City Cast Denver

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‘I Walk In Everyday Expecting To Be Fired’: Inside The Starbucks Union Effort Mar 30, 2022

Show notes

The push to unionize Starbucks workers started in Buffalo, New York, with one small group of baristas stepping forward to call for better working conditions at their cafe. Then slowly, one by one, workers at more than 120 Starbucks locations across the country petitioned for union elections at their shops, including here in Denver, where three separate Starbucks are now in the middle of organizing campaigns. Host Bree Davies sits down with two baristas — Jack Janzen and Hannah Mehlman — to hear why they’re trying to unionize their Starbucks at Leetsdale and Holly, and how the coffee giant is pushing back.

WE’RE HIRING! We are looking for an audio producer who loves Denver as much as we do! We’re looking for someone who wants to help us continue to tell beautiful, complicated, compelling stories about the people and things that make this city what it is. Think you or someone you know fits the bill? Take a peek at the official job posting here.

In today’s newsletter, Peyton has all the juicy gossip about the Outdoor Retailer show leaving Colorado and heading back to Utah. Find that newsletter and subscribe to future ones here: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

By the way, tell us what you think of the newsletter! Fill out this short survey and get entered to win two tickets to RadioLab’s Jad Abumrad live at the Paramount Theatre. https://denver.citycast.fm/survey/

Let’s connect on Twitter: @citycastdenver

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Why The New Fentanyl Bill Has Harm Reductionists Concerned Mar 29, 2022

Show notes

With fentanyl-related deaths spiking across Colorado, our elected officials have been debating new measures to better protect people from the highly potent, synthetic opioid. Should they go after drug users who are at risk of unwittingly taking a lethal dose? Should they focus on dealers and manufacturers who lace their goods with fentanyl? And what are the roles of “overdose prevention sites” and harm reduction, a strategy borne from the failures of the war on drugs? Now that they’ve formally submitted their bill at the state legislature, it’s time to dig in. Host Bree Davies sits down with Harm Reduction Action Center’s executive director Lisa Raville to break down the policy and politics around the new Fentanyl Accountability and Prevention Act.

For additional perspectives on this new bill, Peyton has got a deep dive in our newsletter today. Read and subscribe here: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

And if you’d like a more thorough breakdown of the fentanyl situation, Harm Reduction Action Center and Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition co-published a brief, titled “Fentanyl in Colorado: Overview and recommendations for addressing the overdose crisis.”

Don’t let another day go by without RTing a great Denver tweet and tagging @citycastdenver

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After 156 Years, Denver Fire Finally Has its First Female Deputy Fire Chief Mar 28, 2022

Show notes

Too often there’s inherent bias at play when we think about who makes a good firefighter — strong, athletic… manly. “I think that we forget sometimes that the people we are serving like to see a familiar face when they're having their worst day,” says Kathleen Vredenburgh, who wants people to know that firefighting requires a lot more than just physical strength. She was named deputy chief of Denver Fire last month, making her the highest ranking woman in the fire department’s 156-year history. Today on the show, Host Bree Davies talks with Vredenburgh about her experience as a firefighter and her work getting other women to join the department.

In today’s newsletter, City Cast Denver’s Peyton Garcia breaks down the $14 million settlement protesters won in an excessive force case against DPD. Read and subscribe: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

Catch us on Twitter: @citycastdenver

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The Union Station Snafu, Benny’s is Back, and a Pickleball Power Struggle in Central Park Mar 25, 2022

Show notes

It’s Friday and we’re chatting about stories big and small in Denver this week, starting with Union Station — which can’t seem to get a decent headline in its favor these days. Producer Paul Karolyi is joined by host Bree Davies and Patty Calhoun, founder and editor of Westword, to discuss perceptions of crime downtown and the re-opening of a beloved Denver Mexican restaurant. Plus, the pickleball player who’s landed himself in a real pickle with the police.

Read the latest from Westword on crime statistics at Union Station here: https://www.westword.com/denver/Print?oid=13699478

For more on the pickleball power struggle, Denverite’s Desiree Mathurin has been all over this story: Here’s the original piece and here’s the follow-up.

Get the whole backstory on the Outdoor Retailer trade show’s move back to Salt Lake City from past City Cast Denver guest and Colorado Sun reporter Jason Blevins: https://coloradosun.com/2022/03/23/outdoor-retailer-leaving-denver-salt-lake-city/

The Denver Post story about the situation downtown and at Union Station that we talked about is here.

Paul shouted out his father-in-law and his favorite Longmont brewery, Wibby Brewing. For directions to their taproom and more, click here: https://www.wibbybrewing.com/

Peyton’s got a roundup of fun things to do this weekend in our daily newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

Chit-chat with us on Twitter: @citycastdenver

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

Oh, and we’re hiring!! https://citycast.fm/audio-producer-city-cast-denver/

Artist Stevon Lucero’s Chicano Futurism Lives on Inside Meow Wolf Mar 24, 2022

Show notes

The painter Stevon Lucero was his own person through and through. He created his own style, which he called “metarealism,” and through painting he explored the outer bounds of consciousness, connecting dots no one else saw. When top Denver art galleries didn’t seem interested in him or other Chicano artists, they started up their own thing — Chicano Humanities and Arts Council, or CHAC — paving the way for a surge of interest in Chicano art today. Lucero passed away last year, but not before finishing a room at the hottest gallery in town, Meow Wolf’s Convergence Station, where “meta” is the name of the game. Host Bree Davies visited Convergence Station with Lucero’s wife and fellow artist Arlette Lucero to discuss her husband’s legacy and the special exhibition of his works opening there tomorrow.

Peyton’s got all the hot Denver food gossip in our newsletter today. Read and subscribe here: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

Do you have a favorite Stevon Lucero painting? Share a pic with us on Twitter: @citycastdenver

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Lincoln Hills Has Offered Nature and Respite to Black Families for 100 Years Mar 23, 2022

Show notes

About an hour west of Denver is a place called Lincoln Hills, an outdoor recreation destination created especially for — and built by — Black people. For 100 years, it has offered a safe, welcoming space for Black folks from across the country to come enjoy all the natural beauty Colorado has to offer. Today on the show, host Bree Davies sits down with past City Cast Denver guest host donnie l. betts, whose Lincoln Hills documentary which screens at History Colorado next month, and retired judge Gary Jackson, whose great grandfather was one of the original builders of Lincoln Hills and whose family has owned a cabin there ever since.

History Colorado is celebrating Lincoln Hills’s 100th anniversary all year long. On April 15th, they’re hosting donnie l. betts for a screening of his documentary and a Q&A. Then, on June 3rd, they’re hosting Gary Jackson for a talk on his experience and research into the Lincoln Hills story.

There a restaurant in Denver that’s taking a stand against drug cartels by… taking avocados off their menu. Peyton’s got a deep dive into why in our newsletter today: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

Have you ever been to Lincoln Hills? Tag us in your pics! @citycastdenver

The Magic That Keeps Denver's Longest Running Dance Party Alive Mar 22, 2022

Show notes

Lipgloss is one of the longest running indie club nights in the country — and it takes place every Friday evening, right here in Denver. Started by DJ Michael Trundle and a group of friends in 2001, Lipgloss is a music connoisseur’s dream: when you hit the dance floor, you’re apt to hear everything from The Killers to The Supremes to Fontaines D.C. Trundle has been the sole DJ behind the turntables for the last half-decade or so of Lipgloss, but he’s been at the heart of the dance night from the beginning. Today, he joins host Bree Davies to talk about how the little indie dance night that could has survived —and thrived — for more than two decades in Denver, and what’s next as it moves to its latest location, HQ, on South Broadway.

Looking to take in some live theater next month? Our producer Lizzie Goldsmith has got recommendations, plus a behind-the-scenes interview about Curious Theater Company’s latest production, “Refuge.” Find that and subscribe here: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

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

Should Anorexia Patients Have a Right to Die Under Colorado Law? Mar 21, 2022

Show notes

Nearly 800 Coloradans have received aid-in-dying medication since voters approved a controversial law giving doctors that prescription option under certain circumstances in 2016. While the debate over the right to die has grown no less controversial in the past six years, one leading eating disorder doctor based in Denver wants to expand access to people with severe eating disorders, prompting alarm within the psychiatric field across the country. Today on the show, host Bree Davies talks with Colorado Sun reporter Jennifer Brown about this new turn in the death-with-dignity debate and what it could mean for people who suffer from life-threatening eating disorders all across the country.

Read Jennifer Brown’s report for the Colorado Sun here: https://coloradosun.com/2022/03/14/denver-doctor-gaudiani-aid-in-dying-aneroexia-patients/

There is a ton going on at Denver schools right now, so Peyton rounded up all the important stories for you in our newsletter today: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

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

How Two Years of Pandemic Have Changed Denver Mar 18, 2022

Show notes

It’s Friday! And we’re looking back at two years in Denver since lockdown. What’s changed about the city for the better? What structural, social, and political shifts do we want to keep with us from these pandemic times? How did we survive the two-hour prohibition of weed and alcohol sales that sent many Denverites running Black Friday-style to their nearest dispensary and liquor store? The whole team is here — Host Bree Davies, Producers Paul Karolyi and Xandra McMahon, and Newsletter Writer Peyton Garcia — and we’re trying to focus on the silver linings, like city council going online and the joys of car-free streets.

Want to snag a couple free tix to see Radiolab’s Jad Abumrad at the Paramount on April 17? We’re giving a set away, and all you have to do is write a nice review of City Cast Denver wherever you listen to podcasts and send a screenshot of that review to denver@citycast.fm by April 1. Because, come on, it’s Jad freakin’ Abumrad. One of the greats.

Wanna know what to do this weekend in Denver? Read and subscribe to the City Cast Denver newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

Find us lurking on Twitter: @citycastdenver

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

How CU Boulder Football's Sexual Assault Scandal Set a Precedent for #MeToo Mar 17, 2022

Show notes

Almost 20 years ago, Erika Krouse took a job as a private investigator. Her first big case? A massive sexual assault scandal that was exposing a toxic culture of abuse within CU Boulder’s prized football program. Krouse’s new book, “Tell Me Everything: The Story of A Private Investigation,” is part true crime thriller and part memoir, as she weaves together her recollections of the case with the story of her own experience with sexual assault. City Cast Denver newsletter writer Peyton Garcia sits down with Krouse to talk about what it was like going up against an institution as powerful as the University of Colorado, how she saw her own story in the stories of the victims, and the legacy of the case today.

Warning: While there are no graphic descriptions, this episode contains discussions about sexual assault.

If this is your first time hearing about the scandal at the heart of Krouse’s book, ESPN has a full timeline right here.

Catch all the latest Denver food news and gossip in our newsletter today, including Peyton’s take on the James Beard Award finalists: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

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

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