DENVER — May we make a recommendation?
The Next with Kyle Clark team will occasionally suggest work that's not from us but is worth your time. You'll find all the links to our recent recommendations below.
10/28/2024: How Two of the Rarest Horses on Earth Got Lost
There was a fascinating investigation into how one of the rarest species in the world turned up at a barn in Colorado. This New York Times' latest investigation is for the horse girls, "How Two of the Rarest Horses on Earth Got Lost."
It all starts with a horse rescue in Aurora, Colorado. The owner, Hannah Huckabay, snapped up a mule at auction, hoping to give it a second chance. When she got home, she had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn't a mule at all but a Przewalski's horse, a rare and endangered breed from Mongolia that conservation experts have spent decades bringing back from the brink of extinction.
Turns out, she was right, and her horse wasn't the only Przewalski's horse that mysteriously turned up a livestock auction in the West.
The article dives into how the horses, which exist mostly in zoos, made it to the auction block without anyone noticing and why that might be a good sign for the breed's rebounding population.
Read the full article here.
9/9/2024: 'That's how you run a debate!': 9News's Kyle Clark on holding politicians accountable
Kyle had a great conversation with the Columbia Journalism Review's podcast, "The Kicker", last week.
Ahead of this week's presidential debate, they asked some insightful questions about our process of asking questions that hold candidates accountable and the challenges of fact-checking candidates who rely on inflammatory rhetoric without letting them take up all the oxygen. Those are questions we're still working through every day.
Listen to the full podcast here.
7/25/24: How To Moderate Great Debate
If you're unfamiliar with The Gist podcast, the host, Mike Pesca, talks about American politics, not from a left or right perspective, but more of a "let's challenge what we think we know" perspective.
He recently challenged Kyle on how Next conducts our debates and political interviews.
On The Gist, Kyle talked about how we prepare for our political debates, what hopefully makes them stand out from others, what we make of the way the Trump/Biden debate was handled, and why you, the Next audience, keep politicians coming back to this program even though they know they'll get tough questions.
Listen to the full podcast here.
7/23/24: How a Citizen Revolt Snuffed the 1976 Denver Winter Olympics
The Summer Olympic Games are just days away, so it's a great time to re-read Alan Prendergast's deep dive for Westword explaining Denver's failed bid to host the 1976 Winter Olympic Games.
The article offers an exhaustive retelling of how a team of Denver leaders successfully won the bid to host the games much to the dismay of Denverites who complained about the potential environmental and economic impacts.
Prendergast details how years of debate ended in Colorado voters rejecting the Olympics.
Read the full article here.
6/28/24: Mother doesn't always know best: Supreme Court Justice Gorsuch overturns his mom's victory
Conservatives on the Supreme Court struck down the Chevron doctrine Friday. For decades, it gave federal agencies increased power to regulate countless industries.
USA Today reporter Dan Morrison was quick to point out that one of the architects of that doctrine was Justice Neal Gorsuch's mother. Anne Gorsuch was a Denver attorney and Reagan-era EPA administrator.
Morrison's story gives a quick primer on Gorsuch's legacy and how her son became an unlikely ally in dismantling it.
Read the full story here.
6/17/24: "Lauren Boebert Can't Lose" | A portrait of Colorado's best-known congresswoman
The team behind City Cast Denver' has a new podcast series: "Lauren Boebert Can't Lose." It is a deeply researched and exceptionally fair portrait of the rise of Colorado's best-known politician, her controversies, and her appeal to voters.
Boebert's critics are quick to dismiss her, but the podcast "Lauren Boebert Can't Lose" does the opposite. It leans into her life story, her actions in and out of office, with an eye for understanding her rise to power.
Listen to the first four episodes here.
6/10/24: The driving tactic that could make your morning commute easier
Marshall Zelinger has done a series of stories on the importance of zipper merging on Next with Kyle Clark, and it's getting national attention.
NPR reporter Ayesha Rascoe spoke with Marshall about his reporting and advocacy for zipper merging. They talked about how and when to zipper merge and why zipper merging can ease traffic.
They even came up with a potential theme song for zipper merging: "2 Become 1" by the Spice Girls.
Read the full interview here.
5/22/24: Election deniers moving closer to GOP mainstream, report shows, as Trump allies fill Congress
Denver-based Associated Press reporter Nick Riccardi has a story out today on how election deniers are increasingly mainstream in the Republican party.
He dives into a report out today from States United Action, which has built a state-by-state tool tracking election deniers running for and holding office, including here in Colorado. The story looks at the danger to democracy if a party is only willing to peacefully accept the results if they win.
Digging into the Colorado data, it's fair to say they haven't even included every statewide Republican candidate who has flirted with election denial. For instance, it doesn't include 2022 gubernatorial candidate Heidi Ganahl, who refused to say publicly whether elections were rigged but was caught privately telling supporters they had to win big to overcome election rigging. Ganahl lost by almost 20%.
Read the full story here.
5/17/24: Denver paramedics can navigate without a GPS. Here’s how they do it — and why you should try, too
If you want to test your knowledge of Denver's streets, we suggest the latest from Denverite's Rebecca Tauber.
She spoke to a Denver paramedic who has developed his own curriculum to teach fellow first responders how to get around the city in a pinch and without GPS. Most of us don't have to memorize the entire grid system, but the article has tips to help you orient yourself anywhere in the city based on a few major throughways. And if you're already an expert and want to show off your skills, there's a quiz.
Read the story and take the quiz here.
5/13/24: ‘It takes three villages’
The team at the Gunnison Country Times is tirelessly chronicling the impacts of the Highway 50 bridge closure over Blue Mesa Reservoir.
Transportation officials still don't have a timeline for when the bridge will re-open, leaving locals the choice of a limited local route or seven-hour detours. Gunnison Country Times reporter Abby Harrison says the closure's impact is "immeasurable" on surrounding communities.
Her story "It Takes Three Villages" tells of families putting off medical appointments, local businesses trying to stay afloat while losing customers and supplies, and ranchers unable to move entire herds from their winter grounds.
It's the kind of on-the-ground reporting you only get from local news.
Read the full story here and follow more of the Gunnison Country Times' reporting on Highway 50 here.
4/18/24: "I don't think she was ever a lost cause": How one Colorado overdose victim fell through the cracks
We want to point to you to some really thoughtful reporting from Denver Post health reporter Meg Wingerter. Her most recent article tracks the story of Rachel Skanron, who died of a drug overdose in Colorado last year, after years of failed attempts to find help.
The article tells the story of how Rachel's friends and family, or the medical professionals around her, tried to get her the treatment she needed.
Time after time, they were met with roadblocks. Some were personal, like Rachel's mental health challenges. Some were systemic, like limited hospital space or long waiting lists for treatment.
The article gives great insight into how drug overdose victims can fall through the crack and asks questions about the system designed to help them.
Read the full story here.
4/12/24: ¿Hablas Español? These Top Colorado Elected Officials Do!
Bennito Kelty at Westword noticed a trend among Colorado's most prominent lawmakers: They all speak Spanish. Kelty traces how some non-Latino lawmakers have learned the language to connect with their communities.
Like Denver Mayor Mike Johnston who regularly uses the Spanish he picked up as a school administrator, and is now working on dialects and accents as he navigates a migrant crisis. Or Republican Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman who says his weekly Spanish lessons are part of an effort to reach Hispanic constituents and break his party's anti-immigrant image.
It's a fascinating deep dive into the societal factors that prompted several top officials to learn Spanish and the hard work it takes to maintain their conversational skills.
Read the full story here.
3/29/24: City Cast Denver (feat. Kyle Clark)
If you're looking for some weekend listening, check out the latest episode of City Cast Denver.
Kyle talks to hosts Bree Davies and Paul Karolyi about the biggest stories from around the city. Some are serious, like the security concerns at Salvation Army-run shelters, how we talk about people living on the streets and the collapse of Denver's minority entrepreneurship fund. Some are light-hearted, like the return of Vine Street Pub and a Denver dog park battling owners who refuse to pick up after their pets.
Listen to the podcast here.
3/12/24: "How much will it snow at my house?"
Snowmageddon is fast approaching Colorado. Our very own Chris Bianchi says we could be looking at 9-18 inches of snow in the Denver metro area, and possibly two feet or more in the foothills.
You're probably wondering - how much will it snow at my house?
We'd recommend checking out our weather team's forecast - or tuning in to Chris on X (Twitter) and Threads.
3/1/24: "Everything you need to know about Denver's migrant crisis": The Smerconish Podcast
It's an outside view of Denver's migrant crisis. A chance to see our city as outsiders see our city. Through a conversation Kyle had with Michael Smerconish, whose radio show is heard nationwide on SIRIUS XM radio.
Smerconish doesn't come at things from a traditional left or right approach politically. And Kyle said he found his questions about what it's like to be in Denver these days to be direct, honest and without the slant you often see and hear.
Listen to the podcast here.
2/21/24: "Get More Smarter - Episode 182: The Made-Up Migrant Scare in Lakewood (feat. Kyle Clark)"
A quick recommendation of a deeper conversation Kyle had recently on how local governments are handling hate speech at public meetings.
It was on the progressive politics podcast Get More Smarter. The hosts and Kyle talked about how Lakewood has struggled with the anti-Semitic public comment takeover and misinformation about migrants.
1/31/24: "What can Americans agree on? Wolves."
We know, we know... but don't judge this New York Times Opinion piece by its title.
It's actually a thoughtful essay centered on the conflict over wolves in Colorado.
Sure, there isn't a ton of agreement on wolves right now. The author suggests how Colorado handles the conflict now could be a path to finding common ground on tough issues.
Read the full article here.
1/22/24: "The Women Who Walked Away: What drove a Colorado mother to flee into the Rocky Mountains with her teenage son and her sister?"
It's a long read from New York Magazine on the family from Colorado who died while trying to live off the grid in 2022.
It details how Becky Vance fell under the spell of conspiracy theories and told people she needed to move to the woods to protect her teenage son. They, and her sister Christine, died in a remote area of Gunnison County.
The New York Magazine piece is a deeply reported picture of a mother's love, and delusion, and how it led her family to their end.
You can read the full article here.
1/18/24: "Girl: Rapes occurred at chief’s house"
Someone stole all the copies of the latest Ouray Plaindealer. Gone. Vanished.
The edition with the cover story about how the Ouray Police chief's stepson was arrested for investigation of a sexual assault at the chief's house. One of three teenagers accused of rape.
The Plain Dealer is reprinting the newspaper and delivering it around town again. You should read it, if for no other reason, than because someone doesn't want you to see it.
You can read the full article here.
1/10/24: " Meet the Con Artist Who Deceived the Front Range Tech Community"
Clear your schedule, this one's a long read.
Check out 5280 Magazine's investigation into "The Mysterious Mister Clark," a former star of Colorado's DEI scene.
5280 talks to investors, employees, and advocates who say they felt duped by Aaron Clark, who capitalized on the social justice movement of 2020 to start an award-winning DEI consultancy firm. But when employees raised red flags - that Clark wasn't paying his employees and contractors - the company closed, and Clark disappeared.
In his search for Clark, journalist Chris Walker uncovered nearly 20 years of fraud and theft allegations and convictions under a variety of names and across multiple states.
No spoilers, but the investigation ends with a conversation with Clark himself.
You can read the full article here.
11/10/23: "How a small airport in rural Colorado became a landing pad for the rich"
Private jet travel is booming—literally.
Moe Clark at The Guardian zeroes in a tiny airport in Rifle, Colorado and how a recent increase in traffic is impacting nearby neighbors. Small airports across Colorado are generating noise complaints and environmental concerns, but Rifle's close proximity to Aspen and Vail means residents are dealing with constant spillover traffic from rich vacationers jetting off for a ski weekend.
Airport officials have an eye on expansion—pitting them against residents who say they're sick of being the "sacrifice zone" for surrounding wealthy communities.
You can read the full article here.
9/19/23: "Go as a River"
“Go As a River,” first-time Colorado author Shelley Read, shares the story of a young woman growing up in a male-dominated, often racist small town in the 1940s and 1950s.
The book is set at her family's peach orchard in the real-life town of Iola, which was abandoned and flooded to make way for the Blue Mesa Reservoir. “Go As a River” is a novel with a beautiful sense of place in the Gunnison Valley -- a story about how people shape the natural world and each other's lives.
It's a great read, especially if you pick it up before the end of peach season.
8/29/23: "Denver Had the Country's First Monument to Emmett Till"
Monday marked the date of the kidnapping and killing of Emmett Till, a Black teenager lynched after being accused of whistling at a white woman.
Last month, President Joe Biden designated a national monument to Till and his mother. It will have multiple sites in Illinois and Mississippi.
We just learned this weekend that Denver was actually the site of the country's first monument to Till. The statue called King and Companion was a tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Till.
Westword editor Patricia Calhoun tracked the statue's history. It was installed in City Park in the late 70s, and critics immediately complained that King's head was too depicted as too big.
It was eventually replaced by another statue of King in 2003 -- this one without Till. The original now stands in Pueblo. Calhou wrote about the statue's dramatic journey.
You can read the full article here.
7/7/23: "$2M wedding in Aspen ‘will go down in infamy,’ developer’s lawsuit says"
It's the story of a multi-million dollar party gone wrong in Aspen and proof that really rich people have problems like the rest of us -- just with more zeroes on the end.
Justin Wingerter for BusinessDen has the story of a lawsuit against a celebrity wedding planner -- a family comparing their misfortune to Pearl Harbor. There's an appearance (sort of) by St Louis rapper Nelly and chairs that were too heavy to lift for a traditional dance.
It was a disaster, in a no one gets hurt way -- and that makes for a great read.
You can read the full article here.
7/20/23: "Freeing up Colorado River water from California farms will take more than money, just ask farmers"
In California's Imperial Valley, billions of dollars worth of America's food is grown and raised, and the farms have senior water rights to Coloradans when it comes to pulling from the Colorado River.
Alex Hager is a Fort-Collins-based reporter for KUNC Radio. He went to the valley to learn about the region that is offering to cut back on water usage, as states debate how to divvy up a drying river.
Hager talks to farmers about what they need in return for conservation and the impact it could have on national food supply.
You can read the full article here.
7/17/23: "Firing of McAuliffe principal is having a chilling effect, Denver educators say"
When Denver Public Schools made the decision to fire McAuliffe International Principal Kurt Dennis after he disclosed details about the district's safety policy, it sent a message.
A new article from Melanie Asmar at Chalkbeat, a nonprofit news organization, suggests that message came through loud and clear. Asmar talked to district staff, past and present, who say they can already feel the chilling effect of Dennis' firing -- but they're speaking out anyway.
The article is a deep-dive into the the school safety concerns that led Dennis to speak out, the circumstances that led to his firing and why data doesn't support the school district's reasoning for the termination.
You can read the full article here.
7/3/23: "Tribal nations push for seats at the table in Colorado River negotiations"
Sharon Udasin is a Colorado-based climate and policy reporter for The Hill. Her latest article gives a voice to the tribes often left out of the Colorado River negotiations.
With another round of long-term water use negotiations starting soon, 11 of the 30 tribes in the Colorado River region still have unresolved water rights claims.
If those are resolved, tribal water rights could represent as much as 29% of the river's annual water supply, and representatives tell Udasin their influence should be considered in talks about usage and conservation.
Udasin's article delves into what a sovereign approach to river negotiations might look like, and how tribal practices could inform our conservation efforts.
You can read the full article here.
4/10/23: "Truthers: Tiffany Dover Is Dead*"
Tiffany Dover is alive, contrary to what you might have seen on the internet. Her story is a case study in how conspiracy theories targeting every day people ruin lives.
Anti-vax activists fixated on Dover during the pandemic when she fainted while talking to journalists after getting the COVID vaccine. The conspiracy theory went something like: people are dropping dead within minutes of getting the shot.
Dover and her family have fended off years of online rumors that she's dead. That she's actually a body double now raising her children.
Kyle recommends you check out the podcast Tiffany Dover Is Alive. It's the work of NBC News reporter Brandy Zadrozny who also has a long-form story out today on how an online conspiracy theory upended a woman's life.
3/1/23: "We rode RTD for 20 hours. Here's what we saw."
Kyle says this is one of the most impressive pieces of local journalism he's read in a while.
RTD is considering a ban on indefinite riding. It would kick unhoused people off trains, where they find safety and warmth. Denverite has an incredibly powerful piece by Nathaniel Minor and photojournalist Kevin Beaty.
They rode RTD or 20 hours to talk to other people riding for hours at a time. They honestly describe the mundane moments, and the criminal conduct they observe. What you'll remember are the heartbreaking conversations with people who say they don't want to be a bother to anyone but don't want to freeze on the streets.
You can read the full article here.
1/6/23: Brown cloud thread
Longtime transportation planner Jim Charlier wrote a long Twitter thread explaining how Denver's current snow removal plan -- to plow the main streets then pray for sun -- was partly an environmental choice decades ago.
Less sand on the roads and fewer diesel plows out didn't just save money, but it reduced emissions on the kind of winter days when the Brown Cloud hung over the city.
He invited leaders to go beyond simplistic ideas and imagine a new plan that looks at everything from sidewalks, to bike lanes, to street drainage.
You can see the thread here.
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