today on the show, he talks with Bree about racial profiling, the importance of gun training and education, and why he thinks concealed carry in parks especially actually keeps people safer.

Did this weekend’s snowstorm wreak havoc on any trees in your yard? If so, you’ll want to check out today’s newsletter, where Peyton has the details on getting those branches included in your trash pickup this week: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

What’s your take on the concealed carry ban? Let us know on Twitter: @citycastdenver

Learn more about the sponsor of today’s episode:

Optimum Joy

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

Why Doesn’t Stan Kroenke Want Us to See the Avs, the Nuggs, OR the Mountains? May 20, 2022

Show notes

The Stan Kroenke-owned Colorado Avalanche are tearing up the NHL playoffs, but the billionaire tycoon still won’t make a deal with Comcast to allow most Denverites to watch. Now, Kroenke wants to tear up the parking lots around Ball Arena in favor of a brand-new 55-acre downtown neighborhood — which could mean some downtown Denverites would lose their views of the mountains. So today on the show, host Bree Davies, producer Paul Karolyi, and Westword editor Patty Calhoun are pulling back the curtain and talking about all the things Mr. Kroenke doesn’t want you to see.

We talked more about the new Pueblo-themed bar at the beginning of this episode, including John Rodriguez’s op-ed for Westword. Here’s a link to that piece: https://www.westword.com/restaurants/pueblo-appropriation-brand-fuel-iron-colorado-14042148

Wanna pack your weekend with fun stuff? Peyton’s got you covered in the City Cast Denver newsletter. Read and subscribe: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

Tell us your hope and dreams for what the sea of parking lots around Ball Arena could be on Twitter: @citycastdenver

Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:

Denver Film presents Film on the Rocks
Optimum Joy

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

Is Denver Ready for a Pueblo-Themed Bar? We asked a Puebloan May 19, 2022

Show notes

When we heard about a new bar opening in downtown Denver themed after the city of Pueblo, we were skeptical, to say the least. Who would want to theme a bar after a Colorado town? Would this place make a mockery of our southern Colorado cousin? And really, how could you even capture the essence of such a misunderstood and overlooked place like Pueblo, anyway? Host Bree Davies wanted answers, and she knew just who to call: her best friend, David Casados, a born and raised Puebloan. Today on the show, Bree, David, and producer Paul Karolyi head down to Fuel & Iron in the heart of LoDo to sip on a fancy cocktail named after the Pueblo neighborhood of Aberdeen, dig into a version of Pueblo’s famous “slopper,” and try to figure out if this place is legitimately Pueblo.

At the top of the show, we mentioned John Rodriguez’s editorial in Westword about the bar: https://www.westword.com/restaurants/pueblo-appropriation-brand-fuel-iron-colorado-14042148

Fuel & Iron’s owners response to that editorial: https://www.westword.com/restaurants/pueblo-denver-fuel-future-investment-opinion-14087932

Check out our newsletter, where today, the City Cast Denver crew shares their hottest takes on Denver’s new area code. Read and subscribe: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

Are you a Puebloan living in Denver? Tell us what you miss about your home city on Twitter: @citycastdenver

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

This Queer Gym is Not Only Transforming Bodies, But Lives. May 18, 2022

Show notes

When Styler Rising opened Metamorphosis Fitness in 2015, they focused on creating a place that embraced exercise, strength, and transformation. But what Styler didn’t realize was that they were also providing something else — a safe, queer-affirming gym environment. So, the fitness business went through a transformation of its own, and things really took off after a TikTok about the gym went viral. Today on the show, Bree talks with Styler about all the work they have done to create a cool, welcoming place for all bodies who want to get fit.

Want to own 800 pounds of prime Denver history? Bree’s got an exclusive lead on a very interesting opportunity in our newsletter today: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

What do you love most about your gym? We’ll share all the local love on Twitter: @citycastdenver

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

Real Talk About the Fentanyl Bill Waiting for Polis' Signature May 17, 2022

Show notes

In the waning hours of their 2022 legislative session, the Colorado General Assembly finally reached a compromise on a bill meant to stop the spike in fentanyl-related deaths across Colorado. After months of debate, they agreed to toughen punishments for possession of smaller amounts of the synthetic opioid. Just like the lawmakers, we made this bill our top priority for the legislative session, so Bree and Paul are looking back at how it all went down, unpacking what made it into the bill, and what’s next.

To get a full picture of how this debate played out, here’s a rundown of our recent coverage:

“More Like Poisoning than an Overdose” with Attorney General Phil Weiser (February 22, 2022)
“Why the New Fentanyl Bill Has Harm Reductionists Concerned” with Harm Reduction Action Center executive director Lisa Raville (March 29, 2022)
“Inside the Fentanyl Fight at the Capitol” with State Representative Leslie Herod (May 2, 2022)

Here’s a few of our sources for this conversation:

For a breakdown of all the little things that were included in the final version of the fentanyl bill, check out this piece from Colorado Public Radio.
This Denver Post article has a good explanation of the closing minutes of the legislative session, when a flurry of compromises led up to the final vote.

Bree mentioned a new repatriation effort underway at the Denver Art Museum. For more on that fascinating story, Peyton’s going deep in today’s CCD newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

How do you feel about the fentanyl bill our lawmakers delivered? Share your thoughts on Twitter and tag us @citycastdenver

Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:

How to Buy a Home Podcast

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

She’s a Globe-Trotting Climate Justice Warrior. And She’s Only 11. May 16, 2022

Show notes

Move over Greta Thunberg, Colorado’s got its own wunderkind climate champion. Her name is Madhvi Chittoor. She’s 11-years-old, and she lives with her parents in Arvada. But every chance she gets, Chittoor zips across the world speaking out against plastic pollution, leading climate rallies, and meeting with world leaders, like Vice President Kamala Harris. Today, Bree sits down with Chittoor to talk about her life in activism, her budding music career, and her latest legislative achievement, a bill that would ban the sale of PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” across Colorado.

Check out this profile of Chittoor from Conrad Swanson at the Denver Post for even more on her inspiring activism: https://www.denverpost.com/2022/04/26/colorado-pfas-madhvi-chittoor-environmental-activist/

For more, here’s the full Denver7 report on the PFAS bill that we excerpted in this episode and, per Chittoor’s recommendation, CNN’s documentary, “Midway, A Plastic Island.”

Chittoor’s album, “I am… Princess Genius,” is available through her website, and we found it on Spotify here.

After the Colorado state legislative session wrapped up last week, Governor Jared Polis has got to get out his signing pen. Peyton’s got a breakdown of all the important stuff that hit his desk in today’s newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

How was your Denver weekend? Hit us with a pic on Twitter: @citycastdenver

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

BONUS: Living Unhoused Under the Camping Ban (via Elevated Denver) May 14, 2022

Show notes

It has been ten years since Denver enacted an urban camping ban, providing the legal basis for what many housing activists are now calling “Denver’s Decade of Doom.” So to mark the occasion, we are bringing you this bonus episode of the new Elevated Denver podcast. Their hope for the podcast is to build compassion for the experience of being unhoused, to see this as a system issue and not an individual issue, and to spark hope for solving homelessness.

You can learn more about their broader advocacy project, subscribe to the Elevated Denver podcast, and listen to the whole 10-episode series here: https://elevateddenver.co/podcast/

Here’s how they describe this episode: “Myra takes on her journey from being housed to being unhoused, and then searching out the resources she needed to get back into stable housing.

*Trigger warning: Myra's story may be triggering to some of you. Please take care.”

The Unvarnished Truth Behind 10 Years of Sweeping Homelessness Under the Rug May 13, 2022

Show notes

Ten years ago this week, Denver leaders signed an urban camping ban into law. Since then, folks across the city have experienced displacement, skyrocketing housing costs, and fewer and fewer sheltering options for those living on the margins. Today on the show, Bree sits down with Denver Homeless Out Loud cofounder Benjamin Dunning and Westword reporter Conor McCormick-Cavanaugh for a wide-ranging conversation on how Denver got here and what the future looks like for a city that desperately needs more affordable housing options.

For a thorough breakdown of Denver’s recent history dealing with our housing crisis, do yourself a favor and spend some time with McCormick-Cavanagh’s terrific feature story from last December: https://www.westword.com/news/denver-homelessness-decades-hancock-hickenlooper-pena-12975252

Interested in the work advocates and the unhoused community are doing? Denver Homeless Out Loud offers resources and information, like this “Seven Myths of Homelessness” list. Also, events commemorating the “Decade of Doom” culminate this weekend. More info here.

Wanna have a kickass weekend? Peyton’s got a rundown of cool events and other stuff to do in today’s CCD newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

If you were running for mayor in 2023, what would be your stance on the urban camping ban? Repeal it or extend it? Tell us why on Twitter @citycastdenver or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood and we might play it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬

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

A Shooting. A Neighborhood Divided. What's Next for La Alma-Lincoln Park? May 12, 2022

Show notes

On April 27, Gary Arellano was shot and killed in La Alma-Lincoln Park. The city’s response? Fence off the park to the community, something that Arellano’s family says is in direct opposition to what he would have wanted. And this wasn’t the first time the park has been closed to the public because of violence. So what’s to be done in this rapidly gentrifying neighborhood? Denver Post reporter Elizabeth Hernandez has been reporting on the situation at La Alma-Lincoln Park, and she’s on the show to explain what happened, why, and explore this moment’s connections with the historic displacement of Auraria, just on the other side of Colfax.

Gary Arellano’s family is hosting a benefit this Saturday, May 14, at The Denver Inner City Parish from 1-6 p.m. You can find details for that, a link to their GoFundMe, and their petition to “Save La Alma Park in Honor of Gary Arellano” here.

The Park Hill golf course drama continues and Peyton’s breaking it all down in the City Cast Denver newsletter. Read and subscribe: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

Do you have a connection to La Alma-Lincoln Park? Tweet us: @citycastdenver. Or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬

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

He's a Beloved Northside Teacher. Why Did DPS Let Him Go? May 11, 2022

Show notes

Earlier this year, North High School teacher Tim Hernández came on the show to talk about his experience teaching in a pandemic. But he also spoke passionately about the cultural significance of the work he does as a Chicano teacher on the Northside, and the importance of teaching Chicano and Latino history to his mostly Latino classes. So last week when Tim posted online that he was being let go from his beloved Northside school, we knew there was more to the story. Today on the show, Bree talks with Tim about his impending departure from North High School, and why — in a city with a supposed teacher shortage — a devoted, community-centered educator like him would be let go.

On the show today, Bree also mentioned “Denver’s Decade of Doom,” a term some housing and unhoused community activists are using to mark the 10-year anniversary of Denver’s urban camping ban this week. See their event page for more details about the planned week of “grievance and action.”

Read and subscribe to the City Cast Denver newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

Say hi on Twitter: @citycastdenver

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

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected