Colorado Matters

He picked up bullet casings outside his Aurora apartment.  Little did he know he'd be swept up in President Trump's mass deportations. We tell his story in a new podcast, "The Whisper Game." Then, the pendulum of extremes, from severe drought to torrential floods. And, trees can teach us a lot about climate change and extreme weather. Forester Elli Morris calls herself a "tree storyteller." She says they make calculated decisions to survive. Morris met our Hayley Sanchez on a river trail near Durango. 

What cuts through political polarization? Fighting corruption. Voters are generally disgusted by overt self-dealing, says DU political scientist Seth Masket. This is borne out by the midterm results. Today, a post-election edition of our series "If You Can Keep It," about the state of our democracy. Then, how "Mortified" gets Coloradans to read from their teenage diaries on stage. "Mortified Colorado's" 10th anniversary show is November 19 at Denver's Oriental Theater. Plus, I share my own "Mortified" story in this podcast bonus!

Jared Polis will be governor for two more months; he sits down with Ryan Warner to answer questions after Democrats' big win in the midterm, his support for passenger rail, his legacy with Tina Peters, and what's ahead for Colorado. Then, a New York Times Magazine article has sparked national debate over school segregation, parental choice, and the complexities to achieve academic success. Chandra Thomas Whitfield speaks with a panel of Black parents who've navigated this issue in Colorado. 

Democrats swept the statewide offices. They now have a supermajority in the state legislature. In even the reddest congressional districts, races are still too close to call. Meanwhile, voters sent mixed messages via ballot measures. We break it all down with our panel of experts: Democratic strategist Craig Hughes, Republican columnist Krista Kafer, and unaffiliated communications consultant Alton Dillard.

Dr. Reiland Rabaka, founder and director of the Center for African and African American Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder (CAAAS), widely known as "The Cause," joined Colorado Matters host Chandra Thomas Whitfield in August to discuss the Center's fifth anniversary and his work as a scholar and author. The author of the books, The Funk Movement and Black Feminist Funk, Dr. Rabaka shared his reflections (and playlist) that he says trace the cultural and political power of Black music and its role in shaping history.