City Cast Denver
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. *Named Westword's Best Podcast of 2021, 2023
Episodes
Sen. Bennet Takes On Buc-ees, Mayor Johnston vs. the Reddit Mob, and Cracker Barrel’s Mile High Flop
August 29, 2025 • 62 mins
Mayor Johnston logged on for his third Ask Me Anything on Reddit earlier this week, fielding questions from anonymous Denverites on everything from the recent city layoffs to his favorite cheeseburger. But did constituents think the conversation was worth it? Then, gubernatorial candidate Michael Bennet is wading into the controversy over a new Buc-ee’s planned north of Colorado Springs, but why he’s so interested in a mega gas sta...
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August 28, 2025 • 28 mins
Another Colorado funeral home is in hot water. After a surprise inspection, the Davis Mortuary in Pueblo was found to be in possession of several improperly stored, decomposing bodies. Sadly, in the last few years, the state has seen many cases of compromised cadavers, from a funeral home illegally selling body parts to the startling case of business owners abandoning corpses in 70 degree rooms for years. State lawmakers passed new...
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August 27, 2025 • 28 mins
Local vape shop owners say that the flavored tobacco ban Mayor Johnston signed into law last year represents an existential threat to their businesses and a major blow to the City of Denver’s sales tax revenues. But will that be enough to convince Denver voters to repeal the ban this November? Producer Paul Karolyi sits down with two local vape shop owners — Kristen Hensel of Rusty’s Vape and Smoke Shop and Philip Guerin of Myxed U...
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August 26, 2025 • 32 mins
What’s more offensive to Denverites: The fact that a new business opening in Cherry Creek North calls itself a “bodega” or the fact that it’s owned by an apparent Trump supporter? When Town Pump Provisions opened on Third Avenue earlier this month, social media sleuths dug up some info that led to calls of a boycott. So producers Olivia Jewell Love and Paul Karolyi are talking about the politics of local boycotts. Plus, a Republica...
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August 25, 2025 • 34 mins
Since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, Denverites have been talking a lot about Israel and its retaliation on Gaza. College students are now under federal investigation for a Gaza solidarity protest. Local courts are deciding if the Boulder attacker was guilty of a hate crime. A wave of antisemitism has put our Jewish neighbors at risk. And Colorado voters will soon weigh the merits of Democratic candidates who speak openl...
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August 22, 2025 • 58 mins
City councilmembers are angry at him. The clerk and recorder is accusing him of “cowardice.” Former supporters are abandoning him. But what will the average Denver voter think about how Mayor Mike Johnston handled laying off 169 workers this week? Denver Post city hall reporter Elliott Wenzler and our politics and green chile correspondent Justine Sandoval join producer Paul Karolyi to talk about “The Hunger Games,” as some city em...
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August 21, 2025 • 34 mins
Ever since the election in November, Democrats across the country have been scrambling to figure out what went wrong, so they can rally and try to take back control of Congress in 2026. One candidate who has emerged, at least in terms of his impressive early fundraising numbers, is Commerce City’s own Manny Rutinel, a fresh face even in the Colorado Capitol, where he has served only two sessions as a state representative. So, as Ru...
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Ever since Mayor Mike Johnston announced a $250 million budget shortfall and the possibility of layoffs, city workers have been nervously preparing for “The Purge” or “The Hunger Games.” We now know that 171 workers are losing their jobs this week and 800 more positions will be eliminated, but we don’t know how that’s going to affect city services. City Council member at-large Sarah Parady joins producer Paul Karolyi to discuss the...
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President Trump is calling on Democrat-run cities to watch closely as he attempts to take control of Washington, D.C. So we’re talking about one of the policies he’s pushing and some new data on how harsher penalties for fentanyl possession have been impacting overdose deaths in Colorado. Producers Paul Karolyi and Olivia Jewell Love discuss the shifting politics around public safety and addiction. Plus, some hilarious and insightf...
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August 18, 2025 • 28 mins
Have you tried a pickle pizza? What about one topped with peaches and prosciutto? And is the hot honey trend past its sell-by date? There’s a lot of hype around a new spot on Santa Fe, but is the best pizza in Denver actually in Longmont? Cookbook author and hot take slinger Allyson Reedy returns to the podcast to talk about all the latest pizza news, from buzzy openings to trendy topping combos we’ve been loving all across the Fro...
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August 15, 2025 • 66 mins
After Rep. Jason Crow was turned away from the ICE detention center in Aurora a few weeks ago, he and Colorado’s three other Democratic members of the House were finally granted access this week for a tour. So what did they see? And what does it have to do with the new detention center ICE wants to open north of the city? With Trump taking unprecedented control of the police in DC, State Sen. Julie Gonzales and our politics con...
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August 14, 2025 • 29 mins
The average Denverite probably isn’t walking around thinking about the special legislative session next week or debating specific line items of the Vibrant Denver bond with their friends. So what’s really on their minds? Producers Paul Karolyi and Olivia Jewell Love walked up and down 16th St. for a few hours earlier this week to talk to Denverites about what’s most important to them — everything from the mayor’s work on homelessn...
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August 13, 2025 • 42 mins
Colorado Governor Jared Polis is term-limited and rumor is he’s got his eye on a run for president, but are his signature dorky online antics ready for the national stage? Producer Olivia Jewell Love has been obsessed with the way Polis presents himself online. So as we prepare for the special legislative session (and another great opportunity for a signature Polis stunt) next week, she researched everything from his earliest posts...
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August 12, 2025 • 33 mins
Mayor Mike Johnston is set to announce which and how many city employees will be laid off in less than a week, and rumors are swirling! Westword editor Patty Calhoun joins producer Paul Karolyi to speculate about the impacts. Plus, the city’s economic development office just revealed how much the minimum wage will be going up in January, and the city is rolling out a new plan to “support and advance” local restaurants. Will it be e...
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August 11, 2025 • 27 mins
Sloan’s Lake is fighting for its life. Even the human-made lake's signature event, the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival, is looking for a new home because the body of water is too shallow and toxic, especially this time of year when the blue-green algae is blooming. So, what would it take to save this historic Mile High gem? Turns out, a lot. Host Bree Davies sits down with Kurt Weaver, executive director of the Sloan’s Lake Park Foun...
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August 8, 2025 • 60 mins
City Council voted to eliminate parking minimums this week — could this open the door for cheaper housing or just cause more traffic? Then, The Hornet announced it was closing after nearly 30 years on South Broadway. Was it rising rents, restaurant operation costs, or something else? At the same time, neighborhood businesses and residents will soon consider a special tax to pay for things like graffiti removal and private security ...
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August 7, 2025 • 29 mins
We finally know which pricey infrastructure projects Denver voters will be deciding on this November, because earlier this week City Council approved the $950 million Vibrant Denver bond package. Did every neighborhood and community group get what they wanted? We talked about the bond a lot over the last few weeks and listeners, especially transit advocates, had thoughts as well — so host Bree Davies and producers Paul Karolyi and ...
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August 6, 2025 • 28 mins
Maybe it’s because the best zombie movie in years is still in theaters. Maybe it’s the fact that we just got through a very real global pandemic. Maybe it’s because Westword just found a study ranking MLB stadiums as refuges from zombie attacks. But fears of the walking dead are looming over Denver right now. So if there really was an outbreak of the Rage virus or some other zombification plague here in the Mile High, what’s your p...
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August 5, 2025 • 29 mins
The Center on Colfax recently announced they would no longer be accepting donations from Chevron, as long as the oil and gas giant was providing fuel to Israel. Meanwhile, Colorado’s senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper voted against a measure that would have stopped some arms shipments to Israel. So are Denverites’ opinions shifting when it comes to the war on Gaza? Then, internet provocateurs Do Better Denver have been e...
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August 4, 2025 • 29 mins
With office vacancy rates still high and and business owners clamoring for help, one of Mayor Mike Johnston’s biggest priorities is “revitalizing” downtown. Last November voters gave his efforts a big boost by expanding the Downtown Development Authority, giving him approximately $570 million to invest in projects that might give the area a spark. Rumors about the application process had been circulating until last week, when the m...
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