City Cast Denver

Welcome to Pizza Week: Day 3!What is the deal with all these local pizza parlors offering honey for your crust? That simple question launched producer Paul Karolyi on a five-year quest to the original Beau Jo’s in Idaho Springs and deep into the darkest corners of Denver’s pizza ovens. Today, host Bree Davies teases apart Paul’s complicated relationship with Beau Jo’s and “Colorado-style pizza.” Plus! Paul’s been doing some more reporting since we initially published this episode in April, and he’s got a major update to the story.More police blunders and more pizza in today’s CCD newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Do you like to eat your crust with honey? Let us know on Twitter @citycastdenverLeave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬Looking 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

Pizza Week continues! Our producer Paul Karolyi is a certified pizza obsessive, searching low and Mile High for the most tantalizing combinations of cheese, crust, and sauce. But that search has yielded more questions than answers, especially around authenticity and Beau Jo’s, the infamous Front Range pizza chain that trademarked the phrase “Colorado-style pizza.” Today, Paul poses his most vexing pizza questions to local pizza expert Carol Helstosky. She’s a professor of history at the University of Denver, author of “Pizza: A Global History,” and fellow traveler on the never-ending quest for perfect pizza. All the pizza places we mentioned today: Marco’s Coal-Fired (LoDo) Domino’s (Various) Pizza Hut (Various) Beau Jo’s (Idaho Springs, etc.) Anthony’s (Various) And today’s listener recs: Pizzeria Leopold (Lakewood) Pizzeria Lui (Lakewood) Cosmo’s Pizza (Various) Carol also has a hot tip for the home pizza chefs out there: “Before you put the pizzas in, when your oven’s as hot as it will go, throw in 3-4 ice cubes. It really makes a difference in the crust.”We’ve got sooooo much more pizza goodness in today’s CCD newsletter, plus some real news and useful info: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Tell us all your deepest, darkest pizza secrets 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:Colorado Tattoo Convention (9/30 - 10/2)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

Welcome to City Cast Denver’s Pizza Week! We’re kicking off our week-long celebration of (and descent into madness through) Denver’s best crust, sauce, toppings, and cheese with a wide-ranging chat on the precarious position of Denver pizza today. Even before the pandemic, the Mile High City’s pies were wildly underrated, and we think it’s time to stand up and be proud of all the awesome pizza that we have! Westword’s food editor Molly Martin joins host Bree Davies, producer Paul Karolyi, and newsletter editor Peyton Garcia to chew on some local pizza history and lay down a roadmap for Denver’s shining pizza future.Paul mentioned the Denver Pizza Podcast that he co-hosts with his wife Megan Arellano. All the pizza places we mentioned in this episode: Cart Driver (RiNo) Redeemer (RiNo) The Greenwich (RiNo) Joy Hill (South Broadway) Blue Pan Pizza (West Highland, Congress Park) Big Bill’s New York Pizza (Centennial) ShowBiz Pizza (RIP) Little Caesar’s at (Kmart [RIP]; Various other locations are still open. The mascot had his chest hair removed, too.)  Domino’s (Various) Anthony’s (Various) Pizza Hut (Various) Carl’s Italian (West Highland) Lechuga’s (Highland, Lakewood) Organ Grinder (RIP) Beau Jo’s (Idaho Springs, etc.) Pizza Pals Playzone (Inside Meow Wolf’s Convergence Station; Designed by Everything is Terrible) Crush Pizza + Tap (RIP) Rosalee’s (Longmont) All the other pizza places listeners and readers recommended: Everyday Pizza (RiNo) Mod Pizza (Lowry, etc.) Papa Murphy’s (Various) Osteria Marco (Larimer Square) Funky Flame (Sunnyside) Pietra’s (Wheat Ridge) Patxi’s (Uptown, Cherry Hills, etc.) Kaos Pizzeria (South Pearl) Pie Hole (South Broadway) Walter’s 303 (Lowry, Uptown, Littleton) Ester’s (Virginia Village, Park Hill) Pizzeria Lui (Lakewood) Brooklyn’s Finest (Downtown, Regis) Denver Pizza Co. (Various) Hops & Pie (Berkeley) Pizzeria Locale (Various) Oblio’s (Recently redesigned their menu away from pizza, but still open in Park Hill) Grabowski’s (RiNo) Even. More. Pizza. Plus, some real news and useful info in today’s CCD newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Talk pizza to us: @citycastdenverLeave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬Looking 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

On June 10, 2020, Isabella Thallas was out for a walk in the Ballpark neighborhood with her boyfriend Darian Simon and his dog, Rocco. Out of nowhere, Bella — as friends and family called her — was killed and Darian was seriously injured. The couple was shot in broad daylight by a man they had never met. Peter Sagal is the longtime host of NPR’s “Wait! Wait! Don’t Tell Me” and a Chicago resident, but he was so compelled by the lack of coverage of this particular Denver shooting that he decided to write about it himself. Host Bree Davies sits down with Sagal to discuss his recent report for The Atlantic, “Killed For Walking a Dog: The mundanity and insanity of gun death in America.” Bree mentioned the response we got to our recent e-bikes episode from Denver’s Climate Action Office, which operates the city’s wildly popular e-bike rebate program. Here are a couple of key comments from the spokesperson’s response: "I wanted to take a moment and share that our [Office of Social Equity and Innovation] team has actually pointed to our agency as an example of how to fold equity into this work, not as an afterthought. We’re pretty proud of that, and of the fact that most of the funding for e-bikes has gone towards the income-qualified program.""Ben Chavez brings up a good point about access, and I think we collectively – in the city and beyond – are thinking about the many ways people need to get around. The Office of Climate Action weighs in on some of the how. E-bikes are a cleaner option and can often replace car trips; we don’t intend for everyone to adopt e-bikes. They are one part of the broader mobility puzzle. We will probably need cars for a good number of decades ahead us (hopefully mostly EVs soon enough), and the driving experience for people who need cars, such as larger families or multigenerational households, should improve as other options emerge."Catch more news from across Colorado in the City Cast Denver newsletter. Read and subscribe: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/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:Colorado Tattoo Convention (9/30 - 10/2)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

Has Houston been so good at tackling its homelessness problem that Denver can take a page from its playbook? Last week, a group of local politicians and staff made a trip to Texas to see exactly how the country’s fourth-largest city has housed 25,000 people in the last decade. But while they were out of town, the Mile High was shoved into the spotlight when Fox News got wind of the soon-to-be-launched Denver Basic Income Project, a pilot program that would put cash directly in the hands of Denverites in need. Today on the show, host Bree Davies is joined by producer Paul Karolyi and Westword staff writer Conor McCormick-Cavanagh to dig into these stories and discuss what it all could mean for the future of Denver’s housing situation. Paul mentioned the recent kerfuffle over Douglas County’s approach to homelessness and friend of the show Chris Walker’s recent interview with Councilman Chris Hinds about his trip to learn more about the “Houston model.” Looking for something fun to do this weekend? City Cast Denver newsletter editor Peyton Garcia has you covered. Read and subscribe: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/We are on Twitter: @citycastdenverLearn more about the sponsors of this episode:Colorado Tattoo Convention (9/30-10/2)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

Much of who and what has been depicted as Colorado history paints a picture that is not very diverse, let alone accurate. Recently, History Colorado has been on an inward and outward journey of course correction — questioning everything we think we know about how we as a state came to be. Today on the show host Bree Davies talks with Dexter Nelson II, History Colorado’s new associate curator of African American History and Cultural Heritage, about The Dry — a Black homestead that dried up long ago and a story of Black excellence and perseverance in the face of harsh environmental and social conditions.You can learn more about the Black History Trail and download the new History Colorado app.Additional music in this episode is by Jason Shaw and adapted here under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. 🍕 Calling all pizza freaks! 🍕 We want your hottest takes! 🍕 We're working on something big and very cool. So leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show next week: (720) 500-5418‬Get even more news and ideas for your weekend in our daily morning newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/What do you think about The Dry? Let us know on Twitter @citycastdenverLooking 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

Fall officially begins this Thursday, September 22. But what makes fall in Colorado so special? How do we celebrate the changing of the seasons? Today on the show, host Bree Davies chats with producer Erin O’Toole and newsletter editor Peyton Garcia about all things fall — from the best drinks to sip to the best corn mazes to explore, and all the ways to really soak in those autumnal feels, we’ve got you covered. Here are a few of the farms, corn mazes, and festivals we’re looking forward to: Pumpkin Harvest Festival, October 8-9 Pumpkin Nights, October 17-November 3 Fritzler Farm Park, through October 30 7th Generation Farm We also mentioned last year’s pumpkin-themed conversation, this interview with scare actor Danielle Look (plus other spooky Halloween tales), and this episode about the Morales family, who have been roasting green chiles for almost 30 years.Peyton has also rounded up some of your comments on our past episodes. Tap into the hot goss by reading and subscribing to the City Cast Denver newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/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 sponsor of this episode:Colorado Tattoo Convention (Sept. 30 - Oct. 2)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

It’s election season and there’s some big ticket races going down in Colorado. But the one to watch? Congressional District 8. This newly drawn district stretching from Commerce City to Greeley is getting a lot of attention as Democrat Yadira Caraveo and Republican Barbara Kirkmeyer battle for the brand-new seat. But this race is also about representation: The district is home to many voters who identify as Latino and Hispanic, and the race is on to win their votes. But what matters to these voters? Host Bree Davies is joined by City Cast Denver state politics contributor Justine Sandoval to break down the nuances of this voting bloc — and why such an ethnically, culturally, and economically diverse population shouldn’t be treated as a monolith. (Just a note of transparency: Justine is a political strategist who works for various Democratic campaigns, offices, and efforts. The views expressed on City Cast Denver are her own.)A new poll of Colorado Latino voters finds the economy and inflation, gun violence, and climate change are among the issues they find most pressing ahead of the November election. You can read more here. Bree mentioned this article from CPR: Latino voters could be decisive in Colorado’s biggest races, and the campaigns know itLearn all about tarantula migration in La Junta from our weekday newsletter! Read and subscribe: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/We are on Twitter: @citycastdenverLeave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬Looking 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

On June 11, 22-year-old Christian Glass called 911. His car had gotten stuck just outside of Silver Plume and he needed help. He told the operator that he was scared. Police responded — and just a few hours later, he was dead. The story came to light again this month when police body camera footage was released, raising new questions about how a man who called 911 himself asking for help ended up dying at the hands of police. Today on the show, host Bree Davies walks through the situation with Colorado Public Radio’s criminal justice reporter Allison Sherry, and talks about the larger implications of what happens when law enforcement approach someone in a mental health crisis.Read Sherry’s latest reporting on Christian Glass’s killing here.We’ve got even more news Denverites are talking about in today’s newsletter. Subscribe here: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/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:Colorado Tattoo Convention (Sept. 30 - Oct. 2)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

Earlier this week, Bree sat down for an emotional conversation about walking with Jonathon Stalls, the man behind the wildly popular @pedestriandignity TikTok account and author of a new book, “Walk: Slow Down, Wake Up, And Connect At 1-3 Miles Per Hour.” His book is full of meditations and visualizations drawing on his experiences walking across Denver, and in this bonus episode we’re proud to share a recording of Jonathon reading one of those visualizations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices