
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

Sep 29, 2023 • 31min
Bomb Threats, a Gondola Lawsuit? And an Obvious Senate Candidate
A Salt Lake City bookstore received bomb threats this week over an all-ages drag storytime event. Lead producer Emily Means joins host Ali Vallarta to talk about it — because we think more people should be. Plus, we break down a potentially interesting development in the Little Cottonwood Canyon gondola saga as well as what’s going on with the ski bus this winter.Listen to our conversation with Tara Lipsyncki about “the new normal” for drag shows.Attend the next Central Wasatch Commission meeting.Comment on the Utah Transit Authority’s long-range transit plan by Sept. 30.Need to talk to someone? Check out Westminster University’s community clinic.Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can 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

Sep 28, 2023 • 17min
The Juicy History Behind City Creek Mall
Need to return something at City Creek? Don’t do it this weekend! Downtown will be crowded for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ General Conference. Architectural designer CJ Hellige tells host Ali Vallarta about the storied history of City Creek, and how Salt Lake City is still reckoning with its future over one sky bridge.This episode originally aired Dec. 12, 2023.Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can 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

Sep 27, 2023 • 20min
Apples, Ghosts, and Salmon: Seasonal Alternatives to Leaf Peeping
If staring down colorful trees is not your idea of a good time, fear not! Autumn in Utah has so much more to offer than changing leaves. In the final installment of our Fall Getaway Guide, newsletter editor Terina Ria gives host Ali Vallarta tips for making the most of your weekends this season, whether you’re in the mood to pick apples, tour haunted sets, or chase salmon.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

Sep 26, 2023 • 19min
The Best Places To See Fall Colors in Utah
It’s prime leaf-peepin’ time, people. Utah’s fall foliage is absolutely blushing right now, and you don’t want to miss the picture-perfect glory of our shortest season. In part two of our Fall Getaway Guide, producer Ivana Martinez joins host Ali Vallarta to share her top picks for enjoying the fall colors, plus tips for getting the perfect autumn photo.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

Sep 25, 2023 • 23min
A Guide To Fall in the Shadow of Utah’s National Parks
Fall is a great time of year to head to Southern Utah and visit our “Mighty Five” national parks. But did you know you can experience the beauty and wonder of the parks without ever stepping foot inside one? In part one of our Fall Getaway Guide, host Ali Vallarta joins lead producer Emily Means to share her recommendations for taking in this season’s glory in the shadow of the national parks, without the fees, crowds, and chaos.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

Sep 22, 2023 • 29min
Utah’s ‘Critical Vulnerabilities,’ Leo’s Lake Love, and a Cocktail Contest
Get ready to open up, Utah, because we’re digging into the state’s most “critical vulnerabilities” as laid out in a new legislative audit. Plus, despite our wet winter and spring, the Great Salt Lake is still in trouble — though it has a new, very famous ally. Lead producer Emily Means joins host Ali Vallarta for a therapy session to break down all of our most pressing crises as well as sharing their picks of the week.Bike Main Street with Sweet Streets Saturday, Sept. 23 at 3 p.m.Drink and vote in Salt Lake Magazine’s annual cocktail contest!Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can 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

Sep 21, 2023 • 17min
How To Be a Good Concert Goer
The final installment of this season’s Salt Lake Twilight Concert Series hits Gallivan Plaza Friday. Andrea Racine, head of artist relations at S&S and the voice of our theme music, joins host Ali Vallarta to lay down some ground rules for how to be a good concert goer.Get tickets to Rina Sawayama.This episode originally aired May 11, 2023.Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can 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

Sep 20, 2023 • 23min
The Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of the Hoberman Arch
Salt Lake City recently resurrected a long-forgotten relic of the 2002 Winter Olympics: the Hoberman Arch. The 30,000-pound art installation has a new home near Salt Lake City International Airport — but it’s lived rent-free in host Ali Vallarta’s mind for years. Now that SLC has officially been blessed as the U.S. bid city for the 2030 or 2034 Games, Ali tells lead producer Emily Means the story of the Hoberman Arch. Read journalist Hunter S. Thompson’s take on the 2002 Olympics.Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can 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

Sep 19, 2023 • 21min
How Much Utah ‘Sharenting’ Is Too Much?
Former “8 Passengers” vlogger and Utah mom-fluencer Ruby Franke has been charged with aggravated child abuse. How did this story evolve, and what are the lessons to be learned? Deseret News features writer Meg Walter joins host Ali Vallarta to get candid about the money making business of “sharenting” online and how she grapples with posting about her family.Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can 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

Sep 18, 2023 • 20min
What We Know About SLC’s First Sanctioned Camp
Salt Lake City is about to get its first ever sanctioned homeless camp, at 300 S. and 600 W. And if you’re thinking that’s very near the site of the former Road Home shelter, so are we. Lead producer Emily Means got the details from the city and state and tells host Ali Vallarta what we know about this big neighborhood project.Sign up for future volunteer opportunities around the sanctioned camp, like making welcome packets for new residents. Have more questions? The city put together an FAQ page on the sanctioned camp program.Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can 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