Sharing Boulder

For episode 54, I interviewed Hep Ingham who is a concerned citizen living east of the Boulder Municipal Airport and is frustrated with his aviation enthusiast neighbors. We talked about the dangers of breathing lead nanoparticles and the Reed-Hillview Airport lead study which showed the harmful effects on children living near an airport similar to ours. We also spoke about pilots who don’t follow flight path rules, the impossible task of getting federal bureaucracies to hold them accountable, and the legal challenges around closing our airport among other related issues. I know Hep through my involvement with the Airport Neighborhood […]

I’d like to share a couple of reflections on spirituality. The first is a short 2-part essay I wrote about a mystical experience I had in Northern Minnesota called Pontoon Boat High Dive. The second is a taken from a comedy set I performed on my 50th birthday where I contemplated what I love about Jesus and what I hate about Christianity.

For episode 53, I interviewed Rachel Irons who is a cofounder and CEO of Nude Foods Market which is on a mission to build a new food system based on circular economies, regenerative farming practices, and reusable jars. I met her at the Boulder store early on a Sunday morning and we discussed what it takes to support local businesses and provide ethically sourced foods that don’t exploit human labor, destroy the environment, or give money to large food systems run by multinational conglomerates. In preparation for this episode I watched several videos on the Nude Foods YouTube channel and […]

Shay Castle stopped in to interview me to talk about season four of Sharing Boulder. Shay is a long time local journalist in Boulder County known for the Boulder and her new podcast, the Boulder Valley Frequency, which is a weekly news program that drops every Wednesday morning. I’m really happy she agreed to help out and I hope you enjoy this conversation.

Jack Rosenthal is an RTD Board candidate and transit enthusiast. I met him at his downtown Boulder office where we talked about our mutual love for public transit, the challenges RTD faces, why we need a train to Boulder and Longmont, and why he’s running for elected office. I appreciate Jack’s plain-spoken approach, his love for analyzing data, and his ability to generate grassroots excitement for his campaign for the RTD Board.

For episode fifty, I spoke with Glenda Russell who is a historian of the LGBTQ movement as it has unfolded here in Boulder and Colorado and beyond. Glenda has had a long career as a clinical psychologist, educator, and writer and has a PhD in psychology from the University of Colorado at Boulder (’84). We talked about the struggle to get ‘sexual orientation’ included in Boulder’s human rights ordinance which was added in 1987 by means of a ballot measure that won by a very small margin after a similar ballot measure was crushed thirteen years earlier. This story includes […]

For episode forty-nine, I spoke with Ren Q. Dawe who is a trans activist, comedian, writer, and educator who lives and works in Boulder and has been performing his comedy all over the front range. I have mentioned a few times in passing that I enjoy performing comedy, but I’ve never said much else about it on this podcast. So, it was especially fun for me to have a chance to explore the world-changing power of comedy with Ren in this interview. This episode features significantly more swearing and adult-oriented content than most Sharing Boulder episodes and may not be […]

For episode forty-eight, I spoke with Sarah Wells who is a partner in the real estate agency Live Work Denver which specializes in co-buying real estate which is simply a way to buy homes with other people. Sarah is one of the founders of the Queen City Cooperative and is the Board Chair for the Boulder Housing Coalition which is a non-profit that develops affordable rental cooperatives. Sarah and I talked about co-buying as a way for more people to be able to build equity in their home in a housing market gone mad, speed-dating for finding co-buyers, and the […]

For episode forty-seven, I spoke with Eric Budd who is a political activist and organizer who has been involved in various issues such as occupancy reform, even year elections, and advocacy for cycling. He is also involved in various organizations including Boulder Progressives, Better Boulder, Boulder Housing Coalition, and Community Cycles, among others. In 2016, Eric started writing an annual voter’s guide that he distributes widely around the city to help inform voters and promote his progressive values. These guides are rich with background information, links to relevant resources, and detailed commentary about the why’s and what’s of the various […]

For episode forty-six, I spoke with Annamarie Pluhar who runs a nonprofit organization named Sharing Housing. She is the author of a book titled “Sharing Housing: A Guidebook for Finding and Keeping Good Housemates” which extols the virtues of sharing housing and provides practical advice on how to find compatible housemates. Earlier this year I posted a blog article where I estimated that the number of empty bedrooms in Boulder is approximately 30,000 using census data. Recently Boulder city council updated the occupancy restrictions which could potentially make it easier to make better use of those empty bedrooms. I think […]

For episode forty-five, I spoke with Tina Marquis who is a candidate running for city council. We met at the main branch of the Boulder Public Library and talked about a wide variety of subjects including her work on the BVSD school board, homelessness, the introvert revolution, middle income housing, her leadership style, and climate change among others. I admire Tina for her tireless work defending transgender students in our BVSD and Colorado schools and for her thoughtful and careful approach to decision making. I hope you enjoy this conversation with Tina Marquis.

For episode forty-four, I spoke with Dan Williams who is a civil rights lawyer who has worked on issues related to homelessness in Boulder. We talked about a recent effort by a consortium of service providers who got together and created a detailed proposal for providing low barrier services. This proposal was submitted to city council and was sidelined in favor of a city process which has emphasized community feedback over expert opinion. I admire Dan for his tenacious advocacy for helping bring meaningful solutions for homelessness in our community and for his historical perspective that helps us understand how […]

For episode forty-three, I spoke with Terri Brncic who is a candidate running for city council. I sat down with her at her kitchen table in her North Boulder home. We talked about the Safe Zones 4 Kids ballot measure, homelessness solutions, affordable housing, infill development, zoning and parking reform, and e-bikes among other subjects. I hope you enjoy this conversation with Terri Brncic.

For episode forty-two, I spoke with Katie Farnan and Doug Hamilton about their efforts to encourage voters to reject a ballot initiative called Safe Zones 4 Kids. Their campaign is called Solutions Not Safe Zones which challenges the conventional wisdom that a ballot measure that addresses the safety of our children is necessarily good policy. We met outside the Boulder Public Library and discussed the merits of voting for a ballot measure that they argue is both not helpful but worse will be counterproductive. I hope you enjoy this conversation with Katie Farnan and Doug Hamilton.

For episode forty, I spoke with Aaron Gabriel Neyer who is a community builder and technologist with a background in computer science and ecopsychology. Aaron is running for city council and so I sat down to talk with him about his vision for what’s possible in Boulder. We sat together in the shade at Growing Gardens community gardens and had a long conversation that touched on many subjects including his nomadic travels, adventures in ecstatic dance, building community, living systems theory, and how these inform Aaron’s vision for governance in Boulder. I left our meeting feeling energized and optimistic and […]

For episode thirty-nine, I spoke with Taishya Adams who is a servant leader, environmentalist, social justice advocate, and an amazing human being. She is also running for city council this fall. I sat down with her at her South Boulder home and we had a long conversation covering a wide variety of topics including her growing up in northern Virginia, her work as an environmentalist and as a commissioner for the Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the police oversight panel, and housing among many others. I admire Taishya for her wholistic approach to understanding and solving problems and her tenacious insistence […]

For episode thirty-eight, I spoke with Ryan Schuchard who is a Boulder resident that is running for city council this fall. Ryan is a member of Boulder’s transportation advisory board and his campaign is focused on transportation solutions as our best way to mitigate the climate crisis. When Ryan talks about transportation solutions it makes me hopeful that our city can become the kind of green, multi-model, affordable, and welcoming city that I believe is possible. In our conversation we discussed the transportation advisory board, the core arterial network, e-bike incentives, his car-lite family, housing, and discussed the many reasons […]

For episode thirty-seven, I spoke with Waylon Lewis who is a Boulder resident that is running for city council this fall. We met at Columbia Cemetery on the hill and talked about a wide variety of subjects including West Pearl, fire mitigation, biking in Paris, white metal roofs, homelessness, affordable housing, and occupancy, among others. I admire Waylon for his unflinching tell-it-like-it-is approach to engaging in candid dialog that is filled with empathy and good humor.

For episode thirty-six, I spoke with Silas Atkins who is a Boulder resident that is running for city council this fall. We met at Keeywayden park in Southeast Boulder and talked about a wide variety of subjects including making government work better for people, the need to build housing in the short, medium, and long […]

Nicole Speer is a member of Boulder’s city council and is running to be Boulder’s first directly elected mayor this fall. We met at a park near her house in South Boulder and talked about a wide variety of subjects including her new e-bike, homelessness and the camping ban, agrivoltaics, and why she is running […]