It’s Tuesday, and we’re talking about all the local stories that matter this week. Four years after Elijah McClain was stopped by Aurora police, an Adams County jury last week delivered a verdict in the first of three trials over the 23-year-old’s death. Host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi lay out the facts and talk about the questions still left unanswered. Plus, why is Commerce City so mad at Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke? Hint: It’s not because the Nuggs and Avs are still not on TV. Also,...
Oct 17, 2023•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast This morning on the podcast, we did our best to understand the most confusing and most impactful question on Colorado ballots this year — Prop HH. Andrew Kenney, politics reporter for CPR, explained why some conservatives are calling it a back-door TABOR killer. So after the convo, producer Paul Karolyi turned the mics back on to ask Andy about all the other times Democrats have gone after TABOR and what happened. If you have more TABOR or Prop HH questions, send them our way at denver@citycast....
Oct 16, 2023•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Wall Street Journal called it a “back-door tax hike.” Colorado conservatives are calling it a TABOR killer. Even Democrats are divided on it. But Governor Jared Polis insists it’s the best thing to do about rising property tax rates. Prop HH is the biggest, most confusing, and potentially most impactful question on Colorado ballots this fall. So producer Paul Karolyi sat down with our favorite Polis whisperer, CPR politics reporter Andrew Kenney, to explain Prop HH and what our libertarian-l...
Oct 16, 2023•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Triangle Bar closed “indefinitely” last Sunday, owner Scott Coors blamed homeless encampments, and the press ran with an easy narrative. Earlier this week, host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi barely scratched the surface of the escalating controversy around the gay bar’s demise, but there’s clearly way more to the story. So today on the show, Bree and Paul get into the real stuff with our resident gay bar expert Keith Garcia to go beyond the easy scapegoat and discuss your comments an...
Oct 13, 2023•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s Thursday, and we’re here to get you ready for a great Denver weekend! Newsletter editor and resident foodie Peyton Garcia joins to talk through the latest food news and exciting new places to eat — so long as your heart’s not set on Casa Bonita. It’s been months, and we’re tired of disappointing out-of-towners who want to eat at the still-not-really-open Pink Palace. No, we don’t have a hook-up! A new interview with CB’s chef Dana Rodriguez has got us thinking about how much track is left i...
Oct 12, 2023•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Three thousand Kaiser Permanente employees went on strike across Colorado last week and, although their bosses didn’t cave, all those nurses, doctors, and other healthcare workers are back at work. So, how do labor negotiations work in an industry where patients’ lives are part of the equation? Plus, the Triangle Bar’s recent decision to close “indefinitely” last Sunday received a lot of press attention after a co-owner put the blame on homelessness. Big parts of this story felt like they were m...
Oct 11, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast We had so much fun last month with our game show based on 1-star reviews of Denver icons, we decided to bring it back! But this time producer slash quizmaster Paul Karolyi cooked up a bubbling cauldron of extra spooky 1-star reviews for some of Denver’s scariest places. It’s a haunted edition of Thank You So Much For Your Feedback. This time, returning champion JD Lopez defends his title against host Bree Davies to decide once and for all: Who knows Denver’s haters best? What do you think of the...
Oct 10, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s Friday and we’re digging into all the local stories that mattered this week. First, this week’s influx of Central and South American migrants has put Denver’s shelter system to the test. So, how is the city handling hundreds of arrivals each day, on top of our existing crisis of unhoused people? Producer Paul Karolyi and host Bree Davies are joined by artist Diego Florez-Arroyo to talk through the current migrant situation, along with Rocky Mountain Highs and Lows of the week — which includ...
Oct 06, 2023•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Are food halls officially over? Axios Denver reports that food halls across the Denver metro are closing or being sold. Is this the end of an era? Or a post-pandemic blip? It’s Thursday, so newsletter editor and resident foodie Peyton Garcia joins host Bree Davies and producer Olivia Jewell Love to talk food halls and all the latest dining news. Then, Peyton shares some cool events happening this weekend, and the crew picks our official City Cast Denver “Maybe,” as in maybe you’ll see us there. ...
Oct 05, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s been more than a month since RTD’s Zero Fare For Better Air promotion beckoned riders to just get on the bus. So, did they? And what about the Johnston administration throwing around the idea of banning all vehicles from making right turns at red lights? Oh, and Governor Polis is getting giddy about a Front Range-serving rail system — but do voters have the appetite for another train project? Host Bree Davies brought these hot topics and more to returning fave, CPR’s growth and transit repo...
Oct 04, 2023•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mayor Mike Johnston says he plans to house 1,000 people before the end of 2023, and so far he’s got 119, according to his new dashboard. But some people are already getting mad about it. Producer Paul Karolyi talked to a handful of people behind the scenes and things are, well, complicated. Then, host Bree Davies connects dots in the latest legal entanglements involving school board vice president Auon'tai Anderson, two DPS parents, and Colorado’s new social media law. Plus, a listener responds ...
Oct 03, 2023•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast ‘Tis the spooky season! October is upon us and there are so many cool things to do, see, and imbibe across the metro area this month. From the pumpkin patch to the coffin racetrack — yes, you heard that right — host Bree Davies and producer Olivia Jewell Love have combed the calendar to handpick eight of the best Halloween-y things to do. Produce Paul Karolyi and newsletter editor Peyton Garcia join the fun, and by the end of this haunted ride, you’ll have the official City Cast Denver best bet ...
Oct 02, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s no secret — Colorado’s air quality is suffering, and last Friday regulators approved yet another new plan to address the state’s biggest polluters. But environmentalists and critics have already spotted several loopholes that could allow companies like Suncor Energy, Molson Coors, and Cargill Meat Solutions to “pay to pollute,” as our guest today explains. Producer Paul Karolyi and host Bree Davies are joined by Denver Post environmental reporter Noelle Phillips, who’s been following Colora...
Sep 29, 2023•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast As we wrap up a week of fall getaways, we wanted to leave you with an enticing list of delicious destinations — restaurants we’d go the extra mile (or hundreds of miles) for! Whether you are looking for perfect pizza a mere 45 minutes away or charcuterie so good it’s worth planning a weekend around, producer Paul Karolyi and newsletter editor Peyton Garcia have got you covered. Plus, stick around for a round-up of the coolest events going down this weekend, and Paul and Peyton’s pick for our off...
Sep 28, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast What’s the most haunted place in all of Colorado? A lot of folks would tell you it’s the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, but is that place really haunted by anything other than Stanley Kubrick’s decision to film “The Shining” somewhere else? So to continue our weeklong celebration of Colorado’s best fall getaways, we called up Thad Mighell, curator of contemporary art at Understudy and paranormal superfan, to run down his list of the most haunted destinations in Colorado. Become a member of City Ca...
Sep 27, 2023•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast Pickleball fever has swept the country, and after three years of explosive growth it looks like it’s not going anywhere (much to the neighbors’ chagrin). So how are Denverites learning to live with the distinctive dinks and thocks? Host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi are talking through the latest pickleball battles in Denver, Glendale, and Centennial, plus the latest on Mayor Mike Johnston’s quest to end homelessness in his first term. Then, we respond to a listener’s critique of our epi...
Sep 26, 2023•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast All this week, we’re celebrating the gorgeous season that is fall in Colorado. Today, we’re focusing on perfect weekend getaways — the best places to go, things to see and do in just one overnight stay. From mountain towns to chile country, we’ve rounded up all the most charming locales we love for soaking in this cool and colorful season. Host Bree Davies and producer Olivia Jewell Love are joined by returning fave, Denver Instagram celebrity Amanda Bittner, to map out the best destinations wit...
Sep 25, 2023•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast More than ten thousand people with big dreams arrived in the Mile High City for this year’s Denver Startup Week, and AI was the talk of the town. So will Denver become a hub for this massive tide-changing trend in technology that has congress confused and tech folks energized? Adeel Khan founded his first startup earlier this year, and he was in the thick of networking-palooza all week long. So host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi sit down with Adeel to talk about the debates dividing Denv...
Sep 22, 2023•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast This weekend marks the tenth anniversary of what our guest calls “Comedy Christmas” — aka, the High Plains Comedy Festival. Returning fave Joshua Emerson, who also co-chairs the Denver American Indian Commission, is telling jokes on stage at High Plains for the second year running. He joins host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi to share his High Plains hacks, recommend a few shows (with tickets still available), and dish on how Denver comedy stacks up to other cities. Plus, Paul takes the r...
Sep 21, 2023•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast At the height of the racial justice protests of 2020, Denverites — like the rest of the country — reckoned with our past. Statues depicting bigots and racists were torn down, and quietly the City of Denver assembled a commission to examine, research, and reassess the names of our parks — green spaces like Jefferson Park, La Alma-Lincoln Park, but also some lesser known park names with potentially troubled pasts. Today host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi talk through the six park names the...
Sep 20, 2023•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s Tuesday, so host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi are breaking down all the local stories that matter. First, a report of a so-called “homeless bar” with “prostitution tents” at 23rd and Champa Street had the national tabloids looking Denver’s way. But what was really going on there anyway? Then, overdose deaths are making headlines again in Colorado, this time because more and more of these incidents are happening in public, forcing passersby into the role of makeshift first-responder...
Sep 19, 2023•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast With the opening of Yuan Wonton’s new shared brick-and-mortar restaurant in Park Hill, the food trend of the fall is officially the humble dumpling. But what can we consider to be a dumpling? Is it just a pocket of dough filled with … something? Or is it much more nuanced? 5280 Magazine’s assistant food editor Ethan Pan is a bonafide dumpling lover, digging into the hype and searching for Denver’s best in his new column for 5280 Magazine — “In the Fold.” So we sent newsletter editor and resident...
Sep 18, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast U.S. Representative Lauren Boebert had a big night out at the theater in Denver this past weekend, complete with vaping, loud singing, and being escorted out. But is this just a case of Big Divorced Energy from the MAGA darling? Or a sign of something bigger? The story (and the surveillance tapes) exploded this week, just as Boebert was attempting to roll out a new image, so we’re breaking it all down. Newly elected state representative Tim Hernández joins our state politics and green chile corr...
Sep 15, 2023•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast After months of anticipation and rumors, the Michelin Guide bestowed five local restaurants a Michelin star at an exclusive ceremony in RiNo on Tuesday evening. There were big winners and big snubs. But was this moment the validation for Colorado’s dining scene that we thought? Newsletter editor Peyton Garcia joins producers Paul Karolyi and Olivia Jewell Love to talk about who won, who lost, and talk through a revealing new report from the New York Times about how Michelin really works. Plus, o...
Sep 14, 2023•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast The humble user review — taken alone, is just one person’s opinion. But put a bunch together, and that aggregated star rating can make or break a local business. So today, we’re going inside the minds of the people leaving one-star reviews for some of our favorite Denver places. Producer slash quizmaster Paul Karolyi puts producer Olivia Jewell Love and returning fave JD Lopez to the test. Can they guess famous Denver landmarks based only on one-star reviews? Who knows Denver’s haters best? For ...
Sep 13, 2023•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s easy to walk down the streets of Denver and see the major issues facing our city — housing, homelessness, public safety, etc. It’s much less clear how Denverites really feel about those issues. A brand new nonprofit polling group, Colorado Polling Institute, has stepped forward to fill the gap, promising regular surveys of how Denverites feel about their mayor, city council, encampment sweeps, DIA, RTD, and more. Westword editor Patty Calhoun joins producer Paul Karolyi to break down the CP...
Sep 12, 2023•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s easy to forget, but Denver is still a young city, constantly searching for an identity. So it’s confounding why there’s so little research on a characteristic as important as the way we speak. Do Denverites even have an accent? Or maybe there’s more than one? Fortunately, we found some researchers at CU Boulder who are working to cross the t’s and dot the i’s on the particulars of Mile High speech patterns. Host Bree Davies sat down with Jeremy Calder, an assistant professor in the linguist...
Sep 11, 2023•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mayor Mike Johnston is tackling Denver’s homelessness crisis head on, but the city might not be able to wait for long. When Denverite reporter Kyle Harris spent 21 hours at a calzone shop on Broadway, he met a business owner who’s been pushed past his limit and heard rumors of a possible violent revolt spreading through encampments. Host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi sit down with Kyle to talk about what else he saw that night and what that charged situation on Broadway says about the in...
Sep 08, 2023•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast When a brand new Denver restaurant landed on Bon Appétit’s most anticipated openings list, we were sooooo curious — what’s the big whoop about Sap Sua? Fast-forward to now and the contemporary take Vietnamese cuisine has got people talking. Host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi dig into all the latest food and dining news with newsletter editor and resident foodie Peyton Garcia, who also gives us an update on what common consumption is — and is not — and ponders whether a new CBD coffee sho...
Sep 07, 2023•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast For more than 100 years, the brick power plant at Zuni Street and West 14th Avenue generated electricity for Denver using steam. But now that the plant has been retired, it presents a conundrum: Should the crusty old building and its two smokestacks be demolished? Or somehow redeveloped into an asset for the Sun Valley neighborhood? Host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi visit the defunct Zuni Generating Station with Denver’s first-ever chief urban designer Eugenia di Girolamo to talk about ...
Sep 06, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
