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City Cast DC

Kaela Cote-Stemmermann

Remember the days before Elon Musk's DOGE, when the major discussion in D.C. was his fantastical hyperloop? No? Hardly surprising as it’s considered one of the biggest transport flops in D.C. history. We talked with 

What’s the Hyperloop and Why Did DC Want It?

The hyperloop concept dates back to 2013, when Elon Musk and a team of SpaceX engineers proposed what they called the "fifth mode of transportation" — a vacuum-sealed tunnel between D.C. and Baltimore, eventually adding Philadelphia and New York — that would eliminate drag and propel passengers in pods at roughly 700 miles per hour.

In 2017, Musk suddenly took to Twitter to announce he had "verbal government approval" to build a hyperloop connecting D.C. and New York, a trip that would take 29 minutes. He claimed it would be 100% privately funded and would be done in two years.

 what he was talking about. Reporters reached out to state agencies, governors' offices, and mayors' offices along the proposed route — and found…nothing. “Eventually you actually get this trail of breadcrumbs that leads back to none other than real estate heir Jared Kushner, who seems to be the driving force behind this project,” 

It quickly became clear that The Boring Company — Musk's Hyperloop venture — struggled to answer even fundamental questions when meeting with transit officials. Had they accounted for D.C.'s notoriously wet, unstable soil? What if it ruptured? What about seismic activity? The answers were consistently no. “ Those [meetings] were described to me as an unmitigated disaster,” 

Additionally, the technology itself was non-existent with prototypes struggling to make it work safely at even 200 mph, nevermind 700 mph. By 2018, the goalposts shifted dramatically. The new vision became essentially 16-person buses in a tunnel. Then 

 became Tesla sedans, which they showed off at a press demo.

By the time a draft environmental assessment was released in 2019, the project — now just called “The Loop” — was essentially an alarmingly unsafe lithium-powered underground shuttle with a daily capacity of less than a single Metro car. Nobody was on board. Eventually, the Boring Company stopped communicating at all, and by 2021 

In short, nothing. The project quietly died in 2021, and Ribel unearthed its history for his 

. “ Nobody wants to revisit this chapter,” 

, “People are embarrassed by this, as they should be.” The proposed Hyperloop terminal in NoMa was sold to a developer for luxury apartments, its web domain was taken over, and it effectively disappeared from the DMV zeitgeist.

In the meantime, the transit improvements that would actually move the needle — light rail, expanded bus service, increased Metro investment — are the unglamorous options that keep getting passed over. For this reason and others, many were 

. But if you close your eyes really hard on the red line, you can almost pretend you’re on a 700 mph hyperloop, right?

Listen To The Full Disaster 

Before Elon Musk's DOGE there was his fantastical hyperloop. But, it went down as one of the biggest transport flops in D.C. history. We talked with Matt Ribel for the full story. 

Inside the Story of Elon Musk’s Failed DC Hyperloop

What Washingtonians have been wondering. We break down why things in DC are the way they are and how they work.

DC, Explained

Ashe Durban

Mosh Madness, D.C.’s premier music festival slash basketball tournament is back for its second iteration this spring. On April 11 in the Takoma Park Presbyterian Church’s gym, the DMV’s best and brightest bands will rock out — while teams, made up of D.C. musicians, showdown in a 3v3 basketball tournament below for the title of 

“The Best Band in the DMV (Who Decided to Sign Up For This Particular Basketball Tournament).”

And D.C.’s music scene is behind Mosh’s out of bounds concert: last year it was a smash hit. This year promises to be even bigger, doubling capacity and pulling sponsorships from 9:30 Club, Chuck Levin’s, and more.

On the surface, the festival breaks age-old jock-artist rivalry stereotypes. But according to organizers — Reid Williams and Ian Donaldson, both of the band 

 — the inspiration for the festival was way more utilitarian.

“We’re working musicians who play basketball a lot during the weekdays. And the only people we know that are also available are other musicians, basically. So we have a whole ‘musicians who ball’ community. And the soundtrack is often just our friends' music,” says Donaldson. 

It wasn’t just a love of music and basketball that spawned Mosh Madness. It was a desire to move past the scenes and social groups segmenting D.C.’s music scene.

“I love the fucking diversity here. But with genre, it’s easy for people to silo themselves,” Williams said. The Mosh Madness lineup this year reflects that diversity. In contrast to last year's festival, which leaned heavily on the city’s indie rock scene, this year features a tasting menu of D.C.’s musical palate. D.C. indie’s finest 

, an award winning Jazz-Go-Go band, rapper-sculptor 

But is it a basketball tournament? Or a music festival?

“It’s performance art, it's a bit campy. I would urge people to come for high quality music, not high quality basketball.” said Donaldson. Williams describes it as an IRL version of those brainrot videos where audio content is paired with subway surfer compilations, for the severely attention-impaired.

In that way, it’s an occasion born from the Gen-Z zeitgeist. But in other ways, it fits neatly into D.C.’s music history. All the proceeds will be donated to the 

, placing Mosh Madness in the long line of D.C.’s benefit festivals dating 

back to the 80s with music collectives like Positive Force

. They’re also not the first Washingtonians to use a basketball tournament as a vessel for change. Metroball famously promoted youth mentorship and community intervention in their annual 

At the heart of it, Williams and Donaldson just want to bring different parts of D.C. together for a good cause. “ I hope that they come away with the more philosophical take of ‘We're not so different you or I, music and basketball, they're all just fun things people like to do.’”

Mosh Madness tips off at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 11 at Takoma Park Presbyterian Church. 

 (but add a donation on top!) and moving fast.

 | April 11 | $20 | Takoma Park Presbyterian Church

 (Techno) | April 17 | $9-25 | Transmission

Consumer Culture, XK Scenario, Miracle Blood

 and local underground legend Oddisee on this bright new single from their upcoming collab project “From Takoma With Love” out April 29.

, featuring the Mosh Madness lineup and other picks.

Let's Rock

Mosh Madness, D.C.’s premier music festival slash basketball tournament is back for its second iteration this spring. On April 11 the DMV’s best and brightest bands will rock out — while teams showdown in a 3v3 basketball tournament below.

DC’s Next Big Music Festival Is Also a Basketball Tournament

Mosh Madness: DC’s Next Big Music Festival Is Also a Basketball Tournament

McKenna Harford

Between the new White House ballroom, the proposed Arc de Trump, and whatever’s going to happen to the Kennedy Center, President Trump is trying to reimagine the city in his image.

Paul Goldberger, a longtime architecture critic at the New York Times and New Yorker, wrote a blistering essay about the Trump effect on D.C. — even 

 the Italian Prime Minister Mussolini. And like Mussolini, Trump totally gets the city wrong. Goldberger came on the pod to talk about his essay and the historical parallels he sees.

“[Trump] envisions it as a place of imperial grandeur because he envisions himself more as an emperor than as a democratic president, and he's trying to reshape it to be the seat of an empire,” Goldberger said.

Goldberger said the best cities have a mix of “wonderful accidents and wonderful intention,” both order and chaos, but argues that because Trump’s focus is on himself, his proposed projects will overwhelm the city with little regard for its history or layout.

“ He's missing the importance of history. The idea that the White House is some kind of piece of personal property that he can tinker with during his period of residency…” Goldberger said. “The process we're seeing right now is a joke.”

The most infamous example is Trump’s proposed 90,000 square-foot ballroom (

) at the East Wing of the White House. Goldberger said the building will overshadow the White House in size and block the vista between the president’s residence and the Capitol — a key element in Pierre L’Enfant’s original designs for Washington.

“ The symbolism is pretty bad there,” Goldberger said. “It's completely saying that imperial grandeur — no pun intended — trumps the people's view.”

Even the original White House structure could be tampered with if Trump 

 from the staid ionic style to the more ornate Corinthian style favored by Roman emperors.

 — a 250-foot arch at Memorial Circle — shows the president often “confuses size with quality,” Goldberger said. If built, the Arc de Trump would be the main view from the Lincoln Memorial, blocking the line of sight to Arlington Cemetery.

“I worry it would make even the Lincoln Memorial seem trivial,” Goldberger said.

Trump’s plans are not all set — or built — in stone yet. Delays from the permitting processes and lawsuits aiming to completely prevent construction have slowed progress. But this year will still bring massive changes to D.C.’s architectural landscape.

How Trump is “destroying” DC

Between the East Wing of the White House, the proposed Arc de Trump, and whatever’s going to happen to the Kennedy Center, how will President Trump's projects change the city's look?

Is Trump Destroying DC’s Architecture? 

Welcome back to our series “DC Dating Off the Apps.” (Find our 

!) ICYMI, I’m deleting the apps and sacrificing myself as a social experiment to try D.C.’s in-person dating options so that you don’t have to. I know, heroic. This time, we’re headed to the dart boards to see if cupid’s 

After doing some aggressive self-affirmations in my bathroom mirror, I biked down to 

 in Mt. Vernon Triangle for a “Dates & Darts” social hosted by 

. After checking in, I went to the bar for my free drink and to look up the rules of darts on my phone. Soon we were broken into four groups of about 10 people each for some darts. We played, switching groups occasionally, then were given free reign to mingle.

Well, apparently I’m an absolute ace at darts. So, that was a pleasant surprise. But putting the dopamine rush of beating a bunch of strangers aside, this event had a lot going for it. The game-play structure kept awkwardness at bay while still allowing plenty of time to flirt with your teammates, or better yet, your rivals 😈

It drew a more interesting and diverse crowd than the 

 I attended (and not nearly as many quarter-zips, thank god). The balance of ages and genders was perfect and I loved that I wasn't limited in who I could talk to. One of the best parts of the night was chatting with the other women, making friends, and embracing the cringe together.

It was also a great deal. For $20 I got a drink, two hours of dart games, and the benefit of curated groups and icebreakers.

At first, I was having flashbacks to the first day of summer camp, where you’re trying to differentiate yourself among a large group dynamic — something I was never great at (potentially because I refused to look up from my copy of “Percy Jackson”). But with two drinks in the bag and everyone in awe of my dart throwing prowess, my shyness was quickly forgotten.

The larger issue for me was how to follow up with people I liked. Unless you download the organizer’s app, you have to do things the old fashioned way — go up and ask for someone's number. This led to a few awkward instances of people I wasn't interested in asking for my number, or having to chase someone down (an introvert’s nightmare).

Well well well, I know you doubted, but I 

 end up meeting someone interesting and we are planning a date for this week (fingers crossed they’re not reading this 🙏). It could be a disaster, but regardless, I would consider this experiment a success!

TLDR: It was fun! I would attend another Peared event. They have a 

 I want to try. In general, the activity-based dating events are a win-win. Even if you don't make a romantic connection, you can still make friends, drink, and crush at darts.

Cost ($15 early bird or $20, includes drink and darts) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

What D.C. Dating Experience Should We Try Next?

I’m deleting the apps and sacrificing myself as a social experiment to try D.C.’s in-person dating options so that you don’t have to. This time, we’re headed to the dart boards to see if cupid’s dart hits its mark

DC Dating Off the Apps: Darts Are Flying 

 has been on a mission to put D.C.’s rap scene on the map for over 20 years. “We're all too familiar with other iconic cities in hip-hop, like Atlanta, New York, Houston, and Los Angeles. I’m trying to do my part to make that normal in the DMV as well.”

Along the way he’s become one of the DMV’s longest reigning underground hip-hop lyricists and beatmakers, released about 20 projects, toured with the Roots, and helped make D.C. a music mecca in its own right.

 spotlights the iconic Takoma Park carryout Peter’s Sub Shop (with the DMV’s best mumbo sauce 🤐). In one of his breakthrough records, the 2011 beat tape “

,” he masterfully paints a sonic portrait of D.C.’s biggest green space. “

” will transport you straight to a sunny window-down drive on the parkway.

Born Amir Mohamed el Khalifa at Howard University Hospital, Oddisee grew up finding his own DMV landmarks across Adelphi, Takoma, Silver Spring, Upper Marlboro, and D.C. In the early 2000s — before social media — Oddisee, along with any other beltway hip-hop heads, had to flock to the city to find their people.

“If you listened to rap and you wanted to rhyme, it was a very small scene. It was pretty much the U Street corridor and 18th Street. That was our watering hole,” he explained.

Oddisee credits a host of rhymers before him — 

 — for creating the DMV’s underground rap infrastructure, mostly through open mics. For the first time, D.C.’s independence from the larger entertainment industry in New York or LA was actually a positive.

“As powerful a city D.C. is, it’s not necessarily known as being a creative hub. We didn't have the sheer population to support niche music,” said Oddisee. “That created something beautiful because no matter what style of rap you did, you had to share space.”

It’s not exactly a hot take. Local punk historian 

 that D.C.’s place outside the belly of entertainment helped its punk zine scene get off the ground, H Street’s hottest new club Transmission thinks it 

, and it’s how local band April + Vista said they 

Oddisee isn’t just an underground sound smith, but an underground historian and ethnomusicologist. He attributes D.C.’s unique melting pot of musical influence to 

 — when millions of Black people left a Jim Crow-entrenched South in the 1900s.

“Most Black people from the DMV originate from the Carolinas and Virginia. So we have this heavy southern influence in D.C.,” explained Oddisee. “ A high level of musicality comes from where we're from, it wasn't something we discovered solely through electronic production processes.”

For Oddisee, this manifests through go-go influence. His band, the Good Company, is full of D.C. scene veterans. The full scope of their musicality, from go-go to hip-hop to jazz, is on display in their 2020 

. “The music always had this live influence and that definitely came from go-go,” Oddisee said. “It came from being a music mecca.”

 (Go-Go) | March 8 | $25 | Citizens and Culture

 (Club) | March 14 | $22 | Chacho Spirits

 (Cumbia) | March 28 | $30 | State Theatre

“supreme and Kaws” — Lil Sobe feat. Ma Dukes

 for their familial take on DMV rap. It’s cute and it cranks.

, featuring Oddisee and other local music picks.

Your Monthly Music Playlist

Chronicling DC’s Underground Rap Scene with Oddisee

Anyone who’s ever dated in D.C. can attest that it’s not for the weak. Double-phone clutching staffers, love-bombing interns, and morally ambiguous Deloitte employees make for a truly harrowing dating pool (and those are just 

exes!). As someone who’s been burned one too many times by the Hinge algorithm (please, god, no more avoidants) I decided that it was time to try something new.

Enter this series, “DC Dating Off the Apps.” I’m deleting the apps and sacrificing myself as a social experiment to try D.C.’s in-person dating options so that you don’t have to. I know, heroic. Will I find love, or just a renewed bitter dissolution with romance? First up: speed dating!

Armed with a healthy dose of skepticism and my (very serious) journalistic hat, I braved D.C.’s snowcrete to attend a speed dating event set up by 

 at a cafe in Ballston. Over the course of two hours, I was matched with nine different dates, each of which was eight minutes. I then got a two minute break to find my next date and a longer coffee break in the middle. Here’s how it went.

This event was a well oiled machine. It started on time, directions were clear, and they even had a website to identify my dates and indicate who I was interested in. They also did a great job of curating a safe, low-pressure environment that was as non-awkward as I could hope for.

I was charmed by how easy everyone was to talk to (who hasn’t experienced the horror of a silent first date?). While there was lots of stereotypical “first date talk,” there were also conversations that left me curious. I learned about a great hiking spot in Maryland that I’m considering buying crampons for, and a jazz bar in my neighborhood I’d never even heard of. So already, I felt my time was well spent.

Look, I’m not trying to judge (except that I am, in fact, judging), but 90% of the men were in a button up and J-Crew quarter zip. DMV lads, can we step it up a little? Trying to discern between two shades of heather gray was not what I signed up for. But in all seriousness, the cafe set up ended up feeling a little bit job interview-adjacent. While I appreciated how serious people were about finding a match … where is the fun?! The whimsy?! The flirtatious, dare I say chaotic, energy?!

My other bone to pick is that we were required to track the time on our phones. So, each date became an awkward game of trying to subtly check the timer without being rude. God forbid I checked too early. Eek!

Would I do this again? Yes! Despite not finding anyone I was interested in, and, of course, all those damn quarter zips, I had a great two hours meeting people and left with a renewed excitement for dating (cringe, I know!). As an introvert who often leaves first dates feeling drained, I was surprised by how much social energy I still had left in the tank after chatting with 

 people — it felt refreshing and efficient.

Next time, I would attend a speed dating event in D.C. proper (sorry, folks across the river, I know you’re disappointed!) and I would attend one that took place at a bar to help curate those ~ romantic ~ vibes.

DC Dating Off the Apps: The Need for Speed (Dating)

“Baltimore! RVA! D.C.!” screams Justice Tripp, Baltimore hardcore legend, halfway through Trapped Under Ice’s landmark 2011 record “

”. It’s a Mid-Atlantic assembly call, and a shoutout to a metro area whose fates have long been intertwined.

D.C. and Baltimore have always represented a “so close, but so far” dichotomy. Go-Go vs. Baltimore Club. “The West Wing” vs.” The Wire.” Dummy vs. Moe. D.C.’s federal, white collar reputation vs. Baltimore’s blue collar.

Tripp, who grew up in East Baltimore but cut his teeth in moshpits up and down the Eastern Seaboard, knows the scenes better than anybody. His experiences led him to front two of modern hardcore’s most innovative, popular bands: Trapped Under Ice and 

“There was a stereotype that was probably true — D.C.’s a little more punk, leaning more into traditional skinhead culture. In Baltimore, while those things exist too, it's leaning more towards like XXL shirts hanging off your body while doing spin kicks in the mosh pit to metallic leaning music,” said Tripp, pointing to D.C.’s 

Despite the 40-mile gap, Tripp thinks the cities are closer than ever. “I've been calling Baltimore ‘North D.C.’ and calling D.C. ‘South Baltimore,’” he said. So close that Angel Du$t elected to throw its “Cold 2 the Touch” album release show at Columbia Heights’ legendary place of worship (and punk) 

As with anything in the belly of the beast, politics is never far away. “The message [in the music] is the same and the message is clear. It's extreme, aggressive music, with emphasis on community and intolerance of intolerance.”

Despite his love for D.C., Tripp is a Baltimore boy through and through. So why pick a D.C. venue for Angel Du$t’s EP release?

“ We could do a record release show at the biggest venue in Baltimore and sell it out. And it's a big win. But I wanna do the most authentic thing for us, and right now, man, St. Stephen's has been a really special place in our career as a band and in my creative life.”

For the uninitiated, St. Stephen's is a truly magical D.C. space. By day you’ll find Episcopal worshipers. By night, it’s organizers, activists, punks. Since the '80s the church has hosted Fugazi, Grammy winners 

“There's all these young kids in Baltimore I know haven't experienced that yet. I wanted to create a scenario where they had to come to D.C. and see this special place,” explained Tripp.

At the heart of it all, Tripp is proud to be a part of “North D.C.” and “South Baltimore.” “ We get to be a part of the coolest 45-minute drive on earth. You know what I mean? There's nothing like it.”

 with support from Crown of Thorns, Backlash, and Love Sick Feb 27. It’s sold out, but you’re gonna want to scour the web for resale and join the waitlist. “Cold 2 the Touch” drops Feb. 13.

(Bluegrass) | Feb. 5 | Free | Quarry House

whitepicketfence / little a / Boat Burning

You would swear this song was from the '90s with its grungy guitars and breakbeats, until the Northeast rapper comes in with that DMV flow.

, featuring Angel Du$t, Trapped Under Ice, and other picks from Tripp.

What DC Means to A Baltimore Hardcore Legend

City Cast DC staff

Trump 2.0 is cresting into its second year, and the Brookings DMV Monitor is tracking the impacts of federal spending and staffing cuts on the Washington region.

explored how bleak D.C.’s unemployment crisis really was

. This most recent report analyses local and 

 to paint a picture of the region’s economic health. Brookings Fellow Tracy Hadden Loh runs the 

 and we talked with her about what the data shows and what’s next.

The TLDR is that people are tightening their belts. According to the report, while overall spending has increased (in keeping with national trends), a closer look at trends within smaller jurisdictions shows a marked decrease in how much people are spending locally, which ultimately impacts revenue for the DMV.

Visitor spending accounts for about a third of the spending around D.C., so even small dips account for big revenue losses. From 2024 to 2025, visitor spending was down 2% in the District and 10% in Montgomery County, accounting for a loss of around $20 million. That’s a particularly impactful number considering total spending was around $100 million in 2024.

One key trend in the report is that aggregate household spending actually increased during the first half of 2025, then took a dive from June through September — right around the time troops were deployed to D.C.

The report shows that businesses like restaurants are taking the biggest hit so far, but the trend has not yet impacted the District’s ability to raise revenue to  provide services. And since the data only goes through September — the month that saw the biggest drop in spending — it does not take into account the full impact of the government shutdown, where a larger decline is likely.

On the positive side, sales tax revenue has been outperforming projections from the District's chief financial officer.

The team at Brookings Metro will continue to analyze data to get a fuller picture. Plus, Hadden Loh gave us a tease of the subject of the next report: The fact that the DMV now is the number one major metro market in the United States for the number of active home sale listings. “There are more homes for sale in the DMV right now than there are in Vegas,” Hadden Loh says. “I think it raises more questions than it answers. We want to know where people go when they're selling their home, and we've obtained a pretty unique data set from the US Postal Service that we hope is going to help us answer that question. That will be coming next time.”

What Less Consumer Spending Means For Locals 🎧

Trump 2.0 is cresting into its second year, and the Brookings DMV Monitor is tracking the impacts of federal spending and staffing cuts on the Washington region. 

What Spending Trends Tell Us About Trump's Impact on DC's Economy

What Regional Spending Tells Us About DC's Economy

How well do you know the D.C. area? Take our weekly quiz to find out!

Test your DC knowledge with these other trivia questions.

How long has Mayor Bowser served in total?

What movie character is a limestone grotesque on the National Cathedral?

What is the oldest still standing structure in D.C.?

The National Zoo was once home to the “living symbol” of what famous cartoon?

Which neighborhood is the oldest in Washington, D.C.?

What year did an earthquake damage the Washington National Cathedral and the Washington Monument?

What global hotel chain started as a A&W Root Beer stand in Columbia Heights?

How many members are on the D.C. City Council?

When was D.C.’s first Pride celebration?

Gallaudet University started which national sports tradition?

How many cherry trees were originally donated to D.C.? 

What percent of D.C. residents have ghosted someone in the last year?

Where was the Lincoln assassination was planned?

Can you guess what monument these one-star google reviews are about?

This D.C. studio recorded artists like Usher and Stevie Wonder. Where is it?

How well do you know D.C. history? Take our weekly quiz to find out! 

DC, Explained

Inside the Story of Elon Musk’s Failed DC Hyperloop

Mosh Madness: DC’s Next Big Music Festival Is Also a Basketball Tournament

Is Trump Destroying DC’s Architecture?

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