With another stunning come from behind victory against the Bears last Sunday, the Tim Tebow train keeps rolling. The Denver Broncos’ quarterback has become a cultural phenomenon. But his on-field exploits only make up one part of the Tebow mystique. Tebow’s public displays of faith play a major role in the star athlete’s public persona and the narrative surrounding him.

What is the Tim Tebow effect? The new Denver Broncos quarterback has garnered a lot of national attention, partly for his talent, partly for his prayerful play. But is the attention — or the critiques, which are growing after Tebow failed to lead Denver to a win over Detroit Sunday — fully warranted? We find out, and get a general NFL update from Takeaway sports contributor Ibrahim Abdul-Matin. 

The nation's debt crisis has all eyes on the politicians on Capitol Hill. But we wanted to know how the debt crisis is playing out in different cities across the country — what local fears and concerns are, and what people have to say about what's happening in the District of Columbia. We headed to Denver, Colo., Detroit, Mich., and Miami, Fla. to hear what people have to say about the current debt crisis.

At about 40 locations around downtown Denver, you can pick up a bike, ride it somewhere else and drop it off. The "Bcycle" program began yesterday, on Earth Day. Bike sharing is a mode of community transportation that's been tried in several European cities, and will be popping up in U.S. cities this summer; Denver is the first big American trial. Nathan Heffel, producer for jazz89 KUVO, checked in on the first day of Mile-High residents trying it out.

Collin Campbell, out in Denver with John Hockenberry.

In 1985, KUVO started broadcasting here. The station began, and continues today, to be the great beating heart of jazz in Denver. Its studios sit in the Five Points neighborhood, the first predominantly African-American section in Denver, and a place famous for its cultural scene since the 1930s.

In January, KUVO started airing The Takeaway. We began to hear from Denver listeners, and we've kept an eye on the local economy, the city's future and its rising political stars.  This month, we planned a trip out to visit the KUVO community and to connect with the political mood at the 62nd Annual Conference on World Affairs. That's a forum that began as America was recovering from World War II, where they debated things like the Marshall Plan.

Long time fans of Saturday Night Live will surely remember the androgynous character with the nasal voice and grating chortle, known simply and ambiguously as Pat. The actress/writer/comedienne behind that iconic 1990s character, Julia Sweeney, has gotten herself into some interesting projects since she left the late night sketch show.

John Hockenberry sat down with Colorado Attorney General John Suthers earlier this week, and part of their conversation we're bringing to you here online.  John asked Suthers about the growing numbers of medical marijuana dispensaries in Colorado, the voters' initiatives that Suthers says are being badly stretched to allow this many dispensaries, and his desire to have Colorado voters explicitly vote on what he calls "back door legalization."

Activists seem to be gaining ground in their fight to normalize pot use in the U.S.: Fourteen states have legalized medical marijuana to some extent, and fourteen others have marijuana-related proposals in the works. 

Colorado Governor Bill Ritter recently announced he won't run for reelection in 2010, leaving wide speculation about who will succeed him. Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper was in the midst of recording an interview with The Takeaway Wednesday afternoon when Ritter called Hickenlooper to talk about what the job entails.  Hickenlooper took the call, called us back, and strongly implied that he's considering running for governor.

Back in August of 2008, during the Democratic National Convention, we sent Takeaway contributor Patrik Henry Bass out to report from Denver.  He visited a hair salon called Hairworks in Denver's Five Points neighborhood to talk with locals on the evening Barack Obama accepted his party's nomination. This morning we check in with the owner of that salon, Tracy Moore, about how she and her customers are doing.

Colorado's population has just rate hit the five million mark.  It is in the top five fastest growing states in the nation and its rate of growth has remained steady, even during the recession.  What is attracting new residents to the Rocky Mountain State and are all of those new residents a good thing for a state is dealing with a budget crisis?  Denver Post staff writer Burt Hubbard says there are certainly some growing pains that come with new residents moving in.  Rajeev Vibhakar and Chip Raches explain what attracted them to move to Denver.

For the last twenty five years, America has built-up the suburbs. But now Americans are beginning to rethink whether these communities are environmentally sustainable. Joining The Takeaway is James Howard Kunstler, one of the urban thinkers gathering in Denver this week for the Congress for New Urbanism. He’s the author of "The Long Emergency: Surviving the Converging Catastrophes of the 21st Century."

In Denver, Colorado, a group of urban planners and architects gather this week to debate urban design. How can suburbia and downtown get closer? Joining The Takeaway from Denver is Ellen Dunham, the Director of the Architecture program at Georgia Institute of Technology and the co-author of "Retrofitting Suburbia: Urban Design Solutions for Redesigning Suburbs".

Like many cities, Denver is struggling to connect its suburbs to its downtown, and to create a new kind of city center. Continuing our series on the New Urbanism, The Takeaway talks to Matt Dellinger. He talks about the city's light rail project and the attempt to design and define new communities.

Follow along on The Takeaway's Urban Safari series.

In the past 50 years, Denver has grown from a small city to a sprawling metropolitan region. With urban sprawl comes gentrification. The Takeaway caught up with Andres Duany, the founding member of the New Urbanism movement, to ask him about gentrification. How do you keep a neighborhood mixed, economically and socially?

Also, hear this bonus web-only interview we did with Duany on urban sprawl!

This week The Takeaway is examining Denver as a laboratory for how the American city and surrounding suburbs are changing. The so-called "new urbanists" are pushing for more walkable, mixed-use (and mixed price) communities. They are gathering in Denver this week for the Congress on New Urbanism.

Matt Dellinger, transportation writer, joins The Takeaway to talk about who he's met and what he's learned while on safari in downtown Denver.

Follow along on The Takeaway's Urban Safari series.

Guests: ESSENCE magazine senior editor Patrik Henry Bass and Takeaway Political Director Andrea Bernstein