Colorado Matters

The U.S. struck three Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend in what our guest calls “a watershed moment.” Now what? And how did we get here? Key questions Ryan asks the head of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Denver, Micheline Ishay. Then, Purplish explores the debate over home rule as Douglas County holds a special election Tuesday. Plus, Denver’s tall, zigzagging yellow sculpture celebrates 40 years; we revisit a Colorado Wonders question asking how it came to be.

A major psychedelics conference wraps up in Denver today. Its mission is to get more people, especially policy makers, comfortable with what has previously been underground. We speak with the founder of MAPS, the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Science, about the science and what’s left to learn as Colorado licenses psilocybin healing centers.

Today is Juneteenth, a time to celebrate and reflect. We talk with people who took part in Denver’s annual celebration and parade. Then we head to the Boulder History Museum where an exhibit called “Proclaiming Colorado’s Black History” ends its three-year run in September. Plus, the perseverance of 101-year-old Tuskegee Airman Lt. Col. James Harvey of Centennial. And Denver singer JoFoKe shares her music, her message, and her family’s musical legacy that goes back generations in Colorado.

In her arresting new novel “Penitence,” author Kristin Koval creates a plot in which forgiveness is difficult, yet inescapable. The storyline allows her to explore issues of gun safety and juvenile justice, as well.

It’s a changing of the guard for the group that guides the nation’s vaccine policy. We spoke with a Colorado pediatrician who used to be on the panel about how that could reshape guidance and the concerns she has moving forward. Then, a Denver woman unravels the mystery of her mother’s past after fleeing Nazi Germany, and the art her family left behind. Plus, “Cycling Without Age” offers freedom for people with mobility issues. We go on another ride for “Aging Matters on Colorado Matters.”

The Justice Department wants Colorado’s voting records. We ask the Secretary of State and the head of Colorado’s County Clerks about the request and the reasons. Then, a new way to measure snowpack from the air could help waters planners make sure there’s enough to go around. Plus, the debate over the sale of federal public lands, how the land is managed, and cuts to staffing. Also, Colorado Wonders about coal trains. And later, a whole bunch of Ryans will descend on Coors Field.

About the same time a man shot flames at Jewish people in Boulder, Rabbi Caryn Aviv hit “send” on the final draft of her new book, “Unlearning Jewish Anxiety.” Aviv is the spiritual leader of Judaism Your Way in Denver and Boulder. Previously she taught Israel-Palestine studies at a university level. Rabbi Aviv is also Sr. Host Ryan Warner’s rabbi.

In the wake of 2020’s racial reckoning, DEI initiatives surged across the country, from corporations to the classroom. But that momentum has taken a big hit in recent months under a new presidential administration as evidenced by federal funding cuts, restructured priorities and arguably a growing political backlash against DEI policies. So what’s been learned? And what’s next?