Colorado Soul Stories

Cynthia Swanson, Colorado Best-Selling Author

Mama Jill sat down with New York Times bestselling author and longtime Colorado resident, Cynthia Swanson, whose novels are known for their thought-provoking storytelling. Readers may already know Cynthia from her acclaimed debut, The Bookseller, her follow-up suspense novel, Anyone But Her and now her latest work, debuting May 21st, a collection of short stories showcasing the struggles of women through history, This Isn’t New.
Cynthia is launching this new book at the Northwest Denver bookstore and podcast partner, West Side Books on the evening of May 28th at 7pm.
During this discussion, Cynthia recognizes that her previous novels have featured complex female characters navigating challenges and "containment" that, may be slightly disguised through different time periods, but are indeed, nothing new. This realization and the results of the last election urged Cynthia to explore this subject further, resulting in a collection of stories that showcase women acting within the challenges of job discrimination, sexism, body image and overall misogyny. A read that any woman might find validating and that every person should read to gain perspective.
Cynthia shares her origins in the writing profession and how she got the idea for her first novel while navigating motherhood with three young children. She advises on the publishing process as well, having worked with both the big national publishing houses and, more recently, forging her own path with self-publishing.
After discussing her tendency to include Denver as the backdrop for many of her books, she shares her journey of arriving in Colorado from Boston after college, commenting that there is no other place where she has felt more grounded.
Enjoy this insightful conversation with this soulful, Colorado writer!

Photographer Tim Brown: Salida has his Heart

If you have lived in Colorado for a long time it’s not a new story; a handful of starving artists discover an untapped, affordable and lovely place to set down roots. But as they settle and create, they attract people and suddenly it’s not an undiscovered place anymore and it’s also no longer affordable – this has been our cycle of gentrification.
Salida, Colorado is still a pretty small town. A few decades ago, it was much more isolated due to state-wide economic challenges. In this episode of Colorado Soul Stories, you will hear photographer Tim Brown describe his humble arrival to this secluded mountain town in 1982 and how it captured his heart.
Tim drove out West back then in search of his photography career. An avid photographer since a kid, he was hired to capture the open-mouthed expressions of the tourists rafting the white waters of the Arkansas River. We touch on the fact that the digital revolution began to squeeze him out of his career, but that he was reborn in his art by discovering the 19th century method of tin type photography, which now is his legacy in the area and in the world.
Tim reminisces about the simpler days of Salida, cherishing the sense of community in a place located near so much natural beauty. We talk about how the original affordability welcomed the artist type to inhabit the forgotten buildings. Tim and his friends were making something out of virtually nothing, that hardship cultivating the unique Colorado grit.
We hear how his evolution and style as a photographer has been synonymous with his life growing up in this wonderful Western space.
You can learn more about Tim Brown at https://www.timbrownphotography.com/ and you can hear more about his original arrival to Salida and his 2024 exhibit “Broken” here: https://music.amazon.de/podcasts/19a834a5-a486-499b-b991-1ca8d063e2ff/we-are-chaffee-podcast
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Joe Firstman, Cordovas, Baja Wondergrass

RAW, UNEDITED, INTENSE conversation with the both rough and refined, Joe Firstman.
Mama Jill is in Baja Mexico for the Baja Wondergrass music festival organized by COLORADO-based Bonfire Entertainment.
She and her tribe enjoyed listening to the powerful and  eclectic band, Cordovas at opening night at Polvora, surrounded by dark skies, sparkly stars and immense cacti.
The next morning Mama Jill ran into Joe Firstman, frontman of Cordovas at a serene coffee house in town.  She asked Joe if he would like to continue their conversation through the podcast. They met up later that night with Mama Jill's buddy Mark Schoenecker of KHEN, Salida, Colorado next to the beach stage during sound check for the band.
 Mama Jill chose to offer up this interview within the energy of the moment while still down in Mexico where the energy and the vibe has its own way of guiding you. Thus there's pauses and a little goofiness on her part, a little starstruck! but it's the real deal, complete with a falling star...cherish it!

John King: Traversing the Colorado Rockies on Nordic Skis, 1978

John King is Colorado anthropomorphized. He’s got grit. He relishes nature; from its deep blue skies to its blinding blizzards and all the various contours of its terrain. This is reflected in his spectacular kinetic sculptures that tell the story of his outdoor experiences.
He arrived here fresh out of college from the Midwest, the Colorado Rockies calling loudly to his soul. In 1978, he and his outdoor-loving pals planned the first ever and never-since-duplicated trek across the Colorado Rockies on Nordic skis. This event was recently documented in the film, “Moving Line,” (https://www.movinglinefilm.com/). In it we listen to John and his friends, Alex and Peter, no strangers to long-term ski trips, describe this experience; mapping the routes with compass and map (no GPS then), executing food drops, preparing and sometimes creating their own gear.
They covered almost 500 miles during their six week trek from Durango to the Medicine Bow range north of Fort Collins and returned home, forever changed by the experience.
Mama Jill met John serendipitously at an art show after watching Moving Line and later met up with him and his wife, Sally on their bucolic patch of land on the St. Vrain River in Lyons, CO where she had a deeper conversation about John’s background, experiences leading up to the historic 1978 trek and how he and Sally weathered the 2013 500 year flood with amazing positivity.
This is not only a conversation about a journey across the Colorado Rockies, it is a lesson in choosing a life philosophy, influenced substantially by a relationship with nature and awareness of the connectivity among living things. Listen. You will be a better person for it…

The Brown Palace Hotel: History and Mystery

 Napoleonic treasures, Masonic symbolism, famous guests, including the prize steers from the annual National Western Stock Show and evidence of visitors from the beyond...this and more are held as dear historic and ongoing stories at this triangular and legendary structure, situated at 17th and Tremont in downtown Denver.
As a kid, I thought The Brown Palace got its name from the color of the reddish-brown sandstone it was constructed with. But I was wrong. Join me as I discuss this important landmark with Debra Faulkner, the archivist at the Brown Palace Hotel. 
The Brown Palace is virtual time capsule of history, and not just of Denver. Each owner put their own mark on the place with their love of European history and personal collections from travels. We particularly witness within the walls, the journey of women and how they went from being confined to "special rooms," to becoming integral parts of society. 
Debra, a Colorado native, conveys the history with the care one would take with their own ancestry. During the 17 years she has held this position, she has seen many changes, just as the city of Denver has changed over those same years. She is vehement about preserving and sharing the precious past of this landmark.
As the Brown Palace looks for another new owner, it is important for Coloradans to understand how deep these roots go and to place value on this landmark that we are so fortunate to have.

Ryan Warner of Colorado Public Radio

His voice is the authentic, trusted storyteller of Colorado. Whether it be his monthly check-ins with our governor, showcasing the best barbeque place in a town you've never heard of or locating and celebrating the lowest elevation point in our state, just to juxtapose it with the highest point, Ryan Warner interviews contain the whimsical people and places from all over Colorado and he delivers these stories from the heart and with the highest standards you could possibly ever hope for in factual, intentional and transparency journalism.
Ryan has been the host of Colorado Matters on Colorado Public Radio for 20 years now. Long enough to become a beloved voice to so many Coloradans that tune in each week to hear what he's got on tap. Mama Jill was lucky enough to be able to catch him on the other side of the microphone where we get to listen in on his origin stories and the journey that led him here. This one is a gem!

More with Chandler Romeo & Reed Weimer: Denver's Beatnik Barbie & Ken

 Welcome back to my conversation with Chandler Romeo and Reed Weimer. In addition to their recent project with the Wonder Tower in Genoa, Colorado, they have been longtime participants and supporters of Denver's local art scene beginning back when there kind of wasn't one yet, in the 1980s.
We discuss their meet cute as students at Colorado State University and the fact that Reed's photography and Chandler's ceramics both evoke themes of place. After college, they helped to secure the location for the legendary Pirate Art Gallery by purchasing some of the old buildings on a stretch of Navajo Street in North Denver, establishing that spot as the Navajo Arts District, and for a time the center of Denver local arts scene.
Back then, the exchange of real estate was a bit more affordable, as well as organic. This couple forged relationships in North Denver, which transformed into positive collaborations. Listen, as we reflect on the history of those buildings from a time when local neighborhood businesses thrived and the line between commercial and residential real estate were a bit more blurred.
We talk about the how those gritty art co-ops on Navajo became a formidable influence on contemporary local art in Denver. Its presence filtered out into other parts of the city, helping the local arts scene to grow and thrive. Then the eventual and unbelievable exodus of the arts district out to Lakewood when the city of Denver chose not to support it.
We reminisce a bit about a smaller Denver, but that it can often be recaptured through art and through interacting with those who care about Denver's history and that our lives themselves can often become works of art.
Please enjoy getting to know this unique couple.
 

Saving the Wonder Tower

Chandler Romeo and Reed Weimer have been affectionately labeled as the Beatnik Barbie and Ken of Denver's Art Scene. Indeed they helped elevate local arts in Denver during a time when there were far less opportunities for creatives. They have taken this legacy to new heights, literally! 
Collaborating with other long-time Denverites, they purchased the quirky 100 year old World's Wonder View Tower out on the eastern plains of Colorado. If you have lived here most of your life, you've probably been there or at least driven by it, wondering what it was!
In Chandler and Reed's words, as artists. This isolated structure resembles something like an art installation; a combination of human scale folk art, and immersive experience.
Chandler speaks to her kids being both appalled and amazed on their visit. Well, in addition to a 65 foot viewing tower, the property's interior was a macabre exhibit of oddities from a two-headed calf preserved in a jar to actual mammoth bones and arrowheads, and rusty, but sharp looking farm implements hanging from the stone ceiling. It was a strange and weird encounter. 
In an age where experiences are cultivated and revered, this site is a must do visit for anyone living in Colorado. Join me as Chandler and Reed discuss the history of this legendary anomaly and how they are bringing it back to life.
Then stay tuned for part two of my interview with this industrious couple, as we discuss their progression as artists and how their real estate savvy helped to elevate the work of local Denver artists.
As always, please subscribe, rate, and review the podcast. It helps keep us going. Thanks.  
 
 

Best of 2025: Nuggets of Gold!

This is a treat! All of the best wisdom from the collection of the 2025 Colorado Soul Stories interviews. Whether you have listened to all the episodes or not, this is a wonderful summary of all the positive insights provided by the entrepreneurs, musicians, innovators and community builders that are proudly Colorado based!
Hear how legendary Denver coffee house Muddy's provided much needed culture and refuge for folks in the 1970s, leaving a well-loved legacy of acceptance. Learn how a head injury brought a young Amish artist to do his good works in Colorado. The CEO of Historic Denver shares how good architecture is good for our health! And how some well-loved musicians and writers spread joy and community building through their art.
In this moment of the challenging news cycle, tune into the positivity of the people continuing to channel and spread positivity in their daily lives.

Listener-submitted Colorado Winter Stories

Happy Holidays! This episode contains listener-submitted Colorado-specific winter and holiday stories. Contained in this 17 minute episode are festive recounting of childhood experiences during "snow days," including the Blizzard of '82. Additionally three professional writers and, some recent guests from past podcasts, provide off-beat and methodical tales of long and dark winter nights and holidays bereft of loved ones.
Thank you to my dear friends Sandy, Jess and Carolyn plus writers Teague Bohlen, Josie Nixon and Lisa Rogers for your submissions.
Get your cup of coffee or cocoa or glass of wine and settle in for some lovely yarns...