Critical Media Podcasts

Aura as we knew it is dead. Through the age of reproduction, the way the public views and experiences art has changed in ways that Walter Benjamin warned us about. But is Aura something to be missed? Chips and Ryan will be exploring this question in the podcast episode: AURA.

Episode Description: Episode 4 of the Project Phoenix podcast series takes listeners along a journey to better understand the recent Boulder County fires of 2021. Hosts Andrew Ortega and Elijah Torok individually interview representatives of the University of Colorado Boulder in search of the most up-to-date information, and then wrap up with a reflective discussion together in the studio. Credits: Background music was sourced from Freemusicarchive.org and Splice.com under the Creative Commons 1.0 Public Domain Dedication license. Sound effects for this episode were sourced from Freesound.org and SoundStripe.com, with sounds being licensed to share and adapt under the Creative Commons Attribution, Attribution Noncommercial, and 0 License. Cover Photo is from RJ Sangosti from The Denver Post

For many living in Colorado, wildfires are quite common. However, what they didn’t expect was for one to hit so close to home. On December 30, 2021, over 1,000 homes were completely burned down or damaged by the Marshall Fire. In episode 3 of Project Phoenix: Code Red, Reza Ruel and Kevin Wu explore the Wildland Urban Interface and how it plays into how fires react in more urbanized areas. Dr. Adam Mahood from CU’s Geography department joins us as we explore that day from a fire ecology perspective and what the future might hold for wildfires such as these.

The Marshall Fire was a recent devastating tragedy. However, what about the people who have previously already been displaced by other factors, or who were being negatively affected, within their own homes, by the environment around them? In Episode 2 of Project Phoenix: Hazardous Housing, Michael Hufano and Areyana Proctor explore the social inequities that impact both housing and the environment, and which allow for certain people to either be displaced from their homes or face elements that are hazardous to their health and their surroundings. By including Geography professor Abby Hickcox in this conversation, along with Bruce Wiener and Joel Hayes, who are advocates for people who face unjust evictions, we explore how this problem plays out in Colorado neighborhoods.

In episode 1 of Project Phoenix: Colorful Colorado, Logan Jacobs and Jacqueline Sandstedt discuss what makes this state such an attractive place to be. Yet in recent years, everything we love is at risk from climate change, including both the natural world, and the local economy. We’ll also be joined by Hunter Wright, the sustainability manager at Eldora Resort, with an in depth look at how they are being affected, as well as their plans for the future.