Washington City Podcast

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Ep. 30 - Tennis Player Frances Tiafoe Is Home Jul 23, 2018

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Tennis player Frances Tiafoe is back in his hometown after making it to the third round of Wimbledon for the first time in his career. Although he's just 20, the young Hyattsville native's name has been on the tongues of tennis fans for years.

Tiafoe's father was a maintenance worker at the prestigious JTCC tennis training center, and Tiafoe and his twin brother, Franklin, grew up around the sport. Tiafoe quickly proved himself both talented and dedicated, becoming the second highest-ranked junior in 2014. He's now a pro and caught up with City Paper's sports editor Kelyn Soong for this week's Washington City Podcast. Together, the pair talked about playing in front of your hometown, what it takes to make it as a professional, and a game they once played (Tiafoe was 13, Soong was in his 20s—you'll have to listen to the interview to hear who won).

Ep. 29 - Poet A.B. Spellman Loves Love Jul 09, 2018

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This summer we're launching a new perspectives series—a string of interviews with D.C. residents young and old. You won't find breaking news in these conversations, but we hope you'll find warmth and humanity here.

A.B. Spellman is a celebrated poet and long-time D.C. resident and the first guest in our perspectives series. In this episode of Washington City Podcast, he sits down with our editor Alexa Mills. Listen to him share some of his poetry and talk about everything from how a grade-school crush convinced him that there was no such thing as God to his secret to making it through life's twilight years.

Ep. 28 - James Forman Jr. Jun 25, 2018

Show notes

James Forman Jr. is the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America, a book that's rooted in his experience as a public defender in D.C.

He considers public defense to be civil rights work and was surprised to find that D.C., despite its black political leadership, judges, police officers, and jurors, was home to a harsh criminal justice system. He explores this unexpected reality in his book.

In this episode of Washington City Podcast, Forman joins our City Lights editor Kayla Randall for a discussion of his book. The pair also gets into the challenges of telling this story without exonerating white supremacy and the idea of prison abolition. Listen, subscribe, learn, and enjoy.

Ep. 27 - All About Initiative 77 Jun 11, 2018

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On June 19th, D.C. voters will be asked if they want to eliminate the tipped minimum wage. Currently, employers must pay tipped workers a base wage of $3.33 per hour. If the workers' tips do not bring them up to the minimum wage of $12.50, the employer must make up the difference.

Initiative 77, brought by Restaurant Opportunities Center United, would eliminate the lower tipped minimum wage, if passed. Supporters of the initiative say it would bring financial security to workers and curb sexual assault and racism in the restaurant industry. Opponents argue it would cut tipped workers' pay.

City Paper hosted a live forum at Black Cat all about the initiative. Food editor Laura Hayes and Loose Lips reporter Andrew Giambrone moderated the conversation between supporters and opponents of the initiative. If you were unable to attend the forum or have lingering questions about Initiative 77, this is the podcast for you. When you're done with that, learn more about the initiative

In print and online City Paper is answering audience questions that we weren't able to address during the forum. The first set of those questions is available online, and the second will be in print this week. You can also learn more about the initiative by reading our May cover story on the issue.

Ep. 26 - Femme Fatale Makes Space for Art Projects and Entrepreneurship (and Unicorn Throw Up) May 29, 2018

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Washington City Podcast is back!

After a few weeks off while working on new episodes, we're excited to kick off with an audio postcard from Femme Fatale DC's third pop-up. At Femme Fatale's pop-ups, women artists and entrepreneurs gather to create indoor murals, spray paint couches, sell their products, and network. In this episode, City Paper's creative director Stephanie Rudig talks to some of the women behind Femme Fatale and about making art in D.C.

Ep. 25 - Sanford Capital and D.C.'s Cultural Plan Apr 30, 2018

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This week on Washington City Podcast, we look at news from around the District. Last week the notorious landlord Sanford Capital came to an agreement with the District of Columbia. The settlement stipulates that Sanford Capital make every effort to leave the D.C. market and bars it from re-entering for the next seven years. Andrew Giambrone, who has reported on Sanford for years, joins the podcast to explain where this agreement came from and what it means.

In the second half of our show we look at D.C.'s new cultural plan. The Cultural Plan, which is currently in draft form, is the city's attempt to strategically support D.C.'s creative community. Art director Stephanie Rudig and arts editor Matt Cohen spoke with artists about the plan, sharing their criticisms and praise in the paper. Rudig joins the podcast now to talk about the plan and what artists in D.C. make of it.

Ep. 24 - Replacement Shelters and the NEAR Act Apr 23, 2018

Show notes

This week, on Washington City Podcast, a quick look at some of the District's biggest news stories. Housing reporter Morgan Baskin has been covering the District's efforts to close D.C. General, the District's family homeless shelter, and replace it with smaller shelters across the city's eight wards. On the show, she reports on a small group of residents that are challenging the site of Ward 5's shelter and the progress of the other sites in D.C.

Later in the show, City Paper's arts editor Matt Cohen updates us on the NEAR Act, a comprehensive policing bill the D.C. Council passed in 2016. It turns out that the Metropolitan Police Department hasn't been collecting data on stop-and-frisks in the way this act requires.

Ep. 23 - An Acting Teacher and Her Students Apr 16, 2018

Show notes

Vera Katz has taught at both Howard University and the Duke Ellington School of the Arts during her long and storied career as an acting teacher and coach—a career that has seen her teach many of Hollywood's biggest stars including Taraji P. Henson, Anthony Anderson, Phylicia Rashad, and Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman.

In this episode of Washington City Podcast Katz sits down for two conversations with two of her students—Lynda Gravatt and Dawn Ursula. Both Gravatt and Ursula have gone on to have successful careers, particularly in the theater, and in these conversations with Katz they reflect on the craft of acting, diversity in entertainment, and being an artist in D.C.

Ep. 22 - Riot. Rebellion. Resurrection. Apr 09, 2018

Show notes

Last week Washingtonians remembered the days and years following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in our cover story "Riot. Rebellion. Resurrection." Was it a riot or a rebellion? In a series of oral histories people living in D.C. at the time of King's murder and those who moved here later that year try to answer that question figure out where D.C. and our country is headed.

Later in the week, City Paper hosted a live event at the LINE DC Hotel. At the event, writer of "Riot. Rebellion. Resurrection." Michon Boston interviewed E. Ethelbert Miller, Tom Fong, Esther Siegel, and Michael Tabor, all of whom were featured in our article, as well as historian Marya McQuirter. In this episode of Washington City Podcast we present a condensed version of that live event. You'll hear panelists remember those four days in 1968 and think about the future.

Ep. 21 - Opening Night at Kaliwa on The Wharf Apr 02, 2018

Show notes

This week on Washington City Podcast we go behind the scenes at Kaliwa, a new restaurant on The Wharf. Food editor Laura Hayes and host Will Warren got a behind-the-scenes look at the restaurant's first day open to the public. The two reporters sat in on a pre-dinner meeting and talked to Chef Cathal Armstrong and his staff to learn just what goes into opening a new restaurant in D.C.

Also in this episode, Morgan Baskin, City Paper's housing reporter, gives an update on the city's plans to close down D.C. General, the District's largest homeless shelter.

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