City Cast Denver
City Cast
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Join Host Bree Davies and the City Cast Denver crew every weekday morning as we celebrate, explore, and challenge an ever-changing Denver. It’s the daily news podcast for all Denverites — whether you’ve been here for six months or six generations. We’ll break down the news you need (and want) to know with journalists and culture makers; activists and artists; neighbors and ne’er-do-wells — and John Elway, if he ever returns our calls. Learn more and subscribe to our morning newsletter at citycast.fm/denver.
Available episodes
Newest first
Oldest first
2 days ago
No, Den-Mex Does Not Mean Chipotle. Listen Up.
So what exactly is Denver-style Mexican food? How do we differentiate our particular brand of Mexican food? (Hint: We’re talking green chile. On everything.) Food writer Gustavo Arellano and Westword editor and Den-Mex super fan Patty Calhoun break down where it came from, what we need to do to protect it, and what makes Den-Mex so special.
Warning: Side effects of this episode may include a growling stomach and watering mouth.
Subscribe to our morning newsletter for more Denver news, and follow us on Twitter @citycastdenver.
3 days ago
The Weed Biz Isn’t Green, It’s White. How Do We Change That?
Earlier this year, Colorado’s cannabis industry passed a major milestone: $10 billion in revenues since legalization. But the vast majority of that money is ending up in the same old white hands. Bree speaks with Hashim Coates, executive director of Black, Brown and Red Badged, an organization founded in 2019 to speak on behalf of cannabis business owners of color. He explains why he thinks the local lawmakers working to address this issue aren’t going far enough.
Subscribe to our morning newsletter for more Denver news, and follow us on Twitter @citycastdenver.
4 days ago
A Home Run for Denver Elections
When Major League Baseball decided to move their All-Star Game from Atlanta to Denver in protest of Georgia’s restrictive new elections law, Georgia governor Brian Kemp went on Fox News to complain. He claimed there isn’t much of a difference between elections law in Colorado and Georgia, “so it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.”
Well, Gov. Kemp, it makes sense to us. On the show today, Bree speaks with Denver’s Clerk and Recorder Paul López, who administers elections here in Denver, about the differences between elections in the two states and how he plans to enjoy the All-Star Game in July.
Plus, our sports guy Jake Shapiro is back to give us a little historical context on the MLB’s decision to take such a strong political stance.
Subscribe to our morning newsletter for more Denver news, and follow us on Twitter @citycastdenver.
5 days ago
The Fight For Equity In Our News with Lori Lizarraga
When former 9News reporter Lori Lizarraga came to Denver, she knew it was going to be a challenge to gain the trust of sources in Black and Brown communities. What she wasn’t prepared for were the battles she would have to fight in her own newsroom to get their stories to air.
After Lori’s contract was not renewed at the ratings giant, she wrote a piece in Westword last week that detailed years of discrimination and an inequitable newsroom. She joins the show today to share more of those experiences and why it’s so important for communities of color to be covered by journalists of color.
Subscribe to our morning newsletter for more Denver news, and follow us on Twitter @citycastdenver.
6 days ago
Denver Sports are Back in Style
For the first time in a year, sports fans were welcomed back to Denver’s stadiums and arenas this weekend. The Rockies played an opening series against the L.A. Dodgers and did…alright? The Nuggets and Avalanche continue to kick ass. But let’s talk what people are wearing.
Like what’s up with those “Fire Bridich” and “Sent from my iPad” shirts we saw at Coors Field? Sports guy Jake Shapiro breaks it down and shares some construction and development gossip involving Rockies ownership. Plus, our producer Paul Karolyi tracked down the backstory behind those weird new Avalanche uniforms.
Subscribe to our morning newsletter for more Denver news, and follow us on Twitter @citycastdenver.
Apr 2, 2021
Blowing the Whistle on Bad Air Quality
We knew Denver’s air quality was bad, but we didn’t know it was this bad. Whistleblowers within the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment say the people in charge have been overriding requirements of the Clean Air Act and endangering the health of Coloradans. Bree speaks with Colorado Sun reporter Michael Booth about his reporting on the whistleblower complaint and what it means for the quality of the air we breathe.
Want to monitor the air you breathe yourself? Here’s a list of recommendations for air quality apps.
Subscribe to our morning newsletter for more Denver news, and follow us on Twitter @citycastdenver.
Mar 31, 2021
When Vaccine Eligibility Isn’t Enough
Governor Jared Polis announced that starting this Friday, all Coloradans at least 16 years old will be eligible for the vaccine. But where does that leave our disabled community members? Bree speaks with disability advocate Rosemary McDonnell-Horita about her personal struggle getting a shot, her work on Polis’s Health Equity Response Team, and the work that still needs to be done to make sure all Coloradans have access to a vaccine.
Follow Rosemary on Twitter @ricearosie.
The healthcare provider we found offering at-home vaccination appointments in at least some of Denver’s suburbs is called Bloom Healthcare.
Subscribe to our morning newsletter here, and follow us on Twitter @citycastdenver.
Mar 29, 2021
Sharing the Streets: Scooters and Equity
It’s been three years since the first Lime scooter zipped down Denver’s streets, and the city is on its second major effort to regulate the aging scooter and bike-share fleets. This new proposal would eliminate the permit process that allowed scooters to spread as far and fast as the market allowed, replacing it with (yet another) public-private partnership and provisions designed to promote access all over the city. Host Bree Davies speaks with Jill Locantore of the Denver Streets Partnership, a coalition of advocates for people-friendly streets, about why they’re backing the new effort — for now.
The City Council’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is debating the proposed scooter regulations tomorrow, so find your council member and make your voice heard!
Also on the show today, the first installment of a new segment we’re calling VOICE on the Street. It’s a partnership with Denver’s street paper, the Denver VOICE, which provides opportunities to Denverites experiencing homelessness and other forms of economic inequity. If you’d like to support VOICE vendors like this episode’s guest John Alexander, head over to denvervoice.org/donate. They even have Venmo, so if you want to get a little help directly to John, follow this link and add his name to the note attached to your transfer.
Follow us on Twitter: @citycastdenver.
Subscribe to our newsletter for photos of our night at Mizuna and learn more about us at citycast.fm/denver.
Mar 25, 2021
A Toast to an Uncertain Future with Chef Frank Bonanno
This week marks the 20th anniversary of Mizuna, one of Denver’s favorite fine dining destinations and the flagship of Frank Bonanno’s restaurant empire. But earlier this year, Frank’s landlord told him they’re planning to sell the Capitol Hill building that houses Mizuna and three other Bonanno spots. We joined the 20th anniversary festivities at Mizuna earlier this week, and our host Bree Davies spoke with Frank about how he’s processing the news and thinking about the future.
For more Mizuna memories, check out the restaurant’s instagram @mizuna_denver. They’ve been posting photos and reminiscing about old times all week.
Follow us on Twitter: @citycastdenver.
Subscribe to our newsletter for photos of our night at Mizuna and learn more about us at citycast.fm/denver.
Mar 23, 2021
It Wasn't Supposed To Be This Way
We had a whole plan for how this week was supposed to go. But then a man with a gun shot and killed 10 people at a King Soopers in Boulder. It’s a tragic loss for the whole Front Range community, and we felt compelled to show up ahead of schedule, with a personal reflection from our host Bree Davies and a conversation with KUNC reporter Leigh Paterson. Leigh recently wrapped up a two-year project reporting on guns and gun violence in America, and she helps put the events in Boulder in a broader context.
We’ll be back with what we planned for our first episode on March 25. Don’t forget to subscribe to our daily newsletter, too. All that and more at citycast.fm/denver.
Mar 10, 2021
City Cast Denver Launches March 25th
Go ahead and try to define Denver. Is it an oil-rich cowtown? A tech-friendly ecotopia? Or maybe it’s something entirely its own, changing before our very eyes. Post-Zaidy’s, post-El Chapultepec, post-COVID, what is Denver all about? Starting March 25, join us every weekday morning for 15 minutes to get all the Denver news you need (and want) to know. We promise to ask hard questions and refuse easy answers.