City Cast DC
City Cast is the daily, local audio companion you knew DC needed. Washingtonians are gritty, proud, and resilient — necessary qualities for a community facing issues that range from an affordability crisis to the fight for statehood to the movement for racial justice… and useful qualities for a region full of whip-smart people, dynamic culture, and constant change. Washingtonians are deeply passionate about our city, whose story is still being written, and City Cast DC is here to tell it.Every weekday morning, our hosts Michael Schaffer and Bridget Todd will engage people from all over the eight wards in conversation about DC’s crises and its beauty, both literal and figurative. It’ll have the feel of eavesdropping on an energetic and informative coffee shop chat, except that with City Cast DC, consider this your official invitation to listen in.
Latest episodes
Jan 29, 2024 • 13min
D.C. Parents Vs. Weed Dispensary
We’re talking about a fight over a cannabis dispensary that some parents say is too close to their kids’ school. But the real story is that the city hasn’t quite gotten its head around the sea change in laws and norms dealing with weed. Axios’ Anna Spiegel has been reporting on it and stopped by to give us the lay of the land.And big news! In one week, we're hosting our first one of 2024! It’s on Saturday, Feb. 3 at The Square Food Hall. Come meet the team and enjoy free hot chocolate and churros at noon and the taping, featuring Jade Womack of Clockout DC, begins at 1 pm. RSVP here.Want some more DC news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter Hey DC.Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HEREAnd we’d love to feature you on the show! Share your DC-related thoughts, hopes, and frustrations with us in a voicemail by calling 202-642-2654. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 26, 2024 • 24min
D.C.'s 100 Best Restaurants, Bus Lane Fines and City Harassment Probe
We’re talking about Washingtonian’s annual ranking of best restaurants with the magazine’s lead critic, our pal Ann Limpert. Plus, we’re also going to talk again about lane enforcement — but, get this, we’re talking bus lanes, not bike lanes. And there’s an update on the sexual harassment investigation in the mayor’s office. And big news! In one week, we're hosting our first one of 2024! It’s on Saturday, Feb. 3 at The Square Food Hall. Come meet the team and enjoy free hot chocolate and churros at noon and the taping, featuring Jade Womack of Clockout DC, begins at 1 pm. RSVP here.Want some more DC news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter Hey DC.Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HEREWe’re also on Twitter! Follow us at @citycast_dcAnd we’d love to feature you on the show! Share your DC-related thoughts, hopes, and frustrations with us in a voicemail by calling 202-642-2654. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 25, 2024 • 16min
Metro's New Look
If you’ve spent any time recently at the L’Enfant Plaza Metro station, you might have noticed something about the signage: It’s different! And the new look is coming to a station near you. The system is rolling out one of the biggest visual changes in its history. We talked with Sarah Meyer, Metro’s new Chief Experience Officer, about the hidden-in-plain-sight magic of subway signs — and how this new initiative will change the way folks navigate the metro. You can submit your thoughts on Metro's new signs here.Like what we do? Sign up to be a member and get exclusive perks like first dibs on live tapings. Speaking of! We are having our first one of 2024! It’s on Saturday, Feb. 3 at The Square Food Hall. Come meet the team and enjoy food/drink specials at noon, and the taping begins at 1 pm. RSVP here.Want some more DC news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter Hey DC.Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HEREAnd we’d love to feature you on the show! Share your DC-related thoughts, hopes, and frustrations with us in a voicemail by calling 202-642-2654. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 24, 2024 • 15min
Bowser Wants to Make Downtown D.C. More "Livable"
Conversations about the Caps and Wizards potentially moving to Virginia are just one more strike against D.C.’s downtown as a meaningful destination. Most of us only seem to go down there to run errands or visit specific spots. But the city IS working on making downtown a more livable place. In May, Tristan Navera from the Washington Biz Journal explained how that could work.Like what we do? Sign up to be a member and get exclusive perks like first dibs on live tapings. Speaking of! We are having our first one of 2024! It’s on Saturday, Feb. 3 at The Square Food Hall. Come meet the team and enjoy food/drink specials at noon, and the taping begins at 1 pm. RSVP here.Want some more DC news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter Hey DC.Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE.We’re also on Twitter! Follow us at @citycast_dcAnd we’d love to feature you on the show! Share your DC-related thoughts, hopes, and frustrations with us in a voicemail by calling 202-642-2654. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 23, 2024 • 23min
Restaurant ‘Junk Fees,’ Boil Water Advisory, and What Makes a Real Washingtonian
A pretty popular restaurant group in D.C. just dropped its “Initiative 82” service fee after it was sued over it. Washingtonian’s Jessica Sidman is here to explain what happened there. Plus, we talk through the chaos of the boil water advisory this weekend, and try to agree on what makes a “REAL” Washingtonian.Like what we do? Sign up to be a member and get exclusive perks like first dibs on live tapings. Speaking of! We are having our first one of 2024! It’s on Saturday, Feb. 3 at The Square Food Hall. Come meet the team and enjoy food/drink specials at noon, and the taping begins at 1 pm. RSVP here.Want some more DC news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter Hey DC.Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HEREAnd we’d love to feature you on the show! Share your DC-related thoughts, hopes, and frustrations with us in a voicemail by calling 202-642-2654. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 22, 2024 • 14min
Understanding D.C.'s Dognapping Spree
We love our furry friends here in D.C. But sadly, there have been at least 11 dognappings in the city already in 2024 and thieves are going after one breed in particular. As a small dog owner, for Axios’ Mimi Montgomery who has been following this story, it’s personal. Like what we do? Sign up to be a member and get exclusive perks like first dibs on live tapings. Speaking of! We are having our first one of 2024! It’s on Saturday, Feb. 3 at The Square Food Hall. Come meet the team and enjoy food/drink specials at noon, and the taping begins at 1 pm. RSVP here.Want some more DC news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter Hey DC.Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE.And we’d love to feature you on the show! Share your DC-related thoughts, hopes, and frustrations with us in a voicemail by calling 202-642-2654. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 19, 2024 • 19min
Another Blow For Downtown, Snow Closures, and Pocket Parks
There’s more worry about the future of downtown DC. Plus: Snow! It snowed, and might snow again, and people in the city have thoughts about how we handled it. And we’re also talking about the joys of pocket parks, and how there’s a new one on the horizon.Check out the local reporting that powers our roundups:
NBC Washington has you covered on all the details surrounding Fannie Mae leaving.
Capital Weather Gang at the Post will keep you informed about everything snow related.
WTOP breaks down the possibility of a new pocket park at Union Market.
Like what we do? Sign up to be a member and get exclusive perks like first dibs on live tapings. Speaking of! We are having our first one of 2024! It’s on Saturday, Feb. 3 at The Square Food Hall. Come meet the team and enjoy food/drink specials at noon, and the taping begins at 1 pm. RSVP here.sign up for our morning newsletter Hey DC for more local news and fun facts.Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE.And we’d love to feature you on the show! Share your DC-related thoughts, hopes, and frustrations with us in a voicemail by calling 202-642-2654. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 18, 2024 • 19min
Power Ranking D.C.’s Cupcakes
What IS the best cupcake in D.C.? We tested a bunch of them, for scientific reasons of course, to figure out which one is worth splurging for.Like what we do? Sign up to be a member and get exclusive perks like first dibs on live tapings. Speaking of! We are having our first one of 2024! It’s on Saturday, Feb. 3 at The Square Food Hall. Come meet the team and enjoy food/drink specials at noon, and the taping begins at 1 pm. RSVP here.Want some more DC news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter Hey DC. (Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HEREAnd we’d love to feature you on the show! Share your DC-related thoughts, hopes, and frustrations with us in a voicemail by calling 202-642-2654. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 17, 2024 • 18min
Will D.C.’s New Bill Slow Down Crime?
Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto just introduced a massive 90-page crime bill to counter the uptick in homicides, carjackings, and petty theft across the city. Emily Davies, crime reporter at the Washington Post, explains what’s in it and whether or not it will really make D.C. safer. Like what we do? Sign up to be a member and get exclusive perks like first dibs on live tapings. Speaking of! We are having our first one of 2024! It’s on Saturday, Feb. 3 at The Square Food Hall. Come meet the team and enjoy food/drink specials at noon, and the taping begins at 1 pm. RSVP here.Want some more DC news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter Hey DC. Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE.And we’d love to feature you on the show! Share your DC-related thoughts, hopes, and frustrations with us in a voicemail by calling 202-642-2654. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 16, 2024 • 24min
The Bizarre D.C. Buildings That Never Got Built
Sometimes the most interesting buildings in a great city are the ones that didn’t get built. Like the Lincoln Pyramid, the Washington Pedestal, and the grand idea called Dolphin America. We’re talking with architectural historian Martin Moeller about Unbuilt Washington — the grand ideas that, sometimes luckily, shaped our city by never getting off the drawing board.Plus, at the end of the episode, senior executive producer Priyanka Tilve sits down with the executive director of Tudor Place for a sponsored conversation about the historic mansion's special new installation and guided tour Ancestral Spaces. To learn more or schedule a visit, head on over to tudorplace.org. Like what we do? Sign up to be a member and get exclusive perks like first dibs on live tapings. Speaking of! We are having our first one of 2024! It’s on Saturday, Feb. 3 at The Square Food Hall. Come meet the team and enjoy food/drink specials at noon, and the taping begins at 1 pm. RSVP here.Want some more DC news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter Hey DC. Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HEREAnd we’d love to feature you on the show! Share your DC-related thoughts, hopes, and frustrations with us in a voicemail by calling 202-642-2654. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
