
Colorado Matters
Hosted by Ryan Warner and Chandra Thomas Whitfield, CPR News' daily interview show focuses on the state's people, issues and ideas.
Latest episodes

May 10, 2024 • 8min
In Denver, a merger of museums. One big, one small
The Kirkland Museum, named for artist Vance Kirland who suspended himself above giant canvases, is merging with the Denver Art Museum. DAM's director Christoph Heinrich tells Ryan Warner what the deal means for art lovers and, more specifically, members.

May 10, 2024 • 52min
May 10, 2024: Blood medics poised to save lives; A merger worthy of a museum
In Colorado Springs, they're equipping first responders with whole blood that can be transfused on the scene of an accident, an attack, or a medical emergency. Then, what a merger means for the Denver Art Museum and the Kirkland Museum. Plus, charging EVs across Colorado. Later, division over a proposed national monument on the Western Slope. Later, how do birds survive hail storms? And using goats to keep brush at bay.

May 10, 2024 • 1min
These goats have a job: Lawn care and fire mitigation
At Goat Mowers, the workforce mostly has four legs and horns. The business, based in Calhan, Colorado, harnesses the hunger of goats to care for lawns and fire-prone landscapes. We meet owner Kimberly Jones and a goat named What What.

May 9, 2024 • 20min
‘I just couldn’t wrap my mind around people who were so willing to help.’ Colorado non-profit helps single moms steer the course
For many people, having a safe and reliable car is more than just a want; it’s a critical need, and one that can determine whether we can get to work, […]

May 9, 2024 • 59sec
May 9, 2024: Wrapping up the 2024 legislative session; Helping single moms get back on the road
From lowering property taxes to changing gun policy, we'll break down the hits and misses as state lawmakers wrap up the legislative session. Then, when the vehicle you depend on requires costly repairs, getting it fixed can be a total budget buster. We tell you about a Colorado nonprofit that is helping working single mothers get back on the road.

May 8, 2024 • 51min
May 8, 2024: What’s next as legal cannabis marks 10 years; The call of a ‘stravage’
Legal recreational cannabis sold in Colorado for the first time ten years ago. Now, marijuana is on the verge of another turning point. We'll take stock and look ahead with two guests who watched the industry -- and regulation-- grow up in Colorado. Then, the giant Pikeview quarry is a scar, and an opportunity. Also, you don’t have to be a graduate to benefit from a commencement speech, this time at Ft. Lewis College. And a life-changing stroll for Dr. Royce Fitts.

May 8, 2024 • 21min
Ten years after the first sale of legal recreational cannabis in Colorado, the federal government considers big changes
Last week, the Biden Administration proposed reclassifying cannabis as a less-dangerous drug. We discuss the federal government’s move to ease restrictions on marijuana as well as Colorado's decade-old cannabis law with Ricardo Baca, the first-ever cannabis editor of the Denver Post and Sam Kamin, a professor at the University of Denver law school.

May 7, 2024 • 52min
May 7, 2024: Living with Long COVID; A new plan to lower property taxes
An estimated 200,000 people in Colorado have Long COVID. We speak with two of them today about their lives 4 years after diagnosis. Then, what a proposed plan at the state capitol could mean for property taxes. Later, healing the scar on the mountainside near Colorado Springs. And one of the new markers sharing the history of Denver's Chinatown is missing.

May 7, 2024 • 16min
Long Haulers want their voices heard
There are still many mysteries about Long COVID, but what is clear, is that about 200,000 Coloradans have the condition. A recent book called "The Long COVID Reader," edited by Mary Ladd, features essays and poems by long-haulers, including two from Colorado.

May 6, 2024 • 51min
May 6, 2024: Does the legislature’s drinking culture go too far?
State lawmakers say social drinking can relieve stress and promote camaraderie – but what's the trade-off? Then, the reason the legislature killed a proposal to limit access to public records for some people. Also, students advocate for technology to keep classrooms cooler. Plus, climate change means rising acidity in the Antarctic ocean.