- The National Rifle Association has long held a position that after mass shootings the gun debate which usually follows is about politics, not public safety. We now know that messaging first took shape after 12 students and a teacher were killed at Columbine High School in 1999. NPR investigative correspondent Tim Mak obtained never-before-made-public recordings among NRA leadership as they strategized a response to the attack the next day.
- The pandemic hit the tourism industry hard in Colorado. Travel spending was down 36 percent last year but there’s renewed hope heading into the winter ski season. Tim Wolfe is the new director of the Colorado Tourism Office. He talks about efforts to attract international travelers back to the state, along with business travelers. We also ask about travel equity and sustainable tourism.
- General Colin Powell was known as the "favorite of presidents," a military leader and the first Black U.S. Secretary of State. He died Monday at age 84. Powell's being remembered as an American hero who put country first. In 2012, General Powell spoke with Walter Isaacson in front of an audience at The Aspen Institute. They talked about his book, "It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership."
- Returning art to its original and rightful owners is a huge discussion these days in the larger context of colonialism and conquest. And it's something associate history professor at the University of Denver, Elizabeth Campbell, has dedicated a career to. She directs DU's Center for Art Collection Ethics.
- A school mask mandate has led Douglas County to split from the Tri-County Health Department and to form its own health department. Elliott Wenzler is a reporter for Colorado Community Media and covers Douglas County. She explains what led to this point and what happens next.
- When she talks about climate change, scientist Katharine Hayhoe has a powerful tool: Her faith. Hayhoe is an evangelical Christian and directs The Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University. On Tuesday, her new book comes out: "Saving Us: A Climate Scientist's Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World." We spoke in 2018 when she was in Colorado to work with researchers here.
- There's a proverb that one mans' trash is another man's treasure. That might be true for a unique home in Antonito. It's known as Cano's Castle. It's covered in old hub caps, aluminum cans, and other scrap metal and objects. Denverite's Kevin Beaty stopped by and talked with its "king," Dominic "Cano" Espinoza.
- At Fort Lewis College in Durango today, more than a third of the students are Indigenous. It waives tuition for people who are Native American and Alaska Native, and inclusive education is part of its mission. But its history is steeped in violence against Native people, first as a military post to combat tribal nations and then as a boarding school to force Native children to assimilate to Eurocentric culture.
- Mercedes Toregano relocated to Denver after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans 16 years ago. Now, her adult children and sister are dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. Toregano reflects on the parallels between the two storms and her hope for how New Orleans recovers.
- Fort Morgan is proud to call Miller one of its own. He's considered the high school's "most famous graduate." Miller was a star player on the football team. We've seen menu items here named after him. Our producer Carla Jimenez spied a ton of books about him at the local library. Miller attended CU Boulder before hitting it big as a big band leader. But his death is shrouded in mystery. In 1944 he was an Army major headed to France-- to perform for allied troops. His plane went down in the ocean. Dennis Spragg is an expert in all things Miller and wrote a book about his findings. Ryan spoke with him in 2014 -- as he unraveled what might've happened.
- What endangered places in Colorado are worth saving? And how do they reflect the state's underrepresented and native communities, which can all too often get overlooked? That's the evolving mission of Colorado Preservation Inc., which is now accepting proposals for what to consider adding to next year's list as it marks its 25th anniversary.
- Shannon Galpin is a human rights activist who's lived in Summit County for the last two decades. She started the non-profit "Mountain 2 Mountain," which taught Afghan women to ride bicycles... vehicles, she says, for social justice. Many of the women Galpin worked with now fear for their lives and she's trying to help evacuate them -- from afar.
- The Democratic senator also talked about expanding broadband internet access and extending the Child Tax Credit.
- When I-70 shut down in Glenwood Springs because of mud and debris flows the timing wasn't ideal for a lot of people. Like Darryl Proctor and his family from Littleton, who are preparing to take their son to Grand Junction for his freshman year at Colorado Mesa University.
- How are you doing? We’ve been dealing with a pandemic for a year and half. That's meant changing restrictions, losses and uncertainty. Even reopening brings its own social stresses. Now, rising COVID cases in Colorado and around the country underscore that the pandemic’s not over yet. If that has you feeling anxious, frustrated or overwhelmed, you're not alone. Rick Ginsberg is a licensed psychologist and former president of the Colorado Psychological Association.
- Reforming the criminal justice system requires listening to many perspectives. That's a goal of the "JustUs Project" at Boulder's Motus Theater. The production elevates the stories of people who've been incarcerated and the impact on their lives.
