

The Get More Smarter Podcast - A Weekly Show About Colorado Politics
Colorado Pols and The Bighorn Company
The Get More Smarter Podcast is a weekly overview of Colorado politics. The podcast is hosted by seasoned Colorado politicos Jason Bane of ColoradoPols.com and Ian Silverii, former 9News talking head, former Denver Post Columnist, former Executive Director of ProgressNow Colorado, and current has-been. Each week they dive into the local and national news, and for some reason, have had Governors, US Senators, Members of Congress, and countless local elected officials as guests over the years. The guys are also frighteningly good at predicting the future. No, really. Are you ready to Get More Smarter?
Episodes
Mentioned books

Nov 19, 2019 • 1h 4min
The Sideshow Bob Defense
Send us a message! Really!This week on Colorado's bestest political podcast, impeachment-a-lago gets serious, Doug Lamborn attempts to make himself useful and fails, Ken Buck straps on his best Sideshow Bob costume two-weeks after Halloween, Cory Gardner celebrates two years without a townhall, irrelevant Colorado House Republicans attempt to bring a ballot initiative to make a law that's already a law a law, again, and fairy godmother of the #resistance, Jessica Zender, plays Duke or Donald.Check out Colorado IndivisibleIndivisible Front Range ResistanceIndivisible DenverHelp Us Find Cory Event (Wednesday, November 20th)Jessica's TwitterHosts: Jason Bane | Ian SilveriiProducer: Ethan BlackMusic: Breakmaster CylinderSubscribe wherever you get your podcasts and leave us a review if you Got More Smarter. Send all angry and non-angry rants to angryrants@getmoresmarter.com.That’s it for this episode! If you loved watching and/or listening to it as much as we loved recording it, you can thank us by subscribing to the pod wherever you listen, following us over on New Old Twitter AKA Bluesky, subscribing to our shiny new channel on YouTube, smashing that subscribe button on our Substack, and sharing this episode with your friends, your enemies, and your 8th favorite Member of Congress from Colorado! THANK YOU so much for listening, and we’ll see you next time!

Nov 12, 2019 • 49min
Post-Election Analysis
Send us a message! Really!This week, the latest effort to save the state from TABOR’s claws goes down, the 2019 election gets messy in a top swing county, washed up old politicians trying to be relevant get smacked down by the Denver Post Editorial Board, Impeachment-a-lago gets real this week, and our Producer Ethan Black goes head to head with yours truly in America’s worst game show, Duke or Donald.Hosts: Jason Bane | Ian SilveriiProducer: Ethan BlackYou can subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and SoundCloud. Leave us a review if you Got More Smarter and pass us along to your friendsThat’s it for this episode! If you loved watching and/or listening to it as much as we loved recording it, you can thank us by subscribing to the pod wherever you listen, following us over on New Old Twitter AKA Bluesky, subscribing to our shiny new channel on YouTube, smashing that subscribe button on our Substack, and sharing this episode with your friends, your enemies, and your 8th favorite Member of Congress from Colorado! THANK YOU so much for listening, and we’ll see you next time!

Nov 5, 2019 • 58min
Trump's Impeachment, Cory Gardner's 100k Bribe, and Colorado Labor
Send us a message! Really!This week, Republicans are trapped between a rock and a hairpiece as the impeachment process gets formalized in the United States House of Representatives, guest Geof Cahoon plays Duke or Donald and teaches us about the Colorado labor movement, Donald Trump buys himself a friend in Colorado Senator Cory Gardner with a cool hundred-thousand dollars, which Gardner will apparently be putting into very-weird pro-oil company advertisements, the US House passes the CORE act thanks to our friend Joe Neguse, and by the time you listen to this episode, it'll be election day in Colorado, so we do some prognosticating and you'll find out how right or wrong we are.Duke or DonaldQ1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q5 | Q6Impeachment Actionmoveon.org/impeachHosts: Jason Bane | Ian SilveriiProducer: Ethan BlackYou can subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and SoundCloud. Leave us a review if you Got More Smarter and pass us along to your friendsThat’s it for this episode! If you loved watching and/or listening to it as much as we loved recording it, you can thank us by subscribing to the pod wherever you listen, following us over on New Old Twitter AKA Bluesky, subscribing to our shiny new channel on YouTube, smashing that subscribe button on our Substack, and sharing this episode with your friends, your enemies, and your 8th favorite Member of Congress from Colorado! THANK YOU so much for listening, and we’ll see you next time!

Oct 29, 2019 • 41min
Colorado's Big, Beautiful Border Wall
Send us a message! Really!This week on the Get More Smarter Podcast, Colorado Republican Party Chairman and Congressional Hobbyist Ken Buck tries to throw the failed recall hot potato into someone else’s lap, Cory Gardner Gets President Trump’s Back (duh), a major Colorado newspaper demands Gardner’s resignation from office, and, as usual, the Colorado GOP is in a really, really, super bad spot heading into 2020. We also play Duke or Donald with Fawn Bolak of Keep Abortion Safe and prognosticate a border wall in Colorado.Follow Keep Abortion Safe: Instagram | Facebook | TwitterFollow Get More Smarter: Twitter | Facebook | InstagramHosts: Jason Bane | Ian SilveriiProducer: Ethan BlackYou can subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and SoundCloud. Leave us a review if you Got More Smarter and pass us along to your friends.That’s it for this episode! If you loved watching and/or listening to it as much as we loved recording it, you can thank us by subscribing to the pod wherever you listen, following us over on New Old Twitter AKA Bluesky, subscribing to our shiny new channel on YouTube, smashing that subscribe button on our Substack, and sharing this episode with your friends, your enemies, and your 8th favorite Member of Congress from Colorado! THANK YOU so much for listening, and we’ll see you next time!

Oct 22, 2019 • 60min
Recall-A-Lago
Send us a message! Really!This week, Recall-A-Lago comes to a sad and anticlimactic end as Colorado Republicans attempt to distance themselves from the wreckage, Cory Gardner whiffs yet another chance to say out loud that it’s wrong to solicit foreign interference in an election (26:26), and a new poll finds him badly, badly underwater (12:40). The US Senate Democrats in a primary to take on Gardner in 2020 report their latest fundraising numbers and our friend Manny plays the worst game in Colorado, Duke or Donald (50:55).------Get spooky with Indivisible Front Range Resistance, ProgressNow Colorado, Rocky Mountain Values and Sierra Club Colorado for Cardboard Cory: A Spooky Night with Voters.Where: The Alliance Center (1536 Wynkoop St, Denver, CO 80202)When: Tuesday, October 29, 2019 at 6:30 PM - 8:30 PMLink to Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/962198880782683/-------Follow Get More Smarter: Twitter | Facebook | InstagramHosts: Jason Bane | Ian SilveriiProducer: Ethan Black You can subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and SoundCloud. Leave us a review if you Got More Smarter and pass us along to your friends.That’s it for this episode! If you loved watching and/or listening to it as much as we loved recording it, you can thank us by subscribing to the pod wherever you listen, following us over on New Old Twitter AKA Bluesky, subscribing to our shiny new channel on YouTube, smashing that subscribe button on our Substack, and sharing this episode with your friends, your enemies, and your 8th favorite Member of Congress from Colorado! THANK YOU so much for listening, and we’ll see you next time!

Oct 15, 2019 • 1h 3min
Rep. Jason Crow Gets More Smarter
Send us a message! Really!This week on the Get More Smarter Podcast, the fallout from the Cory Gardner national-media-meltdown last Friday, we play another round of the incredibly difficult game Duke or Donald, and we interview Congressman Jason Crow from Colorado's sixth congressional district. Duke or Donald AnswersQ1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q5 | Q6Follow Get More Smarter: Twitter | Facebook | InstagramHosts: Jason Bane | Ian SilveriiProducer: Ethan BlackSpecial Thanks to Jordan Spalding and Coby Neumann for recording this week's episode.You can subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and SoundCloud. Leave us a review if you Got More Smarter and pass us along to your friends.That’s it for this episode! If you loved watching and/or listening to it as much as we loved recording it, you can thank us by subscribing to the pod wherever you listen, following us over on New Old Twitter AKA Bluesky, subscribing to our shiny new channel on YouTube, smashing that subscribe button on our Substack, and sharing this episode with your friends, your enemies, and your 8th favorite Member of Congress from Colorado! THANK YOU so much for listening, and we’ll see you next time!

Oct 8, 2019 • 55min
Duke or Donald?
Send us a message! Really!This week on the Get More Smarter Podcast, a friend of the show tries to find Cory Gardner at a Trump fundraiser in New York City, Impeachment-a-lago gets worse and weirder, we discuss whether or not Denver should elect their sheriff, talk about the two initiatives on this November’s ballot, do a little prognosticating, and we play a new game!Duke or Donald AnswersQ1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q5 | Q6Follow Get More Smarter: Twitter | Facebook | InstagramHosts: Jason Bane | Ian SilveriiProducer: Ethan Black You can subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and SoundCloud. Leave us a review if you Got More Smarter and pass us along to your friends.That’s it for this episode! If you loved watching and/or listening to it as much as we loved recording it, you can thank us by subscribing to the pod wherever you listen, following us over on New Old Twitter AKA Bluesky, subscribing to our shiny new channel on YouTube, smashing that subscribe button on our Substack, and sharing this episode with your friends, your enemies, and your 8th favorite Member of Congress from Colorado! THANK YOU so much for listening, and we’ll see you next time!

Oct 1, 2019 • 47min
Impeachment Mafia ft. Eli Stokols of the LA Times
Send us a message! Really!Eli Stokols of the Los Angeles Times joins us from Washington D.C. to talk about his breaking news story about President Trump calling for the death of the Ukraine whistle-blower. He also talks about the impending impeachment inquiry of the President of the United States and what that means for our second favorite senator from Colorado, Cory Gardner. The recall grift gets even more obvious and even "griftier," and will Congressman Ken Buck get impeached himself from the chairmanship of the state Republican party?It's time to Get More Smarter.ArticlesListen: Audio of Trump discussing whistleblower at private event: ‘That’s close to a spy’ (Eli Stokols, Los Angeles Times, 9/26/19)GOP is playing a weak hand in defending Trump on Ukraine (Meet the Press, NBC News, 9/30/19)Colorado's Cory Gardner to be featured at Trump/GOP fundraiser in New York (Caitlin Curley, Colorado Politics, 8/28/19)No Escape For Gardner As Impeachment Crisis Consumes D.C. (ColoradoPols, 9/29/19)Recall Cashola: From Grifting To “Gifting” (ColoradoPols, 9/27/19)Donors question Polis recall committee’s disbursements to board members (Fox 31 Denver, 9/27/19)Colorado Republicans Might Impeach Ken Buck (ColoradoPols, 9/27/19) Follow Get More Smarter: Twitter | Facebook | InstagramHosts: Jason Bane | Ian SilveriiProducer: Ethan Black You can subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and That’s it for this episode! If you loved watching and/or listening to it as much as we loved recording it, you can thank us by subscribing to the pod wherever you listen, following us over on New Old Twitter AKA Bluesky, subscribing to our shiny new channel on YouTube, smashing that subscribe button on our Substack, and sharing this episode with your friends, your enemies, and your 8th favorite Member of Congress from Colorado! THANK YOU so much for listening, and we’ll see you next time!

Sep 23, 2019 • 32min
Ukraine in the Membrane
Send us a message! Really!Today on The Get More Smarter Podcast, we talk Ukraine and impeachment (1:08), Cory Gardner prepares to explain himself (8:50), the BLM will share an office building with the real decision-makers—oil and gas companies (14:39), climate change gets more popular (18:38), and is the Democratic nomination for president a two-candidate race (23:50)?Follow us on social media: Twitter | Facebook Hosts: Jason Bane | Alan FranklinProducer: Ethan Black That’s it for this episode! If you loved watching and/or listening to it as much as we loved recording it, you can thank us by subscribing to the pod wherever you listen, following us over on New Old Twitter AKA Bluesky, subscribing to our shiny new channel on YouTube, smashing that subscribe button on our Substack, and sharing this episode with your friends, your enemies, and your 8th favorite Member of Congress from Colorado! THANK YOU so much for listening, and we’ll see you next time!

Sep 17, 2019 • 32min
You Can Still Get In Trouble For Saying Nothing
Send us a message! Really!This week, Cory Gardner is very sad, a celebration of saying nothing, one more recall to spell out, a fundraiser mystery (sort of) in Aspen, a clever chess move in a Denver primary race, and thinning out the Democratic Senate primary. Alan Franklin guests hosts because Ian Silverii is out of town.Articles MentionedCory Gardner is Very Sad That You Don’t Love BLM Move (Colorado Pols | 9/10/19)A Tale of Two Headlines, Starring Cory Gardner (Colorado Pols | 9/13/19)Sen. Gardner cheers Trump administration decision to drop water protection rule (Fox 31 via The Associated Press | 9/12/19)Sen. Cory Gardner touts environmental record ahead of 2020 election (Liz Weber [@liz_a_weber] | The Durango Herald | 3/27/19)Colorado Matters: Perspective On Failed Recalls; Why Colorado Once Closed Its Border (Ryan Warner [@CPRWarner] | Colorado Public Radio | 9/12/19)BREAKING: Recall Attempts Against Sens. Lee, Pettersen Fail (Colorado Pols | 9/10/19)After failed recall attempts, Colorado’s GOP is searching for its next move (Anna Staver [@AnnaStaver] | The Denver Post | 9/14/19)Pence visit to Aspen underscores murky area of campaign finance law (Rick Carroll [@RickCarrollAT] | The Aspen Times | 9/12/19)Who ultimately paid the security tab for Pence's Aspen event? An Arizona Diamondbacks exec (Marshall Zellinger [@Marshall9News] | 9News | 9/11/19)DeGette Nabs Notable Endorsement (Colorado Pols | 9/13/19)------Follow The Get More Smarter Podcast Social Media Twitter (That’s it for this episode! If you loved watching and/or listening to it as much as we loved recording it, you can thank us by subscribing to the pod wherever you listen, following us over on New Old Twitter AKA Bluesky, subscribing to our shiny new channel on YouTube, smashing that subscribe button on our Substack, and sharing this episode with your friends, your enemies, and your 8th favorite Member of Congress from Colorado! THANK YOU so much for listening, and we’ll see you next time!


