City Cast Denver

Like many American cities, Denver is home to many buildings, streets, and monuments commemorating problematic figures from our sometimes violent and racist past. Slowly but surely, we’re changing that. Like this past weekend, the Byers Branch Library in La Alma Lincoln Park was officially renamed in honor of John Emhoolah Jr., “Thunderbird Man,” a Kiowa and Arapaho elder who spent his life advocating for Native American education and religious liberty. City Cast Denver producer Paul Karolyi was at the ceremonial renaming ceremony on Saturday, and he has the story. For more on why Denver Public Library wanted to rename the Byers Branch, here’s a brief summary of his support for the Sand Creek Massacre: https://history.denverlibrary.org/news/william-n-byers-contributing-massacreWhat’s the latest on Denver’s pandemic protocols? Supply chain issues? And housing crisis? Get all that and more in our weekday morning newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/We don’t always tweet. But when we do, we use the handle @citycastdenver

Denver had to face a hard truth this week: so far in 2021, 73 people have been killed on the city’s roadways. That’s the highest number of traffic deaths Denver has seen since the Vision Zero plan was implemented in 2016. The plan hoped to end all traffic deaths by 2030, but clearly the numbers are going in the wrong direction. Why? Host Bree Davies and producers Paul Karolyi and Xandra McMahon discuss the age-old Denver question: Who really owns these streets? Plus, the crew debates whether Denver’s bid for the 2026 World Cup is a good idea or not. Paul mentioned a website that leaks all of FIFA’s dirty secrets. Here’s a New Yorker story about it: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/06/03/how-football-leaks-is-exposing-corruption-in-european-soccerFor more on Colorado’s obsession with big SUV’s, check out Nate Minor’s story for CPR News: https://www.cpr.org/2021/10/01/colorado-suvs-sales-carbon-emissions-pedestrian-safety/Our newsletter writer Peyton Garcia cooks up an extra special newsletter every Friday. Don’t miss another one: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Let’s be friends on Twitter! @CityCastDenver 

Last week, it was announced that the boarded-up Denver Diner would not re-open, but instead become a Chase Bank. The beloved late-night dining spot that had served the city for decades (even long before it became The Denver Diner in the ’90s) was going away for good — leaving Denver with even less options for a 24-hour gathering place with affordable meals. Today on the show, host Bree Davies reminisces with fellow Denver Diner enthusiast Kalyn Heffernan about their mutual love for a dining spot that acted as an intersection for humanity and proved to be one of the most physically and economically accessible meeting places in the city. Plus, we hear from newsletter writer Peyton Garcia about hers -and some of your- favorite diners in Denver. Wondering what diners still exist in the Mile High City? Westword has an excellent survey of the current diner scene: https://www.westword.com/restaurants/late-night-food-diners-denver-12725841Get more dirt on Denver in your inbox every weekday by signing up for the City Cast Denver newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Share your Denver Diner memories with us on twitter: @citycastdenver

Jenny Shank grew up in southeast Denver, but when it was time for school, she was bused all over the city — from an elementary school with a Chicano-rooted curriculum on the West Side to a predominantly Black middle school near Five Points. And it was those experiences that informed her new George Garrett Fiction Prize-winning collection of short stories, “Mixed Company.” It explores all the awkward, comical, and challenging ways that very different kinds of Coloradans can still find ways to connect. Host Bree Davies sits down with Shank to talk about their shared history with Denver Public Schools and busing, and how they understand their similar education experiences differently today. “Mixed Company” comes out later this month. For more details on how to get yourself a copy or attend an upcoming reading, check out Shank’s website or RSVP to this reading she's doing in January with a couple of other local authors.For more on Denver’s history of busing, check out our episode from September 8 with playwright Alicia Smith Young! We’re trying some new stuff in our newsletter this week! Check it out and tell us what you think: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/If you follow, we’ll send you some really good tweets today from @citycastdenver

If you’ve tried to watch the Nuggets or the Avalanche on TV at all in the last three years, you may have noticed that well, you can’t. That’s because Denver is going into its third season of a blackout, thanks to a dispute between Altitude, the regional sports network that broadcasts our teams, and Comcast, the metro area’s most popular cable provider. While the corporate giants battle it out in court, fans are left to try to watch games in person, switch cable providers, or find less-than-legal streams online. Today, Host Bree Davies chats with Denver Post reporter and City Cast Denver sports expert Jake Shapiro about why, exactly, local sports fans are shut out from watching their teams on TV.Get news you can use every weekday morning by signing up for the City Cast Denver newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Give us your Altitude TV/Comcast hot takes via Twitter: @citycastdenver

Walk into SAME Café on East Colfax, and it looks like your average fast-casual lunch spot. But there’s A LOT of good stuff going on under the surface. SAME, which stands for So All May Eat, is a donation-based “participatory” restaurant. Anyone can go in and get a freshly cooked meal made with local produce. All you have to do is give something back to the community in exchange — be it a donation of produce, money, or your time. Host Bree Davies sits down with SAME Café’s new executive director Brad Reubendale to talk about SAME’s 15-year anniversary, his winding journey to this job, and the restaurant’s new “trauma-informed design.”For more on SAME Cafe’s 15-year anniversary, check out this article from 5280 Magazine: https://www.5280.com/2021/11/celebrating-one-of-the-countrys-oldest-pay-what-you-can-restaurants/The holidays are just around the corner! Do you have a favorite tradition around this time of year where you like to give back or connect with our community? Let us know your favorite ways and places to give — and receive — via email at denver@citycast.fm or leave us a voicemail at (720) 500-5418‬For more Denver news and cool events, subscribe to our newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Have you ever had lunch at SAME Café? Tell us how it was @citycastdenver

Way back in the early ’90s, the Denver-style-Mission-style burrito rolled into town thanks to Chipotle. They introduced a massive meal you could eat with two hands — a steamed tortilla chock-full of rice, beans, meat, and all sorts of toppings. Illegal Pete’s appeared just a few years later in Boulder with a similar style burrito, but a restaurant environment all its own. Today on the show, the City Cast Denver crew gets together to talk about these burrito behemoths and tries to decide who makes the best Denver-style-Mission-style meal in the Mile High City.Want more of Peyton’s culinary recs? Check out the City Cast Denver newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Tell us where you stand on the Chipotle/Illegal Pete’s debate on Twitter: @citycastdenver

In this morning’s episode, Bree talked to documentarian Sara Terry about her new film A Decent Home, which is premiering this Saturday at Denver Film Fest. It was a fascinating, wide-ranging conversation, so we wanted to share a little bonus excerpt. It’s about the scene in the documentary where Sara visits Mobile Home University, a Colorado-based program that teaches people how to buy and make the most money possible out of mobile home parks. Here’s a great piece from the Denver Post’s Sam Tabachnik about Mobile Home University if you want to learn more: https://www.denverpost.com/2021/09/05/mobile-home-university-rv-horizons-impact-communities-frank-rolfe-dave-reynolds/Stream Sara Terry’s new documentary, A Decent Home, online: https://watch.eventive.org/denverfilmfestival/play/6154d7761d62fd003e42366d Or catch a screening in-person, as part of the 44th Annual Denver Film Festival:Sat, Nov 6th, 4:00 PM @ Maglione Theater (Sie)Sun, Nov 7th, 2:30 PM @ AMC House 3Thu, Nov 11th, 4:15 PM @ Maglione Theater (Sie)Want more news in your inbox every weekday morning? Sign up for the City Cast Denver newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Tell us your experience with housing in Colorado via twitter: @citycastdenver

After filmmaker Sara Terry almost lost her home in 2008, she thought a lot about housing stability and inequality. In Terry’s new documentary, A Decent Home, she tackles an often unseen side of the housing crisis — the precarious nature of mobile home parks — with the vigor of a career journalist and the humanity of a natural storyteller. Today on the show, Host Bree Davies talks with Terry about her film and the people she chose to profile, particularly the residents of Aurora’s Denver Meadows mobile home park as they fought to stay housed. Terry also discusses the documentary’s exploration of predatory park owners across the country, who make their money by squeezing every last penny out of people on the margins of society. Terry is hosting a convening this Saturday ahead of the premiere at 4 p.m. It will feature former residents of Denver Meadows alongside activists and elected officials. The event is set to run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and space is very limited, so if you’re interested act fast. Email gretchen@adecenthomefilm.com if you’d like to attend. Stream A Decent Home online: https://watch.eventive.org/denverfilmfestival/play/6154d7761d62fd003e42366d Or catch a screening in-person, as part of the 44th Annual Denver Film Festival:Sat, Nov 6th, 4:00 PM @ Maglione Theater (Sie)Sun, Nov 7th, 2:30 PM @ AMC House 3Thu, Nov 11th, 4:15 PM @ Maglione Theater (Sie)Find the full Denver Film Fest schedule of screenings, both in person and virtual, here: https://www.denverfilm.org/denverfilmfestival/dff44/Want more news in your inbox every weekday morning? Sign up for the City Cast Denver newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Tell us your experience with housing in Colorado via twitter: @citycastdenver

Yes, voter turnout was low. And yes, there weren’t any major offices up for grabs. But there were a lot of important issues at stake in Denver’s election, and we stayed up all night — okay, some of the night — to see what happened. Bree, Peyton, Paul, and Xandra break down what voters approved, what they rejected, and what that’s going to mean for all of Denver. As the fallout from the election unfolds, we’ll have plenty of coverage in our newsletter. Subscribe here: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/You heard our first reactions to the results. But we want to hear from you, too! Tweet us your hottest election takes @citycastdenver