Sense
August 5, 2021
Community Spotlight: City Cast Denver: An Interview with Editor, Peyton Garcia, on the City's New Daily News Podcast
City Cast Denver is Denver’s new daily news podcast delivering all you need and want to know about what is happening in the Mile High City. City Cast Denver, which debuted in March 2021, is produced by local Denverites Paul Karolyi and Xandra McMahon and is hosted by well known journalist, activist, and advocate (and collaborator with MCA Denver in the past on programming), Bree Davies. There’s also an accompanying daily newsletter written by editor Peyton Garcia. City Cast Denver provides a range of informative, and sometimes quirky stories about topics ranging from Denver’s poor air quality to breaking down what “Denver style” Mexican food is.
Hi Peyton! How have you been doing?
I’m great! Building the City Cast Denver podcast and newsletter from scratch has required A LOT of time, patience, commitment, and creative energy, but it’s been indescribably rewarding!
What is City Cast and how or why did it come to Denver?
City Cast is a brand new national network of daily local news podcasts that aim to keep listeners engaged with, up-to-date on, and well-informed about the city they call home. Right now, you can find City Cast in Chicago and Denver, but we’re already preparing to launch in eight more cities across the country. Denver was selected as a flagship location for City Cast because of our strong sense of community, voracious appetite for podcasts, and local pride!
City Cast is the brainchild of CEO David Plotz. He has served as CEO of Atlas Obscura, editor in chief of Slate Magazinehttps://slate.com/, and host of the Slate Political Gabfest podcast, with more than 25 years of experience in digital media.
What can listeners expect to hear when they tune in or open the daily email?
Everyday on the podcast, you can join host Bree Davies (a well-known Denver personality) along with a relevant guest for a 15-minute deep dive into a Denver topic everyone is talking about.
When you subscribe to the City Cast Denver newsletter (written by me!), you get a quick and easy rundown of the day’s hottest news and events sent directly to your inbox first thing every weekday morning, so you’re always in the know!
What does it mean for Denver to have a podcast focused on pressing matters of the day?
City Cast aims to be the easiest, most enjoyable way for listeners and readers to connect with their community. We dig into all the topics you need (and want!) to know about Denver, from local politics, education, and small businesses to food, art, and events. We want to help all Denverites — new and native — feel proud and well-informed about the city they call home.
How do you see City Cast evolving?
City Cast is getting ready to launch in eight new cities across the country: Boise, Houston, Las Vegas, Nashville, Oakland, Omaha, Pittsburgh, and Salt Lake City. Local journalism is in crisis across the U.S., and yet there’s never been a more critical time for people to understand what’s going on in their communities (see: pandemic, economic crisis, mass movement for social and racial justice, etc.) City Cast’s goal is to help Americans across the nation become more informed, more impassioned local citizens.
What are you looking forward to with the rest of 2021?
I am so excited to see our audience of listeners and readers continue to grow, and in turn learn how they’d like to see City Cast Denver continue to develop in a way that’s meaningful to the community. We’ve enjoyed an incredible reception from the community and tons of thoughtful feedback that is helping us make City Cast Denver the best service it can be.
ALSO, the City Cast Denver team (myself included) will be at the 2021 Underground Music Showcase this year! There will be more details to come (just follow us on Twitter or subscribe to the podcast or newsletter for updates) but know we are cooking up something really special for everyone who comes out to see us!