“Who is Abraham Gonzalez?” That pointed question to Mayor Mike Johnston during his big congressional hearing last Wednesday sparked a wave of fresh reporting on how exactly Denver is coordinating with ICE — or not. So today Westword editor Patty Calhoun joins producer Paul Karolyi to talk about what national Republicans saw that the local media might be missing. Plus, there’s a new private security force on the streets in LoDo and listeners have thoughts on Mayor Mike and the state of downtown. ...
Mar 11, 2025•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast What’s the best way to get to DIA? The A Line is not the most accessible option for everyone, and Peña Boulevard always seems to be slammed with traffic. With the airport already crazy crowded, and plans in the works for even more growth, city and airport leaders have been talking a lot over the past few years about expanding the highway. But then last week, the expansion proposal hit a roadblock, with City Council postponing a vote on a key contract. So today, we’re sharing a conversation we ha...
Mar 10, 2025•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Has Denver become a “neglected metropolis”? The entire GOP caucus at the state legislature signed onto a letter to Mayor Mike Johnston this week saying they feel unsafe going to work. But the mayor told a very different story about our not-so-Mile-High crime rates to Congress in his big hearing on immigration on Wednesday. So what’s really happening on the ground? One of our favorite regular guests, stand-up comic Joshua Emerson, joins Producer Paul Karolyi and Host Bree Davies to talk about the...
Mar 07, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mayor Mike Johnston was in DC on Wednesday for a high-stakes congressional hearing as part of the House Oversight Committee’s investigation into “sanctuary jurisdictions.” With threats of federal funding cuts looming, the mayor defended his approach to immigration and faced hard questions from Republicans, including Rep. Lauren Boebert. We watched the whole marathon hearing, and then we sat down with returning guest and State Sen. Julie Gonzales, who has worked on immigration issues for more tha...
Mar 06, 2025•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Who knows Denver better than Denverites? No one. That’s why we love opening up the City Cast Denver Hotline every episode to hear from you! As we count down the last few days until our big HEYDAY event this Saturday, we’re talking about everything you’ve called in about recently — from federal workers anonymously sharing their local DOGE stories and a leak from inside Juan Padró’s restaurant empire, Culinary Creative Group, to more of your most embarrassing toxic Colorado traits. Paul mentioned ...
Mar 05, 2025•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast The big news this week is, well, us! Mayor Mike Johnston sat down with host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi last week to talk about everything from the tipped minimum wage to his upcoming face-off with Rep. Lauren Boebert — and the interview caught fire. But lot of what the mayor actually said got lost in the noise, so Paul and Bree are clearing up the confusion. Plus, an interesting compromise in a zoning fight in City Park West, and a listener calls in with some jokes for Mr. Johnston be...
Mar 04, 2025•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s been seven years since the e-scooter companies unceremoniously dumped fleets of Limes and Birds onto the streets of Denver, and many Denverites are still upset about it! But at the same time, many others have grown to rely on these micro-mobility machines. Councilman Chris Hinds, in particular, has been pushing for tougher regulations for years, and last week he put forth a new proposal to the rest of City Council, citing Denver Health data showing a huge increase in scooter-related acciden...
Mar 03, 2025•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Federal workers across the country are bracing for layoffs, including more than 40,000 right here in Colorado. So, how are Denverites handling all the DOGE cuts? Then, DIA turns 30 today! Producer Paul Karolyi and host Bree Davies are joined by political consultant Deep Singh Badhesha to talk about everything from the famed airport’s Blucifer conspiracy theories and tales of a luggage-eating baggage system to the renderings of the next Great Hall renovation and a surprising DIA-Elon Musk connect...
Feb 28, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Regardless of the wacky weather that always hits in March, there’s still plenty of fun to be had in the Mile High this month. Wondering what to do? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! From a local artist’s new show opening in RiNo to a must-try sweet treat from a South Broadway gem, we’ve rounded up our best bets and personal faves just for you to check out in March. If you're new here, welcome! We’ve put together a starter pack for you, with episodes and articles to welcome you to the City Cast...
Feb 27, 2025•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mayor Mike Johnston returns! Host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi sit down with the mayor ahead of his trip to Washington for a high-profile congressional hearing on his approach to immigration next week, during which he will likely face hard questions from the likes of Rep. Lauren Boebert and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. With federal funding at stake, the mayor discusses his approach to what will surely be a media circus, as well has his thoughts on the recent debates over the tipped mini...
Feb 26, 2025•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast Is Denver about to get a whole lot noisier? City Council is considering an update to our regulations governing sound, which could mean earlier trash pick-ups and louder public festivals. So producer Paul Karolyi and host Bree Davies are talking about what the change would mean, as well as the city’s most common and unique noise complaints. Plus, the debate over lowering the tipped minimum wage is boiling over, with many Democrats lining up to support the local restaurant owners who say they are ...
Feb 25, 2025•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Everyone’s got that thing they do as a Denverite that’s not exactly hurting anyone, but probably isn’t something to brag about. Like leaving every Rockies game after three innings because you know how it’s gonna end, or keeping out-of-state tags on your car a little too long after you move here. Host Bree Davies is joined by two longtime Denverites, comedian Kate McLachlan and our politics and green chile correspondent Justine Sandoval to confess their own toxic Colorado traits, and reveal some ...
Feb 24, 2025•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Could ongoing BRT construction mean the end of the road for long-standing Colfax businesses? The public transit project has been in the works for years, but the real impacts of sidewalk closures and disappearing parking spots are finally hitting home. Producer Paul Karolyi and host Bree Davies are joined by Westword staff writer Jason Heller to talk through his reporting on how business owners are balancing concerns with the prospect of better bus lanes. Plus, they dig into more news of the week...
Feb 21, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Transcript available on Metacast A little over a month into the 2025 state legislative session, and things are already heating up — Will this finally be the year lawmakers can coax Denver developers to build condos? Will a new gun control bill make it across the governor’s desk? Is the labor movement on the precipice of a long-awaited victory or yet another setback? And what about the state senator who recently resigned in part over allegations that she put her aides to work bartending at political fundraisers? Chief legislativ...
Feb 20, 2025•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast The King Soopers strike is over… for now. As the company and the union return to the bargaining table, we question what really brought them to this latest agreement? Producer Paul Karolyi tells host Bree Davies about recent conversations he had with strikers on the picket line and how they characterized the public’s response to the labor dispute. Then, frustrated downtown restaurant owners sent a letter to Mayor Johnston blaming him for a laundry list of issues impacting their businesses. But th...
Feb 19, 2025•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast How do you know you’re a true Denverite? Was it when you found yourself in the midst of a Chipotle vs. Illegal Pete’s fight? Or that time you woke up at 6 a.m. to meet friends for a hike while still nursing a hangover from a wild show at Red Rocks? We’re revisiting a conversation host Bree Davies had last year with two hilarious guests — Lee Robinson and Kate McLachlan of Dyketopia — to help finish this sentence: You’re not a real Denverite until… UPDATE: After we recorded, we learned that Snooz...
Feb 18, 2025•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Is the Art District on Santa Fe’s First Friday summer art walk event in danger of going away? Concerns over crowd sizes at this annual block party has the city hesitant to issue needed permits, leaving the popular event in limbo. Then, a group of women on their way to a protest last weekend were accosted downtown by two men in a truck, and told Westword they didn’t feel like law enforcement took the incident seriously. Host Bree Davies is joined by returning faves Hey Denver newsletter editor Ad...
Feb 14, 2025•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Psychedelic-assisted therapy centers are set to open this spring across Colorado and applications to operate them in Denver are rolling in. But how does this new type of treatment fit into the complicated and often gray areas within decriminalized psychedelics? What types of practitioners can offer this kind of therapy? And who could benefit from the treatment? Tiney Riccardi at the Denver Post has been reporting on the long, strange trip to regulate magic mushrooms and similar substances in the...
Feb 13, 2025•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Is legislation the best way to help Denverites avoid paying $20 for a mediocre cheeseburger? Some leading Democrat lawmakers are set to introduce a new bill this week to put some legislative heft behind the proposal you heard about first on our show last week — to essentially lower the tipped minimum wage. Some restaurateurs say it’s their only hope. But this stuff is confusing! So producer Paul Karolyi is continuing the conversation with former-restaurant-worker-turned-food-reporter Helen Xu. S...
Feb 12, 2025•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast The King Soopers strike is about to enter its second week, and there’s a new lawsuit from the company in the mix — but the union is pushing back. Then, as 16th Street continues to hobble along, will rumors of a rebrand and dropping of the word “mall” really be the solution? Host Bree Davies and producer Olivia Jewell Love take a closer look at both sides of the picket line, discuss what the word mall even means in 2025, and share a listener’s correction of our Jurassic Park reference on last Fri...
Feb 11, 2025•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast The threat of ICE raids is looming over the Denver metro area now that President Trump’s ‘Operation Aurora’ has officially begun. A reported 30 people were arrested in the first official immigration enforcement raids last Wednesday, but rumors are swirling about what exactly happened (and where those 30 people are being held). Denver Post immigration reporter Megan Ulu-lani Boyanton has been on the ground tracking the raids, and she joins host Bree Davies to break down exactly what we know, what...
Feb 10, 2025•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Thousands of Coloradans gathered at the Capitol on Wednesday for the biggest local protest since Trump was re-elected president. As photos and videos spread online, federal immigration officers conducted raids across the metro area, with reports of agents showing up at apartment complexes, school bus stops, and workplaces. Producer Paul Karolyi and host Bree Davies are joined by activist and former legislator Tim Hernández to talk about where the growing anti-Trump energy will go from here. Plus...
Feb 07, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Transcript available on Metacast More than 10,000 grocery workers are set to walk off their jobs at 77 King Soopers stores across the Denver metro area today — three years after they went on strike in 2022, winning a slew of compromises from the company. But after the failed merger between the parent companies of King Soopers and Safeway in 2024, as well as three years of inflation, the situation inside Denver’s grocery stores has changed a lot. So host Bree Davies is speaking with UFCW Local 7 president Kim Cordova, who called...
Feb 06, 2025•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ask diners. Ask servers. Ask restaurateurs. You can even ask the governor! They’ll all tell you it's time to talk about the crisis happening in Denver’s restaurants. But everyone defines it a little differently. Some are sick and tired of paying $20 for a mediocre cheeseburger. Others point to recent reports of restaurants closing — more than one in five since 2021 — and no one can agree on what to do. One of city’s most successful restaurateurs, Culinary Creative Group founder and CEO Juan Padr...
Feb 05, 2025•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast In an email sent late Friday, the RiNo Art District announced that cars would be returning to the 2900 block of Larimer Street, ending a nearly five-year experiment born early in the pandemic. So as the pedestrian-friendly open space went back to traffic as usual over the weekend, urbanists organized a protest, and producer Paul Karolyi was on the scene. He joins host Bree Davies to talk about who’s responsible for this turnaround and all the other big stories of the week — from the appearance o...
Feb 04, 2025•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Denver’s economy boomed in the 2010s, thanks in large part to a thriving community of local tech start-ups and entrepreneurs, which produced a handful of companies that have grown to rival some Silicon Valley giants — iBotta, HomeAdvisor, Guild Education, etc. But many of those success stories turned sour over the past 18 months, with layoffs, remote work, and cancelled downtown leases dominating the headlines. So, producer Paul Karolyi is sitting down with one of the city’s most insightful tech...
Feb 03, 2025•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mayor Johnston released his big, new goals for 2025 this week, but is he going to have any time to work on them when the Trump administration is focusing so much of its new immigration crackdown on the Denver metro? Denver7 reporter Brandon Richard joins producer Paul Karolyi and stand-up comic Joshua Emerson to talk about what he learned at Johnston’s press conference yesterday, and break down all the rumors swirling about impending ICE raids coming to Aurora and surrounding areas. Plus, our wi...
Jan 31, 2025•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast February may be the shortest month of the year, but it doesn’t have to be any less awesome. Survive the winter doldrums with our monthly guide to Denver! In this episode, we’ve got expert tips and recommendations that you won’t hear anywhere else, from a suburban pretzel shop with unforgettable architecture to a brand new short film on Max created by Denverites and shot right here in Denver. If you're new here, welcome! We’ve put together a starter pack for you, with episodes and articles to wel...
Jan 30, 2025•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast Amid last year’s national hysteria over Tren de Aragua — the Venezuelan gang that had allegedly “taken over” several apartment buildings in the Denver metro — then-presidential candidate Donald Trump came to Colorado to announce his plans for a massive crackdown on immigration, dubbed “Operation Aurora.” Now that Trump is in office, social media is rife with stories of ICE raids, security breaches, and people being detained — so how can you tell what’s fact and what’s fiction? Host Bree Davies s...
Jan 29, 2025•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s been three years since more than 8,000 grocery workers went on strike across the Denver metro area, but the contract they ultimately won has already expired! Negotiations on a follow-up are at a standstill, so will we see another King Soopers strike? Host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi are previewing the strike authorization vote King Soopers workers are set for later this week and breaking down all the other big stories of the week, from the big Tren de Aragua raid to the reports of...
Jan 28, 2025•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
