Nov. 3, 2025: Why young Coloradans are considering public service; Loveland sculptor’s tribute to Joséphine Baker
Who gets into public service these days? We’re at Colorado State University to find out from students in a leadership program. Then, it’s been a century since performer and civil rights champion Joséphine Baker left the U.S. for France. In Loveland, a sculptor lovingly captures her in clay. And later, one part ska, one part punk, one part pirate?! Music from the Fort Collins band, “The Swashbuckling Doctors.”
Loveland sculptor honors Joséphine Baker a century after she left for France
Peformer and civil rights champion Joséphine Baker found fame and freedom in France. A century after she left the United States, Baker is being celebrated in clay and bronze. Loveland sculptor Jane DeDecker is creating a piece that will sit near Baker’s former villa in western Paris.
Oct. 31, 2025: DenverFright terrifies at The Bug Theatre
A Halloween haunting with Denverite’s third annual DenverFright. Local writers gather on stage at The Bug Theatre to send chills down your spine, including Stephen Graham Jones and Teague Bohlen. Denver historian Phil Goodstein takes us to a cursed block Uptown. And the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance’s scariest resident shambles in!
70 years after the first attack on a U.S. commercial airliner, there’s a memorial
All 44 people aboard United flight 629 died when the plane exploded shortly after takeoff from Denver.
Oct. 29, 2025: At last a memorial to Flight 629; Before Gaga, there was Carl Bean’s ‘I Was Born This Way’
The bombing victims of United Flight 629 will be memorialized after seven decades. It was the first attack on a US commercial airliner. Atop Denver’s old control tower, we speak with a woman who lost her parents. Then, a new film about musician and AIDS activist Carl Bean, who sang what’s considered the first gay anthem.
Before Gaga, there was Carl Bean’s ‘I Was Born This Way’
Musician and minister Carl Bean sang the disco hit “I Was Born This Way.” It’s considered the first gay anthem. Bean went on to fight the AIDS epidemic, particularly in Los Angeles’ Black community. He’s the subject of a new film from Oscar-winning Colorado documentarian Daniel Junge. “I Was Born This Way” is screening at this year’s Denver International Film Festival.
Oct. 27, 2025: Innovating a ‘sexy walker’ to break stigma; An Indie 102.3 soundtrack for autumn
A lot of people risk falling rather than use a walker; there’s just too much stigma around them. Today in Aging Matters on Colorado Matters, we visit a lab where they’re developing a so-called “sexy walker,” but the project is about far more than vanity: it’s frankly life or death. Then, food banks prepare for a rush as SNAP benefits run dry. Plus, our colleagues at Indie 102.3 help score the season with local musicians to add to your autumn playlist.
Oct. 24, 2025: A man who considers all things; AI and air quality; The musical family behind BRŪHA
All Things Considered Host Ari Shapiro, who has just left NPR after 25 years, came to Denver to receive a prestigious award. We spoke at this year’s Damon Runyon dinner. Then, the disproportionate toll domestic violence takes on children. Plus, how your Google search affects the air you breathe. And Denver band BRŪHA is a family affair.
Ari Shapiro will keep considering all things
For the first time, Colorado’s top journalism prize goes to a public radio journalist. All Things Considered Host Ari Shapiro, who has just left NPR, has won The Damon Runyon Award from the Denver Press Club. In a conversation with Ryan Warner at the award dinner, Shapiro reflects on his career, the state of journalism, and his future, which undoubtedly makes room for music.
Oct. 22, 2025: Historical context for this moment in politics; Finding unity across the divide
We continue “If you can keep it,” our series to get historical context about this moment in presidential politics; political scientist Seth Masket from the University of Denver joins us. Then, a Denver man hopes to create a brand for unity in America to show people are less divided than it seems. Later, will Halloween be a trick or a treat this year? It’s just one thing we ask Denver7 chief meteorologist Lisa Hidalgo in our monthly weather and climate chat. And the Museum of Contemporary Art’s new director talks about elevating local artists and his vision for the Denver institution.
‘If you can keep it.’ A new series about unprecedented politics and policy
Benjamin Franklin said, “A Republic, if you can keep it.” He was asked – after the constitutional convention – if we were to become a republic or a monarchy? We borrowed from Franklin to name a new series, “If you can keep it.” With the help of University of Denver political scientist Seth Masket, we’ll meet unprecedented moves in government with scrutiny and historical context.
Will Halloween trick or treat us weatherwise?
Denver7 Chief Meteorologist Lisa Hidalgo has a Halloween forecast and insights into a scary phenomenon called “atmospheric thirst.”
Oct. 20, 2025: Two statewide ballot measures on the menu; Authors at odds with AI settlement
There are two statewide ballot issues in the November election. Voters will decide the future of Colorado’s “Healthy School Meals for All” program; Purplish explains both related measures. Then, Colorado authors respond to a massive settlement with an A.I. company that’s been using their work. Plus, the “Wired, Wired West” explores the power needed to support Artificial Intelligence. Then, Coloradans join in the “No Kings” protest, and music from Littleton’s Conrad Mata.
Oct. 17, 2025: Where Hickenlooper won’t budge; Remembering Susan Stamberg
Democratic U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper is a holdout on re-opening government until there’s a plan to keep health insurance premiums down. We ask about paths for compromise and his frustration with cuts to green energy. Then, we remember NPR founding mother Susan Stamberg. Plus, Pueblo-born musician and composer Mary D. Watkins on honoring the Black experience in America. And Wonderbound’s Rock Ballets.
‘We wanted to sound as if we were talking over the back fence to a friend.’ Remembering Susan Stamberg
A journalist who helped forge public media has died. NPR veteran Susan Stamberg passed away Thursday at age 87. In this 2010 interview, she tells Colorado Matters Sr. Host Ryan Warner about the creation of All Things Considered. Stamberg served as host, becoming the first woman in the country to host an evening news program.
Sen. Hickenlooper: Health care stakes warrant shutdown tactics
Democrats have staked reopening the government on an extension of health care tax credits.
