

City Cast Salt Lake
City Cast
City Cast Salt Lake is Salt Lake City’s daily news podcast. Host Ali Vallarta and a bevy of smart and entertaining locals will bring you conversations about the issues that matter most to SLC. Some days City Cast will make you proud; other days it’ll make you angry. It will celebrate Salt Lake’s triumphs, (try to) solve its mysteries, and explore its history. City Cast will help you feel more connected to the Wasatch Front – whether you’ve lived here for 6 months or 6 generations.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jul 18, 2025 • 43min
Is SLC Safer Now? Utah Mammoth Parody Video, Millcreek Canyon Shuttle
After six months, how's Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall's public safety plan going? Host Ali Vallarta, City Cast Salt Lake contributor Cassie Bingham, and executive producer Emily Means parse through the latest update. Plus, the Utah Mammoth's cultural commentary, a new Millcreek canyon shuttle, and a must-visit dinosaur booth at the farmers market.
Resources and references:
Catch up on Salt Lake City's public safety plan.
Utah Mammoth schedule release video
Submit a comment about a Millcreek Canyon shuttle
Bewitched By Alpacas in Bluffdale
Join us for 801 Day at the Gallivan Center on Friday, Aug. 1. RSVP here!
Become a member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It’s the best way to support our work and help make sure we are around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm.
Subscribe to Hey Salt Lake, our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC.
Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads.
Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:
ICO
Visit Walla Walla
Salt Lake Sewciety
Workshop SLC - use code CITYCAST for 20% off.
Live Crude - Get $10 off your first CRUDE purchase with promo code CITYCASTSLC

Jul 17, 2025 • 22min
The Best Almost Bars for All-Ages Fun
We know you can’t bring your kid to some breweries in Utah, though it’s normal in cities around the country. So, how can you hack it? City Cast Salt Lake contributor Shireen Ghorbani joins host Ali Vallarta to roundup places you can drink and bring your kiddo.
Join us for 801 Day at the Gallivan Center on Friday, Aug. 1. RSVP here!
Get more from City Cast Salt Lake when you become a City Cast Salt Lake Neighbor. You’ll enjoy perks like ad-free listening, invitations to members only events and more. Join now at membership.citycast.fm.
Subscribe to Hey Salt Lake, our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC.
Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads.
Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:
ICO
Visit Walla Walla
Salt Lake Sewciety

Jul 16, 2025 • 26min
It’s Hot! Here’s Where To Swim in Salt Lake.
It’s hot, hot, hot in this city! So where can you cool off? City Cast Salt Lake contributor Kate Groetzinger and host Ali Vallarta roundup the best pools around the valley for everyone in your family.
Join us for 801 Day at the Gallivan Center on Friday, Aug. 1. RSVP here!
Get more from City Cast Salt Lake when you become a City Cast Salt Lake Neighbor. You’ll enjoy perks like ad-free listening, invitations to members only events and more. Join now at membership.citycast.fm.
Subscribe to Hey Salt Lake, our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC.
Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads.
Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:
ICO
Visit Walla Walla
Salt Lake Sewciety

Jul 15, 2025 • 40min
Summer Food Bucket List, Conveyor Belt Sushi, Saving Lives
Should the borscht on 3300 South be served hot or cold? In our food news roundup, Hey Salt Lake newsletter editor Terina Ria and Host Ali Vallarta put together a summer bucket list of things to eat and drink around the valley, from conveyor belt sushi and a candy complex to restaurants that have stood the test of time.
Resources and references:
A look inside Sugar House’s new conveyor belt sushi restaurant [Gastronomic SLC]
Join us for 801 Day at the Gallivan Center on Friday, Aug. 1. RSVP here!
Become a member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It’s the best way to support our work and help make sure we are around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm.
Subscribe to Hey Salt Lake, our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC.
Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads.
Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:
ICO
Visit Walla Walla
Salt Lake Sewciety
Workshopslc.com - use code CITYCAST for 20% off.
Live Crude - Get $10 off your first CRUDE purchase with promo code CITYCASTSLC

Jul 14, 2025 • 21min
Is SLC Kid Friendly?
Mayor Erin Mendenhall has a goal to make Salt Lake City more family friendly. But what does that even mean? Salt Lake City School Board member Ashley Anderson joins host Ali Vallarta to break down the ways SLC already is for kids and share some big ideas.
Resources and references:
The $30M SLC Schools Lost to Developers [City Cast Salt Lake]
Bizarre AI Streets Story, New Utah Rankings, Free Slurpees Today [City Cast Salt Lake]
Join us for 801 Day at the Gallivan Center on Friday, Aug. 1. RSVP here!
Get more from City Cast Salt Lake when you become a City Cast Salt Lake Neighbor. You’ll enjoy perks like ad-free listening, invitations to members only events and more. Join now at membership.citycast.fm.
Subscribe to Hey Salt Lake, our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC.
Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads.
Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:
ICO
Visit Walla Walla
Salt Lake Sewciety

Jul 11, 2025 • 43min
Bizarre AI Streets Story, New Utah Rankings, Free Slurpees Today
Is AI responsible for taking away SLC's power to make its streets safer? Host Ali Vallarta, executive producer Emily Means, and City Cast Salt Lake contributor Chandler Rosenberg dive into the controversial story. Plus, Utah power rankings, hummingbird sightseeing, and free Slurpees!
Resources and references:
Shadow lobbying, an AI paper and a willing Senator. The story behind the bill that took SLC’s streets away [Building Salt Lake]
Utah ranked as the 9th most expensive housing market in the country in 2024 [Kem C. Gardner]
Connections and Collaborations: How Civic Participation Plugs Into Social Capital [Utah Foundation]
Utah jumps two spots in chemical releases, EPA says. Here’s why. [Salt Lake Tribune]
Join us for 801 Day at the Gallivan Center on Friday, Aug. 1. RSVP here!
Become a member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It’s the best way to support our work and help make sure we are around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm.
Subscribe to Hey Salt Lake, our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC.
Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads.
Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:
The Shop
Stein Eriksen
Canyon View Credit Union
Workshopslc.com - use code CITYCAST for 20% off.
Live Crude - Get $10 off your first CRUDE purchase with promo code CITYCASTSLC

Jul 10, 2025 • 20min
Utah Fights Pornhub
It’s been two years since Utah sent Pornhub packing in protest of a law that the U.S. Supreme Court just ok’d! The man to blame? State Sen. Todd Weiler (R-Woods Cross). Host Ali Vallarta asks him if this is the war he planned to wage — and if it’s still worth the fight?
This episode first aired on May 9, 2023.
Just a note this episode makes mention of sexual violence.
U.S. Teen Girls Experiencing Increased Sadness and Violence by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Get more from City Cast Salt Lake when you become a City Cast Salt Lake Neighbor. You’ll enjoy perks like ad-free listening, invitations to members only events and more. Join now at membership.citycast.fm.
Subscribe to Hey Salt Lake, our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC.
Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads.
Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:
The Shop
Stein Eriksen
Canyon View Credit Union

Jul 9, 2025 • 24min
Can Utah Manage Overtourism?
From Venice to Mexico City, much of the world is protesting overtourism. So how can Utah manage tensions between visitors and locals in hotspots like Moab and Park City? Host Ali Vallarta asks Jennifer Leaver, senior tourism analyst at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, about the state of tourism in Utah right now.
Get more from City Cast Salt Lake when you become a City Cast Salt Lake Neighbor. You’ll enjoy perks like ad-free listening, invitations to members only events and more. Join now at membership.citycast.fm.
Subscribe to Hey Salt Lake, our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC.
Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads.
Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:
The Shop
Stein Eriksen
Canyon View Credit Union

Jul 8, 2025 • 33min
A Plan for Ballpark! Hazing at U of U Frat, SLC Lost Streets to AI?
The Smith’s Ballpark stadium finally has a game plan! Host Ali Vallarta and Building Salt Lake editor Taylor Anderson discuss the design highlights and construction timeline for the 13.5-acres in the middle of SLC. Plus, the University of Utah shuts down a frat, and local shoutouts.
Resources and references:
Shadow lobbying, an AI paper and a willing Senator. The story behind the bill that took SLC’s streets away [Building Salt Lake]
See the design for Ballpark NEXT and submit a comment.
Here’s what the University of Utah found to shut down a fraternity: A strip club visit, death videos and more hazing [Salt Lake Tribune]
Book a coffee appointment with Joe the Barista.
Become a member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It’s the best way to support our work and help make sure we are around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm.
Subscribe to Hey Salt Lake, our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC.
Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads.
Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:
The Shop
Stein Eriksen
Canyon View Credit Union
Workshopslc.com - use code CITYCAST for 20% off.
Live Crude - Get $10 off your first CRUDE purchase with promo code CITYCASTSLC
Cozy Earth - Go to cozyearth.com and use code COZYSALTLAKE for 40% off all men's apparel and more

Jul 7, 2025 • 23min
Everybody Hates Mike Lee?
Sen. Mike Lee has been getting dragged in the news recently. One, for trying to sell public lands, and two, for his tweets about the assassination of a Minnesota lawmaker. But one Salt Laker has made it her mission to make life hard for Utah's senior senator. Host Ali Vallarta asks Rosie Card what her goal is as Lee's number one troll.
Listen for more on Lee's so-far unsuccessful push to sell Utah's public lands.
Get more from City Cast Salt Lake when you become a City Cast Salt Lake Neighbor. You’ll enjoy perks like ad-free listening, invitations to members only events and more. Join now at membership.citycast.fm.
Subscribe to Hey Salt Lake, our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC.
Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads.
Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:
The Shop
Stein Eriksen
Canyon View Credit Union