City Cast Denver

Every January for more than 100 years, Denver has hosted the National Western Stock Show. The event draws farmers and ranchers from across the West to show off their livestock, compete in the rodeo, and remind Denver that despite its big city ambitions, it’s still surrounded by those amber waves of grain. But how much are Denver taxpayers willing to invest into this relationship? Mayor Michael Hancock has asked voters to approve $190 million for renovations and upgrades at the National Western Center, including a brand new, 10,000 seat arena. So it’s time for voters to decide: should the National Western Center get a $190-million facelift or should we be spending that money elsewhere? To understand the case for a new arena, Host Bree Davies speaks with at-large councilwoman Deborah “Debbie” Ortega — who represented the National Western Center’s surrounding neighborhoods on council from 1987 to 2003 — about why #YesOn2E is best for the community.Make sure to come back tomorrow when we’ll explore the other side of this issue! Election day is a little over a week away, so it’s the perfect time to make sure you’re getting all the important news you need to be an informed voter. Subscribe to our newsletter here: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Tell us what you think about #YesOn2E and Councilwoman Ortega’s argument on Twitter @citycastdenver

The Denver Art Museum opened up its new $175-million front door this morning, and Bree has some thoughts. 

Berry is back! That's right, our favorite local podcast critic is back with another #listenlocal recommendation for your weekend. Berry’s pick this month is How Art is Born, the first-ever podcast from Denver's Museum of Contemporary Art. Also of note, it's hosted by R. Alan Brooks, who local podcast fans will recognize from his show about comics and culture, Motherf**ker in a Cape. How Art is Born features interviews with all kinds of Colorado creatives, from comedians like Janae Burris to photographers like Armando Geneyro, who is featured in the episode Berry recommends you start with. For more podcast news and gossip, we recommend following Berry on Twitter @podcastsincolor. While you’re there, say hi to us @citycastdenver!

It’s an off-year election, but that doesn’t mean it’s not an important one. Denver voters will be deciding things like which big projects to spend money on and how we deal with aspects of our housing crisis. While ballot language is often hard to understand, the 2021 election’s seemed super daunting — so the City Cast Denver crew got together to try to talk through some of what we learned in researching the measures. We didn’t talk about the school board races today, but we still want to help you out as you make your choices in those races. So consider this an endorsement of past City Cast Denver guest Melanie Asmar’s thorough interviews for Chalkbeat, which you can find here, along with a very helpful contextual introduction: https://co.chalkbeat.org/2021/10/13/22723116/denver-public-schools-board-of-education-candidates-2021-election-voter-guideFor more on the election, sign up for our newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/And follow @citycastdenver for some of the best tweets you’ll ever see

There’s a measure on Denver ballots this year that was many, many years in the making. After countless community debates, angry posts to Nextdoor, and level-headed conversations between neighbors, City Council passed an amendment to our zoning code in February allowing up to five unrelated adults to live together in a single home (previously, it was capped at 2). But even after the vote, the debate waged on. Critics collected more than 13,000 signatures to put a repeal motion on the ballot, so now it’s up to Denver voters to decide the fate of group living. City Cast Denver host Bree Davies used to live communally, so today on the show she sits down with her old roommate Piper Rose to talk about why group living was so important to them.Also, and we’re asking for a friend: what’s the statute of limitations on zoning code violations?We requested an interview with a representative of the group that collected the signatures to put a repeal measure on the ballot, Safe and Sound Denver, and they declined. So if you’re looking for a different perspective on this issue, including the other changes it would make to our zoning code (e.g. expanding possible locations for halfway houses), we recommend perusing their website: https://www.safeandsounddenver.com/For more on all the measures in front of Denver voters this election, subscribe to our weekday morning newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Get those good tweets @citycastdenver

Denver is in the middle of another election. Did you notice? It’s an off year, but there are still plenty of important issues to decide. We’ll be digging in to all of them as election day approaches, but first the question of Defend Colorado, a so-called “dark money” group that’s poured $540,000 into several different measures so far. So what exactly is dark money? And how is Defend Colorado using it to shape some of the most important issues facing our city? Host Bree Davies sits down with Conor McCormick-Cavanagh, who’s been reporting on Defend Colorado’s dark money spending for Westword, to sort it all out.For more from Conor, here’s his latest piece on the dark money at play in Denver’s election: https://www.westword.com/news/dark-money-defend-colorado-denver-election-expenditure-12404774We shared a doozy of a story about some shady dealings at the Parks and Rec Dept. in our newsletter this morning. Did you catch it? Don’t miss another one and subscribe right here: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Does knowing about dark money spending affect the way you’re going to vote? Tell us on Twitter @citycastdenver

The music you hear every day on City Cast Denver wasn’t made for a podcast — it’s the work of Denver Chicano band Los Mocochetes. The songs we weave into each episode are rooted in the history and culture of Denver, and help us convey a range of emotions throughout our more than 100 episodes. They are also the foundation of a new record, Mucho Gusto, which Los Mocochetes will be releasing this Saturday, October 23rd at Raíces Brewing Company. In advance of their big show, Diego Florez and Joshua Abeyta sit down with Host Bree Davies to discuss the new album and talk about what it means to identify as a Chicano band in Colorado.Grab tickets to Los Mocochetes album release party at Raíces Brewing Company: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/los-mocochetes-ep-release-mucho-gusto-tickets-181456670787?aff=ebdsoporgprofileGet more news delivered straight to your inbox every weekday: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Tell us your favorite Los Mocochetes track on Twitter: @citycastdenver

Palantir Technologies is a massive, publicly traded defense contractor founded on the promise of bringing Silicon Valley-style data analysis to the U.S. armed forces. And now, after years spent complaining about the “monoculture” of the Bay Area, Palantir’s leaders have moved the company’s headquarters to Denver. So what do they see in us? Why are people protesting them in the street? And what can we expect from our new neighbor? City Cast Denver producer Paul Karolyi speaks with Max Chafkin, reporter for Bloomberg Businessweek and author of a brand new book on Palantir’s co-founder Peter Thiel: The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley's Pursuit of Power. For more on Palantir’s early operations in Denver, past City Cast Denver guest Ed Sealover has a good article for you right here: https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2020/11/16/palantir-technologies-denver-headquarters-move.htmlAfter speaking with Max, we reached out to the City of Denver and the State of Colorado to learn more about what kinds of negotiations or incentives helped lure Palantir to Denver, and neither said they actively recruited or offered any sort of special benefit. “But we’re not surprised that our workforce talent pool and quality of life is a major selling point for any major tech company, and has made us a destination for these businesses to locate and relocate,” a spokesperson for the city added.Hate Chipotle’s new queso? Got an off-menu order that changes the game? We’re talking all things Denver-style, Mission-style burritos this week, and we want to hear from you! Give us your name, your neighborhood, and your hottest take, and you may hear your voicemail on the show. The number to call is (720) 500-5418‬.Sign up for our newsletter! https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Follow us on Twitter! @citycastdenver

Welcome back to Fridays at City Cast Denver where the crew chats about the news of the week and shares their perspectives. Today, host Bree Davies, producers Paul Karolyi and Xandra McMahon, and newsletter writer Peyton Garcia hash out the New York Times’ picks for “the most vibrant and delicious” restaurants in the country. Spoiler alert: restaurants in Denver and Boulder made the cut. Plus, Xandra hit a silver mine when she found a Denver trivia game from the ’80s at a yard sale for a buck. She’ll be testing the team’s true knowledge of the Mile High City and you can play along!(This has nothing to do with the New York Times’ list but…) do you have strong feelings about Chipotle or Illegal Pete’s? Leave us a voicemail: 720-500-5418.Have more Peyton in your life! Subscribe to the CCD newsletter she writes every weekday: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Let’s keep in touch. We’re on Twitter: @CityCastDenver

It has been 500 years since the fall of Tenochtitlan, but the Spanish colonization of Mesoamerica still reverberates across the world today — including here in Denver, where Museo de las Americas is opening a new exhibition that explores that legacy. Smoking Mirrors: Visual Histories of Identity, Resistance and Resilience was curated by Chicano/a Murals of Colorado Project and features the work of more than 20 muralists and other artists from Colorado and New Mexico, including Emanuel Martínez, Nani Chacón, Gregg Deal, Ratha Sok, and more. City Cast Denver host Bree Davies talks with the show’s curator, Lucha Martínez de Luna, about the importance of telling these stories of resistance, decolonization, and multi-dimensional identity through the work of artists who aren’t always given their rightful space in a museum context. Learn more about Smoking Mirrors: Visual Histories of Identity, Resistance and Resilience opening this Friday night via Museo de las Americas.For more with Lucha Martínez de Luna, do yourself a favor and revisit our episode about her work preserving the remaining Chicano murals around Denver: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-urgent-push-to-preserve-chicano-murals/id1557798162?i=1000518191869Want more news in your inbox every weekday? Subscribe to our newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Chat with us on Twitter: @citycastdenver