The OpEdge — The Gazette Opinion Podcast

Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman joins The OpEdge to explore why he's spent every Friday night since February sleeping at a homeless shelter. Coffman tells host and investigative columnist Jimmy Sengenberger what the experience is teaching him about homelessness, why he believes Aurora's incentive-based model is the superior alternative to "Housing First," and how the city is working to move people towar...

Jeffco Kids First founder Lindsay Datko joins The OpEdge to explore concerns about school safety, staff misconduct, and transparency in Jefferson County Schools. Datko tells host and investigative columnist Jimmy Sengenberger why she believes Colorado's second-largest district has too often prioritized self-protection over accountability, citing a sweeping safety audit, a federal Title IX finding,...

As homelessness continues to persist across Colorado, former Aurora City Councilman Dustin Zvonek paints a compelling picture the primary policy prescription may be enabling the root cause more than providing a permanent solution. Now the homelessness fellow at the Common Sense Institute, Zvonek tells Gazette and Colorado Politics Deputy Opinion Editor Antonio Olivero why he believes Colorado need...

Gazette columnist Rachel Gabel, editor of The Fence Post Magazine, says Gov. Jared Polis has ushered in an unprecedented era of tone-deafness to rural Colorado. In this sweeping interview with investigative columnist Jimmy Sengenberger, Gabel leaves no stone unturned over the issues facing rural Coloradans, warning everyday working people averse to politics, "If you’re not at the table, you’re on...

Michael Fields, executive director of Advance Colorado, joins OpEdge host and investigative columnist Jimmy Sengenberger to assess the good, the bad and the ugly of the Colorado General Assembly's 2026 legislative session, spelling out what the budget, transportation and crime ramifications mean for concerned Coloradans.

The Common Sense Institute's director of communications and research operations, DJ Summers, dives deep with OpEdge host and investigative columnist Jimmy Sengenberger into the costlier state of Colorado and its sharp drop in the Institute's Free Enterprise Competitive Index .

Colorado Springs District 11 Superintendent Michael Gaal reveals why teachers' union contracts hold schools back. Gaal tells OpEdge host and investigative columnist Jimmy Sengenberger how ending D-11’s labor contract unleashed flexibility on teacher pay, staffing and accountability, while arguing school choice and innovation are key to improving education in Colorado.

Veteran campaign winner, political analyst, and Gazette columnist Dick Wadhams dissects the electoral shifts of Colorado politics with OpEdge host and investigative columnist Jimmy Sengenberger — charting the curious cases of Colorado's Democratic and Republican Parties, the surge of unaffiliated voters, and where the state may be headed in the future.

Writer, Denver Gazette columnist, and business executive Michael A. Hancock tells OpEdge host and investigative columnist Jimmy Sengenberger how his book, Rules for Restoration, offers concrete ways to counter Colorado's "radicalism" and restore genuine hope for Colorado and the nation.

District Attorney and law enforcement hawk George Brauchler tells host and investigative columnist Jimmy Sengenberger what lawbreakers can expect in the 23rd Judicial District — on The OpEdge, The Gazette's new opinion podcast. Brauchler recaps his recent commentary for The Gazette — "Jailbreak" — detailing legislative Democrats' efforts to empty Colorado prisons and other Centennial State crime t...