
City Cast Salt Lake
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.
Latest episodes

Jan 26, 2024 • 32min
Renters’ Rights, Disqualifying Judges, and Free the Bee
Another week of the Utah Legislature in the books. Host Ali Vallarta and executive producer Emily Means talk about the bills that caught their eyes, including on beekeeping, judges, and renters' rights. Plus, Salt Lake City residents ask Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall to prioritize publicly funded housing, and Ali and Emily share their picks of the week.Bills discussed:HB 257 Sex-based Designations for Privacy, Anti-bullying, and Women’s OpportunitiesHB 297 Utah Bee Inspection Act AmendmentsPublic-Private Child Care Development Pilot ProgramHJR 14 Proposal to Amend Utah Constitution - Statewide InitiativesHJR 8 Joint Resolution Amending Rules of Civil Procedure on Disqualification of a JudgeHB 355 Residential Rental ModificationsLearn more about Utah’s childcare crisis.Consider becoming a founding member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It’s the best way to support our work and help make sure we’re around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm.Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC and Twitter @CityCastSLC.Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

9 snips
Jan 25, 2024 • 16min
How Stanley Drinkware Built an Empire in Utah
The Stanley Adventure Quencher is hotter than ever and the internet’s latest obsession. Headlines and think pieces abound about why people are waiting in long lines for the colorful, 40 oz. tumbler. But in Utah, we’ve been ahead of the curve for two years now — and we may have even created this monster. Deseret News columnist Meg Walter joins host Ali Vallarta to explain the phenomenon.This episode first aired on July 19, 2022.Consider becoming a founding member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It’s the best way to support our work and help make sure we’re around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm.Subscribe to 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 your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 24, 2024 • 31min
Can Sundance Survive? Baseball Whiplash, and a Huge Upset
The Sundance Film Festival is in full swing, and host Ali Vallarta has been on the ground in Park City festin’ it up. Ali and executive producer Emily Means chat about the future of the festival and celebrity sightings. Plus, could Salt Lake get a Major League Baseball team sooner than we thought? Consider becoming a founding member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It’s the best way to support our work and help make sure we’re around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm.Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC and Twitter @CityCastSLC.Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 23, 2024 • 26min
Utah Made a Plan to Save the Great Salt Lake!
Utah’s Great Salt Lake commissioner recently released the first ever strategic plan for tackling the crisis at the lake. What’s in it, and will it move the needle on one of Salt Lake’s greatest existential threats? Chandler Rosenberg, co-founder of Save Our Great Salt Lake and deputy director at the Great Basin Water Network, joins host Ali Vallarta to give her take.Consider becoming a founding member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It’s the best way to support our work and help make sure we’re around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm.Subscribe to 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 your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 22, 2024 • 19min
What We Get Wrong About Homelessness in Salt Lake
This weekend, volunteers across Salt Lake County will participate in the Point-in-Time Count, an annual census of unsheltered Utahns. So, what can this data tell us about who is experiencing homelessness in Salt Lake County? Rob Wesemann, Salt Lake County’s Point-in-Time Count lead, joins host Ali Vallarta to bust some common myths about unsheltered Salt Lakers. Sign up to volunteer for Salt Lake County’s Point-in-Time count, Jan. 25-27.Live outside of Salt Lake? Find contacts for the count in other counties.Consider becoming a founding member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It’s the best way to support our work and help make sure we’re around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm.Subscribe to 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:
Treefort Music Fest
The Shop SLC
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 19, 2024 • 29min
A Sneaky Great Salt Lake Bill, New Bar Rules, and a Must-See Movie
The Utah Legislature is coming in hot in the first week of the general session. Host Ali Vallarta and executive producer Emily Means talk about the bills that caught their eye, including ones that impact the Great Salt Lake, bar licenses, and elections. Plus, two cozy picks for the week.Consider becoming a founding member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It’s the best way to support our work and help make sure we’re around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm.Bills discussed:H.B. 298 Homelessness Service AmendmentsH.B. 249 Legal Personhood AmendmentsLiquor Omnibus BillH.B. 214 Election ModificationsH.B. 257 Sex-Based Designations for Privacy, Anti-Bullying, and Women’s OpportunitiesListen to why Utahns are so obsessed with bathrooms.See American Fiction at The Broadway.Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC and Twitter @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:
Treefort Music Fest
The Shop SLC
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 18, 2024 • 21min
Do Political Scandals Matter to Utahns?
From sketchy financial spending to DUIs, Utahns are used to headlines about our electeds making questionable choices. So why the heck does this keep happening? Salt Lake Tribune columnist Robert Gehrke joins host Ali Vallarta to talk about how our perception of bad behavior has changed and what consequences exist to hold people accountable. Consider becoming a founding member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It’s the best way to support our work and help make sure we’re around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm.Subscribe to 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:
Treefort Music Fest
The Shop SLC
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 17, 2024 • 29min
Sugar House High Rise, Eating Local, and a School Board Update
Sugar House Coffee is taking a stand against a proposed high rise on 2100 S. Host Ali Vallarta and executive producer Emily Means talk about the future of Salt Lake City’s new downtown. Plus, you don’t need to wait in line for an hour to eat at a chain restaurant — Ali and Emily share some local alternatives for your dining pleasure. Also, we’ve got an update on the Utah State Board of Education’s equity rule.More on the Utah State School Board’s equity rule.Consider becoming a founding member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It’s the best way to support our work and help make sure we’re around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm.Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC and Twitter @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:
Treefort Music Fest
The Shop SLC
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 16, 2024 • 25min
What To Expect From This Legislative Session
Happy first day of the Utah Legislature’s general session to all who celebrate. Over the next 45 days, lawmakers will pass hundreds of bills that impact our lives in so many ways. Utah News Dispatch senior reporter Katie McKellar joins host Ali Vallarta to give us a preview of what to expect this session — from the lottery to the Great Salt Lake.Consider becoming a founding member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It’s the best way to support our work and help make sure we’re around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm.Subscribe to 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:
Treefort Music Fest
The Shop SLC
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 12, 2024 • 36min
Four Schools To Close, Legislative Guide, and 24 Hours to Shovel
The Salt Lake City School Board has voted to permanently close four elementary schools. Host Ali Vallarta and executive producer Emily Means discuss the ripple effects of this decision. Plus, they share a Schoolhouse Rock-style presentation ahead of the legislative session and picks of the week, from shoveling protocol to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail.”Consider becoming a founding member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It’s the best way to support our work and help make sure we’re around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm.Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC and Twitter @CityCastSLC.Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads.At the end of the episode, we have a short conversation with Mick Gee, head of school for Rowland Hall, about the Salt Lake City-based school’s approach to education for preschool through 12th grade students. Learn more at an admission tour. Learn more about the other sponsor of this episode:Mattress Warehouse Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices