

City Cast Denver
City Cast
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
Mentioned books

Nov 8, 2022 • 18min
The Many Sex Rooms of Denver
When “How to Build a Sex Room” premiered on Netflix in July, it took the home renovation reality show formula to an entirely new, R-rated place. Oh, and it was filmed almost entirely in Denver with local couples! With its screening at the Denver Film Festival this month sparking new conversations about the show and the many diverse sexual proclivities of Denverites, we decided to bring some of these conversations to the podcast. Today, producer Erin O’Toole talks with the show’s executive producers Scott Feeley and Corinna Robbins about why they filmed here, what the reception has been so far, and what exactly a sex room is.Go vote!Subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver by texting “Denver” to 66866Follow us on Twitter: @citycastdenverLeave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418Learn more about the sponsor of this episode:Denver Film Festival (11/2 - 11/13)Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 7, 2022 • 17min
Cold Weather Camping: It’s Not That Bad!
As the weather changes and we turn toward our favorite snowy outdoor activities, camping is often left out of the picture. But beyond skiing, snowboarding, and maybe snowshoe trekking, have you ever considered pitching a tent in the high country during the winter months? Patricia Cameron — writer and executive director of Blackpackers — thinks you should. Coming off a trip to Alaska where she camped on a glacier, the outdoor expert returns to the show to talk with host Bree Davies about why camping in the snow can be fun (and actually isn’t that much different than sleeping in the great outdoors any other time of year!).Patricia mentioned this winter camping guide she wrote a few years ago for the Denver Post. Bree promised some last-minute help finding your nearest polling place and ballot drop-off. Looking for more resources on the ballot issues? Check out the Hey Denver newsletter, which you can subscribe to by texting DENVER to 66866. We are on Twitter: @citycastdenverLeave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:Denver Film Festival (11/2 - 11/13)Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 4, 2022 • 44min
Campaign Blunders, Transphobic Mailers, and More Midterm Mania
It’s the Friday before Election Day, and all through the state, every political creature is stirring — donkey, elephant, and mouse. So you know we’re talking all things Colorado politics — and not Christmas (it’s too early, Bree, if you read this). Host Bree Davies is joined by producer Paul Karolyi and City Cast Denver state politics correspondent Justine Sandoval to discuss which ballot issues we’re keeping an eye on and which candidates are saying the weirdest things. Plus, Justine talks about the transphobic mailers many (assumed) Spanish-speaking households in Colorado received, and what issues might not be “on” the ballot this election, but are playing a part in how we’re voting. Still looking for guidance on how to vote on the psychedelics measure we talk about? Check out our four-part series “Ballot Trip” on the push to decriminalize across the state. Subscribe to Hey Denver, our kickass morning newsletter, by texting “Denver” to 66866We are on Twitter: @citycastdenverLearn more about the sponsors of this episode:Denver Film Festival (11/2 - 11/13)Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 3, 2022 • 19min
A Skeptic's Guide to Immersive Everything
Between David Byrne’s “Theater of the Mind” and Immersive Dalí, the hottest trend in Denver art is the immersive experience. But all these shows are so different! And too many of them feel like cash grabs. At least, that’s how they look to host Bree Davies, a bonafide immersive skeptic. So we called up Dr. David Thomas, AKA the “Professor of Fun,” who also happens to be co-founder of Immersive Denver, to make the case for this new art form. If you haven’t heard our first episode with Professor of Fun David Thomas breaking down why Casa Bonita is fun, don’t miss it!Subscribe to Hey Denver, our kickass morning newsletter, by texting “Denver” to 66866Follow us on Twitter: @citycastdenverLeave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:Denver Film Festival (11/2 - 11/13)Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 2, 2022 • 22min
Your Guide to Denver’s Ballot Measures
As usual, there’s a lot on the Denver ballot this year. We’re voting on everything from library funding to expanding recycling and composting across the city — but what, exactly would any of these measures do? Ballot language is notoriously cumbersome and vague, so today on the show, producer Paul Karolyi sits down with host Bree Davies to break down a few key decisions voters will make on this year’s Denver municipal ballot. They’ll cover Initiated Ordinances 305, 306, and 307, along with Referred Questions 2I, 2J, 2K, and 2L. For more on the ballot, check out Monday’s edition of our newsletter Hey Denver, where editor Peyton Garcia rounds up a bunch of great resources on local and statewide issues PLUS shares links to our past episodes where we chat with folks and organizations behind some of Denver’s initiatives. (Or just subscribe to Hey Denver by texting “Denver” to 66866!)Find us on Twitter: @citycastdenverLeave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:Denver Film Festival (11/2 - 11/13)Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 1, 2022 • 20min
How Colorado Became a Haven For Jam Bands
It’s no secret: Colorado loves the Grateful Dead… and all the jam bands that formed in the shadow of the influential group (see: String Cheese Incident, Leftover Salmon, and Yonder Mountain String Band, just to name a few!) But a band is nothing without the fans. So why has this place become such a haven for Deadheads? In advance of founding Grateful Dead member Bob Weir’s back-to-back shows at Mission Ballroom this weekend, host Bree Davies talks with CPR host and reporter Vic Vela — a self-professed Deadhead — about the band’s lasting impact on our state. Check out Vic’s podcast, Back From Broken, where he talks with others working through substance use disorders and mental health issues. Bree mentioned the recent troubles at Sancho’s Broken Arrow, the Grateful Dead-themed bar on Colfax. For more, don’t miss our episode last summer about the sexual assault allegations facing Sancho’s former owner Jay Bianchi: “Denver’s Jam Band Scene Has an Ugly Open Secret”Read and subscribe to Hey Denver, our weekday newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Were you at that Dead show at City Park in the 60s? Tweet us @citycastdenverLeave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:Denver Film Festival (11/2 - 11/13)Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 31, 2022 • 19min
A New Indigenous Mystery Finds Horror in Old Denver
A search for clues at Lakeside Amusement Park. A clandestine meeting at Union Station. A round of putt-putt through an old motel. These are scenes from Erika T. Wurth’s new indigenous literary horror novel “White Horse,” which sends readers on a fast-paced mystery across Old Denver and beyond. The Apache/Chickasaw/Cherokee author joins host Bree Davies to talk about how she built this literary horror-mystery hybrid from her own experience growing up as an urban Indian around Idaho Springs, and why she chose to take on the gilded legend of The Stanley Hotel — and add her own mythical, indigenous twist to it. "White Horse” goes on sale tomorrow, and Erika will be speaking and reading from book in Denver twice this week:
5:30 p.m., Nov. 1, Meow Wolf Denver (1338 1st St.)
6:00 p.m., Nov. 3, Tattered Cover on Colfax (2526 E. Colfax Ave.)
Subscribe to Hey Denver, our kickass morning newsletter, by texting “Denver” to 66866What do you think is the creepiest place in Denver? Tweet at us @citycastdenverGot any last-minute questions about your ballot before election day next week? Leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and we might answer your question on the show: (720) 500-5418Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:Denver Film Festival (11/2 - 11/13)Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 28, 2022 • 36min
Ghost Stories, Haunted Houses, and Your Halloweekend
Ladies and gentlemen, it's the Halloweekend! So we invited the biggest Halloween freak we could find — host Bree Davies’ friend Thad Mighell, who is also co-curator of Understudy — to swap some of Colorado’s spookiest stories and talk about our favorite local haunted houses. Along with newsletter writer Peyton Garcia and producer Erin O’Toole, the crew talks murders most foul, hauntings, and tales of ghosts you might encounter right here in the city. Plus, Thad gives us some expert recs on the best haunted house attractions in the Mile High so you can plan your spooky, scary weekend!Peyton mentioned Philip Jett’s book about the Adolph Coors murder, The Death of an Heir, which came out in 2017. Subscribe to Hey Denver, our kickass weekday morning newsletter, by texting “Denver” to 66866We are on Twitter: @citycastdenverLearn more about the sponsors of this episode:
How to Buy a Home Podcast
Denver Film Festival (11/2 - 11/13)
HeyDenver.org - a queer-focused sexual health nonprofit
Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 27, 2022 • 19min
All Treats, No Tricks As Denver Gears Up for 2022 Midterms
With the November 8 midterms just around the corner, some voters are feeling anxious about election security. And others are more worried about all the ghosts, ghouls, vampires, and all the other monsters that are emboldened this time of year. So today on the show, Denver’s Clerk and Recorder Paul López sits down with host Bree Davies to make the case for why voting in Denver is among the easiest and most secure in the country — and why you’re way more likely to come face-to-face with an actual ghost than election fraud.If you have questions about the election, take Clerk López’s advice and make your first stop denvervotes.org. Subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver by texting “Denver” to 66866. But that’s only if you want more news, cool events, and awesome things to do around Denver delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.Follow us on Twitter @citycastdenverLeave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:
How to Buy a Home Podcast
Denver Film Festival (11/2 - 11/13)
Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 26, 2022 • 18min
Could Denver Get Swept Up in Another Election Conspiracy?
“If we do not stand up when they go to steal the election, our country is over. It’s over.” That’s what local conservative provocateur Joe Oltmann said on his podcast earlier this week in response to a segment about Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems on 60 Minutes. So yes, Tina Peters lost her primary to become the GOP’s nominee for secretary of state, but the Big Liars are still here, and they’re still lying about the outcome of the 2020 election. Westword editor Patty Calhoun has been obsessed with Colorado's connections to the Big Lie, and she’s on with host Bree Davies to break down all the lies they’re already telling about the 2022 midterms. Bree mentioned Oltmann’s suggestion that conservatives throw “ballot box parties” and our episode with Coffee at the Point owner Ryan Cobbins about the predatory development scandal he has been dealing with on Welton St.Patty mentioned the page on Dominion’s website where they’ve been debunking conspiracy theories. For more election news, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver by texting “Denver” to 66866.Are you a Twitter person? Follow us @citycastdenverLeave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:
How to Buy a Home Podcast
Denver Film Festival (11/2 - 11/13)
Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices