Washington City Podcast

Latest Episodes:

State of the Arts Apr 05, 2019

Show notes

This week on Washington City Podcast, arts editor Matt Cohen and host Will Warren talk about how D.C. supports its arts community. They talk about proposed changes to the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and D.C.'s new Cultural Plan.

As always, Warren works through the week's news, which includes the closure of United Medical Center's cancer clinic, winners and losers of the Jack Evans scandal, and a New Jersey lawsuit that named DC Housing Authority Director Tyrone Garrett.

Stories in this episode:

United Medical Center Quietly Closes Its Cancer Clinic

Winners and Losers of the Fall Out From Councilmember Jack Evans' Scandal

DC Housing Authority Director Tyrone Garrett Named In New Jersey Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

D.C.'s Arts Commission Faces Major Changes in Council Shift, Mayor's Budget

Music for this episode was by Lee Rosevere and Jahzzar used under the Creative Commons license.

One Day in D.C. Mar 29, 2019

Show notes

A week ago, a team of City Paper reporters went all over town, capturing small scenes from a day in the life of D.C. The host of this podcast, Will Warren, helped put that project together, and today, in role-reversing episode of the podcast, editor Alexa Mills interviews him about the cover package and why this type of storytelling belongs in the news.

As always, Warren looks at the big stories of the week—the DC Democratic State Committee's efforts to figure out how to respond to the Jack Evans scandal and the return of the Wammies.

Stories in this episode:

Podcast: Subpoenas and a Reprimand for Jack Evans

Members of the DC Democratic State Committee Try to Dethrone Jack Evans

After a Three-Year Absence, The Wammies—The Region's Long-Running Local Music Awards—Are Back

Submit Your Peeps Diorama to City Paper's Contest by March 31st

One Day

Music for this episode was by Lee Rosevere and Jahzzar used under the Creative Commons license.

What's Good With … Joel Vincii?! Mar 22, 2019

Show notes

City Paper has a new Q&A series where comic Haywood Turnipseed Jr. and his guests talk about what's good in the world and D.C. We've recorded these conversations and will feature some of them on our podcast. The first of these interviews was with artist Joel Vincii, and we're presenting it here, in this week's episode.

As always, host Will Warren talks about the week's news, including the reprimand of Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans.

Stories in this episode:

D.C. Council Votes Unanimously to Reprimand Jack Evans

D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson Isn't Power Hungry

As D.C. Weighs How to Fix Its Public Housing, Families Keep Getting Sicker

What's Good With … Joel Vincii?

Music for this episode was by Lee Rosevere, The Insider, and Jahzzar used under the Creative Commons license.

D.C. Establishes a Committee to Address Maternal Deaths Mar 15, 2019

Show notes

D.C.'s maternal mortality rate is well above the national average, and the city has finally established a committee to review the cases of mothers who die in the District. City Paper's Kayla Randall, who previously reported on the obstacles women giving birth in D.C. face, joins host Will Warren to talk about the new committee.

Warren also discusses the week's news, which includes the Environmental Film Festival, DC Central Kitchen, and, of course, our Peeps diorama contest.

Stories in this episode:

Green New Reels: Reviews From the Environmental Film Festival

DC Central Kitchen Loses the Bulk of Its Homeless Shelter Food Service Contract

Submit Your Peeps Diorama Here!

D.C. Finally Establishes a Committee to Address Maternal Deaths

Women in D.C. Face Obstacles at Every Step of Pregnancy and Childbirth

Music for this episode was by Lee Rosevere and Jahzzar used under the Creative Commons license.

Subpoenas and a Reprimand for Jack Evans Mar 08, 2019

Show notes

The D.C. Council is preparing to reprimand Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans for pitching private-sector contacts from his government email address. At the same time, the mayor and councilmembers have been directed via federal subpoena to keep records regarding Evans for a separate federal investigation. Loose Lips reporter Mitch Ryals joins host Will Warren to break down the latest.

Warren also looks at the week's news, including City Paper's annual Answers Issue and the Department of Human Services' plan to exit from the motels it uses as homeless shelters.

Stories in this episode:

The Answers Issue 2019

D.C. Plans Its Exit From the Motels It Uses As Homeless Shelters

Submit Your Peeps Diorama Here!

Jack Evans Faces a Reprimand, But Some Say the Punishment Doesn't Go Far Enough

More Subpoenas in the Jack Evans Probe

Music for this episode was by Lee Rosevere and Jahzzar used under the Creative Commons license.

Why Isn't Jordan McRae in the NBA? Mar 01, 2019

Show notes

In this week's episode we're talking about a professional basketball player who's caught in a sort of limbo. Jordan McRae is the leading scorer in the G League, the NBA's developmental league, but hasn't yet signed with the Wizards. Sports editor Kelyn Soong breaks it down for us.

Host Will Warren also looks at leading stories from the week, including food editor Laura Hayes' examination of a specific kind of wage theft in the restaurant industry and new revelations about D.C.'s publicly funded elections program.

Police and Transparency Feb 22, 2019

Show notes

This week, on the podcast, we're looking at the Metropolitan Police Department and transparency. Loose Lips reporter Mitch Ryals reported a story for the paper about D'Quan Young. An off-duty officer shot and killed Young in May of 2018, and few details, including the officer's name, have emerged in ensuing nine months. Ryals and host Will Warren talk about MPD's policies and how they differ from police departments across the country.

Warren also brings you the latest news about a lead paint hazard remediation program and a whites-only yoga Meetup "experiment."

Stories in this episode:

D.C. Chronically Failed to Spend Federal Funds to Remediate Lead Paint Hazards, HUD Says

D.C. Yoga Teachers of Color Respond to White Woman's Whites-Only Meetup Group 'Experiment'

Vote for Best of D.C. 2019

Nine Months After an Off-Duty Cop Shot D'Quan Young We Still Don't Know the Officer's Name

As Homicides Continue to Rise in D.C., Parents of Gun Violence Victims Reflect on Their Open Wounds

All About D.C.'s Public Housing Feb 15, 2019

Show notes

City Paper's housing reporter Morgan Baskin has been writing about D.C.'s public housing stock for months, covering the conditions in those units and the dire updates they need. She joins host Will Warren to talk about the DC Housing Authority and the uncertain future thousands of its residents face.

Warren also looks at the week's news, which includes deep dives into Union Kitchen's accelerator and the people and organizations that donated to Mayor Muriel Bowser's inaugural committee.

Stories in this episode:

Bowser's Inaugural Committee Took in Nearly $1 Million in Seven Weeks

Food Entrepreneurs Have Much to Weigh Before Tying Their Fates to Union Kitchen's Accelerator

Vote for Best of D.C. 2019

Spring Arts & Entertainment Guide 2019

What Life Is Like—Still—In D.C.'s Public Housing

Nearly One-Third of the City's Public Housing Stock Is at Risk of Becoming Uninhabitable

DCHA Says Thousands of Units Are Nearly Uninhabitable. Tenants Want to Know: What's Next?

Vote for Best of D.C. 2019

Music for this episode was by Lee Rosevere and Jahzzar used under the Creative Commons license.

The Future of Women's Basketball and Housing News Feb 08, 2019

Show notes

This week sports editor Kelyn Soong profiled ESPN's No. 1 basketball recruit for the class of 2021.High school sophomore Azzi Fudd is sensational. She's already drawing comparisons to all-time greats and being heralded as "the future of women's basketball." She's also shy, and reluctant to step out of her comfort zone. Soong and host Will Warren try to get to the bottom of what, exactly, makes her so great.

Warren also looks at the latest in housing, as reported by Morgan Baskin. D.C.'s troubled Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs has a new director, and Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau wants to bring the also troubled D.C. Housing Authority under the Office of the Mayor.

Stories in this Episode:

Brianne Nadeau Introduces Bill to Strip Public Housing Authority of Independent Status

What Life Is Like—Still—In D.C.'s Public Housing

Nearly One-Third of the City's Public Housing Stock Is at Risk of Becoming Uninhabitable

Bowser Nominates Ernest Chrappah, Interim DCRA Director, to Serve As Agency's Permanent Chief

Vote for Best of D.C. 2019

Azzi Fudd Steps Out of Her Comfort Zone and Into the Spotlight

Music for this episode was by Lee Rosevere and Jahzzar used under the Creative Commons license.

A Promising Opioid Overdose Treatment Program and a Whole Lot of News Feb 01, 2019

Show notes

This week on Washington City Podcast, we take a long look at the mysterious fate of a promising opioid overdose treatment program. Contributor Joshua Kaplan joins host Will Warren to talk about why the District didn't continue its Heroin SBIRT program.

Warren also brings us the latest in D.C. news, touching on the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability, development, and salaries in public education.

Stories in this episode:

Allen Quietly Rejects Mayor Bowser's Nominees to Government Ethics Board

Construction Companies Open East-of-the-River Offices to Win Lucrative Contracts

A 'Preference Points' System Was Supposed to Help a Ward 8 Business Owner. It Didn't.

D.C. Charter Administrators Have Some of the Highest School Salaries in Town; Their Teachers, Some of the Lowest

Why Did D.C. End an Innovative Program to Treat Opioid Addiction?

Music for this episode was by Lee Rosevere and Jahzzar used under the Creative Commons license.