May 20, 2026: Melat Kiros on bringing fresh perspective to Congress; Training for 'Survivor'

Summary

Colorado Matters – May 20, 2026

Guests: Mehlat Kiros (Democratic Congressional Candidate), Steven Ramm (Survivor 49 Contestant), Neela Picareck (Musician)
Hosts: Ryan Warner, Chandra Thomas Whitfield (Colorado Public Radio)

---

Episode Overview

This episode features two main conversations:

1. Mehlat Kiros, a barista-turned-candidate running for Congress in Denver, discusses her campaign, values, and progressive platform as she challenges longtime incumbent Diana DeGette.
2. Steven Ramm, Denver aerospace engineer and recent Survivor 49 contestant, shares insight into his preparation for the show and the unique challenges he faced.

The episode closes with a brief spotlight on Neela Picareck’s (former Lumineer) musical project about magician Adelaide Herman.

---

1. Mehlat Kiros: Progressive Politics from Behind the Coffee Counter

Introduction to Kiros’s Candidacy (00:04–01:44)

• Life Experience: Kiros explains how her work as a tipped minimum wage barista keeps her connected to working families’ struggles:
  • “Being a barista...I know what that paycheck looks like for rent, for groceries, for the energy bills. And having that proximity to that stress, I think is really important for our elected representatives.” (Kiros, 00:11)
• Background: Former lawyer, current PhD student, pausing her studies to run for office.
• Campaign Pitch: Emphasizes the need for fresh leadership to address structural issues preventing working families from thriving.
• Personal Anecdote: Just finished her final shift at Denver’s Whittier Cafe to focus fully on the campaign.

The Value of Lived Experience (01:44–03:12)

• Kiros reiterates her identification with working-class voters:
  • “I know what it looks like to try and make that paycheck stretch...” (Kiros, 02:30)

Defining Democratic Socialism (04:04–05:41)

• Meaning to Her: Government should guarantee basic needs (healthcare, housing, food, education, transportation, internet).
  • “For me, socialism is about making it clear we have basic needs... What kind of society do we want to live in?” (Kiros, 04:04)
• Barriers: Blames entrenched corporate PAC money for blocking progress, not a lack of resources but a “limitation of political will.”

Medicare for All and Congressional Politics (05:42–07:20)

• On Power and Coalitions: Realistic about the difficulty of passing Medicare for All; it requires a coalition of members refusing corporate PAC money.
  • “I’m not walking in there with a magic wand and passing all of these things...” (Kiros, 05:58)
• Incumbency Critique: Credits DeGette for co-sponsoring Medicare for All, but points out “a majority of Democrats” (including DeGette) take health industry money.

Challenging Seniority and the Status Quo (07:21–08:54)

• Argument Against DeGette’s Tenure: Claims seniority hasn’t delivered enough for working people, critiques the slow advancement to leadership in Congress.
  • “It’s ridiculous that it would take 30 years for someone to be able to get to a leadership position on committee.” (Kiros, 08:54)
  • “I’m not interested in accepting these traditions and these norms as permanent.” (Kiros, 08:54)
• On Breaking the Status Quo: “We can’t break it if we don’t at least try.” (Kiros, 08:57)

Message that Resonates with Voters (09:01–10:25)

• Working People’s Realities: Focuses on how economic gains (stock market, GDP) haven’t benefited ordinary people.
  • “Not only acknowledging...working people are struggling, but acknowledging who’s responsible for that.” (Kiros, 09:24)
• Bipartisan Critique: Blames both Trump-era Republicans and corporate-aligned Democrats for the lack of progress.

Reflections on the State of Democracy (10:26–13:44)

• Youth Sentiment: Notes young Americans’ “melancholy” and “defeatism,” but affirms potential for change.
  • “It does not have to be this way....despite the fact that billionaires and corporations have really destroyed a lot of our levers of accountability...” (Kiros, 10:40)
• Ultimatum for Party Progress: Warns that failure to deliver major reforms could allow a more “charismatic and...smarter” Trump-like figure to recapture power:
  • “We need to be able to make the case for the American people saying, look at what we accomplished for working people to battle that.” (Kiros, 13:15)

Big Medicine & Policy Details (12:26–13:44)

• Breaking Up Monopolies: Advocates for breaking up medical monopolies (devices, pharma), as championed by Senators Warren and Hawley, to reduce healthcare costs.

Immigration, ICE, and U.S. Foreign Policy (14:26–18:35)

• Abolishing ICE: Wants to abolish the agency, redirect enforcement resources to immigration processing and judges.
  • “ICE was born out of an era of fear and, frankly, hatred, a lot of Islamophobia...” (Kiros, 14:26)
• Root Causes: Argues U.S. actions abroad (esp. war with Iran) have destabilized regions, fueling immigration and refugee crises.
• War in Iran: Strongly opposes U.S. military involvement, urges focus on War Powers Resolution, and criticizes DeGette for past votes against military budget cuts.

U.S. Aid to Israel & Middle East Policy (18:35–21:55)

• Full Arms Embargo: Calls for ending military aid and arms sales to Israel, labeling current policies as enabling apartheid and genocide.
  • “This complete and total destruction of an entire people is not...what the American people want to see their taxpayer dollars being spent on.” (Kiros, 18:47)
• Challenging “Democracy” Label: Rejects the characterization of Israel as a democracy due to laws reserving self-determination for Jewish Israelis.
  • “That is not a democracy. That is an ethnocracy.” (Kiros, 21:04)

The Dynamics of a Three-Way Race (21:55–23:40)

• Splitting the Vote: Admits concern about splitting the “anti-DeGette” vote with Regent Wanda James but is confident due to strong endorsements and grassroots support.
  • “I’m really confident that, you know, our path to victory is very clear...” (Kiros, 22:18)
• No Talks of Dropping Out: Values competitive primaries: “I don’t think that’s my right to ask anybody to drop out of a race.” (Kiros, 23:27)

Notable Moments & Quotes

• On Latte Art, Humorously: “I was knocked out in the first round.” (Kiros, 03:54)
• Host’s Playful Jab: “Well, that’s the interview. Thanks for being with. I’m kidding.” (Warner, 03:55)
• On Systemic Change: “We can’t break it if we don’t at least try.” (Kiros, 08:57)

---

2. Survivor Training & Representation: Steven Ramm’s Story

Survivor Preparation and Colorado Quirks (00:39, 24:32–29:41)

• Neighborhood Perceptions: Ramm’s Survivor preparation (fasting, starting fires) made neighbors suspect a “midlife crisis.”
  • “Oh, thank God he's on Survivor. We thought he was losing it...” (Neighbors, 00:39 / 39:52)
• Physical & Mental Challenge: Detailed practice regimen: slacklining, puzzle-solving, fasting, cardio, fire-building.
  • “It was kind of like having two additional full time jobs... I bought a slack line... practiced fasting...” (Ramm, 38:24)
• Adapting with Disability: Ramm discussed strategizing around his hearing aids—charging via battery packs, leveraging “plausible deniability” to hunt for idols.
  • “They helped me charge them overnight... gave me a really good excuse to be the first one awake...” (Ramm, 27:45)

Representation and Impact (29:41–32:15)

• Fan Reactions: Received many messages from hearing-impaired viewers thrilled to see someone like them on national TV.
  • Touching message from the mother of a 10-year-old Survivor fan:
    • “She ran into the kitchen and she said, mommy, mommy, someone like me is on Survivor. Does this mean I can play?” (Ramm, 31:02)
• Ramm’s Take:
  • “If your dream is to play Survivor one day, you absolutely should apply. I think you'd be amazing...” (Ramm, 32:19, video to fan Eden)

Behind the Scenes: Employment & Survival (34:02–37:15)

• Lockheed Martin: Had to secretively take “personal leave” for the show—only his manager knew, due to NDA requirements.
  • “We called it personal leave... it could mean anything. It's personal. If I wanted to share it, I would.” (Ramm, 36:12)
• Workplace Reveal: Later showed Survivor photos at a staff meeting, surprising colleagues.
• Contestant Compensation: Small stipend increases with game progress; winner gets $1M.
  • “I would have done it for free.” (Ramm, 37:17)

Survivor Strategy, Engineering Mentality (42:54–45:25)

• Excel for the Jungle: Used spreadsheets, probability, and detailed strategy prepping for challenges, blending Survivor and aerospace program management skills.
  • “I built spreadsheets, dude. No joke... went through every single challenge... trying to statistically look at the probability...” (Ramm, 44:02)

Reflections and Surprises (45:29–46:11)

• Missing the Island: Despite hardship, found the experience joyful and restorative—no phone screens, circadian rhythm synced to the sun.
  • “I've never felt better in my entire life.” (Ramm, 45:30)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “If I can't run around this island, they're not gonna let me back into Colorado.”
• “That was not an obstacle for me at all to getting on the show...you should apply.” (Ramm, 32:19, to Eden)
• “We thought maybe you were going through a midlife crisis... Thank God he’s on Survivor.” (Neighbors, 39:52)

---

3. Brief: Neela Picareck’s “Queen of Magic” (46:27–48:53)

• Highlights new musical about magician Adelaide Herman; celebrates bold, ambitious women.
  • “I am always moved by a brave and ambitious woman, and Adelaide Herman was absolutely both of these things.” (Picareck, 46:27)
• Shares preview tracks and performance details.

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Kiros’s Origin & Perspective: 00:04–05:41
• Platform Details & Critiques: 05:42–13:44
• Immigration, Foreign Policy: 14:26–21:55
• Election Dynamics: 21:55–23:40
• Survivor with Steven Ramm: 24:32–46:11
• Picareck Musical Preview: 46:27–48:53

---

Tone & Takeaways

• The episode is candid, direct, and often conversationally humorous, especially between Kiros and Warner.
• Kiros: Highlights generational, political, and class divides in U.S. politics. Grounds her campaign in lived experience and clear-eyed about the uphill battle for progressive change.
• Ramm: Shares how preparation, adaptability, and representation matter, blending technical insight and personal warmth.
• Picareck: Celebrates overlooked female achievement and creative ambition.

Useful for:
Listeners interested in Colorado politics, the intersection of activism and personal story, disability representation in media, and local music/theatre talent.

Transcript

[Ryan Warner]

With her congressional campaign in full swing, Denver's Mehlat Kiras had to step away from the coffee counter.

[Mehlat Kiros]

Being a barista, you know, I'm a tipped minimum wage worker. I know what that paycheck looks like for rent, for groceries, for the energy bills. And having that proximity to that stress, I think is really important for our elected representatives.

[Ryan Warner]

Our chats continue with the primary candidates in Colorado's first Congressional District. Then he looked like a weirdo, fasting and starting fires to prepare for a reality show.

[Steven Ramm]

My neighbors, they told me this after they found out I was on the show. They were like, oh, thank God he's on Survivor. We thought he was losing it because every single day they'd go let their dog out on the patio and there's me looking disheveled. They're like, we thought maybe you were going through a midlife crisis.

[Ryan Warner]

This is Colorado Matters from CPR News and krcc. I'm Ryan Warner. She is a student of government and a participant. Mehlad Kyros is taking a break from graduate school in hopes of pulling off a political victory unseating Denver's longtime congresswoman, Diana DeGette. We are hearing from the Democratic primary candidates this week. Today it's indeed Kyros. Whoever wins faces Republican Christy Peters come fall. Welcome to the program.

[Mehlat Kiros]

Thank you for having me.

[Ryan Warner]

I gather you have knocked on doors

[Mehlat Kiros]

quite a few thousands, actually.

[Ryan Warner]

So I want you to imagine me, you know, maybe a kid in one arm, a phone in another, chili simmering on the stove. What is the quick intro you've given voters at the door?

[Mehlat Kiros]

Yeah, I tell folks that I'm a lawyer, a barista, PhD student, and I'm running against our 30 year incumbent because it's time for a change. It's time for leadership that is actually committed to addressing the structural issues that have prevented working families from being able to thrive in our society.

[Ryan Warner]

Lawyer, you know, recovering. Recovering lawyer. But you, you know, you're mindful of also acknowledging the barista aspect.

[Mehlat Kiros]

Yeah, well, you know, I haven't practiced law for almost three years now. I'm a PhD student on leave of absence because obviously this is a full time job studying, studying public affairs and I.

[Ryan Warner]

You're studying public affairs? In a lot of ways, I am. Even if you're taking a break?

[Mehlat Kiros]

I know I'm doing the.

[Ryan Warner]

From the academic program.

[Mehlat Kiros]

Really? Yeah. But I became a barista to help pay for all the expenses that come with being a student and not getting, you know, a full salary that I would be getting as an attorney. So to Pay for my car, to pay for my health insurance. And I actually just had my last shift at Whittier Cafe. Now, we're really full steam ahead on this campaign. But I think it's important to acknowledge being a barista. You know, I'm a tipped minimum wage worker in the city. I know what that paycheck looks like. I know what it looks like to try and make that paycheck stretch for rent, for groceries, for the energy bills. And, you know, having that proximity to that stress, I think is really important for our elected representatives.

[Ryan Warner]

I'm going to ask you more about affordability in just a few minutes. But most important question of the campaign. How is your foam art?

[Mehlat Kiros]

My foam art? I don't know that I have any foam art. Walk me through this.

[Ryan Warner]

You're a barista?

[Mehlat Kiros]

Oh, foam art. Goodness, latte art. Sorry.

[Ryan Warner]

Oh, latte art. Oh, I'm sorry, Maelon.

[Mehlat Kiros]

Okay, I know. But you know what's funny is that that just revealed that I'm not good at latte art or foam art to begin with. I have a nice little leaf, but we actually had a foam latte art competition for local baristas in the city. It was a. For the campaign, and I saw some of the most impeccable art I've ever seen.

[Ryan Warner]

But it was not yours.

[Mehlat Kiros]

No, not at all.

[Ryan Warner]

Okay.

[Mehlat Kiros]

I was knocked out in the first round.

[Ryan Warner]

Well, that's the interview. Thanks for being with. I'm kidding. What does the socialist part of Democratic Socialist mean to you?

[Mehlat Kiros]

What it means to me is, you know, I have a fundamental belief that our government is responsible for meeting our most basic needs. And in the same way that we have security and knowing that if our house is on fire, we can call the fire department, or if our home is burglarized, we can call the police, that if we are sick, we should be able to go to a doctor down the road, and we should be able to go to that doctor on a yearly basis for primary care. We should be able to send our kids to the local public university, tuition free. Those are basic needs that we should have in a modern world, and especially in a country that is as wealthy and as powerful as this one. It's not a limitation of resources, it's a limitation of political will. People overwhelmingly support these policies, whether we're talking about Medicare for All or universal childcare and elder care. What we're missing is representation in our government, specifically for working people, because over 80% of our representatives take donations from these corporate PACs, these corporations, these special interests who have a vested interest in keeping things exactly as they are because there's too much money to be made in the way that the healthcare industry exists today. There's too much money to be made from private equity buying a lot of these childcare facilities as well. For me, socialism is about making it clear we have basic needs, every single human being. And that's housing, healthcare, nutritional food, public education, and I think in this modern world, transportation and access to Internet as well. And what kind of a society do we want to live in? Right. It doesn't have to be this hard for people to be able to get

[Ryan Warner]

by Medicare for All. How would you do it? I just want to point out in any interview with someone running for the House, you wind up there, you are one of 435 people. Yeah, talk to me about Medicare for All.

[Mehlat Kiros]

Yeah. So. And I tell voters this all the time. I'm not walking in there with a magic wand and passing all of these things. There is a coalition that we are going to need to build and grow so that it's a significant enough majority that we can pressure votes on this legislation. What I believe is going to be the basis for building that coalition is gonna be electing people who refuse corporate PAC money because ultimately, you know, I give credit to the congresswoman who is a co sponsor of Medicare for all.

[Ryan Warner]

That is to Diana DeGette.

[Mehlat Kiros]

To Diana DeGette. Yes. And even if she were to get the chairmanship of the Health and Energy subcommittee, even if she brought Medicare for All to a vote in the next term, it's still not gonna pass because there's still a majority of Democrats taking money from health insurance companies, from big pharmaceutical companies, including the congresswoman herself. And so when we are talk what actually moves an agenda in Congress, it's about who has the most influence to push those representatives into getting that legislation passed.

[Ryan Warner]

And so is your hope to join a cohort that looks more like you in terms of policy?

[Mehlat Kiros]

Absolutely, that looks more like me. But largely has the same fundamental belief that a representative should represent us as voters, not the donors.

[Ryan Warner]

Now, if you win, that means that Denver loses someone with a lot of seniority, a lot of tenure in Washington.

[Mehlat Kiros]

Yeah.

[Ryan Warner]

Why should Denverites give up that seniority?

[Mehlat Kiros]

Well, first, I would point out that the congresswoman has already lost seniority in the past. She used to be the fourth ranking member of the Democratic Caucus. She lost that position. The only leadership position that she would be up for is chairman of the Health and Energy Subcommittee. And that's not nothing. Right. That is gonna be a significant position. That being said, what we have seen and what I tell voters to do is to judge people by the actions they've had over their tenure. And in 30 years, the congresswoman has not helped advance meaningful enough agenda that actually trickled down to tangible benefits for working people. The piece of legislation that she really champions is the Cures act, which Senator Sanders and Senator Warren called out as being a massive giveaway to big pharmaceutical Don largely make up her campaign finance base. And so when we're talking about leadership and seniority, I'd argue one, that it's ridiculous that it would take 30 years for someone to be able to get to a leadership position on committee. And I'm not interested in accepting these traditions and these norms as permanent. Right. I would much rather see a Democratic caucus that chooses leadership for our committees based on merit, based on who is going to be the best at this job, not who's next, not who's been waiting the longest.

[Ryan Warner]

And so good luck breaking that status quo.

[Mehlat Kiros]

Well, we can't break it if we don't at least try.

[Ryan Warner]

So up against a nearly 30 year incumbent, you got more than 60% of the vote at the Democratic County Assembly. What part of your messaging do you think earned you that?

[Mehlat Kiros]

I think the bridge that I found where most voters are willing to start hearing out our platform and our ideas.

[Ryan Warner]

Because you got to give a big speech there.

[Mehlat Kiros]

Yeah, we gave a big speech. And I think it starts with acknowledgment of the fact that the system is not working for working people right now. You know, the last presidential election we saw, there wasn't as much acknowledgment about how hard working people were struggling. Right. We were talking about the stock market doing great. We were talking about GDP rising. But none of that actually translates for working people who were seeing their rents continuing to grow and their grocery bills continuing to rise. And so not only acknowledging the fact that working people are struggling, but acknowledging who's responsible for that. And while there are very many, many things to call out the Trump administration and the Republican Party for, this is the fault of the billionaires and corporations and special interests that have been holding back legislation in Congress that would actually help working people. And to have Democrats that are in bed with these billionaires and corporations and special interests is hamstringing our effort to get some meaningful legislation passed.

[Ryan Warner]

It's interesting because that message is not inherently partisan is what I'm hearing from you.

[Mehlat Kiros]

Yeah.

[Ryan Warner]

What's your assessment of the state of American democracy right now? We know that that is a key issue for voters.

[Mehlat Kiros]

You know, it's something I'm thinking about a lot as we get closer to the 250th anniversary of our country. You know, it's funny, sometimes I find myself saddened, and I think a lot of young people can relate to kind of this melancholy but largely, you know, a lot of defeatism that we're seeing with young people. And for me, it comes from a place of knowing that it does not have to be this way. And in fact, for all of their flaws, our founders designed a government so that the people would have the ability to change course whenever they wanted to. And despite the fact that billionaires and corporations have really destroyed a lot of our levers of accountability for power, whether we're talking about the ability to pass legislation that's representative of the people in Congress, whether we're talking about how they spent decades stacking the courts to now the 6:3 majority that is gutting key provisions of the Voting Rights act, we do still have our vote. And I think it's the most important, specifically in these primaries. You know, I have every faith that we're going to take back the House. I think we might even be able to take back the Senate this cycle. I have every faith that we'll win back the White House in 28. My concern isn't that we take back power. My concern is what we do with that power when we take it back. Because if by 2032, after, hopefully a Democratic administration that had the power of a Democratic trifecta is not able to point to a piece of legislation and say, a Medicare for all. A Medicare for all. And I'd go further, Healthcare for all. It should be Medicare for all breaking up big medicine and then canceling all

[Ryan Warner]

medical debt, breaking up big medicine. What do you mean by that?

[Mehlat Kiros]

Well, there are massive monopolies in the medical industry, whether we're talking about medical device companies, whether we're talking about big pharmaceutical companies, and Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Josh Hawley have introduced legislation to break up those monopolies to make sure that we can start driving down those costs by increasing that competition in that field. Medicare for all delivers us that universal health care coverage with the ability to negotiate those prices. Breaking up big Medicine, make sure that we're driving more competition in that industry, and then canceling all medical debt makes sure that we are not leaving folks behind who had to suffer under the past system.

[Ryan Warner]

And you're saying that if by the end of the a Democratic reign that you believe is coming. If you don't have something like that

[Mehlat Kiros]

to point to by 2032, there's gonna be a vacuum left behind by Trump. Right. Someone just as charismatic, just as telegenic, terrifyingly probably smarter is going to fill that vacuum. And they are going to, if they take back power, are gonna be much more efficient about destroying our democracy, about our institutions. And we need to be able to make the case for the American people saying, look at what we accomplished for working people to battle that.

[Ryan Warner]

Mehlad Kiros is running to represent Denver and Glendale in Congress. Still to come, immigration enforcement and why Kiros views the US As a destabilizing force abroad. This is Colorado Matters from CPR News. It's Colorado Matters from CPR News. I'm Ryan Warner. Will there be an upset or will Denverites stick with what they know? In Colorado's 1st congressional district, there is a contested demo Democratic primary. We're hearing from the candidates this week. Let's get back to today's guest, Mehlat Kiros. What's the right level of federal immigration enforcement?

[Mehlat Kiros]

I have called to abolish ice. This is an agency that has not even existed for 25 years. We were able to enforce immigration long before the agency existed, and I think we'd be able to do it long after what I think that should look like. Enforcement was wanted, and that might be the case. But ICE was born out of an era of fear and, frankly, hatred, a lot of Islamophobia that was happening at the time. What are our values? Right. This is a country of immigrants. It's something that we should be proud of and we should encourage. And we should also be pragmatic and be smart about how we organize that system. The fact of the matter is the resources that we are dedicating to enforcement should actually be going towards the actual processing of immigrants that come through our borders. Right. We need to have more immigration judges. We need to have more staffers working on these cases. We just need to have more staff at the borders themselves. Right.

[Ryan Warner]

And what I hear you saying almost fundamentally is it's not a question of disinvesting, it's a question of how you're investing.

[Mehlat Kiros]

Exactly.

[Ryan Warner]

Okay.

[Steven Ramm]

Exactly.

[Mehlat Kiros]

And I'd argue also we don't talk enough about how the United States government and I think we're seeing this now with this reckless war in Iran, is quite frankly, a destabilizing force in a lot of parts of the world, which drives a lot of this immigration into the country in the first place. Right. I am an immigrant myself I came here in 98 when I was a baby. I have a lot of family that came here as immigrants because of the war that was happening in Ethiopia just a few years ago. There are a lot of immigrants that come to our country with the hopes and dreams of achieving the American dream. Right. But there are a lot of folks that also come out of necessity, out of fear of their safety in their own home and are refugees. Right. And we need to be honest about what role our government has played in destabilizing some of these regions and driving that immigration.

[Ryan Warner]

Do you say that from your own context with history in Ethiopia, then?

[Mehlat Kiros]

No.

[Ryan Warner]

Is that specific?

[Mehlat Kiros]

I would say it largely just speaking about what drives people to immigrate in the first place. Right. And for the folks, it's not always

[Ryan Warner]

that the US Is the destabilizing force. We're one of, I'm saying one of.

[Mehlat Kiros]

Yes, but that is a role that I think we have to acknowledge. And we're seeing that happening in Iran right now. Right. There was no reason for us to go to war. There was no security threats. There was no indication that they were actually getting anywhere close to being able to build nuclear weapons. Multiple members of the administration have come out saying so and so for us to have gone to war now hundreds of schoolgirls are dead as a result of it, and multiple civilians, thousands of civilians are injured, some have died. And for us to truly work towards policies that reflect our values for immigration, we have to be looking at this as a whole encompassing issue.

[Ryan Warner]

Well, you've provided the segue for me to the war in Iran. What would you change were you a member of Congress?

[Mehlat Kiros]

I would be whipping votes to get that War Powers Resolution act passed. I give credit to a lot of Congress members right now, including Congresswoman DeGette, who are talking about the fact that, you know, we should be spending this money, these billions of dollars that we're spending in Iran on healthcare, on childcare, on infrastructure. But I would point out that the Congresswoman voted twice against reducing the military budget by 10%, something that we have been calling for from the progressive flank for years, because we need to reduce the incent for these defense contractors and this military industrial complex to go to war. And no less these votes, the 10% that was asked to being cut would have been for pandemic spending in the middle of a pandemic and we still couldn't cut the pentagon budget by 10%. And so I just would ask Congress members that are talking about our military spending right now to reflect on some of their past votes and hopefully commit to cutting the budget by 10% in the future.

[Ryan Warner]

Speaking of spending either in defense or spending abroad, how would the US US investment in Israel change if you had your way?

[Mehlat Kiros]

Yeah, I think we need a full arms embargo. I really do. This is the opinion of the vast majority of Democratic voters. We are seeing more and more Democrats that are joining in this mission and cutting off access to weaponry, access to American weaponry, access to American taxpayer dollars while this country continues to engage in genocide in palest while the country continues to uphold an apartheid system, an apartheid system that just a few weeks ago passed a law that effectively brought back the death penalty, but just for Palestinians because it applied only in a court where Israelis do not go into that court system, they go into a different court system. And so in this specific court system where only Palestinians are tried with a conviction rate of I believe about 94% children are tried in this court. Now the death penalty is on the table again. And when passing this law, some of the members of the cassettes were wearing newspens. And when I think about our taxpayer dollars, when I think about our aid and what mission we are trying to accomplish in giving this aid to other countries, this complete and total destruction of an entire people is not a part of that. It's not a part of that mission. It's not what the American people want to see their taxpayer dollars being spent on. And so what I think about with our dollars, this is our leverage. This has been our leverage since the war began while Biden was president. Right. The Israeli government never thought for a second that the American government would allow them to continue with the war as long as they did. That came out by the New York Times. That's because our taxpayer dollars are aid to this country's our leverage. And when we take that away, that is where we apply the pressure to say remove these apartheid laws, stop the genocide in Gaza, allow aid to come in and for them to start rebuilding.

[Ryan Warner]

Israel is also the only democracy in the Middle east. And there are Palestinians who live freely in Israeli society. Is there a destabilizing effect of a disinvestment in a region with some pretty awful actors?

[Mehlat Kiros]

I would argue that one, Israel is not a democracy. And I say that because in Israel's constitution the right to self determination is reserved only for Jewish Israelis. That is the basis of the apartheid system where all of these 80 some laws trickle down from that discriminate on the basis of whether you are Israeli or Palestinian. That is not a democracy. That is an Ethnocracy. I am fully in favor of supporting democracies, supporting equal rights, supporting the right to self determination and more than anything supporting the right to safety and dignity for all people. Israel's laws need to actually reflect that in order for us I think to be able to treat them as allies

[Ryan Warner]

and to deserve U.S. investment. You're such a. Yeah. Before we go, I wanna ask this of you and Regent Wanda James as well. Are you concerned that in a three way race you and James split the non to get the anti tag vote and she sails to victory?

[Mehlat Kiros]

Yeah, of course I'm concerned. You know I'm a great admirer of Regent Wanda James and it's been such a pleasure running in this race with her and talking with voters about, you know, how deserving our city and our district is of a change of real leadership in this moment. That being said, you know, we are the campaign that is gathering the support of the progressive flank. We have the Working Families Party endorsement, we have the Justice Democrats endorsement. Sunrise Denver dsa We are raising significantly more money. We have significantly more volunteers, over 500 volunteers that are supporting over 5,000 individual donors and are polling consistently shows that our messaging, which is specifically calling out the billionaires and the corporations and the corruption that is in government that is harming all of us, resonates a lot more with voters. And so I'm really confident that, you know, our path to victory is very clear whether or not this is a two or three way race. But it is a concern of mine that I share.

[Ryan Warner]

Was there any discussion between the two of you about leaving the race?

[Mehlat Kiros]

No, there has not been a discussion. I don't think that's my right to ask anybody to drop out of a race. I think competitive primaries are important and I think, you know, throughout this whole process we will see what message resonates the most with voters.

[Ryan Warner]

Milad, thank you so much for being with us.

[Mehlat Kiros]

Thank you so much for having me.

[Ryan Warner]

Milad Quiros wants to represent Denver in Congress. Our earlier interviews with her opponents in the Democratic primary [e-mail] you can listen there or scan transcripts. The winner, June 30th will face Republican Christy Peterson in November. And Colorado Matters continues in this next half hour. I'm Ryan Mourner. You're with CPR News and KRCC. This is Colorado Matters from CPR News and KRCC. I'm Ryan Warner. Survivor is in its 50th season and the finale is tonight. How do contestants prepare and what sort of following do they develop we asked Denver aerospace engineer Steven Ramm, who was on Survivor 49. Hi, Steven.

[Steven Ramm]

Hi. Thanks for having me on.

[Ryan Warner]

Okay. There are multiple survivors a year. That's how you get to 50.

[Steven Ramm]

Yep.

[Ryan Warner]

Yeah.

[Steven Ramm]

Okay.

[Ryan Warner]

They're like always filming. You have killed a chicken, circumnavigated an island alone. You were eliminated at sixth place. Do you have a standout story from your season that you tell at parties?

[Steven Ramm]

Honestly, the running around the island was pretty funny, so that's usually my go to. Cause that, for me was my feather in my cap crown achievement because that was so late in the game. I think that was day 21 out of 26 at that point. You are so gassed, you're so tired, you're so hungry. And my back was completely up against the wall in terms of gameplay. And so I chose to go on this journey. I can't believe those bozos let me do it like everyone else on the island with me. And so I'll never forget this. You read this little parchment that they dropped off and it says, one of you must get in this boat and go on a strenuous journey. And so we read it out loud a couple times. And after that production, they very rarely do this, but they leaned forward and they said emphasis on strenuous. Because at that moment everyone was like, well, maybe I'll give it a shot. Maybe I'll try. And we were going to like, draw rocks or rock, paper, scissors out. As soon as they emphasized strenuous, everyone's like, I'm out. And I'm like, are you guys kidding? You're going to let me potentially get a game changing advantage? All right? And so I jumped in. And then as soon as I saw what it was, I was so freaked out because even though I'm from Colorado, I'm not a big outdoorsman person the way that a lot of people are. I like hiking, I like snowboarding, but I was like, if I can't run around this island, they're not gonna let me back into Colorado.

[Ryan Warner]

It's the pressure of being a Coloradan. I have to tell you, Stephen, how relieved I am to hear you admit that you're only moderately outdoorsy. I wear a sweater that says indoors. So what was the most strenuous part of the kind of walkabout?

[Steven Ramm]

Well, first off, they didn't really mark exactly where I needed to go. And so granted, you just run around the perimeter of an island, and I'll never forget this is how deliriously tired I was. It was about halfway through, and so I Had to collect numbers and remember them along the way. And the first three numbers were pretty equidistantly spaced, but then the distance between the third and the fourth number was so much farther that I literally thought I missed one and I was gonna have to double back. And so they didn't mark what was the correct path to wearing my hearing aids. So anytime anything involved water, I was actually taking the rocky path, which I found out later they were not expecting me to do. And it was freaking them out because I thought I was going to fall and die. But maybe that is the born and bred Colorado in me. I was like, I'm just going to go over. And so that was probably the most strenuous part, was there was a moment where I just wanted to swim through the water. It was, like, about waist deep. Would have been way faster, but instead I had to trudge through. And, like, the waves are coming in, and the panic is starting to set in that if I don't get around this island in time, I'm gonna lose my vote and I'm definitely going home after that.

[Ryan Warner]

And so you invoked your hearing aids. So I was curious about how you charged them up. And then you were mindful of water because they're not waterproof.

[Steven Ramm]

They're not waterproof. At best, they call them water resistant in the same way that your phone is water resistant. You drop it in the pool. If you grab it quick enough, it's probably fine. Dude. Yeah. So anytime there was water or mud, production was really, really accommodating. They helped me charge them overnight. There was a portable battery pack that was in this little area, so every night I'd take them out before I'd go to bed, charge them. And it gave me a really good excuse to be the first one awake in the morning Because I'd wake up before everyone else would to go get them and put them on. And then I would take a little jaunt looking for idols, searching in the jungle. And normally, if people wake up on the beach and you're gone, people assume you're hunting for idols. But I had plausible deniability. They'd be like, where were you, Stephen?

[Ryan Warner]

I'm just getting my hearing aids.

[Steven Ramm]

Just getting my hearing aids on. They're like, oh, cool. Whatever. I'm like, never found an idol.

[Ryan Warner]

You never found an idol.

[Steven Ramm]

Never did. My allies did. I was five feet away from an ally that did. And I'll tell you what, there's nothing more frustrating than being an arm's length away from an idol and having someone else Snatching it, even if it's one of your closest allies, because you just want that in your pocket so bad.

[Ryan Warner]

When you're on the island, do you know what island it is? Like, do you know exactly where you are?

[Steven Ramm]

I mean, there are different islands for different tribes. So every tribe is on a separate island. So you could see in the distance the island that the other tribes are on. Tribal Council's on a separate island. Ponderosa, where you stay, is on a separate island as well. Or it's over in Fiji.

[Ryan Warner]

Fiji?

[Steven Ramm]

Yeah. I don't know the exact names of the islands, to be honest.

[Ryan Warner]

Okay.

[Steven Ramm]

I was just kind of along for the ride geographically, but I was surprised. I guess I didn't realize how far apart all of the different islands were. So every time you'd go to compete in a challenge, those were on a different island than where you were staying and surviving, killing chickens, whatever. So every day you're taking multiple boat rides, potentially depending on what's going on. And yeah, I wonder if you heard

[Ryan Warner]

from people in the viewing audience who were grateful to have representation of hearing aids.

[Steven Ramm]

Yeah, that was the thing that in hindsight, probably shouldn't have surprised me the way it did. But I was incredibly touched by how many people just said that specifically resonated with them. I still get several messages in my DMs probably every week. Like, occasionally someone just saying, hey, I'm just now watching your season or just finished watching your season and just wanted to say thank you for representing the heart of hearing community. And like, it's so interesting because to me, I've had hearing aids for so long that I kind of forget that they're there. And I don't really consider it, like a huge part of my identity. It's kind of like if you can't see, you wear glasses or contacts. I kind of view hearing aids the same way. It's like, it's just a tool to help me balance out the way other people are.

[Ryan Warner]

Are they in now?

[Steven Ramm]

I actually left them at home cause I lost the charger. So I'm in the process of getting a new charger, but I can still hear reasonably well. I went 20 years of my life not knowing I needed them. And so that actually helped me in the game of Survivor because whether I knew it or not, I had developed lip reading skills and I got really good at reading context cues. And Survivor is a big social game. It's 99% social is what I would say.

[Ryan Warner]

I love the idea that they are not currently charged, dude.

[Steven Ramm]

Yeah.

[Ryan Warner]

But they were on the at home, but somehow they got charged on the island in Fiji. Okay, okay. But it's probably been nice to have some feedback about that, you know, from people like, oh, you're a badass with hearing aids.

[Steven Ramm]

Absolutely. After the first episode, the premiere aired, I got the most heartfelt message from a stranger. This mom on Facebook, she wrote me a long message and it basically said, my daughter is 10 years old, she's hard of hearing, she has hearing aids, and she loves Survivor. She's like, I don't watch it that much, but she's obsessed with. And the other day when your episode aired, she ran into the kitchen and she said, mommy, mommy, someone like me is on Survivor. Does this mean I can play? And she was like, what do you mean? And she's like, steven has hearing aids. I have hearing aids. Does this mean I can go play Survivor? I was like, yeah. I remember reading it and my girlfriend's like, why are you. Are you crying at like 8 in the morning? And I'm like, yeah. I was like, so touched by that message. And so I sent her like a little video. I remember turning to my girlfriend and saying, like, no matter what the rest of the reception is for the season, like, if people, the public likes me or dislikes me, this alone made it worth the price of admission. Like, knowing that I could show someone that you can do things. I'm like tearing up thinking about it now.

[Ryan Warner]

Aw. Will you share the video with me that you made for her?

[Steven Ramm]

Yeah. Eden, this is Stephen from Survivor 49. I hear you're a big fan of the show and I also hear that you, like myself, have some hearing loss. So I just wanted to give you some words of encouragement and let you know that that was not an obstacle for me at all to getting on the show and playing the game that I love so much. Jeff and everybody on the show was so accommodating of my hearing aids and my hearing loss that it was just not even an issue. So if your dream is to play Survivor one day, you absolutely should apply. I think you'd be amazing and I hope one day I get a chance to cheer you on the same way that you cheer me on every single week. So. So thanks so much for tuning in and I hope you enjoy the episode tonight.

[Ryan Warner]

Not me tearing up a little bit. Okay. That's a video for a fan from our guest, Stephen Ramm. He competed on the 49th season of Survivor. Tonight is the season 50 finale. Still to come. This is all very hush hush. When you're selected for the show. So how did he tell his colleagues at Lockheed Martin he needed some time off to compete? This is Colorado Matters from CPR News. It's Colorado Matters from CPR News. I'm Ryan Warner. The reality show Survivor is itself a Survivor. Tonight's the season 50 finale. We brought on a contestant from Survivor 49, Denver Aerospace Engineer Steven Ramm. Steven, Survivor obviously requires a time commitment, and I'm trying to picture your meeting with your employer, Lockheed Martin. What was the conversation with your boss when you're like, hey, I need time to walk around an island with cameras.

[Steven Ramm]

So the really tricky part about going on Survivor is anyone that you tell has to sign an NDA. Oh.

[Ryan Warner]

Oh. So one, you have to be careful about whom you tell. And then two, they're kind of brought in.

[Steven Ramm]

They're locked in legally with CBS because they want to make sure that the cast does not get leaked before they are ready to publicly announce it. Which is hilarious because I was home for three days from Fiji and someone had already leaked our entire cast online before the promo for 49, the trailer, even aired.

[Ryan Warner]

Wow.

[Steven Ramm]

So people find a way. Fans are really good at digging those things up. And there's a leak in the ship somewhere in cbs. Someone leaked it out anywhere. But that conversation with my employer was actually. They were super supportive. So I had saved up enough vacation over the years where I actually was able to just use vacation while I was gone for the five weeks. But the harder part was, what do I message out to the rest of the team? That I'm a program manager, and we were in the process of kicking off two new studies or contracts that I was going to be working on. And so as the program manager, those are the busiest times is when you're kicking off a contract or getting ready for deliverables. So it's not a great look when out of the blue your program manager decides they're going to be taking five weeks on vacation unannounced, like, with very

[Ryan Warner]

short notice and no explanation.

[Steven Ramm]

No explanation. And so my manager, she was really supportive and she was, like, very excited for me. And so she was the only person that knew. And we workshopped, like, we called it personal leave because she was like, I don't think people will ask too many questions because if you say I'm going on vacation, one, deep down, they might be a little resentful that you're leaving them with a bunch of extra work. But two, they're like, oh, where are you going? What are you doing? They expect you to look tan or something. And I was worried legitimately, I lost 21 pounds out there. I was worried that when I went back to work, people were going to think he was in rehab or something because I was so gaunt and like, I was so nervous. I tried to put on as much weight as possible after I got back.

[Ryan Warner]

But you thought, if we say personal leave, it'll sound medical and no one will ask.

[Steven Ramm]

Exactly. I was like, it could mean anything. It's personal. It's personal. If I wanted to share it, I would. And everyone respected that. And it was really fun.

[Ryan Warner]

Amazing.

[Steven Ramm]

Five months later, when I could finally formally announce to them at our staff meeting, the reason that I made you

[Ryan Warner]

do all this extra work is so I could be on tv. That went well.

[Steven Ramm]

They were like, well, dude, it was so funny. It was at the end of our staff meeting, people share photos from their weekend, right? Or like, usually, oh, I went on a trip, I went to the mountains, I did a hike, My kid did a funny thing, whatever. And then it got to me and I was like, I was showing photos that were officially, finally published of me on the island from CBS on, like Variety website, you know, ew. And people were like, well, damn, I can't follow that. So they're like, meeting adjourned. I don't want to present my weekend photos anymore. But everyone was like, kind of shocked. I don't think it really settled. Settled in at first. And the other thing I got too was, wait, that show is still on? I didn't know. Okay, I agree. A lot of people knew Survivor, but they don't follow it.

[Ryan Warner]

They pay you. Right? You get something.

[Steven Ramm]

You do, yeah.

[Ryan Warner]

Okay.

[Steven Ramm]

I would have done it for free. So the winner, you get a million dollars. Right. Obviously, like, that's the big prize. Not as life changing money today as it was when the show first premiered after taxes, cost of living and, you know, ballooning. But you do get paid for your time out there. The farther you make it, you do get paid more. There is a little bit of an incentive beyond, beyond the million to stay in. Yeah, it definitely, once you get to the jury phase and then the deeper you make it, it definitely goes up incrementally. And so that definitely wasn't a huge driver for people at first because, like, the difference between, I don't know, 11th place and 8th place isn't that drastic. But once you get close to there, you could see the dollar sign in people's eyes as you're scheming and plotting on the island. Whereas previously that didn't seem like a fuel to Their fire of what was motivating them to play the game. Now all of a sudden they're like, well, if I make it past this vote, I can pay off my credit card or I make it past this vote, I can put a down payment on a house. And so it incentivized people to play harder, which was great. Harder for me though.

[Ryan Warner]

American capitalism. How did you train?

[Steven Ramm]

I trained nonstop, so it was kind of like having two additional full time jobs. Even when I was in the casting process, still didn't know for sure whether I was going to make it or not. You don't get much notice. I think I had maybe five weeks between being told I was on the show and then flying out there, maybe less. And so I was like, if I start training, then it's like cramming for a final exam the night before. So I started training way, way back when. I started the casting process months before. And so I was again, I hate cardio. And I was doing cardio. I was swimming. I bought a slack line because balance is such a big part of a lot of challenges and core strength. And so I learned how to slackline. I would practice balancing on one leg for as long as I could and then I'd switch to the other leg and I'd hold things. On Etsy, they had a bunch of puzzles that were actual old survivor puzzles that people 3D printed that you could buy. So I bought like five or six of those. So every night after work I'm practicing puzzles while watching old seasons of Survivor, trying to like think through my strategy, really putting myself in the shoes of the people there. Wow. Rather than being a casual observer, I also practiced fasting. So I would take a weekend. I wouldn't eat for like two days straight, but I'd still continue doing my normal workout routines just to get a sense of like, what does it feel like? I think a big thing is like knowing what your strengths and weaknesses are. I think people that aren't very self aware tend to struggle in the game

[Ryan Warner]

of survival because they get surprised by what about starting fires.

[Steven Ramm]

Oh, I forgot about that. Yeah, so I was starting fire. I like, I'm in a townhouse in downtown Denver and I'll never forget, dude, my neighbors, they told me this after they found out I was on the show. They were like, oh, thank God he's on Survivor. We thought he was losing it because every single day they'd go let their dog out on the patio and there's me looking disheveled, like I'm intermittent fasting. They're like, we thought maybe you were going through a midlife crisis or something. They could.

[Ryan Warner]

This is my favorite detail. So you work for Lockheed Martin and you are creating moon tents.

[Steven Ramm]

Moon tents, Moon tents. I am working with NASA and we're working on a couple studies right now. NASA wants to establish a long term permanent presence like a lunar base. Right. Specifically near the lunar south pole. There's a lot of interesting resources there that could potentially unlock deep space exploration in a way that's currently not accessible.

[Ryan Warner]

And so basically you want to turn the moon into a way station, a waypoint if you're going to go onto Mars, for instance.

[Steven Ramm]

Exactly.

[Ryan Warner]

A fueling station.

[Steven Ramm]

Totally. Yeah, it could be a fuel station also. It's a good proving ground. It's a good, all the technologies we need to live long term at Mars. Mars is not a, I mean it's three year round trip minimum. That's when you line up the orbits between Earth and Mars. Like that's probably the shortest trip and that's a long time. And so the way I like to think of it is going to low Earth orbit where the International Space Station is. That's kind of akin to like camping in your backyard. Something goes wrong, you're like a few footsteps away from safety inside. It's like a few hours to get back to Earth. The Moon is more like backpacking, like packing in, packing out. You know, you got yourself in, it's a couple days hike in, it's a couple days hike out, but it's still like you're away from everything. You gotta bring everything with you. Going to Mars is like, I guess a cross country road trip with only what you can fit inside of a motorhome. And you hope you gotta bring all your spares with you. You've gotta bring all your food, all your water. Also every message you send back to Earth has potentially a 17 minute delay each way. And so like you're trying to communicate with Houston and it's going to take a while. So like the moon is a great test ground for Mars because it is far enough away and it is very like a lot of the same challenges are there, but it's not quite as dangerous as like just going straight to Mars. Yeah. So we're working right now on building, I mean, tents or like habitats. Also they're going to need mobility systems, so like rovers to drive around in transportation. We're also looking at cargo and logistics. How do we get basically the infrastructure that astronauts are going to need to stay on the lunar surface for more than a few days like in the Apollo era, NASA would like to see astronauts there for potentially up to 120 days consistently at a time. And you need a lot of food. You need all your air, oxygen. You're basically think of your spaceship as like a mini Earth, like a bubble of Earth.

[Ryan Warner]

The parallels between what you're describing and perhaps the knowledge, the skills required of you on Survivor, it's kind of a crazy symbiosis, isn't it? Did that prepare you for Survivor at all?

[Steven Ramm]

I do think that my career definitely helped me on Survivor because in addition to just designing things, right, as an engineer, the technical side, as a program manager, I've also worked in Washington, D.C. for a while doing space policy. So I was like, lobbying. And so you meet a lot of people from different walks of life. And I'm working with engineers, but I'm also working with people in finance. I'm working with schedulers, I'm working with NASA. I'm working with people in Congress. And all these stakeholders have different agendas. And Survivor is literally just balancing the agenda, reading between the lines. What people say is their agenda is not always what their real agenda is. So being able to suss that out has been one of the skills I've cultivated and built throughout my career.

[Ryan Warner]

I love the idea that you attacked Survivor like a project manager.

[Steven Ramm]

Yeah.

[Ryan Warner]

Excel spreadsheet, this, you know, kind of thing.

[Steven Ramm]

You're joking. I built spreadsheets, dude. No joke. I literally was going through because I Survivor reuses some challenges, especially in the new era. And so I went back and I was going through every single challenge because I was trying to statistically look at the probability of what are the odds that this challenge is going to reappear on season 49.

[Ryan Warner]

Amazing.

[Steven Ramm]

Dude. When I'm telling you, like, I love Survivor and this is like the opportunity of a lifetime, I was like, I am not wasting this. I almost wanted to take, like, quit my job temporarily. Thankfully, my girlfriend talked me out of that. That would have been crazy. But I was like, I want to go all in on this. And so I did, and I'm so happy that I prepped. It's one of those things, though. It's funny, like, once you. Your feet hit the sand and so many former players said this, but I was like, I'm built different. No, I'm not. Your feet hit the sand, and a lot of those plans and preparation kind of go out the window. Yeah. Because as you're prepping and thinking through things, you're also well fed and well rested. And the thing I noticed is once you get tired and hungry, you kind of revert to old habits. And some of those are good habits, like the program manager type things where I'm like, I'm good at being friends with everybody.

[Ryan Warner]

Yeah. The expression, I think, in the military is that you revert to your lowest training.

[Steven Ramm]

Oh, that's good.

[Ryan Warner]

When you're stressed out.

[Steven Ramm]

Yeah. No, that's actually good.

[Ryan Warner]

And that's what you're describing.

[Steven Ramm]

Yes, absolutely. And do you miss it?

[Ryan Warner]

Do you miss the island?

[Steven Ramm]

Oh, I do. Yeah. I know it surprises people a lot, but it was the most fun I've ever had. And it was honestly, the not eating part and the not sleeping part was not as challenging as I thought it would be. And I had to pretend when I'm talking to my cast and who are complaining about being hungry and tired all the time that I was like, oh, yeah, me too. But I've never felt better in my entire life. Because your sleep cycle syncs up with the circadian rhythm of the sunrise. I was actually sleeping better than I do at home with my distractions in my phone that keep me up.

[Ryan Warner]

No glowing screen.

[Steven Ramm]

No glowing screen.

[Ryan Warner]

Okay. So it turns out Survivor is good for sleep hygiene. Okay. Stephen, thank you so much for being with.

[Steven Ramm]

It was a pleasure.

[Ryan Warner]

Denver aerospace engineer Stephen Ramm, who competed on Survivor 49, tonight's the season 50 finale. Finally today, Denver singer, songwriter and composer Neela Picareck has a new muse.

[Neela Picareck]

I am always moved by a brave and ambitious woman, and Adelaide Herman was absolutely both of these things.

[Ryan Warner]

Picarec, a former member of the Lumineers, is working on a musical, the Queen of Magic.

[Neela Picareck]

I had to tell this story because Adelaide was a master of her craft and she influenced the great magicians. Even Houdini, who was quoted saying, compeers do not fail to give her the full recognition she merits when next she comes your way and yet she is forgotten she's not a household name like Houdini. Someone that influential and that masterful in an art form deserves to have her story told. And plus, who doesn't like magic?

[Neela Picareck (singing)]

Longing for stardom Longing for love Belonging in bright lights diamonds and glows they all say no my heart says yes I'll choose to go Nevertheless,

[Ryan Warner]

Pekarick's already releasing tracks featuring some of her favorite fellow musicians.

[Neela Picareck (singing)]

Craving success, yearning I'll do what it takes I'll do whatever it takes I'm

[Ryan Warner]

fearless indeed While the musical needs more time to incubate, Picarec and friends will perform some of these early tracks like Fearless this one. Friday evening at Denver's Oriental Theater.

[Neela Picareck (singing)]

Craving success? Your name? I'll do what it takes. I'll do whatever it takes. I'm Fearless.

[Ryan Warner]

She calls Friday's show a big vaudevillian extravaganza. I hear it'll be magic. That's Colorado Matters for now. With special thanks to Chiara DiMari, I'm Ryan Warner at CPR News and KRCC.

[Neela Picareck (singing)]

Spend all my my time floating through life. The what ifs forever haunting my mind. I won't give in. I won't let fear win. What scares me the most is to not even try.