Kristen and Bob cover this week’s major Reno news — from a deputy district attorney’s firing over social media posts to lawsuits involving UNR and the Reno Police Department. We also discuss the return of the homelessness advisory board, our documentary on homelessness and Reno’s new “death café.”

📰 Deputy district attorney fired

A Washoe County Deputy District attorney, Aziz Merchant, was fired from the DA's office after local...

Kristen and Bob recap the latest Reno news headlines, such as the not-so-shocking news that “John Doe” in the GPS tracker case is Robert Beadles. We also award ourselves two “dookies,” clarifying a Verdi TV district budget gap and misleading school spending reporting. A $1.4 billion road repair backlog could lead to increased fees on electric and hybrid vehicles, plus the dramatic rise in the cost of living and Reno’s beleaguered d...

In the latest Reno news podcast, Kristen and Bob walk through a packed week: Washoe County got a new manager among four finalists for county manager, while the county commissioners put the little-known Verdi Television District on the hot seat.

Jacobs Entertainment dangles a downtown youth sports complex that was met with some environmental concerns. The Truckee Meadows Water Authority says our long-term water picture is better than...

Kristen and Bob give a rundown of the latest big news in Reno. We discuss the nationwide “No Kings” demonstrations, a regional child-exploitation sting that led to the arrest of a former deputy police chief, Washoe County’s move to dissolve its Department of Alternative Sentencing, an ethics case resolution involving a Sparks council member and questions over the library system’s funding. 

Recorded Oct. 20, 2025.

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Kristen and Bob return with a new discussion on the latest Reno news headlines. This episode covers Washoe County’s plan to dissolve its Department of Alternative Sentencing, results from the city of Reno’s community survey, the sewer-rate debate and feedback, Stonegate’s zoning appeal and Nevada DMV’s new tool for reporting unregistered vehicles. 

Episode recorded Oct. 13, 2025

County moves to dissolve Alternative Sentencing
Com...

Kristen and Bob this week give a straight-ahead rundown of the major Reno-area news stories: a federal letter about the University of Nevada, Reno’s UndocuPack program, what was said at a community-led summit on data centers, a high-stakes Nevada Supreme Court dispute over police investigations, and major funding losses for LGBTQ+ programs at Our Center. 

Recorded on Saturday, Oct. 4. 

UNR’s UndocuPack under federal scrutiny

• A U.S...

On today’s show, Kristen and Bob break down a packed local news week: The ongoing Lear Theater debate, a fresh round of NV Energy refunds and climate grades, the city of Reno scraps a much-anticipated data-centers meeting while Sparks presses ahead. There was also an ADU ordinance hiccup, and we do a rundown of our Nevada Press Association awards for the year. This episode was recorded Sept. 27, 2025.

Lear Theater proposal...

Kristen and Bob break down the latest Reno news headlines. This week, we discuss the Lear Theater’s future, a federal lawsuit tied to Burning Man, patient safety concerns at a Saint Mary’s Hospice, worker-safety allegations at UPS in Sparks, the city’s new arts board naming flap. We also give a nod to Nevada historian Guy Rocha, who recently passed away.

Lear Theater: What’s Next?

• The Reno City Council was slated to discuss unsol...

Kristen and Bob break down the top stories in Reno. This episode is first heard by This Is Reno’s paying members, who get this before it is published anywhere else. Get first access and exclusive content by subscribing at https://thisisreno.com/subscribe/

Burner trash

Post‑Burning Man garbage littering northern Nevada generated a lot of online chatter. It appears the Burn’s longstanding “leave‑no‑trace” ethos has morphed int...

This episode is the second podcast in a two-part series. Kristen Hackbarth and Bob Conrad discuss the recent This Is Reno investigation Kristen did into spending at Reno City Hall. After months of digging, getting public records and combing through large amounts of information, we published a voluminous ten-part series about what we found.

This Is Reno subscribers got access to this podcast before anybody else. If you valu...

This episode is our first podcast in more than a year. Kristen Hackbarth and Bob Conrad discuss the recent This Is Reno investigation Kristen did into spending at Reno City Hall. After months of digging, getting public records and combing through large amounts of information, we published a voluminous ten-part series about what we found.

This Is Reno subscribers got access to this podcast before anybody else. If you value local, ind...

Edward Coleman is the executive director of a new Reno nonprofit called the Black Community Collective. In today’s show we discuss why he started the collective and why it is needed in the greater Reno community. 

We also discuss some of his recent efforts including his work on the City of Reno’s charter committee – and what he thought of how the Reno City Council responded to that committee’s proposals in August. 

This show is also ...

The testimonials that Epic Brain Centers of Reno provide are hard to believe. Some of the anecdotes include those diagnosed with depression seeing results in few treatments. Other testimonials show people quickly recovering from conditions such as addiction and anxiety. 

For this episode, I visited the Epic Brain Centers clinic in Reno. The clinic and the technology it uses are potentially revolutionary. Similar brain heal...

Lyndsey Langsdale helps to run the Reno Food Systems farm on Mayberry Drive. The nonprofit operation has been in business since 2018. For today’s show we talk with Lyndsey about her vision for the farm. 

I visited Reno Food Systems in the fall as the farm was still harvesting produce, volunteers and staff were weeding and the farm was preparing for the winter. 

Lyndsey describes the purpose of the farm being a “vibrant, resilient, an...

One of the Reno area’s few substance use, and gambling, addiction treatment facilities is the Bristlecone Recovery Center. The nonprofit is named after bristlecone pine, a tree found in Nevada, Utah and California.

The center uses this analogy: This remarkable tree can fully regenerate itself, even on the brink of death. Just like the Bristlecone Pine, the people who seek help at our facility for addiction, gambling, and mental heal...

The Dutch Cycling Embassy came to Reno in September. They were here to discuss how the Netherlands became bike centric and to help the Biggest Little City’s cycling efforts. The Truckee Meadows Bicycle Alliance helped organize the Embassy’s visit.

For this episode, we spoke with people who attended the Think Bike workshops, as well as members of the cycling embassy, including Margot Daris and Dick Vanveen.

The group hosted ...

The heat of summer is one of the causes for why ducks and geese are dying at area ponds.

In this show, we hear from a wildlife veterinarian  who explains why botulism is suspected in the regional water bodies, and how that is impacting waterfowl.

We also hear from an advocate for local senior citizens. She said people were taken by surprise when they learned the city of Reno was making plans to lease out a senior ...

Dr. Susan Enfield has been in Reno for just short of two months, and already she is making changes to the Washoe County School District.

As the new superintendent of schools, Enfield has generated optimism by saying in part she wants the district to own its mistakes and celebrate its successes.

In this show, we chat with Enflield about the future of the district and what she hopes to accomplish. 

The This is Reno radio show can be hea...

If you’ve been to downtown Reno in the past few years, you have most likely seen the ambassadors in action. They wear blue shirts with the downtown Reno partnership logo and are often seen providing assistance to people.

They are also charged with cleaning up downtown. That includes litter control, graffiti removal and weed abatement. The group touts major successes since the ambassadors began working the streets of Reno, including ...