Sam Brasch

Climate / Environment Reporter

@samuelbrasch[email protected]

Sam Brasch covers climate and the environment for CPR News. Sam came to CPR in 2015 as the recipient of the organization’s first news fellowship.

Education:
Bachelor’s degree in history and philosophy, Colorado College.

Professional background:
Sam came to Colorado Public Radio in 2015 as the recipient of the organization’s first news fellowship. The year-long position allowed him to hone his journalistic skills working alongside CPR reporters, producers and editors.

Following his fellowship, Sam was awarded an 11-Hour Food and Farming Journalism Fellowship from the University of California Berkeley where we worked with mentors like Michael Pollan to produce a radio documentary on kosher slaughter practices.

Sam rejoined Colorado Public Radio in 2016 as a contract reporter where he filled in for newscasts, reported on the state legislature and supported long-term feature stories and interviews for “Colorado Matters.”

Before his career in broadcast journalism, Sam worked for Modern Farmer Magazine where he wrote articles on goat towers and lambie jammies, and promoted the magazine's work on social media.

Purplish

Jared Polis’ Money

Congressman Jared Polis has spent an unprecedented amount money on his campaign for governor. By the latest count, he’s donated $18.3 million of his own money. That’s more than the total candidate spending in the 2014 gubernatorial race. The Democratic nominee says self-financing buys him political independence. Unlike his opponent, he refuses donations from corporations and special interests, which he argues frees him to push bold proposals. Meanwhile, Republican nominee Walker Stapleton accuses Polis of trying to buy the election. These opposing talking points raise bigger questions. What does it mean for democracy when someone is ready, and able, to spend whatever it takes on a campaign? How does that change the dynamics of a race? And where does it leave voters? This episode looks back at the origin of the candidate’s fortune and how it’s long been a potent force in Colorado politics. And we’ll explore why he’s likely to be far from the last wealthy candidate in the state or the country.
By Sam Brasch
Purplish

The Signature Wars

In Colorado, voters have incredible power to pass laws at the ballot. The initiative process was born out of the Progressive Era. Reformers hoped that by giving people a say in state government, they could check special interests and their influence over lawmakers. Things haven’t gone exactly as planned. Today, the initiative process is often Colorado’s highest-stakes political poker game, attracting a wide range of corporations and wealthy donors. So has direct democracy made Colorado voters into scientists in the laboratory of democracy? Or the test subjects?
By Sam Brasch