Devil's Advocate

Utility companies are having record profits, our energy bills are skyrocketing even though we're using less energy. And Colorado supposed to meet some renewable mandate without putting everyone into bankruptcy. Amy Cooke, who runs the Energy Policy Center at Independence Institute, answers these tough questions.

Erik Voorhees is a renowned crypto entrepreneur and early Bitcoin advocate who has long championed the digital currency as a revolutionary tool for financial sovereignty. As the founder of ShapeShift and a vocal critic of centralized banking, Voorhees views Bitcoin as a foundational asset for a freer, decentralized financial system. His bullish stance on Bitcoin is sharpened by growing concerns over the global bond market, which he sees as increasingly fragile due to unsustainable debt levels and central bank interventions. Voorhees believes this systemic risk makes Bitcoin not just an alternative, but a necessary hedge against the vulnerabilities of traditional finance and the looming instability of fiat-based debt instruments.

Writer Stephen Green and his wife were drawn to Colorado to raise their family here. Now the changes in Colorado culture is pushing them to leave. Why?

Grandparents love to spoil their grandkids, but they also want them to get a better education than what they're getting now. Linda White founded Grandparents for Kids to recruit a whole different generation to change public education.

Anders Ingemarson is the kind of capitalist that scares your progressive friends. His latest book, Think Right or Wrong, Not Left or Right, is a full throated argument for completely unbridled markets.

It's not just the federal government that carries a lot of debt. So do most all big cities, and Denver is no exception. Except, of course, Denver's going to be asking you soon for even more debt. Citizen activist Jason Bailey says it's time to say no.

I mean, come on, who hasn't wanted to kick Jeff Hunt right up the backside?I mean, isn't that what that social conservative and 710 KNUS talk show host deserves? Well, that's exactly what he got for attending a mostly peaceful anti Trump rally. Just a little assault.

The US Supreme Court has issued a slew of decisions, what does it mean for Colorado? Constitutional expert Rob Natelson interprets it for us.

Raised in a Colorado Jewish family, Dave Kopel made Boulder his home decades ago. He's noticed the town and the state is growing more hostile to Jews.

Is it possible that Colorado's legislature did not make things worse for consumers of energy this last session? Energy expert Jake Fogleman explains there's still an energy apocalypse coming to the state.Colorado State government is crying poverty again as progressives scheme to destroy our taxpayer Bill of Rights. But is the state really in a budget shortfall? Fiscal analyst Nash Herman answers.

How do a few random posts on social media grow into a machine for political activism? Jessica Fenske's journey started with a few tweets as Forest Mommy.

As we all know, conservatives, especially the young ones, hate the environment and want to pollute it. Not so fast, says Hunter Rivera from the American Conservation Coalition.

How does a conservative college student survive on today's progressive university campus? If she's Joelle Webb, she writes a book to tell her progressive friends why she values what she does.

Veteran Capitol reporter Marianne Goodland is tired of the state legislature dodging Colorado's open meeting laws, and they didn't make things any better this last legislative session.

Helen Raleigh escaped Communist China for the promise of America. She found an America obsessed with racial victim ideology for every minority except, surprisingly, for Asians. What of their history of oppression?

Isn’t the purpose of research in colleges and universities to challenge the status quo, rather than be constrained by it? Robert Maranto, who holds the 21st Century Chair in Leadership at the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas, argues that McCarthy-era politics are now taking precedence over honest academic inquiry.

Ted Trimpa is one of the prime architects of the progressive left's takeover of Colorado. When he says they've gone too far, you might want to listen.

In places like Ghana and Kenya, most families cook on an open wood burning fire that pollutes not only their families air, but the planets. How would their lives and the planet's health change if they only had a propane stove? Anne Hyre of the Bettering Human Lives Foundation tells us.

By law, children must go to school, and if parents can't afford a private school or to home school, children must go to government run schools. That makes our children's safety at the school the government's top priority. Our children are in their custody after all. Lindsay Datko of JeffCo Kids First has discovered our kids are anything but safe.

Within six years, Colorado Governor Jared Polis has signed 23 anti gun bills into law. His most recent, Senate Bill 3 (SB25-003), creates the country's most restrictive permitting scheme to buy a gun. Second Amendment expert Dave Kopel explains the bleak situation.

The Colorado Legislature exempted themselves from our open meetings laws. Denver's mayor used encrypted messages that self delete. What happened to governmental transparency? Jeff Roberts of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition answers.

What happens when a school district has a process to decide what books should and shouldn't be in the school library? A process that includes the community? Well, they get sued, of course, by the ACLU. Superintendent of the Elizabeth School District, Dan Snowberger is in the eye of this storm.

There is a growing unease inside Colorado's progressive machine. Are the Democrats in power running faster to the left than voters want? Political strategist Deep Singh Badhesha tries to answer.

Is the city of Denver dying? With crime, a high minimum wage and stifling regulations, over 200 restaurants have gone out of business. Andrew Feinstein, proprietor of EXDO, which includes the famous nightclub Tracks, details the situation and what can fix it.

It is still possible for state legislators to have real jobs, you know, working in a factory. Representative Ryan Gonzalez, a freshman, lets us know what it looks like on the inside.

The courts have been very, well, terrible to the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. But wait, we have a victory! Tyler Martinez from the National Taxpayers Union explains that he got all this talent because he used to be an intern at the Independence Institute.

New regulations and high demand have caused steak prices to skyrocket. Dr. Chuck Duray shares what it's like to be a rancher in Colorado.

Are Unions pushing back against Colorado Progressives? Public Affairs Editor Jon Murray of the Denver Post discusses the bills being proposed in the 2025 Colorado State Legislature.

Are Coloradans experiencing buyers remorse when it comes to releasing killer wolves into our backcountry? County Commissioner Stan VanderWerf details the reality of dropping foreign apex predators into our ecosystem and the effort to reverse it.

Transparency is a key to government accountability. Often judges have to order that public information become, well, public. How very odd then, that many judges refuse to follow transparency laws themselves. Retired Judge Dennis Maes explains.

Ed Warner is an engineer, scientist, conservationist, and philanthropist. Back in the day, he even used a slide rule. He learned understanding how to measure something isn't just about science.

Jon Caldara asks longtime Colorado political strategist Eric Sondermann why the democratically controlled state government is passing so many anti liberty and anti business laws and regulations? He answers it in three little words.

What's it like going into the state legislature as a newbie representative walking right into GOP dysfunction in a brewing progressive civil war? Well, Jarvis Caldwell is about to find out.

Are Colorado's laws making the state an illegal immigration magnet? With over two decades experience working for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, John Fabbricatore has seen firsthand the dangers of the Venezuelan gangs in Aurora and their ties to international terrorism.

Cory Gaines is a political influencer and activist. Through his Colorado Accountability Project, he shines light on government abuses big and small. Could you imagine doing something similar?

Ed Warner is an environmentalist, conservationist and philanthropist who has served on many nonprofit boards, including one that kicked him off because he said something someone found offensive.

Kyle Clark of 9 News is arguably the most influential political commentator in Colorado. Is he a journalist? Is he an opinion maker? And with such a powerful microphone, does he see bias in the legacy media?

Remember when liberals used to defend free speech instead of canceling people for saying something they find offensive, like the wrong pronoun? Famed lawyer, law professor, and former President of the ACLU, Nadine Strossen explains why liberals and progressives need to protect speech.

Does Colorado have a gang problem? Is Colorado doing everything it can to support law enforcement? Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly gives his take on this episode of Devil's Advocate.

A new year is upon us. It's a good time to take a look back at 2024 and ahead to 2025, the one and only Patty Calhoun, editor of Westword, takes a political tour of the year gone by and makes some predictions for the one coming up.

Is Colorado the new resistance to Trump and federal policies? Will Republicans get "spanked" in 2026? Former GOP Chair Dick Wadhams gives his take on what comes next.

Early in the morning after election night, I sat down with veteran Colorado Politics reporter Marianne Goodland to make sense of the night before. What does it all mean for Colorado?

Weren't we supposed to have flying cars by now? I mean, where is my flying car? Transportation expert Tim Jackson explains that flying cars actually do exist and will become commonplace sooner than we realize.

Can CO2 really be reduced? Is nuclear power in our future? Can it be done safely? Ed Warner is an engineer, scientist, conservationist and philanthropist. He gives to numerous environmental causes. As a scientist, he breaks it down for us.

Communism killed over 100 million people in the last century, yet people still seem enamored by socialism. Ken Pope of the Victims of Communism Museum explains the horror of socialism and today's misunderstanding.

Who keeps an eye on the Colorado Supreme Court? Well, a disciplinary committee and an evaluation committee. Who appoints those committees? Turns out it's the Supreme Court. Convenient, ain't it? Retired Judge Dennis Maes explains the conflict of interest.

Adrian Felix was a democratic operative who decided to leave the Democrat party. Why? Because they weren't socialistic enough. He's an example of the widening split in the party that the media just won't cover.

After a Gallagher repeal election, a bill to fix it during the regular session and then a special session to fix that bill...Is property tax reform now complete?In Colorado, Independence Institute Senior Fellow Joshua Sharf researched other states to find the property tax gold standard.

Ava Flanell is a firearms enthusiast, a firearms trainer, and now a firearms podcast and videocast star. She believes gun owners do a lousy job presenting their side to people who don't own guns.

Kent Thiry is investing his considerable wealth into changing the way Coloradans vote this fall. You'll decide if you want to have a jungle primary followed by rank choice voting. This would upend the way we do party primaries.