City Cast Denver

Denver Public Library’s Central Branch is one of the city’s most beautiful, iconic structures, with a design by world-renowned architect Michael Graves. Graves’ addition to the original 1955 Burnham Hoyt designed structure came in 1995 — while still gorgeous, in the past few years, the library has really started showing its age. But thanks to Denver voters — who approved a bond package in 2017 — the library received the funds for a massive renovation. Last week the newly renovated children’s area opened to the public for the first time. Today, join Bree on a trip through DPL’s present and future with the central branch’s administrator Rachel Fewell. Want more Denver news fresh in your inbox everyday? Subscribe to our newsletter! https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/If you visit the new children’s library, share photos with us on Twitter! @citycastdenverLearn more about the sponsors of this episode:How to Buy a Home podcastLooking 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

Everyone agrees that the synthetic opioid fentanyl has become a serious threat to the health and well-being of Coloradans — but the question of what to do about fentanyl has sparked one of the hottest debates of this year’s legislative session. Lawmakers are reaching across the aisle in both directions. Harm reduction advocates are rallying on the steps of the Capitol. Law enforcement officers are calling for stiffer penalties. Rep. Leslie Herod has been at the center of it all, and today on the show, she takes Bree inside the “political hell” around the fentanyl issue at the Capitol.For more on the new e-bike and other green rebates offered by Denver’s new Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resiliency Office, check out their website and see what you’d be eligible to save.A shooting at La Alma Lincoln Park upset plans to celebrate Denver’s Chicano murals this week. Peyton’s got the story in today’s City Cast Denver newsletter, alongside all the other news you need to know today: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/With less than two weeks left in the Colorado legislature’s session, what do you hope they get done? 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

It’s Friday and we’re talking politics. Specifically, we’re talking politicians — this week, some Colorado legislators were up to no good. Paul is joined by Bree and Westword editor and founder Patty Calhoun to talk about Gov. Polis’s promise to “gift” taxpayers money (that’s already ours), Rep. Matt Gray’s DUI arrest, and Rep. Dave Williams’s court battle to get his bogus nickname on the ballot. Plus, Xandra is leaving us for Philly — but before she goes, Paul and Bree help narrow down her very Colorado bucket list. Got suggestions for the best Colorado things Xandra should do before she jets off to the East Coast this summer? Call the “Xandra’s Big 303 Bucket List” hotline and leave her a message: 720-500-5418.Looking for something fun to do this weekend? Check out Peyton Garcia’s picks in the City Cast Denver newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/If you heard yesterday’s episode about Beau Jo’s, we know you’ve probably got piping hot takes on “Colorado Style Pizza,” sooooo tweet them at us! @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

Two years ago, producer Paul Karolyi and his wife, Megan, reviewed local iconic pizza joint Beau Jo’s for their show, the Denver Pizza Podcast. (Spoiler alert: they weren’t impressed.) But the experience turned into an obsession for Paul who had to get to the bottom of why Beau Jo’s was considered the only “Colorado-style pizza” around. Now that Beau Jo’s is opening a new location in Lone Tree, Bree thought it would be a good time to ask Paul about his strong feelings about the institution, and discuss his in-depth pizza investigation into the phenomenon of putting honey on the crust and how Beau Jo’s trademarked the term “Colorado-style pizza.” Paul and Megan’s full pizza investigation: Range & Slope: The Honey TrapFor more Denver food news, Peyton’s got you covered with today’s roundup! Check it out here: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/What do you think of Beau Jo’s? Let us on 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

As Denver continues to grow and change, there’s a constant conversation happening about our identity. Who are we as a city? What makes Denver, well, Denver? One characteristic often in question is the way we speak. Do we have an accent? Is there a way — or more than one way — Denverites talk? Turns out, there isn’t a lot of information out there on our particular speech patterns, but researchers at CU Boulder are on the case. Today on the show, Host Bree Davies talks with Jeremy Calder, an assistant professor in the linguistics department, and graduate student Andrew Ting about their “Voices of Colorado” project and what they’ve learned about how Denverites speak. Think you have a Denver accent? Jeremy and Andy need your help! Check out their Voices of Colorado project on Facebook.Have you ever eaten a hot dog from a stand outside Home Depot? Well, strap in, because those hot dog vendors have been in a years-long battle with the company, and all processed meat fans are gonna wanna read Peyton’s breakdown of the situation in today’s newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/What do you think about the Denver accent? Let us know on Twitter @citycastdenver, or text or leave us a voicemail at (720) 500-5418‬. Just remember to include your name and neighborhood, and we might play it on the show!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

You know the movie “Dodgeball”? The one where Vince Vaughn saves his neighborhood gym by bringing together a team of misfits to win a quirky adult version of a kids' game? Over the past few years, the plot of “Dodgeball” has been playing out here in Denver, but centers on a parkour gym called APEX and a scrappy group of Coloradans who are now two-time national champions at World Chase Tag, a relatively new sport that exploded in popularity during the pandemic, with tournaments airing on NBC and ESPN. The APEX squad is now in training for the tag world championships in May. So earlier this week, Bree visited their backyard practice arena to meet some of the players and watch them in action. The rules of chase tag are simple — "1 chaser, 1 evader, 20 seconds, don't get caught!" — but seeing the sport in action is something else entirely. Check out APEX’s latest national championship match from last June here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n29ni9Khe14We asked for your recycling and composting tips, and you answered! Peyton rounded up your responses in today’s newsletter. Read and subscribe here: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Have you ever caught World Chase Tag on TV? Tell us what you think 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

With one week left in the NHL’s regular season, the Colorado Avalanche are sitting pretty at the top of the standings. Though widely considered favorites to win the Stanley Cup, the team is known to underperform in the post-season. So, is this the year? Can the Avs can get it done? Or could another early exit lead to big changes within the franchise? Producer Paul Karolyi sits down with City Cast Denver sports guy Jake Shapiro to preview the Avs’ playoff run.Jake and Paul briefly discuss the Avs’ connection with the old Quebec Nordiques and their beautiful powder blue uniforms. For more, check out this episode from last year. Take a look at today’s City Cast Denver newsletter, where Peyton Garcia breaks down this year’s wildfire forecast: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Shoot us your Avalanche hot takes 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

It’s the City Cast Denver green and mean Earth Day special! Producers Paul Karolyi, Xandra McMahon, and Lizzie Goldsmith are joined by newsletter editor Peyton Garcia to talk climate wins and fails. From Denver’s lag in recycling (and plans to rectify that) to beef fat being used to power airplanes, there’s been a lot of environmental news around Colorado lately. We also talk about the most endangered river in America (spoiler: It’s the Colorado River), rebates for e-bikes, DPS Students for Climate Action, and more.For more on the Colorado River, check out the book The Emerald Mile by Kevin Fedarko.Have thoughts or tips on how to recycle or compost efficiently in the city? Give us a call and 720-500-5418 and let us know!Looking for things to do this weekend? Peyton has you covered in the newsletter. Subscribe here: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Tell us how you recycle and compost in the city on Twitter: @citycastdenverToday’s episode is brought to you by Choir League. Check out their concert, “Choral Bangerz,” at the Stanley Marketplace this Sunday at 5:30 p.m.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

She dazzled the judges all season with her Victorian baby doll style, and now Denver’s own Willow Pill has made it to the finale of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” If she wins, Willow would become the second Drag Superstar hailing from the Mile High City. Her mentor, friend, and fellow oddball Yvie Oddly won in 2019. But Willow has been dreaming of Drag Race success for longer than that, since she was a baby queen at Colorado State University. Bree sat down with Willow ahead of Friday night’s finale to talk about her experience on the show, how it’s helped her discover new things about her gender identity, and why Denver’s drag scene keeps producing these weirdo, eccentric queens. Peyton has rounded up ways you can celebrate Earth Day in the newsletter. Find that edition and subscribe to get future ones here: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Share your reactions to the “Drag Race” finale with us on Twitter: @citycastdenverToday’s episode is brought to you in part by the How to Buy a Home podcast. Learn more at https://www.howtobuyahome.com/podcast/.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

Could you imagine a better way to spend 420 than a sweet hang at Denver’s first-ever, smoke-friendly public weed consumption site, Tetra Lounge? Join host Bree Davies and City Cast Denver weed contributor Ann Marie Awad as they talk through Denver’s up-and-down relationship with public weed consumption and chat with Tetra’s owner, Dewayne Benjamin.There’s a ton of 420 stuff going on today, as usual, so Peyton rounded up your best bets in today’s edition of the City Cast Denver newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Get our tweets @citycastdenverToday’s episode is brought to you by Choir League. Check out their concert, “Choral Bangerz,” at the Stanley Marketplace this Sunday at 5:30 p.m.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