City Cast Denver

Sponsored by Tecovas, Western Week continues! And we are digging into one of Denver’s most unusual claims to culinary fame — the Rocky Mountain oyster, aka bull’s balls. But is this quirky appetizer really a unique local delicacy? Or something a lot more complicated? Producer Paul Karolyi and newsletter editors Peyton Garcia and Adrian González visited one of the most famous purveyors of Rocky Mou...

Sponsored by Tecovas, Western Week continues! And we are going into the belly of the beast, the Stock Show itself. Join host Bree Davies and returning guest Joshua Emerson — stand-up comic and co-chair of the Denver American Indian Commission — as they talk to ranchers and vendors, old-timers and outlaws, and all sorts of colorful characters in town to carry on this beloved Denver tradition. Tag a...

Welcome back to Western Week, our weeklong celebration and investigation into Denver’s Western roots, brought to you by Tecovas!  Host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi stopped by the Tecovas store in Cherry Creek North to smell the fine leather goods and talk through all the stories that matter to Denverites this week. First, mayor Mike Johnston declared victory in his effort to get 1,000 unh...

Welcome back to Western Week!  Sponsored by Tecovas, our celebration of Denver’s Western roots continues today with a game about the stories we Denverites tell about ourselves. It’s Two Truths and a Tall Tale about Denver’s Wild West history! Politics and green chile correspondent Justine Sandoval joins host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi to swap mostly true stories about con men, sex worke...

Sponsored by Tecovas, Western Week continues!  As the longhorns paraded down 17th Street yesterday to kick off the National Western Stock Show, we gathered downtown to talk through the biggest stories of the week, each of which offers a look at the state of Colorado’s urban-rural divide. Longtime Western Slope representative Lauren Boebert is switching districts — will she appeal to conservatives...

Presented by Tecovas, Western Week continues!  The National Western Stock Show kicks off this weekend, serving up 16 days of fun things to do, see, and eat! Whether you’re an experienced rodeo-goer or a first-timer, a plan is a necessity — but where do you start? From a high-dollar art show to mutton bustin’ to cattle pageantry, there are dozens of unique agricultural, historical, cultural, and cu...

Welcome to Western Week, sponsored by Tecovas! The National Western Stock Show is set to open this weekend in Denver, as it has almost every January since 1906. More than a rodeo and livestock showcase, this annual event is an integral part of Denver’s identity and economy, bringing in billions of dollars over the decades. But the story of a city and its rodeo is not all bolo ties and button-snap...

It’s 2024! Maybe you’ve joined a gym or made some new year’s resolutions. But what are you doing for fun? From live concerts by candlelight and a long-awaited restaurant re-opening to a new immersive art (and cocktails) experience, we’ve got lots of great ideas to help you relax and enjoy the new year in Denver. Join Host Bree Davies, newsletter editor Peyton Garcia, and producer Paul Karolyi to p...

Could you guess a Denver institution based only on how its haters described it in a 1-star review? Play along with producer Olivia Jewell Love, returning guest JD Lopez, and producer slash quizmaster Paul Karolyi in this first edition of our 1-star review game show.    For more from JD, you can hear him share his ice cream obsession on our ice cream battle episode from July, or interview local cre...

CPR climate reporter and EV owner Sam Brasch says there is “no better state in the country to buy an electric car than Colorado,” thanks to all the state incentives and rebates available here. Host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi sat down with Sam over the summer to break down all the discounts, his personal experience owning a Chevy Bolt, and the complicated politics of EVs.   Learn more ab...

Mike Johnston made a lot of big promises when he was on the campaign trail earlier this year — like ending homelessness in his first term. So how’s he doing so far? Back in May, host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi talked with the now-mayor about his plan for downtown, his idea to build “micro-communities” for people experiencing homelessness, and much more. This was right before the runoff,...

It’s been exactly one year since the Denver Post published a blockbuster three-part investigation uncovering an international criminal conspiracy involving the Denver Art Museum. While the DAM removed one of the co-conspirators’ names from its Arts of Asia gallery earlier this year and has returned some of the stolen relics, the story behind Denver’s Emma Bunker, or “The Scholar” as she was known,...

The Colorado Supreme Court made international headlines this week when it ruled that former president Donald Trump will not be allowed on our state’s 2024 primary ballots. With an appeal to SCOTUS imminent, we’re talking about why this happened here in Denver, the fragile state of our democracy, and all the ripple effects across Colorado. Producer Paul Karolyi and host Bree Davies are joined by ou...

Twenty-one years after Northsider Jose Ramirez ventured into Centennial to open the first Los Dos Potrillos in 2002, his sons Luis and Daniel have expanded the business across the ‘burbs, with a dream of becoming the “Shake Shack of Mexican food.” Host Bree Davies sat down with the Ramirez brothers earlier this year before they opened their new fast-casual spot in Northglenn to talk about the stat...

After Rep. Lauren Boebert’s “Beetlejuice” moment back in September, Liberals across the country gleefully jeered and cheered as she tried to spin the media narrative back in her favor. But now that the dust has settled, Boebert is back on the offensive. So what are her electoral chances in the Congressional District 3 Republican primary in June? And if she wins, could she beat the likely Democrati...

Mayor Mike Johnston has less than two weeks left to bring almost 500 people off the street into housing if he wants to hit his self-imposed target. At least, that’s what his housing dashboard says now. Westword editor Patty Calhoun joins host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi to talk about “deception” and “gaslighting” allegations from Kyle Clark of 9News and the growing criticism facing the m...

Denver is on track to see more people evicted from their homes this year than any time since 2008. But with the Mile High minimum wage steadily rising and a fairly stable economy, what’s going on? Host Bree Davies sits down with Melissa Mejia, policy director for the Colorado Economic Defense Project, to talk about the eviction crisis, how more than $60 million in new funding from the city and sta...

A new poll shows that Coloradans are “slightly” optimistic about the direction of the state. But a closer look at those numbers reveals a heckuva lot more. Producer Paul Karolyi and host Bree Davies are joined by returning faves — politics and green chile correspondent Justine Sandoval and Joshua Emerson, comedian, Casa Bonita employee, and co-chair of the Denver American Indian Commission — to br...

The beverage of the moment here in Denver — like the rest of the country — comes from an unlikely purveyor: Panera Bread. But as our producer Olivia Jewell Love has been watching, local Paneras are making their new “charged” lemonade harder to access, as the company faces lawsuits alleging that the highly caffeinated sweet treat is more deadly than it seems. Olivia joins host Bree Davies and produ...

Cold weather is a fact of life up here in Mile High. But current city policy says that Denver’s emergency warming centers should only open after temperatures dip down to 20 degrees — well below the point when the human body can experience hypothermia. Recently, Dr. Joshua Barocas, a medical doctor and associate professor at the CU School for Medicine, made a presentation to City Council arguing fo...

Since Central and South American migrants started arriving in Denver almost exactly one year ago, more than 30,000 people have arrived looking for support, housing, and all kinds of other help. While city officials are scrambling, everyday Denverites are stepping up — but still, the struggle to help migrants is clashing with Mayor Mike Johnston’s last-minute push to house 1,000 people already livi...

The numbers are in and it’s official, Denver is not the car theft capital of the country. Car thefts are even down at DIA! So how did that happen? Host Bree Davies sits down with Director Robert Force and Cale Gould of the Colorado Auto Theft Prevention Authority to talk about how new legislation and a mission from the governor’s office gave them the tools to turn around not just Denver’s auto the...

Colorado Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker is a popular Denver holiday tradition, but ticket prices have barely increased in the last 25 years. So who’s really paying for it? And as the end of the year approaches, the Oxford English Dictionary has chosen “rizz” as the word of 2023. We want to know: If Denver had a word of the year, what would it be? Producer Paul Karolyi and host Bree Davies a...

The hottest trend in Denver dining right now is the holiday pop-up. These timely takeovers have been popping up everywhere over the past few years, but this year it’s a bona fide eruption of campy, Christmas-y fun, with new stand-outs, contrarians, and even a Tiki-themed trend within a trend. Food writer Linnea Covington is Denver’s go-to holiday pop-up enthusiast, reporting on the trend for Westw...

The holidays are in full swing, but December is just getting started! From holiday markets in picturesque mountain towns to daytime New Year’s Eve parties for kiddos, there’s a lot happening in and around Denver before 2023 comes to an end. Host Bree Davies and producer Olivia Jewell Love share their picks for fun ways to spend your days and nights in December.  Here are some links to our picks: G...