Big conversations in small bites

Q&A

MSU DENVER ALUMNA BREE DAVIES DISHES ON HER NEW 15-MINUTE

DAILY PODCAST ‘CITY CAST DENVER.’ // BY CORY PHARE

Bree Davies and her team recently launched “City Cast Denver,” a podcast that provides in-depth conversation in bite-size portions on local topics in arts, culture and politics.

It’s the next step in the creative journey for Davies, a 2007 Journalism graduate from Metropolitan State University of Denver and longtime writer for Denver Westword. She is also the co-founder of the Titwrench Collective, a group focused on music and arts from underrepresented communities, and hosts the podcast “Hello? Denver? Are You Still There?”

What role is “City Cast Denver” filling in the media landscape?

There’s been a lot of reformatting of radio programming in general to meet audiences where they are, so we’re coming to it from a daily news podcast angle. Our team asks, “What can we put into 15 minutes to give our listeners a general understanding of news beyond the headlines?” That helps people be a little more informed about what’s going on in their world, with the ability to dig deeper if they’d like. What does hosting this podcast mean to you? It’s an incredible opportunity to hold these conversations. The plan is to create something for everyone, whether you’ve lived in Denver for six months or six generations. I don’t subscribe to the “transplant vs. native” narrative; I was born and raised here, but I’m not Indigenous. All of us, however, have a need to feel rooted in the city we share today.

What was your path to and through MSU Denver? It took me about a decade to get my diploma. I was balancing a lot of personal elements and didn’t want the “traditional” college experience. MSU Denver gave me the freedom to explore what I wanted to do and become who I wanted to be.

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How would you describe the “Denver style” when it comes to

arts and music? We’ve been called the “Queen City Wasteland”; we’re not isolated, but we also don’t have the same established legacy or blueprint of places like Chicago, New York or New Orleans. That results in a sense of freedom of experimentation to be as wild or weird as you want without constraint.

Hats off to Roadrunner grads

Spring graduates celebrated the completion of their degrees during a challenging year at the “Paint the Town Red” event May 4-5. After the Covid-19 pandemic forced the previous two Commencement ceremonies to be held virtually, this spring 2021 on-campus experience gave graduates the chance to walk across the stage and have their name announced, with professional photographers there to capture the special moment. The event was held outside at the Assembly Athletic Complex to comply with public health regulations. The University also invited graduates from 2020 to participate. A virtual Commencement ceremony also took place May 14.

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