

City Cast DC
City Cast
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jul 28, 2023 • 23min
Avoiding the Heat, Invasive Worms, and Ugliest Buildings
It’s hot, even for us sweat acclimated Washingtonians. Our team is covering how to stay cool, plus an invasion of poisonous worms in the District. Also, we pitch in on the interesting debate afoot about D.C.’s ugliest buildings.Per usual, our roundups are powered by local reporting:
Check out D.C.’s cooling stations using this map.
Kevin Ambrose and Kasha Patel from The Washington Post have you covered on the worm situation.
Got feelings on the ugliest building in D.C.? Tell Reddit about it!
And big news, we're having an anniversary party and live taping on August 28 at 6:30 pm. Come join us!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_dc.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

Jul 27, 2023 • 22min
D.C. Food Critic Spills Industry Secrets
Tom Sietsema has spent a career eating his way through town as the Washington Post’s restaurant critic. He won’t tell us his secret aliases for reservations, but he is here to spill some other secrets, like why it’s important to check out a restaurant bathroom, his worst D.C. dining experience, and why brunch is for suckers.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_dc.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

Jul 26, 2023 • 19min
Living on the Streets in the D.C. Heat
No matter where you live, summers in D.C. are brutal. But do you know what it feels like to wake up in a nylon tent when it's like this? Street Sense vendor Chris Cole does, and she says it’s the summers, not the winters, that are the hardest to handle. In this episode that originally aired last August, she shares her story.Call 311 if you need help or information on heat exposure and resources to deal with it. Here are some ways you can help D.C.’s unhoused communities. And be sure to check out Street Sense’s comprehensive reporting on this issue. We’re also on Instagram at @citycast_dc, and you can leave us a voicemail by calling 2026422654. Call us!! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 25, 2023 • 19min
Kids Are Dying From Gun Violence in Record Numbers This Year
It’s been a deadly summer in DC so far. 12 kids have already died from gunfire this year. Emily Davies, reporter at the Washington Post, has been covering this troubling and complicated story.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

Jul 24, 2023 • 15min
We’re Finally Free of Dan Snyder. Now What?
On Friday, the Washington Commanders gained a new owner — and the city lost a collective enemy. Defector Media's Dave McKenna, a man who spent years chronicling the lows of the Dan Snyder era, is here to talk about what it was like to watch Snyder’s reign end — and what we should expect from Josh Harris, the new owner who fans have been greeting like a hero. 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_dc.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

Jul 21, 2023 • 24min
New Police Chief, Ranked Choice Voting's Fate, and World Cup Watch Parties
D.C. has a new Police Chief. Will she find a solution to the District’s crime surge? How does her appointment change the politics of the crime bill? City Cast’s Julia Karron and Dan Reed of Greater Greater Washington talk it out. Plus, we breakdown the future of ranked choice voting and where to watch the Women’s World Cup!Check out the local reporting that powers our roundups:
Peter Hermann and Emily Davies of the Washington Post have got your primer on the new Police Chief.
Martin Austermuhle at DCist has the scoop on the future of ranked choice voting in the District and Arlington.
Friend of the Pod Chelsea Cirruzzo from Axios breaks down where to watch the Women’s World Cup.
Want some more DC news? Then you should 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_dc! 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

Jul 20, 2023 • 19min
Will The Commanders Return To D.C.?
Washington is on the cusp of a new stadium debate: The Commanders, now under new ownership, want out of Landover, and the mayor wants to bring them back to the old RFK Stadium site. But it’s not a slam-dunk. Even if you ignore the question of who pays for it, plenty of people don’t think a football stadium is the best use for one of the city’s few open parcels of land. The Washington Post’s Sam Fortier is here to explain who’s who. 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_dc.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

Jul 19, 2023 • 14min
Are D.C. Spaces Accessible?
July is Disability Pride Month, and we need to talk about the accessibility of D.C.’s spaces. One in four adults in D.C. have a disability and more than one in 10 have a mobility disability. Still, D.C. businesses are struggling to get up to snuff on accessibility. Kristin Duquette, Former Team USA swimmer, Truman Project fellow, and D.C. resident breaks down why and what we can do about it.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

Jul 18, 2023 • 15min
The Best Time to Visit Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens? Right Now.
The Lotus and Water Lily Festival is in full bloom over at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens and will be running until July 22nd, where you can catch the iconic lotuses. It’s one of Cornelia Poku from the instagram Black Girls Explore DC, favorite spots in the city. She joins us today to tell us all about it. More details about KAG’s Lily and Lotus Festival here. Plus, sign up for our morning newsletter for more D.C. news, and follow our Twitter at @citycast_dc.We’d also love to feature you on the show! Share your D.C.-related thoughts, hopes, and frustrations with us in a voicemail by calling 2026422654. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 17, 2023 • 18min
A Landlord Vs. Tenant Smackdown in Northeast
There’s an ugly fight going on about terrible conditions, tenant protests, and questionable evictions at an apartment building in DC’s Brookland neighborhood — and it raises questions about just what your rights are as a tenant in Washington. Morgan Baskin from DCist has been covering it and is here to tell us what’s going on.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.Check us out on Twitter! Follow us at @citycast_dc.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