The Get More Smarter Podcast - A Weekly Show About Colorado Politics

Send us a message! Really!This week on the Get More Smarter Podcast, President Trump hasn’t even  been in office for two weeks, and he’s already breaking most of the country. Our seventh favorite member of congress is making some really dumb decisions, and so is our eighth favorite member – though that’s a lot more predictable. Sen. Michael Bennet is verbally destroying every Republican in his path…Christy Powell has some interesting campaign finance numbers for us…and the Colorado Republican Party continues to find new ways to embarrass itself. It’s almost impressive.

Send us a message! Really!We have a bonus episode this week on the Get More Smarter Podcast: Jason Bane sits down with Corey Hutchins, who oversees the Journalism Institute at Colorado College, advises the Colorado Media Project, and serves on the board of the state chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Each Friday, Hutchins publishes "Inside the News in Colorado," a must-read look into how the media landscape in our state is changing...for better or worse. Hutchins tells us about the new normal for local press; how and where people are getting their news; and how Colorado media outlets did something unprecedented in their 2024 political coverage.  

Send us a message! Really!This week on the Get More Smarter Podcast, as the Trump regime enters its first week and begins to lay the groundwork for the worst shit imaginable, Colorado’s Democratic leaders ready themselves for the fight while Colorado’s Republicans write letters of support. We check in with our 7th and 8th favorite members of Congress from Colorado...who are quickly getting tied for 8th place. Also, our 100th favorite Colorado State Legislator does something predictably insane. But first, he studies oligarchies, kleptocracies, and other malformed governments, and he’s here to help us wrap our heads around what the next four years could be like in the United States as the tech oligarchy and the federal government collapse into one supervillianesque entity. Professor Thomas Pepinsky from Cornell joins us to talk about the greatest grift of all time happening right in front of our eyes.

Send us a message! Really!This week on the Get More Smarter Podcast, the battle for the soul of the Colorado Republican Party is beginning. Who will be the unluckiest Coloradan to get the worst job in the state? Then, the Colorado Senate Republicans have plans! And a bunch of crinkly dollar bills! And, about half the seats in the State Senate they would need to do anything about it! Next, some men will  literally intimidate witnesses to get a drunken rapist put in charge of the pentagon instead of going to therapy and our 7th favorite member of Congress from Colorado kicks off his problem-solving independent-streaking district-voting career as a member of the US House of Representatives by falling straight in line with his party right away. But first, CHOO CHOO, WE’RE TALKING TRAINS and buses and other transit things in our interview today because we have Chris Nicholson on the pod; the newest member of the Regional Transportation District Board joins us to talk about how to win a down ticket race, what RTD is going to do with all the money the voters just gave them, and more!

Send us a message! Really!This week on the Get More Smarter Podcast, the 2025 legislative session begins dies initii, which is not a thing but we’re going to make it a thing; with hundreds of millions in TABOR Budget Cuts looming, a big bill making it easier for workers to form a union setting up a showdown with the first floor, and the same ol BS from the House GOP MiniMinority, we’re in for 120 days of antics at Colfax and Sherman. Then, We dig a bit deeper into the 2026 statewide races (even though it’s 2025) and see who’s rumored to be running where. We also come up with a GOP fantasy ticket...sort of. Finally we check in with our 7th and 8th favorite members of Congress from Colorado, who are about as useful as you might imagine.

Send us a message! Really!This week on the Get More Smarter Podcast, it’s 2025, so why does it feel like 1861? At least one of us is coming to you live on tape from our Nation’s Capitol where a very different kind of storming of the Capitol is happening on this election certification day, and in case you’re just waking up from a coma, yes, the American voters in their infinite wisdom elected Donald Trump president again, for reasons we are still unclear on. Then, we discuss who the real President of the United States is going to be in a few weeks, and why having the richest man in the world handpick the leader of white nationalist parties across the globe is a pretty concerning development. And, even though the Democratic Primary for Colorado’s statewide offices is over 17 months away, we’ve got TWO candidates for two of the state’s top spots that have already announced, one with a minor conflict of interest to disclose for the pod! Finally, we check in with soon-to-be-one-term Congressman Gabe-ish Evans as he bombs his first interview after being sworn in to a seat he’s just keeping warm for the 2026 Democratic Nominee; no need to get any books on those shelves because you’ll be moving back home before you know it. 

Send us a message! Really!This week on the Get More Smarter Podcast, "Deportation hamburgers," our podcast’s year in review, and the return of the Liberty in Laundry act. Oh, and the podcast makes international news! But first, Operation Aurora: Is it just a fun 2024 campaign slogan gimmick thing OR the actual beginning of rounding up tens of millions of human beings for the crime of trying to build a better life for them and their families, just like Elon Musk did! We’ll try to find out as we interview Dave Perry, editor of the Aurora Sentinel and longtime progressive editorial voice in the third largest and first most diverse city in the state. 

Send us a message! Really!This week on the Get More Smarter Podcast, the incoming President of the Colorado Senate, James Coleman (D-Denver), joins us to talk near-supermajorities, housing policy, the state budget deficit, bipartisanship, Project 2025, and so much more. We're getting you more smarter for the next Colorado legislative session, which kicks off on Jan. 8, 2025.

Send us a message! Really!This week on the Get More Smarter Podcast...we're going back in time to January 2023 and our interview with Tim Miller of The Bulwark. Before he became a national name in politics, Miller worked for Republican politicians right here in Colorado. We'll be back next week with all new episodes of the podcast once we finish digesting all of that turkey. 

Send us a message! Really!This week on the Get More Smarter Podcast, President-Elect Donald Trump continues to fill up his cabinet with weirdos, freaks, and credibly accused rapists, both statutory and otherwise; in other words, everything old is new again. The City of Aurora is the only major city in Colorado currently run by Republicans, and man, are they making our point for us. And our guest this week, Elizabeth Jarosz, is a market researcher with Ipsos; she explains how you can gain additional insights in focus groups by measuring people’s sweat (no joke!).