City Cast Denver

***This is the third episode of a four-part series on the future of psychedelics in Colorado. To hear the whole story, you can find part one here and part two here.Recently, news broke that at least one of the dueling campaigns to get a psychedelics measure on the November ballot has been successful. This means Colorado voters will decide on Initiative 58, also known as the Natural Medicine Health Act, which is the one that aims to to legalize psychedelics, but also regulate their distribution at licensed “healing centers.” It’s a controversial proposal with big money behind it. This time on BALLOT TRIP, investigative journalist Chris Walker explores the origins of this scheme, including its surprising financial backer, and looks at how a similar initiative is already playing out in Oregon. We’ve got all the news you need to start your week right 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: Trade Coffee How to Buy a Home podcast Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise

It’s been all over the news: RTD is going FARE-FREE for the entire month of August! Our elected officials pushed for the transit agency to adopt a month of no-cost rides in an effort to combat Denver’s chronic smog problem. But the move also comes as the metro area grapples with a decades-old traffic congestion issue that many think could be solved if car drivers would just fundamentally change everything they know about their own transit habits. Today on the show, producer (and bike-loving) Paul Karolyi sits down with host (and unabashed single-occupant car driver) Bree Davies and special guest, retired public radio heavyweight (and public transit lifer) Jo Ann Allen to get deep on RTD. Don’t miss Jo Ann’s new column for the Denver Post! The first one is out now, and it’s all about Black generational wealth. We are also delighted to recommend Jo Ann’s podcast, Been There Done That! Paul mentioned a couple of articles about RTD’s month of free fares: this one from the Washington Post profiling a Denver bus driver, and this one from friend of the show Nate Minor for CPR about the time RTD offered free fares in the 70s. Looking for something fun to do this weekend? We’ve got you covered in today’s newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Follow us on Twitter! @citycastdenverLearn more about the sponsors of this episode: Control Group Productions presents THE END How to Buy a Home podcast Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise

After our episode yesterday with Planterra CEO Darcey Macken, City Cast Denver’s resident vegetarian, producer Paul Karolyi, and “flexitarian” host Bree Davies were itching to talk more about protein. Today on the show, Paul and Bree discuss their experiences with non-meat, plant-based, and animal-alternative options in Denver and tackle the big question: does the Mile High’s reputation as a literal cow town still hold true? Or are we a city that can celebrate an array of culinary, veg-friendly options that go beyond the “meat and potatoes” stereotype of our past?If this episode has you hungry, check out today’s City Cast Denver newsletter, where editor Peyton Garcia digs into her fave dish at Tamayo. Read and subscribe: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Tell us your fave vegetarian/non-meat restaurant or menu item 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 presents Summer of Soul How to Buy a Home podcast Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise

Plant-based protein is all the rage, with Beyond- and Impossible-branded products popping up in grocery stores and on fast food menus across the country. But there’s a plucky new local startup, Planterra, angling for its share of this new market, and they’ve got a not-so-plucky parent company lurking behind the scenes, armed with data and know-how from running a global “protein” business. That company? JBS, the largest meat producer in the world. Producer Paul Karolyi sits down with Planterra CEO Darcey Macken to hear all about JBS’s first step into the plant-based arena, starting with a production plant here in Denver. For more on Planterra’s business plans, here’s the Denver Business Journal story where we first learned about the company. All Coloradans can expect TABOR refunds in the mail soon. Wanna know why? We’ve got a full breakdown in today’s newsletter: 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: The How to Buy a Home Podcast Denver Film presents Film on the Rocks: Summer of Soul Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise

Denver is a dog city, that’s for sure. But what happens when dogs run free at one of many informal “dog parties” popping up in parks across the city? Host Bree Davies sits down with producer Erin O’Toole and newsletter editor Peyton Garcia to talk about park-roaming dogs and their scofflaw owners, the controversy around these so-called dog parties, and some reader comments about the great off-leash dog debate. What do you think about all the off-leash dogs running amok in our parks? Leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬Check out our morning newsletter to find out more of what’s going on in the city. Read and subscribe here: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Catch our tweets @citycastdenver!Learn more about the sponsors of this episode: The How to Buy a Home Podcast Denver Film presents Film on the Rocks: Summer of Soul Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise

Cannabis has been legal in Colorado for close to a decade. In 2019, Denver decriminalized psilocybin. Soon, voters will be asked to consider changes in the regulation of psychedelics statewide. But before Colorado has the chance to capitalize on this latest potential drug policy shift, some experts are sounding the alarm. Will historic inequities that followed other legalizations play out with psychedelics, too?In the second episode of Ballot Trip, a new four-part series from City Cast Denver, award-winning investigative reporter Chris Walker digs into the potential impacts of plant medicine legalization. He talks with plant medicine healers, ancestral knowledge keepers, and advocates who fear that if the legalization and decriminalization of psychedelics isn’t laid out carefully, communities could be harmed. As Chris mentioned in the episode, here are Kuthoomi Castro’s resources for listeners interested in decolonization work in the psychedelics space: Dr. Rocio Rosales Meza, a Seer, Medicine Woman, Counselor, and Educator, and Puma Fredy Quispe Singona, an Andean Medicine Man. This reporting is supported by the Ferriss-UC Berkeley Psychedelic Reporting Fellowship.More news you can use in newsletter form. Read and Subscribe: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Have psychedelics helped you? Tell us about your experience on Twitter: @citycastdenver

There are many narratives about Denver — we’re a boom n’ bust town, we’re a weed town, we’re, well (in the eyes of one rural Colorado politician), a “toilet bowl.” Earlier this week, Mayor Hancock shared his own, albeit bland, narrative of the Denver he’s been in charge of for the last 11-plus years. Over at Westword, editor-in-chief Patty Calhoun and the crew pondered that same narrative and asked: has Denver lost its mojo? On the show today, host Bree Davies sits down with Patty and Westword staffer Conor McCormick-Cavanagh to discuss what makes Denver worth celebrating, and what we can do to put that pep back in our Mile High step. Check out Westword’s latest cover story contemplating the mojo question from Patty, Conor, and a slew of other great writers.Listen to our episode from earlier this week where Paul and Bree discuss Mayor Hancock’s final State of the City address. (Conor did a great summary of the speech for Westword, too!)Looking for cool stuff to do this weekend? Editor Peyton Garcia’s got you covered. Read and subscribe to the City Cast Denver newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/We are on twitter: @citycastdenverLearn more about the sponsors of this episode: Colfax Ave. BID presents Independents Day Denver Film presents Film on the Rocks: Summer of Soul Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise

Outdoor concerts are a staple of the Colorado experience, and this month, Levitt Pavilion Denver is celebrating five years of bringing live shows to the Ruby Hill neighborhood. On the show today, host Bree Davies talks with Levitt’s Interim Executive Director, Andy Thomas, and Marketing and Development Director Jessi Whitten about why Levitt is about more than live music — it’s about creating community, paying local musicians fairly, and creating the next generation of Denver music lovers, movers, and shakers. Levitt Pavilion Denver still has dozens of free and ticketed shows coming up this season — check out their concert calendar for a list of great local and national acts to see this summer and fall!Miguel Aviña, front-person for the band iZCALLI, was mentioned several times — hear his interview with City Cast Denver from a few months ago!All the news you need, right here in the City Cast Denver newsletter. Read and subscribe: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Share your Levitt Pavilion Denver memories with 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: Colfax Ave. BID presents Independents Day Denver Film presents Film on the Rocks: Summer of Soul Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise

It’s host Bree Davies’ Sweet 16 sober anniversary and she’s ready to celebrate! Because not-drinking can sound like a drag, Bree wanted to shed some light on what can make a bar inviting to those who don’t imbibe. She invited friend of the show, Artistic Director at the Sie Film Center AND fellow non-drinker, Keith Garcia, to chat about how to go out on a Friday night and find fun in Denver, whether you choose to drink or not. Keith mentioned the monthly-ish queer-centered dance party Junk Drawer and the new event space slash hair salon Scorpio Palace on Brighton Boulevard. Bree talked about Clearheads, happening this Sunday at Fort Greene; check out our May interview with the party’s founder, Jen Korte!More news you can use: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Where are your fave spots to get fun, booze-free drinks? Tell 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:Colfax Ave. BID presents Independents Day Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise

On Monday, Mayor Michael B. Hancock offered many thoughts and some interesting prospects for Denver’s future in his last State of the City address. Winding down his third and final term as Denver’s mayor, Hancock focused mostly on what he’s done for us lately — like championing programs and policies to address housing and homelessness and announcing the new Denver Institute of Racial Equity, Innovation and Reconciliation, a think tank that’s supposed to improve public safety. Today on the show, host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi break down Hancock’s speech, respond to some of his claims, and ask: What will be Mayor Hancock’s true legacy? To read or watch Hancock’s whole State of the City address, click here. Paul mentioned a Westword story about the Denver Basic Income Project. You can read that here. There’s plenty more Denver news you might want to know. Fortunately, we’ve rounded it all up for you in today’s CCD newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Hang out with 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 presents Summer of Soul Colfax Ave. Business Improvement District presents Independents Day Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise