The President’s ‘Kitchen Cabinet’, How Writings On Detention Center Walls Inspired Colorado Poet
Your perception of George Washington may change when you hear about how he treated the first presidential cook. The story comes out of Denver author Adrian Miller’s new book, “The President’s Kitchen Cabinet: The Story of African-Americans Who Have Fed Our First Families.” Then, writing on the walls of an immigrant detention center inspired Denver poet Teow Lim Goh. The poems in the men’s barracks are still there, but the women’s were destroyed in a fire. Goh imagines what those lost poems may have been in her latest collection called “Islanders.”
American Indian Activist Led Landmark Lawsuit, Veterans’ Voices In ‘Stories From Wartime,’ What’s Hygge?
As the Dakota Access Pipeline rolls ahead, a look back at an earlier clash between Indian tribes and the federal government, when activist Elouise Cobell filed the largest class-action suit ever against the United States. Then, veterans describe their battlefield experiences in a long-running Regis University program called “Stories From Wartime.” Students learn the history. Vets find it cathartic. And, the rules designed to help communities and industry avoid conflicts over oil and gas drilling are causing — conflict. Plus, an import from Denmark to Colorado: What’s hygge?
VW Settlement, A Check On New Oil and Gas Rules, Film Portrays A Human Born On Mars
The Volkswagen settlement means not just money for car owners and auto dealers but also for the state to pay for clean energy projects. Then, communities quarrel with new oil and gas operations despite state rules intended to ease the tension. Those rules also helped fund a forthcoming study of the potential health effects of living near drilling rigs. Also, the new film “The Space Between Us” is about the first human born on Mars, who wants to travel to Earth. And, an opera written especially for children.
Both Sides Of Trump’s Executive Order, Curling Championship, Make Yourself Happy Poetry
President Donald Trump’s controversial travel ban has generated a lot of reaction in Colorado — from approval, to fear. We hear from both sides. Then, for a Colorado curling team, the countdown to the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea begins this weekend. Next, we meet an experimental poet, Eleni Sikelianos, who wants readers to tear into her new book “Make Yourself Happy” — literally. She’s included pages that are meant to be ripped out and turned into three dimensional art. And, the story of two Colorado school districts that share a border, but are worlds apart.
Colorado High Schoolers Talk Trump And Their Future, Local Artists Take On Religion, A Stellar Meeting With Muhammad Ali
The day before Donald Trump’s inauguration, high school students from across the state talk about their hopes and concerns, and what responsibility they feel toward their country and community. Then, artists take on the topic of religion in a new show in Denver. One piece is a collection of crosses made from everyday objects like salt shakers and remote controls. And, a Boulder man’s brush with heavyweight boxing champ Muhammad Ali — which took a very stellar turn.
Colorado-Made Spacecraft To Explore Asteroids, Famed Freed Slave Clara Brown, Lawyer-Turned-Comedian
NASA wants to know more about asteroids, which are remnants of an earlier time in the solar system. A Colorado team was just chosen to develop a spacecraft that will spend nearly two decades exploring Trojan asteroids. Then, there’s a new documentary about Clara Brown, a slave torn apart from her children. When Brown was freed, she came to Colorado to look for her children and became a successful businesswoman. Plus, Troy Walker got his law degree from the University of Denver and then turned to stand-up comedy. Now, his career is taking off.
A Night On Mars And Titan: Colorado Authors Look To The Planets
The idea that humans could become a multi-planetary species is not as far-fetched as you might think. But where would they go? Sending people to Mars is within the grasp of science today, says Leonard David, an award-winning space journalist from Golden, and the author of “MARS: Our Future on the Red Planet.” Amanda Hendrix, senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute in Niwot, and co-author of “Beyond Earth: Our Path to a New Home in the Planets,” says Titan, a moon of Saturn, has an accommodating atmosphere. The duo joined Colorado Matters at the University of Denver, along with aerospace engineer Andrzej Stewart, who lived for a year in a NASA-sponsored Mars simulation habitat in Hawaii.
Supporters And Opponents Head To D.C., Docs On Pot And Vomiting, Famed Choreographer On MLK Day
Two Colorado women are headed to Washington, D.C. this week but for very different reasons. One is a Latina Republican who will attend President-Elect Trump’s inauguration. The other, a Democrat, will march in a protest the next day. We’ll hear their thoughts on the next four years. Then, doctors say chronic marijuana users are being afflicted with a disorder that involves uncontrollable dry retching. And, on this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a hymn that Dr. King first heard in Denver became one of his favorites. Plus, choreographer Cleo Parker Robinson on growing up in a segregated city.
History Of Sexual Harassment Within National Park Service, Life & Death Of Marvin Booker
The agency charged with safeguarding the country’s most cherished public lands has neglected to protect its workers. That’s what High Country News found when it investigated the National Park Service. They uncovered stories of sexual harassment, assault and gender discrimination. Congress has taken note of the story. Then, a new film about a homeless man who died at the hands of deputies in the Denver County jail. The life and death of Marvin Booker. And, author Sean Prentiss went on a quest to find the grave of the creator of the Monkey Wrench Gang, but what he really found were answers to other mysteries.
Coffman On Trump, New CU Regent, Comic Book on Police Brutality
We get reaction to President-elect Donald Trump’s press conference from a Colorado Republican who vowed to stand up to him. Congressman Mike Coffman talks about the future of healthcare, the new VA hospital in Aurora, and Russian meddling in the election. He sits on the House Armed Services Committee which has cybersecurity in its purview. Then, a new CU regent says the University of Colorado system needs more diversity (but she’s not talking about gender or race.) Heidi Ganahl joins us. And, a Denver man has a new comic book that deals with heavy subjects: police shootings and race relations.
Hickenlooper On Colorado Infrastructure, Buying Cars On Sundays, Writing Horror
On the eve of a new legislative session, Gov. John Hickenlooper has high hopes of finding a way to pay for billions of dollars in transportation improvements, and of passing a law that might make housing more affordable. Then, one state agency says people should be able to buy cars on Sundays. That’s one of 25 “Sunrise, Sunset” laws being taken to the state legislature this session. And, Stephen King based “The Shining” on The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park. That’s why a CU Boulder professor, who’s teaching a new course — “Advanced Horror Fiction” — is there with his students.
Transportation, Affordable Housing Top Legislative Agenda; A Refugee Story On Stage; The Stock Show Anthem Singer
Colorado lawmakers start their 2017 session on Wednesday, with plans to tackle transportation funding, affordable housing, the state budget and more. Two legislative leaders talked with Colorado Matters: incoming Senate President Republican Kevin Grantham, who’s the first rural Coloradan in the post in many years, and Democrat Crisanta Duran, who will soon become the first Latina to serve as Speaker of the House. Then, a new play called “Boat Person” about a couple who came to the U.S. with just the clothes on their backs. And hear the National Anthem sung by a 15-year-old who won the chance to perform tonight at the National Western Stock Show.
Lawmakers Prepare For Trump Energy Changes, Penalties For Rogue Skiers, NASA Snow Study, Winter Driving
With Donald Trump’s energy agenda taking shape, state lawmakers have formed a new committee to consider local impacts. Steamboat plans to charge skiers $500 if they need rescuing out-of-bounds. NASA is set to launch a five-year study of Colorado’s snowpack beginning in February. It’ll provide information about weather and snow, and also help with space exploration. Also, tips on driving in the winter.
Colorado Hate Crimes, Bug Attacks Wine Grapes, Ski Train Reborn, Unusual Place Names
There have been multiple hate crimes in Colorado over the past six months, including swastikas carved into a playground in Longmont found earlier this week. We check in with the Anti-Defamation League to understand what happens after an act like this and how an incident is designated a hate crime. Then, a bug that once ravaged European vineyards has come to the Grand Valley. We’ll talk about what the arrival of Phylloxera means for Colorado’s biggest wine-producing region. And, the Winter Park Ski Train rides again, beginning this Saturday with service between the ski resort and Denver’s Union Station. But is the price tag too steep for skiers? Plus, the story behind Colorado place names — from Alamosa to Zirkel.
Golden Isn’t Named For Gold (And Other Stories About Colorado Place Names)
From Antonito to Zirkel, author Jim Flynn has put together ‘A Compendium Of Curious Colorado Place Names.’
Finding Peace Politically, The Truth Behind Immigration Identity Theft
It’s time to become transpartisan, says Boulder mediator Mark Gerzon. He’s spent his career working with Congress, the UN and developing countries to resolve disputes. His latest book is called “The Reunited States of America.” Then, there’s a widely held belief that undocumented immigrants in the United States steal identities so they can work. The trouble is: that ignores the role employers play in helping workers get IDs that don’t belong to them. It’s a practice a CU-Denver anthropologist investigated when she was doing research in the farm fields. She also got acquainted with a phenomenon known as “trabajando fantasma” — the working ghost. And, after recording a record with the Colorado Symphony Boulder folk singer Gregory Alan Isakov prepares to perform live with them.
