Badly Needed & Long Overdue (BNLO) - A Controversial Podcast About Colorado Springs

BNLO
  • 5.0 (3)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Badly Needed and Long Overdue (BNLO) is a left of the dial podcast about how we are changing conservative Colorado Springs, CO.

  1. 11/24/2025

    #30: Brian Tryon Wants Local Artists to Work Together, Dammit!

    For BNLO’s season 2 conclusion, Shutter and Strum’s Brian Tryon has been in Colorado for a long time and you know what? He just wants us all to come together as a community. In this epic episode of BNLO, our conversation takes away back into time, all around the place, to Omaha, Knob Hill, downtown, the 80s and so much more. We talk about a city that’s changing, social media is changing how artists promote their work and an (almost) creative district that’s been on the rise. Plus, what’s next for BNLO? What’s going on with season 3? Be sure to stay tuned! Sponsored by Blackpackers, produced with Studio 809. Forgive the smudgy look of the bookends, I’m sorry, it looks bleh. Mentioned in this episode: Downtown Partnership Knob Hill Urban Arts District Knob HIll Neighborhood Union Printers Hall Park Follow BNLO on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok! 0:00 Splash/Sponsor/Intro 0:31 Greetings and Monologue 5:02 Ad Break 5:56 Introducing Brian Tryon/Fall is Here 8:17 Life as a Teacher 12:28 The Young Brian Tryon 14:21 Finding Photography, Art and Culture 19:55 Growing up Fast and Losing the Passion 21:28 Getting Sober 27:02 President, Astronaut or…? 29:47 COS is Home, But Also Omaha? 37:04 Art Appreciation 101 40:25 Creating the Garfield Gallery 43:22 How to Sell Your Art/WTF is Social Media? 51:46 Hustling for a Living 54:43 Colorado Springs in the 90s 1:01:20 The Case for Preservation 1:07:38 Gentrification 1:16:16 The Need to Collaborate 1:25:14 Leaving a Legacy 1:27:22 Investing in Culture Beyond Shooks Run 1:34:40 How’s Shutter and Strum Doing? 1:39:18 Glowing up Knob Hill 1:44:49 The Sprawl of COS 1:48:01 What’s Next for Shutter and Strum 1:54:34 Interview Closeout 1:57:31 Outro/Credits

    2h 6m

  2. 11/17/2025

    #29: John Jarrell Loves Beating Republicans

    Believe it or not, political parties need leadership and John Jarrell is the latest person to step into the chair position of the El Paso County Democratic Party. We talk about what someone in that role does getting candidates on the slate for different races, supporting them, what it means to be a Democrat in such polarizing times when the party’s approval ratings are in the tank as well as John’s personal journey of winning against local Republicans. Follow BNLO on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok! 0:00 Splash/Sponsor/Intro 0:31 Greetings and Monologue 2:30 Ad Break 3:25 Introducing John Jarrell 4:03 Changing Seasons/Climate 7:10 What Does the Chair of a Local Political Party Do? 9:15 De-Gerrymandering 16:11 The County and Suburban Sprawl 21:33 Keeping the Party Going 22:35 The Bernie Swing 27:28 Taking Advantage of Protests 28:40 It’s Definitely Not Power 30:22 COS Dems v. Boulder Dems 32:38 Making Races Partisan Again 35:47 Don’t Play to the Middle 37:34 The Fear (?) of Polarization 41:34 Purity Testing Candidates? 45:40 More Progressives in City Council 47:35 Why Not a Third Party? 54:59 Seeking State Support in a Purple Town 59:38 John’s Favorite Local Issues 1:10:17 Protests 1:16:48 Zohran Mamdani 1:19:15 Why We Need More Housing 1:28:53 What Is Democratic Socialism? 1:33:15 When Were You Radicalized? 1:39:34 City Council Needs a Pay Raise 1:40:43 Why John Ran for Party Chair 1:43:48 Interview Closeout 1:46:00 Outro/Credits

    1h 47m

  3. 11/10/2025

    #28: The Great Outdoors with Blackpackers' Patricia Cameron

    Blackpackers founder and executive director Patricia Cameron hikes into Studio 809 in this episode of BNLO! We talk about hiking, being outdoors, the value of BEING outdoors and recreation vs. adventure. We also tackle how Mayor Yemi is doing, local politics and what protest looks like in these modern times. BNLO approves of her stance on the Confederate flag. Follow BNLO on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok! 0:00 Splash/Sponsor/Intro 0:31 Greetings and Monologue 3:19 Ad Break 4:14 Introducing Patricia Cameron 5:29 As a Young Adult… 7:51 Doing Stuff Because It’s Hard 11:11 Colorado Springs v. The World: Multimodal Edition 16:42 The Outdoors as Home 24:27 Colorado Springs as a Food/Transit Desert 26:08 Local Journalism and a Flag Burning 33:02 Connectivity and Bikes 41:19 Direct Advocacy 48:00 The Mayor Yemi Report Card 51:44 Local Politics 56:29 Outdoor Recreation v. Adventure 1:04:31 The Facts, The What and The Why of Blackpackers 1:14:08 Changing One’s Mind in a Big Way 1:21:04 How To Make Your Protest Count 1:23:46 What is Law Anyway?  1:28:38 Interview Closeout 1:32:35 Outro/Credits

    1h 35m

  4. 11/03/2025

    #27: Tom Shepard and the Power of Youth Documentaries

    Tom Shepard is the Founding Executive Director of Youth Documentary Academy, a program that I wish I’d had access to growing up. Entering its 13th season, YDA is close to premiering its latest flight of short films by underprivileged and at-risk youth with sincere stories to tell. You can still get tickets for the November 9th, 2025 premiere at https://www.youthdocumentary.org/2025worldpremiere/. In this episode I get to talk with Tom about his time growing up, leaving and returning to Colorado Springs, the importance of the YDA program locally, Sundance in Colorado and how YDA can expand in these troubling times. Mentioned in this episode: First Congregational Church Rocky Mountain Women’s Film IFSOC - Ralph Giordano Homeward PIkes Peak Colorado Springs Homeless Union Poor Richard’s Youth Documentary Academy Citizens Project Inside Out Youth Services Follow BNLO on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok! 0:00 Splash/Sponsor/Intro 0:31 Greetings and Monologue 4:37 Ad Break 5:32 Introducing Tom Shepard/Wallet Strategy 7:01 Night Owling 8:00 COS to SFO 10:35 Roots in Town 15:48 James Dobson is Dead 23:45 Youth Documentary Academy 29:14 Using Filmmaking to Process Trauma 32:40 How do you Replicate YDA? 33:58 Scouring for Funds 40:10 Giving up, Going Back 42:57 Sundance in Colorado 50:17 Film COS 53:26 Letting the Kids Shine 57:53 The Shifting Zeitgeist 59:43 Letting Film Change Your Mind 1:05:15 Shutting up for a Moment to be Compassionate 1:13:45 Paying for Culture 1:17:15 The A.I. Sitch in Filmmaking 1:21:31 Interview Closeout 1:22:42 Outro/Credits

    1h 24m

  5. 10/27/2025

    #26: Kimberly Gold is "The New Kid on City Council!"

    Kimberly Gold joins Nick in Studio 809 to talk about being a new city councilor! That’s right, alongside Brandy Williams, Tom Bailey and Roland Rainey Jr., Gold is one of this city’s newest legislators. She represents the city’s district 4, which encompasses the southeast area of town, including the airport, that has been historically underrepresented and aching for economic development. She successfully ran to replace previous representative Yolanda Avila, who was a fierce proponent for the district and is now running for an El Paso County commissioner seat.Thomas Jefferson did have a recipe for ice cream and apparently popularized the French creation (or at least, that’s where he got his recipe from), but he didn’t invent it. At any rate, let’s talk about ice cream! And city government! And in the soapbox, let’s talk about school zones and how we prevent people from running over students.Follow BNLO on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok!0:00 Splash/Sponsor/Intro0:31 Greetings and Monologue2:50 Ad Break3:50 Introducing Kimberly Gold/Being Courageous6:50 What Does Colorado Springs Utilities Do?10:32 All the Emotions11:50 Opening an Ice Cream Shop16:48 Why Run for City Council?24:33 Running for City Council29:33 E-Biking Across Town36:15 Election Night37:34 Winning a Race39:40 The Role of the City49:26 Settling In53:37 That City Council Daily1:01:23 Being Nice to People1:03:59 The Legislative Work1:10:32 Nick’s First City Council Meeting1:14:38 What are you Learning?1:22:44 Interview Closeout1:25:06 Soapbox - School Zones1:44:56 Credits

    1h 46m

  6. 10/20/2025

    #25: What the Heck is a Colorado State Treasurer, with John Mikos

    John Mikos joins Nick in Studio 809 to talk about his campaign for Colorado State Treasurer. What is a state treasurer? Well, they watch over the money the state collects before it goes out to whatever the state needs to pay for. And that’s a complicated thing because there’s billions of dollars in there and the state definitely wants to take the best advantage those moneys as they arrive and before they depart. John can definitely explain it a lot better than I can. Oh, and there's a point where an excited John starts shifting to the right of the view port and Producer Dave has to have him shift back, which I've kept in here for funsies. Follow BNLO on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok! 0:00 Splash/Sponsor/Intro 0:31 Greetings and Monologue 4:27 Ad Break 3:12 Introducing John Mikos/Is Colorado a Rectangle? 5:27 John is Running for Colorado State Treasurer! 7:05 What the Heck does a State Treasurer do? 11:39 So Where is Our Money at? 13:13 Impactful Investment 20:13 The Treasury is Not a Scrooge McDuck Vault 21:13 Investing in the Community 24:29 Building the Public Bank(s) 30:52 Starting Small  35:18 John’s Experience and Vision 42:50 Getting the Regional Buy-In 51:31 Road Tripping for Treasury 58:05 It’s Time to Talk About TABOR Again 1:04:57 Interview Closeout 1:06:43 Soapbox - The Charlie Kirk proclamation 1:24:01 Credits

    1h 25m

  7. 10/13/2025

    #24: Running for Congress with Joe Reagan!

    Joe Reagan is running for Congress in Colorado’s 5th Congressional District (Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs, Monument, Peyton, Fountain and thereabouts) and Nick happens to work for him, so it was relatively easy to bring him into Studio 809 to talk about running for Congress in Colorado’s 5th Congressional District! They cover policy, Joe’s loss by a mere 500 votes in the 2024 Democratic Primary, and looking ahead to the 2026 election cycle Follow BNLO on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok! 0:00 Splash/Sponsor/Intro 0:31 Greetings and Monologue 4:13 Ad Break 3:12 Introducing Joe Reagan 5:45 What About Joe Rogan? Or Ronald Reagan? 8:28 Homelessness and Public Bathrooms 10:29 What Did You Want to Be When You Grew Up? 16:30 Starting a Business/Being a Consultant 19:53 Solving for Healthcare 25:44 Perfect Being the Enemy of Good 31:20 Housing Issues and Grants 37:58 Colorado’s TABOR Problem 40:10 Why Run for Congress? 41:52 The Returns on Public Investment 52:04 The Actual Decision to Run for Congress 56:42 Losing The 2024 Primary 1:03:36 The 2026 Primary 1:09:21 How Do You Diversify A Military Economy? 1:26:32 Gaza 1:29:52 Interview Closeout 1:33:08 Credits 1:33:51 Soapbox - Being a Pedestrian Who Walked to School

    1h 43m

  8. 10/06/2025

    #23: Art, Community and Daniel Logan

    Daniel Logan arrives in Studio 809 this week to chat with Nick about his life’s journey from growing up in Colorado Springs, his time in the Air Force, living with PTSD, understanding his father’s creative gifts and becoming an artist. It’s an at-times heavy, but always thought-provoking conversation about art, being creative and how we can validate and build the local arts community here in Colorado Springs. Yeah, that did just sorta come out like a pretty generic-sounding statement. Look, it’s a dope conversation, that’s all I gotta say. There are plenty of feels to be felt in here. Plus Nick gets to soapbox about housing in Colorado Springs, which so many people complain about, including the Gazette Editorial Board, who are a bunch of fart knockers on a regular basis. Follow BNLO on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok! 0:00 Splash/Sponsor/Intro 0:31 Greetings and Monologue 2:06 Ad Break 3:07 Introducing Daniel Logan 3:36 Colorado Springs/Joining the Military 4:49 Do Your Job, Don’t Ask Questions 8:52 Growing Up 12:07 First Job 13:56 The Tribalism of Military Life 22:03 …but then Art. 26:06 Becoming a Better Person 29:42 From Shellshock to Art School 42:04 “You Suck!” to “Hey Cool!” 45:34 The Oldest Student Painter 47:20 Dad, The Artist 53:24 Artist and Salesman and… 1:03:47 Connecting Locally 1:08:21 Making Original Work/The A.I. Struggle  1:15:12 Making a Living on Art/Building Clout 1:22:18 Being in a Community 1:24:32 How do you Build up the Art Scene Here? 1:36:49 Interview Closeout 1:39:25 Credits 1:40:32 Soapbox - Housing in Colorado Springs

    1h 52m
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5
out of 5
3 Ratings

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Badly Needed and Long Overdue (BNLO) is a left of the dial podcast about how we are changing conservative Colorado Springs, CO.

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